Ikarishipping Short Story: Sunday
The sun stately rose above the horizon, bringing light to the sleeping city of Veilstone. Milky, subdued hues of pink and orange melted into the former navy and gray of the night. Among the private homes and business, a single, grandiose apartment building stood in the middle of the city, home to a majority of the young adult inhabitants. One of the studio apartments, comparatively larger than the others, principally harbored the dawn's effulgence, its focal, wall-length window acting as the main usher of its radiance.
A decent-sized kitchen, accented with sleek black wood and marble, sat directly behind the window, absorbing the sunrise, and was immaculately arranged and clean. Everything was in its rightful place, and there wasn't any clutter to be seen on the surfaces, or the dark wood paneled floor. In front of the marble kitchen island, there was a black dining room table with four chairs too many, matching padded chairs, but no tablecloth. To the left of the dining room table, a couple of relaxing chairs sat on a soft beige carpet, next to an extensive bookcase of highly acumen literature, as well as an elaborate collection of manga. One chair faced the window wall, but the other faced the king-sized bed behind it, where two young adults slept.
The morning sun's rays made her slowly stir.
Her nose wrinkled at the sudden brightness, and she inadvertently tugged at her long blue locks as she propped herself up on her elbow. Gingerly, she opened her tired, sapphire gem eyes to view the awakening of Veilstone City. Her face hung in lethargy and she was about to fall into a peaceful slumber once more, until she realized that it was Sunday.
She beamed to herself, and with a sudden rush of energy, glanced over at the messy assortment of spiky purple hair beside her; instantly, she frowned.
His naturally tan body lightly rose up and down as he sighed in his sleep. He was facing away from her, and towards the bathroom that was on the other side of the bed, his broad shoulders peeping from beneath the white comforter and sheets. She fell into a quick spell of retrospection regarding the rather poor choice in color for bed sheets, but broke out of it as she sat herself up and stared at him. Slowly, she hugged his rugged frame, and lay her head in the crook of his neck. Whispering his name once, she anxiously looked at his sleeping face, waiting for a reply, but he remained silent.
"Shinji…" she muttered, a bit louder than before, but still maintaining an airy tone.
He audibly grunted, and muttered, "I swear to God Hikari…"
"But—"
He shifted further away from her, but she tightened her grasp on him.
"Shinji…?" She pursued, gripping his arm.
He grunted again, glancing at the bedside clock through heavy eyelids. "It's seven in the morning…" his voice was low and raspy.
"But it's Sunday!" She argued, her voice, in contrast, high and chipper, "don't you want to—"
"No."
She frowned again.
"You said you wouldn't do this…" he commented.
"But I was kidding!"
"Hn..."
"You had to realize I was kidding…" She spoke softer, with a tinge of sadness, and dug her face deeper into his neck, but she felt his muscles tense in response as she did.
"I was too damn tired to think anyway…"
Annoyed, she let go of him and pushed down on his shoulder so he lay flat on his back. Reluctantly, he opened his deep black eyes to see her sitting on her knees with her hands on her hips, pouting like an infant. He thought to himself how strange it was how she was always so vivacious in the morning, but the thought quickly died away as she spoke. Her pout disappeared, and was replaced with a despondent grimace.
"You're always tired," her inflection rose in dolefulness.
He avoided her gaze and chose to peer up at the ceiling, sighing. "You know why I'm always—"
"Why does the reigning Sinnoh League champion insist on training every day of his life after holding it for three years?"
"How do you think I—"
"Yeah, yeah," she immediately interrupted again, rolling her eyes. "I've heard it all from my mom in regard to contests."
"And thanks for bringing her up…"
"Come on Shinji!" Her gloom turned into a wide smile as she pointed out the window towards the increasingly bright sunrise. "Look at that sun! Today is going to be one of the greatest, I just know it!"
He blankly stared at her, visibly unmoved by her speech. "How could you possibly know that by looking at the sun?"
She huffed. "What will it take?"
He furrowed his brow. "For what…"
"To get you to take a break from training! For you to, I don't know, live a little?"
"What will it take for you to leave me alone…" he commented, putting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.
