#bell fic

Emmet was friendly, but he had truly been a novice when Ingo had come calling the first time. In fact, Ingo was rather worried that he was going to fail after the very first ninety days. But somehow, he had managed to gather together all the items requested by the king just as Ingo had arrived. The items were, of course, supposed to be easy for any alchemist worthy of being the Kingdom's Grand Alchemist to obtain, either through gathering or creation. But the stare on Emmet's smiling face when Ingo read off the list was not very encouraging. It almost looked like Emmet had never heard of most of the items.

Going about his morning routine, Ingo continued to consider the alchemist. The first evaluation had been quite hairy, but Emmet had done considerably better during the second visit. He wasn't scrambling around his home turned alchemy shop as Ingo stepped inside; instead, he was adding the final touches to a display he'd recently added to the shop's wares. The quality of his items seemed better too, for Ingo's limited experience with them all. The first set were obviously from a beginner; even someone just browsing the goods would recognize that. The potions hadn't quite mixed all the way, requiring a swish to recombine. The salves were a little too thick, the color of the gemstones slightly off. But the second time, it was a more practiced hand at work. They were still the work of a newbie, but they were definitely passable.

In fact, his thoughts of Emmet held him all the way to the edge of the city. Emmet's home was in sight, a comfortable looking cottage with a well outside. It had a friendly atmosphere, though Ingo wasn't sure if that was just because he felt positively towards Emmet. It almost felt like the clouds parted just over his home, providing warmth on the cool autumn day.

When he was about ten paces away, Ingo began to pull out his list of required items. This time, they seemed rather difficult to obtain, likely requiring extra travel on Emmet's part. He seemed more capable, but it did rather worry Ingo when he heard of Emmet's forced adventures out into the wilderness to find special ingredients, or even just the items themselves. There had been more than a few cuts and bruises visible on Emmet's hands and forearms ninety days ago.

Ingo's eyes returned to the cottage to see it billowing purple smoke from the sills of the closed windows. List forgotten, Ingo dashed the rest of the way to the front door and threw it open. It had been unlocked, just like the last time he had arrived. Smoke rushed out the larger opening of the door, clearing just enough to see Emmet coughing as he stood holding the long wooden handle to stir his cauldron.

"Emmet!" Ingo shouted.

Emmet coughed a few more times as the smoke almost completely dissipated. Then, he peeked open an eye, catching Ingo's form in the doorway.

"Oh! Hi Ingo. I am Emmet. You're here early." He waved a hand in front of his face to disperse the rest of the smoke, then turned to fully face Ingo, wiping his hands on his apron as he did so.

Checking his pocket watch, Ingo realized that he was indeed early. He'd just been so focused on coming to see Emmet that he'd headed right over as soon as he'd gotten ready. Flushing slightly, he cleared his throat into his hand to regain his composure. "Yes, indeed it does seem that I'm early."

Emmet smiled, head tilted slightly to the side as he smiled more. "It's okay. I am ready for the evaluation this time." The confidence was quite encouraging to Ingo, who'd found himself starting to internally cheer Emmet on as he heard about his escapades. It was a difficult situation he'd been put into, but Ingo was gaining more and more faith in him.

And, actually, he'd been wondering if perhaps Emmet would allow him to join in on his adventures. After all, he was an esteemed knight and knew his way around a sword with a skill above most of his peers. Maybe he could ask Emmet this time, if the evaluation went well.

"Bravo! Excellent! Let us get right to it, then. I look forward to the results, as always."

In addition to receiving a new suit, he had been provided a new pokémon to act as his partner during the event. Karrablast was with him now in the changing room providing a running commentary as Ingo got dressed. Although he had not seen it in person, he knew that Emmet had been given shelmet as his partner. It seemed karablast knew this as well, and seemed as though it was vaguely disappointed that in order to grow stronger, it had to be traded away.

"Do not worry, Karablast!" Ingo said, straightening his tie with perfect crispness. "Emmet and I live together and work together. Even though he and I are going to trade with each other, it is only so that you may also reach the greatest heights you can." He gave karablast a smile and the little bug pokémon perked up at this newly acquired information.

"Though... it really is something like *that,* isn't it?" he mused quietly.

When he'd first seen the new outfit, his first thought hadn't been "butlers" as they had been told. Without the top hat, it rather looked like what one might wear when they were getting married. Thinking it directly caused a blush to rise to his cheeks. The monocle did nothing to hide it, but it did fog as his face heated up. Taking the eyepiece off, Ingo cleaned it off with a handkerchief as he continued to consider.

