route_1065 | MAKE UP YOUR OWN CATCHY LYRICS

Truthfully, Johan didn't know much about dates. He didn't know if he was supposed to act differently (though a certain previous conversation involving "babe" and "sweetie" came to mind at that thought, which quickly lead to Johan dismissing the notion of acting differently entirely), he hadn't the slightest idea as to what kind of manners he should use (if only to make sure Kay was prepared for her mission), and he certainly didn't know if he was supposed to dress any differently. Should he dress like 777? Should he dress for a date?

It was all very confusing, and made Johan wish he could turn and ask Amethyst Cat or Ruby for advice - but as he couldn't, and he needed to do this without his Pokemon, he just took a deep breath and continued on.

Luckily for Johan, as he was changing in the Pokemon Center after a quick bit of training that afternoon, something he probably should have been doing in a less public area, the Nurse Joy dashed over with stars in her eyes and set him straight with something more appropriate (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:DP_Rich_Boy.png). Or so Johan was told, anyway, he would have been perfectly comfortable in going in his regular clothes, but the nurse simply insisted...

For some inexplicable reason, Johan found himself getting just a bit nervous as he approached the place where they agreed to meet. He told himself it was simply because he was going into this alone and, quite honestly, that at least probably had something to do with it. Still, it was certainly unlike the duelist, and noticable enough to have him stop back at the inn to get a drink - causing him to be at least a few minutes late.

Eventually, though, Johan found himself jogging towards... a girl? Who was that waiting there and where was--

... Wait a second.

"Kay?"

She heard him before she saw him, and there was something about that tone that had her just a bit reluctant to turn her head and acknowledge him. He'd sounded... stunned. Well, of course he would, it wasn't like she went running around with her hair flowing free and clad in white all that often - nor would she, because all of the above would slow a thief down immediately and Kay was too active for flowing and fancy garments - and maybe he was horrified that she'd bothered to dress up, or it was all wrong, or--

... Wait a second.

She recognized the hair, and the face. She'd seen it too often not too, but the suit made her stare for longer than was strictly appropriate. Surprise warred with relief (because at least she wasn't the only one out of her regular clothing) and then, perhaps realizing that things would get highly awkward at this rate, she cleared her throat.

"Hey, Johan." It emerged as a squeak, causing her to frown and shake her head. What was she supposed to say, anyway? In the movies she'd seen, the girl had always descended from some place high up in a ballgown or something, and the date had gaped like he'd just seen a miracle, and violin or piano music had played...

... Okay, so her options were limited, but she didn't think she wanted Johan staring like that anyway. So Kay settled for commenting on his attire.

"You look..." What was a good word? Classy? Good? She could have honestly gone with either one, but settled instead for "... Dapper," because that sounded right. Guys in suits were dapper, she was sure of it.

At the sound of her voice, or at least, the sound of a squeak that resembled her voice, Johan relaxed somewhat. Somewhat, however, wasn't nearly completely, because as oblivious as the duelist could be sometimes, he was aware there was something he should be doing now (or was it something he shouldn't be doing?) and more to the point, he knew right then that this wasn't going to be as easy as he'd assumed it would be.

Then again, "no pain, no gain", right?

"Hello-- Kay!" To his surprise, though he started out fairly well, he couldn't help but yell out her name for no particular reason. Probably nerves - when his nerves were like this, he was usually in a duel, and when he was in a duel, he was usually yelling a lot. That made sense, didn't it? ... Well, whether it did or didn't, Johan accepted it as doing as much, and doing so calmed him down enough to continue and process what Kay had just told him, that being...

"Dapper?" Was that a good thing? It... seemed good, but the first thing that came to Johan's mind was the mental image of Flapper, Kay's Wooper, wearing an outfit similar to the one he was wearing now, which in turn lead to Johan snorting and then letting out a laugh, two things he quickly realized were probably inappropriate. "Ehehehe..."

Okaaay, so maybe "dapper" wasn't the word to use. Kay was still blinking from the increased volume of his voice to be too affronted by him laughing, but she was beginning to wonder if this had been the best idea. Johan was her friend, and you usually went on dates with people you liked, so this was bound to be at least somewhat uncomfortable. It was odd enough that she was feeling this nervous around him at all, especially after everything she'd been through, but then again, maybe it had nothing to do with Johan. Maybe it was a date thing. Kay hoped it was a date thing.

