route_1065 | MAKE UP YOUR OWN CATCHY LYRICS

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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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... The look she gave him didn't help Johan's growing weakness (his Johan-ness?) any, that was for sure. Deflating even further, but not to be put down just yet, he offered a weak, sheepish smile. He hoped she didn't think he was trying to catch her off guard with something now, he couldn't even think of anything at this point to do that with, if his failure to egg her on was any indication. Instead, he just gave her that pitiful look for a moment.

"Listen, how about we start over?" he offered. A moment later, he realized what he'd just implied, and quickly shook his head. He didn't want to do that. "I mean, from a few minutes ago. Pretend that didn't happen. And I won't challenge anything you do after, if you want to do anything at all. Does... That sound fair?"

Kay's expression changed from wary to almost hurt, though she caught it just as quickly as it took for Johan to clarify his meaning; hopefully he would have missed it entirely. She didn't want to think about reversing the events of the whole date, not after... well, everything. There had been too much that rang of importance... she didn't want to lose a bit of it. But since that hadn't been what he'd meant, that gave her some time to think over his proposition.

And it didn't take much time at all for her to slowly nod. She doubted she'd be doing anything like that again, even if he wasn't going to challenge it (and she still didn't know why he would have), but Kay didn't want this to end on a sour note. Gradually, her frown faded. "... Yeah, it sounds fair."

Johan nearly missed Kay's expression, that hurt face staring back at him for a brief instance, but he stopped shaking his head just as Kay caught herself. He'd only caught a glimpse of it, but it was enough for Johan. He didn't say anything, but he knew what he'd unintentionally proposed, no, just the thought of what he had unintentionally proposed hurt her like that. And as he thought about it a little more, he agreed with the sentiment. Way too much had happened to simply erase and start over.

As Kay agreed with him, Johan's smile, still pitiful at the best description, still didn't grow. He'd... made things awkward somehow, hadn't he? First with his "challenge", then this. He definitely had to make it right somehow, and though he still hadn't spoken, one look in his eyes would tell anyone that something was going on in his head. He still hadn't forgotten that look of hers either.

The silence was different, she thought absentmindedly. It was the kind of awkward, uncomfortable silence she hated, the kind she usually tried to end as quickly as possible with some over-the-top statement-- but something cautioned her not to do that this time.

She did notice the look in Johan's eyes, as well as the fact that he didn't look any more reassured or cheerful. That was a warning sign right there, and she balanced herself carefully to move a little closer in order to decipher his expression better. "... What is it? You still look like someone stole your cards."

"-- Stole my cards?" Johan blinked a few times, the most confused, stupefied look he could possibly muster on his face for a few moments, temporarily replacing the one that had been there. Laughable as it was, it wasn't there long, for the one that had been there just before soon replaced it again.

He shook his head, realizing Kay meant it as an example, and smiled awkwardly.

"Did I mess this up somehow?" he asked quietly. He hadn't come up with anything to save the day, so all he could do, he supposed, was ask for the simple truth and go from there. It worked for some people, himself included, right?

"No!" It came out slightly more vehemently than Kay intended, and she winced and quickly shook her head. She really wanted to tell him that it was because of him that things had actually gone this well, and that she'd been comfortable (if just a little odd-feeling) with this whole thing because he'd been there. She'd had fun with him, and there weren't too many people who'd willingly go along at her pace without having to pause at least once to catch their breaths. But Johan had been there the whole time, always smiling and encouraging and there, and to hear him potentially blaming himself was something she couldn't allow to continue.

"You didn't," she added belatedly, as unnecessary as it was to say that after her initial outburst. She'd turned in his arms to grasp his shoulders, green eyes locked onto green eyes. "You didn't do anything wrong, okay? If anything, I was the one who messed up." If she hadn't kissed him, it wouldn't have led to this, but even then, Kay couldn't say truthfully that she regretted having done it. She paused, somewhat lost without her muffler to grasp or her gloves to tug at, then flexed her fingers on Johan's shoulders and continued. "I'm sorry. I might've been a little too..."

