New Game +: Chapter 2, Sweet Troubled Soul
Masterlist for New Game + available here.
Title: Sweet Troubled Soul
Song Link: I had no idea this was ever on a movie soundtrack!
Characters: Kotone, Silver, Green
Word Count: 1609
Green knew that Silver was at the door because of the Crobat watching him through the window; he knew that Silver was upset because he hadn’t even bothered to knock, he was just sitting with his back against the house next to the door fidgeting with Crobat’s Pokéball. “Hey, Silver.”
“Mf.”
“That good, huh?”
Silver slowly stood up, using the house to brace himself, and then pushed past Green through the doorway and sat down at the kitchen table. Crobat swept in behind him, and landed on his head, shading Silver’s eyes from the kitchen light. Green closed the door and took a set across from him, kicking long legs out under the table and leaning back in his chair.
“I swear, your Crobat enables your moody tendencies.” Eevee hopped up onto Green’s lap and nuzzled into place, coaxing Green to slide a hand down and scratch behind the Pokémon’s ears. He looked up at the Crobat, who glared back coolly. “I mean, really. Protecting him from light? He’s so pale as it is, he’s gonna turn into a vampire.”
Silver slumped face first on the table, and Green actually started to look worried. “Hey, man, usually you’ve explained what’s going on by now, or stolen some of my food, or something. What can I help you with?”
Silver looked up a bit and shook his head, and looked back down. Crobat’s wings folded over his entire head, and after a moment, he said quietly “Kotone and Clair.”
Green cocked his head, fingers still on Eevee’s nape. “What, did they make a scene again? Is she okay?”
“They’re banging.”
The front legs of Green’s chair fell to the floor and he leaned forward, grabbing Silver’s arm. “What? Like, in the present actual time of now banging?” Eevee hopped off of the table and promptly sat down on top of Silver’s feet, ears perked.
“I do not think that is what they are doing right now, no.” Crobat guarded Silver’s face fiercely, showing teeth when Green tried to brush its wings out of the way but allowing him to squeeze Silver’s shoulder. “But Kotone asked if they could and I said yes and then they did.”
“And you meant to say no.”
“No, I meant to be okay with it. Didn’t work.”
Green sighed. “When was the last time either of you actually dated anyone else? Please for the love of god tell me it wasn’t me.” He stood up. “Lemme make you some chocolate.”
“Wasn’t you.” Silver shivered a bit and stayed still while Green slid around the kitchen, grabbing a pot, a jar of cocoa, and a whisk, always having to reach to grab things from behind mugs or above cans.
“Moo Moo Milk or almond?”
“Almond.”
“Gotcha.” He opened the fridge and took out a small bottle, and poured most of the milk inside into the pot, starting to heat it up on the stove. “Was it her and Ethan then?” He stirred in the cocoa powder, not bothering to measure.
“Yes. No. She had that ridiculous thing with Lance. I wonder if she told Clair about that.”
Green stopped whisking for a minute. “Lance? Likes girls?”
“Apparently.”
“Maybe I can’t always call them!” He let the chocolate simmer and grabbed a couple of plain black mugs out of a cabinet. “Anyway. So you’re freaking out about this. Does she know you’re upset?”
“Kiiiinda.” Silver tapped his foot irritatedly, and Eevee shifted onto the other foot.
“Uhoh.” Green turned off the stove and carefully poured out two mugs of chocolate over the sink, not spilling anything. “That sounds bad.” He put a mug in front of Silver, who put a hand on it but didn’t get up, and sat back down, leaning in over the table. “Hey, talk to me here.”
Silver sat up, Crobat reluctantly moving its wings, still wrapped protectively around its trainer. He took the mug in hand and lifted it, blowing on the surface of the liquid. “What do you want me to say?”
Green rolled his eyes and took a sip of the chocolate, wincing and enjoying the heat at the same time. “I want you to tell me what you need to so that I can help you, because you are obviously a wreck. And if your beef is with Kotone, she’s not going to help you, and that pretty much leaves me.”
