"We're Partners..." {PRIVATE}

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    "ALRIGHT! THAT'S A WRAP FOLKS!"


    The noise and chatter of the studio's crew filled the air as the live session ended, crew members hustled to clean the place up as a blue-furred jackal stood off to the side. The Pokemon was no stranger to events like these; his Trainer would always drag him along to so many different studios for different things. Sometimes he would wind up being a part of it, other times he would just wait as his Trainer went along. It was occasionally boring and tedious for the both of them, but he didn't have much of a say in it. He didn't know that his Trainer would suddenly become a Movie Star and Idol, but it wasn't like he could really do anything about it...


    As everyone worked hard, the unmistakable locks of golden hair was plainly visible to anyone who so much as looked in the general direction. Any person would admit to how beautiful Paige looked, with such an eye-catching body that many would kill to have... It only elevated the appearances of rabid fans asking for photos or autographs, and more often than not, it was her Pokemon who would have to keep her from being swarmed.

    Once the director called for a wrap, Paige immediately went to join her partner, who stood off to the side. Finally! Sometimes, these events/sessions/whatever could be fun. Others, she just went along with until they were over. Either way: The blonde brought her partner along. She more-often-than-not felt bad for dragging the Lucario along; Especially the days where he sat it out. He didn't want to be here or there.


    "Hi, bud!" she greeted the blue jackal with a smile and quick hug.

    Cobalt huffed as he was given an affectionate hug from his Trainer, pretending the pink dusting his cheeks didn't exist as he brushed the hug off. Paige was his Trainer, and a dear friend to the Lucario for years now; he owed her so much for where he was now, but... He had become despondent. It was ever since the little Riolu he once was evolved. The sudden antisocial attitude he began to carry, and the very strange aversion to interacting with Paige. It hurt everyone; Cobalt wasn't that stupid to not be aware of that, but sometimes he had to hurt the ones he cared for to protect them...


    ... He couldn't tell anyone; he would be powerless if anyone got so much as a wind of it. And he dreaded the possibility of his Trainer discovering his secret. He didn't want to be abandoned for it, he didn't want to spend lonely days alone and starving like before Paige found him all those years ago... He valued his Trainer's wellbeing beyond his own, and he would carry his secret to the grave if he had to...

    Paige gave a quiet sigh, yet kept her face light. She was almost used to the change in Cobalt's behavior. But that didn't mean she liked it. Not at all. It had just come out of nowhere. Paige sometimes wondered if their fame brought about the change. If all the screaming fans, paparazzi, and other things took their toll. "Sorry I kept you waiting. We had to do some reshoots. I mean, I thought I did good." she 'apologized,' keeping her normal, bright tone.


    "Look, how about, to make up for it, I take you to grab some poffins. I know you like them..." Paige offered.

    Cobalt rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms and looked away, but one audible growl from his stomach made his stoic facade come crumbling down. And so it was with an adorably red face and a down-turned head did he make the tiniest of nods. There was no hiding from his sweet tooth when he was with Paige; it was so painfully obvious as a Riolu how much he craved anything sweet, but somehow Paige figured that it'd carry over with his evolution..


    Well, she wasn't wrong in any way... It was just that he was more aware of how embarrassing it was for him...

    "I knew you couldn't resist."


    Apparently, whatever had caused Cobalt's attitude change hadn't stolen his love for sweets. Seeing him drop the "cold and hard" made Paige smile bigger. This might've been a sign that her buddy wasn't fully far-gone. "C'mon. Let's get out of here, fast!" she linked her arm with one of his.


    Paige didn't drag him out. Instead, she lightly pulled Cobalt. As a way of asking him to follow.

    It was with a heavy sigh did Cobalt resign himself to Paige, following along with her as fast as she wanted as they left the studio. At the close contact with Paige, Cobalt's reddened face only grew bolder as he kept his head down. The way he tried to avoid gathering attention, it was odd as the duo left the stuffy confines of the studio set to the clear open skies of the outside world... Summer was a brutal season to any poor Pokemon who normally had heavy fur, and Cobalt was no exception... Sort of. Sure, he didn't shed at all unlike some other canines, but having aheavy patch of beige fur around the torso was not fun in a warm climate...

    So far, so good. Trainer and pokemon were able to get out of the studio without trouble. The two of them kept to areas where they wouldn't be seen. That way, fans wouldn't swarm them. Paige kept her eyes peeled for either folks to avoid or the bakery itself.

    By some miracle of Arceus, the duo were not noticed once despite a lack of an effort by Paige to hide or disguise herself. Given the amount of luck that the girl can have, Cobalt probabl shouldn't have been surprised about it at all as they finally made it to the little bakery the two loved so much... Call it a little embarrassing secret, but Cobalt absolutely loved the sweets there.

    "Hey!" Paige waved to the folks at the counter. Cobalt and her were known here not merely for their fame. Mostly just because they frequently purchased sweets here. They even made a couple of pals here.


    (Here, the two of them catch wind of another young trainer, plus rumors of freaky occurrences.)

    Cobalt absently nodded along as he put on his usual stoic expression, letting his Trainer greet the counter like usual. Of course, the folks standing behind the counter cheerfully waved back. As a family business, the bakery's ownership continued down to the succeeding children for generations now, and Paige was treated like family with the kind, elderly owners of the bakery, "Oh, how nice of you to come back Paige! We thought you had become too busy with your life to continue visiting us!" Said the owner: a greying lady that was only beginning to enter her elderly years.

    Paige shook her head, "Nah. I'm always going to come back." The blonde always took the chance to keep to her roots. And this meant visiting the places dearest to her. She first stepped into the bakery when Cobalt, Kit, and Louise were in the first stage of evolution. "You guys make the best poffins in Hoenn! Why wouldn't I?"


    Other than the fact Paige saw the bakery staff as close friends and family. "I would like a...Lava Cookie. And...Cobalt, what flavor of poffin do you want?" she asked over her shoulder.

    The lady giggled as Cobalt shuffled around nervously, obviously trying hard to maintain a stoic image despite the rather obvious wagging of his tail. "Oh don't worry dearie, we still have your favorite Mago Berry Poffins just for you~" She said, not helping Cobalt at all as his face refused to calm down from its mad blush of embarrassment.


    The old lady was quick to hand Paige a freshly baked Lava Cookie, warm and alluring with its aroma while Cobalt was content with discreetly scarfing down his Poffin... Behind Paige's back of course. "Ah, you two have grown up so fast... Oh, there was a Trainer that just came by around here you know; almost had that same look in your eye when you first came around here!"