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"You're like a flower."
Iris's brown eyes widen as she stares at the taller male. She wasn't expecting such a comment.
"Is that a compliment? Thank you-"
"They're easily crushed." He silently puts his hands into his pockets and walks past her.
This was the dragon master's first encounter with Blue Oak.
***
"When you get to know him, he's not too bad," Red says to her as he fixes his signature cap on. Iris huffs, puffing her tanned cheeks as she crosses her arms.
"Yeah, right! First impressions are always important, and he's already on my bad side." Red smiles in response to her comment as he turns and faces her.
"Trust me, he was the same with me. He's like that with everyone, actually. Just give him some time, Iris. Someday you'll see how nice he can truly be." Iris crosses her arms as she gets up off the bench she was sitting on. Placing her hands on her hips, she leans her body forward, staring into the reddish grey eyes of the male. "Oh, really?"
"Yup. Then again, I can't blame you for feeling that way. He is pretty rude most of the time." He says, contradicting the previous words of advice he had given to the girl with purple hair.
The raven-haired boy looks at the watch on his wrist before jumping to his feet and facing the girl next to him. She leans back and tilts her head.
"Going somewhere?" She asks.
"I'm going to meet up with Green and Blue now. You want to come with?" He gives her a small smile as she listens up for a moment. She had nothing better to do for the time being, so why not? Although she wasn't in the happiest mood to meet Blue, Red and Green's presence would make up for it. So she agrees.
"Sure, I'll be happy to come with." Red smiles, then turns his body, gesturing for her to come along. Iris nods her head and walks up next to him as they both walk towards the café.
Red walks into the Poké-Cafe with Iris following beside him. Green, who spots the pair first, lifts her hand and waves.
"Red! Iris! I wasn't expecting you to come too. What have you two been up to?" Because of her playful manner, she gives them a suggestive look with her brows furrowed and a small smirk on her face. Red scratches the back of his neck awkwardly as the purple-haired girl crosses her arms, embarrassed.
"It's nothing like that, Green," she huffs in response as they reach their table. Green only giggles in response.
"Don't worry Iris, I'm only messing." Iris couldn't help but laugh soon after. Blue, whose silent presence also existed with the group, looks their way, well, mainly at Red.
"Oh, you're finally here. About time." He jokes as he crooks his head to the side and smirks at him. Red only nods in response, returning the smile with one of his own as he slides his hand into his pocket. Iris stares at Blue and their eyes meet. They exchange no words as Iris spins her head away. Green immediately picks up on the awkwardness between the two and laughs. Iris looks at her in utter confusion.
"C'mon Iris, don't give me that look. What's up with you and ego boy over here?"
"Don't call me that," Blue retorts as he gives her an icy stare.
"It's nothing," Iris says as she slides into the booth seat across from them. Red does the same.
After settling down, the group of four chatted, with Green being the driver of the discussion, of course. They all state their orders once the server arrives, before proceeding with their previous business. Despite all odds, Iris makes the most of her time, laughing heartily at a joke made by Green. She forgot all about the previous worries she once had about the meetup.
"So where exactly is the bracelet you promised me?" Red questions, gazing his eyes upon Green, who looks his way with a surprised expression. "You said you were going to bring it today!"
"Don't worry, don't worry, I'll do it this time! I just forgot to bring it, haha." The male in the red jacket peers his eyes at her, clearly not surprised.
"How do I know you're not lying-"
"Say, how about I go to my place for it? It's not too far for a bike ride. You can wait here with the others-" Her response surprised the noirette, but he would not let the opportunity pass. He ends up cutting her off.
"I'll just come with you, just to be sure you're not trying to escape." Green's body jerks to the side as she leans back.
"What, you don't trust me or something?" She asks, raising her eyebrows at him. Red shakes his head in honesty then crosses his arms as he looks at Blue, who has an amused look on his face. Iris also giggles to herself as she watches the interaction between the two. She looks toward Blue, and their eyes lock for a few seconds before they both simultaneously turn their heads away.
