Title: Are They or Aren't They…?
Summary: Companion fic to "The Role and Responsibilities of an Assistant". "Are you done spying on the Professor?" "Spying?! That's illegal!" "Then what are you doing?" "Observing from a distance without the subject knowing."
Pairings: Sycamore/Calem
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: I don't own anything of this series and am making no profit whatsoever
AN: Hello! Yep, another oneshot on this pairing. I can't help myself. Thanks to everyone who had reviewed or favourite the previous oneshot. Now, enjoy!
Serena stirred her third cup of mocha latte with an increasing sense of exasperation. After discovering that Calem had agreed to be Professor Sycamore's personal assistant temporarily and finding them in a rather…perplexing but sweet position, she had been overrun with questions. Witnessing Sycamore napping with his head on Calem's lap, while the said youth was tenderly running his fingers through his hair was very surprising!
The stories she had heard from her friends; Shauna, Trevor and Tierno weren't helping ease her curiosities.
She had asked around, keeping her questions discreet and nonintrusive, of course, about the true relationship between her neighbour Calem and the esteemed Professor Sycamore. And all she really got from them was the saying "They seem really close."
But close in what way?
Serena didn't really understand why it was bothering her so much. Maybe it was simply her rivalry with Calem? Or was she simply curious and hated not having the answer to something?
Whatever it was that was driving her forward, she found herself sitting by herself in a packed café, drinking her third drink as she kept a watchful gaze on the pair sitting in the far corner, away from any intrusive ears.
Seemingly having the afternoon off, Calem and Sycamore were situated at a cosy little two-seat table. On the table, lapping up some thick full cream milk from a saucer was Calem's shiny eevee, a newborn he had hatched from an egg only a few days ago. They were talking comfortably, casually, and somewhat modestly in a way.
Sycamore was known for his flare and bright personality, but there he was, sitting at a table with the ever modest Calem and simply speaking with him. And Calem engaged him in conversation easily, despite not liking to talk much unless spoken to.
But every now and again they would lapse into silence, simply staring at each other before Calem would shyly smile and look away, turning his attention to the baby eevee. And each time he did that, the grin on Sycamore's lips would become just a tad more…smug, for a lack of a better word.
While it was indeed very sweet watching the two together, especially the way Calem's expression would brighten despite the blush on his cheeks.
It just wasn't enough. The cute moments of sweetness were all well and good, but, darn it, what did they truly mean?!
Serena suddenly realised that she had company and was somewhat surprised to find two of Professor Sycamore's assistants, Sina and Dexio. Sina was holding up a menu in front of her face, all but hiding behind it while trying to discreetly stare at the professor and Calem. Dexio, on the other hand, looked haggard as he slumped back in his seat, releasing a sigh of surrender.
"What are you doing?" Serena asked after she overcame her surprise.
"What does it look like?" Sina was the one to answer, her voice rather sharp, taking her gaze away from Sycamore and Calem to give Serena a pointed look before quickly returning her attention back to the two. "We're merely interested in seeing why the Professor seemed to be so enthralled with Calem."
Dexio sighed once again, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Don't say it like that..."
Serena raised an eyebrow and momentarily turned her attention to the blond sitting between her and Sina. "Why are you here, Dexio?" she asked, not harshly as she was actually quite curious. He made no attempt to hide his…fatigue, as it were.
"It's not like I have a choice," Dexio murmured, looking pointedly at Sina, who all but ignore him in favour of keeping her own gaze firmly on the two somewhat affection men. Dexio rolled his eyes at the lack of response, yet totally unsurprised by it. He simply folded his arms over his chest and sunk further into his seat, getting comfortable.
As they fell into a somewhat casual silence, Serena turned her own attention back to the professor and her neighbour. She immediately noticed that they had somehow moved their chairs closer together, sitting side by side. Sycamore had his elbow on the table, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he practically gazed at Calem.
"Anyway, why are you observing the professor and Calem?" Sina asked quite abruptly.
Serena suddenly narrowed her eyes. "...What do you know?" she asked.
Sina returned her narrow, accusatory gaze with her own. "What do YOU know?"
Staring each other down, Serena wondered what other things Sina knew or had witnessed herself that made her question the true relationship between Sycamore and Calem. What other outrageously cute and adorable things had she seen?
"...That isn't important right now," Serena said instead. If Sina had Sycamore under surveillance, then she didn't know what they were either. So finding out what she knew would not answer Serena's own question.
"Right. We'll talk about that later," Sina said, coming to the same conclusion that Serena did. "Besides, if everything goes well, we'll have our answers."
Serena nodded her head and turned to look at their observation subjects once more. "Here's hoping."
Dexio sighed audibly again. "...Why am I even here?" he muttered, but no one bothered to answer his question. They had more important things to do.
The three of them together, sitting at a table not too close, not too far, from where Sycamore and Calem were sitting should not raise any suspicions. After all, it was a notorious popular cafe. People came and went. Nothing secretive happening at all.
However, being in such a busy and popular cafe had its drawbacks - Serena couldn't hear a single word they were saying. The hum of other patrons chatting amongst themselves, the clacking of shoes on the tiled floor, the scraping of chairs, the clinking of cups; it was impossible to hear anything definitive.
