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A female Pyroar waits in the grass for the perfect moment to strike their unsuspecting prey. These patient hunters can wait up to several hours, if it means that they’ll be able to secure dinner for herself and her pride…
That’s how Taunie feels right now. Minus the part of her being patient.
The plan was simple; go out with Paxton in the morning, check in with Vinnie, grab some coffee, then find the opportune time to pop the question. There was clearly mutual romantic interest between the two of them, though up to this point neither had made a move. This should have been a slam dunk; on any other day it probably would have gone flawlessly.
But here she was; defeated, panting, out of breath from running away with Paxton, after yet another event that delayed her confession. For whatever reason, today was just full of crazy things happening one after another!
The mission started at Nouveau Cafe.
The flavour of Taunie’s usual Ember Roast rested on her tongue, while the warm liquid travelled down her esophagus. But that warmth was nothing compared to that which she felt while looking at the person in front of her.
Across the fold-up wooden table, Paxton was sipping on his Fire Blast Roast. The sunlight seemed to be putting in work to make him look as handsome as possible. Looking at him was almost an ethereal experience, and had she not had a plan to claim him for her own, she would love to spend hours just staring at him like this.
“Hah… this coffee really hits the spot!” Paxton cooed. “Thought I was going to freeze to death this morning.”
“You’re so overdramatic, Pax.” Taunie jabbed, unaware that most of her body warmth was due to her infatuation. The two enjoyed the cafe atmosphere and each other’s company, slowly finishing their coffees and croissants while letting time pass by.
Okay… it’s time, Taunie thought to herself. She was going to do it.
“Pax…” she started, unusually quiet for her standards. “There’s… something I wanna tell you.” Her heart was pounding in her chest.
“Sure, I’m all ears.” Paxton smiled, which only accelerated her heartbeat. In an attempt to calm herself down, she exhaled through her nose. And then she opened her mouth.
“Pax… I-”
“KYAAA!” rang the collective squealing of some random ladies, catching both Paxton and Taunie off guard. The former’s attention was directed towards the food truck, much to Taunie’s annoyance. She could only turn her own attention to where the hubbub was.
The staff of Nouveau Cafe had strangely garnered a fanbase amongst Lumiose residents, with some regulars admitting they became regulars because of them. Something about Griselle’s fiery (pun-intended) and harsh personality mixed with Grisham’s calm and collectedness made them fairly popular, and it wasn’t uncommon for groups of people to come up and fangirl/fanboy over them. Much to Taunie’s chagrin, it just had to happen now.
“Ms. Griselle! You’re so cool! Please go out with me!” one of the ladies swooned over the waitress, who wasn’t particularly intrigued by the compliment.
“Tch. Well, what’ll you have?” Griselle just crossed her arms. “The sooner you tell me, the better for both of us.” Her cold response only garnered more girly squealing from her fans.
“Griselle, please.” Grisham tried to calm his partner down. “They’re only trying to compliment you. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Thank you Mr. Grisham! You look very nice today!” another one of the ladies said, inciting the others to agree.
“Why thank you.” Grisham merely smiled, gaining the affection of the customers, but Griselle was having none of it.
“OI! BACK OFF!” she growled, a faint pink appearing on her face. Unfortunately, that only caused the fangirls to loop back to her, leading poor Grisham to try and sort out the situation.
“Yeesh. Those two can’t get a break.” Paxton chuckled, before turning back to Taunie. “Sorry, what was it you were saying?”
Taunie just sighed. Those fangirls kinda ruined the moment for her, so she decided to just try again later. “Don’t worry about it, actually.” She said before standing up to stretch. “Let’s head outta here. Those fangirls are making me uncomfortable.”
And with that, the two of them left the cafe and proceeded with their day, still just as friends.
The two of them found themselves at Passage du Palais a few hours later. Neither were particularly fashionistas, but with the winter season rolling in, they thought it was a good idea to look into some clothes to help deal with the weather
“Didn’t find anything?” Taunie asked as Paxton left Energie empty-handed.
