Foggy Feelings

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A stone plopped into the water making ripples that seemed to reach all the way to the shore. The pond had a light fog over it that made the area nearly eerie. It was the early morning, and the only sound currently heard was the occasional plop as another stone hit the water and sunk to the bottom of a steadily growing pile. Vanilla was tossing stones idly as if trying to toss her troubles away into the lake along with the stones. Another plop sounded and she sighed and leaned back while kicking her feet. This early in the morning, if she was up, Vanilla liked to wander to quiet and peaceful areas to think about things. Usually it was a relaxing time for her... But her mind and heart kept bringing back up a conflict that ran through her mind. She shook her head and picked up another stone to toss into the pond yet again.

Oswald immediately caught wind of what Vanilla was doing, and quickly crouched, if only so that the Minccino wouldn't tackle his injured chest. The wet chinchilla pokemon collided with the Mienfoo, knocking him into the water with a splash. Thankfully, they were close enough to the shore so that they weren't fully submerged in the water when they landed.

Oswald coughed, looking up at Vanilla's who's muzzle was about an inch away from his. He blushed, and replied, "Well, this certainly feels familiar..."

Vanilla blinked for a moment. Her large dark brown eyes were wide with surprise at how close they were. She noticed Oswald's reaction to this and she smiled at the fact he was blushing. "Funny, I didn't even have to use Attract this time." She commented with a twinkle in her eyes. Though before he hadn't even fallen for it.

"I was refering to the time in the cave, thank you very much..." Oswald replied, his blush fading slightly as he suddenly realized how weird it was. Not the fact that they were laying like this, but the fact that Vanilla hadn't moved away yet...not that Oswald minded all that much.

"You know, I get the feeling that you're enjoying this."

Vanilla shrugged, after all they had been through this wasn't any different. She had been close to Oswald multiple times. "Well... You're not moving either." She pointed out. He hadn't pushed her off, nor had he really protested. "Although I can't blame you, I am the cutest Pokemon ever." Vanilla stated.

Oswald chuckled at Vanilla's remark, calling herself the cutest pokemon ever. She was beautiful, that was for certain, but surely wasn't the cutest. Though it had nothing to do with her looks, she just didn't have a "cute" personality to her. Not that Oswald hated Vanilla's personality, in fact it was the opposite, but he knew that she wasn't the cutesy type.

"You don't act like it...but I think it's better that way." Oswald said, gently wrapping his arms around the Minccino's back. He didn't really know why he did so, but it just felt...nice.

Vanilla looked away with a slight pout. She had always wanted to be the "cute one" of all the Pokemon. Naturally, not being accepted as cute was a little bit of an annoyance to her. She huffed. "Maybe you think it is, but I still think I am, even if you don't" Vanilla said if it was a simple fact.

Oswald shook his head, a small grin on his muzzle as he gently guided the Minccino's gaze back into his own. Her hazel eyes seemed to glow amidst the fog, her brown orbs catching the twinkling light that danced along the water's surface. The mienfoo softly replied, "I'm not saying that you aren't cute. In fact, I think you're the most adorable pokemon I've met."

Blushed played across Vanilla's face at his comment. She was truly and completely surprised that he had said that at all. She wasn't expecting him to say it. "Oh." Was all she could manage because of her surprise. If he hadn't wrapped his paws around her, Vanilla would have turned away in embarrassment by now.

Oswald smirked, their noses practically touching now with how close they were. Oswald moved his paw away from Vanilla's face and rested it around her upper back. His touch was as gentle as could be, as if he was expecting Vanilla to push him away at any time. He laughed a little as he replied, "Oh? What's wrong? I thought I was the one being "attracted" here,"

Vanilla finally shook off the surprise from the compliment. She smiled at his comment, half amused and half out of embarrassment. She decided she'd go along with what was going on. "You are." She said and touched her nose to his with a smile.

Oswald smiled, somewhat bashful at first from the shock of their noses touching, but quickly warming up to the contact between their noses. Their lips were so close to one another, Vanilla's breath tickling the fur on the mienfoo's muzzle.

'Well, here goes nothing.' Oswald thought, closing his eyes as he gently pressed his lips against Vanilla's, silently hoping that she would hate him for this.

Vanilla felt her face heat up as Oswald kissed her. He had done it once before, though it had been to silence her last time. Now it was him expressing his feelings for her. Her eyes were wide with surprise, not expecting such a forward response from the normally careful Mienfoo.

Once again, she had been caught off guard. Her brown eyes full of surprise at the action, and she was unsure how to react. This had only been the second time she had been kissed, counting the first time Oswald had kissed her. She hesitated, unsure of whether or not she could even respond. She felt a fluttery feeling in her chest from the contact as she debated. Finally she gave in and kissed him back, shutting her eyes.

At first, Oswald was unsure of Vanilla's reaction, not getting a lot of feedback on his act of love until seconds later, when the Minccino started to push back against his lips. The mienfoo's cheeks flared with a blush, his stomach in knots as the rippling water was pushed to the back of Oswald's mind. The slightly cold water lost it's feeling after a few moments, as the young martial arts pokemon was too busy focusing on the kiss he was sharing with Vanilla.

Vanilla paused for a moment. She realized that she was treading into dangerous territory, very unfamiliar and dangerous territory. She pulled away, breaking the kiss she had just been enjoying only a second ago.

