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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Okay, she thought as she watched him, maybe saying it again had been a bad idea. Maybe even getting sucked into a Let's Fool Azalea game had been a bad idea. Maybe, if she had to think back that far, making that video post about not wanting her first date to be with a total stranger and kidnapper had been a bad idea.

Maybe it had been, but Kay didn't believe in regrets. She'd genuinely had fun with Johan tonight, and even if things felt different than the way they usually felt when she was with him, she couldn't bring herself to dislike that, either.

If there was anything she was sorry about, it was for stealing the smile from his face. Not for being honest, because she'd never feel bad for the truth, but Kay knew firsthand how the truth could affect you. How it could light up previously darkened paths, but also how much it could hurt, so that sometimes you just wished you'd never learned it at all. But was it hurting him? She couldn't quite decipher the look he was giving her, and he wasn't even looking at her, not entirely.

Well, fine. If he wasn't going to talk, she would. Her eyes weren't hiding anything, anyway.

"I'll say it as many times as I have to," she told him. "But if telling you the truth means you're going to look over my head, then I'll just... uh." A pause, and then triumphantly, "I'll stand on my toes!"

Some things never changed.

Even with all of what had happened, if Johan were to be asked, he would still say that this had been a good idea. He had had fun with her, he'd enjoyed seeing the sights with her, and up until that odd moment that had spun things a tad out of orbit, he'd even been having fun tricking the townspeople. Furthermore, he would have added, he HAD wanted to find out more things. He just wouldn't have thought something like this would have happened was all.

Right now, though, good ideas and bad ideas weren't really the kinds of things going through his mind. Instead, he was trying to bring himself to look at her, especially with her declaration of standing on her toes which, finally, got him to crack the smallest grin and look her in the eyes.

"Sorry," he said at long last, and though it wasn't as much of an apology as he would have liked (he did have the rest of the date, assuming it wasn't over now, to make it up to her) but it was certainly a start, that was for sure. He swallowed, and after a moment, his voice firmer now, he spoke again, repeating his apology. "Sorry for this."

With that, he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. It was kind of curious, to be touching it directly instead of through her usual outfit, and especially not through her muffler, but that was something to ponder at a much later time, when he wasn't looking her in the eye trying to explain himself.

"I can't... I can't remember when anyone--" Johan stopped quickly, a different look taking over, and then he shook his head and resumed, correcting himself. "I can't remember when anyone human ever said anything like that to me with such... honesty, and earnesty. I just... I don't know what it means. I mean, Juudai and I have been through a lot, and I never up and had to run away when I was with him, but..."

Johan frowned. He wasn't doing a very good at explaining himself after all, was he?

After a moment of silence, he put his other hand to his chest and looked down.

"You... Really are a great friend to me, Kay. I don't think I've ever had one like you, before." That was important. He couldn't keep saying people were like Juudai or weren't, and Kay certainly wasn't like Juudai, because no one was like Juudai but Juudai, and no one was like Kay but Kay. And through her words--

And it clicked. His eyes widened in surprise, the clenched feeling went away and, in its place, came warmth. With that in mind, he put his hand on Kay's other shoulder and, after all of this, actually smiled at her.

"I get it now, Kay. I think I really get it now!" And he couldn't help but laugh. He almost felt like crying even. In fact, he'd hug her if he hadn't been doing close to that just a few moments ago. "I... I do care about you for more than just our partners, Kay! A lot more! And I realize that now, I just-- I didn't understand, I've never had this kind of thing before, and it was so--"

And then... Oh, the heck with it.

Johan, grinning like a fool, pulled her over and gave her a hug.

Kay stilled under his hand, rather fascinated by the changing of Johan's expressions as he struggled to get out what he wanted to say. It was like the facial equivalent of a light show! She suppressed a smile at that, made easier when he added his other palm and she relaxed a little under that warmth.