“Nah.” the boy shrugged as they walked to the exit of the passage. “I don’t think Palais has anything that’s my style to be honest.”
“I’ve noticed you’ve gotten pickier when it comes to clothes, Pax.” Taunie teased. “Naveen rubbing off on you?”
“We like to talk about fashion from time to time,” he replied. “And I wouldn’t be calling out clothing pickiness if I were you, Ms. ‘I-don’t-need-no fancy-clothes-for-the-SBC’.”
“Hey!” Taunie pouted, lightly jabbing a now-laughing Paxton. “I wasn’t the only one underdressed for the event!”
“I’m still shocked that Jacinthe had no problem with Ivor rocking up as normal,” Paxton recalled.
“To be clear, I like wearing other clothes, but this jacket is a mainstay.” she clarified, ruffling the collar for emphasis. “I mean, it’s warm, practical, and-”
“It’s special. I know, I was there.” Paxton finished her sentence, placing both of his hands behind his head. “I like that about you, y’know.”
Taunie’s attention was caught. She didn’t expect that from Paxton.
“What do you mean?” she asked, hoping he’d elaborate. And elaborate he did.
“Your sense of sentimentality. You treasure the things that people give you no matter how big or how small,” he explained, “like Hotel Z, or that pouch that Naveen made for you, or even the hair-tie that Lida lent you.”
Upon hearing the latter, Taunie acknowledged the pouch in her pocket and the hair-tie she was using. She really did bring them everywhere, she thought to herself.
“I think it’s your way of keeping the people you care about close to you, and I think that’s really cool!” he smiled.
Oh, that smile.
It was almost dangerous, the way it completely sapped every ounce of focus away from her. Had she no agenda, she’d spend the rest of the day replaying that smile in her mind, relishing the way it made her heart feel warm and fluttery.
But she was on a mission, and the mood seemed right for another attempt at confession.
“...Pax, I-”
“Woah, what’s up with this?” Paxton interrupted Taunie, directing her attention to the commotion in front of them. The latter could only sigh in frustration, both for the interruption, and what caused it.
A crowd of people - all wearing DYN4MO merch - blocked the way out of the passage.
“I swear I saw her around here!” one of them spoke while holding a poster of a certain Electric-specialist. “I need her to sign this!”
“Are you sure your eyes weren’t deceiving you?” another fan replied in an annoyed tone. This one was holding two plushies, but the way they were gripping it made it look like they were about to pelt it at the other.
Paxton chuckled at the situation unfolding in front of them. “I’d wager Canari’s somewhere around here.”
Taunie was less pleased. “Ugh… her fans are so annoying…” she groaned.
“Hey, isn’t one of your pals a fan of mine? That ain’t nice to him.” A third voice jumped in from behind.
Both Paxton and Taunie jumped, immediately turning around to see who snuck up on them. It was the streamer girl herself, her face somewhat obscured by the shadow of an oversized black hoodie.
“Cannoli?!” Taunie accidentally spoke out loud. “What are you-”
“SHH! Be quiet!” Canari whisper-shouted, pulling both her and Paxton out of sight from the group. She peered past the wall to see if they noticed, which they fortunately didn’t.
Paxton was able to register what was going on. “Papparazi?” he asked dryly.
“They’ve been on my tail since morning.” the streamer groaned. “Had to buy this hoodie just to hide my face.”
“Dang, that’s actually kinda sad,” Taunie said in pity of the other girl.
“I know,” Canari said, before turning to the other two with a certain look in her eyes; the type of look that said ‘I need something from you’.
“That’s why I need you to escort me to Cafe Gallant. she pleaded, even putting her hands together. “Pretty please?”
“All the way to Cafe Gallant?” Taunie asked, trying not to let her annoyance show in her voice. She turned to Paxton for his input, but Paxton only gave her an awkward smile. One that told her that they probably should help the girl out, even if it’s totally out of their way.