Not only did his outfit look like something he could be married in, they had been given pokémon that required a trade, or exchange, to be completed. Was that not exactly like what people getting married did?

Surely the event organizers on Pasio did not... know about what was between him and Emmet? He and his twin were very careful to keep that part of their lives private. Not even the employees of Gear Station were aware. (Well, Ingo hoped they didn't know. They'd certainly not been *told* in any case.) It was likely not something that would be accepted in most places, and while their feelings for each other were more important than anything else, it was not in their best interest to reveal it. Ingo could never stand to see Emmet go through trouble, especially not something that would impact so much.

Still. It really did match the set up for a wedding, down to separating the "bride and groom."

Tucking his monocle away into a pocket, Ingo put his face in his hands as he got even more flustered by the idea. Being married to Emmet made his heart feel warm and full and he felt foolishly eager as thoughts of married domesticity flourished in his mind.

However, no matter how many times he tried, Maki just pleasantly refused his offer. There were others in town he asked were not as polite as she was. Emmet dropped it for the time being, but he was always mindful when he saw pokémon in the wild when he was traveling alongside the villagers. He would point them out, maybe explain some of their behaviors. If it was a pokémon he was familiar with, Emmet would even talk about his experiences with them. Most of the older folks were not as receptive of the information, though he could tell there was a faint spark of interest in their eyes. Usually, it was the younger villagers, the ones who were around the age when kids in his world would start out on their first journey, that were the most excited about the information he had to share. One or two of them even asked Emmet which pokémon he thought they would like the most as a friend.

That was a pretty good question, Emmet thought, and honestly he needed to figure out the same for himself. None of the pokémon he worked best with seemed to be in the area. Obviously, that would be the ideal, but perhaps that was pushing luck vastly beyond what he had stored up. From his short distance travels, there were a few good possibilities. Pachirisu was his most favored pick so far, though magnemite or a gible if he could find one again might also be acceptable. Pachirisu was a good choice for a variety of reasons, but Emmet's immediate thought was that pachirisu's disarmingly cute looks could be a valuable asset in winning over some positive responses. On the other hand, Emmet could look into a partner that gave off a more sturdy vibe to impress the elder members of the village. Machop perhaps?

In any case, Emmet had not decided yet, and taking on a pokémon partner was not something to be taken on lightly. It would be a companion for at least as long as he was here in this world. When he was able to go back home, it would be the pokémon's decision if it wanted to come with him or not. Whichever partner he picked, he would have complete faith in it.

Sighing, Emmet looked up to the sky between the tree tops. The stars were so bright and vivid in this world, and while the view was breath-taking, he missed being home. He wondered if Ingo was also looking up at this sky. Did he have a partner already? Was Emmet falling behind, like he had when they picked their very first partners together? Even so, Ingo would surely be encouraging him right now if he were here.

Even during the roughest times, the Twin Bosses of Gear Station could be trusted to have the solution. Team Plasma, Team Rocket, and any other team that dared to try an infiltrate the Subway were met with staunch defense from the Bosses. Cloud had been able to see first hand their efforts to stop an incursion by Team Plasma, and it had encouraged him to train more with his own team. They took their jobs as the masters of the Subway very seriously.

And that said nothing of the times that weren't so dire. Above average rush hour and difficult to handle guests were the most frequent troubles. The Bosses trusted the Agents to handle the small issues, but held no hesitation when the circumstance required their intervention. Sure, Boss Emmet was more blunt to troublemakers, but he always handled situations with the same level of skill that Boss Ingo did. You could believe that if either one came to your aid, the situation would be resolved.

So, when Ingo disappeared, it sent a faint ripple of disbelief through the Agents, Cloud included. It was unfair, of course, to imagine that the Bosses were above all things, even tragedy. But they were so competent, so caring, so effective that it quite honestly had slipped the minds of the whole staff. The Bosses were in the Subway, ready to take on every day together - that was just the "fact" of Gear Station.

Cloud managed to convince the other Agents to hold their composure, with the help of Ramses and Jacky. Before this, Cloud had considered Jacky to be a good kid, but with a strong penchant for silly antics. Perhaps, because this was similar to the bosses who loved nothing more than to cause mischief on slow days, he was the perfect candidate to help keep Boss Emmet from spiraling into despair over the mostly fruitless search for his brother. Jacky was not, of course, following the Boss everywhere, but the Boss was definitely more cheerful whenever Jacky would check in on him.

