Paper Mario: The Origami King {Boss One-Shots}

The Colors of Morning // Colored Pencils (Canon x OC)

(Cucco's Note: Recently, I remembered about an OC x Canon ship from when I started to really get into PM:TOK. That being Colored Pencils x my lass Mella, I never made any content for them though until now since I finally set up a profile for her. So, might as well indulge myself with a nice fluff writing with these two. Hope you all enjoy!)

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       The morning birds chirped and tweeted as the sun began to faintly shine on the Overlook Tower as it rose up from the hills in the distance, yet there was about as much hustle and bustle as the barren Scorching Sandpaper Desert itself. Not even the most energetic toads would dare be awake at this time, yet it still felt lively despite the silence filling the area. Probably because there were a few folks awake and prepping up for another day working at the tourist hot spot, making sure everything was in perfect condition and in working order like the busy bodies they were. But who were these folks though, you ask? One is the newly hired art gallery coordinator and recently revived artist, Jean Pierre Colored Pencils XXI; the other being the hardworking gardener who is just there to do what she loves, Caramella.
     The two had just finished up with their cleaning duties and decide to wind down for a while at the top of the tower before visiting hours could begin. Jean was already up at the top of the tower silently admiring the view of the sun slowly rising while waiting for his friend to join him, the various orange to blue hues of the sky with not even a cloud in sight had him absolutely enamored, which distracted him enough to not even notice that Mella was right behind him. She then gently tapped on the artist's shoulder to get his attention, which causes him to whip around and look at the woman, who had a curious gaze on her face. Jean had tensed up for a moment before realizing it was Mella, quickly relaxing at the sight of the woman and greeted her with a grin forming on his face "Well, if it isn't my favorite gardener, Mella! You scared me for a moment, but I am just glad that it is just you. I was just admiring the morning scenery, nothing new. What about you, Mel?" he then leaned back against the secure bars lining the edge of the tower while patiently waiting for any sort of answer from her, as to which she quickly replied to his question in her usual kind and soft-spoken tone, "Sorry about that, I was just taking care of the flowers around the tower as always before coming up here. Have you figured out anything with your next drawing? I heard you've been under an art block lately." Mella moved herself over to stand next to him as she noted about Jean's problem with his art block, which has put him in a struggle for a span of three weeks at best. She thought that he would have the same answer of "It'll come to me, I just need more time" in that same stubborn tone of his, but he only adjusts his beret with a determined smirk on his face "Why, yes I have! In fact, it just came to me! You should at least know that I, Jean Pierre Colored Pencils the 12th, will never fall victim to any sort of adversary! Not even the dreaded art block will handle the power of my arsenal of colors!" the artist exclaims followed by a hearty laugh, this pleasantly surprised Mella as she was happy that Jean had found his creative spark once again and reflected his own determination with her excitement. Although, she quickly became curious of what gave him the inspiration to draw again, so she went on and asked about his plans for the piece "Oh really? What are you going to theme this piece on? I'm curious!" Jean only chuckled and gently patted Mella's head while answering her small question in the vaguest way possible as he fixed his gaze on her once more "Why that's a secret for me to know and for you to figure out for yourself, ma chérie!"  Mella only sighed as she was left dissatisfied with the answer that was given to her, but she didn't press any further and silently understood with a soft nod. Mella quickly turned her focus back to Jean and began to speak once more "I get it, perfection takes patience after all... Hey, Jean? Can I ask you something?" Jean glances back over at Mella with a questioning yet curious expression on his sun-lit face, wondering what she planned to ask, "What's the matter, Mella? It's not something serious, is it?"  he grew slightly concerned at the look of her own curiosity showing within her eyes as she ricochets his question with her own, "No not quite, it might actually a pretty stupid question... I've always admired your creativity and I realize that with your own talent, you could probably go national and become famous! Yet, you'd rather keep yourself here at this little run-down tower and stay out of the limelight. Why is that? All I think is that you're just holding back your own talent, but I don't know." 
