Cookin up an Appetite

Zones Dervez. 25. Just you watch, I'll be the greatest chef of all time... who also happens to catch Pokemon?

[chefzones-blog]

trainer-orion:

With Zones swinging his arms and chanting, Orion felt more like a chaperone than anything. Though he supposed that wasn’t far from the truth at any other time. His nose crinkled in distaste at the word ‘bro’ and he frowned. “I don’t recall volunteering anything of the sort.” Although, if Zones planned on drinking excessively, it would probably be safer that way. Much to Orion chagrin, he’d relent if that happened to be the case. “And if I recall, the last time I allowed you into my condo you ruined my kitchen and stole some of my clothes. I’m still waiting for those to be returned to me, by the way.” 

“Oh, it hasn’t been that long,” Zones deflected, trying to mentally conjure up just how many days it had been since he’d disappeared with Orion’s clothing. Honestly, he didn’t even know where they were. Somewhere in his room, he bet. He made a mental note to look for them. Maybe Wendy could help. She seemed skilled enough to look for things without accidentally shredding them to pieces. “And besides, this time I’ll just be passing out. No drunk baking, I promise.” Although, sober Zones couldn’t exactly speak for drunk Zones. With the Salty Magikarp coming into view, Zones quickened his pace, the idea of greasy bar food appealing to him more and more. “Come on, Orion,” Zones said, using his friend’s actual name for once. “I wanna see what you look like when you’ve had alcohol in you.”

[chefzones-blog]

girlinthetree:

“I suppose,” she grinned and kissed the tip of his nose. “Or we could watch the next movie you picked out. I think your pokemon are staring at us.”

“Oh, crap,” Zones pulled away from Octavia long enough to see if Whopper and Porkchop were still eating popcorn on the windowsill. They’d long since finished their snack. Probably halfway through the movie. Whopper seemed to be giving him a kind of knowing stare that said, Oh, now you remember we exist? “Woopah!” he cried out anyway. Zones just buried his head in Octavia’s chest. “I completely forgot they were there. I can’t believe they watched all of that.”

[chefzones-blog]

trainer-orion:

Orion nodded his head in satisfaction when the impending threat of physical contact was off of the table. …At least at the present time. He didn’t necessarily regret his time with Zones…that much. Or at all, really. But he certainly wasn’t about to make that known. “I appreciate that, thank you,” he replied with an eye roll. Having someone sit next to him would be odd anyway, especially while eating. Elbows must surely be bumping, it just seems impractical. “Yes, I drink. Not habitually, but I indulge every so often.” 

“Indulge,” Zones found himself imitating Orion’s words before he could stop himself. It’s like he was stuck in an endless loop. He forcibly bit his tongue and marched the two of them out and away from the training grounds. Wendy’s Pokeball felt heavy on his belt. He’d have to let her out later and see if she was okay or not. Maybe she just needed some rest. With a skip to his step, he pointed their direction out toward the Pier and the Salty Magikarp. Zones wasn’t the heaviest of drinkers, but when he was in the right company, he could drink himself under the table... and pass out. “Free drinks, free drinks,” he began to chant as he swung his arms back and forth. “It’s nice being on an island, too. We can just go home and pass out in your condo after. Thanks for volunteering it, bro.” He used the term ‘bro’ ironically, placing special emphasis on the word because he didn’t use it often.

[chefzones-blog]

girlinthetree:

“Do we really want to discuss the mechanics of this?” she grinned up at him before kissing across his cheek and down his neck, licking and nipping at the skin. “Cause I’m more than willing, but I don’t think you want to know how much thought I’ve put into this.”

“Well now I’m thinking about the mechanics of it. Because we’re on the subject,” Zones said breathily. He was with Octavia. Why was he thinking about how big Ludo’s dick was and how he wasn’t sure he could survive it if it were huge? He happily accepted Octavia’s kisses, though, still just running his fingers back and forth across her midriff and then up and down her stomach, from the base of her ribs to below her belly button. Like one big cross. X marks the spot. He wasn’t sure for what, though. “I mean, can’t Ludo and I just braid each other’s hair?”

