#roserival

❛ ah , did i get something on my face ?? ❜

urbain laughs as bede reaches towards him , not actually expecting any contact. the second bede's hand brushes his cheek , he freezes , eyes widening & heart nearly stopping in his chest. urbain can feel how his cheeks turn pink , the same color as his hair , as bede. he swallows thickly , blinking a few times as he tries to remember how to breathe normally , shaky smile replacing the shock after a few moments.

❛ t-thanks. can't go around looking like a mess , right ?? ❜

from his lap , sabine chirps curiously , unsure of what to make of his reaction. he soothes her gently , but makes no move to move from bede's touch. naveen does this , even lida's treated him like this before , but ... he's never reacted like this before.

bede was just ... different.

that makes him pause , glancing from his partner back to bede.

oh. bede was ... different.

❛ i ... ❜

victor feels like he's choking on his words , he can't make anything come out the way he wants to. he didn't want to give up , not after ace had worked so hard to get stronger for him. if he gave up , he'd be letting everyone's hard work go to waste. it wouldn't be fair , not to his team & not fair to everyone he's beaten up until now.

but is it fair to himself to keep going ??

it's hard to act like his losses don't rattle him. he doesn't know how to be unbothered when the entire nation is watching him make mistakes over & over & over again. how many times did kabu overwhelm him ?? how many times had opal gotten the best of him ??

how many more times would it take for him to beat raihan ?? what were people going to say about him this time ?? he's seen enough to know it doesn't look good , & the idea of facing the public again makes him nauseous. he can't do it , not again , not to lose.

❛ i-i ... ❜

ace chitters quietly , one paw on victor's shoulder. his pokemon have been working so hard to stand up to raihan's team. victor's proud of them , of ace , but ...

another quiet sound from his partner draws his attention , his cinderace giving him a smile. the rest of his team make their way over , ninetales nudging at his palm with her frosty snout , gallade standing at his back & boltund at his side. corvisquire , shy as she is , chirps encouragingly from her place on victor's shoulder. he sniffles , palm rubbing harshly at his eyes as he looks around at his team , his partners , who all seem to say the same thing.

we'll follow wherever you lead.

❛ ... thanks , guys. dunno what i'd do without you. ❜

ace chatters beside him , pulling victor & bede into a hug , causing victor to laugh brightly , shaking his head.

❛ one more time. we'll battle raihan one last time , okay ?? & either we win , or ... that's all we can do. ❜

victor glances at bede out of the corners of his eyes , expression brightening but no less tired.

❛ did i ask ?? ❜

he can hear the snickering that bede is trying to hide , if only because his partner has made the same sounds lately. victor's well aware that he's making a fool of himself , & he'd very much like to be doing anything but. at least hop hasn't caught on to it , or the reason why.

at least , victor hopes he hasn't.

ace is currently fast asleep , laying with his head in victor's lap as he talks to bede on the phone. wyndon is winding down , but victor finds he can't quite sleep , can't stop thinking about far too many things.

❛ what look ?? ❜

urbain is grinning widely , shoulders shaking with barely contained laughter. he manages to mostly keep his composure , fixing his wide blue eyes on bede once again.

❛ this is just my face. unless you're sayin' you don't like me looking at you. which would be a real shame , bede. ❜

he laughs this time , crossing his arms.

❛ c'mon , bede !! of course you've got friends. ❜

perhaps urbain is doing what he always does , assuming his relationship with other people again , getting too familiar. but those anxieties are easily brushed away as he slings an arm around the other boy's shoulders , pulling bede closer to him.

❛ you've got everyone on team mz !! & floette seems to have taken a shine to you , too. so you're definitely not short on friends in lumiose. plus ... ❜

urbain laughs quietly , his face turning the same shade of pink as bede's shirt.

❛ ... you've got me. always. ❜

❛ can you please just say it normal? ❜

“Absolutely fucking not.

the voice is familiar , though it takes victor a moment to really hear it. ballonlea isn't a place he comes very often , only when he's trying to avoid things for the time being. he turns his head at the sound of cinderace chittering , the pokemon lighting up in recognition before its trainer.

vicky wasn't a nickname used by just anyone , after all.

❛ bede ?? what're you doin' out'ere ?? ❜

he could very well ask the same of victor , rough as he looked. but he'd blame that on the impadimp who tried to snatch his hat earlier if asked.

❛ y'know , most people start with a hi or how's it going rather than bein' cold off th'bat. ❜

@roserival has a pressing question.

Squints at them “ why do you look like an over grown joltik “

Ree raises an eyebrow, looking over this guy, and …

They roll their eyes, leaning back in their wheelchair. Their eevee’s ear twitches, amused.

“Haven’t you heard? Aether foundation was doin’ experiments on Pokémon-human hybrids a couple years ago. Infusing emb — em — human baby eggs with Pokémon DNA. They spliced my genes with a joltik, like in Jurassic Par —

it’s my fucking hair, idiot.”