The warmth of the afternoon sun soaks Team Burning Thunder Splash's flat. After a long day of missions, the eeveelution cousins are lounging around without a care in the world. Bolt, taking a break from aerobics, approaches the kitchen in search of a drink. He finds a strange glass of something that looks to be water, but moves like the ocean as it sat in the glass. Weird. Oh well, bottom's up, he thought. But as he tries to sip...
Kersplash!
Bolt's fur shot up, little spikes puncturing the walls. The "water" crashes into the same wall knocking the rogue fur to the ground with it. Slowly, the bubbly blob begins to weld itself into a shape. A shape all too familiar to Bolt, a shape with a meek smile and heavy eyes.
"Ugh, Courage, I almost drank you!" Said Bolt.
Courage emerges from the puddle, stretching his paws. "…Who told you to go around drinking random cups of stuff? What if I was something important, like some very rare spring water?"
"Bro, what?" Bolt furls a brow. "Anyway, stop doing that. Cups are for drinks, not for whatever that was!"
"…I'll try to remember that. Then again, I probably won't."
Courage gives his cousin a small smirk, knowing the same scenario will happen again soon. Bolt huffs at Courage, quickly grabbing a normal cup of water and heading back to his room. Courage makes his way out of the kitchen, collecting a few of his fruit tarts on the way. Courage sweeps his long tail underneath the living room's couch, catching a small journal. The journal appears relatively old; it's less of a book and more of a stack of pages haphazardly stapled together. Either way, Courage makes sure to keep his journal hidden from his family. He couldn't share what's in there, not without giving up the secrets to his amazing baking skills: "borrowing" recipes. As he flips through the pages, a tattered sheet sprawls out onto the coffee table, its yellow tinge catching his attention. Courage couldn't tell how old the page is, but he assumes it's authentic, at least. I should try making this. Maybe do some taste testing. Have to thank Pea— oh, oops, I forgot about Peaches, he grumbles in his mind.
Courage rushes towards his room at the speed of a mild jog and began gathering up random junk into his satchel before tidying his room with a few sweeps of his tail. Just as he steps out of his room, so does Sriracha the Flareon. She rustles her fur and peers down at her cousin, noticing his usual meek expression is strangely absent.
Racha furls a brow. "What's the hurry, bruh? We aren't doing any more missions today."
"…No reason. Just meeting up with somebody," said Courage.
"Hmm…Ohhhh! You're meeting up with Peaches, aren'tcha?" Racha gives a smug look.
"…I promised her that we'd hangout a whole week. Just keeping my promise since she kept hers."
Bolt peeks out of his room's door, chuckling. "You getting sweet with that girl, cuz? I see you, I see you!"
"…Huh? No. D-don't be weird, brah. We're just good friends."
Racha adjusts her glasses. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with finding a sweetheart, Courage! According to my studies, dating can help a mon feel happier and more relaxed. Not that you need anymore relaxation, hah."
"…It's not like that," Courage walks past his cousins as a frown emerges.
Bolt sits down. " Wait, wait, real quick, real quick! Telling you now, if she starts taking about love, you gotta ge-"
"Shut up!!" Courage raises his voice. "…Drop it, please. I'll be back whenever."
"Alright, Courage, have a good da- er, hangout sesh!" Racha bites her tongue, holding back laughter.
Courage enters the halls of the flats flustered and annoyed. He figured his cousins would be annoying about him hanging out with Peaches for a whole week, but not this much! Courage grumbles as he reaches into his satchel, retrieving a Liechi tart. He scarfs it down in one whole gulp, not even bothering to chew the pastry. He lets out a long sigh before his face melts back into its usual meekness as he makes his way to Team Roundabout's flat.
Courage perches at Team Roundabout's door, his tail slowly sweeping across the halls. He leans in to knock, stopping himself hen what could only be described as chaos bursts behind the door.
Crash! Goes something dull.
