#b0

White tagged along with him because she was as stubborn as a Bouffalant, and followed him. And because fate seemed to have it out for him and his productivity schedule, his destination just happened to be in the entertainment district of Nimbasa City, which led to-

“Ingo, Ingo look! What’s that?”

-White being captivated by everything and anything. She practically pulled his arm out of its socket as she led him to one of the concession stands. A middle-aged man had set up an expansive array of bright, colorful hand-made sun catchers. White was enraptured by a particularly intricate one, depicting four Horseas swimming happily against a deep blue backdrop. “They’re all so pretty, aren’t they? Oh, look!” White picked up a smaller piece and waved it in Ingo’s face. It was a Chandelure, and while it was a stunningly crafted piece of artistry, all Ingo could think was that it was a pale comparison to the real thing.

“Do you like that one, miss?” The vendor asked. He had completely gone into bartering mode, giving White a disarmingly charming smile. He looked towards Ingo with a particular gleam in his eye, “it does’t cost that much. Maybe your boyfriend will buy it for you.”

“I am not her boyfriend,” Ingo snapped coldly. The man looked taken aback at the harsh retort, and Ingo inwardly scolded himself. “White, can we move on please?”

She pouted, looking back at the Horsea sun catcher longingly before putting the Chandelure back on the table.  “Fine. Okay. We’ll go and do your boring stuff.”

“I warned you ahead of time what I was doing wouldn’t be fun,”  Ingo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose  as they walked away from the stand.

“But look at this place!” White skipped ahead and spread her arms out, “there’s that giant ring thingie over there, and those fluffy pink clouds those people are eating, and- OH HOLY KYOGRE!” She dashed away from him before Ingot could even begin to question what she had just seen. He was beginning to seriously doubt if he would ever get any work done today.  He found her at yet another vendor’s stand, gushing over the Pokemon plush toys that were on display. “They have stuffed Seels!” She exclaimed, pointing at one of the objects in question like she had found some sort of holy relic. “I mean, actual Seels are way cuter. But I could hug one of those and not have people look at me weird.”

“…Do you want one?”

“Can I?!”

Ingo’s growing susceptibility to White was becoming concerning. He would readily admit that he found her likable and charming, if not clingy and short-sighted. She was childish and naive for her age (what he assumed to be her age, anyway), and all he wanted to know was why.  It was a mystery that needed to be solved, and he… he always was fond of mysteries. When and if he solved it, his interest in White would go back down to a more reasonable level.  He would stop actually looking forward to seeing her at the end of his shifts. He would stop worrying whenever she showed up late.

His feelings were becoming too dangerous. Too frightening. He needed to snip them in the bud while he still could.

“On one condition,” Ingo began evenly. “You will stop climbing into my bed,” the vendor of the plush stand of the gave him a suggestive look. He glared back in response before continuing, “during thunderstorms.” He stressed.

“But I like being in your bed,” White argued, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked at the Seel plush longingly before heaving an overly dramatic (something she learned from Emmet) sigh. “If it means I get an adorable not-real-Seel baby, I’ll accept your dumb con-di-tions.”

Ingo paid for the toy, firmly telling the vendor (who would not stop wiggling her eyebrows) that White was afraid of thunderstorms. Nothing happened when they were in bed together, and he hated that he had to stress so firmly that he and White were not a couple. The warmth he felt in his chest when he saw White happily skipping along side him, clutching her new toy to her chest, was perfectly normal, perfectly platonic fondness. 

(Stop, stop,stop, stop.You know what happened last time. Don’t do it. Don’t let yourself. Don’t do this to yourself again.)

It was when he heard Elesa’s painfully familiar cadence did Ingo seriously think that Arceus had a personal vendetta for him.

“Well hey there, you hermit~” She trilled, slinging an arm around Ingo’s shoulders like she had any right to invade his personal space. “Fancy meeting you here. And you’re with a little cutie!” Elesa looked at White, appraising her like she was some poor, disillusioned girl auditioning to be Unova’s next top model. It made Ingo’s stomach lurch.  

White, for her part, didn’t seemed to be too thrilled about the idea of someone else hanging off of Ingo. She clutched her plush a little tighter, her eyes narrowing at Elesa slightly.

“Hi.” She said in a cold, suspicious, clipped tone.

“Sheesh, tense. I can see why you two are friends.” Elesa said with a chuckle, poking Ingo’s cheek playfully.  With a barely-hidden grimace, Ingo shrugged her arm off his shoulder and took three full paces away from her.

“To what do I owe this… pleasure, Elesa?”  He asked.

“Oh, what? I can’t just say ‘hello’ to my old childhood friend? It’s been ages since we last spoke.”

“I saw you two days ago when you were with Emmet.”

“Yes, you saw me. You then proceeded to avoid speaking to me at any and all costs.” Elesa replied, cocking her hip to the side. “Are you still upset that Emmy and I started dating without your permission? For goodness’ sake, Ingo, we’ve been honest with you for a year now.”

“I would find irritating even if you weren’t dating my brother.” Ingo said firmly. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“You’re no fun. But since you’re so insistent, my gym has been temporarily closed for maintenance.  I also don’t have any shoots scheduled for today, which means I have nothing but time on my hands. You’re here, I have time, can’t we spend it together?”