And maybe she should stop feeling like a moron and start acting a little more like herself.

"It's code for 'you look nice'," she informed him, starting to grin now. "Aren't you hot in that, though?"

"Hahaha, nah!" Johan shook his head, and, realizing he wasn't getting in any trouble for laughing and, even more importantly, remembering that despite appearances, this was still Kay, really starting to feel more comfortable; Johan smiled amiably at the girl. "It's actually pretty comfortable. Besides, after how cold my school was, any heat is always a welcome change."

He paused, giving his friend a proper look now that he could do that, and nodded approvingly.

"You look pretty dapper yourself," he told her, a teasing grin forming on his face. "I didn't know you had anything like that."

"I don't!" Relief really was a welcome feeling, and Kay fully relaxed. Suit or no, Pokémon or no, Johan was still Johan, and there wasn't a thing to worry about. If there were nerves still twinging, she could overlook them for now. "But the lady at the inn felt sorry for me, I think, and said something about how I wouldn't be able to wow anyone with what I had, so she had me wear this."

With the weather this hot, and not having gone to school in any sort of frigid environment like a certain duelist had, she could only be grateful that it was airy. Half of the reason she'd accepted it was due to the other outfit being entirely black and gray, and that would have ended horribly. She just wouldn't be climbing through any windows or standing on rooftops until she was back in her regular clothes.

... She missed it already.

Having to remember that this was supposed to be a date, Kay sifted through her memories and random tidbits pertaining to what people did on these things, and came up nearly empty-- except for one thing (more than one, to be honest, but there were just some things you did not do outside of movie scenes).

She stepped closer, hand seeking out Johan's and noting detachedly that it felt different than when she wore gloves. Not that she could pinpoint all of the differences, but oh well. "For the record, and you probably already now this..." Kay's grin was on full-force now. "I've got no idea what we're doing on this thing."

"She felt sorry for you, huh? Hehe, well, that was nice of her," Johan nodded, to add his agreement with the point, then ran a hand through his hair and laughed awkwardly. "For me, the Nurse Joy at the center was just really... really insistent that I look good." Quieting down slightly, he looked in the direction of the center, half for comedic effect and half because, really, he wasn't sure. "I think she forgot I wasn't going on a date with her at some point down the line."

Johan had to admit though, as far as outfits go, there had only been one on a girl that had ever really caught his eye - and even then, it had only been because it had been so drastically different from the girl in question's normal attire. In the first case, it would have had to be Asuka at her graduation party, though Johan wasn't too concerned with it after the initial surprise wore off, but in this case, he'd be spending the night with her.

A thought crossed his mind at that, and he glanced at his friend curiously before he replied to her statement. "Are you okay in that, by the way, Kay? It's... pretty different from your usual clothes."

With that out of the way, he continued on, a grin to match Kay's wide on his face as she faced him with hers.

"You're in a lot of luck then!" Johan told her proudly, gripping her hand lightly and putting his other one to his chest. Then, with a wink and a laugh, he finished. "I don't have any ideas yet either."

"Huh?" Kay blinked at him quizzically, then glanced down at herself. It was true enough that it was more... girly (for lack of a better term) than her usual outfit, since even with a skirt, she wore shorts underneath it, and it was a favored combo of cute and practical. She hadn't seen any reason to be concerned about it, however-- except maybe that she'd have to be more careful in it.

"It's okay," she assured Johan. "It's been a long time since I've worn something like this, but it's not like moving in it is hard. Why, does it look weird?"

She might have dwelt on it more, but his comment caught her by surprise, pulling a laugh out of her before she could reign it in. It was a sheer Johan response, and she appreciated the honesty of it.

"Well, we're off to a good start," she managed after a series of snickers. "Not even five minutes in and we're drawing blanks!"

"Oh, no, it looks fine!" Johan shook his head, not quite vehemently but enough to show that he didn't think he looked weird. "Just... different. Cute, even-- Like when you dressed up as a nurse that time, I guess, hehe. But it's so different from what you usually wear, I was wondering if you were okay moving around in it and everything. I doubt you'll be able to do a lot of jumping in this. -- Not that I'm planning on doing that, but you know."

