”Nnnnnope, too late~.”[break][break]

With a broadened grin and a quick wink, he curled his free fingers around the band of the accessory she handed off to him (honestly somewhat surprised she did it without as much of a second thought) before quickly pulling it away with both ribbons and card in hand. Humble as ever, she seemed— but in response to her attempting to lower his hand, he merely tapped his card against her fingers playfully before properly shifting everything to join the other products in his other hand.[break][break]

”It’s no issue. Promise~.” He made eye contact with the closest person manning their register once their spot was free, walking over and setting everything down while glancing back over his shoulder and towards her. ”This is on me. …If you’re really intent on making things even, though, I’ll let you know when a food cart catches my eye~.”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: rondez-view circulation

☉

Ah, well, that was easier than he thought it’d be.[break][break]

After calling out, he’d glanced over to catch her reactions, and upon noting the commands she gave to her own Pokemon, he took care to take himself and his own companion further away from the rubble for safety’s sake. With several broad, strengthened strokes through the water, he swam over to meet her some ways away, turning slightly to look just in time for the rubble to be blasted away, holding a hand up to wave the bubbles formed from the impact away from his face in attempt to keep a visual.[break][break]

Following that, he gazed about the waters with a content hum (though not without taking care to reach out in attempt to help her as the swarm rushed out, all while returning his own Pokemon to her capsule, momentarily, for her own safety) once the closer vicinity was clear. He looked over his shoulder to eye the numerous water types as they swam further off.[break][break]

”Huh. …That took a lot less time and effort than I expected~.” He turned his head, eying her before peering back towards the bottom of the boat in the distance, speckled darkly and faintly against the sunlight far above. ”Guess all that’s left is to go back and report, now, yeah~?”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: luvdisc dive

☉

Honestly speaking, he was curious about what song she’d end up choosing in the end. Thinking on it more, he hadn’t quite delved into what sort of music she liked in a conversation, so to glance towards the screen and watch her pick the song she did was a pleasant and curious surprise as he pursed his lips with a smile, as well as a seeming smile in approval.[break][break]

”Old but gold, honestly,” he hummed, eying her with some degree of amusement while taking the microphone she held to him. For the sake of the song, he trailed off for the most part; only humming softly along in recognition as the song, itself, began to play.[break][break]

By no means was he the best singer, but he definitely did intend to try his best.[break]
And he did try his best through the time he sang.[break][break]

…It just so happened, however, that the time was shorter on his end. In the beginning, he joined her. He sang— but as time went on (and as he was able to hear her voice for a longer and clearer time), he’d absentmindedly trailed off in favor of simply eying her and listening contently.[break][break]

Admiration, accompanied only by a softened gaze and an absentminded smile of affection.

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: kouple karaoke

☉

He swam after his own water type to begin with, vigilantly peering throughout the waters and taking care to shine his light along the surroundings as he reached further depths and encountered other structures and the like. His gaze shifted towards the surface at the muffled sound of his companion and her Pokemon descending, and as he heard her voice and what she had to say, he trailed his gaze after her and gave a call to his Pokemon before beginning to swim over.[break][break]

”Here ya loud and clear~,” he hummed, quickly beginning to make his way towards the area pointed out to him. He looked around for her Pokemon to begin with, and soon after, descended upon the aforementioned rubble. Reaching forward, he gently and carefully examined the cracks and crevices before pausing at the faint sight of pink.[break][break]

”Ah, yeah— I think I found one right here…! Look around the cracks! If one of your Pokemon can blow the rubble away, too, then all the better.”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: luvdisc dive

☉

A sarcastically amused groan of a sigh left his lips at the thought. ”Weeks? God, try months...” he laughed, grinning a wry grin as he clicked his tongue. ”Literally. Restless. Nights…”[break][break]

He turned his head towards her partway into the response, and though he noted her moving closer, he hadn’t said much; rather, he welcomed it while simply leaning closer, himself, in order to get a closer look at the tablet. He hummed in thought.[break][break]

”Mmmmn… Honestly? Off the top of my head, nah…” he mused, raising his brows while peering up at her from the corner of his eye. ”How about you? If I know it, I’m game to do a duet for whatever you pick~.”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: kouple karaoke

☉

…The merry go round, huh?[break][break]

He had to admit— it was a bit unexpected from her. Pleasantly so, but still. He pondered her choice of attraction for a moment before shrugging and grinning nonetheless, however, and gave a nod of approval while nodding to the registers. With the remaining figurine in hand, he reached up to pluck the ears he’d selected off of his head before beginning to get his wallet out.[break][break]

”Hey— it’s only childish if you think it’s childish~.” After plucking a card out, he folded his wallet back up before holding the same hand out, nodding and gesturing to the ribbons she wore upon her head. ”If the round’s where you wanna go, the round’s where you wanna go~.”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: rondez-view circulation

☉

He nodded, humming with a smile of equal parts concern and amusement, alike, in light of the situation at hand. ”May as well, yeah. As for those two, though,” he started off, humming with an idle smile and chuckle as he shifted a hand to one of the Pokeballs on his belt, ”I think there may be some persuasion that could be done~...”[break][break][break][break]

With that, he flicked the capsule off of its holding before tossing it out, releasing a familiar little panda of his own. He gave a few cries before his trainer called out to him, and with a broadened grin, the aforementioned man crouched down to tap a hand against the bear’s head while pointing over at the elder creatures afar.[break][break]

”You see those two over there, buddy?” he asked, pursing his lips. ”I want you to go over there and work the cute charm on the Pangoro that’s being stubborn. See if that’ll convince him to let his kid go~.”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: pwoduce pangowos pwease!