It hurt, honestly, to see Boss Emmet so torn up. The smile was still on his face, but it felt hollow to anyone who saw him nearly every day. It was like a mask, as if he couldn't let anyone see how truly upset he was. Cloud didn't have siblings, least of all a twin, but it wasn't hard to figure that the situation was life-shattering. The Bosses worked and lived together - there was no facet of Emmet's life that hadn't been made more difficult with his brother missing.

There were some... unsavory rumors that tried to worm their way into the guests of the Station, but all of the Agents swiftly put a stop to it whenever they overheard it. They didn't even need direction from Cloud or Emmet; none of the Agents wanted to allow such attempts on the reputation of their boss. The very ideas that were whispered - that Emmet had something to do with the disappearance - made Cloud sick. In fact, he had actually lost his temper once, and while he had maintained a mostly professional attitude, he very soundly told someone off for even insinuating that Emmet had done anything wrong. Cloud considered himself pretty relaxed in nature, but that guest had gone too far.

"Hey Cloud."

A quiet, exhausted voice caught Cloud's attention, and he looked up to find Emmet.

"Oh, hey Boss. What's up?" Emmet looked terrible, as he did every day. Of course, he was still smiling. Even before everything happened, the Bosses usually kept their hats down low enough to cast a shadow over their eyes. But now, the brim of his cap was lowered to hide the dark circles that never seemed to leave from under his eyes. It was probably enough to hide from passengers, but close like this, they were stark even in the shadow.

Emmet's smile softened, averting his eyes as he listed oh so faintly to the side. "I am going to take a nap. Can you make sure I do not ignore any challengers?"

It was an unexpected request, but also one that somehow relieved Cloud. Cloud saluted, clicking his heels together. Honestly, it felt like the best instructions he'd received in a while. "Of course! You can count on me. Rest as long as you need to, Boss."

Emmet brought a hand up to his cap, tugging it down in an appreciative gesture. Then, without saying another word, Emmet wandered his way to his office. Cloud watched until Emmet was out of sight, making a mental note to check on him in about fifteen minutes. He didn't want to hover for there was always a chance Emmet would get caught up in speaking with someone, but he wanted to be sure that his Boss made it to his room safely.

Yes, fifteen minutes was sufficient.

Yes, the town thought the Duke was quite curious, and Kudari had heard many stories about him, some conflicting, others mysterious. Some people told of the Duke riding into town, standing on the back of his horse with swords drawn to stop a dangerous incursion on the town. The Duke came into town under a parasol at the edge of dusk, usually draped in all black; there were small whispers of him being a vampire. The last two years were full of festivals at the expense of the Duke, though that knowledge was limited to documentation with no ostentatious praise towards the Duke as was often seen by other nobles. The Duke rarely left his castle. The Duke was always throwing scandalous parties, full of masked, rich, elegant people.

Kudari coughed into his fist as he held his case in the other hand. Well, the language that had been used to describe the parties was far more salacious than that. But Kudari had never seen anything inappropriate while he was here. And if the Duke wanted to do such things, well, it was not Kudari's business! He would not intrude on the Duke's private life.

Finally making it to the office of the Duke, Kudari rapped against the door three times, as he was asked. Nobori's voice was muffled behind the door, but he very clearly called for Kudari to enter.

"Good afternoon, Your Grace," Kudari said, dipping forward slightly in a bow as he walked in.

Nobori swept around, offering a smile and a raised glass of brandy to him. "Good afternoon, indeed!" He was in good spirits as always. He gestured in a small arc towards a chair sitting in front of his desk. "Right on time as always. Please, take a seat so that we might begin our discussion."

Kudari did, of course, as he did every time he visited the Duke. Their conversations were always precise and to the point. Afterwards, he would invite Kudari to have a drink, each time a different selection from his vast collection. It was probably more respectable of him to not accept the drink, but he felt it allowed him to bond better with his client. Also, it was likely he would never get to try these various drinks in any other way. He was a bit embarrassed but he rather liked having the new experience.

During their drinks, Kudari and Nobori would chat about various things related to the region. Kudari had to travel quite a few days to this area, and would usually stay at an inn somewhere within the village.

"The village is quite charming this time of year," Nobori finished, taking a sip from his drink.

"Indeed," Kudari said, taking a look at the bottle their beverages came from. It was quite the vintage! It was amazing that the Duke had this.

"But, perhaps you would enjoy spending the rest of your trip with me as your host." Nobori was not looking at him as he said this, and Kudari's grip on the bottle slipped. Luckily, he was holding it over the desk and it only dropped a few inches. The loud thunk made him jump slightly, and Nobori turned to look at him.

"Oh, I couldn't think to impose!" Kudari said, both hands on his glass.

