"Why the long face, lad?" the Keckleon suddenly asks as he sits beside the Eevee on the bench. After receiving a confused blink from the normal-type, the merchant lets out a chuckle as the Eevee looks over his shoulder to gaze at his unmanned stall. "Don't be so surprised," he tells him with a smile. "Every once in a while, I let myself enjoy the lull moments, too."
"I see," the Eevee quietly says as he moves his gaze back at the slowly rising sun in the horizon.
"Wanna share it, lad?"
He closes his eyes and sighs, his ears drooping. "I...think I need to leave soon."
"Aww..." the Keckleon frowns a sad frown. "So soon, lad?"
"I made a connection," he quietly says as he gazes at the sunrise once again. "I shouldn't have done that."
"Can't say I understand what you're saying, lad, but you make it sound like it's a bad thing."
His gaze falls on the ground. "I..."
The Keckleon looks patiently at him.
A sigh escapes his mouth. "N-nevermind." He jumps off of the bench and starts heading to the restaurant.
A frown graces the merchant's features as he watches the Eevee leave. "I suppose it is his way of saying it's none of my business, huh?" Shaking his head, he slides off of the bench and head back to his stall, but then he blinks as he notices the Eevee walking pass the restaurant. "...huh."
Soft, gentle eyes slowly reveal themselves, the fog of sleep fading as she blinks once or twice. A sigh escapes her furry mouth as Vixie stares up at the dark ceiling of the gloomy room.
Her ears twitch, her tired mind finally registering the faint sounds of activity outside the window. She moves her head to look at the outside world, and sees the frames of tall buildings and rooftops under the soft glow of the sleepy sun slowly poking out of the horizon.
"Vixie, you awake?"
She blinks, recognizing the voice all too well. She turns her head to the other direction, and on the other bed beside hers lies a Growlithe smiling at her.
He chuckles. "Good to see you awake."
"Lithe?" she says quietly. "What are you doing here?"
"Recovering," he says with a shrug. He slowly sits up and looks at the others occupying different beds. "Well, our friends still are." He looks back at her, his smile widening. "But looks like we're made of tougher stuff!" He lets out a quiet laugh.
Blinking in confusion, she sits right up and sees her friends and Lithe's as well, all fast asleep on different beds.
"We went to rescue you guys," Lithe suddenly says, catching her attention. His smile falters as he looks elsewhere, scratching his head in embarrassment. "We got, uh, wiped. We couldn't even get to the second floor of that place." He looks back at her with an apologetic frown. "Sorry."
"It's, uh..." she starts, finding it difficult to think of what to say. "...um, it's okay?"
"No, it's not," Lithe says, and sighs. "My team and I need to train ourselves more." He looks back at her with a small smile. "Can't rescue others if we can't even fend for ourselves, you know?"
"I...guess so?"
He nods.
She nods as well.
And then they keep on staring at each other.
He awkwardly looks away as he scratches his head, while she throws her gaze to the window to hide her reddening cheeks.
"Um..." he starts.
Her ears twitch, but she doesn't look back at him.
He frowns at her. "I uh, also wanted to say sorry."
"F-for what?"
"For not noticing sooner."
She blinks and looks at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"You know..." He draws circles in the air with his paw. "The, um... You're, uh, crush."
Silence.
"...towards me."
Still silence from the other end.
He looks away. "Uh, yeah... Sorry."
Her gaze lowers to the bed she's sitting on. What is she supposed to say?
He closes his eyes, sighs, and hangs his head. "I'd understand if you're angry at me, or if you don't want to talk to me anymore."
What is she supposed to say to him? She doesn't really know. Why doesn't she know? She knows what she wants to say, but she's just unsure if she should say them.
Another sigh. It looks like she really does hate him, and looks like she doesn't want to talk to him anymore. He doesn't really blame her. Looking back, it really was obvious that Vixie really liked him. Why was he so oblivious to it?
"I don't hate you."
He blinks and looks at the white fox, giving him a small, gentle, yet hurt smile.
