The evening sun shone down upon the bustling streets of the town, it's residents lazing about following another day of construction, management, vending and all other arrays of tasks undertaken by the small community. Whistling a soft tune to herself, the Leafeon once again swept the floors of the bakery her parents had set up after their arrival 2 years prior. She'd opted to follow in their footsteps, having always enjoyed bringing smiles to peoples faces with her baked treats. Satisfied that the floors were thoroughly clean once again, the girl set herself to one of the last remaining tasks of the day. Any baked goods left on the shelves were to be collected up, placed into bags and offered freely to the residents.
Her mother had always said that a town couldn't be built on empty stomachs and low morale, and her father just hated seeing their work be wasted. Speaking of distribution, it should be any second now...
The tell-tale sound of the bell above the door gave away her friends entrance. "Sweet things. Now." The exasperate grunt came from behind her. Smiling, the grass type rolled her eyes, turning to face her guest with a smirk across her muzzle.
"Well, good evening to you too, Lumi! Why yes, I did have a very nice day, thank you for asking! Oh, you're such a considerate friend, how would I ever make it through the day without you!" The Vulpix's deadpan stare caused the girl to burst into a fit of giggles. "Hehehehe! Don't worry, I wouldn't forget my friends cravings for sweet treats after work. Here, your favourite. Blueberry muffins with the Pecha berry icing you love so much!" The icy vixen's eyes lit up before she happily accepted the bag, digging on out instantly before taking a big bite out of the treat, flattening her ears in bliss.
"Mmmmrrrphh, Awceus aboof I wuv these fings..." Juniper folded her front paws over the counter top, flicking her friend on the nose with a disapproving glare.
"Mind your manners, Lumi. Don't talk with your mouth full, I JUST finished sweeping up the crumbs on the floor and if you drop any from that yapper of yours, I'm gonna throttle you!" A growl of frustration escaped the vixen, but she, begrudgingly, listened and finished eating before talking again.
"Ugh, yes mom. Jeez, you're gonna whip some guy into a real prim a proper mate someday, aren't you?" The grass types composure failed her as her paws slipped from beneath her at the sudden jab. Blushing brightly as she floundered around for a response.
"Wha- Where did- I mean- Where on Earth did THAT come from?!" A grin spread across the vixen's face. She loved teasing her friend, the poor girl was a romantic at heart.
"Juniper, dear? Is everything alright?" A voice called from the back of the store, and the Leafeon gave a sigh of relief before glaring daggers at her icy friend.
"Yes, mother! Everything's fine, Lumi was just teasing me. Again." A barking laugh could be heard, before a large Arcanine made his way out behind the counter.
"Well, look what the Meowth dragged in! How ya doin' lass? Rough day at work again?" The Vulpix gave a bright smile towards the older male.
"Good evening, Edward! Yeah, it's been another one of those days. Lines getting held up for hours by idiots trying to flirt with the clerk instead of moving along like normal people. I swear, it gets worse every single day..." Another bought of laughter erupted from the Arcanine, who moved out of the way of the door to allow a smiling Sylveon to walk out.
"Good evening, dear. Juniper baked those especially for you just an hour ago. I do hope they're alright! She really put her all into making sure you had something nice to look forward to." The Leafeon groaned and hid her face in her paws, flattening her ears in embarrassment.
"M-mother... You weren't supposed to tell her that..."
"Oh, she made them specially for me? See, this is why you're my best friend. Always looking out for me, ain't ya?" The grinning fox watched her shy friend shrink further down into a ball, her face burning brightly.
"Now, now. If we tease her too much, she might become the first Leafeon in the history of the entire planet to evolve into a Flareon purely from blushing so much!" The three older Pokemon giggled and chuckled as the flustered grass type began to flail her front paws in protest.
"C-come on guys! That's enough!"
"Alright, alright. As fun as it is to tease our daughter, let's ease off on her. Although, before I do... She was very talkative about a certain customer we had today, wasn't she Edward?" The Sylveon grinned toward her mate, a look he matched.
