route_1065 | MAKE UP YOUR OWN CATCHY LYRICS

Entry tags:

MAKE UP YOUR OWN CATCHY LYRICS

Who: Kay Faraday and Johan Andersen
Where: Azalea Town
When: Tuesday, August 3, late afternoon/evening-ish
Summary: Kay didn't want her first date to be with a Pokémon kidnapper. Johan is a good friend. Date GET.
Rating: G, most likely!
Log:

Had anyone told Kay Faraday that she'd be going on her first date in a world not her own, she would have laughed.

... Or maybe she would have been intrigued first, and then she would have laughed. But at the moment, Kay wasn't laughing. She was instead waiting outside of Azalea's Pokémart, shoulders for once free of Pokémon after a long talk with them about staying in their balls this time. Just for a little while, she'd promised, and they were more than welcome to stick close to her for her eventual date with 777, but this wasn't him, it was Johan, and for Johan's sake, it was only going to be the two of them.

Plus, she didn't think a date with anyone would go well with a jealous Zubat trying to bite whatever he could reach.

With her limited knowledge of what one was supposed to do/look like on dates, Kay had done her best with the minimal resources she had. Namely, she'd let her hair down, had a minor moment of panic upon realizing that her only other outfit was something reminiscent of a burglar, and had been on the verge of convincing herself that this was Johan and he wouldn't care if she wore a sweatsuit and baseball cap until the inn's owner had taken pity on her and found her a dress to borrow (she missed her regular outfit already).

"Okay," she said aloud, sucking in a breath and doing her best not to fidget. So maybe this was a first date, but at least it was with a friend, and just because she'd never gotten any dating advice except "Not until you're thirty" from both her father and Uncle Badd, that didn't mean she couldn't pull this off! This was practice for a mission! "This'll be easy!"

Or so she hoped.

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In the past three minutes, Johan's smile had gone through an incredible range of emotion, and Kay would have normally remarked on it, thoroughly impressed at that, but she had a certain flush she had to get rid of.

It hadn't been the first time she'd heard something like that, right? Not counting family, and she knew Edgeworth would never have just outright said that he was grateful for her company (though she still maintained that she was good for his nearly-nonexistent sense of fun), but hadn't Crow and Kaito made it clear that they were glad she'd been stuck with them in that tower? So why?

Her eyes flicked briefly down to their joined hands, then up to his face again, and she felt the heat ebb. This hadn't been just for her, but also for him, and if he'd been able to say that much sincerely, that was promising. Above all else, Johan was her friend; she could ignore whatever odd feelings were threatening to stir and focus on just having fun with him right now. That hadn't changed. But first--

Kay moved gingerly, not out of any sense of hesitation but so as not to tear the dress on sharper portions of the roof, and leaned against Johan. They'd been amiably affectionate long enough without any sense of discomfort, so she had no problem doing so now. With her free hand, she pulled the bags over as well, sifting through them to find one of those fancily-cut sandwiches.

"Actually..." Her smile came easily, but her tone was solemn. "Before I forget, there was something I wanted to ask you."

From the looks of it, Johan wasn't the only one who was going through a lot of thought; or was it confusion? Whatever it was, it seemed as though Kay was ready to take a break from it and resume their date, if her choosing to leaning against him and getting the bags over to them was any hint of it. Curiously, though, again something felt... off when Kay pressed herself against him, where was off in itself given how often something like this would happen between the two of them. It wasn't off in a particularly bad way, it was just different.

Watching her remove one of the sandwiches, Johan decided it was just because he hadn't fully gotten used to her change in wardrobe yet and left it at that. Besides, it looked like it was just about time to eat, which, sad as it was, would quickly wash away other curious thoughts from his mind.

Well, except for the ones sparked by her suddenly solemn voice, which made him look down at her, question now in his eyes.

"Yeah?" He moved slightly, so that she could be more comfortable up against him, and continued. "What is it you want to ask, Kay?"

All was quiet for a moment, while Kay studied the sandwich she held without bothering to take a bite out of it. Nerves and the knowledge that it would be hard to start this topic with her mouth full prevented her from doing so. At last, she seemed to have reached some sort of conclusion, and tipped her head up to look at him.

