[Pokémon X&Y, Stardew Valley] Re-Center Your Thoughts

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Title: Re-Center Your Thoughts
Fandom: Pokémon X&Y / Stardew Valley
Pairing: Emily & Lysandre
Rating: G
Summary: Lysandre goes into the Stardrop Saloon and meets... Emily!
Notes: My piece for this year's intoabar! It was my first time participating. A very unlikely pairing, but I had fun writing them having the most awkward conversation ever, lmao. I remembered Emily's thing with rocks and other New Age stuff and thought, hey, there's something that would bring back memories for Lysandre... Title is from one of the lines Emily give when you gift her a Topaz.
AO3 Link: Here.

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It wasn't exactly unusual for strangers to stop by in Pelican Town, but it didn't happen as often as Mayor Lewis would have liked you to think. That was part of why the arrival of the new farmer had made such a fuss, after all. There just wasn't that much of interest in their quaint little town, not when you could choose to visit Zuzu City instead – or so people said.

Emily couldn't help but take some offense to the idea that everyone would rather be in the big city, that surely there was nothing for anyone in their right mind to look forward to in the middle of the country, surrounded by nature and farm animals. Not only because she'd thrived there, but because she knew there was so much magic in Stardew Valley that you couldn't find anywhere else. She knew that better than anyone... except maybe the Wizard.

For those reasons, and more, she always made it her mission to show off all that Pelican Town had to offer whenever a new customer showed up at the saloon during one of her shifts. A nice smile and a tall drink, as she'd heard Gus say, that was what brought the customers back, and today was no exception.

The man who entered the Stardrop Saloon was so tall he had to lean forward to avoid hitting the doorframe. That was already pretty striking, but what really caught Emily's eye was the bright orange mass of hair that framed his face, and then his sharply cut, red and black suit with fur at the neck. She'd never seen anything quite like it, and she'd seen a lot of things in her town, including what she was fairly sure were forest spirits, and that wasn't even getting into what was hidden in the mines.

Still, she put on her best smile, and greeted their new customer with a cheery, "Welcome to the Stardrop Saloon! How can I help you today?"

He walked up to the counter and sat on one of the stools, unbothered by the fact that they were clearly not meant for someone of his build. Now that he was closer to her, she could see that he was handsome, with a strong nose and long eyelashes, the light dusting of freckles on his pale cheeks barely visible under the artificial lights. His eyes were an almost unsettling blue that she blinked away from despite herself.

"I'll have a cup of coffee, if I may," the stranger said, his deep voice lightly accented. She couldn't place it.

"Of course!" she replied with renewed enthusiasm. "One of Gus's finest brews, coming right up."

The statement seemed to leave him more skeptical than anything else, judging by the minute twitch of his eyebrows, though he didn't express it in words. Instead, he watched in silence as Emily prepared the coffee the way Gus had shown her. Unwilling to let herself be intimidated by the man's stare, she hummed quietly while she worked, the smell of coffee soon filling the air.

"These are the best beans you can get in the whole valley!" she said, with a conviction that made the stranger's lips curl into the beginning of what was undoubtedly a smile. "They're grown right here, at our very own farm. It's a shame the owner isn't here today, he'd have told you all about it!"

She meant Gus, who was away for the week because of an emergency, but it occurred to her he might think she meant the farmer, who was far too busy at their newly acquired island to come by very often, these days. It didn't really matter. She brought the cup to the counter and tilted her head to the side.

"No sugar?" she asked. He shook his head. He'd wrapped his big, gloved hands around the cup as soon as she'd placed it in front of him, as if he could hardly wait to try it. "No milk?"

"I'd like to try the first sip unaltered," he said. He smiled at that, just a little, and Emily felt her cheeks grow warm.

Well, he was good-looking, of course, and he spoke nicely, with a cadence to his words that was only enhanced by his accent. Yet, there was something else about him, she thought, watching him bring the cup to his pursed lips and gently blow on his coffee. He had... a peculiar aura. One she hadn't gotten to witness before.

The farmer had been the only one to take her musings on auras and energies seriously. Sure, when she broached the topic with the girls at her aerobics class, they always listened intently, and Robin especially had asked her a few questions about the rocks and crystals, but she could tell the farmer really believed there was something to it. They had both witnessed what the world had to offer.

The man took a careful sip of his coffee, his eyes fluttering shut. His expression relaxed imperceptibly; Emily tried not to look too smug about it.

"So? What do you think?"

"Surprisingly subtle," the man said. He took another sip. "It appears I underestimated you."

Emily grinned. "A common occurrence. I'm Emily, by the way."

He raised his eyebrows and drank what was left in his cup. It occurred to Emily that it looked somewhat ridiculously small between his hands.

"My name is Lysandre," he offered once he'd put his now empty cup down.

