Varland wasn't exactly sure what had drawn him to Rigel City's Pride Festival, but here he was egg in hand (well, egg in baby carrier). He'd finally picked something up to carry it in, and now it was strapped gently and comfortably to the front of his chest. It was how he felt most comfortable with eggs; when he'd practiced hatching them back home, he'd had a deluxe carrier that let him cuddle three eggs at a time. He felt like the egg was starting to get close, but he had to contain his excitement. He still didn't know exactly what a Togedemaru was, and for all he knew it was going to be a real handful. Instead of thinking too hard on that, he tried to turn his attention back to the festival. Filled with stalls selling all kinds of food, the smells of which wafting through the air made his mouth water. He still hadn't been paid from his now job yet, so he would have to cut back on the treats no matter how good the kebabs they were selling just a few stalls down smelled. He couldn't give in. He could be strong.

He continued his walk down the main line of stalls, sometimes pausing to look at the game booths that had been set up. Dunk booths lined one side, the people inside jeering and taunting to try and get more people to try the game out. There were plinko boards with little Petilil dancing along the bottom. At least, that's what the sign said the Pokemon were. There were so many he'd never seen before tagging along with their trainers, dancing through the streets, it was almost a bit overwhelming for him. Maybe he'd stop in for games later; for now, he had to get as far from the kebab stand as he could. There was a small sitting area not too far down the way, and he quickly made his way there and was lucky enough to snag an open bench to sit on. He sighed a little as he collapsed, trying not to think of the growling his stomach was protesting him with now. "We'll find something cheaper than the kebabs, okay?" he muttered to himself, patting his gut before leaning back on the bench. 

This pride event had him feeling a little blue, if he was being completely honest with himself. Sure, he was glad to be taking a small break from filming, but seeing how many couples had littered the streets only served to remind him he'd never had a date himself in his entire life. A long time ago he'd had a crush on the close-in-age son of one of his parents' frequent clients, but things between them had turned ugly fast when the other boy had been far less than interested in his, well, interest. Thankfully, running away had made it so they'd never had to see each other again. Varland liked boys and girls pretty equally, but that sort of thing didn't matter much when you never stayed in one place for too long. Made it hard to keep close friends since his cell plan was extremely limited (he'd mostly just used his phone when applying for jobs) when he moved around so much. And now he was in a place where the only guy he really knew was his new co-worker, and even if he ever became interested in him the past had taught him to keep those sorts of feelings out of the workplace lest you make the rest of your time together awkward and antagonistic and he couldn't afford to do that again. Especially not with how good this job would be.

As if on cue, he spotted a lesbian couple walking past the rest area hand in hand, and he couldn't hold back his sigh again. What was it like, holding someone's hand like that? What did kissing feel like? What did...No, no, he didn't need to be thinking that far ahead. That was just asking for trouble. He almost wished he could afford to get sloshed like some of the other patrons of the event had gotten, and maybe spend the rest of the night with somebody and see how it went. Too bad he could maybe afford a single beer at most. His stomach growled even louder, and he slumped over on the bench. Maybe he should get some food after all. He thought about bringing Prima out for company, but she was likely to make his current feelings worse. He'd learned recently she was particularly fond of dime store romance novellas, and he knew whatever advice she had for him would be less than helpful. Maybe it was time to go scrounge up a snack.