"Don't give me that. You like to be sneaky all the time, so I want to be sure you go."
"Fine, fine, fine, let's go. How will you get there?"
"I brought my bike." Green nods her head, then gets up from her seat. She looks at Iris and Blue. "Sorry guys, looks like we'll have to bid adieu for a bit. Don't worry, we'll be back soon. Keep the seats occupied for us, alright?"
Red gives Iris an apologetic look before waving the pair goodbye.
"See you later," Green calls out as she exits with Red.
"I'm sure they'll be fine," the brunette then says, staring at the boy next to her. Watching her from the corner of his eye, he looks forward and pulls his cap down.
"I believe so too."
Iris and Blue remain silent as they either stare or avoid eye contact with one another. Despite being a friendly and outgoing person, Iris found it hard to start a mutual conversation with the male. Sure, events from their first meeting continue to jog her memory, but maybe, just maybe, she will try again. A few moments pass before Iris finally speaks up. Despite his outward seriousness, she wants to believe Red and get to understand him better.
"So, do you prefer honey or black tea?" Blue looks at her, alarmed. He leans his face away from his palm as he gives her a bizarre stare.
"What? Why do you need to know that?"
"Just answer the question! I want to get to know you better."
Blue gives her a long, hard stare before looking away and leaning his head on his hand. He believes himself to be the unsociable type, though he is aware of his "tough" personality. After a few seconds of pure silence, he responds.
"Honey."
Iris looks at him with a slightly surprised expression. She was almost sure he was a black coffee person. This causes her lips to tug upwards as she stares at the male. Catching on to the staring, Blue furrows his brows.
"You're staring too hard-"
"That's interesting. I like honey too." He stops talking and looks at her, surprised. He wasn't expecting such a calm response, especially after what he just said.
"Anyway, I'm still mad at the insult you gave me days ago, but maybe we can try again." She furrows her brows and gives him a more serious look as she leans forward and points at him.
"And I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."
Blue leans back, clearly not expecting such a fiery personality from the other. He ends up snorting a little as he closes his eyes and crosses his arms. He couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's actions.
"Fine, looks like I have little choice."
Iris, with a new yet cheery facade, holds out her hand to him, smiling brightly.
"Hi, nice to meet you! I'm Iris. What's yours?"
Just by the look on his face, from his widened eyes to his blank expression, you could tell he was shocked.
"Don't we know each other—"
Iris shakes her outstretched hand vigorously, waiting for the right answer. Exhaling in defeat, he stretches his hand out towards the girl, clasping her hand once they connect. The warmth he feels from the girl makes his face relax in surprise. Iris, who catches on to this, giggles softly as she gives his hand a light squeeze. Blue looks at her as his face flushed in embarrassment.
"Blue. I'm Blue, nice to meet you too."
He shakes the hand of the other, comforted by the warmth of her small hand. Before he could think to say much else, she was the one to break away by pulling her hand back. He does the same.
That girl sure is something.
I guess he's not all that bad after all.
Iris takes her last sips from the chocolate shake in her hand, causing a fit of noises to erupt from the straw, followed by the gaze of a certain brunette to land on her. She looks up at him with her lips still glued around the straw. They tug upwards into a sheepish smile as she pulls away and chuckles. She then plastered an embarrassed look on her face.
"Sorry, heh. Didn't expect to make so much noise."
"The shake must have had such an exquisite taste for you to be making so much noise." Blue retorts in response. Despite the comment, the small smirk on Blue's face shows clear amusement as he leans forward against the table. The girl giggles as her face expresses obvious embarrassment.
"Oh shut up you! I just wanted to be sure I finished it all," Iris replies. He ends up laughing softly as she attempts to explain herself.
"You're a funny one, aren't you?" Blue says as he stares at her with such a small yet genuine smile; Iris couldn't deny the bits of flutters in her stomach.