Nobori's expression was soft, an inviting smile insisting his invitation was sincere. "It would be no imposition at all. I have been planning on asking you for quite some time, but no time like the present, yes?" He finished the question by raising his glass again.

Kudari thought about it. It would possibly give him a chance to explore more of the castle without worrying about being late to a meeting. Perhaps he and the Duke could talk more, and he could learn more about him. And it would save on expenses with the inn... There were many pros to this agreement. The con was that it wasn't very professional, right? Though, he supposed that on such long trips it wasn't unheard of to be hosted, right?

Nobori was still watching him expectantly. After another moment of consideration, Kudari nodded. "Alright. That will be amenable to me, if it is with you."

Kudari considered the question while Nobori watched him with pleasant anticipation. He was floating on his stomach, chin resting on his crossed hands. He seemed genuinely curious, though the more Kudari thought the less he was certain he remembered. Kudari's eyebrows creased together as he struggled to recall even yesterday's menu.

"Uh. Probably instant ramen?"

Nobori's hands pushed up, creating a slight triangle, chin still resting on them. "Is that it, my beloved?" He looked troubled, distracting enough that Kudari let the 'beloved' slide this time. "Is that enough for a human to sustain themselves? Do not humans usually eat decadent amounts of food?"

"What? Who told you that?"

Shifting to a sitting up posture, legs crossed, Nobori sparkled. "Why, that's part of the interesting appeal of humans! They are well known for having lush banquets and creating vast amounts of food to share amongst their brethren."

Kudari pushed away from his desk and swiveled in his chair to face the fae fully. Sighing, he shook his head, one arm resting on the back of his chair. "That's not an every day thing, you know? Besides, you've lurked around me long enough. Have you ever seen me do that?"

They both stared at each other, nonplussed in conflicting ways. The rising shock on Nobori's face as he realized that his information was outdated contrasted with Kudari's unfazed expression. Kudari waited for Nobori to fully come to the conclusion, a variety of expressions playing across the fae's face.

"You ok?" Kudari finally asked.

Nobori, who had been staring at his hands as if reevaluating many choices in his life, looked up to Kudari with a deep conviction. Kudari leaned back at the intensity of the expression. "My beloved has been starving himself!"

"What."

Suddenly, the fae swooped towards Kudari, taking both of his hands in his. "We must hurry and obtain you nourishment. If you cannot even recall what you had to eat yesterday, it is a very serious situation. Humans must eat delicious and fulfilling meals."

Kudari tried to tug his hands free, but Nobori's strength was something else. He didn't even seem to be holding on that hard, and yet Kudari's hands couldn't even wiggle. Amazing that it didn't hurt, but the grip was firm. "But I have to study today."

"You are very smart! Eating something will only enhance your studying ability."

Kudari blushed at the unexpected compliment, losing the battle to stay in his chair as Nobori pulled him to standing. Since he hadn't changed when he returned to his room, he was still dressed in an oversize cable knit sweater and skinny jeans. His sturdy boots sat in the gray boot tray by the door. That made it even easier for Nobori to usher him out the door, slipping his boots on as they passed.

As they walked, Kudari sighed, finally having a moment to think after his hurried shuffle out of the dorm. "You know. I don't really have the money to be eating out like this." Nobori had wanted to take on a form that other humans could see, but Kudari vetoed the idea. If anyone saw him with Nobori, who was sure to dress flashily even when trying to blend in with humans, it would cause a total stir. So, instead, Nobori walked alongside him but totally unseen, as a compromise.

"It is alright, my beloved. I will take care of all the details, so you can just relax and enjoy yourself." Nobori flicked a hand casually, but Kudari caught the slight glimmer of magic as he did so. Nothing major seemed to change, so he didn't bring it up. But he was still curious.

It seemed his curiosity was quickly sated as they passed by a premium ramen shop. Kudari stopped to look at the display food in the window, easily accessible as there was no line at this time in the morning. As they were looking, Nobori asking what a variety of the foods were or how they tasted, a shop employee stepped outside and headed straight to them. Wide-eyed, Kudari accepted a special promotional coupon for a free ramen set, valued all the way to their top priced menu items. He was so shocked that he barely registered why he was being given the coupon, and even more surprised to realize a line had built up behind them without him noticing.

Since the ramen shop wasn't officially open for a few hours yet, but the coupon guaranteed him a spot as well as the deal, Kudari gave the employee a bow and continued on his way. It was an amazing coupon, so he could find a way to make it back to the shop today. In between his studying of course.

