#cas-red

« Thank you so much, » Ethan smiled, handing over 500 poké to the barista and getting a warm caramel macchiato in return. Somehow, coffee had made its way into the champion’s daily routine- he never really thought about it until now. Ever since he had to pull his first all-nighter, training to beat Morty, back when he was 14. It warmed his heart, truly, and he now couldn’t imagine living without it.

Some had even called it his liquid gold.

He chuckled, taking his first sip. He was out in casual clothes, just a black hoodie and some blue jeans. Surprisingly, he seemed to blend in just fine in these- partially because his champion’s attire was so striking and recognizable that, he figured, it was hard to imagine him in anything else.

Ethan sighed, looking back up as he put the coffee stopper in the lid of his coffee cup. Wait... huh. Right in the middle of his line of sight. That... they, rather, looked familiar. Black hair, red cap...

« Huh. » Ethan raises an eyebrow, swiping on the notification and opening his texts.

The champion taps away at his keyboard,

[Sent 22:35] <( ...whaddaya mean? im fine rn but thank you for the offer, might need it when i go down to cinnabar again )

[Sent 22:36] <( also 잘했어요 ang at PWT, shame I couldnt come. Been buried in paperwork )

Lucas rolled his eyes, eyeing Ethan across the ballroom making conversation with some of his friends. He chuckled a bit, drinking some of the punch from a little, clear plastic he’d gotten ten minutes ago. It was almost laughable how inexperienced he was at the art of balls... or in the art of social interaction, generally, perhaps. 

He’d come to the ball in rather simple attire: a black tux and dress pants paired with a green tie. (Ethan insisted on the green- he said it looked amazing.) Although it was starting to itch- Lucas had never been a real stickler for dress garments- it was quite comfortable compared to things he’d had to wear when he was still a child. That, he was grateful for, he thought, chuckling again to himself.

The surgeon would sigh, looking around for anyone that he might have a semblance of a good interaction with. It would be fun, Ethan said. He would meet new people, Ethan said. It was the perfect opportunity, Ethan said.

But as he looked around... everybody seemed to have formed their own friend groups and were busy deep in conversation with each other. Except...

Lucas squinted. Was that Red? Black hair... holy shit. This was Red. Sitting all alone.