Dent was never fond of exquisite parties.
Don't get him wrong, now! He loved the thrill of social gatherings and the joy they brought to people. He was supposed to be a renowned Connoisseur and waiter so of course he did. Additionally, the detail put into any crevice of the room was simply a work of art. Those smiles of satisfaction on everyone's faces always made everything worth it when he brought that first course dish to their dining tables and watched them dig in. It was divine!
That is, when he wasn't part of the party.
This time, however, was different. A long line of gym leaders, some from other far away regions, had been settled into the Striaton Restaurant, patiently congratulating the man on the top of the podium once their name was called. First of all, there was an unnaturally short man in the corner of the room by the doors which lead outside who kept staring at him suggestively and waving a fork in his direction using strange motions that a boy his age would not understand. Second of all, he didn't like it when someone else sat at their podium. That was always where he and his brothers would welcome a beginning trainer before they brought their entourage of shallow fan girls to slowly pick at and devour their souls like a rice ball as the brothers themselves harshly yet gracefully beat their asses in. Erm, well they'd make sure to keep it modest and sane every time though.
Who was this mysterious tasteless man who was soiling their spot?
"And now, Dent!" He gulped. Oh, he hated confrontations like this. They brought on such a heavy pint of grain into his dish. Nonetheless, this was supposed to be nice and formal. So he made his way shakingly to the front in order to greet the much bigger man before him. Seriously, he could pass as the boss from that retro sword game Corn refused to stop playing. He had threatened him not to tell anyone when he woke up to get a glass of water one night and caught the blue-haired trainer in front of his computer, and an enraged Corn was never a good thing.
"Ah, so you're Dent, one of the gym leaders of this gym! Nice to meet you." And he stuck out his gigantic hand. Of course, Dent had to act like he loved this guy! There was no way he could voice his rather intimidated state at being in front of him. Out of all the gym leaders, this man was possibly the most powerful out of every one of them. And if he messed this up, he had a feeling Pod wouldn't have to finish unpacking his bags after all. From when they first moved in…5 years ago. He gathered all his courage and opened his mouth.
"U-Um…er." And closed it.
What was he supposed to say? An awkward silence drew afterwards. Dent flicked his eyes around the room; Mr. Tiny-man-with-a-fork was licking his plate but never stopped the pointing. No wonder he had no friends. Dent turned back to the large man. He needed to think of something.
And the fact that Drayden broke out into loud booming laughter didn't help. On the contrary, it made him shriek and almost jump under a table. "Aha! You're funny, kid!" He laughed again. "Don't worry about being so formal. I'm retiring…this is what this whole gathering is for you know. I won't be suing anyone if that's what you're thinking."
Dent dropped his mouth. "Y-Y-You're going to…sue u-us?"
Drayden chuckled. "Not unless you're a double agent for Team Plasma or something. But I'll be honest. You're probably the more interesting person I've talked to all night."
Panic encased, "so you are going to sue us?" Oh, he almost felt like crying!
"No." The dragon master replied rather dryly this time. Then, he laughed and took Dent's hand in an encouraging hand shake which sent his body rocking off the ground. "No wonder you're a gym leader. Nice to meet you and don't even think about congratulating me for at least another month or so. I think I've heard enough of those." When he finally let go to let the next guest be called, Dent only mildly noticed that his palm was now bent at a strange angle.
He didn't care, since it felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. It was over! He had gotten it over with and now all that was left was to avo-
"YO, LITTLE BROOOO!" Dent shrieked and really did jump under a table. "What are you doing here being so boring man?" Pod kicked the frightened body. After another good kick, the younger boy finally looked up from his spot with scared pupils, tears brimming through them.
Pod rolled his eyes and crouched in front of him. "You know how many girls there are here? And I mean high-class ones too. Not those empty Lovedisc geeks who'd pay a thousand bucks just to get a lock of our hair, but like, real, breathing GIRLS!" He grabbed onto Dent's shoulders and shook them for emphasis. By now he really did feel like crying.
Seeing the lack of response, Pod sighed and forcefully yet not enough to cause any pain, but quite a lot of pain, dragged Dent into one of the deserted hallways. "Come on, I'll show you something cool!" On the way, all he could do was flail his arms and cry about not wanting to be taken to wherever they were going.
"P-Pod-san! What about the customers?"
