Kaede was only half listening, instead idling with a piece of grass peeking out from under the corner of the blanket they lay on. "Oh really?" she asked, bored.
"That's right! And it brought back so many lovely memories of how we'd play in the garden when we were small. I always knew you'd go on to train something like a Gloom; you were always so fond of flowers."
As Erika blathered on, Kaede drifted in and out of attention. She could listen to her commanders for hours, but with this 'friend' of hers, even catching up on missing years could be boring.
"--don't you agree?" Erika's voice cut through.
"Huh, what?" Kaede was taken off guard. "Um...could you repeat that?"
Erika smiled at her and patted her hand. "Don't you agree that Glooms are wonderful creatures? Yours is like a little sister to you, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's great, sure." Why had she even agreed to come on this picnic anyway? She'd even bought a small cake to share with her ex-friend; bought as opposed to stole, which she was tempted to do.
Erika didn't say anything for a while, and finally Kaede looked over at her. She was sitting with her back turned, and it was hard to tell, but it looked like she was crying.
"Oh damn," Kaede mumbled. "Erika?" She pushed herself up and crawled over, nearly putting her hand in the picnic basket. "Erika, I didn't mean--"
Sure enough, tears ran down the young Gym Leader's face. But she was also smiling. "Kaede...you've no idea how happy I am to see you. I thought you were gone for good when you left Celadon, but now you're back..." She wiped away droplets with the sleeve of her kimono--even on a casual day out, she was all about appearences. "Look at me, I must be all puffy..."
And Kaede looked. "You're fine. Here." The agent wiped a tear away with her white uniform gloves. She didn't want to be without them even though she wore civilian clothes for the excursion. "Need a tissue?"
"I think I do..." As Kaede handed her one, Erika smiled. "It's very practical of you to carry these. I need to be prepared myself."
Of course Erika, who had yet to put Kaede's allergies together, wouldn't have figured out the more advanced issue of why Kaede carried around tissues. Kaede fought the urge to hit something, but found herself watching Erika instead. "Why do I mean so much to you, anyway?" she blurted out. "We were only friends as children. I don't see you hanging out with any of the other girls we knew back then."
Erika folded the used tissue and slid it to the corner of the blanket. "You remember that my parents divorced when I was quite small. Well...you were always so happy, and it made me feel like I could be happy too. You always brought out the best in me, and when you left, it wasn't like when the others left. I'll think about them from time to time, but you..." She wiped her eyes again. "I'm sorry, I'm getting all weepy again."
As if on reflex, Kaede offered her another tissue, and against her better judgement, smiled. "It's all right."
"That's right...things are all right, aren't they?" Erika asserted. "You're back in Celadon, and you're a successful...whatever it is you do, and you have a happy little Gloom, and we can be happy together again!"
Kaede was slightly baffled by the fact that Erika still didn't know she was a Rocket, but not as much as she thought she'd be. "Yeah...I guess we can..."
"I'm so glad to see you again," Erika sighed, leaning towards Kaede. Before the agent knew what was happening, Erika was resting her head on her shoulder.
"...I'm glad to see you again too," she muttered, not entirely sure why. But still, she didn't push her away.
It was some time before either of them got the notion to eat anything.