She expected him to go on and had to bite back her disappointment when he didn't. His gaze slid down to stare at the bottom of his cup. Tough nut to crack. Thankfully, she'd always considered herself very adept at breaking open people's shells.

"Well then, what brought you to our lovely town? We don't often get new customers on regular days like this. It's more of a festival thing."

Lysandre kept his eyes fixed on the traces of coffee inside his cup. She thought she saw his jaw tense, but it was hard to tell with his beard.

"I am simply passing by," he said, right as Emily opened her mouth to apologize for being too nosy. "I was seeking a quiet place to rest and think. To be quite frank, I never would have expected it would also come with good coffee."

Emily wheezed out a laugh that made Lysandre look up, alarmed by the sound. His confusion only served to make her laugh harder.

"Glad I could provide!" she said, feeling as proud as if she'd been growing those beans herself. "You know, I have to say, I've never seen anyone like you before."

"Oh?" Lysandre brought his hands up to his face to lace his fingers in front of his mouth.

"I'll be honest with you," Emily went on. She leaned toward him conspiratorially. "I'm very interested in people's auras, and the energy we put out into the world. You, my good sir, have a one-of-a-kind aura."

Somehow, her words of praise only appeared to put him in a sourer mood.

"Is that so," he said, his voice flat.

"I believe there's magic everywhere around us, and not everybody is attuned to it. Some people just can't be bothered to look, but a lot of them can't see it at all." She paused, to see if he'd say something. He kept looking at her with mild disinterest, so she continued, "People like us, though, we can tell what's going on. You more than me, probably."

It was mostly a joke to try to ease some of the tension she'd felt build up. He didn't smile, though he didn't seem annoyed either, or at least not any more than he'd been.

"I see."

"For example, I've been getting into stones and crystals." Something about that apparently piqued his interest, because his shoulders straightened a little. "They can give out all kinds of energies. Positive, negative... You can put them in your home to help with your mood, or you can talk to them to get rid of your own negative energy. Then, once the energy is in the stone, you can purify it..."

"Fascinating," Lysandre said. It even sounded like he meant it.

Emily couldn't believe she'd be so lucky to find someone on the same page as her. She resisted the urge to do a little dance.

"Tell you what," she said, putting her fists on her hips, "why don't I make you another cup, on the house?"

She didn't care much about coming off as too intense, especially with a stranger, but she had to admit that him being the sole customer was helping her be bolder than she would be on a regular day of work. If Gus had been around, he might have had something to say about her offering free coffee to the first guy who didn't get fed up with her silly ramblings, but Gus wasn't there. So.

Lysandre gave her another almost smile. It made his eyes soften, which made the blue of them warmer, less icy depths and more summer waves. He even let out a chuckle.

"An offer I cannot refuse," he said, "although I would rather pay for it, if you don't mind."

Sweet Yoba, this guy sure was something alright. He kind of reminded her of Elliott, in many ways. The hair was one, obviously, and the... sophisticated choice of words, was probably the best way to put it. She didn't think they would get along. Sometimes, when people were too similar, it was better to keep them apart. That was what her mom used to say, at least.

She watched him take in the smell of his second cup of coffee. The warmth of it brought out some colors on his pale cheeks, and he took a deep breath before releasing it in one long exhale that made his broad chest heave.

"You look like you really needed that break," she said. She'd let him enjoy his coffee in silence, taking that opportunity to clean up and reorder some of the things they kept behind the counter.

Lysandre glanced at his cup with his brow furrowed. "I have been... on a journey of penance, so to speak." He hesitated, perhaps fearing that he'd already said too much, then shook his head. "There are things I've done that I'm afraid can't be atoned for, as much as I wish I could make up for them." He leaned back, crossing his arms in front of him as he did. "I shouldn't burden you with such matters."

"Well, I don't know what you did, and I don't expect you to tell me," Emily said, tilting her face as she thought, "but what I know is that, if you're feeling sorry for what you did, that's already a step toward making amends, right?" She put on an encouraging smile. "And, if anything else, you're welcome back with us anytime! I'm sure Gus would love to tell you all about his coffee, and our farmer, too."

An actual, real smile was tugging at the corner of Lysandre's mouth.

"By which I mean, our farmer would love to talk about their coffee beans!" Emily clarified in a rush. "But we do always love to boast about our farmer."

Another chuckle escaped him, and he bowed his head in her direction.

"I truly am moved by your solicitude," he said. "I'll remember this."

Emily beamed at him. At the end of the day, knowing that she could bring even a little nugget of joy into somebody's life was its own reward. Whatever was plaguing this man – she figured it had to be akin to what possessed Elliott to keep to himself in that beach cabin of his – she could tell he had the capacity to move past it.

And if not, well. She could always gift him one of her stones, next time.