♥ --- Vulpes Pride --- ♥

     “Ain’t gotta worry ‘bout me, I know how to–” Before she could even finish her quip, the man was already rushing her outta the door! What the hell?!

     He had a point though; the class was already regrouping near the exit and they were just a few minutes away from being left behind. With a begrudged sigh, Viv pushed her way through the crowd, muttering whatever pardons she could spare in Italian. They reached the group just in time, for their next bus arrived to take them to the hotel they’d be staying at. Of course, with not a moment’s hesitation, Vivienne stepped on the bus first and claimed her window seat again.

     … Speaking of windows.

     Once Koda finally dragged his tired ass to the seat next to Vivienne, she waited. He said something, but she paid no mind as she stared at the bus seat in front of her, waiting. Waiting very patiently. The bus eventually started to move after all the students (and professor) took their seats. Vivienne glanced over at Koda, and just as she suspected, he was trying to get comfortable enough to squeeze in a nap.

     She pinched his cheek hard, tugging it a little.

“Hey hey hey! Easy with the face!” He whined, rubbing at the tender skin, pout forming on his lips. Who knew someone could want a bed by the window so bad. There was so much he had to learn about this girl yet, he supposed. 

Koda leaned back, a heavy sigh escaping him. 

“Why do you want it so badly-- Wait, don’t answer that, why do you want my extra pillows?”

That is something he needed answered right away. Technically, he only ever needed one to be happy. He could have very well given her his extras with no complaints whatsoever. But to just demand them?! Assuming he wasn’t going to use every last pillow?!

How rude. He had to know.

…He wondered if he’d ever see them again.

With a soft huff of breath, he put on a grin and turned back to face his companion. No need for bittersweet feelings while making cookies. They’d make the batter dry. Or something else equally as disastrous would happen. 

“Hm, how about a different-ish approach...” Koda vaguely suggested as he opened the fridge doors once more, in search of something in particular. 

     {♤} – Vivienne loved the idea of traveling, but after finally getting the chance to do so on her own, she realized something extremely crucial. She hated airports. They were noisy, full of people that were constantly moving, and the overall rush straight after flying for hours made her nauseous. All she wanted was to sit. And eat. And then pass out if the time allowed.

     Although still frazzled, she followed the few classmates that got off the plane before her to baggage claim, where she saw Koda stickin’ out like a sore thumb. Tall and kinda lost. And kinda panicked? What’s his problem?

     She quickly weaved her way through the crowd and tugged gently on Koda’s sleeve to get his attention. She looked down beside him and noticed he picked her bag off the conveyor belt for her – how nice of him. She scanned the remaining bags and noticed his hadn’t made it yet. Ah.

     “Y’still waitin’ on your bag?” she inquired just to be sure. She’d be in a panic too if her bags got lost on the way to a foreign country. With careful eyes, Vivienne watched as the remaining bags found their way into the line. “Hey, I think yours just arrived actually – way down at the end.” She pointed while simultaneously taking her phone out of her pocket to check the time.

     9:00am. Not bad.

“Where were you? I was ready to file a missing persons report.” He asked, voice still with a hint of concern as he made a move towards his belongings. He pulled his bag off effortlessly and made his way back to the girl’s side in record time. 

A yawn escaped him, he was still rather jet-lagged.

“Well, since yer in such a rush to get going, lead the way.”

“The class if filing out so we should really start moving.” He continued, placing a hand on her back and ushering her in the other direction. If they were lucky, they could probably squeeze in a nap before noon. 

At least, Koda was hoping they could, like... really hoping.

(or the other way around - tell me!)

     “Y’gotta be kidding me…” she repeated to herself over and over again. The bus lurched forward again once the light turned green, and Vivienne allowed herself to slump back in her seat even further. “… Did you plan this? You planned this, didn’t you. I should’ve known.”

     The girl pouted and kept her gaze on the window beside her, focusing on the passing cars and many trees that lined the side of the road. It was true that she and Koda were on better terms than when they started, but that was only because they helped each other in class. He helped her in Spanish and she rewrote his atrociously written notes in math. Otherwise, they really didn’t know each other any better than before; she was just… used to his company, she supposed. That didn’t mean sticking them together as partners on an international trip was a good idea.

“C’mon now, partnering up with me can’t be that bad, now can it? Or am I going to have to put up with that face for the next two weeks?” Koda continued, pinky finger pressing itself lightly to the girls cheek before retracting itself swiftly. 

