Sharing is caring
Fire was one of the greatest inventions of mankind, or so White thought as she sat by the lit campfire, huddling her blanket closer to herself. Well, actually she would have to thank fire-type pokémon too—if it wasn't for her trusted Pignite, she wouldn't have the luxury of watching the bright orange-hued flames.
But anyway, who would've thought that Unova's nights could get so cold? Screw her mum for sending her out with only the thin blanket; she could've at least warned her that she would freeze without a proper sleeping bag.
Grumbling, she bravely reached her hand out from the safety of the blanket, picked up the stick she had near and poked the kettle that she had managed to hang over the fire. Then she tried again and chuckled at her actions. There really was no chance to tell if it was boiling without getting up. And that would mean abandoning her only shelter. Just the thought made her shiver.
Suddenly, she heard rustling and turned to the direction of the sound just to see a certain green haired trainer emerge from the forest to the clearing.
"Oh," the man said, quite dumbly in White's opinion.
"Fancy seeing you here," she said and grinned. She didn't know why, but the man always seemed to make her grin. Maybe it was some sort of weird genetic reflex that her lips automatically turned upwards whenever she saw green haired men? Nooooo… seeing Ghetsis definitely hadn't made her smile in the least.
"I…" he trailed off before he'd even started. White tilted her head to the side.
"Yeah?"
N shook his head; it seemed to White that he did that kind of often.
"I didn't expect to find you here, that's all."
He shifted around a bit awkwardly for a while and White just watched him. Then she got an idea.
"Hey, why don't you join me? I was making hot cocoa for myself to warm up, but it's always nicer to share." The green haired man looked slightly lost, so she continued. "Of course, it would be even better if we had marshmallows, but since I don't really need them normally I don't happen to have any."
N was looking confused and still standing, so before he could say anything White shuffled on her awesome air bed, making room for the man and patting the free space. The man took the invitation with an insecure look in his eyes and soon he was sitting right next to her; so close she could feel him by his side. She blushed.
"What are marshmallows?" he asked after a while of gazing at the fire.
"Huh?" she said, trying to will away the redness from her cheeks and hoping the man hadn't seen. "What do you mean "what are they"?"
N looked as clueless as ever. She couldn't believe it.
"You… you really don't know what marshmallows are?" she asked, her voice a little pitched for some reason. She coughed to clear it. "How come? Didn't you ever roast them by the campfire as a child?"
He shook his head again, but said nothing, his eyes wide and questioning like a child's. White felt suddenly very sad.
"Well… they're this white or pink… candy, you could say. It's really soft and probably made of almost nothing but sugar. You roast them over campfire with friends and family and they turn, uh… sticky, I guess?" She laughed nervously, but the man seemed endlessly fascinated by her explanation. "Some people eat them with cookies and melted chocolate, but me and mum always made hot cocoa with them," she paused for a second. "You do know what that is?"
"I've never had any," he said.
She had to smile, she couldn't stop it. "Then it's good you get to try it in company, because it's always best when shared."
She rose before her body would fail her again and she would blush in front of him like a school-girl. She picked the stick again and carefully lifted the kettle from the fire to the ground to cool. Then she sauntered to her backpack to search for cups and a sock, which she was using in the absence of a kettleholder.
Once she had found her own cup, she realized something very important.
"Crap," she said out loud, catching N's attention. "I don't have more than one cup."
She laughed apologetically. "I hope you're not afraid of germs or anything—I swear I'm perfectly healthy!"
The man smiled. "It's okay."
She walked back to the kettle and, watching out not to burn herself, poured some cocoa into the large cup.
"Here!" She beamed offering it to N. "You try it first!"
Blinking he took the cup, holding it close to his nose to breathe in the scent of chocolate. Then he tentatively brought the cup to his lips tasting just once. His eyes widened.
"It's hot!"
White burst out laughing and laughed so much there we're tears in her eyes. The man looked insulted.
"What'd you expect?" She asked when she calmed down. "What does it taste like then?"
"I don't know…" the man said taking another quick sip and analyzing the taste. "Funny. A bit bitter, but sweet."
White chuckled. "Let me have some too!"
They drank the cocoa in comfortable silence and time passed so that when the cup was empty stars were already shining bright in the sky. She poured another cup, because she didn't want it to go to waste and didn't feel like drinking it cold the next morning, but he politely declined from any more.
"I must get going already," he said, and a chilly wind blew from behind him, tossing his hair around and making them both shiver.
"How do you manage?" White asked. "You're not dressed very warmly, and the night is really cold."
"I'll manage," he said, smiling.
"Wait!" she yelped as the man got up. She set the cup down and shuffled over to her bag, digging again for some ten seconds. "Aha, found it!"
She held up a bright pink and fluffy scarf and before he could move or protest she had wrapped it around his neck. She chuckled.
"The color doesn't really match." The man looked sour.
She chuckled again. "At least it's warm! Be thankful!"
"I am," N said very honestly. "Thank you."
She felt the heat creeping to her cheeks, but before she could do anything the man scooped down and gave her a small kiss on the cheek, before turning around and quickly disappearing into the darkness of the forest.
Her heart was beating fast for the whole time she stood there practically dumb-founded. When she finally recovered she gently touched her cheek where the touch of his lips still lingered. She sat down, reached for her cup and drank; it was cold.
"Well…" she said to her cocoa. "Shit."
She was hopelessly over the edge now.
End.
I like White, she's got attitude.