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The sight wasn’t unusual in and of itself, really. Nemona was known to be bizarrely energetic, and Penny was known to be a total pushover for her friends, so her being dragged around by the Champion-ranked Trainer wasn’t odd. What was odd, however, was the color on both of their faces.
Even as Nemona skidded around the corner into the cafeteria, Penny stumbling as an unfortunate consequence, neither of their smiles dimmed. Nemona was practically beaming, and Penny’s expression was more reserved, which for the inexpressive girl, was basically the same.
The duo tripped their way into the room, halting at the end of the table, where the remaining three members of their group sat, all armed with Arven Original sandwiches (with less Herba Mystica but much more flavor), none really reacting strongly to the entrance, besides a short round of greetings.
Undeterred, Nemona cleared her throat. “I have an announcement everyone!” That at least got them all to look up, with varying levels of wariness, from Arven’s immediate concern, to Florian’s simple raised eyebrow. Nemona raised her hand, which coincidentally was still entwined with Penny’s, barely poking out of her sleeve. “Me and Penny are dating!”
Penny looked away, face flushed. “I told you not to make a big deal of it…” she mumbled, fully aware that the five of them were the only ones in the cafeteria at that moment. Still, even the reprimand was softened by her still-present smile.
On the other hand, the trio seemed less enthusiastic about the news, quickly exchanging a confusing series of glances, with several raised eyebrows and pointed head tilts. Nemona frowned a bit, letting out a small huff. “Guys, this is a big deal!”
Juliana, having apparently lost whatever mental battle the three had undergone, stood from her seat. “Nemona, we’re very happy for you two, it’s just that…” Her confidence lost, she trailed off, looking to Arven for help, or possibly a mercy-kill.
Florian swallowed a bite of sandwich. “We thought you two were already dating for ages before now.”
There was a pause.
“Flo!” Juliana leaned down, angrily getting in her twin's face. “You weren’t supposed to say that out loud!”
“Why not, Jul? You guys never would’ve gotten it out otherwise.” Juliana scowled but didn’t respond, while Arven let out a long-suffering sigh, burying his face in his hands.
The happy couple, meanwhile, were now both flustered, looking like a pair of Tamato berries holding hands.
“You two look like a pair of Tamato berries holding hands,” Florian stated conversationally. Nemona squeaked, and Penny stared at the floor like she wanted it to swallow her.
Arven muttered something under his breath that sounded oddly like Arceus, give me patience, before standing up with Juliana. “Look Prez, we’re glad you’re together and all, but you have to admit, the two of you have never behaved exactly…platonically.” Florian snorted at that.
Nemona was still spluttering, so Penny took command, finally picking up her head, though not quite meeting anyone’s eyes. “What do you mean?! This is news to the both of us!” Her words were bold, sans being aimed at their shoes.
Juliana and Arven exchanged another capital-L Look, and Juliana began ticking off her fingers. “I mean, you two have practically been stuck together since we all started hanging out.”
“We…we’ve all been stuck together! We’re trauma buddies!” Nemona’s response fell rather flat.
“You’re constantly talking about each other-“
“I talk about all of you!”
“-But only when the other isn’t there.”
Arven crossed his arms, apparently gaining steam himself. “Every time we’re all together, you two always sit as close as possible.”
“Nemona’s basically a walking space heater! You can’t blame me for that!”
“You have hearts saved next to each other’s contact names.”
“You all have hearts in my phone!”
“You’re one thing Prez, but the hikikomori over here?” Under his scrutiny, Penny dropped her whole head, seemingly pleading with the floor once again.
Nemona, apparently keen to rescue her partner, spoke up once again, like Sisyphus picking up his boulder. “All of this is circumstantial, guys! Flori, back me up here!” All eyes turned to Florian, who’d been watching with the glazed nonchalance of a tennis spectator.
He carefully chewed another bite of sandwich, then swallowed. He looked at Nemona. Nemona looked at him.
“Holding someone’s chin and gazing lovingly into their eyes is not a platonic gesture, Nemo.”
Now both of the lovebirds looked willing to spontaneously combust in an instant, while Juliana and Arven looked shocked at his forbidden knowledge. “What on…they’ve done that?!”
Florian nodded dispassionately. “Multiple. Times.”
Arven gaped at him. “How on earth did you see it?!”
“I’m very quiet, Arven. I see everything.” His eyes looked like they’d just crawled out from the trenches of a battle. “Everything.”
Finally, Nemona.exe and Penny.exe rebooted. Nemona, now just looking exhausted, spoke. “So if you all thought we’d already been dating, how long did you think it’d been?”
Arven seesawed his hand a bit. “A few months, maybe? You two are hard to read.”
Juliana shrugged. “I was thinking Valentine’s? Made the most sense, anyway.”
Florian spoke through another mouthful of sandwich. “Since Area Zero.” Everyone turned incredulously to him, even Penny. “What? I thought you were just being private about it.”
Juliana huffed. “Well, that we can agree on. We all thought you two were just keeping it low-key, so we didn’t say anything. I guess that was for the better…”
Penny let out a low breath of her own. “So, you guys were looking out for us in the end?”
“Something like that, I suppose.” Arven tilted his head. “We wanted you two to be comfortable, so we just let it happen. For better or for worse…” he added in a low mumble.
“Aww! You guys are the best!”
“They just dressed us down like we were in court or something…”
“They’re still the best!” Nemona held her other arm out, eyes shining with appreciation. “This definitely calls for a group hug!” Penny and Arven both grimaced, but the twins quickly took up the offer, gathering up the happy couple. Arven sighed, but relented at the dirty looks from both Juliana and Nemona. The confusion surrounding the incident still hung in the air, but all of them silently disregarded it. One thing was for sure, nothing was splitting this group up.