"They can get their own food. They're not idiots like the people who normally come here."
"It's necessary to be present for…erm, representing our gym."
"Trust me, man. Corn has that covered."
"I have to micturate!"
"Dude, I don't know what that means."
"UGH!"
But before he could come up with any other excuse, they had both stopped in front of an ominous looking door. Pod stood close to it, his ear pressed against the frame with a devious look on his face which unsettled the green-haired brother to no end. "Um, what are we doing he-" And was interrupted by a quiet flurry of giggles and laughter on the other side. It sounded…feminine. He looked past him, noticing the badly-drawn stick figure in a dress stuck to the wall.
And then it clicked in Dent's mind.
His face turned 29 shades of pink. He counted. "Oh, no! Pod, w-we can't do something like th-this!"
"And why not?"
"Because it's dishonest and goes against the quota of a good Connoisseur as rehearsed by the Pokémon handbook."
"…you need to get out more." And without hesitation, Pod effortlessly punched in the password and kicked open the door…revealing a shocked half-clothed Elesa who was still changing into her dress and a still-as-oblivious as ever non-clothed Skyla staring down at the two.
It took all of 2 seconds for Elesa to charge, whipping Pod straight in the face with the heel of her foot, knocking him out instantly. Dent really was crying when he scurried away, yelling out obscenities about how he was a horrible person and would never commit such a crime again. He was pretty sure he ran head first into a couple vases, crashed into fork man on his way and accidentally got his eye nearly poked out, but he ignored all of it. He found himself falling into the kitchen, the one place he knew would never betray him. With no second hesitation, he crawled into the corner and wrapped himself into a little ball, silently whispering about how the world was cruel and they needed to buy more bandages tomorrow for Pod.
It was in the middle of his fabulous mourning that he heard a clank. Oh, please no more! H-He just wanted to go reflect on his bad doings and make sure he visited the community center tomorrow to do a few hours. But no, his prayers were unanswered when the clanking continued. The ball of safety his body was wrapped into tightened. Fear began to poke further and further into his spine when the sound only got louder and louder. Then, the one noise he wanted to hear the least right now came; female giggling.
Dent shot up, his heads above his head. "I-I didn't see anything, I PROMISE!"
"AAHHH!"
"EEYAAH!" And he went back into a ball. Maybe if he pretended he didn't exist, whoever it was would believe him.
He shrieked again when the feeling of someone poking him registered in his mind. He tried to endure it and made to be some horribly warped carpet lying on the floor. But it didn't stop. That person kept poking him, harder and harder each time, until he couldn't take it anymore. He finally squirmed, and that was when the girl burst out into laughter.
"Hahaha! I got you to move, I win!" She gloated proudly, only just noticing the sound of hysterical crying from his shaking body. "Hey, what's the matter with you?" Dent shook his head, his shyness keeping him from looking at anyone for the umpteenth time in his life. Whenever he wasn't forced to, he tried to talk the least as possible. So people usually found him too awkward and weird to converse with.
He expected the girl to leave, but jolted back when her up-side-down face appeared right in front of his, her curious eyes studying him carefully for a good few seconds. She was a unique looking girl, with long rich purple hair tied in a cute hairstyle running down to her waist, and lighter-brown eyes. He suddenly felt subconscious, making sure to wipe away a few of his tears with his apron and fixing his hair so it stood up presentably once more. "U-U-Um, yes? Is everything…erm, alright miss?" But, she only shrugged and looked away, going back to the kitchen fridge to open it with an excited smile. Dent tilted his head, half of his fear melting. Did…she just have a sudden change of attitude? He knew that much as a Connoisseur, but he didn't understand why.
Then, he sighed in relief. She wasn't one of those enraged women back in that room. She wasn't here to painfully embed the toe of her foot into his face as he was sure Pod would be walking around like for the rest of his life. She was just a girl, maybe 3 or so years younger than himself, wandering around for something to eat. Perhaps a relative to one of the other gym leaders. Convincing himself of this, Dent gathered courage for the second time of the night and slide up to her, a gentle yet shy smile on his face.
"Um…did you want something to eat?"
"Hmm." She replied, and the whole half of her which seemed engrossed in the white box finally emerged with a bright green apple stuck between her hands. "There!"
Dent looked confused. "An apple?"
"Yup! I can have it, right?"
"Huh?"
