❛ oh- ❜ hopps! luka’s hand retracted instinctively when the little pokemon leaped from the bag, but a moment later and she lunged forwards, snagging hopps awkwardly with her free arm. she wasn’t sure how much free reign celio gave his pokemon, but she couldn’t very well risk the possibility that a strong gust might carry away his beloved companion forever. at least it didn’t seem like hopps minded being held; she was snuggled quite placidly in the crook of luka’s arm, soft green leaves tickling the bottom of her chin and grazing her cheeks.
they rounded a bend, and the rest of the park splayed out before them- a slightly overgrown lawn framed by a grove of flowering trees, with a small playscape and swing-set that were clearly well-worn but still charming ( at least, luka certainly thought so! ) nonetheless. beyond the play area the lawn gave way to a garden, where the first blossoms of spring dotted the landscape with splashes of color. there was a reason luka kept coming to the same park whenever she was in the region, and sentimentality was only part of it- it really was a lovely place to spend time in, and to their luck it seemed to be empty!
❛ ah…i’m actually gonna have to disagree with you there. i don’t really think it’s a favor at all! i mean…like, by saying it’s a favor, isn’t it kind of implying that you’re inconveniencing me? but you’re not! i can’t think of anywhere else i’d rather be, or anyone else i’d rather be with. i- ❜ she paused for a moment, sweet unspoken words weighing down on her tongue like a strawberry candy. ❛ i mean, i’d like to see you more too, and any time i get to see you is wonderful, but the fact that you’re here on white day…well, it’s a little more special, i think. kind of romantic, you know? ❜
her steps seemed to quicken in pace after that, but there was no hiding the rose-colored tint to her cheeks, a flush that refused to fade…she was really being too forward today, wasn’t she? chalk it up to the spirit of the holiday; this was one usually celebrated by couples, after all, so wasn’t it fine that her heart was beating a little faster than normal?
❛ um, so…this place is really charming, don’t you think? and the swings- they’re empty, so let’s play around a little! ❜ already her feet were carrying her in that direction, every footfall a little faster until she was practically running towards them, skirt flouncing with every step and eyes shining with unmistakable excitement.
He was inconveniencing her though, wasn’t he? Even if she failed to admit it --- no, even if she was simply too kind to even recognise it properly herself --- time was valuable and willingly spending so much time with him in lieu of spending it with someone more substantial, more worth her time was a fine waste of a precious, unpurchasable commodity. All he’d really had to have done was send her her White Day things in the post and be done with it; the fact that he’d come to deliver them to her in person spoke only to how difficult she was to track down to a reliable P.O. box and how willing he was to spend his own time chasing down a bit of company. The knowledge was nothing that put him down. If anything it lifted his spirits exponentially; to be willing to take up practically an entire day just humouring him meant that she at least had to value him enough not to want to hurt his feelings, though he was self aware enough to assume that she sincerely wasn’t acting out of any pity ( even if he had, in retrospect, kind of made it near-impossible to actually turn him down after he’d gone and travelled all the way from Sevii just to see her ). Perhaps that was why he’d gone so far as to travel to an entirely different region just to see her face to face: he held enough faith in Luka’s kindness to truly believe that she saw him as a friend, and the knowledge of someone else --- of anyone else --- caring for him at all warmed his heart.
Was that selfish? It sounded awfully selfish.
Luka was sweet, and he likened the words that hung off her tongue to the holiday confectionary colouring the storefronts on the way to the park. Even her choice in wording ( likening anything involving him to romance, of all things! ) was practically dripping with honey. It was all he could do not to laugh outright as he quickened his pace to meet her at the playscape, his long, thin legs bending so that he could hook his knee against the pliable leather seat of the swing to rock back and forth a few times in comfort without needing to break eye contact.
"Does it being White Day really change the atmosphere that much?? I’m sorry if it felt like I was trying to pull some moves on you or anything --- it’s only proper etiquette to reciprocate a gift down the road, and with all the work you put into my Valentines’ Day one I really wanted to at least make sure you got yours on the right day. Although,”
"if you felt like you wanted to play with the holiday theme more, that’s fine with me!! We’ll just say we’re on a date in the park instead of just hanging out. Would it be more romantic if I pushed you on the swings a bit?? That’s the sort of stunt they always pull in movies, right??”
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