smash_logs | YOU DIDN'T THINK I FORGOT, DID YOU

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YOU DIDN'T THINK I FORGOT, DID YOU

Who: Everyone ever. It's mandatory or you're banned for two minutes.
What: Fireworks are a little late this year...
When: The night of July 14th
Where: Campus, generally. But you can see them out in the city.
Warnings: Colours and explosions and probably dumb kissy stuff somewhere in here.

It was usually the evening of the second of third; a tradition that began five years prior due to some silly boyish dare, that continued for the sake of sentimentality and tradition. Even if the culprit no longer attended Smash Academy, he made sure his legacy lived on each July.

This year it was a little late, because strange robots were patrolling the city and were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But that didn't stop the mission from being fulfilled! Just... delayed. It was probably for the best, since loud noises and bright lights wouldn't have been well received by the more feral-minded creatures during the whole bake sale debacle. In a way it was a pretty convenient setback.

Anyway, when the night finally came for the tradition to continue, it started... with a bang. Duh.

There was no small smattering of tester rockets to ease into the display. Just a sudden burst of red and white in the sky, Smash Academy's emblem glowing brighter than the stars for a few seconds before petering out. After that it was just burst after burst of an assortment of colours and shapes, each its own unique size and brightness, the resounding explosions echoing throughout the campus like gunshots.

Good thing nobody at all would be trying to sleep, right?

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Huh? Oh, that's right. She was a Pokemon right now and somehow she had forgotten that important detail. So... maybe she didn't need to worry much about anything if he couldn't recognize who she was (although that still didn't help ease much of the embarrassment she felt because of him).

And... he seemed to be quite normal talking to her? That was interesting. She had to wonder if the presence of girls unsettled Mondo considering how he conducted himself the night they met at prom. With this in mind, her curiosity was piqued to see how he would treat her as a Pokemon. She shook her head 'no' in response to what he said and, though a bit hesitant, she came up closer to him and stood by his feet. Glancing at the spot next to him on the edge of the fountain, she wondered if he'd be okay if she sat next to him.

Noticing her questioning intent, Mondo patted the spot next to him and invited her to take it with a broadening smile. "You can come up here if you want. It's a nice spot!"

Definitely very different. A happy Mondo like this didn't seem so bad. In fact, it made her smile and she gladly hopped up and took a seat next to him.

"Vaporeon. (Thank you.)" she said, though more out of habit than actually believing that he'd understand. With another explosion in the sky, she redirected her attention back on the fireworks, making sure to enjoy them as much as possible. It was her first time seeing them, after all. She also didn't want to chance disturbing Mondo in case he just wanted to watch the display. A conversation could come later, most likely at Mondo's pace.

She was probably one of those Pokemon types that were so prevalent around here, or maybe another one of those exotic species he'd never heard of back home. It was weird that he was beginning to accept them as an everyday encounter, but he was a long ways off from actually understanding them.

They remained silent together, eyes to the sky as rainbow bouquets of fire blossomed. It was peaceful. He didn't feel constrained by her presence at all. Her willingness to be around him, even to prop herself right by his side like that, made him feel good, especially since she had a very canine appearance that was offset only by fins and a whale tail. It was easy to feel moved like this, the feeling of having a "dog" beside you, and he wouldn't stop smiling, even if it was somewhat goofy and sentimental. He brought a hand to her back and began to pet her affectionately.

Admittedly, the contact was rather unexpected and Chiyo flinched when he first laid his hand upon her back. It was only after he continued to pet her that she realized what was going on and slightly relax under his touch.

Is this okay? She kind of felt like she was deceiving him by being in this form. It made her feel guilty, him not having an inkling of who she really was, but at least he seemed genuinely happy. That goofy smile on his face sure surprised her, as she had never seen it before.

Would that smile go away if I transform? She had to wonder about that. And in her mind, the answer was obvious. If any normal person saw a Pokemon become a human, why wouldn't they be surprised or shocked? She didn't even know if he knew what Pokemon were or that they could humanize at Smash. And, oh boy, was her head starting to hurt from all her thoughts and worries.

...Maybe she'd just stay in this form a little longer then... If possible, she wanted to keep that smile on Mondo's face for as long as she could before revealing herself. And before she realized it... she had been staring at that smiling face for some time now.

Chiyo, turn away. Stop staring. That's not polite.

