Moving out to the Country

All the time that the two of them had spent with each other seemed magical throughout every single moment.

Fern lay on her side of the bed as she clenched the blanket that only managed to cover up a third of her body. She was too tired to bother pulling up the rest of it. Although despite just how tired she was, her other half was missing in action. This wasn't the first time that she had slept by herself, but she much preferred it when she had the ability to snuggle into his chest. A small smile appeared on her face as she looked over at his pillow that always managed to end up on the floor no matter how 'careful' they had been. The pillow still had the indent of the last time his head lay on it, even with the changed sheet the cushion managed to show its age.

A small moment of hesitation (though she doesn't know why it was there) before she finally wrapped her arms around it. Of course with the way it currently was it would not pass off as him, but, with a bit of imagination she might just be able to fall asleep- at least for a few moments if she was lucky. Her fingers felt the back of the pillow trying to remember how Ryker's back muscles felt like, all the tracing that they had done. From his shoulder blades down to his lower back. Although as more time passed, the more she quietly noticed the unfortunate demise of his muscle definition. The life style change of a man that trained alone every other day, to a father who trained with his kids once a week. But while it was something she missed, the smile on his face when he was with them as a family was something far more special than any amount of muscle could ever hope to change.

Fern tried resting her head on the pillow, pretending that it was his smooth yet firm chest, with the stubble from his chin tickling her forehead as he kisses her on the head. The way his hands always wrapped around her protectively. He always knew that she was more than capable of defending herself, there was always that part of him that wanted to be there to take the blow anyway. As much as she would often try to convince him that it wasn't necessary, she always appreciated it in the back of her mind.

She kept moving her fingers around the pillow trying to convince herself that it was just as comfortable as he was- or at least a quarter of the way would do. Trying to do it all through muscle memory as she tried remembering where all his little scars were. It was amusing in a sense that for a Pokemon whose skin was basically made of steel there were a lot of little scars that were scattered all over his body. Some of them had a small rise on the edge where the skin had to heal where as others felt entirely different to the rest of him. She wanted to kiss all of them, but even as much as she tried to reimagine her boyfriend, she was not about to kiss a pillow. Especially when she wasn't capable of hearing when he came home, imagine how difficult that would be to explain. At least she was vaguely sure that at some points in their relationship that he had hugged her pillow from time to time.

Fern frowned as she ended up pushing it away. The illusion was gone- or rather it was never there to begin with. No pillow could ever replace the way he hugged her, the way he would give her Eskimo kisses or how he would have this big goofy smile letting her know that he was her dork. He would come home. He was just... Late... Although she couldn't for the life of her figure out why.

She pushed her face into her own pillow as she tried not to think about it too much. A racing mind never got her to sleep. For a moment she was tempted to try imagining what Ryker sounded like... But that usually ended up with her being overly frustrated and that wouldn't help either.

Just close your eyes she kept trying to tell herself. Close your eyes and don't think about anything else. The tear that strolled down her face would have to be forgotten too.

--

She didn't even remember if she had actually fallen asleep before being gently woken by a very familiar hand on her arm. Still, she didn't want to get overly excited if there was to be any hope of falling back asleep.

Very slowly she opened her eyes and glanced upwards to the very same smile that belonged... To him. Without even realizing what she was doing, she had already managed to sit up in bed and immediately wrap her arms around his neck. The fuzz on his jawline tickling her cheek as she felt him hold her back, refusing to let her lay down again until he himself managed to at least sit. "You're late." She whispered into his ear as she backed off a bit to get a better look at his face.

Ryker smiled his usual goofy grin as he gave Fern the usual Eskimo kiss. That was something she had always appreciated about him as well, his ability to adapt to a one sided conversation. Very slowly he removed his hands from her back as he tried to remove his jacket and shirt. Fern of course wanted to keep holding on, but she knew that the sooner he got himself comfortable the sooner she would be able to sleep knowing her other half had returned.

Miyuki stood in the hallway of the apartment complex as she tried to find the brand new set of keys that she had managed to get her hands on with the money that she was able to save up. She could hear the familial sound of a lock clicking as she turned the small piece of metal. This was something she was going to have to get used to now.

As the door opened, she felt the wall that was connected to the doorway to find the light switch. The bulb flickered on and the place lit up dimly. Yet somehow... It was too bright. Just as quickly as she had turned the light on, she had turned it back off. The room was dark, but her life as a ninjask was paying off as she didn't have much trouble maneuvering around. She pulled the grocery bag towards the small and rather dinky fridge as she moved the contents from the it to the big plastic rectangle that took up a third of the small kitchen space.

