Chapter Text
The morning alarm blared repeatedly, a tired Olimar stretching his arms and getting up. He let out a quiet yawn, and stood up to make a cup of coffee. Louie was fast asleep, as he always missed the alarm no matter how ear piercing it was. Olimar chuckled softly at the sight. He always managed to make whatever he was doing look so silly.
He was lying in quite an uncomfortable position, sprawled, so Olimar shook his shoulder a little, attempting to wake him up. Louie let out a sudden snort, barely opening his eyes and closing them at a snail's pace. He had mumbled something unintelligible to him before resting his eyes again.
“Louie, please get up. We have work to do”
“Mmrmph.. don’ wanan..” he said as he turned around under the blanket.
“Good grief… I understand you’re comfortable right now, but could you please get out of bed? We are on a mission, and we should finish it quickly. President Shacho could get angry if we don't pick up the pace!”
Louie grunted, rubbing his eyes with an annoyed and sleepy tone before giving up his resistance and getting out of his blanket.
He had honestly wished he never had to go on this assignment, even though it was entirely his fault, and he didn’t really regret eating those carrots. They were good carrots. His favorite, in fact. Louie really couldn’t suppress his ravenous appetite, no matter how hard he tried. He supposed that he’d make the most of his time here and relax, especially with all the delicious creatures he could eat here.
Louie put on his suit and boots, and dragged himself out of the entrance of the ship. Olimar was already prepared, having already whistled for a squad of pikmin which were currently following him. He eyed Olimar, inspecting his every move. He was quick, responsible, and didn’t waste time. Louie wished he had the same capabilities. Then again, Olimar must have learned this from having a family, being forced to provide.
He, admittedly, had a small admiration for Olimar. A crush, if you will. Louie hadn’t really tried to act upon it, as it would be ridiculous considering Olimar’s marital status. It tugged at him constantly, though he always attempted to shake off the thoughts, since he found it stupid and that his mind was playing tricks on him from loneliness.
Louie’s blank stare was caught by Olimar, who stopped what he was doing to walk over to him. “Louie, are you going to follow or not? What seems to be the problem?” Louie snapped out of his daze, shaking his head and looking away from Olimar’s face. “Tired..I’m coming..”
Olimar had a small smile as he nodded. “Don’t be too harsh on yourself, okay? Let me know if there’s anything you need help with.” The sunlight seemed to perfectly shine off of Olimar's helmet, brightening his kind face.
Louie, puzzled by the strange gesture, although not apparent on his stoic expression, silently nodded and followed. He was much too kind to him. He couldn’t understand why. He looked at the grass, watching how softly it swayed with the morning breeze, and all of the pikmin behind the two matching a steady pace with them.
It was time to go cave spelunking once again, and Louie knew his main goal for the day, which wasn’t collecting treasure. He was going to find some great grub for the night for him to eat. He snuck some snagret meat yesterday without being seen, so he decided he’d do something else.
A few hours later, they had transported the final treasure of the day to the ship. It was close to sunset, and they had decided to stop early. After they exited the cave, Olimar whistled for the pikmin to go back inside the onion, and stepped back into the ship, Louie following him shortly after. Olimar sighed, taking his helmet off once the door was closed, and threw himself onto the cushioned chair. “Today was a good haul, wasn’t it? We got quite a lot of Pokos … Great job, Louie,” He said with a brief smile at the other Hocotatian.
Louie nodded in agreement, giving a thumbs up to Olimar instead of a verbal reply. It made him feel a little fuzzy inside. He sat down on the floor, taking his helmet off as well, and quickly went to change into normal clothes. Olimar had begun to do the same while the other was gone, getting into a sweater and pants.
Louie soon returned and sat down to untie the sack he had brought inside. He licked his lips anticipatedly.
Olimar gave him a confused glance. What was in that bag? “Louie, what do you have there?”
Louie lifted the contents out of the bag, proudly displaying the carcass of a perished bulborb larva. It was as if his eyes were sparkling. Olimar widened his eyes and jolted from the sight before reclaiming his composure. “..Louie, are you going to cook that…? We have food in the back, I could make you some PikPik carrot jui-”
“Nah, it’s fine. These have reallyyy good eyeballs..”