"You know the Yatagarasu was a three-person group, right? Before I came here, I was getting ready to look for other members, because I really couldn't do anything as a vigilante thief... not on my own. I didn't think I'd have to worry about it when I came here, but with Team Rocket happening... it's pretty obvious that the Yatagarasu's first theft is going to be here."

She frowned anxiously, fingers tensing without realizing it. It was rare that Kay was so serious, but the Yatagarasu was one of those subjects that she took very seriously and, after having learned the truth about her predecessor, how her father had been betrayed by someone he'd trusted, she'd been forced to think long and hard about this decision.

"Johan." She looked at her friend firmly. "You wanted to be my partner, but right now, I'm asking you if you also want to be the Yatagarasu. There's a difference, and if you get this involved, it's going to be dangerous. It won't be just about gathering information; we're going to have to risk breaking laws, and you're a pro duelist, right? If you get involved in heists, or whatever it is we end up doing, I don't know if it'll have anything to do with your reputation with the people you know here. I wasn't planning on having you get this involved, to be honest. But I..." Here she swallowed thickly against the lump in her throat. Shih-na's betrayal still stung, and the truth was still a fresh wound that she'd glossed over until now. She should have been wary, she knew she should have been, after everything that had happened, but there was absolutely no shadows in Kay's eyes, no veils of secrecy. "I trust you. I'd trust you with my life, if it came to that. You've been helping me out all this time, but I never once asked you what you wanted, so... I guess I'm asking you..."

From how positively nervous she looked and the almost tangible tension surrounding them, anyone observing might have thought that Kay was about to propose marriage.

"Johan..." She almost bit her lip, but refrained. "Will you become a thief? Will you be one of the legs?"

"I..." Johan was surprised, to say the least. He hadn't expected this date, this practice date, even after the conversation they'd just had, to take such a serious turn - perhaps Kay had been waiting for a good time to ask him this? Regardless, the surprise was clear; such a question, after hearing her talk about it for so long, definitely took him off guard.

He could tell she was serious. She was rarely this serious, but here she was, looking up at him; nervously, anxiously, with no idea what his answer would be - an answer that might change things between them completely. He knew how important the Yatagarasu was to her, he'd be a fool not to.

The weight of what she was asking him was not beyond him.

Normally, he might have looked behind him to ask his partners' thoughts on it. In fact, almost instinctively, he turned his head slightly in the direction that Ruby would normally be perched, as if she would be there with a positive or negative response to push him in the direction he should go in. Ruby, however, wasn't there. Amethyst Cat-- Sapphire Pegasus-- None of them were there behind him, and his gaze faltered upon remembering that fact in full.

Yes... The weight of what she was asking him was not beyond him, and the fact that this was the first decision he'd perhaps ever had to make all his own since meeting the Gem Beasts made it all the more heavy; all the more important. The things they would do might not be legal, they might even get into some dangerous situations, and...

... Really, the more he thought about it, the more he came closer to his decision, to the realization that perhaps his decision had already been made, he just hadn't been aware of it. As she said, they had been partners this long, and he'd been, much to his surprise, fully prepared to go after her wherever she went, whatever she got into, to fight alongside her. Just as he would have if it had been Juudai, and... he supposed, Kay now as well. He couldn't keep saying "like Juudai" with her anymore, could he? It would be like saying Juudai was like Kay.

His voice quiet, but now as firm and confident as ever, he looked her in the eye and offered the smallest of smiles. "I've been your leg for weeks now, Kay. You just didn't know it yet."

This was perhaps the longest Kay had maintained a rigidly still posture, every part of her poised for-- something. Any sort of reaction that would give her a yes or a no, and she'd been prepared for a negative one, and how she'd have to draw back if that was indeed the answer he went with. But she hadn't said anything else until he'd spoken again; she'd watched him, and observed, and waited, all things Kay didn't usually do without having to be reminded to do so.

When Johan's answer did come, quiet but full of conviction, it took her a good minute or so for it to fully sink in, complete with tiny choking noise. Then, with no idea what she was doing, but running on instinct the entire time (because that was just what she did), the sandwich was dropped back in the bag and she pushed off from her seated position to pull him into a hug. Not for the first time did she wonder if Byrne choosing him as a nest on that first day was truly a coincidence, or if the Murkrow had lived up to his name and had known what would come of it.