"Oh, yes I recall. She wouldn't stop fawning over him, now would she Gloria? Oh, I've never heard her speak so fondly of newcomers before. Sadly, we were busy in the back when he dropped by so we never got to meet tha' guy. He does sound like a lovely fella though. And she kept goin' on and on about how cute the little Eevee kit wi' him was. Bless her heart."
Another exasperated groan escaped the Leafeon as she tugged her ears in frustration. "I keep telling you both, it's not like that! I j-just admire what he's doing, ok!? It's sweet! He doesn't have to take care of her like that, but he's willing to give the poor girl a father when she'd been abandoned, or orphaned, or whatever happened to make her all alone! C-can't I think highly of a guy doing something so kind without having to have a crush on him?!"
The Leafeon failed to hear the door opening mid-way through her tirade, and a bewildered chuckle cause every muscle in her body to tense up. "Crush on who? Me? Why, Juniper, we only spoke for 15 minutes tops. I'm flattered, but..." Four pairs of eyes spun to the door where a smirking Glaceon stood.
Juniper had never wanted to curl up and disappear more badly than she did right now.
"Well, well, well! Speak o' the devil, and he shall appear! Well I'll be, ye' really do exist don't ye'? C'mere boy, lemme get a good look a ye' then."
"Now, now dear. We don't want to scare him off. Juniper may never forgive us if we did! Ahahahaha!"
"M-mother... Father... Pleeeeaaaseeeee..."
The Glaceon couldn't help but snort at the odd scene before he approached the counter, smiling politely as a small bump under his cloak began to wiggle around. "Good evening, my name is Kaguya. I dropped in earlier because my daughter really wanted to get something sweet after a long journey here. Oh, speaking of-" The icy Eeveelution loosened his cloak slightly, letting the tiny bundle of fluff escape from beneath it as she pounced onto the Leafeon, giggling happily.
"Hiya, Miss Juniper! Why are you so red? You're not sick, are you!?" The Arcanine beside the flustered girl laughed and smiled down at the little kit.
"No, no dear. She ain't sick. Just embarrassed, she's never been good with her old folks teasin' her. Bless her, she's still so shy about it even though she knows we're just jokin' around."
Juniper, for her part, began to cheer up when the little Eevee had eagerly leapt to her. Scooping the young kit into her forepaws, she nuzzled the younger girl tenderly. "No, I'm ok sweetie. Just a little flustered, like father said. Between Lumi and my parents, they've made me look a fool in front of both you and Kaguya, so I'm just a little ashamed..."
"Don't worry, Juniper. I was just teasing you, I know it'd be almost impossible to build that kind of affection from a single meeting. I just happened to walk in at the... um... perfect time and couldn't help myself, sorry if it was rude or anything..."
"Huh, we just keep running into each other today don't we?" The Glaceon turned his attention onto the Vulpix beside him, tilting his head slightly in confusion.
"We do? I thought we'd only met once during our checking in?
"Well, yes but- Ok, never mind." The Vulpix folded her front paws with a huff, leaving the boy baffled.
"Uh... Ok...? How are you, though? You didn't run into anymore creeps like that Luxray, did you?" The icy vixen groaned, her tails smacking against the floor at the question.
"Ugh, only the next 4 guys after you. And then the next 3 after the family group following those 4. Why the heck didn't you stick around? Having you there to chat to was such a breath of fresh air from all the old guys trying to flirt with someone WAY younger than themselves. It was... nice. Just being able to talk without constant pointless flirting. Y'know?"
The Glaceon awkwardly looked around, scratching the back of his neck shyly. "Oh, uh. Sorry, I guess...? Sunshine really wanted to go explore a bit. She's really excited to do the whole "meet 'n' greet" thing. Me... not so much, but I'll put up with it for her. If it makes you feel better, you were one of two people today I genuinely did enjoy meeting?"
The Vulpix tilted her head with a slight smirk, side-eyeing the Glaceon. "Oh? One of two? Oooh, lemme take a guess... The second was..." The vixen placed her paws to the sides of her head, as though focusing. "I can see it... The visions are coming to me...! I see... Green fur. A bright smile. Pretty hazel eyes. She's blushing right now as I'm talking yes I can tell you're not subtle. Eureka! It's Juniper, isn't it~?"