Clink-clink-clank, clangs something hard.
Whatever's going on in there doesn't sound like a relaxing afternoon, that's for sure. And yet…
Boomf, boomf, boomf.
"Didya hear that?" A gruff voice answers.
"Somebody's here," A soft voice responds.
"I'll get it!" A sweet voice chimes. Courage steps back as the door swings open, nearly clobbering him.
"Who's ther— Oh! Hiiiii Courage~!" Peaches the Snubbull waves.
Courage glances around her and her roommate's living space, which is painted with some sweet smelling dough-y substance. The same's true for Peaches. "…Heheh, Well, well! Afternoon, Peaches. It looks like the fun's already started. Ohh right, I'm here so we can do my half of the deal. That too."
"Deal…? Ah, you mean our dating spree!" Peaches' grin extends ear-to ear. "Come in for a minute, would you? You can probably already tell, but I need to spruce up a bit."
"…What was that part about 'dating'? Er, never mind. Take your time, I'm just happy to be here."
Courage tiptoes through the doorway and living room of Team Roundabout's flat. Lucky for him, their couch has been padded in newspaper scraps, something easy to remove. Peaches gives Courage a time estimate, then dashes by without a care in the world, further burying the wooden flooring in a yeasty grave. Oh well, at least it smells nice. Maybe I can do something like this next time I bake? But Racha and Bolt probably wouldn't like it, Courage argues with his mind. Courage removes his satchel, placing to his side as he leans on the armrest of the couch. As Courage makes himself comfortable, he notices the pile of mons laid out in the kitchen, flat on the ground. Maybell glances over at him, weakly waving.
"Oh, Hello, Courage. Sorry about the mess, we wanted to try baking something together, but when everybody wants something different..." Sighs Maybell, her Audino feelers deflated.
"And? Adding some kick to a cake makes it better!" Cinnamon, the scraggly Meowth underneath Maybell laid face-flat on the ground, muffling her words.
"…When I bake, it's usually on my own. Apparently, I 'like too much spiced ingredients' for my cousins to wanna try most of the stuff I make," As Courage puffs his cheeks, his nose twitches. Something in the batter caught his attention. "…Speaking of, did you three use Liechi? The whole flat smells like my satchel."
Maybell stands up, putting a hand to her head. "Guilty as charged! Peaches wanted to use Liechi berries for whatever reason. Don't know anyone who uses such a sweet and spicy berries in cake!"
Courage shuffles on the couch, glancing at the batter-walls. "…I do. They're my favorite berry, y'know. Wonder when she figured that out…"
"You mean I wasted valuable fighting time baking a date-cake?! Peaches could've baked it herself!" Cinnamon became a whirlwind of claws and fangs.
"Ugh, it's not a date!" Courage raises his voice before shrinking back into the couch. "…What's with everybody today, brah? Can't a guy hang out with a girl, didn't know that was illegal now."
Cinnamon and Maybell's eyes grow wide. They've never heard Courage's voice past the rather slow and tender tone he tends to use. Neither mon is sure if they should apologize or ask if he was okay, so they did both. Courage simply nods and brushes off their concerns before the room became devoid of sound. The silence in the room grows itchy and crass as Cinnamon and Maybell began cleaning up their flat to escape the awkward air. Feeling uncomfortable, Courage joins in from where he sits, crumbling the rest of the scattered pages from the couch into a neat ball. Before long, the entire place looks brand new, while the oven billows light melodies of spiced goodness.
Maybell grabs some mitts from a drawer, careful with the heat surrounding the pastry. Courage peeks over her shoulder as she places the cake down, catching a good whiff of the Liechi heaven. Cinnamon, using her claws, slices the cake into perfect squares. When offered a piece, Cinnamon shrugged, scarfing the entire thing down without a word.
Cinnamon grumbles, "It's alright, I guess. More kick would make it better."