[chefzones-blog]

trainer-orion:

“Wha– I-” Orion stuttered unintelligently, continuing to step back away from the impending threat of physical affection. He shot Zones an angry and flustered glare, brows pinching together and lips pulling down in a frown. “What the f–” He stopped himself from cursing. How was foul language cute? It certainly wasn’t, and he just was convinced that Zones simply took pleasure in his misfortune and frustration. “You’re making me deeply regret allowing you to drag me here.”

Zones let his arms drop. “Aw man, come on. Don’t say that,” he pouted, and then proceeded to shove his hands into his pockets to show that he was being a good sport and wouldn’t infringe upon Orion’s personal space anymore. At least for now. “Let’s go eat, okay? I’ll even sit across from you so I can’t try anything sneaky.” It wasn’t like he was planning on snuggling up next to Orion to get a rouse out of him anyway. Except he was. But he’d already pushed enough buttons for the day. He’d met his quota too early. Now he had to behave himself. “Drinks and bar food sound great. You... do drink, right?”

[chefzones-blog]

girlinthetree:

Zones was so strange. She kissed him back and pulled him in close, moving as though she wanted to lay back on the bed and wanted to pull him with her. “You and Ludo would be hot,” she teased as she bit down on his lower lip and tugged.

Zones moved with her, allowing her to lie down and he followed her, partly because if he didn’t, she’d take his lip along with her and he liked his lips on his face. “Oh?” he questioned, moving himself so that he could stretch out on the bed and lean over Octavia, one arm propped up on his elbow. This left his other hand free to absent-mindedly dance across the skin of Octavia’s stomach. “Ludo looks like he would crush me.”

[chefzones-blog]

trainer-orion:

“No–” Orion said immediately. He took a step back when Zones opened up his arms. He wasn’t good at hugging, and it would surely be another thing that he could get teased for. “Don’t you fucking dare,” he said, taking another step back. He heard Zephyr snicker at his feet and he shot the Zorua a glare. “You’re supposed to be on my side,” he said with an accusatory frown. He was just met with a sly grin.

Zones kept up his pace toward Orion, walking much like an old fashioned zombie, arms outstretched and staggering. “Just a little hug,” he begged. “Like an awkward proximity shoulder touch. Or I can just bear hug you while you stand there. I’m not picky.” He’d only tease him until they were completely out of the training arena, but Orion didn’t know that. “And you’re even cuter when you curse, I can’t stand it,” he wiggled his fingers and his eyebrows, to show his appreciation for his friend’s general awkwardness. Or just to make it worse.

[chefzones-blog]

girlinthetree:

Octavia shook her head and leaned forward to kiss him. “Stop worrying,” she whispered and ran her fingers through his long hair. “I only have eyes for you. And maybe Ludo,” she admitted with a grin. “But he’s gayer than a male Jinx trapped with a Mr. Mime.” She kissed him again. “So stop worrying and kiss me.”

“I can’t help but worry, I don’t know what else do to,” he began, but then he realized that he could just be kissing her and that was a perfectly reasonable alternative to worrying. “Hey, I don’t blame you for ogling Ludo. I ogle Ludo. I’d be worried if you didn’t.” Everyone probably ogled Ludo. He laughed anyway, though, and wrapped his arms around her once more, deepening the kiss with a renewed enthusiasm.

[chefzones-blog]

trainer-orion:

Orion nodded his head, relieved that Zones seemed to be back to himself. He wasn’t sure how much his words had helped, but he was glad to see that they at least hadn’t made things worse. However, that relief was short-lived as Orion realized that Zones being back to normal meant the teasing began again. Spaceman? He rolled his eyes at the nickname. For a brief moment he considered — once again — trying to explain that he wasn’t an astronaut. After some thought he decided that it probably wouldn’t do much good. Perhaps he should just accept his fate. Instead he replied, “I’m not one for physical affection.” He only really hugged his family, and even that was rare. Aurora was often the one that initiated hugs when they both lived with their parents. “I’m quite glad you requested food as your reward, I don’t have any particular interest in hugging you.” 

“Well that’s too bad,” Zones said, his arms slowly opening so that they were stretched out wide on either side of him. Teasing Orion came as easy to him as cooking. He still wasn’t so sure why his favorite past-time was to get under his skin, but he’d play it out as long as he could and he’d only regret it on the day Orion finally had enough and would tell Zones to go away. “Because I have a lot of interest in hugging you. C’mere.” Zones took a step toward Orion as he spoke, fully expecting the other to back off.