The only thing that she had left out on the counter was a small paper cylinder that was filled with ramen. Imported from her home region, Hoenn, Miyuki was very surprised to see it at the convenience store here in Anistar. Apparently Kalos cared a lot more about its tourists coming from all over the world because she had seen food all the way from Kanto and Sinnoh. Even some from Unova which she had just learned about recently.

Ripping off the cover and pouring the contents of the small bags that were placed inside, she couldn't help but smile at the oh so familiar Japanese that was written all over it. It was like her own piece of home- or at least what used to be her home.

She poured in water before placing it in the microwaving and taking a seat that was right beside one of the two windows in the apartment. This wasn't so bad. The idea of owning a place of her own that wasn't a tree or even a bush was rather nice. Even if the paint had begun to peel and not a single appliance or furniture was anywhere close to being "new", it was still a lot better than being out in the rain. Her eyes scanned the darkness before finally looking out the window to her view of the town Anistar. It was always a rather quiet place which made it a lot nicer than Lumiose.

Although...

She furrowed her brow as she looked away from the window. No, this place was nice. No more annoying free loading ghost, no more noise, no more...

Her thumb pushed against the tiny plastic bag that contained the flavoring for the ramen making it crinkle. Why was she suddenly upset? She could still go over and visit Minerva right? Her... Friend?

No. Minerva wasn't a friend. She was an overly familiar boss that Miyuki had somehow got attached to. If there was anything that the ninjask had learned, it was not to get attached to anyone. After all, look what happened to her previous trainers. The bug was finally starting to know the feeling of being loved by someone... And then she managed to royally fuck it up. Twice.

She bit her lip hard until she could feel the taste of blood start to pool on her tongue.

Why did they give her up?

Why was she suddenly so utterly alone?

...would the same thing happen again?

Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she tried hard not to make any noise.

Why did she move all the way to Anistar? Why was she suddenly so afraid of fucking it up with Minerva? She was the only one that Miyuki had bothered to get even relatively close to. So why did she distance herself?!

The beeping from the microwave was loud enough to interrupt her stream of thoughts as she opened her eyes to see the yellow light disappear, letting her know the food was done cooking. She used her sleeve to wipe the moisture from her eyes before walking over and taking the cup of ramen up. Her face had returned to its normal emotionless state as she ripped open the flavor packet and stirred it in. She didn't even remember grabbing the chopsticks as she started to pull some of the noodles up. It seemed like her body was in automatic mode as she just continued to live like a robot, putting no thought into anything that she did from that point on.

Lifting the noodles up go her still bleeding mouth, she took a mouth full. The taste of bland noodles roughly mixed with the flavor of a sitrus berry that she had crushed up before hand. Though her mouth had begun to heal thanks to the berry, she could still taste blood throughout the small bite that she had taken.

She put the chopsticks down as she just stared at the cup of ramen.

'Her' food was better.

The noodles made a sloshing sound as he poured it down into the sink.

Another long day at work, another night with sandwiches for dinner. Kain didn't mind though. If there was anything that Keyah had taught him was that life was to enjoy the simple things in life. Sure he could have ordered a steak for himself and just made a sandwich for her [considering how sick she got with certain foods] but even he wasn't that cruel.

Unlocking the door, he placed the bag of groceries on the counter as he could hear Keyah playing in her room. Whether or not she heard him was something that he would find out shortly as he pulled out the cutting board and began making a sandwich for himself.

Sure enough without missng a beat, he could hear her opening the door leading to room in order to greet him. "Daddy!"

He smiled as he put down the knife back on the cutting board as he leaned down pick up his daughter and spin her around. "Hey sweetie! How was school today?"

"It was fun! I played with RIko during recess and he was playing on his gameboy again and it was really cool!" Her smile had the warmth of a thousand suns. "Can I get a gameboy dad?"

Simply laughs as he holds her with one arm as he continues to unpack the rest of the food with the other. "Maybe if you're good enough, Santa will bring you one for Christmas."

Her eyes widen as she clenches his shirt with her small hand. "Really?!" For a split second her smile disappears. "How will I know if I've been good enough though..."

"Well, a good girl does her chores and homework without making a fuss, they also listen to their fathers." Kain tried his hardest to keep the straightest face he could possibly muster, but even knew when he was beat when it came to his daughter's judging face. Somehow this child was gifted the ability to pull off faces that even a parent had a hard time arguing with. "If you don't believe me, you can always ask your grandparents."

