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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Eventually, Johan had just decided to ignore the feeling of his face being warmer than usual, in the hopes that it would just go away if he forgot about it. While they were still fairly pink, as he continued to walk, glancing down to make sure Kay was still okay every so often, the color did begin to fade back to normal, until there was barely any trace of them left at all.

Seeing as he wasn't running now, the walk back was taking a bit longer than the initial way out, but Johan didn't mind that, and as long as Kay didn't say she minded or anything, he'd keep this pace slow and steady. Whether the night was over or not, at least as far as... "this"? was concerned, Johan wasn't sure, but he might as well enjoy it while he could, right?

... Was he really enjoying this? ... Yeah, he thought, as he glanced down at Kay again, he supposed he was. He'd say it again; he did like supporting her after all. It was what he did.

As he thought this, more lights started coming into view, at which point Johan considered breaking the silence, informing Kay that they'd be back in town in a moment or so. But... He could wait a minute more, right?

Kay should have been able to determine this herself, but she wasn't exactly paying attention to her surroundings at the moment. Johan's movements and the body warmth of another person were lulling her into... not quite a doze, because she was awake and mostly aware of what was going on, but something complacent and very close to it. She had to blink several times to keep her eyelids from lowering completely, but this feeling of security was more relaxing than she would have thought.

Still, she couldn't stay stuck in her myriad of thoughts forever, and she eventually noticed the lights after a few slow blinks. Like Johan, she didn't say anything about it, though she did gaze up at him inquisitively. It looked like things were finally drawing to a close, or so it felt like.

Johan looked down at Kay once more, just to see what she was doing, to see if she was ready or if she gave any hints as to what she wanted to do - what he got, however, was just a curious, inquisitive stare, one he hadn't been expecting at all. He returned it with a few blinks at first, then an awkward smile, still not wanting to break the silence just yet. Even asking her felt like that would be leaning towards a finale.

So, for the moment, he just looked at her, his eyes meeting hers, hoping some answer would come to him if he stared into them long enough. This was just practice, wasn't it? It wasn't a big deal if it ended or anything, and yet...

For the first time that night, Johan, in full control of his mouth, mind, and body, still continued to blurt out something that some might consider completely unlike him. "You know, ah, how does it go? 'The night is still young'..."

"..." Kay's very first response was nothing more than a very delayed blink, and then he was staring into her eyes like there was some secret or... something in there that he desperately wanted to have revealed. For her part, she searched Johan's in return, not at all sure what she was looking for, but then he spoke.

For a practice date, she thought, this felt like it had become a lot more than that, but thinking about it logically, there was a good chance that 777 would want to draw out their date as long as possible, and she'd have to be prepared. But this was...

... There was no denying that Kay was enjoying this a lot more, despite having had no prior experience in dating whatsoever. She wasn't sure where it would go-- where it could go from here, but if Johan was willing, she was just as willing to see how the night would end and what would transpire before that took place.

"Yeah," she said quietly, thoughtfully, and then her smile lit up her face. "And so are we. So if we're drowning in each other's eyes or stealing the night, or whatever... let's keep living it up!"

"Hehehe, I thought we weren't doing anymore drowning?" Johan teased after a moment, but he couldn't deny that he was suddenly thrilled that Kay was willing to keep this whatever it was-- date, practice date, outing-- going for even a little while longer, and hopefully even longer than just a little while, but Johan would take what he could get. Knowing Kay, and the fact that she had just said they should steal the night (or whatever), that would probably be longer though.

Suddenly feeling invigorated, Johan shifted some, pulling Kay a good deal closer to him as he did, and then began to pick up speed-- But not before swerving to the left. If they were going to steal the night, they'd have to find somewhere interesting to do it, right?

"Where to, Kay? Say the word, and the Rainbow Express is there!"

Only Johan would find nothing wrong with that statement. For his part, he'd said it in quite the charming, playful tone of voice.

"We're not," Kay said immediately, her eyes dancing despite the sternness of her tone. "But they," and she indicated the lights of the town with a grand sweep of her arm, "don't know that, do they?" To be honest, she had no idea what to do next, but she hadn't had a clue when they'd started this date, so it was fitting that they'd be improvising their way through to the very end.

"Rainbow Express" made her let out an involuntary snort of laughter, though. It was just so Johan, for better or worse, and she wouldn't have changed him for anything. As odd as that sentence was, it made perfect sense to her.

"I think I'll let you steer." She didn't protest being held even closer, having discovered that it meant she was joggled a lot less. And a... whole lot of other things that she didn't really understand, but she just knew she didn't mind this at all. "I don't have a destination in mind this time!"