"Who knew you had such humor? It's not that funny." The girl responds with a sarcastic tone, but her smile is as bright as day.
By the time Red and Green came back, they were socializing like no tomorrow. It was to the point that they didn't notice the pair who stood at the table with knowing smirks on their faces.
"You guys sure are having fun without us," Green disrupts with a sly tone of voice. Red only tugs on his cap and chuckles. Blue and Iris both stop and turn to face them. Iris laughs a bit as she leans back against her seat and rubs her neck. She rests her arms on the table.
"Whoops. Kinda didn't see you guys there."
Blue remains quiet, as if he were thinking of something clever to say. He says nothing.
"Look who's quiet now." Red teases, causing the male to perk up with a blank expression on his face. He doesn't retort back and instead looks the other way with his palm leaning against his cheek.
"Oh whatever." He grumbles. He turns his gaze and looks at Iris, who just stares back before bursting into a small fit of giggles.
"What's so funny?" He questions as he furrows his brows in confusion.
"Just the fact that you can be a sweet person after all."
Blue leans his head away from his hand and stares at her with a shocked yet puzzled expression. He ends up almost leaning against the edge of his seat."Huh? What's that supposed to mean-"
"Oh brother. Save me the sappiness, please." Green drags with a playful wave of her hand before elbowing Red, who only chuckles awkwardly as he leans away from her.
"Anyway, since you guys finished, we might as well go somewhere else, don't you think?" Red asks as he looks at the others. They all nod in agreement before getting up and walking out all together.
"You two made up faster than I expected. Looks like you owe me a soda then, Red." Green cheers once they step out the door, leaping a step forward to face Red, who only grumbles in response and lowers his head.
"I never said I was giving you a soda—"
"Hey, don't back down now!"
Blue and Iris stare at the other two with equally confused looks. They then look at each other and shrug.
"Hey Red, what's that all about?" Red turns his head towards Blue and chuckles before rubbing the back of his neck with a sheepish look on his face.
"Hah, well, we debated on what you guys would've done while we were gone. I thought you guys wouldn't have said much to each other."
Green jumps in. "And I thought you guys would have eventually sucked it up and apologized to each other. What we didn't expect was for you guys to mingle around like nothing was going on between you two to begin with!" She points at them, waving her thin finger between the two. Iris holds up her hands defensively with an unexplainable expression. Blue had a bit of a bewildered look on his face before shrugging seconds later and putting his hands in his pockets as he looked away.
"That's unusually specific, Green...you weirdo." He smirks before pointing back at her in a similar manner.
"Eh?! How am I weird?!" She exclaims before dropping the subject by crossing her arms and facing away.
The squad walks further and further away from the café. They move aimlessly through town, pointing out certain flying-type Pokémon that passed them by, and the ones that were walking with their owners. After a while, they soon reach a meadow, where Iris suggests they just relax there for a bit, and even let out their Pokémon. The two boys didn't care, but Green hoped for other plans. The girl soon agrees, and they all walk into the field.
Once they have distanced themselves, the group releases their Pokémon for a bit of fresh air. One by one, beams of light exit the poke balls and strike the ground before revealing the respective Pokémon inside. Despite the characteristics of most of their Pokémon, the group didn't think they would have to worry about them for the time being.
After tucking away the poke balls, Blue turns his head and spots a group of flowers growing within the meadow. He leans down and plucks up an Iris Ensata Tiramisu, a native Iris flower that grows in the field nearby. He then looks towards Iris as she pats her Haxorus before letting it interact with the other friendlier pokémon. Green and Red were next to their pokémon as well. Green, being the chatterbox she is among the pair, was talking to them as she pointed at all the interesting beauties within the field. Red, on the other hand, was simply enjoying the moment with his buddies. The male brunette then takes his opportunity and walks over to Iris with the flower in his hand.
Feeling someone coming towards them, Iris turns around and perks up at the sight of Blue... and a flower in his hand. Although silent, her mouth opens in surprise. She didn't know what to expect.