Johan had once said that she was like Juudai, but different, something Kay hadn't been too sure that she liked. He hadn't been able to explain it, then, and throughout it all, she'd been worried that their friendship's basis was all due to their Pokémon. And she hadn't wanted that at all.

So when he finally said it, and said it joyously without Kay having needed to steer him in that direction at all (not that she would have), she almost felt like crying. He cared, and it wasn't through spirits or their partners or Kay's ties to a vigilante thief, it was because he was Johan and she was Kay, and a promise to watch each other's backs had been renewed.

It took a minute or two for her to work out what had just taken place, but then her arms went around his neck and she buried her face in his shoulder and just-- held on. If nothing else, this date had helped them both. Not exactly for the sake of practice, but it had done so much more.

"Feeling's mutual," she mumbled, trembling slightly with the effort to not let her emotions get the better of her. "I can't steal that."

Johan wasn't so sure about that, but he knew for sure that this outing of theirs had definitely been for the better. Meeting Kay had been for the better, quite frankly, and that wasn't going to change, no matter what ever happened in the future.

At Kay hugging him back, Johan let himself close his eyes and smile for a moment. He definitely was right now, and there were going to be no more doubts about Kay. Of that much, he was sure. It seemed he was suddenly becoming sure of a lot of things, as it happened, and he didn't mind at all.

"Actually," he mused quietly, finding himself starting to tremble just a little bit. As long as he had her there, though, he knew he would be okay-- That everything would be okay. Tipping his head slightly, pressing it against hers, he grinned a little and continued. "If you ever want to, I won't mind getting stolen if you're the thief behind it all."

She'd been doing so well, too, but that one little comment of his had the additional effect of that rush of heat returning to her cheeks. Luckily, she was able to dispel it fairly rapidly, thanks in part to reminiscing about the "fight" she'd staged with Juudai over who was stealing whom. It was simple enough to joke with a friend, even if there were some problematic feelings simmering underneath it all that she wasn't sure what to make of just yet.

Kay shivered involuntarily, unable to comprehend whether that was due to that weird feeling in her chest or if the temperature had dropped at all. She didn't move away from Johan, though, and grinned impishly up at him after the chill passed. He'd as good as volunteered himself, something she could tease Juudai about later if it ever came up. "Johan get!"

"Johan get?" he repeated after a moment, as if he was testing out how the words sounded out of his own lips. Not that him doing that to himself made much sense, but then, not a lot of what had transpired tonight would make much sense to most other people anyway. That was kind of nice, in a way. A night only they would understand.

He chuckled a little at her boldness, having no idea what was going through her mind at the moment, and even nodded. He hadn't been lying when he said that, oddly enough, even though him and being possessed (literally and otherwise) by others was always a soft subject.

"So long as you don't go stuffing me in any balls--" Johan pulled back just a little, just enough so he could look her in the eye and grin properly at her. "Yeah, I don't mind being yours then."

Kay had seen romance movies. She knew all the pick-up lines, all the pet names, all the softly murmured terms of endearment, and she prided herself on being immune to the ones that occasionally came her way from people she didn't know all that well-- or at all. But she knew Johan, and it was because she knew Johan and had seen him as the typical dense guy when it came to things like... this, that she was once again caught off-guard. And this time, she couldn't clamp down on the blush in time.

In her defense, this was new territory. Kay had never heard something like that from anybody, since most reactions to thieving were indignant and irate, and here Johan had turned it on its head and she-- wasn't sure how to respond, except by being as lighthearted about it as she was about everything else.

"I like to give my stolen stuff breathing room," she said solemnly, praying heartily that the darkness would be enough to cover the redness of her cheeks and knowing it most likely wouldn't. So, in the hopes that there was no way he could fluster her any further, she gestured back at the town they'd more or less just left. "... Did you want to go back or stay out here, anyway?"