But, hearing what they were talking about wasn't important. She wanted to see what they were like toward each other. She had heard all about them from her friends, associates, the assistants at the laboratory, the secretary…Ok, just about everyone who was in association with both Professor Sycamore and Calem.
And yet, despite so many people knowing all about them, no one had a definitive answer as what they were. Lovers? Friends? Partners? What?!
Before Serena could think too much more about it there was a sudden lull in the volume of noise; conversations ceased, cups gently placed down, everyone holding their breathes. It was almost as if everyone -yes, every single person in the cafe- had stopped what they were doing and were all but waiting with baited breath for something to happen.
Serena, too, turned to give her full attention to the couple in the back corner.
Professor Sycamore had his arm resting on the back of Calem's chair, the other leaning back in his seat. Their casual conversations were suddenly put on hold, their words trailing off meaninglessly. Sycamore was gazing at Calem, a somewhat lopsided smile on his lips.
From where Serena was sitting, she could see Calem's expression so easily. And she was somewhat surprised by what she saw. He appeared somewhat flustered, and yet not at all awkward. The word shy didn't seem quite right, but that was the only word Serena could think of. Calem's eyes gazed wordlessly into Sycamore's, a gentle dusting of red on his cheeks as he smiled softly. His gaze slowly shifted, moving downwards, seemingly pausing to look at Sycamore's lips. The smile dropped from his own lips, which parted slightly as if to draw in a sharp intake of air.
The blush adorning Calem's cheeks darkened just a little as Sycamore's grin turned a bit…sexy.
Suddenly, he was moving in. Closer and closer, Calem's eyes now half-lidded, almost dreamy. Their lips so close, the distance between them becoming lesser and lesser...
Were they...? Were they going to...?!
"Vee!"
The squeal from Calem's young Eevee caused the two to pull apart abruptly, moving away to look at the grey-furred pokemon, of which seemed to have fallen into its dish of cream. Its face was covered in a thick layer of cream and it looked none too happy. Its expression caused Calem and Sycmore to laugh, Calem immediately fussing over the baby Pokémon while Sycamore went back to resting his chin in his hand, cooing at the two.
Adorable, in a way.
Still...
Serena's head dropped harshly onto the table, her fists curled tightly in a manner that emanated pure frustration. Gritting her teeth as her body trembled, she was mildly aware of several more hollow thunks that echoed around her.
As cute as that eevee was, why did it have to be so cute at the most crucial of times?!
"Have you finished spying the professor yet?" Dexio asked, not sounding even remotely sympathetic.
"Spying?!" Sina shrilled with indignity. "That's illegal."
"Then what are you doing?"
"Observing from a distance without the subject knowing."
"...You just gave the layman's definition of spying."
Lifting her head from the table and rubbing the red mark on her forehead, Serena left the two slightly older trainers to their bickering and turned her attention back to Professor Sycamore and Calem. She immediately sat up straight when she realised that the two were preparing to leave, if Calem gathering his stuff and Sycamore paying the bill was anything to go by.
"Quiet, you two," Serena all but hissed as she sunk low in her seat, hoping that Calem and Sycamore won't recognise her as they wandered past. Probably not, as they seemed to have eyes for only each other. Still, better safe than sorry. "They're leaving."
Sina immediate shut up and lifted the menu to cover her face, hunching her shoulders in an attempt not to draw any attention to herself. Dexio, however, simply watched the two as they walked out of the café, his expression giving the impression that he was mentally telling them to run while they could.
"Let's follow them," Sina abruptly suggested the moment the coast was clear.
"Right." And Serena immediately agreed as she stood up from her seat, her bag already on her shoulder.
"Hey now-" Dexio tried to reason, but the two strong-minded girls ignored him, already shuffling their way out of the café and into the streets. He released another deep sigh before heaving himself to his feet and following. After all, someone had to make sure they didn't do anything they might regret.
Sticking to the shadows and following at a totally not suspicious distance, Serena and Sina were able to track Sycamore and Calem as they moved through the streets.
With each minute that passed by, they seemed to be moving closer and closer together. What started out as a respectable distance for two people to be walking together became far more intimate. Being much shorter than Sycamore, Calem's shoulder was brushing against his arm. And their hands, they two were brushing not so innocently against each other.
Narrowing her eyes, Serena wasn't entirely sure, as it was hard to see from a distance, but she would swear that their fingers were gently locked together. They weren't holding hands, perse, but their fingers were definitely touching.
However, before Serena could move in for a closer look, Calem unexpected stumbled, his foot catching the slightly protruding pathway stone. Clutching eevee close to his chest, he fell against Sycamore, his hat somehow tumbling from his head. With Sycamore immediately turning at the sound of Calem startled squeak, Calem fell into his chest, his head seemingly nuzzling under his chin.
"Easy," Sycamore said as he wrapped his arms around Calem, one around his waist, the other across his shoulders.
"Sorry," Calem said as he managed to regain his footing, and yet, made absolutely no attempt to remove himself from Sycamore's tight hold around him.