"Before you jump to any conclusions, let me just say this." He says, once standing in front of her. The girl with purple hair remains quiet and nods her head, letting him continue.
The brunette stares at the flower, trying to think of how to work out his thoughts. His expressions didn't show it, but he was actually feeling a little nervous. He didn't know why, but he was ready to get the unusual feeling out of his system.
"So about the statement I said sometime back," he starts, shoving his free hand into his pocket. After a few seconds, he looks back at her. His face had a sharp demeanor to it, but it was less intimidating this time.
"Well, flowers also bring out the beauty in their surroundings." It was as if the breeze cued itself to blow through at that exact moment, carrying the strands of their long hair to flow to its rhythm as well. Blue holds out the beautiful flower in front of him, in her direction.
"You're unique. Keep it that way."
Iris had such a relaxed yet contented look on her face as a wide and genuine smile soon stretched across her face. She nods her head as she looks up at him before gently taking the flower from his hand.
"Thank you." She responds.
Green and Red soon become an audience to the scene when they turn their heads one after the other. Red's facial expression was puzzled, and Green was smirking in amusement with her hand on her hip. Although they couldn't hear what the pair was saying, they were amused by the "romantic" scenery.
"Don't tell me you guys are already professing your love?!" Green shouts, breaking the silence between the two, who turn their heads oh so quickly. She hates to be such a mood breaker, but it felt rewarding to receive their flustered and embarrassed looks as they gawk at her in shock.
"W-What?! It's nothing like that!" Iris yells, waving her hands frantically.
"Very funny," Blue then says sarcastically as he rubs the back of his neck.
Green only chuckles as she sneaks up behind them. With her hand under her chin, she states, "Y'know, you guys should seal the deal with a kiss." Had it not been for the very suggestive look on her face, you would have considered her words to be serious. Red, feeling a bit left out, walks up next to Green with his arms crossed. "What are you saying this time, Green?" He asks with a borderline disappointed tone in his voice. In reality, however, his curiosity wanted him to know what the other two would do.
"You're joking, right?" Blue finally questions, looking away as a small tint of pink appears on his cheeks.
"Y-Yeah. Quit playing around." Iris stutters with an equally flustered look on her face.
"And what if I'm not?" She responds.
Blue and Iris both remain silent as they look at Green, then at each other, before turning away from one another.
"No, no, you're joking," Iris says as her hands subconsciously reach up to her cheeks.
"Blue, are you blushing?" Red asks curiously as he observes the male's face. The brunette jolts back as he leans his body away from the noirette.
"No. I am not—"
"It doesn't look like that to me," Red responds as Blue glares to the side before eventually turning his back to the group.
"Well, you better get your eyes checked."
"You liar-" Iris bursts into a fit of giggles, followed by Green, who leans against her shoulder.
"Forget it Red, he'll never admit it."
Iris looks down at the flower in her hand before bringing it up and fixing it against her ponytail. She didn't have a mirror in hand, but felt like the flower went nicely with her hair. She turns her head to Green, who holds out her thumb in an upward position and winks. Red then looks at Iris and grins cheerfully as she returns the smile with one of her own. They all turn their heads to Blue, who was watching the other Pokémon. He soon turns around and stares back at them.
"What?"
He decides not to question them further once his eyes land on Iris, the beauty herself.
"The flower suits you." He says to her.
She smiles. "Thanks, Blue."
"Aww, how sweet," Green coos, leaving Red to chuckle right after.
Blue sighs in defeat and walks over to them.
"Will you guys ever change?" He asks with a small smirk on his face. His question was a clear joke, judging by the genuine laugh that escaped his lips seconds after.
"Nope," says Red with a cheeky grin on his face.
"No way," Green responds, checking her nails sassily.
"Not any time soon," Iris replies right after with a hand on her hip.
Blue smiles at them as he crosses his arms and turns his head away.
"Good."