"I don't think I'm going to forget anytime soon," she muttered, a true statement if the tightness of her grip was any indication. There were no more doubts in her mind; she'd made the right choice with this one.

When Kay's initial response came in the form of some kind of strangled, choked noise, Johan was just about to ask if she was okay, or at least repeat himself in a louder voice in case she hadn't heard him, or worse, had heard him wrong. That didn't matter though, because shortly after she made the noise, she dropped her sandwich and pulled him down to her and embraced him. This surprised him, at first, but his surprise was gone as quickly as it had come, and he was wrapping his arms around her to return the hug with as much instinct as she had used to start the hug in the first place.

"I'll make sure you don't," Johan informed her, responding to her hug with gusto. She could squeeze him as hard as she could, and even twice that, he still wouldn't mind, and he'd still be hugging her back to boot. ... He paused, though, then with a smile, as if reading her mind's earlier thoughts, added: "When this is all over, I'll have to thank Byrne and tell him the good news, huh?"

The Murkrow was probably going to be smug about this for days, and the thought of it made Kay snicker into Johan's shoulder. She was grateful for that, not having been one hundred percent confident that she would have been able to remain dry-eyed. That stupid lump was still very much present in her throat, but at least her grin had returned when she pulled back (somewhat reluctantly) to retrieve her sandwich.

"If you want him to preen forever, then feel free," she informed him hoarsely. "But before that, we might as well eat all of this before the waiters come after us again to eat inside because it's 'more conducive to a romantic evening' or whatever it was that hostess said." Not that she thought they would, but the thought made her grin wider. She didn't feel like upholding a serious mood for the rest of the date, anyway.

"Maybe I will!" Johan laughed a little at the idea of the Murkrow smugly perching up on his head, and honestly, given what he'd gotten out of the deal, that would only be a small "price" to pay in comparison to everything he'd gained - namely, such an important friend, and all the things he'd learned, about himself and more. These were things he'd never even begun to imagine he'd be finding in this world, in a world without his family...

That would have been a sobering thought, had he not already been considering them, or the lack of them, heavily when he was deciding how to answer Kay's request to join her a few moments earlier; but even now, it still left him wondering things. Luckily, though, there was Kay again, filling the void that they normally filled, and he couldn't help but smile brightly at the idea of the two of them having to run through the entire town to get away from a crazy group of waiters.

"You're right about that. I'd hate to waste all of this!" With that said, he followed Kay's example and went after his own sandwich.

"I'm right about a lot of things," she couldn't resist adding, the airy tone to her voice not only dissipating that lump but also making it evident that she was teasing. "You guys just can't admit it that often!" Especially Edgeworth, but for him, it was more a matter of prosecuting pride, or... something like that. He also tended to forget that Kay had saved his life as a child, but she didn't hold that one against him. Really, she didn't hold much against anyone.

"It's good, though!" With a happy smile, she settled back down on the roof with legs stretched out in front of her. Of course, she had to release Johan's hand in order to fully enjoy the sandwich, but it probably needed a break. "I think we were living off berries and jerky for too long."

"Oh yeah? What else are you right about then?" Johan asked her, grinning just a little mischievously at her. It was a familiar pattern for them, but one that was always welcome. His grin widening, he continued after taking a bite of his sandwich. "Maybe it'd be easier to admit if-- Hey, this is good!"

Crossing his legs in front of him, Johan put it down on his lap and chuckled a little. She did have a point about their diets, though there really wasn't anything they could do about that, and him agreeing with her wouldn't do anything for what he had just said, in any case. So he quietly nodded in agreement, taking on another piece of the sandwich.

A nod of agreement was still agreement, and Kay's smile widened and became just a tad smug. Theory proved!

"A lot." She waited until she'd finished her sandwich, building up the suspense (like any good mysterious thief would) and watching the sky to see if she could catch a glimpse of the first star of the evening. It was becoming more purple and blue now, and the weather was finally cooling off, putting her in a sleepily content mood. She wasn't tired, just peaceful. "For example, I was right when I told Crow you'd probably fall off your Tauros a few times. I was right about all of the court things my dad quizzed me about. I was right about the Pink Badger being a girl, but that one was just obvious. I was..." And here Kay paused, then turned her head to smile at her friend. "I was right about you."

