soggypastry | 026 [Video/Action for Cherrygrove PokéCenter]

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026 [Video/Action for Cherrygrove PokéCenter]

[Hi, Johto. Hve you been enjoying your...odd weekend? Hopefully so, because it's about to get weirder. Enjoy your view of Lightning hunched over a stove in the Cherrygrove Pokémon Center, stirring something in a pot. It's an odd sight, both with her hair twisted up into a messy bun and the fact that she's...actually cooking. Anyone who knows her knows that's not a good sign. Especially when she's starting to look a little bit frazzled.]

No, no, no...come on. Don't you dare burn.

[Yes, she's talking to her pot of...something. Unfortunately, this doesn't help her with the cooking and it's with a rather frustrated sound that she takes that pot off the stove, camera tracking her movements while she places it in the sink before scrubbing her face, leaving smears of chocolate down her cheeks as she takes a breath to regain her composure. Is she giving up? Not on your life.

She's just turning back to the counter, where there's enough ingredients for one more try along with a recipe book she's looking back at.]

You could always help, you know.

[A startled "Pika!" and...end feed. Spark still enjoys being Camera-chu, it seems.]

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I doubt even a dragon like a Dratini does. Rain hasn't acted like that at all so far.

[She will definitely consider it. After hearing that her little bro has been on his own without her or Terra around, Aqua feels like she owes him an apology somehow.]

I haven't heard of it before, but... I-I suppose if it's just a holiday, there's no harm

[...So long as no one asks her out on a date again.]

Why not take a break? Ease your mind and try again later.

[ She'll do just that, then. After running her finger around the pot, aiming for the less burned chocolate, Fang pauses, considering mischief. But no, Lady Luck must still like her: no matter how good a mood she's in or how relaxed Lightning seems, she can tell it's not a good idea. Vanille pouts but takes things in good humor; Lightning doesn't.

So Fang just tastes the chocolate instead. ]

Pretty good once you get past the burnt taste, and I don't even like sweets.

[Then Lady Luck shines on them both; if Fang had decided to make mischief, Lightning would have done something that involves the soapy water she's elbow deep in. Hard to say how that would have gone.]

I'll remember that the next time I make something for you, then.

[Fang, be afraid. Be very afraid. Letting this woman into the kitchen is a bad idea.]

[ Okay, now she can't resist. Lightning probably wasn't expecting to get out of this without at least one tease about Leon, at least. ]

"Next time"? Sweet of ya, Light - I didn't know you cared enough to make me chocolate.

[No, she was definitely expecting the teasing. Perhaps hoping it wouldn't happen, but expecting it anyway.]

Who said anything about chocolates? They may not be the only thing I made today.

[Terrified yet, Fang? You should be. She may not be kidding around.]

[Oh, he counts himself lucky, all right, but it has little to do with Spark. Sorry, little guy.

He follows her up the stairs, acutely aware of the other people in the building--they don't cross anyone they know at least, which is a blessing--and feeling a nervous ball of trepidation form in his gut. His own head is whirling with similar thoughts; that he'll flub this, make a fool of himself, and let her down. He does his best to calm himself, even as she leads him into their room, the shoot shutting and closing behind her. Absently, he moves to put down both their gears--turned off, he makes sure of that--and his bag. Then he turns to her.]

For everything. For being an ass.

[He seldom uses oaths, but sometimes you're not 'immature', or 'dense', or 'temperamental'. Sometimes you're just an ass, and judicious word choice helps convey that he's being serious. He peels off his leather gloves, but his eyes keep going back to her.]

I got upset over something stupid, and I reacted badly. I'm sorry.

[There's a part of her that agrees with him whole-heartedly; yes, he was a total ass and an idiot to boot because the reason she thinks this is about really was a stupid one, but...she doesn't say any of that. She just regards him pensively for a moment, slowly relaxing her posture. She knows it takes a lot for him to apologize, and she knows he means every word, so there's only one way to go about this.]

Apology accepted. On one condition. You tell me why you acted like that. What about it made you so upset?

[As always, she just wants to understand his reasoning. It's reminiscent of the previous summer only there's no punching. Yet. There probably won't be any, either. If his luck, and the song, hold.]

[ She is starting to worry, yes. ]

I thought you'd destroyed all the other ingredients.