... What? She didn't even know what word she was aiming for. Affectionate? Stubborn? For someone who had blithely insisted that a prosecutor needed to get more wound up, Kay was dealing with an unusual dilemma now, unsure if she really had gone too far at some point.

Maybe she'd had it easier before she'd started meeting boys close to her age. She could grin and tease the adults just fine and drag them around on joyous chases, but she couldn't understand boys at all.

Johan's eyes widened at the sudden eruption from Kay, which soon passed instead of continuing onwards. Still, it had nearly made him jump, and his heart had skipped a beat, hearing her cry out like that. She'd stopped, for now, but to Johan, that one cry of denial had already spoken a lot, enough to soften his expression for the moment and wait for her to continue. She looked... not fired up now, but she definitely had a lot of emotion in her eyes now, that was for sure.

He blinked, only once, as she turned towards him to look into his eyes, because after that, he found he couldn't blink or look away while she was talking. He felt her fingers flex, like she was trying to hold on to something, but her grip was already more than enough to keep her held on. So what...

Her muffler? He'd known Kay long enough to know that that was a source of comfort for her at times like this, and here she was, almost naked in a way, having to use him instead.

That thought struck something in him, in that place that, while having been rarely (if ever) struck before, kept getting struck tonight. Pushing that thought away, he unknowingly began to have a similar set of thoughts to those that Kay had just had.

She had messed up? She had messed up? After everthing she'd done for him? After all the things that had happened? She hadn't messed up, and he wasn't going to let her think that even for a second. Not even the kiss had been messing up. While it might have been the spark that lit the fuse to the bomb known as awkward, as far as Johan was concerned, it still hadn't messed anything up. In fact, it had been kind of--

In any case, it was Johan's turn to say something now, and he started by shaking his head.

"Neither did you. You've been just the opposite all night, so don't apologize," he began, offering a pensive smile down at her. "It was... Well, the point is, you weren't too anything. You're Kay, remember? That's all that counts for me, so don't change that. Too something or not enough something, it's, uh... Well, it doesn't matter!" With that, he gave a very firm nod, finally a sense of normalcy coming to his words, completely missing the increasing volume of them. "We're partners...! We can't mess that up, even if it gets weird a little, but we can get past it-- No, we can work with it! So let's leave it at that and enjoy the rest of the night! Does that sound good?"

... Typical Johan, and the thought came several times as Kay listened-- and tried not to look too startled when he decided to amp the volume of his words. She didn't blame him for it, since the content sounded like some speech the Jammin' Ninja would have given with some orchestral music swelling in the background... or maybe electric guitar, that would have been more fitting, and maybe there had been an episode like this. And yet, as big a fan as Kay was of the show, Johan's words had a greater effect than any of the lines she'd heard delivered a thousand times (and that probably wasn't an exaggeration). That was saying something.

Besides, he had a point, and it was Kay's turn to look pensive as she mulled it over. They were partners. They'd been partners from the beginning, even if it had just been as fellow travelers and trainers. And now they shared the same relationship that her father, Uncle Badd, and... Calisto Yew had shared, only she was sure Byrne had never gone on a date with either of his partners. She hoped. Whatever had happened, whatever would happen, whatever this was, there was enough mutual trust and determination to get them through it. Or work with it, as Johan had said. And Kay believed it.

"No," she said at last, with a crooked smile to show that she wasn't flatly vetoing the idea. Far from it, actually, and a split second later, her smile softened into a genuinely warm one. "It sounds great."

He raised an eyebrow at Kay's cheerful denial of his new proposal. He could tell she wasn't just tossing it out the window, and not a moment later, he was smiling broadly at her as she clarified why she had said what she had. It wasn't a lot, certainly not as much as what he had said, but it had a large enough effect on him regardless.

Large enough, in fact, for him to suddenly, but still gently, set her lower half down on the bench so he could use that arm to now pull her closer into a hug. An odd hug, mind you, seeing as she was still mostly in his lap, but it was a hug all the same and one he found himself really wanting all of a sudden. Besides, she'd practically been giving him one herself most of the night, being wrapped around him and all while he was carrying her, it was only fair he got a turn to return the favor.