Her face dropped. "Shinji…that wasn't…"
He opened his eyes to see her twiddling her thumbs, her eyes dull and dark with dejection. Her lips drooped lower as the seconds of awkward silence drew on between the two. He continued to observe her for several seconds, seeing her usual blithesome self die right before his eyes, and had to sigh again. When she heard him, she looked up at him to see that he had closed his eyes again. She watched him in anticipation, being too familiar with that particular sigh.
His hands were still over his face when he spoke. "If you let me sleep for two more hours—"
"YAY!"
She ripped his hands from his face and kissed him once, making him flinch and bear his teeth, groaning. He saw that her eyes were gleaming once more, and then looked over at the wall to avoid any further eye contact. She continued to smile at him, leaning on his chest.
"What do you want for breakfast?" She affectionately asked.
"…Green tea." He curtly responded.
"Just green tea?" She lifted her head up to look at him, but he did not return her gaze.
"…with lemon, now please, for the love of God, leave me alone before I change my mind."
She smiled, "it'll be in the kitchen when you wake up."
"I'm ecstatic…"
He felt her jump out of the bed, overly giddy, and listened to her patter into the bathroom to prep herself, or whatever it was she did in there. He thought nothing more of it, and, closing his eyes, he turned away from the bathroom door and attempted to fall back into a comfortable slumber.
"Ow!"
He grunted, and covered his head with the comforter, attempting to sound out his beautiful, but unfortunately clumsy partner in life, but it was to no avail. He flinched when he heard several unknown objects crash to the floor, followed by frightened, high-pitched yelps.
"Darn it!" He heard her yell in frustration, followed by a stomp of diminutive foot.
Vexed, he flung the white covers off of him, ignoring the dry, morning chill of the apartment that crept up his bare back. He stood up straight, and slowly walked over to the bathroom door. As he reached for the knob, he slightly jumped and grabbed onto the bottom of his boxer shorts at the sound of more objects plunging, most likely including her. He gripped the door knob, and opened it to find nothing short of a disaster.
She was on the ground, just in her panties, her hair having become a tangled mess. There were miscellaneous hair, make-up, and bath products strewn on the floor around her. The bathtub was filled with some girly bubble salt or whatever it's called, he didn't know, but was untouched. He turned his attention back to her as she helplessly sighed, her face reading discouragement.
"…What are you doing…" he asked, irritation ringing in his voice.
She looked up at him, a stupid grin on her face. "I, uh…there…was a bug…"
"…a bug."
She scrambled to her feet, and clenched her fists together against her chest. I'm sorry Shinji, I'll be quiet, I promise!"
"Hn…"
He looked at her once more before sharply turning and exiting, closing the door behind him. As he collapsed into bed, the last sound he heard before dozing off was the blue-haired girl giggling to herself.
Two hours later, Hikari caught a glimpse of Shinji stirring, and finally rising. She bolted from the kitchen area of their studio apartment to the open bedroom, which was basically their bed in a corner facing a flat screen TV. Leaping onto the bed, she touched his forearm, trying to get his attention.
He was just as unenthusiastic as before, but she didn't care.
"Your tea is ready." She smiled at his exhausted face.
He realized that she was only wearing one of his black, long-sleeved button-up shirts. It was common of her to do so, and even though it hung off of her like a wet rag, she managed to pull it off.
"Thank you…" he muttered, getting out of the bed, leaving her there, a satisfied grin still on her face. She watched him slowly make his way to the kitchen island where a white plate and a china cup with a lemon wedge sat.
He remained standing there, stirring the cup, and looking out the wall-window to see a less than lively Veilstone City. Sundays were viewed as the sabbatical of the week; the main organizations and businesses were closed so that workers and owners could spend time with their loved ones and have a day to relax. The only places that were open were entertainment providers: restaurants, tea and cake cafes, theaters, Pokemon expos, etc. They were only open to five o'clock though, so those workers could have some time off as well.
The mandate applied to full-time Pokemon trainers/coordinators as well, which is why Hikari looked forward to Sundays every day of the week. She enjoyed the days off from training, even though she was more at leisure with her brand of it in general. But as for the man who stood in front of her, training was what he lived for each day. With each passing Sunday was the hope that he would actually take a reprieve, but this prophecy was never filled until today.