Honestly, Johan hadn't really meant to fluster her - he wasn't even aware of the reaction he'd gotten out of her. He had already agreed to be her partner, in more ways than one, tonight after all, and he found himself fine with the concept of "being Kay's", as unusual as it sounded. But then, he'd never known a thief before, and even if it had, they still wouldn't have been Kay, so he supposed this kind of thing came with the territory. He'd even be fine with it if she wasn't a thief, really. He trusted her more than--

... This was probably where Amber Mammoth would have hit him with his trunk for being weird, so Johan had to make do with a mental version of the feeling.

Now, what Johan was aware of was the fact that she was looking... flushed? Red? That, combined with the fact that she was there in that dress and her hair was down... Johan knew what the word was, but he couldn't bring himself to think it. In fact, he couldn't even bring himself to comment on that particular thing he'd noticed out loud, so instead he stored that picture, the image of her before she'd looked away, away in his mind and pondered her question for a moment, as well as the feeling of it as well.

"I don't mind," he told her, in response to her first comment, and that was the truth. After all, they'd been in close quarters from nearly day one, having to huddle together for warmth under the rain and all; he really didn't mind Kay being close. He tilted his head slightly and glanced in the direction Kay turned, before looking back at her. Deciding, since she'd gone and asked and all, he would bring up her face; albeit not in the way he had initially thought about it. He still wasn't sure what to make of that. "... Are you getting cold? You're starting to get red."

If she had been any older than seventeen and any less of a chipper and perky and relatively innocent girl, Kay might have mentally cursed. As it was, she could only be grateful that he didn't know the real reason behind her flush - nor did she know entirely, if she had to be honest - and didn't take much time to run through her options before she selected the easiest one.

"A little." She smiled at Johan crookedly and tucked a few strands of loose hair behind her ear. "I guess I'm still not too used to the weather here, but it's only a matter of time before I conquer it, and then I'll never freeze again!"

Sure, she was honest, but there were times when one just had to lie through one's teeth, and this was one such time. It wasn't exactly a lie, anyway. She was shivering on occasion, whenever a brief gust came by, because this dress wasn't the most wind-resistant. It probably wasn't designed to be, but this was a one-time occasion. Kay could put up with it and, frankly, she liked looking... pretty, every once in awhile. She couldn't say that she did, but Johan had called it cute, so that was good enough.

"Never?" Johan laughed at that. He had no idea that that wasn't the entire truth, though it wasn't as if he had any reason to suspect her of anything anyway. Instead, he just laughed at her determination. She seemed plenty fired up to him, but he wouldn't comment on that if she really was getting cold. "Maybe I'll take you back to my school someday then. It's really cold there!"

Johan, having never seen a romance movie and having little knowledge on the subject, might have been innocent. But he did, for better or for worse, try to know a little about dates, for Kay's sake, if anything, so perhaps he wasn't completely innocent - even moreso given that he was about to tell a little almost lie of his own - but all the same, there were only good intentions behind his next move.

"Anyway..." With that, Johan stepped back and slipped an arm around Kay's shoulders, giving her a grin of sorts as he did. It wasn't the only reason he had done it, but-- "We can head back now. Mind if I keep you warm on the way?"

Was that supposed to be incentive? Enduring stormy weather had been hard enough (and it was lucky that neither of them had been afraid to invade personal space back when they'd just begun to know each other), but at the thought of an entire location of freezing temperatures, Kay very nearly blanched. Her next shiver wasn't a false one. But she had to admit, the prospect of seeing Johan's school was one that piqued her interest. It was just too bad that such a thing would likely never happen, being that they were from different worlds-- and probably different times, at that. With that came the reminder that Johan wasn't always going to be there, and Kay was dismayed to realize that thinking like that hurt.

She did her best to put it out of her mind for the time being, casting a glance at her friend when she felt his arm wrap around her shoulders, and responded with a wider smile. Chances were this was just Johan being his usual considerate self, but she'd never been uncomfortable with his brand of affection. The blush had faded just slightly, and she gave it no mind, having since decided to just bear with it and instead moving a little closer to Johan's side. He made an excellent wind shield.