The Sylveon and Arcanine burst into laughter once again as their daughter flopped face down atop the counter, letting out a long, exasperated groan of frustration and embarrassment. "Luuuuuumiiiiiii!" The grass type whined. "Whyyyyyyyyyy?"
"Oh, come on Juni, it's a compliment! Wait, was it Juniper? Or did I guess wrong?" The ice type stared at the Eeveelution who laughed awkwardly.
"Well, yes. It was. Sunshine was really taken with how kind she is. And anybody who makes my daughter happy and comfortable is good in my books. That's the same way I gauged our meeting, Sunshine really likes you, Lumi." The Eevee wiggled excitedly at the mention of her name, pouncing on the Vulpix in question.
"Uh-huh, uh-huh! Papa really seemed to like talking with you! He's not very good at it, so when he's so talkative and smile-y, I really like those people! I like seeing Papa happy, and he was happy around you both!"
"Smile-y?" The Glaceon tutted at his young daughter, poking her nose. "I'll have you know, I wasn't 'smile-y' around either of them, thank you very much young lady! I was my regular old grouchy self, as I should be." The kit stuck her tongue out from within Lumi's hug, blowing a raspberry at her adoptive father.
"Hohoho, such fire in that one! You've raised a strong 'un there lad. And so thoughtful, thinking of her Pa when deciding who she likes the most!" The Arcanine laughed loudly, grinning ear to ear as he turned to his daughter. "No wonder you liked the lad so much, little flower! I'm starting to like him meself!"
"Oh, Edward. Please dear. Juniper's already steaming as is under scrutiny from her friends. I don't think she needs her father and mother joining in any further, do you? The Sylveon patted her flustered daughter on the back, smiling at the young Glaceon across the countertop.
"Aahhhhh, I suppose yer right, dear. We've teased her enough, for the time being."
"Say, Lumi? I meant to ask before I left, but I didn't wanna hold up the queue any more than I already had. What exactly do I need to do now? Like, do I need to come back tomorrow, or...?" The Vulpix gasped, slapping a paw against her forehead as she growled.
"Oh, dammit! I knew I forgot something! Sorry, that's my fault. I was so used to each interaction taking nearly an hour that when I finally had a normal one, I was just glad it was over so quickly. No, you don't need to drop by tomorrow. You'll receive a letter in a few days when your partners have been selected. Then, the three of you will be called to the Guild hall to begin your training."
"Oh, I'm having my teammates picked for me?" A slight tilt of the boys head showed his confusion.
"It's a precaution. To make sure everyone has a fair chance. In the past we've had situations where, when given the choice, teams would actively exclude explorer hopefuls for "being too weak looking" or some such nonsense. So now, the Guild itself picks teams of three, to make sure everybody gets their chance to shine." A smile passed from the vixen the the Eeveelution, who nodded his head in response.
"Makes sense I guess. Fair enough, guess we've got a few more days of exploration ahead of us, Sweetpea, huh?" The Eevee giggled and smiled, flicking her ears as she squirmed slightly in the Vulpix's paws.
"Yay, more time to spend with Papa! Ooooh, let's make more friends!" The Glaceon rolled his eyes, once again poking his daughters nose.
"YOU are more than welcome to, I'm quite content to simply introduce myself.
"Say..." The boy looked toward the Vulpix, tilting his head slightly. "Do you... maybe... wanna grab lunch with me tomorrow? I know a couple of places I'd like to show you guys. And clerk's get a 2 hour break to go grab some food and just. Relax a bit. Given how stressful constant new arrivals can be, they're forgiving enough to give us some time to just cool off. So... maybe you, Sunshine and me could go grab some food and just... talk some more?"
The Glaceon quirked an eyebrow at the invitation. "Huh. How odd." The boy cracked a small grin.
"Huh? What is?" The vixen looked confused.
"You get rather aggravated when men flirt with you, and yet here you are flirting with me?" The grin grew.
"Oh, please! You call THIS flirting? I'm offering to take you and your daughter out to lunch because I like talking with you, is that- Ok, I see where you're coming from when I say it out loud, but shut up." The Glaceon laughed out loud, a genuine smile upon his muzzle as he shook his paw back and forth.