"What, are you up for another round?" Johan asked, both curiously, teasingly, and... well, there was definite surprise in his voice. Given how their last "round" of Fool The Town had ended, Johan would have thought that would be the last thing Kay would have wanted to do, especially with him.

He grinned as she laughed (snorted?) at him, and shook his head. He knew she might feel that way about his choice of name, but he could tell she wasn't making fun of it or anything like that. That was just how Kay was.

"Hehehe, it's a good thing you don't," Johan informed her, turning into town and looking to see if there were any interesting buildings they could go into. It might mean he'd have to put Kay down after all, but if there was something fun to do, that would be worth it, right? In the meantime, a little shot at himself, if it was to Kay, wouldn't hurt to pass the time. "We might not get there if you did."

"Ohhhh, no." The last round had resulted in Johan looking like she'd just ripped his cards up in front of him; Kay didn't think she could responsibly handle another incident like that without feeling tremendous heapings of guilt for the next week or so. "It's just the power of suggestion, that's all. We don't have to pull that act anymore." Even if it had been kind of fun.

She let Johan move as he pleased, well aware that she'd be back on her own two feet sooner rather than later, and so curling up to linger in his hold while she still could. It was funny how quickly she'd adjusted to it, really. "I swear," she muttered, grinning up at him, "we're getting you some kind of GPS in case we get separated again."

"That's fine with me," Johan replied, though he did hope it wasn't totally because of him that she wasn't doing it again. ... Who was he kidding, it probably was. As silly and ridiculous as it had been, up until that point, it had still been curiously fun. At that thought, and Kay's "power of suggestion" line, however, Johan got another bright idea. "... Hey, how about we do it again sometime though? Maybe when we get to Violet?"

Just picturing the looks on some of the faces there - mainly familiar ones, though he had to wonder if it was just this town that was so nosy! It was a shame Johan wasn't really thinking of what the concequences of doing that just might be, or his expression might be the complete opposite of what it was now.

"Hey!" Laughing, Johan shook his head and pulled her just a bit closer, now used to, though still not expecting, the slight flush that began to fill his cheeks as she did it. Johan was used to it, sure, but clearly some part of him wasn't. Or something. "I'd rather get a rope and have you hold onto one end and me the other than something like that. Let's not prepare for getting lost, let's just not get lost from each other, huh?"

Kay considered it. She thought about Hiruma cackling his head off and insisting that he'd known she was eager to start a family. She thought about Kaito and Crow, both grinning and probably not fooled at all. She thought about... how she really needed to know more girls. And then she thought about Edgeworth and Smoker and how they'd react-- and she winced.

"Maybe," she replied dubiously, "but probably not in Violet. I mean, if word gets out, and 777 hears about it, I don't think he'd want a date with someone 'taken'..." And she'd lose her chance to get him to stop stealing, or learn more about the organization she was so bent on shutting down for good.

Johan's next lines got her grin back, one that widened when she saw he was blushing again. It became less teasing and more fond, though, as she reached up to pat his shoulder. "After all that work it took finding you again, you'd better believe I'm not letting you get lost on your own! That was too much trouble, you know!"

Johan blinked at Kay's reaction. He honestly hadn't been expecting the wince, or the dubiousness of her initial response, but it became much more clear as she continued speaking. Little did he know that wasn't her original thought at all, but he'd never even considered what the others might thing beyond their own initial surprise. Maybe he'd had too much fun doing this before things had gone awry...

Or maybe he was just too Johan.

"I see what you mean. We don't want to compromise that any... So maybe we'll wait until you're finished with that, if at all." At that, part of Johan did remember a lot more clearly that, aside from simply saying this was practice, this really was practice for something bigger. Would it pay off in the end? Would it have been a waste of--

He didn't even finish the thought. No, it wouldn't have been a waste of time. Why he felt so vehement about that all of a sudden, he had no idea, but Kay was grinning at him again. "I know, I know. I don't plan on getting too far from you to let that happen anyway. They don't even make ropes that short anyway!"

"Any and all ropes should be used for rope ladders, anyway," Kay said firmly, who was of the staunch opinion that every good thief needed one of those. She just hadn't... found or made one yet, but she made a mental note to do so. It was easier than thinking about this eventual date, because this was supposed to have been practice. And then she'd gone and forgot that very simple fact.

She frowned slightly, drawing a hand to her chin. Still, she and Johan had done... date-like things, hadn't they? So it had been practice, after all, with some unexpected results. But... Johan and 777 were two very different people, and it finally sank in that Kay wasn't going to be entering a very ideal situation when this date actually happened.

"I really wonder how that's going to turn out," she murmured, half to herself.

"Is that so?" Johan inquired, blinking curiously. He didn't know why Kay was so firm about it, but if that was the case, maybe he should have gotten her some of those Escape Rope things instead of a fishing rod like he'd done. He supposed that could come later, if that was such an important thing. He could even put them together in ladder format for her!

