Someone takes the initiative for him, oppressing him with an overwhelming amount of chipper behavior. A bead of sweat trickles down from his temple as he tries to follow what they're saying, all while trying to keep a hold of his chocolate.

"I'm just helping out," he offered in a sheepish tone. "These are for Valentine's." Not anyone's in particular, they were going to be available for purchase... or so he hoped they'd turn out so well.

They offer a helping hand, which he can hardly afford to refuse. "Sure," he gestures at the alomomola's detached fins. "Can you attach them for me, please? He reached at another project nearby, a bowl of white peppermint candy and another of cinnamon. Changing one pair of gloves for another, he began rolling each bowl's contents one-by-one into gumball sized balls; white for peppermint, red for cinnamon. Easy enough.

"Once that one's finished, I think the chocolates are set. These mints are next."

Cutting each of the sphere in half, he reveals the ultimate goal of pressing opposing halves together, forming pokeball cinna-mints. He's even got a dorky slogan prepared to the extent of "To help you capture that special someone's attention."

His ideas are cheesy and the talent isn't there, but at least he's helping, right? "So, what's your name? M' Adrian, so we're even." He caught their gaze just then, ignorant to their duplicity.

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"Sorry, I'm not trying to be bossy..." But the pace at which he's trying to work is frustratingly beyond his own capabilities as an individual barely versed in the art of confection. If Dawn is at all a professional, he would be able to see it in the way Adrian worked. Yet he was persistent in his work.

"Nah, I'm just volunteering here."

That's really all there is to it. As he's joining all the red and white halves together, Dawn told him it was a pleasure, to which he could only give a warm smile. "Thanks, you too," he managed while plopping a few nearly finished cinna-mints onto an empty tray. But their honesty struck a chord.

His pace slows down to a crawl, and he finds himself a bit exhausted. "I guess I just don't know how to half-ass things," he admitted. If he was going to do something of his own volition, out of his own good grace... he was going to do it his way. And it was going to be done right.

Even if that meant meticulously crafting bonbonbs, trawling through a bunch of recipe books to help make candies for the upcoming holiday.

"What about you? Is there a special someone...?" His curiosity had been piqued.

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It was amusing to listen to Dawn ramble while he finished the last few cinna-mints, although they looked more like voltorb without eyes than a pokeball. But they could work on that later.

The other man's raving about a love interest had stirred Adrian's own simpering heart, forcing him to recollect memories from the weeks following up to today. He had lost Monty, sure... but River had him enamored. Yet there was conflict. Noah also had a boyish, ruffian's charm that made him desire...

If Dawn hadn't asked him what they were doing now, he would've been lost to his thoughts. "Uh, how about some licorice or Twizzlers next?"

"And you can take a few samples, if you want." He wasn't about to refuse him that much.

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"They were in these books," he gestured to a stool just beside him with a cook book that lie open. The directions were rather straightforward. Dawn began to stuff some of the treats into a bag, which gave Adrian some semblance of accomplishment. At least they looked good enough to try, even if he couldn't be sure of the taste.

More interestingly however, Dawn helped to lift his spirits, giving him a bit of a warranted pep talk. His confidence in himself wavered ever as always, brittle and vulnerable, but the encouragement he got from others was always a welcome respite.

"Thanks. I wish you the same." Adrian couldn't help but latch onto the word girl though. It didn't really matter how girls felt, since he was mostly into guys, but he supposed the message was all the same. People liked those who were self-assured; it made them seem more dependable.

"Have a Happy Valentine's," he said in parting.

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