No sense in losing a finger just yet...

Yes if there was one thing Koda could be absolutely sure of, was that this trip would be far from boring.

Well at least, once they actually made it to Italy. The ‘getting there’ was a bit of a bore, and there were only so many naps one could take on a plane. The man yawned, trying to keep up with his class as they walked over towards baggage claim, what time was it anyway? All sense of actual time was completely lost on him.

“Not mine... Not mine... Not mine but she’s not here yet so...” Koda muttered softly to himself as he pulled Vivienne’s bag off the assembly line of assorted bags and luggage, still searching for his own through tired eyes. “Seriously, where is she anyway? Already avoiding me?”

He looked up taking a moment out of his search to scan the area, she did make it off the plane ok, right?

     Her face slowly started to burn.

     “Ugh, as if I don’t see and hear enough of you almost every day,” she retorted, hiding her flustered face by hunching over her phone and returning to her gameplay. “Now I can’t use this sword… Thanks a lot, asshole.”

     Though her words were harsh, her voice wasn’t nearly as abrasive. In fact, it sounded more embarrassed and defensive… in a helpless way. She wanted to say more, but at this point she wasn’t sure what she should say. There wasn’t a whole lot to talk about and they were almost at the airport anyway. Should she even say anything? Probably not, right? Instead she focused on her g–

     Nya!

     Her head shot up at the familiar sound of virtual kittens. Looks like his app finally finished downloading.

     “Hey, congrats!” she said in a sarcastic tone, “Guess this means you’ll be preoccupied for most of the trip.” Which also means there’s a chance he won’t bother her… Not that he was a complete pain in the ass or anything, but a little peace and quiet on this trip would be nice. Really nice, in fact.

“Oh, that’s right! I should probably inform you all of your travel partners while I have the chance,” the professor called from the front of the bus. “They’re organized by last name, so–”

Ignoring her comment, he shook his head and smiled, keeping his eyes glued to his own phone screen for the time being. They went on in silence for a little while (though he was sure he caught her mumbling to her game from time to time), when Vivienne suddenly spoke up once more.

“Aww, you don’t wanna spend time with me?” he responded, a frown forming at the corner of his lips, eyes meeting hers for a split second before he broke off contact with a light chuckle, “How sad, and here I thought we were becoming fast friends~”

Koda opened his mouth to continue, always enjoying their little back and forth, but the bus coming to a halt and the sound of their professor’s voice told him that it would have to wait. 

Oh right, his travel partner.

Honestly, it really didn’t matter to him who he ended up with, the man had no enemies and his class this semester was nice enough, so he zoned out for most of the sorting process. 

That is, until a very familiar set of names were called.

“Tacorde,Shyrade? Oh, right beside each other, convenient. The two of you will form group 6...″

... Wait, say that again? 

     That’s when her unit leader, Izuminokami, spoke up.

     It seemed to strike something within her companion, for he had this look of perplexity about him like something hit him full force. She quirked an eyebrow, looking up at him as he spoke.

     “Uh…” Vivienne wasn’t sure exactly how she was supposed to respond to that, but nevertheless she returned her gaze to her phone screen and waited impatiently for the battle to be over. Luckily it was the last battle of the map, so upon returning the to citadel screen, she held the phone up closer to Koda’s face and tapped the character in question.

     She waited for him to finish speaking before tapping him again, allowing Koda to hear more of his lines. She wasn’t entirely sure why he wanted to hear him speak, but she was kinda fond of Izuminokami so she didn’t mind.

“Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”

“Quick, give me his name.” He instructed, having just a little too much fun with this little realization of his. Once given his full name, Koda cleared his throat making sure her attention was still on him before giving his performance. 

“I’m Izuminokami Kanesada!” He declared strongly, hand to chest. 

The man was sure Vivi was going to hate him a little for that, but he couldn’t unhear it, as conceited as it may have sounded. He let her take that in as he returned his attention to his own phone, waiting for his new favorite app to finish downloading.

     “Sure, I wouldn’t mind.” Vivienne responded with a grin before following the rest of the crowd to the bus.

     Once on board, she made herself comfortable in one of the window seats, curling up snugly in the rather plush seats. The bus itself wasn’t incredibly fancy, but the seats were definitely more comfortable than regular bus seats at least. She waited till after Koda sat next to her and their instructor reiterating the importance of their schedule to finally settle down and reopen Neko Atsume.