Soon enough, every time an especially beautiful firework went off, he found himself shifting his sights down to watch Chiyo's eyes reflect them, looking forward to her reactions rather than the display. Luckily for Chiyo, though tempered some, that smile never left, and he never noticed her fixation on his smile. A force of habit made his hand reach for the top of her head, one Chuck had instilled long ago because he would always get pleasantly drowsy whenever his head was touched a certain way, and even after all those years, it remained tucked inside his subconscious.

Oh no. Not the top of the head. That was Chiyo's weakness. He caressed her so gently, she hadn't realized she was dozing off until she suddenly found herself comfortably snuggled up against him.

Just when had she done that?

In a desperate attempt to remain awake and clear up any misconception Mondo might've had about Chiyo (and also because she wasn't thinking clearly through her drowsiness), she transformed right then and there. She still felt a bit dazed, but managed to slowly sit up and look at Mondo a bit apologetically.

"...sorry Mondo." She wanted to greet him first, but somehow felt that it would be more appropriate to apologize first.

Oh, and, she's wearing her charming little princess nightgown since she ran out to see the fireworks after getting out of bed.

The warm feeling dispelled at the sound of a voice he wasn't expecting, and he tensed up as a result of that surprise. It wasn't just a sudden voice dividing up their pleasant atmosphere but a whole new feeling, like how the entire position of his arm had to shift to accompany a new shape. A second broke past them and he twisted his neck to check out what happened and holy shit there was a girl next to him and she wasn't dressed in much more than a thin billowy nightie.

"Haah!" he cried and unstuck his hand from her head like she was the stove and too hot for him to handle.

Wait! He recognized her! Chiyo! So this aquatic dog creature was her true form... He remembered the last time they spent time together, which was about a month or so, during prom where he made a complete fool of himself, maintaining a total of zero composure with a lot of kneejerk yelling mixed in. He had a feeling he wouldn't be able to remain stable around her even now, and his cheeks flooded with the color pink. All he could do at first was stare, petrified.

"D-Didn't know it was you..." he managed, breaking the spell and leaning back on his palms, crossing his legs and bouncing his foot at the ankle as his sights fled to the sky.

Well, that reaction wasn't too bad. She observed his face for a few moments longer before turning her head away from him.

She figured he hadn't known who she really was as a vaporeon, but wasn't going to make mention of it. Instead, she slowly drew her knees in up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them in an attempt to cover herself up. Seeing Mondo blush also had her blushing, and even more so after remembering what she was wearing.

"That's... okay," she said softly, but loud enough to be heard over the fireworks. "You couldn't have known." A pause. And then, "I apologize for having deceived you. I. I didn't intend to." Another brief pause, and before her nerves started to kick in, she curiously and almost hastily added, "Mondo, do you like dogs?"

Just as hastily he replied, "Yeah! Of course I like dogs!" as though jabbing the air with his unrestrained loud voice quickly enough would chase away his growing nervousness. Bad habits died hard. He wasn't sure why the conversation had steered in this direction unless it had something to do with the form she was in just then, but it was an escape venue he could direct his messy energy into answering. "They're really cute! And full of life!"

And then, he realized with a skip in his heartbeat, that by saying those things, he was calling her cute by extension. Right? "B-But... I shoulda known you might've been a human being, too," he fumbled, scratching his neck. "It's not like it's unusual around here... If I embarrassed you somehow, you can hit me! I'll take it without a fuss..."

When she heard Mondo call dogs "cute and full of life," she blushed - but that quickly went away from his absurd offer to hit him.

"What?" she squeaked, sounding more shocked than she intended and clearly expressing it on her face. She also looked at him worriedly, wondering why on Earth he'd even suggest such a thing. "W-Why should I hit you? Th... That's nothing to hit someone over!" She gasped, realizing that she had nearly yelled at him.

"Ah. I mean. Please. Please don't worry about it...." she turned away, feeling embarrassed, and thought for a moment before adding, "....Th... Thank you, though. I think you're also... a very lively person... and.... nice."

She lost her nerve and buried her face in her arms and knees. Very quietly, she whispered, "...and cu... cute." Depending on how keen Mondo's ears are, he may or may not have heard that. She wouldn't mind if he didn't. She'd actually prefer it that way now that she said it.

A firework broke over her words, so her mousy utterances were spoiled. If he had heard them, the red heat would spread like a disease, leaving no pale hue left in his face, and he'd fervently deny that he was any of those things. Even without those adjectives he was flustered enough as it was.

He didn't know what to say next, but seeing her balled up in a nightgown like that made him wonder if she'd like a bit more... coverage. Even though it was a summer night, she might be cold, too. Mondo slid his jacket off and draped it over her, the silky lining on the inside still warm from having just been worn.

