Early Outings
#33 of All They Knew
Ruki opened his eyes as gentle sunlight hit the curtains. He slowly lifted his head to see Skye still asleep on her left side, the blanket covering her lower half. She looked stunning to him while sleeping. Ruki felt it in his chest while gazing at her face on the pillow, love, of course. He wouldn't wake her, but he pulled himself closer and lay his chin atop her hand. Ruki was happy Skye potentially found love. He felt nothing close to jealousy, for he desired only her company and care. What happened between them in Sinnoh resulted from their bond hitting a peak. Possibly, it should not have happened, but it made Ruki feel as though he truly belonged to Skye.
He shortly heard movement beside him and lifted his head to see her rubbing her eyes with her right hand.
"How long have you been up?" she spoke softly, lifting her hand to trace her fingers along Ruki's cheek.
He leaned into her touch. "Nih..." Not long at all, about less than ten minutes.
Skye pulled her phone from under her pillow and briefly checked the time. It was a quarter to eight. "We don't have anything to do until tomorrow, but I don't wanna spend all day in bed again, you know?" she said while slowly sitting up, her upper back against the headboard while she pulled down her white tee.
Ruki moved up, admiring her sleepy appearance and slightly messy hair, although Skye quickly pulled it out to neaten it to an extent.
"That'll change soon enough. I wanna start working soon... somewhere. I'd be a pokémon trainer instead if I were up for gym battles. You're enough for me, anyway." Skye placed her hand on the back of his neck and rubbed it. "Let's get something light from the kitchen, and maybe we can go out afterward, hm?"
"Nine!" Ruki's tails swished while he nodded in response. He was outside for a while yesterday, but Ruki never failed at getting excited to go anywhere with Skye.
"Okay, let me get dressed." She got up and went to her dresser. Today would be casual, so she got into gray jeans and a thin white sweater. Skye grabbed her phone, slipped it into her pocket, and exited her room with Ruki trailing behind, noticing immediately how quiet the environment was. Skye stopped at the restroom first to fix her hair ready herself for the day, afterward going to the kitchen. She figured her parents were still asleep. It was relatively early in the morning. "Shh," Skye told him and opened a few cabinets above her. She didn't want to risk waking anyone with noise, so Skye grabbed two granola bars and stuffed them into her sweater's pockets.
Ruki was silently sitting while watching her. He'd eat almost anything, and granola didn't taste half bad, although he preferred sweeter foods.
"C'mon, quietly," Skye said while then going and putting her white shoes on by the front door.
He waited patiently as Skye slowly unlocked and accordingly opened the front door, trotting outside after she motioned him to with her hand.
"Whew... okay." She softly closed and relocked it, slipping the house key in her pocket. "I kind of want coffee." Skye took a few steps across the pavement and looked ahead at the almost vacant beachfront and calm waves. The weather was lukewarm, the sun slowly rising. Not many people were out this early, especially not in the shopping district, so now would be a good idea to head to it.
Ruki walked some steps in the shopping square's direction, looking back at Skye. He knew where her favorite coffee shop was, even though she rarely went.
She grinned. "Go ahead, lead us."
--
As expected, there didn't see as many people and pokémon in the area after entering, not to say there wasn't a reasonable amount. Fortunately, the café was only a few buildings down.
Ruki confidently led the expedition, seeing the small white shop less than a mile down. He glanced back at Skye before upping his pace.
"There he goes..." She didn't lose sight of him among such small crowds. Skye caught up in some moments, grinning at Ruki cutely sitting by the entrance and looking up at her. She opened the glass door and let it close behind them.
Ruki was immediately hit with the pleasant aroma of roasting coffee beans and various pastries. It would be difficult to eat something as simple as granola after smelling that. He followed Skye to the front counter as there was no one in line, only a few people, some with their pokémon or laptops, in the wooden chairs against the smooth cream-colored walls.
Skye noticed him momentarily sniff the airspace the moment they'd entered. She didn't plan on buying anything but a drink initially, but she couldn't deny Ruki a treat she knew he wanted. "You wanna share a sweet roll?"
"Nin!" he answered excitedly, flicking his tails.
"Bet, you can go sit. I'll be there after I order."
Ruki obeyed, trotting to the left side of the café. Skye hadn't instructed him on where exactly to sit, so he hopped into the white cushioned booth in the corner beside a window, watching her point the cashier to a sweet bread behind a glass display. Ruki felt his stomach growl, and the many delicious scents floating around weren't helping, but he was a patient individual.
Skye handed the young male cashier the payment and walked over to Ruki, sliding in on the other side of the booth to face him. Skye took a moment to settle before speaking. "How've you been lately, Ruk', well?"
He nodded. Ruki usually felt great unless Skye felt down for any reason.
"I know you can't tell me up front, but... come to me if you aren't, same way you're here for me," Skye said. She knew he knew that already but wanted to remind him.
"Nine." Ruki gave another nod with a small accompanying grin, eyeing her as she did him. Of course, he would.
--
In a little over three minutes in the mostly tranquil environment humming with active machinery, Ruki heard their order get called out and watched Skye walk to get it by the front counter.
"I just got an iced caramel. It'll wake me up," she said upon sitting back in the booth. Skye stuck the straw through the top and opened the small white bag holding their bread, neatly tearing it in half and handing one to Ruki.
He leaned over the table a bit and took it.
"I guess we won't be eating granola, huh? Bet you're happy," Skye giggled, lifting and taking a sip of her drink. She noticed Ruki eyeing her cup as she did and slightly lowered it. "Want a sip?"
"Nnhm," he mumbled with a full mouth.
Skye took off the lid and waited until he was through chewing and swallowing the bread, then reached her arm toward him, tilting the cup toward his lips while he slightly tilted his head back.
Ruki was grateful she gave him a big sip. He swallowed, although the coffee didn't taste as sweet as it could be since he'd just eaten that significantly sweeter bread, so Ruki tasted more espresso. It was still enjoyable.
Skye leaned back against the cushion. "I think this is all we'll do today, actually... I thought I'd be up for more. It wasn't like her to feel that way, but she couldn't pinpoint what caused it. A part of Skye just wanted to be back in bed. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow, anyway.