"You're Dent, one of the gym leaders who lives here. This place is famous for its food and all that."
So that's what she was staring at him for, at least he thought so. "O-Oh, yes! And of course you may have it! Though…" He paused, looking unsure of what he was going to say next, but decided to come out with it anyway. "There is a-a lot more extravagant food in the main hall for you to eat. Surely…you didn't become famished and wandered in here just for an apple, correct?"
She shook her head and stuck out her tongue. "Bleh. I hate extravagant! And I was getting sick of being out there anyway."
He didn't know why he smiled just then. He probably disagreed with her more than anything else. "Oh, so an apple is enough for you?"
"Yup!" She bit into it and turned to him, her mouth full. "No offense because the food is great but…it's just too…well…"
"…extravagant?"
"Yeah, that!" She swallowed.
Dent sighed in slight shame. "I admit that when I received the recipes for the food they insisted on serving tonight, I strongly disagreed to the sprinkles of unoriginality and overtone. It's best not to let them know just how blatantly typical everything was." D-Did he just form a coherent sentence in front of her? And without stuttering! Normally he could only achieve that when talking to himself at the mirror at night and with a mop in his hand. Really, he could always talk this fluently…just not in front of anything living. And he was pretty sure she insulted him a good 3 or 4 times already, how ironic.
The girl made a face. "You talk weird. Such a pain to understand."
He ignored her, and instead opened the fridge behind them and drew out a full basket of apples, making her drool slightly at the sight. He chuckled, "how about I cook something that you'll like? I'm a Connoisseur, so I have a skill for compatibility."
"A conna-what now?"
"…you'll see." And with that, he took out his cutting board, separating each object expertly into the thinnest slices anyone would think possible. He didn't think about it at the time, but all thoughts of perverted fork-men, Pod, raging gym leaders, and community involvement were washed from his mind as he cooked and she waited.
"Hey." Iris said impatiently, growing tired of playing with a chopstick. "Need any help?"
Dent smiled, "that would be quite alright." And so resumed the silence.
"Aren't you going to ask my name?"
"…if you don't want to expose that information, then that's up to you."
"Good." She seemed slightly chirpier at that. "I don't want you to know."
"Then that's fine."
"Hey."
"Yes?" He meshed the fruits into dough.
"I thought you were supposed to be awkward and depressed and all that. That's what I keep hearing from everyone who's battled you." She poked the counter with the stick.
He inwardly sighed and suddenly felt nervous, his stutter coming back. "U-Um, and do you believe all of that?"
She didn't notice. "…I'll be honest. I never take others' word for it. It's childish anyways! Like, a lot of people hear things about me and judge me for it. You get really tired of it after a while."
"Hm?" He looked up from his work.
"Oh, nothing…!" Her legs swung innocently from her seat and the sounds of chattering people from the room next to them could be heard. "Besides, you turned out to be quite a pain."
"Er, how so?" Some relief washed over him for hearing that, but it wasn't entirely gone. Most people were so worried about being polite to him, or just didn't bother at all. But the way this girl was so blunt, contrary to himself, yet still here with him made her feel special in his mind.
"I don't know, you just are." The stick flipped between her brown fingers, interest building inside her eyes as she watched him sprinkle spices over his…whatever it was. "Are you sure what you're making is edible? It better be because I've been waiting for a while now!"
"It's been 5 minutes, dear."
"Don't call me dear." She flushed in embarrassment. Though it quickly went away as he set his already pre-heated oven and gently shoved the pan in. She supposed giving it a try wouldn't hurt. It was different. That's what she liked. Different and simple. Leaning back in her chair, it didn't take long to realize that Dent was now staring at her strangely. "What?"
"It's just so unusual for someone to want to miss such a prestigious party…considering that professional ones aren't held a lot."
"Well, you're here, aren't you?" He ran his hand through his hair in annoyance. He didn't miss how she dodged the question. But he let it go.
"It's more because of my brother than anything. I don't prefer these parties but I can endure them until they're over."
"Really? What'd he do?"
"U-Umm…" Dent looked around awkwardly then fidgeted with a corner of his apron. Part of him did want to tell her, because as much as his clean conscience didn't want to admit it, he was sort of angry at him. Just a little, obviously! Another part questioned his state of insanity and wondered if he was actually talking to a materialized version of his warped mind rather than an actual girl who cared to hear what he had to say. He had experienced crazier things before, that is unless he were to not believe what Corn told him and start thinking that Santa Claus really did exist and a Purrloin really did sneak in and steal his prized spoon collection.