Maybell exchanges an annoyed look, before noticing Courage. His ears went sideways and eyes grow glossy at the sight of the pastry. "Well, she did make it for you. I guess she won't mind if you have some now." Said Maybell.
But as he reaches for a square, a shriek fills Team Roundabout's flat. Everybody in the kitchen's fur shot towards the ceiling as they turned to meet Peaches, the source of the sound. For a moment, Courage felt his cheeks burn a little bit at the sight of her. She swapped her usual double bows for a ribbon-like one instead, which sits pretty in a long curl of her head fur. The clementine hue of the ribbon bow makes her pink fur pop, a look she herself would describe as "adorable".
"Hey hey hey! I didn't say to hand that out, what the heck!!" Peaches rushes over, placing a paw over Courage's mouth.
"Well, geez, Peaches! You were taking forever and the poor guy's probably starved by now," said Maybell.
Peaches swipes everyone out of kitchen with gentle shoulder pats, making them all move in a straight line back into the living room. She places a few squares of the cake into a small bag and places it in a wooden basket. "And I need him to be! I, uh, we have plans, if you don't mind. Here Courage, can you hold this?"
"…Sure, Peaches," Said Courage, as he grabs the basket handles with his mouth. Surprisingly, it wasn't as heavy as it looks.
Peaches heads back to her room and nabs a few more things lying around, including a freshly folded blanket. "Oh-kay! Cinnamon, Maybell, do whatever you want with the rest of the cake, okay?" Peaches shakes her head softly, the bow bouncing into her ears. "Actually, save some. C'mon Courage, let's go!"
"…Awwi," Courage mumbles, basket handle in his mouth.
With the rest of the day to themselves, Courage and Peaches leave Team Roundabout's flat. The sun gleams over Baron's flats as the late afternoon begins to settle in. As the duo walk down the flights of stairs, Courage did his best to mumble about the whereabouts of their hangout spot.
Peaches coos over his awkward talking. "Since you made the promise to me, I figure I should pick the places we go! So for today, we're gonna have a nice picnic at the park! 'Course, you can chime in if you wanna take me somewhere special any other day~."
Courage can only provide a simple grunt of understanding. This...is a little awkward. Does she know I would wanna just go to the beach everyday? Still, I wanna see where today goes. Lovey dovey or not, Peaches is my friend, Courage thought. He decides to swallow every bit of concern welling up his spine and go with the flow for the day. Worst that can happen is an awkward conversation or two, right?
A bundle of clouds grace the sun, cooling off the warmth of the late afternoon. Peaches and Courage roam the outskirts of Twiligleam city's park, taking in the sights of ancient statues and articulate landscape. Peaches thinks about asking Courage about some of the statues, but decides to save it for later. The carved clay path makes it easy to walk around the area for a while, but Peaches figures Courage probably doesn't want the basket in his mouth anymore. Eventually, the duo arrive at a mostly empty area in the park, surrounded by fields of golden flowers and trees that smell a little like maple. Peaches declares it's the best place to have the picnic, though Courage is just happy to finally let go of the basket.
Peaches unfolds the throw blanket and with a quick swoosh, it lands on the grass in front of the pair. Courage nabs the corners on his side, making sure the blanket is straightened throughout. The pair sit almost side to side, the basket dividing them, which Courage hoped for. Courage places his satchel on an end of the blanket, breaking into a long stretch before inquiring about the basket's contents.
"Feeling hungry, huh?" Peaches giggles as Courage shines his meek smile. Her laugh quickly peters into a soft tone. "Y'know, you didn't have to help with cleanup. I'm not complaining though." She pulls out several small boxes and bottles from the basket, including clusters of granola, yogurt cups and a fragrancy juice in pairs. Courage couldn't tell if they were store bought or homemade like the Liechi cake, but he didn't mind. Even with the basket right there, it still feels like there's more than just a picnic happening here...should I say something? But the mood...she seems pretty happy at the moment, Courage argues with himself.