Laughing at her response to him, Johan shook his head again and smiled. What had he been so nervous about? Admittedly, the nerves were certainly still there, as were those feelings, but firstly he had a mission to help Kay complete, and secondly, this was Kay. He didn't have anything to worry about to begin with, and he should have remembered that from the start of this.

"There's nothing wrong with that!" Johan told her, nodding seriously, grin still on his face despite the tone of his voice. "That means we can just add discovering what we want to do to the date itself!"

Johan knew that probably wasn't how most people did it, but why bother dwelling on it? Besides, this way might work better for the two of them anyway.

Had he--

Had he just--

Any other girl would have gotten flustered and/or blushed prettily upon being called cute. On Kay's end, she was too busy dealing with a sense of pride that Johan had actually called something other than a Pokémon cute without having to be prompted. That the something in question was the dress she was wearing would sink in later. Maybe.

"I'll be okay." She gave her friend's hand a squeeze, smiling confidently. "But..." And here she paused as an idea struck her, and the confidence took on a tinge of mischief. "I think we can test out that theory of yours soon enough."

Kay didn't explain further, opting to tug Johan along after her as she set out for one of the town's restaurants. There was a slight bounce to her step, as if to prove that different clothes hadn't slackened her pace whatsoever.

Edited 2010-08-04 01:55 (UTC)

Johan was confused for a moment. Kay seemed to have paused for no reason that he could fathom, all because he said something about her clothes. But Kay wasn't that kind of girl, was she? He'd never seen her like this, after all, perhaps there WAS something to think about during all of this--

As it turned out, though, she wasn't that kind of girl at all. Whatever "that kind of girl" even was, anyway.

"Hmm? Which theory was that, Kay?" Johan asked, momentarily confused, but giving her hand a squeeze in return and a hopeful, curious smile to mirror her more confident one. He wasn't sure what her idea was just yet, but knowing Kay, it was, at the very least, going to be fun.

Maybe not entirely safe, there might be some burns at the end of it all, and his outfit might end up a little torn by the end of this (though maybe she wouldn't get her normal set of ideas, she WAS still practicing for a real date after all-- Johan would have to pay attention and do more of the same), but without a doubt, there was going to be fun at the end of it. So when Kay started pulling him along, he just started to grin cheerfully and match her pace so he could walk alongside her as best he could.

"About my jumping abilities in this dress," Kay replied blithely, her tone almost deliberately saccharine and definitely delighted at the prospect of a challenge. She suspected her date with 777 was going to involve dinner and something romantic, and it might have been better to try and steer this date in that direction in order to get the practice, but the simple fact remained that this was Johan. She respected him far too much to even consider anything that would just make the both of them uncomfortable. Date-like things, she could maybe pull off, once she figured out what those were, but for now, she was winging it. It was obvious that Johan trusted her enough to leave it to her, and she'd always liked his hopeful smiles-- it made her all the more determined not to let him down.

With date in tow, she selected one of the restaurants at random and approached the hostess with a request to see the menu. Any and all offers to seat them at a table were refused with a firm head shake, repeated several times when the the hostess insisted that they provided lovely candlelit settings, perfect for romantic dinners. Kay wasn't interested in fancy at the moment.

"Order whatever you want," she told Johan, holding the open menu with her free hand. "We won't be in here for very long; we've got a deadline to beat!"

"You mean you actually want to find out?" Johan asked inquisitively, pausing for a moment as he processed what she was saying and what she already had said. "No, wait, you plan on finding out already? Just what do you have in mind, Kay?" Though even as he asked that, Johan knew she wouldn't tell him, and truth be told, he wouldn't entirely mind if he didn't. As long as it wasn't those ledges again, he knew there likely wouldn't be any real harm in it, and there wasn't any fun in never taking a risk. Therefore, before she even had a chance to answer him, Johan smiled at her and shook his head. "Aaah, actually, you don't need to tell me. I'm sure I'll see what it is soon enough, right?"

Curious at the looks and various questions and offers the staff gave the two of them, Johan had to give himself and Kay another look. Did they really look like the types that would enjoy a private, candlelit area for themselves and a romantic dinner? Sure, they were both dressed up, but... Despite himself, Johan found himself laughing just a little, for no reason he could particularly pinpoint. If anything, he was at least already having a good time.

"A deadline? You threw together a plan this fast, huh? Good work!" Impressed, Johan leaned over to read the menu, smiling merrily all the while.