As he said that, he proceeded to tear one out of the eye socket with minimal effort, and popped it in his mouth. It was truly a sight to see. Olimar was shocked and didn’t know how to react, but he knew he shouldn’t have been too surprised, as he had seen his co-worker eat bugs off of the ground several times back at the freight company building. He had just never figured he’d eat a grubdog..
He watched him chew, not knowing what to say or how to react, and the squelching sounds really didn’t help. Olimar had soon gotten over it, knowing it was just Louie’s typical shenanigans, and he shouldn’t really question it. Louie had always confused him, as he never really knew what was on his mind. At least he wasn't doing anything harmful, right?
Was there a way he could try to get to know his co-worker better? Louie was an interesting character for sure, and he wanted to perhaps bond with him. Olimar shrugged it off , getting up and stretching his arms wide with a tired grunt before going and grabbing a few pikpik carrots from the crates.
Louie had finished his meal by the time Olimar came back, sucking on the hard, inedible remains before tossing them back into the bag to dispose of the next day. He sniffed the air before snapping to see him holding the handful of carrots. He glared at him, a line of drool forming at his mouth, wondering what he was planning to do with those carrots. He really wanted some.
Olimar proceeded to plug in a blender, tossing the carrots inside and turning it on. Louie intensified his stare. The brown haired Hocotatian took notice of this, grabbing two glasses with an amused chuckle and smile. “Would you like some?” He eagerly nodded, standing up to watch by the blender. Olimar turned it off afterwards, pouring the juice into both of the glasses.
This would be the perfect opportunity to get to know Louie! Olimar bounced for the chance to have a casual conversation. He looked back at him,
“You know.. Louie, how has everything been for you lately? I know you’re still relatively new to this job, and having to pay off someone’s debt isn't really suitable as one of your first tasks, so I’d like to check in on you. Anything troubling? Are you perhaps curious about how something works?” He slid Louie the juice, looking at him with a caring expression.
Louie immediately grabbed his cup while staring off at the table. He shook his head. “Nothing.. Really much..” These questions were way too strange to him. Olimar’s selfless personality was too much for him to handle, and he didn’t know how he could respond to the gestures besides a nod or a small reply. Suddenly, Louie felt a twinge of guilt. He was the reason Olimar was here in the first place, asking him these questions and apologizing for the inconveniences that he caused. It really wasn’t fair, was it?
Olimar tilted his head. “Really.. much? What could you mean by that? You can talk to me about it, I can help you out”
“No- I… I don’t know-” Louie began to feel overwhelmed.
“Come on Louie, you can tell me”
Insanely overwhelmed.
His ears drooped down in a panic, as he struggled to find what to say. He couldn’t tell him. He stared at the ground and rubbed his hands around his cup rapidly. “Just stop talking… too nice to me..”
“Louie.. You know what- it’s fine. I understand.” Olimar patted his shoulder with a sympathetic look.
“Sorry.”
Instead of continuing conversation, Louie wiped the drool hanging from his mouth and guzzled his glass swiftly. He felt a chill as it ran down his throat, savoring the taste of the delicious cold drink. His ears popped back to their original spot and he began to relax again.
Olimar let out a small, mildly concerned laugh, shaking his head a little bit. Louie almost never gave him a straight answer, neither did he talk much, but he was alright with it. Maybe he was just going through something he didn’t want to talk about. He enjoyed looking at Louie's antics though, as amusing as they were. He reached for the top of Louie’s head, patting his hair a bit. “I’m going to send the ship into orbit and go to sleep, alright? It's getting late. Good night, and wake me up if you need anything.”
Louie tensed up at the sudden touch. It was kind of… comforting? He nodded as he watched Olimar walk through the door and glanced back down when he wasn’t there anymore. He felt confused and upset with himself. Why did he suddenly feel so bad for his co-worker? They weren’t too close, it shouldn’t matter to him. They were just stuck on a job together. He shouldn’t like him. He had just wanted to go here to get a break from Hocotate and eat all the yummy foods he wanted.