"You smell nice," Sycamore suddenly complimented charmingly, as he discreet (or rather, not so discreetly) pressed his nose into Calem's hair and drawing in a breath. "Are you using new shampoo?"
"Oh, my mother bought it for me," Calem explained as he tilted his head back to look up at Sycamore. In that position, his head was resting on Sycamore's shoulder, their faces mere inches away. "It's passionfruit, apparently."
"Hmm, the smell is making me kinda hungry, actually."
"I bet it is."
Again, the two fell silent, their eyes looking so intently upon each other. Then, Sycamore's arm that was wrapped around Calem's shoulders unexpectedly tightened, his hand gripping Calem's arm. His grip caused Calem to curl even further against him, his face moving just that little bit closer. And, once more, a blush flittered across Calem's cheeks as his eyes became half-lidded.
Serena held her breath as the already small gap between their lips grew smaller and smaller and…
Crash!
The sound of something metal hitting the ground harshly cut through the silence. Startled, Calem and Sycamore pulled away from each other to look around. That noise sounded just like a trash can that had been knocked over or something.
A second later a man, who looked like a tourist, stumbled into view. He appeared haggard and slightly rattled. He was also rubbing his knee. He must have been the one to knock over the trash can…
"Oh!" he said when his gaze fell upon Calem and Sycamore. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm lost. Can you give me directions?"
Smiling, the ever helpful Sycamore and Calem offered the lost tourist some gentle reassuring and directions, seemingly uncaring for the disturbance. They were even laughing with the man, sharing a bit of idle chit-chat.
Serena, on the other hand, felt herself tremble with frustration once more. She gripped her bag with her fingers, so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. "Again," she murmured, her eye twitching with enraged frustration. "So close…"
"I'm gonna beat the crap out of that guy," Sina seethed, placing all the blame on that unsuspecting tourist.
With the tourist set on the right path and on his way, Sycamore wrapped an arm around Calem's shoulders in effort to ensure he didn't unexpectedly stumble again and the two continued their casual strolling, returning to their comfortable conversations.
Sighing, Serena began to follow. It was going to be a very long night…
… … … … …
Somehow, (and mercifully in Dexio's opinion) they had lost sight of both Sycamore and Calem. It seemed that the two were simply walking around, enjoying the sights and lights of Lumiose City. As well as simply enjoying each other's company, if the touches and random embraces were anything to go by.
And since night had fallen, they had become lost in the huge crowds of tourists and locals who bustled about.
To say that Serena and Sina were annoyed would be an understatement.
"I can't believe we lost them!" Sina all but wailed.
"Today was a complete waste of time," Serena muttered rather darkly, which was most uncharacteristic of her. "It did nothing to answer my question."
"Totally," Sina nodded in agreement, seemingly happy to find someone who knew her pain and suffering quite well. "I mean, who are they to each other?"
"What are their intentions?"
"When did this all start?"
"How long has this been going on?"
"What exactly are they?"
"Why don't you just ask them?"
Immediately, the two girls stopped dead in their tracks and turned, almost menacingly, to look at Dexio. He instantly felt a wave of fear wash over him and felt the powerful urge to run. Really, he should have known better than to say something like that…
"Ask?" Sina repeated, sounding almost patronising. "What are you, an idiot?"
"It would be rude to ask such personal questions," Serena was quick to add.
A retort about spying and stalking was sitting on the tip of Dexio's tongue, but he wisely opted to simply nod his head in understanding. The two fearsome girls stared at him for a moment longer before sighing and resumed their stroll.
"Boys. They simply don't get it."
"Tell me about it."
Feeling as though he had dodged a bullet, Dexio followed Serena and Sina silently. As he did so, he idly glanced into an alleyway as they walked past. He paused and did a double-take, though, when he realised that the alleyway was occupied…
And he felt a blush race across his cheeks and he managed to prevent a spluttering sound of surprise from escaping.
Professor Sycamore and Calem were there and they, well, they were standing face to face…um chest to chest…and, ah, in each other's arms…kissing!
With one arm holding a now sleeping eevee against his chest, Calem was tenderly touching the side of Sycamore's face with the other. His eyes were closed, not squeezed shut, but closed comfortably. Sycamore had his arms around Calem, his hands touching the small of his back, holding him close against him in an intimate but still respectful manner.
Unable to take his eyes away, Dexio realised that it wasn't a passionate, making-out kind of kiss. Their lips were pressed together, relishing in the closeness. It was soft, sweet and gentle. Very loving and affectionate.
Respectfully turning to look away, Dexio's gaze fell onto the retreating forms of Serena and Sina. He opened his mouth to hopefully call them back discreetly, but found himself pausing once more.
Dare he tell them what he had just witness? Dare he tell them that he, the one who wanted no part in this 'observation' had actually observed Professor Sycamore and Calem sharing a gentle display of loving affection in an alleyway they just walked past?
…No.
The mood they were in, they were likely to take it out on him. Ignorance was truly bliss, after all. Besides, they probably wouldn't even believe him.
AN: Honestly, what is with this pairing that makes them so fun to write? Better still, written from someone else's POV!