He'd been right in that Kay wasn't going to be revealing her newly-concocted plan so readily, and she flashed him an approving smile when he corrected himself before she could even open her mouth. Maybe it had only been two months or so since they'd met, but he already knew her this well... it was a good feeling.

"Thanks!" She paused to scan the menu one final time, then nodded when she found her choice and passed it on to one of the servers, along with a request to prepare the food to go. It was less of a plan and more of an improvisation, because Kay was still making it up as she went, but Johan didn't need to know that-- though she suspected he already did. Dates didn't sound that fun if they were strictly scheduled, anyway. If there was something he wanted to do, it would be just as fun to go along with it, too. But there was really only one thing Kay had firmly in mind for today, and she'd stayed up the past few nights agonizing over it. That would come up soon enough.

"To go?" Johan asked her curiously, though his tone said for him that he didn't expect her to give him an answer, at least not a straight one, just yet. Still, he couldn't help but be curious now! What little knowledge he did have on these things told him that usually you ate in a restaurant, like the various servers were implying that they should do, but Kay was already throwing that out the window for her own style of things.

... Well, that was just like Kay, so he supposed that made sense. There was no one else like her, after all, so why would she have to conform to how regular dates worked?

Before things got too far, though, for at least the sake of... something, maybe clearing the water, Johan thought he should say something.

"Hey, Kay?" Johan paused, then nodded to himself, offering her a smile. "I know this is for the mission and all, and... I guess for me too, a little bit, but let's have a lot of fun tonight, okay?"

Kay regarded Johan thoughtfully, head tilted just slightly and eyes meeting his-- and she remained that way for nearly ten minutes without saying a word. Any curiosity as to what she had in mind had been responded to with a smile and a shake of her head; he'd see soon enough what she had in mind. But this comment had genuinely surprised her. True enough that the date was practice for her and hopefully helpful for Johan in order to figure out just how he felt about his human friends, but - and maybe it was selfish - she could try to view it as a date for the sake of a date. Those were meant to be fun, right?

"It's me," she said at last, her smile warmer now. "And it's you-- it's us. We'll have fun exactly because of that, and I won't have to steal a single bit of-- oh, good timing!"

Kay gave the frazzled-looking server an appreciative nod as he handed over two bags of food, forking over the money from a hidden pocket in her dress and nodding to Johan to exit.

Once outside, she gave all of the buildings a good scrutinizing stare, making a show of humming under her breath and either nodding or shaking her head in approval or not at what she saw. And when she'd made her decision...

"This one should work just fine... okay, here I go!"

She'd chosen the tallest house with the widest roof and, with eyes sparkling and chin set, Kay passed one of the bags to Johan, clenched the other one in her teeth, and sprang.

... In a fancy dress and dainty sandals, and it was some miracle attributed to an unknown deity that she caught hold of the edge of the roof and dangled, feet scrabbling for some sort of purchase.

The poor house inhabitants had to be wondering just what was going on outside.

Johan had to admit, Kay's silence did surprise him somewhat. She was looking at him and, from the looks of the look she was looking at him with, clearly thinking over his proposition, but she didn't usually take such a lengthy amount of time replying to him-- At least, not when they weren't talking about serious things like their respective pasts and Team Rocket and the like. He wasn't doubting her, of course, it would have taken an immediate negative response to do that, and even then, he was sure Kay would have a reason for a response like that.

He did have to wonder what she was thinking about during all that time, though.

In the end, she didn't give him a negative response of any kind, not that he'd been expecting one, instead she gave him just the opposite, with a caring smile to match. He wasn't sure what she was about to tell him that she wasn't going to steal, but in the end it didn't matter too much to him - she'd given him an answer even better than the one he'd been hoping for, one he'd probably remember somewhere down the line when things got hard and he needed something to smile at.

... There was one thing that caught his attention that he, being a polite, well mannered young man and all, thought he should mention.

"Isn't it the boy that usually pays...?" he asked quietly, almost to himself-- Kay had given him a nod to leave and was already humming to herself and looking at all of the buildings. He'd barely had enough time to catch the bag as she handed it to him (had it dropped it, it would have been what he got for paying more attention to her and not to her; and he was fully aware of how little sense that made) as Kay...

... She wasn't--

Sure, she said she was, but she--

No, wait-- She was.