"H-He…forced me into the girls' change room while Elesa-sama and Skyla-san were there and was promptly knocked unconscious by Elesa a moment later." Dent untied his apron and hung it from the side of the window.
Iris stared at him.
"I managed to escape and came here right after." He cringed at how evil he sounded right now, and only cringed further at how she suddenly pointed at him teasingly and with a wide smile on her face. "Geez, no wonder you were cryin' then!" She laughed.
"U-Um, I'm not a pervert you know…" He shyly whispered and glued his eyes to the floor.
"Yeah, your chanting of apologies to Arceus sort of gave it away."
"That was a lapse in judgment and result due by lack of coherence and proper thought process."
"So you admit to being a peeping Tom!" Dent sat from across the counter to her, a hand up to his eyes in fatigue. He knew, eventually her laughing would die down, right?
It did, only to the sound of the oven ringing did she stop. And Dent was all too eager to run up to the machine and present a large platter of cooked dough to place on the counter, running to sprinkle a last bit of after-flavor into the concoction. Maybe he was being a bit too hasty, and he would never forgive himself for making such a dire mistake, but it was then that the plate almost tipped out of his arms. To his relief, Iris ran over at lightning speed to save the pan at the last moment, and to his not so much relief snatched the whole item from his hands right after.
"H-Hey."
"Should've asked me for help, idiot." She set it down and looked at the new and strange food hesitantly, but her rumbling stomach took over and she reached over to take a large and juvenile bite.
Instantly, feelings of happiness and relief from any negative emotion she had washed over every one of her senses. The natural taste of the apple she had in her hand moments ago was clearly evident. Before long, she found herself leaning back in her chair and sighing in content while devouring whatever last bit of food there was left. Ah, now this was real cooking!
"What's it called?" She spewed out crumbs in between chews.
Dent skillfully dodged an oncoming crumb to answer. "I made it up myself. It's named a Sundae de Pommes sur une Cuillère."
"Oh…" Iris only half processed this while popping the last piece in her mouth. "Aw, it's all gone!"
"But you've eaten the whole platter already."
"It was just getting good, come on Dentooo!" She stressed out his name, and he couldn't help but find it cute.
"Well, I suppose-" He was interrupted by a ringing which emitted from a small watch hanging off of Iris' wrist, and almost automatically, she sprung up from her content daze into a panicked state.
"Oh jumping bellossoms, I have to go!" Before he even knew what was going on, the girl in front of him, the girl who laughed and poked fun at him more than his brothers on a daily basis, the same one who he could actually talk to for real in the first time since he moved here, had ran out with a small "sorry and goodbye" and was gone from his vision like some kind of figment of his imagination.
Dent sighed. It was great when it lasted.
Back to being the...er, well he supposed what was the awkward and quiet one.
TTTTTTTT
He chose a seat at the very corner of the room, a large scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face and giant sunglasses encasing the rest. Of course, his green hair was a dead giveaway and had to be hidden under a subway masters' hat, limited edition in everywhere but Hoenn and prized possession of his collection of course. Anyone who looked at him funny, he pointed a fork at threateningly. He was starting to understand what Mr. Tiny-man-with-a-fork was getting at.
In truth, maybe he was simply hiding from an enraged Elesa too.
It was just as easy to climb back into bed in exhaustion, but protocol required him to be present for the final announcement before going anywhere. And Dent never broke any rules. No rule said he can't miss the after party and go fishing or something at 8:00pm in the evening, so that was what he was planning. He'd just have to hold up the cool and totally not freaked out look on his face until then.
"Hey, enjoying the party?"
Dent would've fainted, but stayed completely still. Oh, fudge doodles.
"Did you hear me?" The voice asked lower this time, wiping her long golden hair out of her face. "You're pretty silent."
Oh great. When he pretends to be some creepy child-knapper who threatens their enemies with pointy utensils, then the most popular and well-known model in the region wants to talk to him. He turned to Elesa stiffly, barely catching her next lowered words. At least she didn't recognize him.