Johan paused, watching Kay think, probably about similar things that were going through his mind (sans rope ladder gifts anyway) about her, the date, and her upcoming mission-slash-date with 777.

"We can't really know until it happens, can we?" Johan mused out loud, looking up for a moment, then back down to Kay, a pensive look on his face. "I know you'll do the best you can to do what you're going there to do, though." He continued, albeit under his breath. Not that it would do him any good, given her proximity, of course. "And I'll find a way to have your back."

What they were going to do was the problem, though. Doing things with Johan hadn't worried her; she knew and trusted him, and that faith had paid off spectacularly. Doing things with 777...? Hopefully it'd just be a dinner or something. She could probably handle that. Logically, she knew she could probably handle anything he had in mind, if she had to, and he wasn't solely a bad person, but Kay wasn't really looking forward to it.

Johan's comment didn't go unheard, and she met his eyes with an unusually sober look of her own. "Are you that worried, Johan?" Though it could have just been how he was, considering how determined he'd been to support her in nearly every way imaginable.

Johan bit his lip, looking down at her with an unreadable expression for a moment. He closed his eyes, still continuing his walking, though slowing down in case they began to approach someone who might overhear. It was one thing for the people of the town to overhear them "romancing" each other, it was another altogether when they were talking about Kay's mission. Who knew where Team Rocket members were hiding? Even Johan wasn't that ignorant - but he couldn't be, when he had the chance.

"Mmmm, you know I know I feel. I believe in you one hundred percent. But... I don't believe in him." And then, a bitter look crossed Johan, a spark that would surely become a fire when the time was right was in his eyes, and he shook his head. That wasn't something Kay needed to see. "I just... can't forgive them, or trust them, even a little bit. I know you do, but... I want to be there in case something goes wrong. What if he brings allies? What if he takes you? What if he forgoes the date entirely just to lure you out somewhere and..."

As far as Johan was concerned, spirit or Pokemon, if you separated someone from their partner, you couldn't be forgiven. Just because 777 had fixed one mistake didn't make it right for him to go and do it to someone else, in fact it made it worse that he'd gone and pretended to be nice and then double crossed everyone by doing that; and him being part of an organization that thrived on that thing was just despicable. While Kay might have been giving 777 the benefit of some doubt, if Johan got close enough to the guy to go on a date with him, chances were he wouldn't last long enough to even order the meal before letting his emotions get the better of him.

... But that had nothing to do with Kay's real question, did it? Quietly, unable to meet her gaze, he sighed and looked away.

"I couldn't stand it knowing something happened to you or your Pokemon and there was something I could do about it." He paused, then shook his head and added quickly: "Not that I think something is going to happen, or that you couldn't handle it if it did, because you probably could, even better than me if I was in that situation, but--"

... Fine, maybe he was worried.

Allies, she'd considered. A trap, she'd considered. Being taken herself had the odd effect of causing her lips to twitch upwards, before she hastily covered it up with her hand. So far as she knew, Team Rocket stole Pokémon, not humans. Flirt or not, she highly doubted she was going to end up being carried off by her date.

Never mind that her date was carrying her now.

"I'm not kidnapping-material." Kay said it lightly, not because the topic itself wasn't meant to be taken seriously, but because she really didn't want Johan worrying. "And besides, on the really low chance that it happened, I'd get a good opportunity to see their base, so it wouldn't be a total waste!" Her optimism never wavered, really.

She did give Johan a level stare, and then sighed softly, more under her breath than anything. He really was worried, and it was actually about... understandable things, rather than Kay fretting over how proper dates were supposed to go and what was customary about doing it with a kidnapper.

After another long silence, she reached up to tousle his hair gently. "... I'll keep Byrne and Jam with me, but I'm going to leave the rest of my team with you, and Little Thief. Just in case. Not that I think that anything will happen, but if they're with you, that's one thing I definitely won't have to worry about."

Had he still been in a teasing mood, Johan might have offered something like "Well I'd kidnap you" to make her feel better, or something to the effect. Then he'd have proceeded to wonder why offering to kidnap someone would make anyone feel better. Then a whole myriad of thoughts stemming from that peculiar one might have come to him.

Sadly, he wasn't in a teasing mood right now. He was in a mood that, a lot of the time, rarely got to be seen by anyone, even Juudai.

"I guess you have a point..." Johan murmured quietly. Still, he was sure there was a way to get into their base without making her bait, but he wasn't about to say that now when she was being so optimistic. The more fiery part of him mentally added that he wouldn't let those... people, if they were human enough to even deserve being called that, have her for long enough to even make it back to their base; but again, he didn't want to hurt her plans or her optimism, so he kept quiet.