"You'd better be prepared to do this when I drop by to see your school," she remarked, mock-sternly. "Unless you've got spare parkas. Three of them."

At her shiver, Johan reminded himself that, as much as he liked to joke about it, Kay really wasn't used to the cold and apparently she wasn't a fan. A fact he'd suspected and now confirmed, and at the feel of it against her, he pulled her a little closer and gave her shoulder a comforting rub. Though it hadn't been his original intention, he could still do his best to warm her up, right?

"Hehe, is that so?" He pretended to look thoughtful, tipping his head up towards the sky as if he was remembering something. He waited like that for a few moments, with a mmmmm and hmmmmm as he "thought", until finally he glanced back at her with the most innocent, blank look he could muster. "The thing is, I don't think I have any spares..."

Oh sure, he had it easy. He had a Dratini that acted as a gigantic scarf and, while Kay had her muffler and a Murkrow to keep her from succumbing to the occasional cold spell, she would still never get as used to the cold as Johan was. She'd had that problem when she wound up with that fever and spent the majority of the day in bed with both Byrne and Windy snuggled up close to quell her shivering fit.

She raised an eyebrow at Johan now as they walked along, and did her best not to break into a laugh. She recognized his playful moods, and his attempts to be subtle and innocuous were always a source of hilarity for her. It was cute, if she had to put a label on it. She was able to curb her amusement this time, though, out of fear that he'd move his arm if she did. It was warm, and comfy, and she rather liked it where it was. "So does that mean I'll just have to steal yours?" came the retort, and her eyes were just as wide and innocent as his were.

Johan really did hope she'd get to see his school someday, or something like it. Perhaps it was just because he'd grown so accustomed to it, or perhaps because he just had always had an affinity for things like crystals and the like (so seeing enormous ones made of snow and ice on a regular basis was just amazing), but he really did love his school's surroundings, no matter how harsh they could be, and he did think that Kay would at least like to see them.

... But that was really neither here nor there, at least not right now. Instead, he simply looked at Kay, still keeping himself looking innocent, but now came a smile because, really, what else could he say to this after the words they'd exchanged earlier? "I don't know. Why would you need to do that when you've got me?"

Because you are nowhere near as warm and fuzzy as a parka, was what she almost said, but Kay didn't think that would fly. It would only be half-true anyway, since she'd learned months ago and reaffirming now that Johan was indubitably a suitable source of warmth. There were just complications with wearing a boy like a jacket, but instead of blushing at the implications, Kay found herself succumbing to the urge to laugh. The mental images were just too funny!

But it was true, what he'd said. After everything that had happened tonight, Kay could say without hesitation that she had Johan. As a partner, as a friend, as a leg of the Yatagarasu, as a date (for tonight), and (most recently) as a heater. A heater that engaged in lively conversations, no less! Everyone else would be jealous.

"You're right," she admitted, after she'd stopped chuckling. "I've got you, so..." And she turned herself and wrapped her arms around his torso, slowing their walking speed in the process, but she didn't really care. There was never a bad time to hug a friend, and especially when they said things like that. "I'll be stealing your parka and you for double the warmth, so get your practice in now! I mean, what kind of Great Thief catches a cold?"

A pause.

"... Just so you know, that one time in the rain totally doesn't count."

Johan smiled broadly as Kay began to laugh. Now that was the Kay he knew! Of course, he might not have been smiling had he known that Kay was imagining him being turned into a Johan jacket of some kind, but for all he knew, he might have laughed at the mental image as well. Once he'd gotten used to the idea of him being worn, anyway.

He didn't really mind that they would be slowing down a little, really, the only thing that would have made him mind was if she would be cold, but given that it was her who instigated it, he supposed that that was a moot point. He did have to grin at what she said, though. So she was after him and his clothes now too, huh? Just where was she going to stop?

"Double warmth, is it?" he mused after a chuckle or two of his own, adjusting his arm to Kay's new position around him, looking down at her as they walked. "Hehehe, well, I'll be sure to get in all the practice I can get then! But you'd better be prepared, Kay, that means I'll need you for that too!"