[trainer-orion]

“Pokemon are complex creatures,” Orion said with a shrug. “We might not understand why the actions that they take, but they aren’t without their reasons. You might not be an experienced trainer now, but maybe Wendy thinks one day you will be. Or perhaps she simply doesn’t care.” The Scyther seemed against battling anyway, so logic would say that Zones’ experience as a trainer didn’t really matter. He hesitated for a moment before he gave his friend — was Zones his friend? Yes, he supposed so, however reluctant he might be to admit it aloud — another slightly stiff and awkward pat on the shoulder. “Come on, I believe I owe you food for losing the bet.” 

[chefzones-blog]

“Well, she’s with me for some reason and she seems to like me, so I guess I can’t really be too upset,” Zones said after a while. He shut his eyes tight, shook his head to clear it, and then when he opened his eyes, he felt much lighter. He’d have plenty of time to brood over Wendy later. He was with Orion, now. Orion, who took the time to comfort Zones even thought most of the time Zones just made fun of him. It’d been the perfect opportunity for Orion to have some revenge, but he didn’t take it and that proved to Zones that Orion was a far better man than he. The extremely stiff shoulder pat made Zones’ smile finally return. He had won the bet, hadn’t he? “Oh come on, spaceman, have you never hugged anyone in your life? Maybe I should have made the bet that you owe me one big bear hug.... but Wendy did kick your ass. And that deserves a double cheeseburger at least.”

[girlinthetree-blog]

Octavia shut him up with a kiss before she pulled back and shook her head. “Nah, I would have thought you were cute no matter where I saw you. You just happened to meet me sooner than others.” She smiled softly at him before cocking her head curiously. “Who’s Orion?”

[chefzones-blog]

“He’s... a ... guy...” Zones said slowly, cautiously. “Total nerd. He’s an astronaut. I’m way cooler.” He seemed to relax a little until something else she said caught his attention. “Wait. What. Way sooner?” he wondered what would have happened if one of the super buff guys he’d seen out on the beach happened to come across Octavia first.

[trainer-orion]

Orion felt a tug on his heart when he thought about what happened to Wendy. He was never good at dealing with emotions. When people opened up to him, a part of his mind floundered at what to do. What if he said something wrong? What if he made things worse? He even had issues with his own, as he tended to bottle them up until they burst, how could he be expected to help other people? He recalled his own experiences with Zephyr and the words his mother had said to him. “Pokemon who have gone through such a great tragedy, they could take longer to open up… just like people.” Orion looked down at his Zorua, who averted his gaze and pretended to be uninterested in the conversation. “You might not know what to do or how to help, and it’s possible you might not ever know for sure,” he paused and chewed nervously on the inside of his cheek, searching for the right words. “But… I believe the fact that she’s chosen to stay with you just shows that she already trusts you on some level. That counts more than you might think.” 

[chefzones-blog]

“You think so?” Zones said, wiping his nose. He hadn’t realized his face was wet until he went up to wipe the ticklish feeling left over by his leaking face. He stared at his hand as if it had personally offended him and then wiped it on his jeans. “Don’t know why she’d ever trust me. It’s not like I’m that experienced of a trainer. Half the time, Whopper won’t listen to me. Porkchop is probably the only Pokemon I have that does what I say. Wendy feels more like she’s my boss or my mom than my Pokemon.” Come to think of it, Zones’ abuela would probably love Wendy. 

[girlinthetree-blog]

Octavia giggled. She supposed the statement would have sounded awkward and killed the mood if it had come from anyone else. But somehow – it fit Zones and everything she liked about him. “Guess you wandered into the woods at the right time.”

[chefzones-blog]

“Guess I did,” Zones said dreamily, and planted another kiss on her jaw, then pulled back. “Wait, so, if I didn’t wander into the woods in that exact time, you wouldn’t have thought I was cute or whatever?” he faked a gasp, “Or you would have fallen for the next person to walk into the woods! Like Orion!” Because Orion was the /only/ guy Zones knew who was around their age. He wasn’t even sure Octavia knew who the guy was.