“Thanks besties!” Canari cheered upon receiving approval. The trio then made their way to the opposite exit of the passage, with the streamer girl walking slightly behind the duo as if they were her bodyguards. It was on this walk that she came to a realization about these two.
“Oh. I didn’t interrupt anything between you two, did I?” Canari asked innocently.
“No… you didn’t…” Taunie replied in a slightly irritated tone, remembering that another chance at getting herself and Paxton together had gone to waste. That irritation was not picked up by Canari, though, who only said “Great!” in response.
If being blocked from confessing a second time wasn’t enough, now they had a (temporary) third-wheel.
Taunie was starting to wonder if she could actually succeed with her “mission”...
After stopping by Cafe Gallant for a Lumiose Galette, dodging groups of parasocial DYN4MO fans in the streets, as well as a sudden detour to the Stone Emporium per Canari’s request, the duo were finally able to drop the streamer off at Racine Construction.
The two A-Ranks stood outside the establishment with their own Canari keychains, but both were more happy that it was back to just the two of them. Somehow, what was supposed to be a small side-quest ended up eating most of their day, the clock having almost reached 4 pm, much to the chagrin of the strawberry-haired trainer.
Taunie observed her newly-gifted keychain with disinterest as it hung from her finger. “Maybe Naveen’ll want these? He’d definitely be happy to get some new Canomey merch.”
“Or he’d get upset that you don’t understand its value,” Paxton joked.
Taunie exhaled in exhaustion. “That took way too long. My legs are starting to kill me with all this walking we’ve been doing.”
Paxton hummed in agreement. “Why don’t we head to the pond at Vert Sector 6 to relax a bit, then?”
Taunie thought about that suggestion. The park was fairly nice at this time of day, and having some time to relax with Paxton at such a calming location sounded rather tempting at this point. Confessing at a nice park wasn’t that uncommon either, so this could work in her favour.
“Sounds good!”
As the two walked past Racine Construction towards Vert Sector 6, Taunie started envisioning how the confession would go down; the two would be sitting together on a wooden bench, enjoying the sound of the breeze and the rippling of the pond. She’d initiate a hand-hold, slowly lacing her fingers between Paxton’s, catching him off guard. And as they stare into each other’s eyes, she’d pop the question…
The vision filled her with anticipation. This was it; she could finally claim him as hers, and vice versa.
But, well… today just had to be full of surprises.
Taunie’s little trance had sapped all of her focus out of her, hence her shock as Paxton suddenly grabbed hold of her hand and ran towards the building in front of them, seemingly using it to hide. A frazzled Taunie followed his lead, hiding next to him as he peered around the corner of the building. His face was one of intense focus with a tinge of fear. He hadn’t let go of her hand.
“What’s going on, Pax?” Taunie asked worriedly, joining him to peer around the corner to see what was scaring him so much-
Oh.
It’s her.
Upon the bridge between the park and Wild Zone 17 stood none other than the leader of the SBC herself, Jacinthe. She was surrounded by other SBC members, who appeared to have occupied the park for some sort of event.
The pastel princess was talking to her servant, Lebanne, who looked just as dejected as ever.
“Why, this park is the perfect spot for a miniature tournament, wouldn’t you say?” Jacinthe gleamed.
“Yes, Lady Jacinthe.” the Dragon-tamed responded. “I am sure that this tournament between you and… the entire SBC party… will be a sight to behold.”
“Someone save that poor girl.” Taunie grimaced.
“If we get caught by Jacinthe, we might get roped into this mess.” Paxton responded. That would absolutely ruin the day for both of them.
“Why’d they have to take over the park?” Taunie groaned. This would be the third time her plans went awry today. “We might as well just head back to the hotel, then.” she sighed in disappointment.
“Hey, that’s better than being trapped in… whatever this is.” Paxton compromised.