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. What do you say, Sweetpea. Wanna grab some food with Lumi tomorrow and spend more time with her?" The Glaceon conferred with his young charge, grinning happily.
"Can we, can we, can we?! Pleeeeeeeaaaaaseeeee Papa?!" The older boy snorted, rolling his eyes.
"I guess the little ladies spoken. Where do you want us to meet you, then?" The vixen gave a silent paw pump in her mind. Good conversation and good food. Score!
"Outside the Guildhall will be fine, say, around 1PM? That's usually when I clock off for my lunch break, anyway." A nod from the male beside her made her smile.
"Sounds good to me, then after you head back, we can drop by here and say hi to you guys. Alright, Juniper? I'd like to get to know the both you better, so. I'll definitely be spoiling Sunshine with baked treats more often than I should." An eager gasp came from the tiny kit in the vixen's arms, before she began giggling happily.
"O-oh! That'd be lovely, thank you Kaguya! It'd be really nice to see you again, and of course, spoil a little kit rotten!"
"Oi, let's not spoil her too much. I've gotta be the one to keep her on the right path after it all, right? The two 'Eon's laughed softly.
"Oh, and speaking of spoiling people!" The Leafeon reached behind the counter, pulling out three bags. "For Lumi, more of your favourite buns! Enjoy them at home over a nice cup of tea, they're better warm!" The Vulpix let out a happy squeak, eagerly accepting the bag from the Leafeon. "For Sunshine, some of the Croissants I gave you both this morning. And don't you worry, these one's were made specially for you!" She leaned in and whispered into the kits ears "Extra strawberry, since you like it so much!" The bag was handed to the Glaceon who smiled appreciatively. "And finally, here Kaguya. I was hoping you'd be the first to try these. It's a new recipe I've been working on, it's a pastry full of berries, a mixture of oran, strawberry, blueberry and cranberry, all lightly spiced before being enclosed inside, baked in the oven for about 40 minutes and then graciously topped with pecha and sitrus berry icings. I really hope you'll enjoy them, I made these ones especially for you..." The Leafeon's paw lightly brushed over her icy counterparts as she handed over the final bag, causing her to blush brightly and him to look away bashfully.
"Oh, um... thank you Juniper. This is very sweet of you, I'll be sure to warm these up for us to have a little later on. They smell delicious, and I'll be sure to let you know my thoughts on these tomorrow. But by the sounds of it, there's nothing to worry about and you'll most likely be able to start selling them soon. 'Cause they sound amazing right about now." The Glaceon grinned and motioned to his daughter. "We'd best be off though, gotta figure out where we're living from now on and get used to it all. Goodnight Juniper, Lumi. And you too, Mr and Mrs Juniper's parents... Sorry, I don't know you're names-"
"Edward, lad. Call me Edward. Any friend of me daughters is always welcome here!"
"Gloria, dear. And as my mate said, any friend of our daughters is a friend of ours. We hope you have a lovely evening."
"A-ah, thank you. Goodnight, Mr Edward, Mrs Gloria I'll see you all tomorrow. Come on, Sweetpea. Time to go find our new home." The Eevee hopped out of the vixen's paws, waving goodbye as she scrambled up her fathers cloak, settling once more atop his head. With a brief nod, the older boy turned and left.
"I'd probably best get going too, I've got a hot date with a cup of tea, some muffins, and then my shower. It's been a long day..."
"Aye, and then you've got another hot date lined up tomorrow lass!" The Arcanine laughed aloud as the Vulpix fired a Powder Snow at him.
"It's not a date! It's lunch, there's a difference!" With a huff, the icy fox left the bakery, grumbling under her breath about it "not being a date."
"Well, come on then dear. Let's bag the rest of this up and drop it off. Then we'll head home, alright? You've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow, what with your little date here~"
"Mother, please... it's not like that..."
The older family members laughter filled the pâtisserie as the poor flustered Leafeon finished her final duties for the day, silently looking forward to seeing the new pair again the following day.