☉

”Hey— if you do, I’d gladly join if you’d have me~.”[break][break]

The words were spoken with a smile, all while being paired with a gentle pat upon the shoulder in encouragement. Following that, however, he shifted forward a pace more in order to lean upon the fencing before them. He inhaled deeply, taking in the airs around them for a few moments within a gander before blinking and shifting his attention towards her again.[break][break]

”You wanna take a picture before we head down?” he asked, tilting his head with an ongoing smile. ”Again— the view’s nice~. Even if we did come back, we may as well take the view back with us, right?”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: sunset selfie

☉

He only had to listen to her words for a moment to properly take them to heart.[break][break]

”Glad to do it~.” With an ongoing grin, he turned faintly towards her just long enough to give her a wink before reaching all about the kitchen surfaces and cabinets. Within a short amount of time, he’d acquired a pan and set it atop the burner, and—with a flick of the dial—took a lighter to it in order to bring forth a proper ignition. Alight with flame, he reached over for another glass container of what appeared to be oil before drizzling some into the pan and shifting towards the earlier sous vide machine as it heated up.[break][break]

He worked quickly to pluck the meat he’d settled into it out and from its bag, and after a quick pat dry and a check of heat from the pan, he glanced up towards the blonde with a playful touch to his smile.[break][break]

”Careful~.”[break][break]

It was his single choice of word before he placed the steak into the pan, watching and listening to the instantaneous crackle and sizzles emanating from it. Before long, he gently tipped the pan towards the fire of the burner, soon igniting a short lived, yet brightly burning flame that erupted upward.

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: affection's confections

☉

”Don’t worry about it,” he laughed, ensuring the zipper was pulled as far up as it could be before gently patting her shoulders, signaling that he was done. ”It’s honestly flattering, if anything. Just a compliment and nothing more~.”[break][break]

His gaze shifted towards the tips of her ears, and although he nodded the reddened hues almost immediately, he merely masked the knowledge beneath a smile as he watched the Pokeball fly out, waving at the sea dragon in greeting before reaching over for the remainder of his masks and gear. ”I’ll go ahead and scout first, then~,” he said, briefly adjusting the goggles hooked firmly over his face as he tossed a Pokeball of his own out, catching it as it bounced back and released a certain, pink nosed water type into the water. Soon after appearing, she gave a couple of chirps before diving down with her trainer in tow, briefly glancing over his shoulder as he briefly sat upon the edge of the boat.[break][break]

”Meet you down there~,” had been his last choice of words before he dropped down, breaking through the surface and promptly following after his Pokemon.

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: luvdisc dive

☉

…Ah, that’s right. Company talk was a bit of a sore spot, wasn’t it?[break][break]

It was something he learned about her a while ago, but rolling the conversation along was somewhat instinctive for him in casual settings. Although her smile faltered lightly (and he absolutely caught it), his smile remained its ongoing size and even softened slightly at the sight of it. His lip quirked gently as he looked towards the pages again, nodding.[break][break]

”Honestly? Yeah, I could see that~.” Her unspoken wish had been to move along, and he would embrace that request with open arms. As if replacing the drifted parts of a smile that dwindled upon her lips, his own seemed to broaden at the thought, and he glanced towards her from the corner of his eye. ”Although I’m not sure how quiet the house would be if we did get one…” he mused, clicking his tongue. ”He’d probably use the damn thing every day… Wouldn’t get a wink of sleep ever again~.”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: kouple karaoke

☉

”Oh, well if being cute’s all I need to do to get you to smile, I should do it more often,” he laughed, grinning more while giving her nose another, final flick before gently letting go of the ribbon. He peered towards the other souvenirs and other products strewn out before them, idly picking a couple of smaller figurines out and eying them before shifting his eyes towards her again. ”Awfully easy to please you in that case, though. I’m glad~.”[break][break]

He smiled a bit more before looking back to the figurines, examining them for a while longer before placing one back.[break][break]

”That aside, though— there anything specific you wanna do after this~? Like…you got your eye on a specific ride, or was there some food that caught your eye, or…?”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: rondez-view circulation

☉

”I actually think it’s a case of a parent not wanting to let his kid go~.”[break][break]

With a soft laugh, he lifted his hand in gesture towards the paired pandas to begin with. ”Those two seem to be arguing, yeah? But it looks kinda one sided, right?” he mused on, nodding towards them in further gesture before folding his arms lightly. ”Almost like one’s kinda trying to convince the other of something?”[break][break]

He turned his head towards the singular Pangoro further off, reaching down for one of the Pokeballs residing upon his hip.[break][break]

”That one looks like it’s got a broken spirit. …Almost like it’s tried, but it’s just tired of arguing by this point.”

DAPHNE STONE [break]
mission: pwoduce pangowos pwease!

☉