"Hey, Opal makes that happen on purpose--!" he quickly interjected, half-playfully and, sadly, half-indignantly. That bull had something against him half of the time, he really did. He also happened to notice Kay's smile growing ever so smugly on him, but he decided he'd let it go this time. Instead he chose to join her in looking up at the sky, watching the colors change to darker ones with each passing moment, a content smile coming to him.

As it did, however, he realized Kay had turned to look at him.

"Right about me?" Well now he was curious, and it showed. "What do you mean?"

"And you're having me ride him back?" she'd quickly retaliated, half-playfully and half... hoping she wouldn't have to endure Crow lecturing her about how she wasn't supposed to have ended up in a hospital.

At Johan's question, Kay reached her arms back to rest on her palms. The breeze played with her hair, tossing strands of it into her face and prompting a faint sigh of annoyance. It really was more manageable in a ponytail.

After another moment, she shrugged lightly. "I knew you'd have a hard time finding your way back to us on your own, so I came after you. I knew you'd risk a lot to protect others, even if you were the one who got hurt. And when I first met you, I got the feeling you'd wind up becoming someone important. That maybe I'd learn something from staying with you. That if I didn't get to know you, I'd probably regret it."

The thief laughed out loud, remembering how she'd very nearly passed this one by without realizing it. "I should have become a psychic! My intuition's pretty good!"

"He's been gentle with the others, I'm sure he will be with you too," came the sheepish reply, complete with a short and sweet hand running through his hair and a light laugh to top it off. Truthfully, Opal had been getting a lot better since they'd first come together, and even though he still did... occasionally throw Johan off of his back, Johan still trusted him just as much as any of his other Pokemon during battle or with the others. He was just an eensy, weensie bit more wary when on him, that was all - who knew, maybe having Kay there would eliminate the problem altogether?

He blinked at the sudden breeze, as well as the sigh it had given Kay, and without thought or warning, he reached out to move the hair that had gotten in Kay's face out of the way. His hand lingered there for a moment, before he grinned at her, mumbling something along the lines of "Not so easy without a ponytail, huh?", before going back to his sandwich like he hadn't done anything at all.

Of course, Johan had to stare at her as she spoke, saying things that even he couldn't have predicted - for obvious reasons - things that had thrown him, or his version of the events, completely off guard when he'd began to feel them and process that he was feeling them to begin with. He couldn't exactly say or show that now, though, and she knew that anyway, so he simply smiled at her, almost mysteriously, and nodded. "Maybe so."

For the first time ever, Kay regretted having insisted on renting so many romance movies and watching them with her father during that phase she'd gone through when she was nine. She'd much preferred the ninja phase that had followed that-- one that she hadn't exactly gotten over, for that matter. If it hadn't been for those movies, she wouldn't have thought anything of Johan reaching over to fix her hair. If it wasn't for this date, she wouldn't have thought anything of it! Friends didn't care about simple contact, and they certainly didn't take notice of a lingering touch or how warm his fingers had been--

Dates were dangerous, Kay concluded. They made you feel weird. If 777 so much as tried this, hopefully she wouldn't feel like this. No, Jam would probably go for his eyes if he even considered it, and she'd have no problem with it. She became aware that she was staring at Johan now, and smiled ruefully with a murmur of, "I'm hacking it all off next time, I swear."

When she saw his newest smile, she arched an eyebrow, but decided not to ask. Once again, if Johan wanted to talk, he would, so she settled for an understanding nod, and-- let out a delighted cry ten seconds later.

"Look, look, look!" She jabbed a finger at the sky, where one lone light glimmered. "It's the first star! And even at this point, it's already so clear! If you could steal them and have them still look like that instead of giant rocks on fire, that'd be so pretty..."

Yes, of course Kay was getting starry-eyed. Pun fully intended.

...?

Johan watched Kay in curious amusement as time seemed to stop for her. Sure, she was staring at him, but if he was someone who got bothered by looks, he'd never have become a professional anything, and she'd looked at him enough times now that this was nothing new. Curious, sure, but nothing new and certainly not disturbing or anything like that. The day Kay seriously disturbed him was the day Ryo Marufuji declared his love for all things Hawaiian and went on tour with Fubuki Tenjoin.