For all he knew, 777 would stay true to his word and the date would go fine, Kay would get information, and they would proceed with... whatever plan came after that.

Under her steady gaze, Johan's thoughts eventually ceased, instead watching her. He did hope he wasn't making her think, despite his words to the contrary, he didn't think she could handle it. He did, in fact, maybe it was him that couldn't handle this. Now that was something he'd have to think about later-- In the meantime, though--

"E-Even Little Thief?" Johan choked out, surprise written all over his face. ... he supposed it was understandable, after he gave it two seconds' worth of thought, she probably didn't want them falling into Team Rocket's hands, but it was still a surprise nonetheless. Plus, she was trusting all of that with him. "... Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Kay's smile didn't falter a whit, nor was there any hesitation in her tone or demeanor. She herself might have teased him about a variety of things, but it was evident that Johan was in a serious mood, and trying to force him out of it didn't feel right to her. All she could do was try not to let the worry get to her. It wouldn't do her friend any good if she revealed that she was nervous about the whole upcoming affair-- and she didn't even have a time and place yet!

"You're the only one who knows about it right now," she continued, though even if he hadn't been, she still would have left her most important possession in his care. He'd more than proved himself ten times over. "But not counting that, I know you won't let anything happen to it-- or them. You wouldn't want to deal with me if you did!" There was a bit of a laugh in her words, though she calmed soon after. "So I'll leave them with you. Take good care of them, Johan."

"I see..." Johan watched her, her smile, watched her as she spoke. She seemed confident enough, but this was Kay after all. Confident was probably her middle name, if not in this life then at least in another one. Still, even she couldn't be confident all the time, even he had had his moments of weakness-- He'd shown that and then some tonight.

Right now, though, there was no weakness in his voice or on his face when he spoke again, after he searched her for a few more moments.

"You're right," he told her, quietly but firmly. Nodding, he then let himself offer a small smile. "I'll treat them like they were my own, all of them." And Johan meant that, too. He'd protect his spirits with his life, the same applied to his (and really, most) Pokemon, the same would most definitely apply to Kay's. Adding a little laugh, he nodded once more. "Besides, I'd hate to see what the mighty Kay of the Yatagarasu would do to me if I failed my first job under her."

Kay very nearly assured him that it was going to be ten times worse than what he and Juudai had put her through yesterday (and why they'd taken such a fiendish pleasure into tickling her into silent laughter was something she'd probably never understand), but she didn't think she wanted to remind him that his friend was ticklish. So instead, she only lifted her chin and gave him a stern look.

"It would be the stuff of nightmares," she said ominously-- an effect that was ruined when she cracked a grin a split second later. "You wouldn't be spared, even if you cried for mercy." It probably would have worked better if she hadn't been looking so gleeful. Her upbeat manner seemed to have cheered him up, which was what she'd been counting on.

"Like I'd do that!" Johan protested, his growing grin betraying the offense he'd put into his voice at her threat and look. As if he could stay serious for too long with her around like this. He shook his head, still grinning, and looked down at her. "I'd take it in stride-- I wouldn't make a sound! In fact, you'd end up stopping just from my silence during it all!"

... Not that that really made a lot of sense, or maybe it did, but Johan thought it sounded good.

It sounded funny, was what it sounded like, but Kay had already delightedly responded to the challenge with a retort of her own. "The only way you'd be silent is if I stole your words! And I'd be a lot more silent than you'd ever be able to be! Not even a sound."

To prove her point, she folded her arms across her chest, pressed her lips firmly together, and fell silent.

... What a duo.

Johan opened his mouth, a defiant response already in mind, but upon realizing just what kind of challenge Kay had given him, he immediately shut his mouth. If being silent was how she wanted to play, then being silent was just how he was going to play right back at her.

Of course, he could grin at her while he was being silent. Why?

Even as they were being silent, she had forgotten a very important thing. She was still in his arms.

It was too bad Johan had caught on, or this would have been a very short-lived competition. But then, maybe it was for the better. This gave Kay something to focus on, other than future dates and missions or the night ending eventually or the other things that had been a steady, worrying nudge in the back of her mind.

She didn't trust that grin, though, as evidenced when she raised an eyebrow at him and watched him warily. Just what did he look so pleased about?

Johan didn't give anything away, not at first anyway. No, he was going to let Kay wonder about it for a little bit. Judging by her expresion, as wary as it could be for someone in her situation, she was doing just that - and that would have fueled his grin just a bit more, had he not chosen now to begin toning it down a little. He couldn't give it away too early, could he?

Then, all of a sudden, he began drumming his fingers against her leg. Slowly but surely, away his fingers went, just... drumming. She'd have to notice that, though.

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