But just as they were about to walk away…
“PAXTON! TAUNIE! WHAT A COINCIDENCE!” A loud voice boomed, catching the attention of everyone in the nearby area.
The startled duo turned to the source of the voice. Of course, it was none other than Ivor, who was innocently waving at the duo. Next to him, Gwynn was face-palming at her brother’s stupidity, mouthing “sorry” to Paxton and Taunie.
To make matters worse, Ivor’s blaring greeting caused Jacinthe to notice the duo. Her face immediately lit up at the prospect of having new, stronger opponents to face against. “Oh my! Just the people I need!” she cheered, swiftly making her way down the staircase. This filled the duo - and Gwynn - with dread.
“Crap.” Taunie muttered. This was the worst case scenario…
Or it would have been, if Paxton didn’t make a break for it.
“C’mon!” He spoke to her, guiding her via their still-connected hands as the two sprinted down the street to get away from the situation as fast as possible.
Ivor stood there, confused and somewhat saddened by their sudden departure. “Why did they run away from us? I was hoping to train with them…”
Gwynn sighed at her brother’s density. “Ivor, did you not see them holding hands, let alone hiding from Jacinthe? They’re clearly on a date!” she chastised. “If they get caught by her, their date is ruined!”
As Ivor slowly registered the gravity of his actions, a look of horror appeared on his face. “Oh… oh no! What have I done?!”
“Do not worry, Ivor.” Jacinthe smiled, who was standing next to the siblings while watching the “couple” run off. “I can easily call them back using my special Jacinthe-holograms!”
“But they’re on a date!” Gwynn questioned the lady. “They probably wouldn’t even join if you asked!”
Lebanne arrived with an overly-decorated tablet in hand. She looked at Gwynn with eyes that conveyed a sense of pity and hopelessness. “Once Lady Jacinthe has her mind set on something, she will see it through to the end,” she sighed, “...even if it is a bad idea”.
“When have I ever had bad ideas, Lebanne?” Jacinthe replied innocently while accepting the tablet from her servant.
“I also appreciate your concern for your two friends, dearest Gwynn!” she continued, now turned to face the Ghost-trainer with an unsettling smile. “But my miniature tournament is of utmost importance, and I must have those two participate! It will not be perfect otherwise!”
Gwynn could only look at the lady in disbelief that someone could be so self-centered.
But then, in a move of either incredible bravery or incredible stupidity, Ivor snatched Jacinthe’s tablet, holding it up high and out of her reach.
“Ivor! What are you doing?!” Lebanne yelled out of both surprise and fear.
“Ivor, give me back my tablet this instant!” Jacinthe demanded, trying to reach for it. Unfortunately for her, the big brute sprinted off in the other direction, tablet still in hand.
“Gwynn! I’ll return home soon! Right now, I must correct my previous error!” he called back to his sister while running off.
An agitated Jacinthe pointed in Ivor’s direction while facing Lebanne. “After him!” she demanded.
The maid groaned in annoyance, before charging after him at top speed, letting her true, wild self out. “Oi! Come back here, you brat!” she growled. Jacinthe followed, or at least tried to, waddling as fast as she could in her glamorous high heels while the other two disappeared into the next street.
This left Gwynn by herself, exhausted, relieved and amused at the situation.
Unsure of what to do now, Gwynn checked her Rotom phone. During that whole scuffle, she received a message from Canari:
- “Hey, G-Volt! Wanna continue playing Minecraft?”
The Ghost-trainer squealed with happiness and excitement at the offer.
- “I’ll be home ASAP” she texted back, before she too bolted off.
And that leads us into the current moment.
Paxton and Taunie made random turns left and right at top speed, before stopping in a quiet corridor, finally feeling safe enough to take a breather. They released their grasp of each other’s hands as they attempted to regain their breath, with Paxton leaning against the wall and Taunie bending over with her hands on her knees.
“I think we’re in the clear,” Paxton panted.
“Gonna be honest; this is not how I expected to spend our day together,” Taunie replied, still breathless.