And there was no better time than now.

She wasn't sure what she'd expected, but it certainly hadn't been this new positioning, in which she had absolutely no time to adjust herself before Johan had roped her into a hug. Kay didn't mind it at all, despite the first rush of surprise, and grinned affectionately, returning the embrace as best as she could in this position. It wasn't easy, but she managed. She'd never seen hugging anybody as a chore, least of all Johan, who actually hugged back within a second's notice.

"It's okay," she told him, her voice a cheery singsong. "Nothing burned down, no Centers were destroyed, there weren't any jealous vengeful ex-whatevers, or bad guys showing up, and we didn't get food poisoning! All in all, I think we've done pretty well on this thing!"

Jealous vengeful-- Bad guys-- Food poisoning--

Were all of those things really normal date risks, or was Kay just being Kay? Had it been any other subject, he might have been more sure about it, but unfortunately this was this subject, and one that she definitely knew more about than he did. Maybe it was just the risks of going on a date with Kay? In that case, Johan supposed they weren't so bad (wait, did she have ex-whatevers then?) seeing as, well... She was Kay.

"Just because of those things?" Johan replied, pulling her up closer in what he hoped was a comfortable position, resting his head on hers for a moment. "I think we could still say we did well even if all that happened, and more, so long as it still ended up with us here, don't you think?"

"Not just because," Kay demurred, not indignant in the slightest. If anything had been bothering her, it was, without a doubt, gone with the wind. Or... slight breeze, for the sake of accuracy. This was both familiar and new, and she liked it just fine. There was nothing awkward or stomach-twisting about it.

"And I think," she went on thoughtfully, but then stopped to... actually think. Ending with them here meant what, exactly? Them here on this bench? Them here at this point where they'd gotten through a bout of confused and perplexed feelings and could still smile about it? Them here, her practically in his lap, heads touching in what probably could have been seen as romantic by anyone who didn't know them-- did it even matter what it meant? She wasn't about to move away from him now.

At the conclusion of these thoughts, Kay's smile grew softer, as did her manner. "I think," she tried again, and met Johan's eyes for the who-knew-which-nth time for that evening, "that ending up us anywhere means it worked out."

Edited 2010-08-12 06:12 (UTC)

Johan's smile and manner reacted similarly to how Kay's had changed once she looked into his eyes (they'd been doing a lot of this tonight, he noted somewhere in the back of his mind) and finished what she had started. He couldn't help it. Maybe he had been worried about it not working out, maybe he hadn't been, but if it had? Then that earned a smile and then some from him, no matter what awkwardness, now gone as it happened, had driven them to this point.

"I think," Johan spoke finally, having remained silent for a few moments, content to stay like that for a little while longer. Moving his arms just a bit, not so much to pull her closer, but to get a little kind of friendly contact in, he continued. "I think that you're absolutely right."

... Then, a little tease in his voice, a matching look in his eyes, he opened his mouth to add "But if you end up anywhere close to this with 777, I'm going to have Opal Stomp him."

... But instead, he thought better of it and what might result from the comment, gave Kay a happy sort of grin, and closed his mouth. He did have his moments of insight, after all. Instead, something else came to mind, and so, the tease gone from his voice, he tried again. "Thanks for letting me be your first date. And vice versa." Adding a little drama to his voice, but still mostly honesty, he concluded. "It was an honor and a pleasure."

It was a smart move on his part, one that Kay would have appreciated if she even knew what he'd stopped himself from saying. She liked her teasing just fine, and could tolerate it from anybody else, but this wasn't really the time to do it. It felt like it, anyway, though she wasn't one to read the mood all that often in the first place.

After Johan had finished speaking, she studied him thoughtfully. Now that sounded like a conclusive ending, one that typically ended with a firm handshake or... something. It was polite, but she could tell it was truthful-- or, at the very least, it had truthful parts. Well, she could do that, too.

"Thanks for volunteering." She thought about being dramatic, but even Kay couldn't hide the affection that colored her tone. "You made it a great first date, Johan."