"You don't seem familiar. What's your purpose here?" He took a breath…
"MY purpose is MY BUSINESS, you GOT that little girl?" He wiped the fork in front of her face, effortlessly making her flinch. "I swear I can't go two days without a little whiny wiper such as yourself going around in tight dresses the size of the dimple on my pinky toe and skirts so short that the curvature of the island would be able to see you micturate when I teach you a good lesson or two about self-respect! Why don't ya run along before the pupils in my eye get anymore infected with your shamelessness?"
"…O-Oh, yes sir! Sorry to bother you…" And she scurried away, likely scarred for life at what just happened. All she knew was that a longer dress would be on her body in her next gym battle…
Dent breathed out from his rant. Maybe being assertive wasn't so bad after all; though he wasn't sure it solved anything. He could feel Elesa's suspicious and freaked out eye on him every few seconds.
"Impressive, Dent." The addressed fell out of his chair at Corn's presence, effectively breaking his over-sized glasses against the floor.
"Not bad!" Pod appeared behind him, a blood bag and cast inserted to the side of his face. The wide smile he held honestly peeved him off.
"P-Pod-san!" Dent stood up abruptly, shaking all the same. "L-Look what I have to go through just because you were t-too…er, short-sighted to consider how your actions would affect me! Y-You better apolog-gize-b-but of course, if you don't want to…"
"Sh-SHHHH!" Pod smacked his hand against Dent's face, pushing him behind with it. "They're about to make the announcement!"
"Since when have you cared?" Corn retorted. Sure enough, the lights began dimming.
"Shut up, Bulma!"
"I told you I look nothing like Bulma."
"Yes you do, you're like a mutated cousin."
"Just because of my enhanced eye and hair gene does not mea-"
"Just admit that you're related to her so we can move on."
"Um, I don't think Corn looks like Bulma."
"YOU SEE, even Dent thinks so!"
"Dent agrees with everyone. Look, you even have a pet monkey. It's k-"
"SHUT UP!" A man from the crowd threw an apple at them, knocking Corn and Pod into their seats just as the curtains raised. Luckily no one else paid them mind. Caitlin, the elite four member of physic types stepped on just as Pod gave a cat whistle.
"Da-a-ang. She's one hot-" and was hit with another apple, right on the spot Elesa decked him. "AA-OOOWWW! WHO THE HECK DID THA-"
"Anyway." Caitlin announced, sweetly. "I am sure everyone is having a comfortable night, but we all know what the occasion is for. It seems that the retirement of one of our longest gym leaders is upon us, and as little as we may want, things have to change eventually. So, to confront and make the official let-off himself, here's Dragon Master Drayden!" Cheers emitted from the room and Dent clapped politely.
His speech was…to be blunt, a tad lacking in flavor and originality. Ever since taking over the gym with his brothers, Dent had become used to listening to these types of formal gatherings and if it wasn't for the fact that Drayden really was retiring, he wouldn't have thought any different for the way the man spoke on their podium right this second. "And, with time comes fresh and new faces to run our city with pride and skill." He was stiff, quite different from the impression the green-haired boy had gotten.
"…and as I'm sure you've all been wondering." No, he was pretty sure he wasn't. "The Opelucid gym cannot just stay unattended after I resign. But do not worry, for I had long ago chosen a young trainer with the right techniques, Pokémon, and spirit to pick up where I'm leaving off." He had heard of this before from the newspapers. Official articles already described an athletic and feisty woman named Iris with substantial Dragon-type abilities, though they always refrained from showing any actual images of such a trainer. It made him a bit curious as to why. He had heard rumors that she was a delinquent and impossible to work with to the point that many resented against her. Despite that, the gym leader had made up his mind and assigned her the position. It just made the whole situation all the more alluring.
Drayden paused, as if unsure. He went on anyway. "The Unova region has wondered who it was, and I think it's about time I introduce her to you…" Uncharacteristically, he looked down and shook his head in annoyance. Then, to the crowd's confusion, walked to the back of the stage as if to retrieve something. Sure enough, that something appeared in the form of a small bouncy girl, who hopped onto the stage gracefully with a timid yet wide smile on her face. "H-Hi everyone!" She waved.
Silence ensued, with the exception of Dent choking on a croissant followed by dunking a litre of orange juice into his throat. The staring slowly ate away at her enthusiasm until she was left awkwardly standing with squared shoulders and an unsure gaze on her features. Her eyes flickered around the audience, hoping to find a certain green-haired friend she made just minutes before. To break the moment, Drayden appeared from beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders fondly. "This is Iris, and she's going to be taking over the Opelucid Gym."
