Brows furrow together as her finger makes contact with his shoulder and he bares his teeth a bit. This wasn't a date in the slightest, and the idea only irked him more. Hands raised off of the blanket as he readied himself to push Ariadne into the dirt just to the side of their shared blanket, but he composed himself and rubbed at his face with a groan. It was almost bothersome at how she managed to push his buttons, but let's be honest: just about anyone could do that. But she seemed to find some sick joy in it. Was it cause he constantly cracked blind jokes at her expense? To try and push back, however, he offered a wry smile as he spoke.

"I didn't spare any expenses either, I'm sure there's some way you could show your appreciation."

He lowered a bag he had napkins and the like stored in and unzipped it in a manner to insinuate he'd undone the zipper to his pants. A shift in the weight beside Ariadne was enough to show that he leaned in her direction, and his voice came out in a low whisper. Two could play at this game and he certainly wouldn't allow himself to be outdone. While Ren liked to front that he had no shame in his approach to things, that illusion was thrown out the window at the fact he was a flustered mess even tnough he simply insinuated something. It's not like he went along with the action, but still. The man was embarrassed by the situation. (Thank Arceus that Ariadne couldn't see the blushing, stuttering mess he'd become simply because his pride wouldn't allow him to be the embarrassed one in this situation.)

"All talk, but I'm sure skilled fingers like yours know how to play."

As Ren leaned in, there was no doubt the heat radiating off of his face was enough to show he was more than embarrassed. But before anything could be done, he quickly retreated and kept his hands up so that he could push his partner away if need be. An awkward cough left his lips as he looked away and rummaged through the cooler for a distraction of any kind. That was when he pulled out a bottle of water for Ariadne and offered it out.

"Here, have a drink, and let's forget the past few seconds."

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ARIADNE MAUCH

The embarrassment that came with her reaction was practically palpable, and he couldn't hide the whine that made itself apparent when she teased him back. The poke came to his cheek, much to his relief, but still was enough to damage his ego. He turned his head and quickly masked his flustered reaction with some sort of gruff sound because lord knew his fellow Rocket didn't need the ego boost. She was pretty cocky, was that a common trait in Alola? Shameless, too.

"Control yourself," he hissed.

But the disappointment that he didn't follow through on his own end was evident in his voice. At least it would be a little more fun than sitting there and watching fireworks. But that was in the past, and not a topic he wanted to brush upon again. Ren let out a sharp exhale as he shifted a bit to lay down on his back so he could look up at the sky. It had gotten dark faster than he realized, so no doubt it was about time for the fireworks to start. And just like that, the pop of the first one to start the show began.

The blue and white rained down to reveal the shape of a Snorlax's head. Impressive, but wasted upon half of the duo in attendance. Ren's hand mindlessly reached out to Ariadne. Not exactly to hold, but a reassurance that he was still there. He didn't know why he bothered to do such, but it felt proper.

"Have you ever seen fireworks before? Sorry, I don't know how far back your blindness goes."

There was a gentleness in his tone. Somehow he didn't seem like he wanted to tease her. Instead, he posed the question curious. Maybe he wanted to do his best to explain them. He had a limited vernacular but he'd do his best.

"The first one they shot off looks like a Snorlax. It's blue, like the winds of the first breeze of autumn. There's a darker tint to it, why I didn't go to the whole summer allusion."

A pause. He tried to figure out how to word himself the second time around.

"The Snorlax kinda looks like a sleepy cat. Pointed ears at the top of its big head. It's a tired pokemon, but a happy one."

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ARIADNE MAUCH

A sound of relief left his lips as he relaxed back against the blanket a bit more. At least he didn't have to describe the colors. That shit was hard. Ren bit at his bottom lip as he continued to watch the display above. Most of them were just explosions that rained down, nothing to necessarily note. A snerk left his lips as he glanced back up at Ariadne at the comment about Snorlax being an ideal sleeping partner.

"I'm afraid it'd roll over and squish me beneath it. I'm fine with using my Lycanroc Winston as a pillow."

Though he didn't plan to let the dog out in fear the fireworks would startle the poor pokemon. Instead, he continued to stare up at the sky and hummed thoughtfully. As much as he wanted to describe the various explosions in the sky, there wasn't much going on. The sounds themselves were enough to explain. It wasn't long before he turned his head to look at Ariadne again and spoke a bit more carefully.

"I'll be real with you, the explosions happening now are just a flurry of colors, no shapes -- just raining down," he began. "Oh hold on, there's a Magikarp one. It's orange and looks like a really, really dumb fish that's just happy to be involved."

He sat up after a moment and dug through the cooler before he took out some cheese to eat. The plastic container was carefully offered onto his fellow Rocket's lap with a light tap so she knew it was there. The smell was a dead giveaway in itself. He went for a nice cube of mozzarella and chewed it while he attempted to figure out how to delicately ask his next question.

"So how'd you go blind?"

Very delicate. At least he didn't beat around the bush. And figured it was a good starting point for the pair to actually connect on a deeper level. Ren wasn't really one for talking about himself so he chose to give Aria the floor.

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ARIADNE MAUCH