Silver glared and took a sip of chocolate.
Green sighed. “And I care about you, dammit. So dish.”
“I don’t know if I can deal with it. I don’t know how to get OK with it. I don’t know if I want to get OK with it. She thinks she might be gay, like, not bi gay, but gay gay, and that would sort of make this whole thing not work. You know? Cause of me not being a woman.”
“I have some experience with that,” said Green quietly, restraining a smile. “Okay. We can work with this. How long has this been going on?”
“Like two weeks.”
“And you’ve been together, what, more than ten years?”
“Fourteen.”
“Ok. Hon. Silver.” Green put his mug down and took Silver’s free hand in both of his. “Fourteen years does not go away in two weeks. You have plenty of time to work on this, in yourself, in your relationship. You need to calm down. You didn’t do anything drastic, right?” Crobat bristled, and Green shivered. “...Right?”
“Well.” Silver took a deep breath. “Mostly not. But I got really mad. She said she hadn’t seen me that mad since ...” He turned his head to the side, and Crobat covered his face. “The hideout.”
“Oh.” Green looked down, too, and let one hand dangle down so that Eevee could nuzzle at it softly. “That’s not great.”
“I handled it better. That’s something, right?” Silver didn’t turn his head back to Green.
“It is something,” said Green, “and I think this can still be just fine. But the path there may be a lot of work.” He lifted his hand up from Eevee and drank some more chocolate, and stared out the window. Silver said nothing.
-
The shelf by their bed held Kotone and Silver’s Pokéballs, Silver’s all the cheapest kind and Kotone’s a mixture of everything imaginable. There were three missing slots on Kotone’s shelf, as she’d already left to head to the cafe; Silver couldn’t decide which, if any, Pokémon to bring. As if they were fashion accessories, he thought, and not friends, or partners of a sort, or... He sighed and put Crobat’s ball back down, considering that maybe it was best not to bring Pokémon on a double date at all. Especially when he half expected Clair to challenge him to a battle on the spot over Kotone’s honor or something ridiculous like that, and he didn’t want to put his Pokémon through that. She was prideful enough that she’d have some dragons with her, but he fully expected her to bring Pokémon he wouldn’t expect that were designed around taking down his team - he was predictable in battle and didn’t care, that part of his life was over.
Green had told him to dress casual, but he couldn’t bring himself to wear jeans, so ultimately he went with a pair of black slacks and a black jacket, compromising on sneakers instead of his usual boots as a way to claim that he was dressed casually. He tried putting his hair back, but after frowning at himself in the mirror, he tousled it back into its usual place, wild red waves running down over his shoulders. A few of his roots were going white, making his hair look like it was glowing in the fluorescent light. He shook his head and made a face. If he brought Crobat along, people would glare at him for making Pokémon follow him around - wasn’t it only ten years ago that it was considered inappropriate to keep your favorite Pokémon in balls? And Crobat would just hide his face the whole time, anyway. He had to face this alone, or at least, as alone as he could be with Green there to back him up.
It had been his idea to have an open relationship to begin with - not because he wanted to sleep with anyone else, really, but just because he couldn’t imagine possessing someone like Kotone, and wanted to make it clear that he didn’t own her. When she got back from her four-year voyage, he thought it was pretty clear, and could have done with a little more ownership, but he’d dated Green for a while and thought it was inappropriate to close things off. Kotone dating Ethan hadn’t been that bad, really, since the two of them got along passably, and Lance ended fast enough that he hadn’t cared. For some reason Clair threatened him; he thought she’d always hated him, and worried that she’d try to take Kotone away. He didn’t want to own her necessarily, but he wanted to feel secure as a part of her life, and with her as a part of his. Kotone had spent the last night at Clair’s place, and while it hadn’t gone as badly as he expected, it was mostly because he tired himself out doing research until two in the morning and fell asleep on the couch without even going into the bedroom to know that she wasn’t there.
And now he was going to be late. He grabbed his keys, left the Pokémon, and left the bedroom, quelling the wave of unease that rocked his stomach.