Vanilla looked a little confused. "Sorry... This is just.... Too soon." She said pulling away. She stood up, running her paw across her mouth as if trying to get rid of any trace of the recent memory, mental and physical. Getting this close and romantic with Oswald wasn't the best idea if she hadn't even made a choice on if she was leaving her life as an outlaw. Although she knew the whole thing was her fault to begin with. Kiss, and meeting, and all.

Oswald's shot open as Vanilla pulled out of the kiss, shocking the poor lovestruck mienfoo who just sat there in the water, listening as she shot him down. His ears drooped, a frown forming on his muzzle as he replied, "I'm sorry...you're still thinking on things...and I shouldn't have pushed you to do that."

"No..." Vanilla said and shook her head. "It was my fault too..." She awkwardly glanced in another direction. She went back to her habit, playing with her tail again and avoiding making eye contact. "If anything... I'm sorry Oswald." Vanilla said, her eyes shifting around to everything but him. Her ears went back slightly, she was embarrassed again and her face was red.

Oswald stood, water dripping from his fur, his head shaking as he walked over to the Minccino. He stopped a foot in front of her, the bandages over his chest sagging and practically see through.

"There's nothing for you to apologize for. Besides, we're still close, aren't we? I just have to wait for your decision, that's all."

Vanilla shrugged. Of course they were will close, and she still had a heavy choice to decide on. She twisted her tail fur, wringing out some of the water and smoothing it out afterwards. "Yeah.. We're still close I guess." Vanilla said.

Her heart was still all fluttery, but that was gradually taken over by a somewhat painful feeling. She frowned, her ears going back further, as she wondered exactly why she felt the way she did. Vanilla noticed his bandages, and how they seemed to be near ruined by the water. She knew telling him he should go back to get them changed probably would do no good, so she didn't bother mentioning. Instead there was an awkward silence between the two.

Oswald scratched the back of his head, chuckling as he quietly commented, "Well, this is awkward, isn't it. I swear you could almost taste it..."

Oswald knew that this small little joke wouldn't be enough to cut through the barrier between the duo, and noticed her eyes wandering down to his bandages, and he frowned, "Oh, you don't have to worry about this. It's just a cosmetic thing, really."

Vanilla tilted her head upwards slightly. "You know Oswald... I may have a pretty face but I'm not entirely stupid. And yet somehow I can never tell if you're desire to never admit when you're in pain is a pride thing or just plain instinct. Are you just afraid of being... Weak or something?" She asked with a frown on her face. She wouldn't understand his comments when it came to his injuries. Was it so bad to admit you were in pain, or that you had bandages? "You should at least get them changed." Vanilla said and turned her attention to her fur, which had been flattened from the water and began taking care of it.

Oswald shook his head, "No no, it's nothing like that. Nothing like that at all..."

Oswald brought a paw down and tore off the wet, useless bandages, some parts of it clinging to his fur, though he couldn't really care less about that. The wet cloth floated gently to the ground, sticking to the cool grass as Oswald walked closer to the edge of the pond.

Oswald sat at the water's edge, frowning as he added, "You wouldn't understand, besides, it rather personal,"

Vanilla frowned. "I hardly think anything is 'personal' anymore between us.... But if it's your personal business then okay." She said with a shrug and waded to the shore herself. As soon as her paws hit the grass she finished smoothing out the rest of her fur, if she didn't she knew it would instantly fluff up, and she didn't want that to happen. She finished by fixing the tuft of fur on her head. She didn't say anything while she did the task, using it as an excuse to stay quiet for a while. After all, Oswald did say she wouldn't understand and it was personal.

The fact he figured she wouldn't get it was a tiny smack in the face, but she wouldn't admit it, nor would she show that she had even acknowledged it. It was so minor after all...

Oswald remained quiet for a few moments, obviously conflicted about whether or not he should tell her or not. After all, she had said herself that they had come from two different worlds, so would she really be able to see the significance his problem was in comparison to hers.

Oswald sighed, and replied, "It's all Vermillion's fault. She said that she didn't like it when I acted all tough around her, and that I should only hide my pain in battle, but...but then she just left. She turned on the guild, on her friends, on me...and she didn't tell anyone why. I felt so betrayed, like she had just spat in my face. But, she left the team to me, and I couldn't just let something so prestigious be destroyed because of my emotions. So, I decided that I'd hide my pain from the world, because no one really wanted to see it anyways."

Vanilla's ears went back as he explained himself. He had been wrong, she did understand his reasoning, very well in fact. She understood how her companion felt and walked over to him, slowly at first but speeding up a little bit and gave him a hug, even though they were both still damp from playing around in the lake she didn't mind. She pulled away after giving him the quick hug. "So that means you always have to hide it? And never show how you're really feeling? If that's the case how are others going to know you or help you? You're a weird Guild Pokemon Oswald." Vanilla said after looking Oswald in the eyes.

"Vermillion never needed any help, and she never failed a single one of her missions. I'm her student, and even if she turned into something else, I don't want to stray from her teachings. If I want to be successful, I have to get stronger. But..." Oswald explained, pausing for a minute as his frown just became more pronounced.

"But it's so hard...to try and block out all the pain. Sometimes I can't, and it just all comes flowing out...it's pathetic."