“It’s just been one crazy thing after another.” Paxton continued. “Where are we, anyway?”
The two looked up from the ground to see where they were. Both were shocked to see an all too familiar building standing tall in front of them.
“Oh, we’re home. How convenient!” Paxton joked lightly.
“Can’t believe we ran all the way here,” Taunie groaned with a disappointed expression on her face. “But I guess we can’t take half-measures when it comes to Jacinthe.”
The girl took a quick glance at her phone. It was nearly 5pm.
Truthfully, she was quite bummed - both because of the way the day played out, and because of her own performance. She had so many chances to confess today; so many plans that would have guaranteed success on any other day, but for whatever reason Lady Luck decided to toy with her by placing anything and everything in their way, ruining every moment!
“Well, we might as well just head inside then.” Taunie sighed as she slowly walked towards the hotel’s front door.
She had to admit defeat; her mission for today was a failure. Her mood was dampened, her energy was sapped, and as much as she loved Hotel Z, the setting was not ideal for something as life-changing as a confession. It’s probably for the best to just end today as being just friends with Paxton once again.
Maybe a warm shower and some tea would help in getting her mind off of this…
…
“Actually, can you come with me real quick, Taunie?” Paxton spoke up just before Taunie could make contact with the door.
The girl stopped dead in her tracks, before turning around to face Paxton. She was somewhat confused by the request: Did he leave something? Was there an errand he forgot to run?
“Uh, sure. But wouldn’t it be unsafe to walk out there with a wild Jacinthe on the loose?”
“That’s not where I wanna go though.” Paxton said, before walking over to the ladder at the right side of the entrance. “The place I wanna go is up here.” he continued, before beginning his ascent.
Taunie was puzzled, but went along with it regardless. “Okay…” she answered, suspicion brewing within her.
Once at the top of the ladder, she followed Paxton’s lead across Lumiose’s rooftops. She didn’t immediately see anything at first glance, nor could she theorise what Paxton could possibly want to do on a rooftop at a fairly late hour in the day.
“Pax, where are you taking me?” Taunie eventually caved in, her curiosity reaching its peak.
“You’ll see! We’re almost there!” Paxton assured her, propping himself up to a higher level and turning around to help the lady up as well. Upon reaching this higher level did Taunie finally get to see what Paxton was leading her to.
Suffice to say, she was delightfully surprised.
Laid out in front of her was a fairly large, magenta and black picnic blanket, weighed down at two opposing corners by soft pillows - one of each colour. On one end was a sizable, gold-coloured picnic basket. The area was surrounded with rose petals and a few electronic candles for ambiance.
“Woah, Pax! What is this?!” a flustered Taunie asked, her mood immediately picking up.
“A surprise picnic, of course!” Paxton smiled, gently taking her hand to lead her onto the blanket to sit. “Like it?”
“Pax I- It’s- this is amazing!” Taunie praised, eagerly admiring the effort that was put into this surprise event. “The view of Prism Tower is so good from up here!” she continued, though she still couldn’t help but wonder how he managed to pull this off.
“Wait a minute… How did you do this?”
“A lotta careful planning. Though I’ll admit, all of the stuff that happened made me worried we’d be put off schedule.” Paxton chuckled, a sweat dropping from his forehead. “How about I unpack that picnic basket for us?” he proposed, reaching out for the basket.
But before his hand reached the handle, Taunie beat him to the punch. “Oh, don’t worry Pax, I got it!” she replied, as she slowly lifted the lid of the basket. After all, he went through the trouble of organising this picnic; the least she could do is bring out the stuff.
Unluckily for Paxton, this was not part of his plan.
“No wait Taun-”
Too late. His plans have now been foiled - by his target, mind you.
Taunie’s mind momentarily blanked upon seeing a box of chocolates nestled inside the basket. She recognised the brand - Meilleur de Lumiose; very top-notch stuff.
But she didn’t care as much about the chocolate itself, as she did the red color and heart-shape of the box.