At that, he really did almost laugh. And, continuing on the theme of him being used...

"Sorry, but I don't know how to turn into an umbrella."

"I figured," Kay said wryly, and her grin (more of an amused smirk) went unseen. "It's not going to do me much good if you practice with some other beautiful girl thief, after all." She didn't think there were too many of them around, anyway, and certainly none quite like her. Which suited her fine; she liked being unique. And the thought of Johan doing this to some other girl oddly bothered her, but not enough for her to waste minutes pondering on what that actually meant.

Johan's next comment drove those thoughts from her mind, and once again, her laugh rang out. Forget him as a jacket, Johan trying to be an umbrella tickled her even more. "You're not big enough," she gasped out between her laughter. "And I definitely wouldn't be able to hold you over my head! J-just stay Johan, okay?"

As if reading her mind, Johan just shook his head and answered for her. "I don't think any other beautiful girl thief would be enough like you for me to have to do that anyway." At that, he gave a firm, serious nod as if to make this point more true. ... Plus, he really hadn't ever met another girl thief before. Or a regular one, for that matter, at least as far as he knew.

"Hmmmm..." Grinning all too happily at the reaction he'd gotten out of her, Johan withdrew his arm from around her and, doing his best not to break her grip around him, Johan did his best to lean over her, spreading his arms out over her head, to pull off the best impersonation of an umbrella he could do. ... And he was trying not to join her in laughter as well, but who knew how long that would last. "Look at that! A Johan umbrella after all!

Yeah, probably other beautiful girl thieves weren't from California. There were probably some... Scandinavian ones or something who wouldn't need to steal parkas. ... This was too weird of a subject to think about, really.

Kay blinked when Johan suddenly shifted away, about to ask what that was about when he adjusted himself and--

Duly noted, never challenge Johan. Not until she could keep a straight face, which she was certainly failing at just then. She took a few, slow steps forward, but moving had just gotten even more difficult, and she was laughing too hard to properly support herself.

"L-like I said," she managed to gasp out, and tipped her head back to see his face-- which was now almost disconcertingly close. "Just stay Johan, okay? I don't know how dry I'd stay like this."

"As your loyal umbrella!" Johan leaned just a little closer, not noticing quite yet just how close their faces were, and instead puffed his chest out as best he could, given the... position he was in. He'd gotten her to laugh, that was something. "I will keep you dry no matter what circumstances come our way!"

-- Hm? When did her nose get so close to his? He could see the sparkles in her eyes (Were they of the stars? Or something else?) a lot more clearly than he usually could.

... Oh well, it didn't matter really. He gave her a grin, not moving much, then nodded just a bit, so he didn't bump heads with her.

"But I guess if you really want me to stay Johan, I guess I can manage that much. Hehehe."

Johan clearly wasn't bothered by their newfound proximity - and why would he be? They'd abolished personal space months ago - and Kay knew she shouldn't have been bothered by it, but... then again, was "bothered" really the term? It wasn't a bad thing... it was just being a lot closer to him than she usually was, but no big deal. And if she said that to herself multiple times, sooner or later she'd believe it wholeheartedly.

"I really want you to stay Johan," she reassured him, testing out her walking ability by managing a few more small steps forward. They weren't going to get back for hours if he hung on her like this. "Since I really like Johan, and if you weren't him, I'd have to wonder why I'm doing this."

At Kay's comment, Johan felt... something bubble up. It was nice. As they began moving again, that stupid grin he'd start wearing more often slowly began to resurface itself, and he aimed it directly at her for a moment, not sure how to question what he now wanted to ask, or if he even wanted to ask it. While he was still perfectly fine with their closeness, even enjoying it, it was her words that had gotten to him once again.

... Sadly, he'd forgotten that he was still the ever, well, derp Johan Andersen, and after his body had gotten the better of him earlier on, it was time for his mouth to get ahead of him before his brain could give it the orders it needed.