"...?" Chiyo hadn't expected to be given a jacket to wear, much less the one Mondo was currently wearing, and lifted her head to steal a momentary glance at Mondo.

Why had he given her his coat? She stared at it... and eventually smiled. It was really warm and comfy, so she decided not to question him on it and to thank him graciously for his kindness.

"Thank you." She drew it closer to her, relishing in it warmth, before another curious thought hit her.

This was her first time wearing a man's jacket.

"It's so big," she said amused as she slipped her arms through the sleeves. She lifted them slightly and giggled softly at how the end of them dangled past her hands. Considering how loose the clothing were on her, she certainly felt like a small person. "Your arms are so long, Mondo."

Each thing she said and did in response to his deed played with his heartstrings, which were embarrassingly easy to strum into a melody that carried the same lyrics every time: Shit, it's too cute...!

"Is that... so..." was all he could find to say, averting his eyes- but not before watching her snuggle up in the confines of his coat and observe his huge sleeves on her slender arms. He felt like mushed up goo inside. Giving a cute girl his coat to wear was a thing he never knew he really wanted to do until now. And then, it dawned on him.

He... he totally liked her, didn't he?! Should he... ask her out? Okay, so she was part waterdog and that was a little weird but maybe he could overlook that because come on LOOK AT HER IN HIS COAT just LOOK AT HER she's SO CUTE and she's TOTALLY GIRLFRIEND MATERIAL!! He could feel a kneejerk confession starting to rise up but he

REALLY

didn't want to fuck it up. He knew himself! He'd just wind up screaming at her and putting her off and then being told no and he wasn't sure his heart could take the rejection right now...

And so, Mondo waged an inner battle with himself, which only served to reduce him to an even bigger bundle of nerves.

In the sense that an animal can pick up on the emotions of others, it was easy for Chiyo to pick up on Mondo's growing nervousness. It was so much that it was starting to make her nervous as well.

"Mondo? Are you okay?" she asked out of concern as she tried to look him in the eyes. "You're not getting cold are you? Would you like your jacket back?"

She knew that probably wasn't the reason, but she thought she'd ask anyway.

"Okay? I'm better than okay!" he barked in an unintentionally defensive way, cursing himself for being so crass when he wished he could mellow out and be gentle and know exactly how to talk to her like this. He leaned forward and tried flashing a toothy smile, but it had an awkward edge to it. "I never get cold!"

Not that she was turned off by the toothy smile or anything, but Mondo leaning forward without notice instinctively caused Chiyo to lean back. The proximity wasn't unwelcome, but it wasn't something she was quite used to, either.

"Really?" Sometimes Mondo's booming voice, which could rival the bangs of fireworks, rendered her speechless and stunned that it would take her a moment to recover before she could find words to speak again. However, she could still pick up on spoken words very well.

"Better than okay?" She gave him a small smile. "So you're feeling happy, then?" It was nice to think that her presence could possibly bring happiness to another. Or, you know, he could just like fireworks a lot. Maybe she'd ask if he liked those, too, if the chance arises.

Her leaning away made him retract again, silently ashamed of himself for not realizing he was only making her uncomfortable with his body language. He scratched the back of his head and watched another display go off with only a passive interest in it. "Yeah. I am happy!"

And he was. Sure, he was awkward as fuck right now and making a huge idiot of himself in front of her, but she was sitting next to him with his jacket draped over her, a pleasant source of company that made him feel lighthearted, and there were fireworks to watch and the sweet air of a summer night hanging around. Her question made him reflect. He kept smiling and acknowledged this deep within himself, how nice this moment was and that he would cherish it.

"Damn it," he added. "I'm probably making a huge mess of myself in front of you, so I hope you can forgive me. I'm not always good at talkin' to people. Especially cute girls..."

The additional comment on cuteness made Chiyo feel as if her own face was about to blossom into a firework, particularly a red one. She wanted to hide her face. It must've looked a ridiculous shade of scarlet right about now.

"You're not... making a m-mess of yourself," she said flustered, her voice wavering. In fact, she felt like she was the one making a mess of herself, not Mondo. With her hands, she took hold of the collar of his jacket and drew them over her face to hide herself. "Y-You're doing just fine. I'm not good at talking to people, either, so it's okay."

"Then I dunno if we make a good match or a match that's twice as bad," Mondo joked. "But I guess it ain't so bad when the both of us don't got it right. We understand each other's troubles!"

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YOU DIDN'T THINK I FORGOT, DID YOU

I'm glad I dared to do it

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terrible me read "coverage" as "cleavage"

both words check out in this case...

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