[icyfloweraurelia-blog]

Aurelia looked behind her and raised one eyebrow doing her most steely gaze she could to be intimidating though the tiny smirk gave it away. “Nice to see you too Zones.” She said flatly sounding almost uninterested. “Impressive. That’s a beautiful Scyther.” She complimented.

[chefzones-blog]

“Aw, man, Aurelia!” Zones said when she’d turned around, glad he’d snuck up on her. He abandoned all pretenses and threw his arms around her in a hug whether she liked it or not. “I missed you, man. I’m all grown up, now. I’ve got a Scyther!”

[trainer-orion]

Orion watched the exchange in silence. He didn’t know the circumstances under which Zones and Wendy met, nor did he know what could cause her to not want to battle. However, he couldn’t help but notice the deep-rooted sadness that she seemed to carry. Zephyr carried a similar sadness for the first few years they’d known each other. However, the Zorua had expressed his sorrow as anger. Wendy seemed to be different in that respect, from what Orion had just observed. “I wish I could translate, but I only speak Zephyr.” He hesitated for a moment before he — stiffly and awkwardly — patted Zones on the shoulder. What would Aurora say in a situation like this? “Realistically speaking, you probably won’t be able to fully understand her for a while. Trust takes time to build.” Not that. Shit, that definitely wasn’t comforting. “But eventually you will. Sometimes these things simply cannot be rushed.” 

[chefzones-blog]

“Hey, speaking Zephyr is still speaking something. I’m not even sure if I can speak Whopper.” Zones admitted. He’d have to implement the ‘once for yes and twice for no’ method, probably. It was better than nothing. Pokemon were so lucky that they could understand human speech. “I just... she’s been through a lot. When I found her, I...” Zones didn’t mean to get emotional, but he placed his hand on his belt anyway, fingers running over the curve of Wendy’s Pokeball. His eyes stung as he spoke. “She was in a bad way. She lost her baby and her mate to the virus...”

[girlinthetree-blog]

Octavia tipped her head to the side and bit her lip as his lips move across her skin. “Feels good,” she whispered, pressing closer into him so she could feel the warmth of his body and the thrum of his heart. “Feels really good.”

[chefzones-blog]

Zones chuckled against Octavia’s skin and then nuzzled the spot he’d made on her neck with his nose. “How the heck did I get so lucky to have you, man?” the petname seemed to work regardless of gender. Everyone was ‘man.’ “I could give you a big ol’ lick on your cheek and you’d still wanna kiss me.”

[trainer-orion]

Orion and Zephyr shared a look. Many things were passed between them in that simple gaze. Orion was the only human that Zephyr completely trusted, and they’d met when the Zorua’s trust for people was at an all time low. They’d built a partnership based on mutual respect, and it had solidified over the multiple years they’ve known each other. “No,” Orion said honestly. “Because I know that he trusts me, and I trust him. He might get into trouble, but his bark is far worse than his bite.” Zephyr huffed indignantly at the comment. “And I know that he’d never hurt me, even though I’m sure he could. Humans are capable of unpleasant things as well. Zephyr knows that better than many Pokemon. He trusts me not to hurt him, so I give him the same courtesy.”

[chefzones-blog]

 Zones didn’t move from his spot on Orion’s shoulder for a good moment as he listened to his friend’s explanation. He finally picked his head up and looked over to Wendy who seemed quite calm and collected as she exited the training cage, as if she hadn’t just transformed into the slice-and-dice machine a minute ago. She gave Zones a welcoming smile, or, at least it looked like a smile if a Scyther could make one. He pulled away from Orion and returned the smile to his newest Pokemon. “You’re really fast,” he said eventually. “Not gonna lie, it was awesome but freakin’ scary.” If she could take down the Scyther that had attacked him before, she had to be strong. Whopper didn’t want to listen to him when it came to battling, so if Wendy was just as strong, what if she didn’t listen to him and turned on him? One move from her arms and it was all over. “You think you could do something like that in a battle?”

To Zones’ surprise, Wendy shook her head, causing Zones to raise an eyebrow. “No battling? But you trained right here.” Wendy shook her head again, gave Zones a sad look, and then tapped the side of her arm to his belt. A bright flash of light enveloped the two of them and Wendy disappeared into her Pokeball.

Confused, Zones looked to Orion for answers. “I really need to learn how to speak Pokemon, man.”