Allie waited patiently by the Galette Stand for Seth to arrive. The sun was setting and yet the streets were still as busy as ever. Many families were all gathered around and enjoying the most beloved treat in all of Kalos. She sighed as she looked at her holocaster, almost wondering what had gotten into her for suddenly asking him to come and meet her. While she didn't want to be showing any sort of favoritism, at least... not anymore, she didn't want to let a good deed go unrewarded. To her, this was a token of gratitude.

At her feet sat Furfrou, her faithful companion, who had decided to accompany her on her little rendezvous. Catching his familiar scent, Furfrou's ears perked up and her tail began to wag. Noticing her friend's elation, she turned her head in the direction Furfrou was looking and spotted Seth approaching the bench she was sitting on. Smiling, she stood up and waved to him. Seth returned the gesture and made his way over to her and sat down beside her.

"It's been some time. I trust all is well?" Allie inquired, reaching down and pulling up a bag of sweets that she'd bought earlier.

"I've been doing okay. It's been nice spending time with family after being gone for so long. How about you, how've you been holding up?" Seth asked, glancing down at the paper bag on the bench between them, the scent wafting from them causing his mouth to water slightly.

"Everything's been going well so far. Some are still earning badges while others have taken to visiting family as you are it seems. Then again, when you've already met the requirements for the halfway point in the competition, it makes sense that you'd opt to rest instead of continuing your badge hunt," Allie mused.

"Yeah, about that... I already got the badge from here so I'm a little ahead in that regard," Seth replied. "I couldn't pass up a chance to earn just one more badge. Since Lumiose was on the way back I figured I might as well."

"I don't recall there being anything in the rules that said you couldn't forge ahead. Four badges was just the requirement for entering the ball. It showed that you were serious in pursuing the end goal of this contest. Thus far, only a few have yet to obtain their fourth badge. But I've no doubt they'll have it by the end of the week," Allie chuckled, reaching into the bag to pull out a pastry with icing shaped like the Lumiose Tower on it.

"That's a lot of galettes," Seth observed, looking at the size of the bag Allie had with her.

Allie took a bite of her cream-filled galette and sighed happily.

"One can never have too many of these. Especially when they're covered in chocolate and are filled with different ice cream flavors. I bought extra so we'd have enough to share," Allie said as she took another bite before nudging the bag toward Seth.

Reaching in, Seth fished out a galette and took a bite after thanking her.

"It's been a while since I've had these. My sister loves these things. Sometimes she'd come home with several bags full and stuff them all in the fridge. She's got a huge sweet tooth," Seth laughed as he bit off another chunk of the sweet treat.

"Sounds like her and I have another thing in common. That girl is going places," Allie said, beaming as she finished her galette and reached for another one before standing up. "What do you say we take a walk, say... to Vernal Avenue?"

"Sounds okay to me. Just a sec though, I'm gonna let my new friend out for a bit," Seth replied, reaching down and detaching a ball from his hip.

Giving it a toss, Seth released the lightning fox from his chamber out into the open. Jolteon yawned and stretched himself out. That's when Furfrou took notice of the spiky-furred addition to Seth's team. Tilting her head, she observed him while he limbered up for a walk. Allie looked down at the newest addition to Seth's team and nearly squealed in delight.

"And just where did you find this one?" Allie inquired. "I don't recall you ever owning an Eevee."

Seth reached down and gently stroked the top of Jolteon's head while answering, "you're right, I never had an Eevee, albeit I was aiming to catch one at first..." Seth responded, proceeding to go into detail on how he caught Jolteon prior to meeting with Allie.

"I see. Jolteon are rarely ever seen in the wild along with their counterparts so it's surprising that you caught one that way," Allie mused as they walked. "You've collected a pretty fierce lineup haven't you?"

"That's not all," Seth replied, motioning to the two obvious blades poking out from behind his back.

"C'est excitant! I was wondering when she'd evolve. Now all you need is the Dusk Stone and she'll achieve her final form!" Allie exclaimed.

"I'll get there eventually. For now, I'd like to give Cerise some time to adjust to this form before having her change again," Seth replied calmly. "When she's ready, I'll consider evolving her."

"Taking into consideration the feelings of your companion over your own huh? Melody was right about you being the noble sort," Allie said smiling. "The more I think about it, the less mad I get at mother for adding you without asking me," Allie admitted nervously.

"I wasn't exactly too thrilled that I'd been asked to enter... at least, not at first," Seth sighed, glancing away from her toward the Lumiose Tower that was now lighting up as the sun went down.