"E-Excuse me, Drayden-sir." Clay rose a hand. "Beg me pardon' for raining on your decision, but…she's just a little girl."
"I am quite aware of that and her skills greatly surpass whatever age she may be."
"Isn't that the girl who ran over my Vanillish with a boulder?"
"I'm sure she was just scared, Brycen-" Drayden lifted an arm to calm everyone.
"She sprinkled chocolate over him and tried to get one of her Pokémon to eat him!"
"Well no offense or anything, but your little Vanillish is easy to mistake for-"
"Hey, I've seen her around. Hehe, kind of immature if you ask me."
"She's a prankster! I've hear a lot about her childish antics around Unova!" Dent frowned at Iris' continuously dropping face. How could they say such things about her?
"We don't think she's a bad girl or anything, Drayden. But she just doesn't seem su-"
"Enough." Finally, Drayden stopped the continuous ranting with a hard glare. "I am a Dragon Master of many years and I know a top-notch gym leader when I see one. Iris will be the replacement for the Opelucid City Gym, and Champion Alder already approved of it. None of you have any say against this."
"No, it's okay."
"Huh?" Drayden looked down at the purple-haired girl, barely catching her distant eyes before she turned with a smile to the crowd around her. "I understand. No one wants me to become a gym leader, so the best thing to do is to keep training and grow up a bit until I do."
"Iris…" Dent whispered, earning a confused glance from Corn.
"So, I'll just leave and keep training some more! Thanks for your time and giving me a chance though." With that, she bowed and made her way off the stage, only running away from the scene once she was out of sight. Drayden stared after in shock and turned to the leaders, face contorting from speechless to disappointment which quickly caused a train reaction from everyone standing nearby.
"W-We're so sorry, sir. But she really wasn't suitable to be the strongest…"
"It's best that she leaves now and learns from it. She can become better once she fixes her bad habits."
"Hmf, I'm not sorry. What a little wannabe."
Pod turned to his brothers, now holding an icepack to his head. "Man, that was harsh." Corn nodded, and Dent stayed silent throughout it all. "Maybe we should've said something…it's not like she's much younger than us anyway."
"That's the problem, Pod." Corn shook his blue head of hair with a frown. "We're Striaton City gym leaders. We barely have much power past being able to show the guard at the door that we are actual legitimate members of this organization and not a bunch of rave-hungry teens hoping for autographs." The green-haired brother clenched his fists tightly, gently removing those broken sunglasses he had neglected to preserve just moments before.
"In other words, nothing we say matters." Pod sighed.
"Just about."
Dent just about had it. "Bullcarp."
"…bullcarp?" They repeated.
"Yes, BULLCARP!" He sternly shot himself up, scarf and hat still in spot as he calmly marched across the hall to the doors leading outdoors. Of course, on his way, fork-man, who was clearly guarding his quiet corner, finally made to glare at him with every bit of rage he had.
"HEY! No coming into my corner, buddy!" Dent ignored him. "Did you hear me, stupid man? No coming to MY CORNER!" With that, he lashed out and threw his sharpest fork at him. Dent gracefully wiped his hat off his head and caught it, the sharp object making small indentations in what was just his prized possession seconds ago, but meant nothing to him now.
"Excuse me…but you've been bothering me all night. Why don't you just. Leave. Me. Alone?" Without looking, he shot the fork back at the little man, pinning the metal against the wall and missing the sweating and shocked face by one centimeter. Dent continued on his trek and discarded his hat to the floor.
Unfortunately, now with his cap off and that combed-out mass of green hair for the world to see, a certain gym leader who had been keeping an eye on him had recognized it instantly. Not watching that small display earlier, Elesa shot up and pointed an accusing finger at him. "So that's where you were! I've been looking everywhere for you!" She sauntered herself to a pace which matched his own in order to get a good look at his face. "Your brother got what was coming to him, but it's unfortunate you ran away. Just man up and face what's coming to you, won't y-"
"MOVE IT!" Dent shoved his scarf to her, the fabric tangling into her marching heels and causing her skimpy body to fall over in a jumble of joints and clothing.