"Did I?" It was mostly rhetorical, Johan didn't need to know the answer to that question. In fact, he felt like he already knew the answer to that question. He knew it because she had done the exact same thing for him. Not that he'd... ever thought about dates before, but from the way this had gone, it might just be likely that the idea might be entering his head a little more often now.

"I was glad to do it," Johan continued, ignoring his question, his usual brand of honesty mixed with an addition of affection that, while not always there, was just as sincere as anything else he had said. He paused, eyes still meeting hers, as if drawing it out for as long as he possibly could, but then he had to succumb to the question that surely had to follow a conclusion like this. "Do you want to head back?"

Truthfully, Johan was hoping for a "no", but what else could they do now? Sit here for another half an hour? After their conversation just now, well... ... But still.

Truthfully, Kay wanted to say no. The minute they headed back, if they weren't mobbed by a dangerous combo of Nurse Joy and the nosy Inn woman, they could look forward to getting changed into their normal clothes, returning to their normal routines, and preparing for the (probably not normal) traveling tomorrow.

However, she couldn't argue against the increasingly-persistent voice in her head that pointed out that if they let this go on any further, she might lose this feeling of contentment, or things could--

Kay still hadn't figured out what "things" referred to, but had a vague idea that was probably correct. So then, was it time to throw in the towel? There was no sense dragging it out, right? ... Except she had the feeling she would have felt otherwise, even if it had been on the verge of dawn.

"We probably should," she murmured reluctantly, but didn't... actually move, except closer-- which probably didn't make things any easier.

Johan blinked. Kay's words and her actions said two completely different things, and it was her actions, despite her words agreeing with Johan's own words, or his question at least, that Johan felt inclined to agree with. It was a difficult choice, one that wasn't being made easier at all by the fact that this might be the last time he ever got to be like this with her.

It was that thought that eventually decided what his current course of action was going to be, regardless of what she had said, regardless that common sense told him that it was over and that they had done well and it was time to stop-- The idea that things would go back to normal and he'd never have her like this with him again just...

He didn't like it. It made his stomach twist and turn in a way that it had almost never had before. It was that feeling that made him respond to her movements over her words, and it was that feeling that allowed him to pull her closer, regardless of that fact that he knew better.

That... wasn't going back. Kay knew it immediately, just as she knew that she should have repeated herself, more firmly this time, and that maybe this time, he'd-- she'd believe it. She was right. Logic was right. They should go back.

But Johan had read in-between the lines to find the actual meaning. That, or she had hid it poorly, but she'd known he was perceptive, a lot more than people tended to give him credit for. Almost desperately, because she also knew better, Kay squeezed out a weak "We should...", but found herself unable to either repeat her previous words or finish them this time. This was new. Normally, Kay knew exactly how she felt, and her words reflected that, but why was it now that she had no clue what she was doing and what she was feeling and she couldn't even begin to sift through either one?

She dropped her eyes to her hands, pained confusion written on her face so plainly that she could have been an open book of notes just then. And then she closed those eyes, clenched those hands, and willingly went into Johan's arms.

This was different. Was it wrong? He didn't know. Right and wrong had always been... mostly clear to Johan, but he'd been aware of the shades in-between from a young age. Was this one of those situations? Was that why, despite how much he wanted to keep things like how they were right now, things felt wrong? ... What was wrong about it anyway? They were just sitting here hugging, holding each other, weren't they? This was okay, wasn't-- No, no questions. This was okay. This was okay.

... Then why had she given him that look? True, he was going through similar emotions himself, but that look-- Even if Johan hadn't been feeling these peculiar feelings tonight, that look still would have felt like getting shot in the chest. And thanks to all of those duels in the other world, Johan actually had a pretty good idea of what getting shot in the stomach felt like.

And right now, he found he preferred the real thing over this new feeling.

He wasn't sure what Kay thought they should do, though he had two pretty good ideas, ideas two parts of him agreed with, but he couldn't help himself. His own mind, conflicted, was ultimately silenced as Kay let herself be drawn into his arms. He pulled her closer, as close as he possibly could, as if he were trying to squeeze out all the confusion and pain he'd just seen on her face and keep her there so he could keep it away from her, and then keep her there some more.