She closes her eyes and slowly shakes her head. "I really don't," she says as she reopens her eyes, looking straight at him. She takes a breath. "I'm just...sad." Her ears droop. "Sad that I never got the nerve to tell you." She closes her eyes, hangs her head, and sighs. "And when I did, it was already too late."
He winces, his ears drooping as well. Is this what love really is like? Why is it so complicated? Why can't it be simple? Oh, she's not talking anymore. He really needs to say something, but what? What should he say? He can't just say something random. What should he say? What, what, what?! Come on, brain! Think of something!
He hears her chuckle. He opens his eyes and looks at her, his paw on his head.
"Lithe, don't hurt yourself." She smiles at him. "It's alright. As they say, we can't win them all..."
He frowns at her. "I...don't really know what to say, Vixie." His gaze falls down on his bed. "...Except for sorry."
Still smiling, she tilts her head. "Although..."
He looks back at her, blinking curiously.
"I wonder if you're open to a polygamous relationship?"
"Er..." he er's, looking at her in disgust. He violently shakes his head. "Um, sorry, Vixie."
She chuckles. "At least I now know, right?" she says, winking at him.
He frowns at her. "I'm not against others doing that kind of, erm, thing, but..." He shakes his head once again. "I'm, uh, I just don't like the idea of splitting my attention, and, well, love, to uh, my lovers, you know?"
She nods. "I understand." She shrugs. "Oh well, can't say I didn't try."
He scratches his head once again. "Sorry..."
She shakes her head. "Don't worry about it," she says with a smile. Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath, holds it in for a few seconds, and exhales. "Haaa..." She feels like a heavy weight has been lifted from her shoulders. The hurt is still there, but she will heal in time, at least that's what she's hoping. It'll take time, but for now, she relishes on this light and relaxing feeling.
"So uh," he quietly says, making her open her eyes and look at him. He offers her an awkward smile. "We're still friends, right?"
Smiling, she tilts her head. "Maybe."
He frowns. "What do you mean?"
She winks. "You owe me an ice cream to heal my broken heart."
He yelps in panic. "Vixie, I'm sorry!"
She covers her mouth as she tries not to break into laughter.
"I'll buy you some ice cream, I promise! Tell me what flavor!"
The two continue their little debacle, ignorant of the collective sighs of frustration of the other four in the room.
The early morning sun's rays stream through the many open windows of the library, creating a quiet and serene atmosphere...
"Really? Now?" the Mew asks in surprise. "But, but—"
...that is broken by a startled pink blob.
The Eevee takes a breath, ignoring the smell of old books. "Is the team expedition thing not a...thing yet?"
"Not yet but," she says, frowning at him. "Why now? Why so sudden? And two days before the festival even!"
"The sooner the better."
"No no, you don't understand." The Mew shakes her head. "Most of the high-ranking rescue teams are already providing security around the city! We can't just pull them out of their posts to do an exploration mission!" She frowns at him. "And besides, we're not even sure if Palkia's really there!"
The Eevee closes his eyes and sighs, his head drooping to the table.
"Also it's called a joint exploration, but an expedition sounds nicer in my honest opinion, so I may bring that up to the others in our next meeting."
Another sigh. "I guess...staying here for a few more days won't hurt."
The Mew smiles at him. "Yep yep. Plus there's the festival, too! You should go out during the festivities and enjoy the day!" She winks. "Just something for you to remember our world from time to time once you're back home."
Frowning, he shifts his gaze to the world outside the window. "I...guess."
"If you don't mind me asking," the Mew says, and waits for him to look at her. She tilts her head. "Why do you suddenly want to return?"
He blinks at her. "...I've always been trying to return as soon as possible."
"Yeah, but..." She looks at him in confusion. "I was under the impression that you're still trying to reach Bronze rank, and I heard that you went to the guild's training area, too." Her frown goes further down. "What changed?"
"I..." He closes his eyes and sighs. "It's...none of your business."
"Aw, come on. Don't be like that." She gives him a supportive smile. "I'm here to help, remember?"
"...can you erase memories?"
She gasps. "What?! No! Of course not!"
He lamely slides off of his chair and starts to leave. "Then nevermind," he quietly says.