The question the woman had asked was pretty loaded for Jean since this discusses his career in general and even stumped him for a moment since he just couldn't find the right words to describe it, so he remained silent for a moment and turned to look towards the orange and deep blue hues in the sky as he finally found his answer. He then turns his head to the woman with his answer in mind, "My dear Carmella, I have always remained at this 'run-down tower' instead of going out into the spotlight for a few reasons: First reason being the most obvious answer, that fame is horrendously overrated, and I prefer the simplicity taking things slow here than to be pressured by the public. Secondly, you can't get this kind of natural view anywhere else. Especially the colors of said view, I always believed that the colors of morning on this tower alone could be enough to make multiple glorious paintings. Lastly, I have folks that actually care about me here and to be separated from them would prove to be rather... devastating to myself. Especially if I am to be without my number one source of inspiration... You." This sudden revelation of Jean's true feelings of the observation tower, but with the other revelation of his inspiration being her in particular causes her mind to race and stirs up more questions that she desperately wants to get out of her head, but only one single question from the sea of her thoughts slips out of her mouth "Why would I be your 'number one source of inspiration'?" she only heard a soft chuckle from the artist while he brought her closer to him while he grabbed her hands with his own, causing her face to shift from its usual peachy tone to more of a cherry blossom pink as he gave her but a simple answer, "Your beauty has blessed me with multiple ideas, even before my entire art block debacle. Your looks, your personality, the way you take care of your flowers, everything about you gives me a drive to create and draw. I have always been inspired by you! In fact, I think I may have felt more than that glimmer of inspiration whenever I look at you, Carmella... I felt the warmth of love..." and with a bold move to fully express his true feelings for his beloved gardener, he pulled her into a quick kiss on the lips followed by him quickly realizing what he had done, quickly letting her hands go and backing away from her stunned self while saying "Mella, I apologize for how sudden and straight-forward I was with you... To be frank with what I had said earlier, I have been madly in love with you ever since I was introduced to you... and it would be amazing if you could be my beloved partner. This may sound a little corny but... will you be the dear flower to bloom in the garden of my heart, Carmella?" his bold demeanor had fizzled out to a mere sheepish shell, waiting desperately for her to answer his confession of love. Mella's face was now as red as a rose as she hesitated on her answer, she then grabbed his hands once more with a bright smile on her rosy face. She then pulled him into a warm embrace while whispering into his ear, "Yes, yes I will, my colorful Jean..." she releases him soon after as she looked into Jean's eyes, realizing that his face was as red as hers. Jean did not express it fully, but he was absolutely ecstatic that she reciprocated his feelings. But before they could be able to speak once more, they heard the elevator doors open nearby as one of the Overlook Tower's staff members walked out and interrupted their special moment while saying "Oh- Uhh... did I interrupt something over here orrr?..." they shook their heads while they shyly giggled, Jean quickly broke his silence to answer the toad's quesion "No no, we were just talking about the plans for the day! nothing completely important, what do you need us for?" the toad then pointed to a board with the visiting hours on it next to the elevator "We're about to begin visiting hours, Jean. I suggest you get back over to your area so no one will try and mess up your art like how your cousin nearly did last week. And you better keep your garden in top condition, Mella! We already spotted Mario trying to mess it up with that hammer of his" this came as a surprise to both Mella and Jean as they had both lost their track of time as it was 5 minutes before the place opened, of course no other words except the typical "Understood" and "Right" came out of their mouths as they rushed over to the elevator with the toad to begin their workday.
With morning now bloomed into the sky with its vibrant colors, so too did the love and bond of Jean and Mella. It would only be but a mere flower bud, but as their relationship continued to grow so too did that little flower bud of love. It will only be a matter of time until that little bud grew into a beautiful and vibrant flower, colored in the hues of the morning sky itself.