July 16th, Thursday.
With the template in place Plants vs. Zombies was moving fast now and a working prototype looked likely before the weekend. Daniel's hairline had receded another two centimeters. It was the kind of sight that could break anyone's heart. Not that it mattered anymore. Stay up late enough and there's simply no room left for sadness.
Eevee stepped casually across Luke's face on her way past. The soft cushion of his cheek made for a comfortable landing pad but waking up that way still felt uncalled for.
Luke scratched his head and gave in to the two pleading Pokémon. "Fine, fine, breakfast's coming right up!"
"Kojie! (≧▽≦)"*
"Vee! (▼ヘ▼#)"
He opened the fridge and stole a can of moomoo milk under Haunter's openly resentful glare.
While the pan heated up he checked his phone. The Master League was kicking off in Metro City on Saturday and it dominated the whole group chat.
Gold: Group assignments are out? Is there anyone I could actually beat?
Green: Doubtful, honestly. The red bracket has Lance from the Kanto League and you've already felt his strength firsthand.
Yellow: Mr. Lance is from Viridian Forest too. He's a good person (▽)
Gold shuddered, remembering a pair of Dragonair with a nasty habit of manipulating the weather mid-fight. He gritted his teeth anyway. "The blue bracket has Cynthia. I should at least have a ten percent shot."
Whitney: The blue bracket has Ms. Cynthia in it. There is no version of this where you win.
Brock: Theoretically speaking there's still a ten percent chance.
Red: Gold's actually improved a lot lately. Ten percent's a bit generous but it's not crazy.
Blue: Agreed.
Gold was practically in tears reading it. Wait, are you all actually backing me up right now? Thank you. Genuinely. Thank you.
Luke closed the chat and scratched his head. Cynthia's coming all the way to Metro City to compete? "No wonder I haven't seen her online the past few days," he said, a little wistful. Losing that side income stung. A poor household had just gotten a little poorer.
Still, Cynthia was a genuine Champion. Going to watch in person and broaden his horizons seemed worth it.
Buzz—
His phone rang. He picked up. "Hello, who's this?"
"Luke, apologies for calling so early. Are you free Friday?"
"...Professor Rowan?" Luke blinked, surprised. "Is something wrong?"
"The danger-sense pattern you mentioned last time with Eevee. Are the symptoms still showing up?"
Luke glanced over at Eevee without meaning to. Haunter sat slumped against the wall too weak from hunger to move while Eevee wrestled happily with her own Substitute nearby.
Clang!
The newly purchased enamel teacup shattered on the floor. Eevee blinked and shot Luke a quick guilty glance.
"Vee! Σ(っ°Д°;)っ"
Caught red-handed the second their eyes met she looked away fast, puffed her cheeks up, and knocked the cup over again out of pure spite.
Luke's brow twitched. He coughed lightly. "Professor Rowan, uh, yeah. I think the symptoms are still very much present."
"Don't worry too much, that's likely just a normal reaction," Rowan said. "My assistant will actually be arriving in the Orient region on Friday. She'll handle the diagnosis in person."
"That's great!" Luke said, brightening. "Should I go meet them?"
"Funny you mention that," Rowan said, a smile audible in his voice. "She's landing at Metro City Airport Friday morning. I worry she won't know her way around and won't find your place easily. It'd help a lot if you could pick her up."
"No problem! What's her name? I'll make a welcome sign."
"No sign needed. You'll recognize her instantly. You've already met her once."
"She's the Champion out of Sinnoh," Rowan said. "Her name is Cynthia."
"No problem!" Luke agreed easily. Then his brain caught up and simply stalled out. Wait. What. Is this the same Cynthia? Beautiful, incredible figure, that Cynthia? The one competing in Metro City this weekend?!
"Appreciate the help!"
By the time he snapped back to attention the ever-decisive Professor Rowan had already hung up.
Luke paused for a second then went back to the moomoo milk still in his hand, forgetting entirely to actually open his mouth for it. Haunter drifted down to his feet with visible suffering and caught the overflow directly in her own open mouth instead.
"...Huh. That tracks," Luke said, nodding to himself after a long blank stare. "They're coming to help with Eevee's diagnosis. I should go greet them properly."
"Vee!" Eevee was scratching at the wall from hunger at this point.
Haunter stared at the milk still dripping from Luke's hand, visibly heartbroken.
If you're not going to drink it properly just hand it over already! Who holds a bottle of milk and forgets to open their own mouth?!
"Right, sorry, right away!"
Luke snapped out of it and had just started cooking when his phone buzzed again.
"Oh come ON, is this morning ever going to end—"
He checked the screen and his eyelids twitched instantly.
Vegetable Ice Cream: Can we voice call?
Teacher Luke: Sure...
Humble. Weak. Completely without leverage. A moment later a call request popped up and he answered, that familiar husky voice coming through clear.
"I'll be arriving in Metro City Friday morning. If it's not too much trouble could you come to the airport?"
"I—"
"It's fine," Cynthia said, catching the hesitation and pulling back before he could finish. "That was presumptuous of me. We can just game again another time."
"Wait!" Luke blurted out right as she was about to hang up. "I'm free! Completely free!"
Cynthia, apparently second-guessing her own request, chose her next words carefully. "I don't know Metro City well at all."
"You're the only person I actually know from the Orient region."
"I know."
"So you'll come get me tomorrow?"
"Of course. Anyone who doesn't show up is a coward."
A faint smile crossed Cynthia's face on the other end. Her voice, already husky, came through the line with an extra edge that made it hit even harder. Luke could hear her breathing softly through the receiver. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight up.
"See you there," Cynthia said.
"See you tomorrow," Luke answered.
______________________________
He hung up and let out a long breath. Hand pressed to his own chest he muttered, "Why is my heart racing like this."
"It's just meeting up with someone from the internet. That's all this is."
"She's not actually staying the night or anything, right?"
Luke had, after all, undergone rigorous mental conditioning by this point in his life. He steadied himself fast after the momentary spiral.
One real question remained, though. "What identity am I even meeting her as..."
His expression twisted. "Gaming buddy? Junior researcher? Some random Metro City University student?"
In the end he decided to just wing it. No point lying. Cynthia would read his actual skill level the moment they spoke and he'd never actively hidden anything from her regardless. All that really needed to happen was picking her up at the airport and dropping her at the hotel.
Which meant, when he boiled it down, Cynthia's whole function in his life right now was really just—
"Wait, so Cynthia's just a diagnostic tool at this point?" Luke said, mildly stunned by his own conclusion.
"Kojie! (;Д`)" Haunter's face had gone fully blue from hunger.
Eevee, eyes welling up, silently grabbed a napkin off the counter without a word.
Luke scratched his head, resigned. "Coming, coming, right away!"