She watches him leave with a concerned frown. "...I wonder what happened?" she whispers to herself.
Exiting the library, he looks ahead as he walks through the barely-empty hallway. His ears soon twitch to the sounds of arguments. He stops in front of an opened door and looks at the six Pokemon on beds, talking and arguing with one another. He recognizes the three...
...and an idea springs into his mind.
But he quickly shoves it aside as he continues on his way. "Mew is right," he says as he walks down the steps toward the ground floor of the guild. "It's too sudden," he says with a frown. "...I need to fix this," he adds as he reaches the ground floor.
"Fix what?" a Charmeleon suddenly asks, standing by the stairs and startling the Eevee. He chuckles and awkwardly offers him an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that, dude."
He frowns at him. "Oh, it's you."
"Yeah, it's me."
Silence, between the two at least, as many Pokemon litter around the place, their voices mixing in the air.
"Er," the Charmeleon starts, looking away. "I uh, you look good today," he says with a smile.
The Eevee rolls his eyes, but his gaze then lands on the yellow-colored badge on the fire lizard's chest. "You're a gold rank?"
"Huh?" The Charmeleon looks down at his badge, and smiles at him. "Yeah. Just got it, in fact, after rescuing two teams in one go yesterday!" He sees this as a great opportunity, so he extends his clawed hand at him. "Name's Kurama."
He frowns at him, but shakes his hand with his paw anyway. "Nice to meet you, I guess."
The Charmeleon frowns. "Dude, you're supposed to tell me your name."
He smirks at him. "What do you take me for?"
Kurama flinches. "Ouch, you got me."
Smirk gone, the Eevee sighs. "Look, I made a promise with..." He looks down and frowns. "...with my little sister." He looks up at him and shakes his head. "Sorry, but I don't swing that way."
The Charmeleon frowns in disappointment. "I got that from yesterday, dude, but do you really have to lead me on just for nothing today, too?"
"Not my intention."
The Charmeleon growls. "Well it sure looked that way to me!" He quickly covers his mouth. "Sorry," he quietly says, and sighs. "Sorry... I didn't mean to shout."
The Eevee takes a breath to calm his rapidly-beating heart down. For a moment, he was sure that the Charmeleon was about to eat him, and not in a good way. "I-it's alright?"
The fire-type turns around, leans back on the stairs' railing, and slides down to a sitting position beside the Eevee. "It's just... I'm just frustrated, you know?" he whispers. "Can't find a good-looking guy who wanna give me a good rutting lately..."
He's starting to regret keeping this promise. "I, uh, can't say I can relate." He frowns. "But if it's a one-night stand you're looking, why not—"
"Don't even finish that sentence," the Charmeleon cuts him off with a piercing glare. He sighs and hangs his head. "Look, just go. Sorry for bothering you."
Well, he told him to go, so the Eevee does just that.
"Where have you been?!" the Pangoro yells at him.
"Went out for a walk," he quickly replies as he enters the kitchen and places his bag on an empty chair, and with a frown, he turns to face a day of soap and dishes, ignorant of something falling off of his bag.
The Nickit enters the kitchen with a dirty set of dishes on her tail, and blinks as she sees something just landing on the ground. Curious, she approaches the chair, looks down at the piece of paper on the ground, and smiles.
"You did it!" she happily says, and gives the startled Eevee a hug. "You talked to him!"
"What are you talking about?" the Eevee asks as Plu breaks the hug and points at the piece of paper on the ground. He blinks at it, and blinks once again...
...and then it clicks.
He lets out a groan of frustration. "Motherfu—"
"Language!" the Miltank scolds him as the Nickit jumps around in joy.
"My big brother has a boyfriend~" she sings, the dirty plates rattling on her tail.
"Plu, shut up," he hisses at her.
She stops beside him and gives him a very big smile. "So are you two going out on a date during the festival?"
"Who's going what in the festival?" the Pangoro asks as he enters the kitchen.
"I am going to steal all of your pillows if you don't shut up," the Eevee threatens her.
She sticks her tongue out at him as the Miltank shakes her head in amusement.