"I totally would've done it before getting ready, but I wasn't expecting you to come over. You can start with whatever you want, by the way!"
Courage sits up, peeking at the foods coupled together in front of him. He takes a sip of the strong juice, wincing at the tang that dropkicks his tongue. "…Huh? Of course I did! It's never a good idea to break promises."
"I know, I know, but to be honest…" Peaches clasps her paws together. Her fur grows fuzzy. "I figured you would've just flaked on me."
"…No way! What makes you say that?"
"Uhm, you don't mind if I get a little serious, right?"
"…Don't mind at all, Peaches. What's on your uh, mind?" Courage takes careful crunches of granola with graceful munches.
Peaches sips some juice for her drying throat. "This is gonna be silly, but...I mean, I know I can be a little much at times. Sriracha's made that pretty clear, hah. But not even just that. I'm...too quick to jump into anything. Like with that mission, my team and I were so uncoordinated, we barely caught up to yours." Peaches puts a paw to her cheek. "Worst of all is how I treat you, though. I call you all these cutesy names and everything, mostly because it was funny to see how you'd react at first, heh. But honestly, I dunno why you put up with that. You even come and visit my team's flat, usually to see me. Why?"
Courage put down his food, ensuring that Peaches looks at him. "…I've told you before. We're friends, right? …It doesn't matter how much you think you annoy me, because you don't. The names and all that were kinda weird at first, but I like them. And...well, I like being around you, Peaches."
"Courage, I-I…" Peaches is torn between laughter and tears, nose twitching with her stammer.
"So let's stop calling this a date, okay? We're just...good friends. I mean, I get why everyone's trying to play cupid, but geez, give it a rest!" Said Courage, with a strange frown.
"Huh?"
Courage glances away. "…Sorry, I usually don't talk that way. But today's been awkward, with my cousins and your team teasing about this so-called date we're supposed to be on."
She furls a brow. "Well, yeah, that's kinda what this is. A date. You agreed to it too, remember?"
"…I thought you just wanted to call it that, brah. I just assumed it was some other thing you liked doing?"
"No?? I don't understand…"
Courage, caught between disappointment and fear, held his tongue as he pretends to be more interested in the food. He scarfs down the granola clusters, the yogurt, and some juice in a smorgasbord of eats. Occasionally, he glances at Peaches, who seems to be lost in thought, helping herself to the food. Before long, the empty air grew thick enough to strangle, causing Courage to break the silence.
"…Hey, um...Liechi…is my favorite berry. Did ya know that?" Courage makes a wrinkled smile, but received no response. "…Cinnamon and Maybell said you made the cake here specially for me." Peaches shuffles in place. "…Do you, uh, do you real-"
"Maybe I do, okay?!" Peaches stares intensely as she grit her fangs.
Courage frowns, instinctively flinching back. After a moment, he moves the basket to the side, scooting closer to her. He reaches a paw out. "…You're yelling…"
"Yeah, so what!" She bats away his paw. She gathers up all her food and moves to the far end of the blanket, leaving Courage in the middle. This is not how I expected this to go at all! What's gotten into him, is he tired or something? Peaches argues with her mind. She feels like yelling, not at her reluctant partner, but at life itself. The curl in her head-fur droops to the edge of the blanket, just barely reaching the grass. Slowly, she mumbles towards the ground.
"I thought out of all mons, you would at least be understanding. You're really good at listening to others, and you always have some kinda advice to give if I need it. My team's always so into their own thing, it feels like I have nobody to really talk to, y'know? I know it's kind of the same for you and your cousins." Peaches sniffles. "I'm sorry...to be honest, I never wanted start a rescue team. I just needed some way to leave my hometown and start living on my own. But it's not easy, and I feel like chewing a block of something every time I come home to all the responsibility I brought upon myself," Peaches peeks into the clouds for words, trying not to ramble. She turns to meet him with swollen eyes.