As though lifting off the curse of the lifted eyebrow, Keyah's face eased up as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I guess..." Her eyes glazed over the food on the counter. "But it's not sandwich sunday dad." He stopped buttering the bread and looked at her really shocked. "IT'S OKAY DAD I'M SORRY! " She placed her hands on his cheeks as though to fix his face while gently pushing. "But this means I get to choose what we eat on sunday, okay?"

Kain simply laughed as he uses his other arm to bring her closer and kisses her forehead. "Deal."

This feeling of overwhelming happiness was something he wouldn't trade the world for. Keyah had quickly become his whole world. He finally understood how his own parents felt and why they always seemed to want to be in every part of his life. Even just having a very simplistic meal such as sandwiches seemed like it was the best day ever.

Placing her in her favourite chair [which was yellow and had ladybugs that they both painted on], he placed the two meals at their corresponding ends of the table. "Dad, did you know that bluebirds are called that because they're blue? Or that 2+2 equals 4?" She was waving her arms as she continued to talk around before he patted her on the head to let her know that it was eating time. Though her mouth was full she still tried her best to keep talking about all the little things that she learned. It was very cute.

"Hey maybe after you finish your homework we can see if there's any movies on."

He's not in the best of moods. The door opens to reveal the empty area that is his place of work. Nothing there to greet him except the pitter patter sounds of the twins running around and playing upstairs. A gloved hand closes and locks the door, his fingers gliding through the steps as the muscle memory kicks in. Even his missing eye knows when it's not needed.

A long drawn out sigh leaves his lips as he leans against the door. It was just an argument with Eilam, something that very few have accomplished and lived to tell the tale. Yet somehow he can feel a stream of frustration and annoyance flowing through his mind and slowly weighing down on his patience. Ryker throws off his jacket and his gloves onto one of the counters that lay right next to the entrance. He didn't like the feeling of summer. There was nothing that sounded more relaxing than dumping a whole bag of ice into the tub and taking a nap. The temptation was great.

But the bag of food that clung to his left hand said otherwise. After kicking off his boots, he finally made the trek upstairs to where the kids were playing... And not being a grump like he was. The moment he had become visible was the same moment that brightened up the three faces in the room all at once.

"Daddy!"

Ryker immediately tried to smile as he put the bag to the sidelines while the onslaught of hugs and news happened.

"Daddy we were having a tea party and Apollo ruined it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

The older man wanted to be happy to be with his family, but somehow this wasn't doing the trick. It wasn't until the baby of the three had managed to crawl over to his right hand that his mood began to change. Lifting up Oren, he sat down on the floor and proceeded to bombard him with his own brand of hugs and cuddles. The toddler had become his very own stress ball when she wasn't around to talk.

"Daddy... Are you okay?"

The smaller female voice ran through his head as he slowly put down Oren on his lap. What was he going to say? 'I got into a fight with your uncle' hardly seemed like the right idea. "I'm just a bit tired, that's all." We'll at least that sounded a lot less grumpy and pitiful. Still, the intuition that they all seemed to have was rather remarkable... Or maybe he just sucked at hiding his emotions like he used to.

Before being given the chance to fall into his own pit of deep thoughts, he got a very familiar pain coursing through his leg as he tried to hold onto Oren."No bad moods allowed!" The other small voice announced as Ryker managed to gather what all just happened.

Both the twins stood defiantly at him as he scratched the back of his head with his free hand. "Mom left you in charge so there's no bad moods allowed! We can't fill the house with bad moods because if mommy comes home then she'll also be in a bad mood!" Apollo was always good at standing his ground.

Iris, on the other hand, was good at comforting as she had already walked over to rub her father's leg that was still in pain from her brother's iron head attack. "Anything we can do to help?"

Ryker couldn't help but just sit there in awe. A small smile had begun to grow on his face as he kept looking at all three of the kids. Eventually be let out a laugh as he ruffled Iris' hair. "You're right. I'm sorry." His daughter managed to climb up on the free half of his lap and leaned against him. The grumpy feeling that had hit him was slowly starting to fade. There was just one last thing that he had to check on.

He quickly whipped out his phone while still having a hand to Oren's back as he scrolled through his messages. Sure enough, even his own girlfriend was a step ahead of him.

"xoxoxoxo"

Somehow, that one silly text was more than enough to put the biggest smile on his face as he replied back with one of his own stupid emotes that he loved.

His attention turned back to the kids before a split second reminder as he grabbed the bag of food that he had taken so long to get. "Sorry that I can't cook very well but I figured that this should suffice until mommy gets home." Everyone seemed to be making happy noises as grabby hands reached into the plastic bag.