"Cher..."

No response.

"...Cheeee-ren..."

Still nothing. Roxie prodded the other Gym Leader's face a few times, hoping that would elicit a reaction. He seemed irritated, but that wasn't enough. "Cheren, c'mon! I'm boooored!"

"Keep your voice down, Roxie. This is a library."

"You're no fun, Cher," Roxie huffed. She paused for a moment, sticking out her tongue, but only got more frustrated when he didn't look up. "Seriously, why'd you call me over here anyway?"

"If I remember correctly, you invited yourself over. Asked where I was. What I was up to. I told you I was doing work things, but you just kind of butted your way in here, to be honest-"

"Yeah, yeah, same dif!"

"-despite the fact you knew I needed to concentrate," Cheren resumed, using the calm, measured tone he usually saved for problematic students. "Now, please get off the table, Roxie."

"...Ugh. Fiiiine." The poison-type professional reluctantly slid off the desk, but not without a long, over-exaggerated groan to get her point across. Why did she come here, anyway? It was boring back home. It was boring at the Gym. It was boring at Billy Jo's—she was busy organising something on Craigslist. An orgy or something, Roxie figured, though she couldn't care less. She thought it might be at least a little better to pass time with her boyfriend, but he was being annoyingly diligent. Why was he grading homework or whatever when he could be hanging out with her? It just didn't make sense. "So... What d'you expect me t'do while I wait for you, anyway?"

Cheren shrugged. "I don't know. It's a library. Read a book, maybe?"

Roxie groaned again, taking a seat next to the teacher and stretching out across the table. "Books're borin'. Too many words, not enough action. I'll jus' wait 'til you're done..."

"Suit yourself."

The next few minutes were complete agony. She drummed her fingers on the table. She swung her feet back and forth. She warmed up her pipes by seeing how long she could hum until Cheren cleared his throat and eyed her in the traditional 'not-the-time-nor-place' manner. She even pressed her forehead to the desk in an attempt to will herself to sleep—but it was just too quiet. The secluded little nook her boyfriend decided to nest in stunk of old paper and ink and all the yellowed pages seemed to eat up the noise. Roxie hated it. She groaned again, sinking further in her chair.

Cheren gently pushed the papers in front of him away—wouldn't be able to concentrate with them around, after all—and adjusted his reading glasses. "Look," he sighed, "I know, it's boring. But honestly, you couldn't have just tried looking around you...?"

Roxie blinked. What was there to see? Resting her head in her arms, she squinted and studied the shelves nearby. Boring art history junk, mostly. Not even Burgh would touch the stuff. Some of them had how-to-draw books: could be a good way to kill time, if she didn't mind looking like a middle schooler. She finally turned her eyes upwards, landing on the very top shelves, where there were... really, really thin books? Magazines, maybe?

The confusion on her face must've been apparent, as Cheren took the opportunity to lean over her and whisper, "Comics. They're comics, Roxie. Go wild."

Her eyes lit up, but she quickly concealed it by stretching, feigning nonchalance. "Mnn... Comics, huh? Figures you'd pick a spot like this, ya nerd." She stood up and stretched again, and Cheren went back to his papers, concealing a smile. "I'll jus' check 'em out. Ain't like I got anythin' better t'do, anyway." When her arms dropped to her sides, she lazily walked over to the shelf in front of the teacher. No hurry. Definitely no excitement. Now, where had she left off in Crobatman...? Number 20? She'd have to see the covers. She reached up to take a few volumes, and missed. She tried again, snatching at the books. Nothing. Her hand swiped the air. She took a quick look behind her, and though Cheren didn't seem to be watching, he was still smiling nonetheless. Her expression became a flushed cross between a pout and a scowl. The petite Gym Leader begrudgingly stood on the tips of her toes, straining to reach the top shelf... and that's when Cheren decided to glance up.

The next thing he knew, he was standing behind her, hands on the hem of her dress.

"...Huh. Thought ya wanted me t'read, Cher."

The Gym Leader went rigid with shock. He had no idea what was happening. A moment ago, he had looked up and saw—well, her skirt was already ridiculously short, and—if someone else walked by and saw what he did, well... it wouldn't be good. But he didn't mean to do this... He pulled his hands away, a hard lump forming in his throat. "Well, I... I do, but... I-"

Roxie pulled his hands back, holding them to her thighs. A faint trace of a smirk played on her lips as she closed the distance between them. "Then what's all this, huh?"

He swallowed, feeling the need to loosen his collar. "I..." Cheren lowered his voice, embarrassment finally sinking in. "...I just wanted to... Your skirt's... incredibly short, you know."

"Yeah. I do. An' you got a weird way of pointin' it out."

"That's not... I..." The teacher could feel his face heat up, thankful that she couldn't see it. "...We're in a public space, you know, other people could see—"

"See what? You gropin' up on me?" Feeling his hands flinch, Roxie relaxed her grip, holding them in a manner she found disgustingly delicate. "Look," she said, rolling her eyes and guiding his hands back to where they ought to be, "all I've seen is you and, like, one old lady at a desk up front since I walked in, an' I don't think you gotta worry about her oglin' me. So what if you saw, huh? Ain't like you haven't seen a whole lot more already..."

Cheren did have to admit there was a certain... truth to her words. And her skin felt so... soft, and warm, and... right. He sighed, burying his head in the crook of her neck, planting a small kiss there before nuzzling into it and taking a few steps closer. "...I suppose you're correct again, as always. Though I can't help but feel this was your intention all along..."