New. It hadn't been the first time Kay thought it, not tonight, but this time it rang with a clarity that finally pulled some understanding into her muddled mess of thoughts. It wasn't the first time, and this wasn't the first time she'd been close to Johan, but sometimes it had been for necessity, most of the time it had been friendly gestures, an affirming touch, cheerful and playful hugs and taps and nudges. When she'd been with him, or any of the others - Crow and Juudai, mainly - she'd always felt that they'd viewed her as one of them. Maybe she was a girl, but she was a different brand of girl, one who could run with the boys just as well. Kay didn't mind this, having entertained amusing thoughts such as that Mr. Edgeworth had more feminine qualities than she did on occasion. He certainly liked frills and fancy clothes better. She was used to what they'd had, and what she had now with her friends.

But Johan wasn't holding her like a friend would have. And she didn't feel the way she normally did when hugs were involved. Sticking close to him during the storm had never made her heart beat like this, or make her dizzy, and there hadn't been a single puzzling thing about it. Was this really all to blame on this being a date, or was there something else behind it? If she would have felt this way with anyone else, she was starting to regret accepting 777's offer, but something told her there was more to it than that.

"It's okay." She wasn't sure if she was saying it to Johan, or to herself, but Kay lowered her head, hair falling into her eyes, and repeated it firmly. Her voice was quiet as she leaned closer. "It's okay. For a little while longer..." Let's stay like this.

Things would go back to normal by tomorrow. She was sure of it.

Like a drop of water in a still lake suddenly making ripple after ripple, the "okay" out of her mouth, intended for Johan or not, had a very similar effect. Though he was still confused, and those original feelings were still there, still ever present in the forefront of his mind as he held her, the ones questioning him, questioning this (Is it wrong? Should they have gone back right away? Should he have never picked her up in the first place?) began to dissipate one by one. That was one thing taken care of, at least.

It being okay still didn't explain anything. Why did he want to keep her there in the first place? Why did he feel like this now that she was there? This blurry, fuzzy, dizzying feeling... Logically, when experiencing something like that, you would want it to stop, wouldn't you? Yet Johan felt the exact opposite. But... Why had he never felt like this before? They'd been in close quarters before, but he'd never paid attention to things like the strands of her hair or the feel of her breath or--

His breath nearly caught in his throat again, and he swallowed, hoping it would allow him the gift of air once more. He knew he hadn't felt like this before, and most definitely not with Kay. Would it be like this for forever? ... Did it really matter? That would be something he - they - would deal with with the time came.

For now, Kay's voice had finally made some sense. At least, what little sense there was to be made of this situation, if that sense even made sense in the first place. In any case, Johan wasn't about to do anything other than obey it, obey his newfound instincts, and lower his head and place it on top of hers. Just for a little while, it would be okay. They could stay like this, in their own private world, without question or confusion, and it would be okay.

It would be okay.

For her part, Kay had finally silenced all the doubts in her mind. Not indefinitely, but she wasn't going to allow them to plague her until she had the leisure to sit and think about them in greater detail-- and she'd be by herself when that happened. But she didn't want to think about them now, or think about what had to be done or what was going to happen. She was a girl who loved the present, who lived in it with as much enthusiasm as she could muster (which was an impressive amount), but she'd dealt with the past before she arrived, and now it was the uncertainty of the future that was bothering her. Even if it was just for tonight, she grounded herself in the present and didn't permit herself to think of anything else.

Except maybe that Johan was warm, and the weight of his head against hers was a pleasant one, and that she fit rather neatly and comfortably in his arms. None of this was anything she'd say out loud, but she acknowledged it without any sense of denial and relaxed completely against him. Even if it was for a little while, and they'd definitely go back to the dorky duo that they were, she enjoyed this newfound aspect too.

And with that, Kay closed her eyes once more, breathed in, and just let herself be held for as long as Johan wanted to. It had been a good night.

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