“Pax… is this what I think it is?” Taunie asked. Internally, she was a cocktail of emotions; surprised, stunned, giddy and overwhelmed. It all translated to her face gradually turning red, as if her body and mind were overheating.
Paxton was the same; having accidentally dropped his hand, his face turned the same shade of red as Taunie’s out of embarrassment. There wasn’t anything he could do but come clean.
“W-well… I didn’t intend for you to see it yet…” he sheepishly admitted, rubbing the back of his head while looking away. “But since you did… I guess I have to do it now…”
The boy decided it was time to go all in; to push all of his chips into the middle of the table. He attempted to steel himself for what he was about to say, exhaling in an effort to calm himself down. He slowly shifted his sight to look Taunie in the eyes; her beautiful, blue eyes, which looked like they were on the verge of tears. Paxton himself could cry, but he needed to do this before he let the dam break.
And then his lips started moving.
“Taunie, I-”
“Wait!”
The girl held her hands out in front of Paxton’s face, interrupting his attempt at a verbal confession.
“Taunie? Is everything okay?” A concerned Paxton asked. Part of him was wondering if he had been misreading the room this whole time.
“Everything is fine!” Taunie assured, before making her selfish request. “I-it’s just… Please, let me be the one to say it!”
Paxton blinked a few times while registering what she just asked of him, before shouting out in pure shock once he finally did. “W-what? What do you mean?!”
Taunie cycled her breathing a few times before explaining to Paxton. “To be honest with you, I’ve been trying to do it all day, but kept getting sidetracked because of all of the crazy stuff that happened.”
She then clapped her hands together, bowing in front of Paxton. “So please, I’m begging you! Please let me be the one to say it first!”
Paxton couldn’t help but feel an immense warmth inside. All along, she had also been plotting to make the two of them official? His happiness couldn’t be contained, erupting from within as laughter.
“Hey, Pax! What’s gotten into you?!” Taunie grumbled. “I’m being genuine here!”
“I know, I know. It’s just funny that we both had the same plan.” Paxton assured while wiping a few stray tears. “And as for your request, what kinda team member would I be if I didn’t listen to my leader?” he smiled - his approval making Taunie light up. “But I have some things I wanna say, too, so I’ll go after you.”
Taunie was suddenly filled with determination; the most she’s felt all day. The opportunity was practically handed to her, and there’s no way it could be taken away from her now.
“Okay… Taunie, don’t mess this up!” she hyped herself, patting the sides of her head to focus, much to the amusement of Paxton.
This was it.
The big moment she - or rather, they - have been waiting for.
“Paxton, I… I love you.” She started. Even saying those words sent her heart into overdrive, but she pressed on.
“I love you so, so much. You’ve been there for me during my biggest challenges, and when I felt lost, you were there to put me back on the right path. I wanna continue down this path, and I wanna do it with you; as your girlfriend! If you’ll have me, that is…”
“Taunie…” Paxton stared in awe at how beautiful her confession was. Now it was his turn to match that.
“Of course I’ll have you… and you’ll have me in return. Ever since arriving in Lumiose and bumping into you for the first time, you’ve turned my life upside down for the better. I couldn't imagine myself today if I hadn’t met you.” Paxton could no longer hold back his tears, letting them drip down his face in pure joy. He reached for her hands, holding them gently but firmly, and slightly shaky from the immense joy he was feeling in the moment.
“I… I love you too, Taunie. I really, really do!”
And now it was Taunie’s turn to cry. But not without lunging forward and capturing her now-boyfriend in a tight embrace.
The two just held each other for a while, ugly crying with each other out of jubilation. They didn’t care if anyone could hear or see them from the ground level. To them, they were the only people in the world right now.
Their hands soon shifted to cup each others’ faces, wiping the tears away while cherishing the others’ beauty. They leaned into each other slowly, connecting their lips in a soft kiss.