He had been like this for a solid 20 minutes, overanalyzing his thoughts which consisted mainly of just Olimar. Louie was distressed, confused, and just downright regretful. He had finally come up with a conclusion.
He was just homesick is all. Nothing else, nothing more. …Okay, maybe that was a complete lie. He hated his home, and very much preferred this place. Maybe he just wanted a person to talk to. But why specifically Olimar? The ship was right there, even though it was kind of a pain in the ass to deal with. Actually, that could be why. He was kinder than the ship, but at an overwhelming level.
Louie decided. He would speak to Olimar in the morning.
Olimar got up from the captain’s seat, setting the ship to float in the atmosphere for the night. He stretched a little bit, then got in bed. He opened his emails, reading the latest ones with a sigh. He proceeded to gawk at the email from his wife.
Apparently Olimar’s hard earned money had been blown on lottery tickets. He shook his head disapprovingly, as his wife always used his money irresponsibly without permission. It had become ridiculous, he worked everyday to provide, and for what? Wasting it all? It had started to get on Olimar’s nerves. However, he took a deep breath, attempting to calm down, which worked.
The man reflected on how his day went, remembering every small detail and event. He thought about Louie for a bit. He felt bad for the poor guy. It was clear that he was struggling with something, especially from the mildly awkward conversation that night. He pulled out a pen and jotted down the rest of his voyage log notes for the day. He did the same with his personal journal, leaving it on his nightstand before yawning and snuggling up into the blankets, falling asleep.
The ship was dark and quiet. With a troubled sigh, Louie got up and walked over to his bed. Louie watched Olimar asleep for a few moments. He looked so peaceful, his breaths making his chest move up and down slowly. The corners of Louie’s mouth curved upward at the sight.
A weird and intimate thought appeared in his mind, which greatly alarmed him.
Louie shook his head aggressively in an attempt to distract himself from the thought. The blond Hocotatian was way too stressed out from his feelings today, and he couldn’t even tell why he was suddenly acting so off. He shouldn’t have really cared.
He then proceeded to catch Olimar’s journal wide open on his nightstand. He must’ve been writing before he went to bed. Louie wondered if he could grab a flashlight and attempt to read it, out of pure curiosity, but decided against it. He didn't want him to find out and get upset. He instead found his own stash of recipe and cooking journals, and decided to make another section for his own personal writing, encouraged by Olimar’s.
He began to write. Louie jotted down everything he thought of that day, although not in a very organized or structured sort of way. It was quite messy and random, and his handwriting was all over the place.
Louie let out a huff of frustration. He was horrible at really expressing his thoughts and feelings, and writing them made him feel weird. He shifted around under the blanket, simply glaring at the page afterwards.
He chewed on his pen, something he tended to do with a lot of inedible items, and Olimar wasn’t safe from this treatment. His nose and ears had been bitten countless times by now. He began to think about how much he enjoyed this trip aside from inconveniencing Olimar, and set the journal down so he could lay on his back, his hands crossed behind his head on the pillow.
Louie imagined what it would’ve been like to spend the rest of his life here. It was possible.. Maybe he would ditch everyone the moment it was time to go back home. He was sick of everything in his life back on Hocotate, especially with his nana and father, who caused him most of his misery. This was like his own paradise: exotic and delicious food, no daily responsibilities, and greenery all around. Nobody to nag him. Nobody to shame him. No worries about money, politics, or family. He could present his cooking to an audience of pikmin, just like the cooking show he’d always dreamt of having.
There was a whole world's worth of recipes Louie could find, quite literally. There were already so many things he wanted to try and make.
Fried Yellow Wollywog legs, Grilled Snagret Kabobs, Pellet Posy hors d'oeuvres ….
Louie began to drool again.
Maybe he could convince Olimar to stay with him- no , that wasn’t likely… but it didn’t matter right now. Maybe he could show all of his cooking to Olimar, and surely he would be impressed at his vast knowledge and skills in the subject. He would present it to him, and Olimar would observe it in awe, praising Louie for his hard and amazing work. Louie could just imagine the joy on Olimar’s face…
Olimar would eat the meal with pure delight at the taste, and when he’d finished, he’d give Louie a light kiss on his cheek…
Soon, the Hocotatian was fast asleep.