Still stunned by his luck, Kudari continued down the street with Nobori at his side. The fae was happily chatting away about something that Kudari only vaguely listened to. The luck he had with the coupon was still buzzing along his nerves, making him feel oddly excited. He never ate at that ramen shop, despite being close by, because it was expensive and always busy. But, he really did want to eat there sometimes...

Rounding the corner, another place he had wanted to try for a long time came into view. It was a fancy bakery. Well, fancy in so far as it had a wide variety of breads and pastries, well beyond what you would find in a normal shop. It wouldn't be so bad to take a look inside, right? If he was already out like this, he could afford to peek.

Once inside, the person behind the counter clapped once in apparent joy and came out to the floor to greet him. They said that Kudari was a customer of some special number to the bakery and that because of this, he was able to pick out 3 items of his choice for free. This time, he couldn't stop himself from leveling a suspicious look at Nobori, but luckily it was after the shop employee had returned to the counter. Nobori just gave him a smile and returned to floating around the shop, looking at the various items.

Kudari got two sweet and one savory item and decided that he would come back again another day so that he could properly pay for some items.

Deciding that was more than enough to satisfy Nobori, they started to return the way they came. "That was all your doing, right?"

Amazingly to Ingo, Nobori was nearly unflappable when faced with horror games. He would make clearly faked and casual "aa~hhh....." responses to scares, or even chuckle in the face of things that would make most people jump. And since his face was on camera the whole time, people couldn't accuse him of hiding his reaction and then pretending like he wasn't scared. His commentary throughout was also engaged with the material, though he didn't often read anything from the chat. Ingo wasn't easily scared in reality, but jump scares or scenes that created tension worked really well on him, and usually stressed him out too much to play by himself. He could tolerate watching others play, and he was going to do his best during the event end stream.

"Yeah, I'm sure it's just for the chat," Ingo rolled his eyes, even though it couldn't be seen because of his avatar. His tone was amused so hopefully it translated to the viewers. Judging from the emojis being spammed, it seemed so. His brothers were naturals when it came to interacting with a live crowd, while Ingo preferred to read the comments that came after his videos posted. Interacting with faceless commenters online was so different from his customer-facing job that took up most of his time. He loved helping guests at Gear Station, and was able to provide the best service with no issue. Nervousness jumbled his confidence online.

Nobori was quiet for a moment while he navigated a stealth segment. Then his eyebrows raised and his smile turned mischievous. "Well, maybe I just want to show off for my sugar daddy. If I do well enough, my allowance will be raised." His gaze flicked to the camera briefly, as if encouraging the chat.

"Wh..." Ingo huffed taking a second to register what Nobori was implying. "You rapscallion!" he scolded, though the chat flooded with various excited emoji. There were official stickers and emojis of them with various expressions; the chat was mostly using ones of Kudari making a gentle smile with flowers around him or cartoon-style images of an energetic Emmet with his hands animated to flap up and down. "I certainly do not give you an *allowance,*" Ingo huffed, holding onto his composure. Nobori was just being silly for the chat; he knew this. But more than ever, he was glad he was just an avatar. No one could see his blush from Nobori's teasing. He would chastise his older brother for real after the stream.

"You hear that, chat?" Nobori continued, skillfully but temporarily dispatching an enemy. It made an unpleasant cricking sound as it curled up on itself and just stayed there. Ingo was glad he was mostly distracted from the unsettling interaction. Perhaps that was part of why Nobori was teasing him. "I need at *least* a couple of likes to handle the sting of having my allowance revoked." In a way, Ingo mused, it was sweet that Nobori was distracting him from the things that would make Ingo cringe.

Ingo watched with new amazement as the chat eagerly did as Nobori asked, in between running commentary on both Nobori's playing as well as his banter with Ingo. If all of his brothers were this good with the chat, maybe Ingo didn't have to worry too much for the final stream of the event. Maybe he could just focus all his energy into playing the game (that he trying to practice when he could), and let the others wrangle the viewers.

A cut-scene began to play and Nobori swiveled in his chair to face his second monitor more. Setting down his controller, he typed something on his keyboard. Their chat pinged, and Ingo moved his attention from monitoring the chat to their messages. In it, Nobori spammed a bunch of his own emoji, some winks with blowing kisses, or heart-hands. A few were fan made, but somehow captured the charm of his brother. Ingo rolled his eyes affectionately, and typed back "I'm going to yell at you later (❁´◡`❁)" to which Nobori spammed an emoji of a man on his hands and knees. In a rare bout of thought for appealing to the fans, Ingo wondered if maybe they could customize that for themselves.