She genuinely appreciated his passion and talent, but simultaneously longed for him to break away from his rut, and live.
So, when she noticed that he had his small, leather-bound notebook in front of him, she frowned. Taking the tea she had made for herself and putting it on the island, she walked behind him, wrapped her arms around his body and dug her face into his back.
"Whatcha doin'?" She asked, her voice inquisitively high.
"Battle strategies," he tersely responded, taking one sip of the green tea.
"Hm…" she muttered, inhaling his earthy scent.
"This tea is good."
She smiled and squeezed him tighter. "It's my favorite type to make! So…how much longer will you be—"
She heard him set the tea cup down, noticeably loud, and she shut herself up.
"Right…sorry." She said, still holding onto him.
"Just go get dressed..." He suggested, picking the tea up again to take a sip or two.
She pursed her lips, nodded against his back, slowly let go of him, and sauntered to the walk-in closet they shared. He eyed her as she walked away from him, observing her blue hair bounce against her back, knowing that she was upset. He didn't know why she seemed stressed, but he didn't think much of it, and began to meticulously flip through the illegible handwriting and scribbled diagrams in his notebook.
When she walked into the rather extraordinary closet, she dismissed any sorrowful feelings and planted a smile on her face, reminding herself that she had actually convinced him to go out, which was an admirable feat within itself. She began to mindlessly pilfer through her wardrobe, and glanced over at his side of the closet every now and then.
Her side was sorely feminine; countless dresses and skirts perched along the hanger section of the closet, pictures of her friends and Pokemon taped onto the implanted dressers and drawers, as well as letters and notes from her mother, friends, and other family members. A full-length mirror hung at the end of the narrow aisle way of her closet with more pictures. The pastel, bright colors in her wardrobe accentuated the dark wood interior, and made the closet lively; but only on her respective side.
His side was perfectly organized, clean, and no article of clothing or accessory of his was visible. The drawers were secured shut, the hanger section was empty, and personal items of his were nowhere to be seen. Of course, Hikari had seen some of them at times, but never on display like her side. Naturally, she didn't expect for him to present himself the way she did,but she still found it odd that even in his closet, a personal space, he was still completely shut off from anyone.
She quickly shifted her gaze back to her skirts and dresses as he walked in, still in just his boxers.
"Find anything?" He unexpectedly asked, immediately trapping her attention.
"No! Uh…not yet, no." She stumbled over her words, returning his piercing gaze.
"Well, pick something quick before I change my mind."
"No need to worry!" She responded. "I actually have just the thing…"
She pulled out a midi-length, white, chiffon, pleated maxi skirt that was slightly see-through, but had a shorter skirt beneath that would conserve her intimates. For her top, she chose a solid, ballet pink cropped tank top that, put together with the skirt, highlighted her petite figure. He casually looked at the assortment, and gave her an apathetic "thumbs up", before putting on an ordinary, long-sleeved black shirt.
She pursed her lips and unbuttoned the black button-up of his, and pulled it off, leaving her in just her underwear again. He glanced over at her every now and then, admiring her slender figure, but after he picked out a pair of dark blue jeans, he strolled out of the closet, leaving her to change. She watched him leave before putting the skirt and tank top on, and picked up a pair of camel brown, strapped sandals to match the outfit.
When she turned around, she saw that her hair was messy and unkempt, and not wanting to waste time, she carelessly through it into a large, messy bun on top of her head. The look suited her heart-shaped face and big blue eyes, and after she pulled a few strands out to accentuate her face more, she smiled at her reflection and walked out to find him standing with his arms crossed, blatantly impatient.
"Ready?" She asked, grinning.
He nodded.
The contrasting couple walked on the less lively streets of Veilstone, catching gazes of practically everyone. Every now and then, they would be stopped in the street for an autograph, or a picture, or just to talk to a dedicated fan who claimed his/her eternal love for Shinji, and why Shinji was the greatest Sinnoh League champion of all-time, etc. It didn't bother Hikari, but it did grow weary after the first seven times.
