preparation
Fennel's apartment looked like the Kami Trio had a raging party in it. In just two short days, she was supposed to deliver a speech alongside some of the most famous professors in the world, which included the great Professor Oak and her own favorite Junicup. It wasn't her favorite cup of tea, though, since she preferred to work on the sidelines with science magazines instead of having to face such important people and deliver a great speech. For hours she had been handed over her workspace, crumpling paper after paper as she made her final edits on her essay. Things were already stressful enough.
Then just an hour ago, Fennel received a surprise phone call from one of her cousins. To her amazement he was going to be the professor to deliver the introductory speech of their presentation, but to her horror he begged to stay with her since he was short on money, and she couldn't turn away a family member. It was impolite. But this meant now that she had to make accommodations for two people, Juniper and her cousin, and the attempted spring cleaning turned into spring screaming, Papers were balled up everywhere, clothes were piled, and coffee stains were still noticeable.
Colress wasn't much help as he was making his own mess in the kitchen fixing daiquiris for them. Usually Fennel shared the scientist's fascination with screwing around with the blender, but she could not return the feeling tonight. All she wanted to focus on was talking to Juniper on the Xtransceiver. The brunette's forehead creased with concern as she placed a hand by Fennel's face on her screen. "Edith, you look terrible. What happened?"
Oh, how she wished she could feel her girlfriend's touch. Fennel bit her lip and nodded, slightly embarrassed that her stress was that obvious. "Augustine called just before you did. He's going to be broke after his ferry ride, so I agreed to let him stay with us."
"Huh? I thought you liked company."
"I do! In fact, I actually have Colress over right now. Oh, wait, would you hold for a sec?" Fennel turned around just in time to miss Juniper's look of annoyance over her 'enemy brother rival', craning her head in the kitchen. "Colress, honey, you can't put an actual screwdriver in the blender when it's on! I already tried that!"
"Oh, okay!" Colress called back, tossing the screwdriver in a random direction. "Sorry, Edith."
Fennel turned back to the Xtransceiver. "Now where were we, Aurea?"
"Augustine."
"Oh, yes. You know that my parents and Amanita are wonderful people, but most of my other relatives are such stuffy hens!" She remembered with a sigh of how judgmental they were, constantly criticizing her for her 'lack of drive' and 'unconventional ways of living', which included having a girlfriend instead of the standard boyfriend. What if her cousin was like them? "Other than seeing him on TV, I haven't even seen Augustine since we vacationed as kids years ago. He got my number from Mom, and when he called me I actually thought he was prank-calling me. Aurea, what if he's a French stuffy hen, too? Or what if he doesn't want to eat Fruity Pebbles or takeout for dinner? You know we can't cook…ahhh, stop that!"
Juniper placed a hand over her mouth, stifling her giggle. "Ahaha, I'm sorry, Ed," she apologized, shaking her head, "but Sycamore is nothing like that. I met him once while I was in the Kalos region, though he didn't mention you two being cousins. He's a really nice guy. Really likes hand puppets and cream cheese, and his laboratory would be upside-down if it wasn't for his assistants. You don't have anything to worry about."
"But I can't heeelp iiit!" Fennel whined, pressing her own hands against the screen. "If you heard he's a really nice guy, then you must've heard he's been voted as one of the top sexiest men in the Kalos region. What if he sweeps you off your feet and steal you away from me? You can't help me if you're stolen and placed in a box somewhere, Junicup."
This time Juniper did not laugh. Her forehead continued to crease as she gave a small smile, holding her Xtransceiver closer to her face to emphasize her worry lines and premature grays. "Ed. Listen to me, Ed," she said sternly. "I'm not going to be swept away by anyone besides you, even if I met someone so similar to you that I can't seem to tell you apart. I don't want any pretty boy that tries to flirt with me. I just want you. I love you, Ed."
"I love you, too. Thanks so much, Aurea."
The two women blew kisses at each other and continued talking for the next hour or so. By that time Fennel was finally at ease, and when she hung up and walked over to the kitchen, she wasn't the least bit bothered by the sugar and lime juice that was practically on every surface. Colress looked sheepish but pleased, satisfied that he made something harmless with his own two hands. Handing Fennel a melting daiquiri, he walked behind her and began massaging her shoulders, making her giggle. "Ahaha, Colress, stop it!" she squeaked, lightly pushing his chest. "You're already nice, but you know you don't act this nice unless you want something, you big meanie."
"Ahhh, you caught me, but this time what I want will benefit us all." There was a twinkle in Colress's eyes, a sign that Fennel probably should've heeded but instead ignored. "I admit I eavesdropped a little, for a good reason of course. I bet you would feel absolutely one hundred percent fantastic if I swept Professor Sycamore off his feet during his time here. Don't worry, I won't break his heart. It'll all be casual, casual double dating…"
(Original notes: Colress can't be considered as incompetent. He's just one of those people who always had assistance from others with everyday routines, so after the Team Plasma incident, most domestic activities are new to him and he acts like he's seven…but there's a crucial difference between Fennel and him. Whereas she's a bit clumsy at times and can't cook to save her life because it's just her natural personality, Colress just acts that way mostly to piss people off (though it's endearing to Fennel). )
Originally written February 8th, 2014 on tumblr for femslash february. Two years later, Colress is still one of my favorite characters. Along with Fennel and Juniper, I wish they'd all come back. maybe some cameos for sun and moon idk.
