"do you think we're meant to be together?"
"what do you mean?"
"I can't be trusted. i might just stab you in the back."
"we'll get there when we get there."
"...thank you. i promise to change just for you."
"just shut up. you'll do just fine."
"heh. thanks."
"lopez."
"oh, you're here. that's rare."
"here you go."
"what's this?"
"a gift."
"i see... but what for?"
"..."
"that's not an answer."
"take it as you will. i'd rather not make the trip next week."
"my birthday? aww, someone's shy."
"...goodbye."
"good morning!"
"it's afternoon, lopez."
"why the sour greeting?"
"your tardiness is becoming a problem. you're lucky you're one of the competent ones we have."
"ugh, fine. anyways, about the group barbecue trip for next christmas..."
"mhm?"
"it's still happening, right?"
"no."
"oh."
"would you rather have it be just the two of us?"
"w-w-w-what?!"
"don't you have lots of friends?"
"why did you ask that all of a sudden?"
"i dunno. everyone always asks if we're together. wouldn't that mean you don't hang out with other people?"
"idiot. it's because...!"
"because of what?"
"now that i think of it, why are they saying that?"
"ooh! maybe it's because we're both ikemen boys."
"what the fuck are ikemen boys?"
"basically pretty boys."
"dude, you think i'm a pretty boy?"
"n-no?"
"here."
"for the last time, mister lopez, i'm not a— never mind. you don't seem interested in correcting yourself in any case."
"just take it. it's better in your hands than in the trash."
"i suppose you're right. i'd rather that than them going to waste. i'm surprised though. do you know their language?"
"language?"
"the symbolism attached to them. they often dictate the sender's intent."
"oh! i just picked them up from my garden. is there... anything wrong?"
"nothing's wrong, but it's just something i needed right now. thank you."
"are you smiling?"
"i-i am not! stop being excited about it! why are you here for anyways? do you need the shop's services?"
"nope. is it a crime to hang out now?"
"kyle?"
"yeah?"
"would you still love me if i was a wurmple?"
"what kind of question is that? is that an innuendo?"
"what? no, bro! just answer it!"
"change it to poochyena, then you can have your answer."
"yeah, i'll be a dog for you, man! bark, bark, bark! woof, woof, woof!"
"i'll walk you-"
"with a leash? that's hot, bro."
"hot? w-wait, you said it's not one of those questions."
"well, you made it one."
"i'm leaving."
"noooo. i'll be a good boy for you! i'll do tricks that alpha wouldn't even do, like beg or roll over!"
"ugh. you're lucky you're cute."
"like a poochy?"
"y-yeah. i mean no!"
do you like these simulations?
"i... don't know how to feel about them."
aren't emotions something foreign to you until recently? you hated them, right?
"what's that supposed to mean?"
you know the reason why, right?
"because it's difficult to understand and they don't pander with reason."
but you have all the power to understand them while you're here, right? just run simulations about emotions getting heightened in multiple scenarios, study the patterns, and it wouldn't be a problem anymore.
"i'd rather not."
too much work? rather do something else? you don't care? hmm, or is it the change from then to now? you care for the ethics of playing with people's copies and you're not sure where it falls.
"fine. you're right. why are you tormenting me?"
torment? nah. i'm just your shadow... the true self. i know what you are, and you know who i am.
"that's an overused trope."
true, but you like tropes. either way, you're in charge here. this is your space. we're somewhere cut off from your world. you can even disconnect your ho-oh's influence— the one which made things more complicated for you by heightening your empathy— while you're here.
"why though?"
look down.
he looks down on his feet and sees a reflection on himself. like the surface of a crystal clear lake, the ripples of the silver liquid that produced a mirror revealed gold that needed to be dug out.
another one of himself stands opposite of him. it peers down to him and waves his hand in the same nonchalant, but friendly, manner that he would have done so.
"this has always been in your mind right?" it tells him.
he swallows. there's no need to reply. if what he tells him was true, then he should already know what he would respond with. and if it's him, he would mock him for not being fun.
"let's cut to the chase." sparing the awkward part of testing the waters was empathetic of him.
"do you know where we are?"he has an idea, but he'd never give an answer he wasn't entirely certain of.
"i'll spell it out for you."he steps forward, breaking the tension of the pool that separated him and his doppelganger. though it looked like he took a plunge from his view underneath, the reflection falls from above, landing squarely in front of him.
"you failed to return here once before, but you're here now. tada. congrats on fulfilling your agenda in your dream. it's a bit shallow, not gonna lie, but i do agree it would've been fun, theoretically speaking.""welcome back, u820 kyle lopez."999/999
love
PATISSERIE HM RP