     “Ah, you caught one of the new rare cats!” She gasped, showing him the phone. She pointed to the cat in question, which was wearing a cute little sun hat. “I’ve been trying to catch her for ages, what the hell… Yeah, you’re getting your own game.”

The bus began to move and with that he relaxed, deciding now was a good a time as ever to download the app onto his own phone! Perhaps if he was lucky he could even catch up to the girl in record time!

Eventually his curiosity peaked once more, and he found himself leaning casually to get a better glimpse at the girls phone screen. What exactly was she doing now? 

Wait a minute.

     “I guess this works, though it’s not much of a time waster,” she shrugged and handed him the phone, “It might be if you play it though. Give it a shot.”

     She adjusted her seat so she could keep an eye on his actions – she still couldn’t quite trust him with her stuff yet, after all. That, and she was curious to see what he’d do. It took her only a few minutes to explain how to arrange things and how to play with the cats, so she watched to see how he liked it. Hell, maybe he’ll catch a rare cat or get a memento for her? Who knows.

Except, hours they did not have and before they knew it, they were being ushered out of the classroom and into the shuttle buss.

“Damn... One just showed up too--” He sighed, watching as the phone made its way back into her possession. Swiftly, he threw his carry-on over his shoulders and made his way to the bigger bags toward the door. Maybe if he was lucky, she’ll let him mess with them again some time.

...

Lo and behold, perhaps the phone app gods were taking pity on his poor, already addicted soul. By some stroke of luck, Vivienne actually offered him a seat? It almost scared him stiff, though only for a moment. Quickly the shock was replaced with a grin.

“Please don’t die on me.” 

“Are you not afraid of what’s out there?”

“I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“You can’t make me go.”

“Please don’t leave.”

“You have so much potential and you’re throwing it away.”

“You can’t save everyone.”

“You can’t save yourself.”

“You can’t save me.”

“Maybe this is rock bottom.” 

“Maybe things will get better from here.”

“Maybe this is rock bottom and things can only get better from here.”

“I still believe in a happy endings, even through all of this.”

“Why don’t you love me?”

“Why don’t you love yourself?”

“I am lonely.”

“You are lonely.”

Sugar... Flour...

Gently, he places them on the island along with the pad of butter requested.

Baking powder...

Truly there was no contest in which he wanted to go with. 

“Buttercream, maybe?” Koda finally replied, reminiscing on some fond childhood memories. “As cliche’ and overused as it sounds, that’s just how my mother made them when I was younger. Royal icing is great too, my cousin loves them, but I prefer a more...home made feel.”

“But hey, yer the boss~” The male punctuated, not wanting to step on any toes.

     Rather than continue talking, she pulled out her phone and decided to check on one of the several apps at her disposal… But upon facing her myriad of time wasters, she froze. Which one did she feel like playing? Not only that, but she’d have to be wise about her phone battery. She did bring an extra, plus a rechargeable phone case for the trip, but still! This’ll be harder than she anticipated…

     Negotiating with herself was starting to give her a headache. Instead, she cautiously turned to Koda and faced the screen towards him.

Well, no sense in complaining, Koda thought. After all, they were going to be stuck with each other for a couple of weeks. There’s plenty of time to get some chatting done then, perhaps even on the plane, where he was sure to be more awake.

He was only moments from drifting back into a peaceful slumber when once again, her voice pulled him back to the waking world. For what reason? 

“Eh...” He muttered in response, propping himself upright and looking down at the device she’d offered to him. From the looks of it, she really enjoyed phone games, five could be counted right then and there.

“I get to choose, huh...” With that, he pointed to each one, beckoning an explanation out of the redhead since he wasn’t too familiar with the titles, though not many of them held his interest all that much... Except...

When prompted with a question, instantly the man was pulled out of his awestruck state. 

“Ah, uh... Sugar cookies have always been a favorite of mine to make, but really I’m not picky in the slightest!” He opens the fridge doors, excitedly “Whatever you want to prepare is fine by me!” Eyes took in every ingredient at their disposal. For someone who kept cooking a casual hobby, he was uncharacteristically giddy.  

Closing the doors, he turned back to face Jude, grin never leaving his features.

“So, what shall you have me do first?”