"Kay!?" Johan cried, nearly dropping the bag for the second time in as many minutes, looking around and seeing if there was a route more suitable or if he should just follow after her and-- Wait, she wasn't even up yet! "... Do you need a hand?"

"Maybe just a boost," Kay replied, or at least that was what she was trying to get across-- it was difficult to form a feasible sentence when there was a white paper bag garbling her words. She was able to pull herself up higher, but not by much, and it was more out of deference to someone else's pretty dress and not lack of athletic ability that she didn't just haul herself up haphazardly. As it was, she just continued to hang there and scramble for footing.

It had been said before that Kay Faraday wasn't your average girl, something her date probably knew, and would be reminded of several times before the date ended, most likely.

"A roost? Hehe, I think you need to get up there first, Kay!" Despite his little, perhaps not that witty, joke, Johan still approached his date to give her the boost she requested, putting the bag on his wrist by wrapping the "handle" around it and reaching out to her dangling feet, calling out to her as he did so. "Are you ready for this, Kay?"

... Of course, he mostly just asked not to surprise he, he had a feeling she was ready as soon as she told him what she needed. At least, that was what Johan was hoping for, because with a deep breath, he hoisted her as high as he could without so much as a pause.

"Up we go!"

Kay might have rolled her eyes, had she not have been holding on for dear life, but there was an audible sigh of relief when her feet touched something more solid than air. Johan's hands, she guessed, a theory proved correct when he called up to her. A few seconds later, she had the lift she needed to clear the rest of the space and land on the roof with a soft thump.

"Thanks," she called down, once she'd set the bag down, and scooted back to give him room to attempt the same. "You're a lot stronger than you look!" Or she was lighter than she'd thought, but she hadn't felt any sort of strain coming from him.

"No problem!" Johan called back up to her, putting his free hand on his hip and looking up towards the general area so he could contemplate where he'd have to jump now while he thought about her second comment a little bit. Truthfully, it had taken little effort on his part to lift her up, but did that mean he looked weak? That had never really crossed his mind before - he thought he looked like... well, like himself, but if he was something that he didn't look like...

... He was starting to confuse himself. Shaking his head, Johan just started taking some steps back, calling up a "Am I? Thank you!" as he did so, readying himself for his own running leap. When he deemed it a good a time as any, he nodded and--

"Here I come!"

She obligingly eased herself back yet again, quite certain she wouldn't want to be greeted by a flying Johan tackle this time. Not that that hadn't happened before, but Kay still had to be mindful of what she was wearing. Semi-mindful, anyway, because if she'd been entirely mindful, she wouldn't have been on someone's roof in the first place. But this was much better, and she looked rather proud of herself for having made this date an unusual one from the very beginning. And no Pokémon involved, either. They were doing pretty well so far.

His own feet now dangling in the air, Johan found himself hanging onto the same rooftop where Kay was stationed, quickly finding himself regretting the fact that he hadn't put the food somewhere else (like in his mouth) before taking the leap. Tied to his hand might be safe for now, but chances are he might lose it during the process of pulling himself up. Sighing, he looked up.

"Hey, Kay? Could you get the bag off of me? I, ah, forgot to move it... Ehehe," On the other hand, he was still having fun though, even if he was inches from falling off of someone's roof. Well, that was Kay for you.

"Roger that!" she chirped, and this time Kay moved forward and leaned closer to liberate the bag from his wrist. To her credit, she didn't laugh, but there was a tell-tale twitch of her lips that indicated that was only because she could have rigid self-control when she so desired. Typical Johan to jump into a situation without always thinking things through completely.

... Kind of like her, come to think of it.

"Can you pull yourself up?" she asked curiously, unable to resist ruffling his hair as he hung there. He couldn't duck away from her hands like this, after all!

"Thanks!" Johan told her, breathing a sigh of relief as he felt the food get taken from him. He'd have hated if he'd have dropped the food that she'd gone and paid for because he hadn't put thought into his jump. Luckily, though, he had Kay with him, so that wouldn't be an issue.

"Hmmm? Yeah, that shouldn't be a-- Hey!" Johan did his best to tilt his head back when Kay's hands suddenly came into contact with his head-- Just what did she want by doing that? Not fully getting it, Johan gave her a grin, though he wasn't sure if she could even see it from where he was, and hoisted himself all the way up. "Miss me?"

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