He did have to admit though, he wasn't sure if he'd done something or if she was just deep in thought, but if he could help, well-- Wasn't that what he was here to do? That in mind, while she was still staring, he offered a less mysterious, more helpful and honest smile; though just as he did, he recieved her response... which in turn made him gape. He really hoped she was teasing.

Just as he was about to say something about it, however, a finger shot past him, nearly cutting off an ear in the process, and pointed towards the sky, at which point Johan nearly jumped out of his skin, thanks to that and her cry beforehand. Thankfully, an explanation soon followed, and Johan found himself turning in the direction of her finger shortly after.

"... Uooooooh!! You're right, there it is!" He looked at her, in excitement, expecting to share the same look with her, but she was too set on looking at the sky, her eyes sparkling like the star that had just appeared up above them. He paused, blinking at that, then grinned and looked back at the sky. "Who knows? Maybe there's a Pokemon out there like that somewhere."

"Like that?" That got Kay to look at him, even though by then, he'd redirected his eyes to the sky, and she did the same a few seconds later with a low hum starting in her throat. What would that even be like? It felt as though they'd been traveling forever, but the truth was that there was still so much of this world she hadn't experienced. New people, new Pokémon... who knew, there really might be one like this!

"Maybe," she agreed, a dreamy and wistful quality coloring her words, "but then I wouldn't be able to steal it, or I'd be no better than Team Rocket. I'd want to at least see it, though."

A few more stars were starting to appear, drawing out a blissful sigh. It really had been too long since she'd last stargazed, since most nights consisted of collapsing into her sleeping bag and not stirring until Windy fulfilled her role as alarm clock in the morning. She'd used to feel small, compared to that vast expanse, but now she only smiled.

"It really is pretty, huh?" Kay glanced at her friend again, perhaps conveniently forgetting that Johan was a boy, and discussing things that were "pretty" with a boy wasn't something one typically did.

"Exactly like that," came Johan's murmured response, not paying as much attention to her, or even the stars themselves now, for his mind was in another place. Duel Monsters, that was a concept he was extremely used to - that being they could be anything. From a plant to a zombie, to even a god! Thus far, though, the same couldn't be said for Pokemon, and he truly did wonder just how far Pokemon went, and what kinds there were... It was exciting to think about, and he'd love to see ones that went beyond the kinds they had been seeing; ones that were just taking the places of natural plants and animals.

"You could always catch it," Johan offered after a moment, though he was still off in his own place, perhaps even a little dreamy sounding himself. These kinds of things, they were like... not food, but they certainly did fuel his imagination even more than other things normally did.

As more and more stars began to light up the sky, Johan couldn't help but grin. A sunset was one thing, a fantastic, amazing thing that he'd probably remember for a long time to come, in fact; but stars were something familiar, something he had always been able to count on seeing no matter where he was, and with them came a welcome sense of... Well, familiarity that had become increasingly rare in this world.

Glancing back at her, Johan smiled. He wasn't exactly the world's most typical boy, if the fact that his most treasured companions were essentially living embodiments of jewels was any hint to that. Not to mention how often one could find him declaring "RAINBOW" something during an intense duel.

Besides, Kay was absolutely right.

"Without a doubt," Johan agreed, nodding at her. "You know... I bet it wouldn't be impossible to catch this more often. It's a shame we miss it as often as we do."

Truthfully, if there really did exist a Pokémon like that, the last thing on her mind would have been catching it. For all of her joking about stealing things, there were some things better left where they were. The stars, for one. But Kay had a reputation to... well, build, as well as uphold, so she held her tongue and only smiled. Mysteriously? Maybe.

And then Johan spoke again, and all mystery was gone, replaced by bright, curious eyes and a chipper grin at the idea he'd just inspired. He had a point: it wasn't impossible to watch the stars. They just hadn't made it any sort of priority - not that she'd blame either of them for that - and so watching this now was a rare treat. But did it really have to be?

"We could look for more clearings on the way back," she suggested, this time taking matters into her own hands when her hair fluttered and pushing it away from her eyes. "Or any kind of high place, just to watch the sky for a little while. I'm not doing too well as a thief of the night if I keep falling asleep so early, after all!"

