Author's Note: This is another one we can thank catflowerqueen for, since this spawned from a tumblr prompt where she requested I write about Andrew craving something. I decided to include it here, since Andrew could always use more page-time, and him getting more interactions with Celebi is good, too.


Cravings

It wasn't until recently that he understood what cravings were.

There were things Andrew enjoyed, of course, but he didn't think those counted as 'cravings'. He'd played along with Claire's games of gathering up sticks and rocks to build things with, and helped sort all of Jirachi's old relics and maps, and sometimes even play-fought with Jack and Leaf. But now he knew those were just random old things he liked doing; they weren't things he 'craved'.

The first time he had a fresh Apple, the day after time had been restored, was the first time Andrew really started to crave something.

He'd been with Jirachi when it had happened, and the two of them had been filled in on what happened when Celebi found them a few…hours?…later. Admittedly, disappearing had been half terrifying and half relieving; it took Andrew a second to realize what was happening, but he'd figured it meant Claire had been successful. Reappearing had been even more bizarre, even with Celebi's explanation, but he wasn't going to complain.

At any rate, they'd still had some of their old food left at the time, and thus hadn't bothered to look for any more. Then, he and Celebi went out to gather more the next morning, and the difference was immediately obvious.

Celebi, eager as she usually was, immediately chomped down on the apple she picked, and her eyes widened as she swallowed it. Then, she proceeded to gobble down the entire fruit, turning to look at Andrew with an expression of pure wonder on her face. (He also suspected that if her wings fluttered any harder, they'd fall off—but she didn't give him the chance to make some dry remark on the matter.)

"Andrew, dear, you have to try one of these!" she chirped.

"…I've had apples before, Celebi," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "I know what they taste like."

"No, no, they're different now! Just do it."

"Fine, I'll try one."

Sighing, he set down his basket, reached for the nearest tree branch, and plucked an apple. It was a slightly brighter red than he was used to seeing, Andrew silently admitted. Hoping that was a sign of good things to come, he proceeded to bite into it.

The apple was…noticeably sweeter, he thought. A little bit juicier, too, and somehow crisper at the same time. Without even thinking about it, Andrew ate the rest of it in record time, and immediately reached up for another one. Celebi giggled, and he promptly lowered his arm and mustered up as indignant a look as he could manage.

"You're quite adorable when you're embarrassed, you know," she teased. "Anyway! Don't you see what I mean?"

"You must be imagining things. But, yes, you have a point."

She laughed again and hovered up to a higher branch, gathering some more apples. "Whatever you say, Andrew! I suppose we should pick a few more, though. And we should hurry back before we eat them all, yes?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to eat all of them, Celebi. I should be telling you that."

"Sure, sure!"

Still, he kept eyeing the apples on their way out of the forest. While they'd started building a hut with Jirachi earlier, they hadn't finished it yet, and thus didn't have a good place to store food. Thus, it would be tempting to eat them all before they dried out. Andrew would have to be careful, even if he refused to admit it aloud.

…And, even later, he kept finding himself drawn to apples whenever they had any. Andrew heavily suspected Celebi would never let him hear the end of it if not for her own addiction to them, which he silently counted himself grateful for.