"So you'd only do any of this for Johan?" he asked, both curiously and... no, it couldn't be hopefully. That was just silly. Besides, he was probably one of the least possessive people on the planet, ironically enough.

Kay blinked at him just as curiously and not as hopefully, wondering where that had come from. And then actually thinking about it before she opened her mouth. What was "this", anyway? Was it the entire date? The asking about the Yatagarasu? That whole display of sweet nothings and sentimental exclamations? The... this? Would she have told anyone what she'd told him tonight? Would anyone else have even gone along with sitting on the roof?

Kaito, maybe. Possibly Crow. Juudai, but he'd flat-out said he had a commitment to Yubel, and the thought of doing anything romantic with him was too odd to think about. Crow hadn't been too thrilled about 777 in general, and Kaito... would have been fun, but there was something still mysterious about him. She couldn't put her trust in him completely, not until he trusted her.

She couldn't say for sure whether she would have done this with anyone else, but she knew she wouldn't have been as comfortable with it as she was with Johan. Which, she supposed, meant that, in a nutshell, Johan was the only one she would do this with. She couldn't even think of comparing it to the same done with anyone else. Half of this date had been because of Johan being Johan.

"Yeah," Kay said thoughtfully, sounding somewhat surprised. "I would."

Johan blinked right back at her as she responded to him, no elated response or desire to embrace her and twirl her around coming out of nowhere, like one might expect after getting that response. But then, Johan still wasn't entirely sure why that had suddenly felt like an important question in the first place, or why, even if he had control over his body enough to not tackle her to the ground (that and, well, he was draped over her already) he did feel pretty elated for some reason.

It wasn't as if he would be jealous if she went on a date with someone else. She wasn't even on a real one with him, was she? This was just... an outing between two friends. But one for them. So if she went on something like this with someone else, that wouldn't be too bad... But then. she had said yes, right? So did that mean she wouldn't anyway? Even if she did though, this was still... ... Wait a minute, just what was "this" anyway? Everything? Just parts of it? ... Shouldn't he have been sure before he asked?

Darn his mouth.

... Though she had said yes, and a grin started to creep back onto his face, his previous one having faded as she thought about her response.

Obviously it would have to wait until after the 777 mess, but maybe he should ask her to do this again. If they were both having fun, and she'd only do this, whatever this was, with him, it wouldn't be fair to deprive either of them of it, right? But... maybe not so formally? In their regular clothes? Though, at that, his earlier thoughts resurfaced, from when he grabbed her from jumping away to change.

After realizing he'd now been silent for probably too long, and now wearing a grin for a few moments with no words coming out, Johan laughed sheepishly. His thoughts had gotten the better of him again. Still, at least it hadn't been his mouth again.

"Ehehehe, really?" he managed to get out finally, the surprise in his voice still there despite him having had her response in him for a good little while now. His grin, and laugh, turning to the more earnest, he took a breath and continued. "I'm honored!"

For about the fifth time that evening, Kay wondered what was going through Johan's head-- and what it was that was making him grin so much without saying a word. It was easy enough to read him, she'd discovered; she knew when his smiles were fake, when something was bugging him, when he had something up those frilly sleeves of his-- but he'd become harder to read tonight. Not because he'd been closed off, but exactly the opposite: he was now displaying so many emotions at once, Kay couldn't help but think of him as a kaleidoscope.

Upon hearing his (belated) response and having no idea of what he'd even been thinking about, her grin resurfaced. "You should be!" Though the tone was teasing; Kay not have been the most humble and modest person ever, but she wasn't vain by any stretch of the term. If it came up, she'd admit that she was just as honored that Johan saw her as someone important without her Pokémon. "But you know, Honored One..." The grin grew about ten times more mischievous. "You're heavy."

Edited 2010-08-09 23:10 (UTC)

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AND THEN HE TACKLED HER INTO THE WATER

HE DID IT BECAUSE HE CARES

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