He raised an eyebrow at the smile she gave him, one that he couldn't help but felt familiar to one he gave her only a little while ago. It made him curious, but at the same time, something in her eyes kept him from questioning her about it just yet, so he didn't press the subject.

Johan laughed when Kay brought up her status as a thief of the night. They'd both been working hard, her especially, so it was understandable for them to be falling asleep early. She did have a point though-- And if it was only for a little while...

"... You know, I bet it'd be something to just fall asleep under this," Johan mused, tilting his head slightly and looking back up. He hadn't exactly responded to Kay directly, but with that response and his body language, it was clear Johan was more than willing to try it out.

... Was that an invitation? It had sounded like one, but surely even Johan wouldn't propose just drifting off on top of somebody's house in borrowed clothing as a way to end a date!

Because if he was, then either she'd underestimated him or she'd rubbed off on him. For all she knew, he could have just been agreeing to do this on the way back... but she wasn't the type to let a good opportunity go to waste, and it wasn't like there was a whole lot to do in this tiny town except stare down the well or get lost in the forest. Been there, done that. Either way--

"If we're trying it tonight," she commented innocently, "I'm at least changing my clothes first. This is too pretty for me." And by pretty, she meant white, lacy, and all too susceptible to all sorts of dirt, smudges, stains, and tears.

At the word "tonight", Johan straighened himself and looked at her, a confused, befuddled look plastered on his face. Was... Was that what she thought he meant? Or was that what she wanted to do, disregarding what he had meant entirely? Really, all Johan had meant was that when doing it during their travels, it would be nice just going out under the stars like that, but...

... Well, he supposed there was nothing particularly wrong with it, was there? Maybe Kay was rubbing off on him, but he couldn't help but grin to himself, even chuckle at the idea of just falling asleep on someone else's room, wearing someone else's clothes, and acting like that was a normal thing to do. Who knew, maybe they could make a habit of it when they were in town?

"Hmm? Oh, I wouldn't say that!" Johan replied cheerfully, attempting to match Kay's innocent tone. While he was still grinning from his own thought process, he'd gone right into replying to her pretty remark with the grin, which might not give off the message he was aiming for. Regardless, the duelist continued, oblivious to anything he might or might not have done, his eyes lighting up in a way they just might not have had he not been exposed to this world, and certain people in it, for so long. "What do you say then? Tonight?"

As she'd thought (after the first thought), he hadn't meant that at all. Too bad for him that Kay was practically glowing with excitement at the idea now. It was new, and the reactions they'd get from the sleepy residents in the morning were bound to be priceless. All the better that Johan seemed to like the idea after he'd stopped gaping at her like she'd just announced she was eloping with Pancake's kidnapper.

"Tonight," she agreed, and stretched her arms above her head. She'd proudly managed to keep from looking flustered from his reply, having reminded herself - as she had been doing ever since this date had started - that this was Johan, and any unusual comments or actions on his part were definitely well-meaning and/or unintentional. "But I'm really not staying in this. I'll freeze."

It wasn't exactly that cold, but who knew these days what the weather would do.

"Really?" At that, Johan had to laugh a little at her - he couldn't help it. But then, he supposed, it was highly unlikely Kay had spent a few years in a school that was in the middle of a giant glacier. Even if it up and started to snow, changes were Johan or any other student from that school probably wouldn't mind it in the least - you had to freeze your butt off searching for cards just to get in, after all!

Still, it sounded like they were going camping on a roof now, and for some reason, Johan found himself getting more and more excited at the prospect of it all. It was... well, for one, so unlike him that he couldn't wait to do it, and it really would be nice to sleep under the stars as well - though he planned on making this a lot more than a one time thing, roof or no.

"In that case, do you want to head back now so you can change?" he offered, tilting his head and smiling slightly. "Or would you rather stay like this for a while?"

Kay met Johan's laugh with a sullen frown, almost a pout, except she never would have admitted it. Maybe he was used to glaciers and frigid climates, but she lived in California, where the only snow that showed up happened to be the cotton stuff in Christmas window displays! All she did was mutter unhappily about being from different parts of the globe, however.

"If you're fine in that, just stay up here." She wriggled closer to the edge of the roof, gauging the distance to the ground and deciding that she could indeed jump it. It was only a little higher up than one of the windows she'd slipped through to rescue her prosecutor friend. "This'll only take a few minutes!"

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