#vt au

It was a chilly autumn day, as a young boy inside of Briarville’s main foster care building was ushered by his caseworker into one of the several interview rooms.

The boy was only about 12, with pale skin and ginger hair, dyed yellow at the tips. He held himself timidly, slouched over and doing his best to stay far from touching anyone. He clutched an old GameBoy in his hands, sitting in one of the chairs inside the room with a small frown.

He’d been through this routine many times before; he’d learn that somebody got matched with him, they’d have their dumb interview, and the family would decide he wasn’t what they wanted. Or, worse, they’d take him, but they’d turn out to be major assholes. He still had horrid memories of his last home.

His caseworker left the room, leaving the young boy to play his game quietly, trying to stave off the dread he could feel creeping over him.

Out in the lobby-type area, two men sat; the older, a tall, black-haired, proper-looking man, seemed ecstatic, while the younger - a shorter, brown-haired man - seemed nervous. The two were obviously together, given their attitudes.

The caseworker gave the two a warm smile, letting them know that she was ready to take them back, leading them to the interview room that the young boy was sat in.

He didn’t say much as they entered, not at all seeming to notice that they’d entered at all.

Finally, the shorter man broke the silence.

“Uh.. hello..?” He spoke softly, a faint Southern accent over his words.

The boy took a moment to respond, pausing his game to look up at them, giving them a bit of a cold stare. “Hi.” He spoke bluntly, setting his console down and crossing his arms. He fell quiet, simply looking over the two as he waited for a response.

Eventually, the man spoke again. “Ah.. what’s your name, again? My name’s Johnny Ghost, and.. this,” he pauses, gesturing towards the tallerman, who waved slightly, “is my, uh, husband, Johnny.. Toast.”

The boy frowned, holding back a small scoff. “Wait, wait, wait. Both your nameth are Johnny?” He shook his head, a harsh lisp making itself evident as he spoke. “That’th weird ath fuck.”

He flinched a bit when the woman scolded him, leaning back in his chair. “...My name’th Thpencer,” he grumbled softly, looking down at his hands.

“It’s... nice to meet you, Spencer,” Ghost smiled at him weakly. “Uh.. how old are you?”

“Aren’t they thuppothed to give you a file???” Spencer huffed. “Doethn’t that thay how old I am?”

Now, it was Ghost’s turn to flinch, shrugging. “Well.. yeah, but, I mean.. wouldn’t you rather tell us yourself, kid?”

“Why would I do that?” Spencer frowns at them. “What’th the point? You’re jutht going to end up not wanting me! No point.. telling you anything!” He ranted lightly, only stopping when Toast spoke up.

“Er.. Spencer, would you mind if I sat next to you?” He tilted his head, gesturing at the empty seat next to the boy.

He stopped, looking a little surprised at the question before he nodded. “..Y—.. Yeah, thure..”

Toast smiled, standing and nudging past Ghost, giving Spencer a tender look as he sat next to him. “Do.. you want to tell us about you?” He spoke softly, his tone meant to indicate that Spencer didn’t have to.

Nonetheless, he nodded again. “I.. gueth tho..?” He shrugs, pausing. “...I’m twelve.”

“And.. how long have you been here, if you’re.. okay with telling us?”

Spencer fell quiet for a moment. “....Thince.. I wath five monthth old..” His voice went soft; obviously upset at this.

Toast looked up at his partner, giving Ghost a look of surprise. “What happened to put you..?” He looked back at Spencer, who was now fixated on fidgeting with his jacket strings.

“My parentth.. jutht abandoned me.. That’th all. They didn’t want me.” He scowled lightly, holding back a small sniffle. “Tho I’m thtuck here.”

Ghost frowned lightly himself, quietly upset as well as he leaned forward, tapping the GameBoy carefully. “Hey, uh.. what game you got in here, kid?”

Spencer lifted his head quickly, his eyes lighting up a bit. “Pokémon!! It’th Yellow!” He grinned brightly, sitting up a little straighter.

“Oh? How far are you?” Ghost smiled faintly, resting his arms on the table.

“I-I’m at Celadon City! I’m jutht having trouble with the gym..” He huffs, more a curiously frustrated noise than genuinely upset.

Ghost nods, scratching his arm lightly. “That’s Erika’s, right?” He smiled when Spencer gave a small agreement. “Well, she uses the grass-types. So you should get Fire, or Flying.. maybe Psychic. I used Charmeleon, uhh.. Venonat, Nidorino, Vulpix.. Abra and Slowpoke.” He pauses. “What do you have?”

Spencer leans forward, grabbing the handheld off the desk to look at his team. “Um.. Pikachu.. Weepinbell.. Poliwhirl.. and Meowth..” He looks up, smiling sheepishly as Ghost laughed softly.

“Aw, dude, that prolly isn’t gonna get you very far! C’mere, lemme see.”

—————————

After the three talked for about an hour, Ghost and Toast stepped outside of the room, the caseworker going with them. Spencer kept himself still in his chair, a little anxious.

Though, the anxiety didn’t last long before the two came back in, both trying to hide smiles as Toast spoke.

“So, ah… Spencer?” He rubs the back of his neck. “How would you, uh, like to—“

He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Spencer shot up, grinning widely and nodding. “Yeth!!!!” He waved his hands excitedly, bouncing on his toes as he looked up at the two, both cracking up in laughter as they smiled back, Spencer wasting no time in darting to his room to gather his things.