-
Title: Sweet Troubled Soul
Song Link: I had no idea this was ever on a movie soundtrack!
Characters: Kotone, Silver, Green
Word Count: 1609
Green knew that Silver was at the door because of the Crobat watching him through the window; he knew that Silver was upset because he hadn’t even bothered to knock, he was just sitting with his back against the house next to the door fidgeting with Crobat’s Pokéball. “Hey, Silver.”
“Mf.”
“That good, huh?”
Silver slowly stood up, using the house to brace himself, and then pushed past Green through the doorway and sat down at the kitchen table. Crobat swept in behind him, and landed on his head, shading Silver’s eyes from the kitchen light. Green closed the door and took a set across from him, kicking long legs out under the table and leaning back in his chair.
“I swear, your Crobat enables your moody tendencies.” Eevee hopped up onto Green’s lap and nuzzled into place, coaxing Green to slide a hand down and scratch behind the Pokémon’s ears. He looked up at the Crobat, who glared back coolly. “I mean, really. Protecting him from light? He’s so pale as it is, he’s gonna turn into a vampire.”
Silver slumped face first on the table, and Green actually started to look worried. “Hey, man, usually you’ve explained what’s going on by now, or stolen some of my food, or something. What can I help you with?”
Silver looked up a bit and shook his head, and looked back down. Crobat’s wings folded over his entire head, and after a moment, he said quietly “Kotone and Clair.”
Green cocked his head, fingers still on Eevee’s nape. “What, did they make a scene again? Is she okay?”
“They’re banging.”
The front legs of Green’s chair fell to the floor and he leaned forward, grabbing Silver’s arm. “What? Like, in the present actual time of now banging?” Eevee hopped off of the table and promptly sat down on top of Silver’s feet, ears perked.
“I do not think that is what they are doing right now, no.” Crobat guarded Silver’s face fiercely, showing teeth when Green tried to brush its wings out of the way but allowing him to squeeze Silver’s shoulder. “But Kotone asked if they could and I said yes and then they did.”
“And you meant to say no.”
“No, I meant to be okay with it. Didn’t work.”
Green sighed. “When was the last time either of you actually dated anyone else? Please for the love of god tell me it wasn’t me.” He stood up. “Lemme make you some chocolate.”
“Wasn’t you.” Silver shivered a bit and stayed still while Green slid around the kitchen, grabbing a pot, a jar of cocoa, and a whisk, always having to reach to grab things from behind mugs or above cans.
“Moo Moo Milk or almond?”
“Almond.”
“Gotcha.” He opened the fridge and took out a small bottle, and poured most of the milk inside into the pot, starting to heat it up on the stove. “Was it her and Ethan then?” He stirred in the cocoa powder, not bothering to measure.
“Yes. No. She had that ridiculous thing with Lance. I wonder if she told Clair about that.”
Green stopped whisking for a minute. “Lance? Likes girls?”
“Apparently.”
“Maybe I can’t always call them!” He let the chocolate simmer and grabbed a couple of plain black mugs out of a cabinet. “Anyway. So you’re freaking out about this. Does she know you’re upset?”
“Kiiiinda.” Silver tapped his foot irritatedly, and Eevee shifted onto the other foot.
“Uhoh.” Green turned off the stove and carefully poured out two mugs of chocolate over the sink, not spilling anything. “That sounds bad.” He put a mug in front of Silver, who put a hand on it but didn’t get up, and sat back down, leaning in over the table. “Hey, talk to me here.”
Silver sat up, Crobat reluctantly moving its wings, still wrapped protectively around its trainer. He took the mug in hand and lifted it, blowing on the surface of the liquid. “What do you want me to say?”
Green rolled his eyes and took a sip of the chocolate, wincing and enjoying the heat at the same time. “I want you to tell me what you need to so that I can help you, because you are obviously a wreck. And if your beef is with Kotone, she’s not going to help you, and that pretty much leaves me.”
Silver glared and took a sip of chocolate.