[Good. It means her survival instinct is still intact.]

For the chocolate, yeah. But I've been in here all morning; do you honestly think it was the first thing I tried to do?

You might've. Ya did say Serah handled the cooking.

[ No, she hasn't forgotten that. Yes, that's exactly why she's worried. ]

[She accepts his apology; a weight lifts from his shoulders. he knows he's not nearly out of the woods yet, though. He brings his fist to his chin thoughtfully, mulling over how to explain.]

It was childish, but I felt cast aside, like you didn't think I was trustworthy.

[Yeah, it's childish. Sounds like it, but he was never good with words. He'd sit on the bed, but he doesn't even want to look at the bed right now.]

I thought you didn't understand how much you meant to me. And, by that same token, I meant less to you.

[He gives her a sheepish kind of look, as if wondering how she puts up with him. Underneath all the supposed strength, the power, the walls he's built around himself, Leon...has no idea what he's doing, fumbling into this utterly blind. He's not used to having his feelings hurt this way, because he hasn't let it happen, ever.]

I did. But she's not here now, so someone else has to do it. I don't see anyone else doing it this year.

[And with no one else but a Pikachu in the kitchen...oops?]

[Now she gets it. She doesn't quite understand how trying to get a saddle on her horse led to him feeling that way, but she gets it. Now she just needs to explain that to him...somehow. She starts by stepping closer, shaking her head and meeting his eyes. How can she put up with him? Simple. She loves him. Hopefully he can see that.]

That's not what it meant, Leon. It just meant that...[sigh. words, stop failing her!] I trust you, but what happens if we get separated? What happens if we can't rely on each other for a while?

[She leaves that question there, not willing to think on if that "while" turns into "forever", and instead reaches out to put a hand on his cheek. It's a more gentle gesture than she's used to making, but hopefully it gets her point across.]

You're always going to be important to me. Even if there are some things I have to do that make it seem different.

... Oh. That guy.

[You may sense a familiar (at least to Lightning) feeling of bitty getting a little bit... anti-Leon. He can't help it.

You're his and Serah's big sister. You don't get to have another man in your life. Never ever.]

Have you thought of making chilli chocolate? It tastes really good?

[And chilli chocolate is much easier to sabotage.]

_{[He'll try! He's everybody's life coach, this guy. (Except his own but ssh.)]

[But since she doesn't seem to mind, he shrugs.]}

To be perfectly honest I wouldn't have pegged you as the type either.

_{[The kind to make chocolate, that is.]}

[Oh, she can indeed sense it. Happened last time and she was just wondering when it would happen again.

...Also, she already had another man in her life long before Leon. His name is Snow and he calls her sis and she's his little sister, so...sorry, Hope. That already happened.]

I can't say I've ever heard of it, actually. It wasn't in the recipe book.

[A nod; she can agree with that, easy.]

I wasn't. Not until today.

[Not until she had a reason to make them, anyway.]

My mom and dad used to love it. They gave it to me once.

[This story ends with Hope puking.]

I didn't like it much, because it was spicy. But it involves little chilli flecks in the chocolate.

[She certainly can't see it ending well; he didn't seem to be the type to like spicy food and chili is...something else.]

I'm not sure we'll be able to make that. Haven't seen anything like chili here.

Didn't realize today was such a big deal.

[ She is teasing about Lightning being so into it, but she really didn't know! ]

It depends on who you ask, really. It's a bigger deal to some people than it is to others.

[aaaaand she didn't catch the teasing this time. She is telling the truth, though! It wasn't such a big deal to her last year, so...]

Sneaks up on you, doesn't it?

_{[He kind of misses being in love, himself. It's pleasant and weird in all the right ways.]}

Something like that. I didn't expect it to happen like this.

[Pleasant and weird and...kind of frightening. At least, for her it is. It's her first love, after all.]

_{[Love is always frightening. It's just a matter of being brave (or foolish) enough to accept it.]}

Like what?

_{[He asks because he's curious.]}

[A pause; how can she put this...]

Here. I didn't expect to find someone in this place, so it's...unexpected.

[Very unexpected; falling in love was never something she thought she'd do.]

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026 [Video/Action for Cherrygrove PokéCenter]

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