What a sensation it was for the both of them. They had both imagined what it would be like to kiss the other, but the real thing was unlike anything they could have comprehended.
Their first kiss lasted a while longer, before they both pulled away, a thin strand of saliva still connecting them, almost to tell them to go back for more.
“I’ve been waiting to do that for so long…” Taunie whispered in a panted breath.
“Ditto.” Paxton matched her energy, proceeding to capture her lips once again.
Taunie sighed into his mouth as they pulled each other close, with Paxton’s hands dropping to her back for support. The kiss had more passion than the first, eventually leading to a full-on makeout session.
“Lay down, Pax.” Taunie whispered between kisses, the boy following her command. This gave her the leverage to pin him down with her body weight, allowing her to put more force and fire.
If there was one thing Paxton didn’t expect, it was Taunie being a bit of a greedy kisser. But make no mistake; that was, in no way, a negative to him. He matched her energy as best he could from his position, letting one of his hands cradle her head while the other rested on her lower back.
After a lengthy makeout session, Taunie pulled away from Paxton, the two of them breathless. They both wore a satisfied smirk on their faces.
“I knew you’d be a good kisser the moment I saw you.” Taunie admitted, letting her head rest on his chest.
“So it was love at first sight for you too, then?” Paxton chuckled softly while caressing the back of her head. “It’s crazy that it took us this long to get to this point.”
“I’m glad we got here in the end.” She sighed, nuzzling into her boyfriend. Paxton could explode from cuteness right now.
He gave Taunie a small peck on her forehead before sitting both of them up. “Shall we continue with our picnic before we head inside?”
On another rooftop, a certain purple-haired, Rust-Syndicate boss was spying on them with a pair of binoculars, crouching behind a table to obscure himself. Next to him was his dependable second-in-command, who failed to hold back tears after witnessing such an adorable first-kiss.
“That- *sniff* that was beautiful!” Philippe sniffled, his eyes already puffy.
“Oh, wipe your tears Philippe.” Corbeau sighed while lowering his binoculars. “Didn’t know you had a taste for sappy romance.”
“Sorry, Boss.” Philippe composed himself, having grabbed a handkerchief from his back pocket to dry his face. “In any case, your plan was a success. As always, Boss, you know how to get things done.”
“Perhaps we should start offering date night packages…” Corbeau entertained the idea, but quickly dismissed it as he headed for the staircase. A little, satisfied smile appeared on his face. “Well, I’d say we’ve returned our favour to Paxton. Let’s head back to the office and leave these newly-coupled be…”
He momentarily turned around to do one final check on the couple. Unfortunately, he was just in time to witness the beginning of their makeout session. He groaned in mild disgust.
“...especially since they seemed to have forgotten about public decency…”
The rest of the picnic was spent enjoying the Lumiose winter sunset and feeding each other food from the Rust Syndicate’s picnic basket (which was needlessly high quality, mind you), before devolving into another cuddle-makeout session. Although it seems like they’re speedrunning their love, with the amount of time Paxton and Taunie had been pining for each other, their transition into being a full-fledged couple felt very natural, and therefore very quick.
Were it up to Taunie, she’d love to spend more time together on the rooftop, but not only were the nights getting chillier, Lida and Naveen would probably get worried since they’d usually be back at the hotel by now. Thus, the two made their way back hand in hand.
The two opened and walked through the door together, letting the interior warmth rush over them.
“Hey, we’re ba-” Taunie started calling out for their other friends, but Paxton quickly clasped his hand over her mouth.
“Shhh!” He alerted her in a hushed voice, before excitedly directing her attention to the couch. “Look!”
“Oh?” Taunie curiously followed his direction, before locking onto the thing that garnered Paxton’s attention and caution. A smirk slowly crept onto her face. “Ohoho!”
Judging by the two sleeping heads leaning against each other, along with the intertwined hands resting between them, Paxton and Taunie deduced that they weren’t the only two in Team MZ to experience some… developments with each other…