“I am trying to get something done, Elesa.” Ingo groaned into his hands. “I’ve already wasted enough time with White dragging me to see every little frivolous thing that catches her eye.”

At his side, he could feel White tense up. The temperature dropped several degrees, and his stomach with it.

“Okay, wow. That is not how you talk to about lady.”

“That isn’t what I- I didn’t mean-“

“I think what you meant came across clearly.”  Hearing such an ice-cold tone from White was alien. Unnatural. Her voice was controlled and her speech as precise as her accent would allow. The material of her hoodie flashed to something that did not look like cotton, before shifting back again. Ingo blinked against the sudden headache building in his skull.  “I’ll just explore by myself then.” She marched off into the crowd. 

Elesa tsked, “I’ll go after her. Cute little thing like her is bound to get some unwanted attention. You go off and do your super important business.”

Ingo groaned into his hands again. He looked up through his fingers towards the sky, and wondered what he had done to deserve his afternoon becoming such a travesty. ~~~

“Excuse me- pardon me- no, not now- Hey! Girl with the plush!”

White stopped when Elesa called out to her, drawing her shoulders up to her ears.  “I finally caught you. You’re quicker than you look. I feel like our first meeting started on the wrong foot,” Elesa held her hand out to White, a warm smile on her face. “My name is Elesa, the gym leader of Nimbasa City, and one of Ingo’s friends.”

“He didn’t seem to like you very much.” White returned, staring at Elesa’s hand skeptically.

“Oh, he’s always been like that. I give him a hard time, he gets upset at me; deep down we’re best friends. But let’s forget about that for now, and focus on the the fact that I don’t even know your name.”

“Why did you follow me?”

Elesa blinked in surprise. “You stormed off in such a huff, I was worried. There are plenty of guys here who would take advantage of a pretty girl who looked like she was upset at something. And if that happened, Ingo would not be happy.”

“He wouldn’t care,” White said, hugging her Seel plush tighter. “I annoy him.”

“Sweetie, everyone annoys him. But, trust me when I say this, when I first saw him it was the most relaxed I’ve seen him in a long time.”

White perked up, looking at Elesa with wide and hopeful eyes. “Is that a good thing?”

“Considering Ingo is emotionally constipated, yes it is.” Elesa clapped her hands together, “I’ll tell you what: since it’s pretty obvious you like him, why don’t we go get something to eat and I’ll tell you how to break through to him. He’s actually a real softie underneath that constant scowl.”

Even if White wanted to protest, Elesa didn’t give her much of an opportunity to. The blonde laced their arms together and began leading her off to the nearest concession stand.  “Now the most important thing to remember about Ingo is that….” ~~~

The good news was that Ingo had finally done what he needed to do before it got too late in the day. The bad news was that he saw White and Elesa talking. He couldn’t hear them, but he had a horrible feeling that they were talking about him.  He breathed in through his nose and walked towards the two, deciding that he might as well accept his fate. Maybe that would appease whatever deity had decided to torment him.

“Ingo, hi!” White greeted once he was within her range of sight, waving a hand high above her head. She didn’t seem to be upset anymore, which was good. “Why didn’t you in-intro…” She cleared her throat, “introduce me to Elesa earlier? She’s the best!”

“Yes, Ingo, why didn’t you?” Elesa chimed in, resting her chin on the back of her hand and grinning like she was privy to some scandalous secret.  “You know I always make time for you and Emmet.”

“I have been busy,” Ingo replied slowly. “But listen, White. I didn’t mean to upset you earlier, and I apologize.”

“I told you he’d apologize,” Elesa said, grinning in White’s direction. The latter smiled so brightly, it was almost blinding. “We were just talking about how you could make it up to her. A ride for two on Nimbasa City’s famous ferris wheel! Honestly, it’s a crime she hasn’t been on it, yet. And I just so happen to have two tickets right here,” Elesa pulled two ferris wheel tickets out of a hidden pocket of her dress and waved them in front of her face like a fan. “Funny how that works out, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s almost like someone I know planned this.”

“I am as innocent as a baby Deerling.” The way she smiled betrayed that statement so much, Ingo didn’t even feel the need to comment on it. Elesa handed a ticket to White, “Sweetie, why don’t you go save a spot in line for the two of you? I just need to talk to Ingo for a quick second.”

“Okay!” White replied, snatching the ticket out of Elesa’s hand and practically skipping in the direction of the ferris wheel. “If you take too long, I’m going without you!” She called back over her shoulder.  

Elesa laced her fingers together and looked back at Ingo from beneath her bangs. “She really likes you. You realize that, right?”

“I’m not oblivious, Elesa.”

“And what are you going to do about it?” She rested her cheek on the back of her hands. “I’m going to give you my opinion. My serious opinion, no sass or teasing involved.  I think she’d be good for you. It looked like you were actually relaxed when you were with her earlier.” She held up a hand before Ingo could interject, “I’m not going to force you to go for it. I am going to tell you that, despite the self-deprecating bullshit you tell yourself, you do deserve to be loved. But,  don’t listen to me prattle on. You’ve got a ferris wheel to get to.” She waved the remaining ticket in his face. “Go on, get!”

Ingo gave Elesa a dubious look before carefully taking his ticket from her hand.

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