"Well I don't blame you. I wasn't exactly the nicest person starting out and if I'm being completely honest with you, I'm still selfish when it comes to things that I want," Allie confessed. "It's not something I can easily change and whoever I end up marrying is just going to have to accept that."

"Isn't that what we're all after in the long run? It wouldn't be right for someone not to accept you for you, faults and all," Seth added with a faint smile.

"Faults, whatever do you mean? I'm exempt from such imperfections," Allie huffed, biting her lip to hold in her laughter as Seth quirked a brow.

What came out next was a combination of a snort and a laugh that surprised even Seth. Allie held her stomach as she laughed and then rose back up, wiping a tear from her eye and breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't keep a straight face doing that!" Allie laughed, taking a deep breath and then exhaling.

Seth rolled his eyes at Allie's little act. He had to admit, she'd come a long way from the snobby, self-centered snob she used to be. It made him wonder if the Allie he came to admire was always the way he saw her now, and that her bratty persona was just an act of sorts.

"Okay, okay... whew, I think I'm good now, and just in time too," Allie said with a grin, glancing up at the Boutique Couture with a smirk on her face and mischief in her eyes.

Seth, who had been looking down at Furfrou and Jolteon as they introduced themselves to each other, found himself staring at the one place he did his best to avoid if he could. He'd been dragged in there by his sister to try on a suit and has since been in there to ask Serena to the ball. Both times he'd made it a point to hurry out of there before Kate's sister could rope him into buying something he didn't necessarily need.

"I thought we were going to go for a walk and share the galettes," Seth said, arching a brow at Allie who was now looking Seth over as if taking his measurements with her eyes.

"Oh we are, and this is part of it. I endeavored to repay you for not only helping my cousin, but me as well. I still feel as though I haven't properly repaid you for saving my life, so just let me have this will you?" Allie said firmly as she grabbed his hand and tugged him in the direction of the store.

Furfrou and Jolteon glanced at one another and then back at their owners before following them inside. Once inside, Allie led Seth toward the men's department, deep within the bowels of that apparell hell. Seth never really was one for knowing what to wear. His mother had to stop him from going out wearing stripes and plaid together. Melody's even fixed his outfits on several occasions when he was still in his early teens. It wasn't until he got older that he started matching properly or at least wearing an acceptable outfit according to his mother's basic standards.

Thankfully, Allie wasn't here to ridicule him on his fashion choice as it wasn't anything obscure by any means. Browsing through the racks, she began picking out items while asking him what size he wore in each. Soon, she had a bundle of clothing items in her arms for him to try on in the dressing room. Protest as he might, she insisted that he let her do this as a token of gratitude.

When Seth stepped out of the changing room, Allie's eyes lit up at the sight. Seth was sporting a blue leather jacket with a zig-zag pattern on either side of the zipper. A black muscle shirt was on underneath which matched his black pants that were held up by an orange belt. He wore two blue boots with silver buckles on either side. A pair of goggles rested on his head as an accessory and his sword was now strapped to his hip as usual. A pair of blue and orange gloves topped off the ensemble.

"Now don't you look sharp? I'd say that's a good look for you mister Da Silva," Allie stated, stroking her chin as she inspected his outfit.

"I have to admit, it is pretty comfortable. The material's not heavy and it's pretty warm too, which is good considering how cold it's starting to get," Seth added.

"Well it is the latest in winter wear. You're going to need it when you get the last badge as it's in the coldest part of Kalos. Now, I think one more thing ought to do," Allie continued, glancing around the department until she found an orange scarf that went perfectly with the attire. "There!" Allie exclaimed, snatching up the scarf and gently placing it around Seth's neck, her eyes meeting his while her hands still gripped the scarf.

She'd nearly forgotten how close she'd gotten to him, not that it was anything new considering that they'd danced together just weeks prior to this. Her face flushed after finding that hers wasn't that far from his. Clearing her throat, she placed her hands behind her back and took a step back to admire her handiwork.

"That... that should do it," she said nervously, her eyes catching sight of Furfrou snickering to herself, only serving to make her feel more embarrassed. "Anyway, we should check out and continue our walk. You don't need to wear that out if you don't want to, they just--"

"It's alright, I'm okay with keeping it on."

"I mean you really don't have to-- what?"

"I said it's fine, I like how these clothes feel," Seth said with as he pulled the goggles down to hang around his neck.

"You mean it?" Allie asked hopefully.

"Allie, you know as well as I do that I don't say what I don't mean," Seth reminded her.

He had a point. In the time that Allie had come to know Seth, he'd always been painfully straightforward.