Green sighed. “And I care about you, dammit. So dish.”
“I don’t know if I can deal with it. I don’t know how to get OK with it. I don’t know if I want to get OK with it. She thinks she might be gay, like, not bi gay, but gay gay, and that would sort of make this whole thing not work. You know? Cause of me not being a woman.”
“I have some experience with that,” said Green quietly, restraining a smile. “Okay. We can work with this. How long has this been going on?”
“Like two weeks.”
“And you’ve been together, what, more than ten years?”
“Fourteen.”
“Ok. Hon. Silver.” Green put his mug down and took Silver’s free hand in both of his. “Fourteen years does not go away in two weeks. You have plenty of time to work on this, in yourself, in your relationship. You need to calm down. You didn’t do anything drastic, right?” Crobat bristled, and Green shivered. “...Right?”
“Well.” Silver took a deep breath. “Mostly not. But I got really mad. She said she hadn’t seen me that mad since ...” He turned his head to the side, and Crobat covered his face. “The hideout.”
“Oh.” Green looked down, too, and let one hand dangle down so that Eevee could nuzzle at it softly. “That’s not great.”
“I handled it better. That’s something, right?” Silver didn’t turn his head back to Green.
“It is something,” said Green, “and I think this can still be just fine. But the path there may be a lot of work.” He lifted his hand up from Eevee and drank some more chocolate, and stared out the window. Silver said nothing.
-
The shelf by their bed held Kotone and Silver’s Pokéballs, Silver’s all the cheapest kind and Kotone’s a mixture of everything imaginable. There were three missing slots on Kotone’s shelf, as she’d already left to head to the cafe; Silver couldn’t decide which, if any, Pokémon to bring. As if they were fashion accessories, he thought, and not friends, or partners of a sort, or... He sighed and put Crobat’s ball back down, considering that maybe it was best not to bring Pokémon on a double date at all. Especially when he half expected Clair to challenge him to a battle on the spot over Kotone’s honor or something ridiculous like that, and he didn’t want to put his Pokémon through that. She was prideful enough that she’d have some dragons with her, but he fully expected her to bring Pokémon he wouldn’t expect that were designed around taking down his team - he was predictable in battle and didn’t care, that part of his life was over.
Green had told him to dress casual, but he couldn’t bring himself to wear jeans, so ultimately he went with a pair of black slacks and a black jacket, compromising on sneakers instead of his usual boots as a way to claim that he was dressed casually. He tried putting his hair back, but after frowning at himself in the mirror, he tousled it back into its usual place, wild red waves running down over his shoulders. A few of his roots were going white, making his hair look like it was glowing in the fluorescent light. He shook his head and made a face. If he brought Crobat along, people would glare at him for making Pokémon follow him around - wasn’t it only ten years ago that it was considered inappropriate to keep your favorite Pokémon in balls? And Crobat would just hide his face the whole time, anyway. He had to face this alone, or at least, as alone as he could be with Green there to back him up.
It had been his idea to have an open relationship to begin with - not because he wanted to sleep with anyone else, really, but just because he couldn’t imagine possessing someone like Kotone, and wanted to make it clear that he didn’t own her. When she got back from her four-year voyage, he thought it was pretty clear, and could have done with a little more ownership, but he’d dated Green for a while and thought it was inappropriate to close things off. Kotone dating Ethan hadn’t been that bad, really, since the two of them got along passably, and Lance ended fast enough that he hadn’t cared. For some reason Clair threatened him; he thought she’d always hated him, and worried that she’d try to take Kotone away. He didn’t want to own her necessarily, but he wanted to feel secure as a part of her life, and with her as a part of his. Kotone had spent the last night at Clair’s place, and while it hadn’t gone as badly as he expected, it was mostly because he tired himself out doing research until two in the morning and fell asleep on the couch without even going into the bedroom to know that she wasn’t there.
And now he was going to be late. He grabbed his keys, left the Pokémon, and left the bedroom, quelling the wave of unease that rocked his stomach.
-