"Maybe I don't know you as well as I thought I did. We've only known each other for a few months, but it feels like we've grown so close in that small time. And I guess it was just...easy, to attach to someone who actually paid attention to me. Somedays, I even wish I could be a part of your team, just so I could feel like somebody actually cares. Cares about me, about Peaches. S-so…is it wrong for me to feel that way about you?"
Courage feels lost. In an instant, it felt like Peaches went from his closest friend to a mere stranger with how little he knew she suffers. Though her gaze is intense, he could tell by her expression that she would wait for an answer for all of eternity, if she had to. Voices of other mons and the gentle breeze that carries the sweet leaves rise as their conversation falls. Before long, Peaches' turns to retrieve her juice, the intense look on her face unchanging. Courage's mouth hangs low, his legs begin to wobbling like brittle wood.
Courage melts into a puddle as the pressure of Peaches' question weighs him down. However, breaking both the silence and his fears, he shuffles over to Peaches, sneaking up behind her. As he emerges from the puddle, he quietly waits for her to stop drinking before rising up, snuggling her in a bear hug from behind. He swings her up into the air, before plopping himself down, sitting where she did. His longer, almost-gelatinous body makes it easy to hold her up as he showers her with affection. Granola flies all over the place, spilling on the grass.
"Wh-wh-what!! Woah, Courage?!" Peaches shrieks.
"I-I didn't know! I'm so sorry you've felt so alone, nobody should have to feel that way!" Courage's words come sloppy between his downpour of tears.
"Now you're yelling! What's gotten into you??" She shifts, loosening herself from his grip.
He quickly lets her down, realizing how much the tensity of the question was destroying him. "…Sorry for the sudden hug, Peaches. I guess what you told me really hit home, in a way. Nobody seems to listen to me because I'm not very assertive. Even you sometimes don't listen. But you're my best friend, I can't believe I never thought to even ask how you've been," he chuckles before tensing up, sitting back on the blanket.
She quickly joins in, sitting in front of him. "It's alright, Courage. I mean, no one really knew. Do you really consider me your best friend?"
"…Of course I do!," he shines his familiar smile, before it shifts into a slight frown. "…Listen, Peaches. I don't think I'm ready for any kind of...relationship right now. At least, I don't think I am. I think it would be better if we just keep on hanging out some more. Like you said, it feels like we've only just met, you know?"
Peaches gives a small nod. "Yeah. If that's the case, I guess I should stop wit—"
Courage grows red, accidentally cutting her off. "W-well…you don't have to stop the names and everything. …I guess it's going back on my words, but I think you're an amazing girl, and you're pretty attractive…S-so maybe by the end of the week, we could try a real date, if that's good with you?"
"Oh w-wow, heheh," Peaches found her paws twirling her curly head-fur. "Yeah! That sounds great! Umm, thank you for listening to all of that, Courage. It means a lot to me. I wanna try to change, and learn to listen more!" Without a second thought, she stands up and embraces Courage with a proper, front-facing hug.
"…Aww, what else are friends for?" He replies. For the first time in either of their lives, it actually meant something to be called a friend. Peaches quickly breaks off, hoping to not make things awkward.
"Hey, we still have the Liechi cake, let's dig in!" Peaches smiles.
Courage's tail wags so much, it make a small storm. "…Can we?"
Notes: For this revision, I wanted to focus on diversifying Courage's character, since reading my drafts and concepts had him written like another flavor of Flint. This new approach makes him a little more quirky, while keeping true to my previous vision. Also, I've kinda been retconning a few cusses in this fic, since I'm realizing it only fits a few characters.
I imagine voice-wise, Courage sounds something like Android 17 from Dragon Ball? That voice seems super fitting for the quirky, but quietly sassy guy. As for Peaches, I imagine she sounds like Ortiz's depiction of Amy Rose. A cute, bubbly girl.