"Fair point. I guess it's settled then. I'll take care of the purchase and we'll head out," Allie said happily.

After purchasing Seth's gift, the duo walked outside and continued around the city, ending the night in front of Lumiose Tower on a bench and sharing the last of the cream filled galettes. Jolteon and Furfrou had become friendly with each other by this point and were sitting by each other while their owners looked up at the tower in front of them.

"You know, when I was a little girl, I used to go to the top of that tower with my parents just so I could look out at all of Kalos. It was always such an amazing sight," Allie said fondly.

"You're not the only one. My sister and I were taken up here a lot just so Melody could take pictures with her first camera. She always insisted on it," Seth laughed.

"I can see why. She's got a lot going for her. She told me she's looking to get into a special photography school and study under Viola herself. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was already a student of hers. But I'm sure she'll get there soon, after all, you're helping her... right?" Allie replied.

"I guess she told you my primary reason for entering huh?"

Allie nodded, reaching over without thinking to place her hand on his. "It's very sweet of you. It makes me feel worse for how I spoke to you in the beginning. But, what's been said can't be taken back. It's not like I can reach out and shove the words back into my mouth before they reach your ears. All I can do now is move forward and paint a new image of me in your mind... a better one," Allie said with a confident look.

"I thought we already agreed to let bygones be bygones," Seth responded, confusion evident on his face.

"Yes, well... that may be acceptable to you, but I've been giving it some thought lately and I've decided that it's not enough to simply do that. Apologies are empty without some sort of action to follow. You've done both while I've simply given you lips ervice," Allie sighed while reaching into her purse to pull out an envelope and holding it out to him. "I hope you'll accept this as proof that I've atoned for how I've acted toward you."

Seth took the envelope and gave her a sidelong glance before opening it. Inside he found a check for ten grand. His eyes widened slightly, and not at the amount but that it was addressed to Melody.

"I know it's only enough for a quarter, but mother and I both talked it out and agreed that there was no harm in helping out someone I considered a friend. I've enjoyed spending time with your sister and I do hope she'll visit again. Hint hint," Allie said winking and gently nudging his arm.

"I don't know what to say..." Seth uttered, nearly at a loss for words.

"How about you just say thank you?" Allie laughed.

Allie's eyes popped as she found herself being drawn into a tight hug. She couldn't help but notice how warm and comfortable she felt being this close to him again. Returning the embrace, she closed her eyes and sighed contentedly.

"Thank you..."

"You're welcome, Pauper," Allie replied smirking.

Pulling back, Seth secured the check in his bag and stood up, looking down at his holocaster to check the time.

"It's getting late isn't it?" Allie said, also checking the time.

"Yeah, I guess time got away from us for a while there. I should probably head home. It's game night and my sister's already blowing up my holocaster with messages," Seth laughed nervously while taking Staraptor's ball off his belt to release him.

Allie watched as the majestic bird of prey spread his wings as he was let out of his spherical home. As Seth got on, Allie strode over to the great sky predator and reached her hand out to gently stroke his beak.

"Hey Allie," Seth spoke up, garnering the red-head's attention before continuing, "tonight was fun. Maybe we can do this another time?"

"I'd like that," Allie replied, giggling as Staraptor nuzzled her cheek. "How about you pick the activity next time, assuming I'm not already on an excursion with the other gentlemen?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Seth said, tapping Staraptor on the sides to signal him to prepare for takeoff.

"One more thing, Pauper," Allie said hastily, causing Seth's head to turn back toward her. "Since you're still in this... the competition, does that mean that some part of you finds me desirable?"

Seth met her gaze and held it for a prolonged period of time as if to contemplate his answer. A smile soon formed onto his features and a slight laugh escaped from his lips.

"I'm serious!" Allie shouted with a frown.

"I'm sorry," Seth chuckled, now wiping a tear from his eyes, "I just find it funny how you thought that I never found you desireable."

Allie blinked, her eyes now locking onto his face as if searching for the tell-tale signs of lying in those dazzling sapphire depths of his. The more she looked, the redder her face became when she realized that he wasn't kidding. She didn't know whether or not to be mad or happy about what he'd just said. She had tuned almost everything out at this point and could barely hear what he was saying before he rocketed off on his Staraptor. When she finally realized that she froze, she took a deep breath and began to recollect what he had tried to say.

"You've always been desirable... your ego was the only thing getting in the way of me seeing that. But now that I know you a little better, I've found a new reason for competing, and that is to know you beyond surface level knowledge..."

"So do I Seth... so do I..."