"Eek!" And, she only wished she listened to him earlier and worn a longer skirt.
TTTTTTTT
The outline of the moon above them was enough to indicate that she hadn't gone far. In the contrary, the little jungle-girl had made herself a home on a tree just behind the Striaton gym, her arms stretched before her as she laid her stressed body against the comforting bark. It was great being away from everyone else. Nature never judged or betrayed her, and was something she could always get back to, and relax in. Actually, she found herself forgetting about everything else around her for long moments at a time. So, as Dent made his way to her form silently, she almost fell off when he timidly called out.
"Hey, Airisu!" She looked down. So he did exist after all, but still, said nothing. She just stared at him.
He called to her again, and upon receiving no response once more, sighed and rested his back against the trunk. He hummed slightly. "So um…becoming so highly recognized by Drayden is quite a feat."
Finally, Iris sadly snickered back. "Yup, sure is."
"Hm…er, how did you get up there anyways?" Dent awkwardly changed the subject. He just wasn't good with confrontations. But, she didn't seem to mind. If anything, changing the topic was welcoming.
"I like climbing trees…it's really fun!"
"Oh, it is?"
"Well, probably not for most people, but I love it!"
"I see… a trait which gives you a unique spice to an otherwise natural yet strangely alluring dish." At this, Dent seemed to stare off into space in his own world, one hand rested on his chin in thought.
"Pf, you make it sound so extravagant!" Iris flicked her wrist in distaste.
"You're different."
She deflated. "Yeah…yeah, that's less of a painful way to put it."
"…which isn't a bad thing." Dent added in, uncharacteristically smoothly and with no sign of stuttering. He just had an instinct on what to say to her, there was no need to overthink everything like he normally did. It was…weird. "It's similar to those common and high-class dishes I was ordered to prepare for this occasion. They were of good taste, yes. But all admittedly boring, over-used and extravagant." He faced forward. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that nothing he was telling her was a lie. "It's better to have a servable apple sundae once in a while, right?"
Iris poked his back with a stick, causing him to shriek and jump away. When did she get down? He thought some creepy man had come to abduct the both of them!
But then, she laughed. Dent found that all fear he had felt just then flowed out of him, and he laughed too. Not awkwardly like he usually did to kill an uncomfortable moment, or coming up with an excuse to get away from his various bishounen fangirls, but truly laughing. Laughing to the point to where they were both rolling on the ground, clutching their stomachs in pain and simply enjoying each other's company, no matter how many worms and other germs Dent was sure were inhabiting the dirt.
They eventually subsided into quiet snickers and snorts, both of them sitting on the cool ground in pure bliss. Dent was shocked to see that he was the first one to speak once more.
"Then…uhm, what are you going to do?"
"You're a pain, you know that?" Iris crossed her arms just playfully enough to keep him from freaking out and believing that he had messed everything up and she truly hated him now. "Is there even a point in asking?"
"Hm?" She always surprised him.
"I'm going to do this." Without warning, she crouched towards his confused face and gave him a peck on the cheek, then leaned back and laughed even more at his shocked look, her own pink blush adorning her face. "Then…I'm going to become the new Opelucid City gym leader!"
"Huh?"
"Don't worry, even though I'm the most powerful gym leader in the region now, I'm not gonna sue you!"
Wait, so she saw that?
"Yes. I saw that, you pain." And she still didn't believe those rumors about him?
Iris read his mind once more. "No. I don't like rumors." She bounced up into that same chirpy girl that he saw back at the kitchen. And really, if he weren't still processing everything that was happening, he would've asked her for her phone number right then and there. "Well, time to go tell Draydie that I'm going to accept his offer after all! And I'm serious, thanks a lot…Dento. You really are a great Connoisseur!" She seemed to smile fondly at him for a moment, before running back to the hall with the fire in her step re-burned and unwilling to be put out any time soon.
Dent watched her retreating body, too frozen to the grassy ground to move a single muscle.
He was sure he was blushing 94 shades of red now.
And yeah, he counted.
…
"Wait…Draydie?"
TTTTTTTT
Just to tell you guys, this is pure Gameverse!DentxIris. So if anyone's complaining that they're out of character, that mostly explains what's going on. Iris is more childish and hyper, and Dent, believe it or not, is actually shy and awkward. Yeah, I know.
I call this chapter bullcarp…and way too freakishly long.