Sinnoh Arc II: True Understanding

After a while, everyone finished and Jacky put her glass onto the tray. "The paparazzi are gone, so we should be able to leave in peace.",
"That's good news. Well done, Jacky", Mari praised her. Jayden got up and stretched his back. "I'll go ahead to double-check", Jayden suggested. "Gotta go grab my stuff anyway. See ya later." With that, he left and closed the door behind him.

Jacky couldn't suppress her giggles anymore and raised her shoulders. "Did you guys kiss? Come on, out with it!",
"Where did you get that idea?", Mari growled.
"Do you want me to describe exactly what I saw?",
"No need. Don't you dare.",
"Then tell me what happened!",
"Nothing! We just got tired of waiting for you, so we played a simple Q and A game before it escalated into a simple pillow fight. Nothing else happened!",
"...Hahah... Okay, okay. Sorry, I'll stop. Can we go?",
"Yes ", Mari said in a bad mood and grabbed her stuff before she stomped out the door.
"Oh dear... I think I might wanna avoid talking to her for the next couple of hours..." Jacky checked out the room one final time before she also left.

Jayden was talking to Skyla when the two of them joined them. "Good morning, you two", Elesa greeted them with a soft smile. "Ready to hit home?",
"Yes." Jacky nodded.

During the flight, she was so tired that she stretched out in the row of seats behind Mari and took a nap. She had had a terrible night's sleep. Elesa had joined Skyla in the cockpit while Mari sat by the window and gazed into the endless distance of the cloudy sky. Jayden had claimed the seat next to her for some reason... probably because he didn't want to yell all across the plane. The result of that was that Mari could feel his gaze on the back of her neck. "Could you maybe stop staring at me like that?" she asked.
"I'm not, I'm trying to see something too, but you're blocking the whole view. Sorry, cutiepie", he replied with a grin and leaned back. Mari sighed. "It's really hard to teach you something, you know that?",
"Give me some form of motivation and my attention is all yours.",
"You wouldn't listen anyway.",
"What would you offer me in return?",
"I said you wouldn't listen anyway!",
"I'm listening to you right now, aren't I?"
Mari rolled her eyes and suppressed an annoyed grunt.

"So?" He was still waiting for an answer.
"I've told you, like, ten thousand times already.",
"Ten thousand and one times certainly wouldn't do you any harm, would they?",
"Do you want me to give it to you in writing next time? Stop calling me cutiepie.",
"Why?",
"Because it's annoying. Got it?",
"... Okay, fine. Message received.",
"Great, I would hope so for your own sake.",
"And what if I start doing it again?",
"Then, I'll gladly give you a recap of what happened in our room back there. You know, that time my hand left that nice red mark on your cheek? Just... a little harder next time. And I promise it WILL hurt.",
"Oh... I wouldn't mind your hand, to be honest.",
"Dude, stop! Or do you REALLY want me to lose my cool?",
"I think... if you were about to slap me, I'd catch your hand and hold it. Like this...", he reached out and took it into his, "...to disarm you."
"Get your hands off me!" she screamed at him and absolutely punched him in the face with her other hand. He staggered back. "Ow! What in the-"
She got up and kicked his shin bone before planting another punch right against his chest. "Know! Your! PLACE!",
"Ow! Stop, I was just joking! No need to be so violent!" He gently but firmly pushed her away and held his chest. "You want to start a fight here? On the plane? Seriously? I was just trying to get you to relax, no need to fly off the handle like that! Ugh... once you drop me off in Mistralton, I'll just head off to Castelia on my own and then, you don't have to see me anymore! Sheesh! Might probably be better that way, anyway!",
"Don't. Touch me", she growled at him. "Attempt your try-hard flirty moves on someone else for all I care, just leave. Me. Alone! I'm serious, in case you still didn't get it!",
"I know you're serious! So am I!" He narrowed his eyes. "Stop lying to me already! This morning, you said that you kind of liked me after all, but apparently, the exact opposite is true when you have no problem to beat the stuffing out of me! Tell me to my face that you don't like me and we'd be done with it! I would finally stop trying to lift your spirits or make jokes to get you to chill out!"

Mari finally managed to calm down from her moment of rage and crossed her arms. "Sorry. I didn't mean to attack you like that.",
"Oh, don't gimme that. You obviously did mean to attack me like that, one hundred percent.",
"You touched me! That's not okay!",
"I touched your hand, not your chest! It's not like I committed a mortal sin or anything that would justify you almost breaking my nose!",
"..." She sighed again. "Okay, listen, I'm sorry. I snapped, okay? Because I am tired of your weird jokes and humor. Just quit it already.",

"Sorry I went off on you like that. ...does it hurt a lot?",
"... I can handle it. But jeez, you sure have some powerful punches.",
"Didn't know that before.",
"I won't volunteer to be your punching bag again. That's life-threatening.",
"Ugh... okay. Is a hug gonna make you accept my apology?",
"... a what now?" He asked in surprise.
"A hug. H. U. G. It's a one-time offer, take it or leave it." She turned her head away.
"I'll take it", he said immediately.

She grumbled softly to herself before making a move and hugging him. "There. I'm sorry.",
"That's also a way to make up... I'm not complaining.",
"You're not a bad guy... A little weird maybe, but actually quite alright. Quit your jokes in the future, though, okay?",
"Okay... I'll try. Even though I just meant to cheer you up from your foul mood... guess I'm not good at that... and... uh... thanks. I hear that for the first time. Uhm... is it okay if I... I mean...",
"What?",
"Uh... hug... you back? I feel a little, uh... awkward, just... standing here, y'know...",
"Sure."
He nodded and returned her apology embrace, closing his eyes and resting his chin on her shoulder. "This... is actually the first time anyone has ever hugged me, at least as far as I can remember... It's sad, I know... but that's how it is when you grow up with no real family...",
"Really? Not even Nate ever hugged you?",
"The love of everyone who serves the monastery belongs to Arceus... There's not much room for anything else... I've never... experienced the warmth of someone else's arms, ever.",
"Oh." She let go of him.
"Everyone at home treats me well." He also immediately let go of her. "But that's as far as it goes most of the time... Well... at least I have a place to stay. That's enough for someone like me... I'm not asking for more.",
"Well, uh... congratulations to your first hug then...?",
"Haha... thank you. I will keep it in good memory. As well as the things I probably shouldn't do in the future. I don't wanna be on the receiving end of your rage ever again."