[PRP] Perplexing Pink Psyche (Izaya & Zacharie)

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Quote:

Izaya sat with his shiny Sneasel at a Valentine’s Day-decorated cafe drenched in hearts of pink, white, and red. He was wearing his special white outfit with the pink accents that he enjoyed donning on the 14th of February. Though his hood was up to minimize the chances of him being recognized, he even had his matching pink contacts in as he smiled brightly at the couples walking into the establishment, kicking his legs back and forth under his chair with his dex on the table in front of him.

Earlier in the morning, he had messaged Agent Zacharie asking if he would have liked to meet him at the cafe if he could find some time to get away from his work that day. It was just supposed to be a casual snack together, but Izaya had mentioned they could do other things depending on how much time the agent had and what he felt like doing.

Psyche came along to keep Izaya company while he waited for Zacharie to show, but the Sneasel was having trouble keeping up his usual spirit. All the decorations of Valentine’s day reminded him too much of Delic and how the Chingling had become absent from their team for about a year, now.

His trainer, however, seemed impervious to the sadness in his pokemon’s smiles and hummed to himself as he waited for a response from Zacharie. He had ordered a plate of pink, red, and white mini cupcakes in advance, but neither the Sneasel nor the ex-Rocket seemed keen on eating any just then, even if for very different reasons.

 

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie had stared at the text message for a long time, his brain refusing to process the text displayed on his screen.

“Zacharie?” Virus chirped, its little icon on the screen bouncing curiously in the corner. “Send reply?” He glanced over all the hearts, the pink text, the emoticons...and then promptly set his RocketDex to the side. “Just a moment, Virus.” He murmured before burying his flushed face in his arms on the table top he was working at.

The soft hiss of distillation and the steady bubble of liquids boiling was relaxing and as he drew in a deep breath he gave himself a little nod. “Tell him I'll be there in an hour.” He turned his head just enough so the pokemon could hear him but only lifted his head once the chime signifying the message was sent rang through the lab.

“I would be happy to join you. I'll be there in an hour.”

“This...can't be right.” The Agent looked to his GPS and confirmed that this was, in fact, where Izaya had asked him to meet up. “Maybe it's a prank?” Kuroko supplied unhelpfully as they watched couples mill about, oblivious to the slightly panicking male standing near the front window. “I don't think it is…” Zacharie murmured, anxiously clicking his tongue ring against the back of his teeth.

Where had his bravado from their last encounter gone? If he could handle that situation surely he could handle this one! “Well...let's go see what he wants.” He tugged at the hem of his sweater, heaved a deep breath, and then slipped through the front door.

Immediately he was greeted by a peppy hostess and assaulted by the Valentine’s Day themed decorations, “Uhm…” He stared wide-eyed at the hostess before pointing helplessly into the cafe. “I'm meeting someone.” He tried to return the smile sent his way but it probably came across as more of a grimace as he snatched Kuroko off of the floor and all but sprinted the short distance to the table Izaya was at. Though if he hadn't seen the outfit once before he would have never known that it was the older man. “H-Hello…” He glanced from the empty seat to Izaya before slowly lowering himself into the surprisingly comfy chair. “...You've picked an uhm...interesting meeting spot.”  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

“Zacharie!”
Izaya seemed just as peppy as the hostess if not more when he spotted the purple-haired young man and jumped up to greet him. Psyche looked over and hopped off his own chair to follow suit, though seemed especially amused by Zacharie’s reaction to the cafe. Then the shiny pokemon spotted Kuroko and waved his clawed hand enthusiastically.

Throwing his arms around the agent, Izaya caught him in a full embrace before his guest got a chance to sit down. He let go only to let him do, so, it seemed, and quickly flopped into the chair across from him. Glancing at Psyche, he patted his lap and the Sneasel leapt up onto it.

“Hi! Thanks for coming!” the informant said, hugging his dark-and-ice type to his chest as if he were a stuffed toy. Even Psyche seemed a tad bit uncomfortable with the strength of his hold and patted his trainer’s hand gently to get him to loosen up a bit. That didn’t seem to dampen the older man’s spirits any, however. “Do you like it?!” he asked Zacharie excitedly. “I thought it looked cute, especially with all the decorations perfect for the occasion. Want a cupcake?” He reached out to scoot the plate toward the Rocket’s and his pokemon’s side.  

[insidiousEnigma]

Both trainer and pokemon seemed unsure what to do, though the former had enough sense about him to awkwardly return the hug as best as he could with a pokemon in his arms. “Thank you for inviting me.” He said slowly, letting Kuroko settle in his lap once they actually got seated.

“...What's wrong with him?” Kuroko cocked his head slightly but returned the other pokemon’s wave. Zacharie felt much the same, unsure how to act in the face of this peppy Izaya. “It's….” He glanced around once more. “Yes, it's very uhm cute...but what's the occasion?”

Kuroko took a cupcake and though Zacharie wasn't a big fan of sweets, he took one as well. The Agent reached into his pocket and withdrew a small bottle of hand sanitizer so he could clean his hands before picking at his cupcake.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

“Of course!” Izaya gushed, squeezing Psyche gleefully again. The Sneasel gasped and pat his trainer’s arm once more to get him to loosen his grip. Though the shiny pokemon wasn’t sure if the Espurr had directed his question to anyone in particular, he smiled weakly and looked off to one side, murmuring, “...History is repeating itself.” He attempted to take a deep breath to re-fill his compressed lungs. “Well...sort of.”

At Zacharie’s question, though, the black-haired man’s jaw dropped. “You mean you don’t know?!” he cried in distress. “But Zacharieeee, it’s Valentine’s Daaaay! How could you forget?!” Psyche squirmed as Izaya clutched him close for comfort and whined loudly in his ear. “It’s one of the best days of the whoooole year!” His expression, which appeared to be on the verge of tears, instantly transformed when he noticed Kuroko and Zacharie go for the small, colorful pastries.

He began to bounce up and down in his seat like a restless kid. “Aren’t they pretty? There’s vanilla and chocolate and pink rose and red velvet...and those are just the cake flavors! There’s a whole other variety of sprinkles and frosting. I tried to get as many different kinds as I could, but we can order special ones for you and Kuroko if you want to make your own! I think it’s an offer they only have for today where you can pick what you want for each section to make a custom cupcake.” He held up a finger and winked. “The only catch is that everything is Valentine’s Day themed!”