"Hard life?" She jokingly offered, looking up at him.
"I guess," he responded, still looking forward.
She looked down at the ground, thinking nothing of the fact that they weren't holding hands. They had been together for about four or five years now, and nothing had really changed between them, excluding the first time they had sex, or when she had decided to move in three years ago.
Breaking from her thoughts, she realized that it was almost five o' clock by now, which meant that Sunday was almost over. Panicking on the inside, she frantically searched for a place to sit down and talk, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small café that served tea and other snack-type foods. She touched Shinji's arm, and once she had his attention, she pointed towards the café.
"Doesn't it look cute?" She asked.
"Well, if it's where you want to go…" he responded, tired.
She glided towards the door, him shortly behind her, and as she reached for the door handle, he stuck his hand out and grabbed it himself, opening the door for her. She smiled up at him, and walked into the store, assimilating the elegant atmosphere.
Hikari immediately fell in love with the interior, having a summer night-festival feel to it, even though it was inside. The entirety of the square-shaped interior was the dining room, but it was spread and sectioned off accordingly, with a dim, pink and yellow light. Lights strung around the junctions between the ceiling and the four walls, and in the lower right corner, an indoor garden and patio setting were on display, with peaceful, classical music serving as background music. The elegant, white tables and chairs were only set for two, and waitresses in long, summer dresses in pastel, floral fabrics served the customers with permanent smiles and abundant compliments. There were flowers hung accordingly and in a variety of colors and types, a warm glow, and the smell of pastries and tea.
Shinji stood there, uninterested, his hands shoved into his pockets, feeling uncomfortable in the garish setting. He watched Hikari immediately run over to the table next to the indoor garden, and as he gingerly followed, he took note of the people who were being served. Mostly women, some of them appeared to be mothers, daughters, and the one couple with the awkward male counterpart. The population was pretty much unified, but he noticed that there were two unique individuals sitting in the upper right corner, surveying the crowd with penetrating gazes and questionable smiles.
Shinji continued to eye them until he sat down in front of his blue-haired companion, who couldn't help but smile.
"This place is so beautiful!" She exclaimed, looking up at the ceiling and folding her hands together, completely enamored. "I want our place to look just like this!"
"Yeah, no," he responded, lounging back in the padded, white patio chair.
She looked at him, lightly smiling. "I'm kidding…you can never pick up on that."
He wanted to tell her that sometimes her most ludicrous of statements were said with total sincerity, but thought better and kept his mouth shut.
When the waitress came to take their order, Hikari repeated her previous interjection about the restaurant, much to the waitress' joy. The two discussed the interior for about ten minutes before Shinji had to clear his throat to make them stop.
"Right!" Hikari said, before placing her order of chamomile tea and a cucumber sandwich. "Shinji?"
"I'll just have green tea."
"You had green tea this morning though?" She questioned.
"I want it again," he simply responded, tapping his fingers against the table.
"Shinji, branch out would you?" She pushed, her tone still delicate and feminine.
He didn't respond to her, but looked up at the waitress, nodded at her, and gesticulated for her to go away. The waitress nodded, put her head down, and walked away from the table.
"You don't always have to be so rude, y'know…" Hikari commented under her breath.
"Look, I'm not the one who dragged me out here in the first place."
"Shinji—"
"Hikari."
She stopped.
"I know what you're trying to do here, and I understand completely…but it's not my thing."
Her mouth dropped a little, but she quickly regained her composure, and folded her hands on her lap.
"I just…Shinji…" she began, looking down, "I just wanted you to…"
"Yes Hikari, I know. Believe me, I get it…but this will probably be the last time, okay?"
She looked up, "what are you saying?"
He didn't hesitate, "that we do something like this."
She gasped to herself, and felt her eyes begin to water. "Why can't you just…"
"Hikari, how many times do I have to—"
"No Shinji, it's fine."
Shinji flinched back at her tone. She wasn't being coarse or rude, but her voice shook, and it was strung with heartache. He put one of his hands on the table, watching her shudder every now and then.
He simply watched, and waited.
"I'm sorry…" she stood up, carefully wiping at her eyes. "If you'll excuse me…"
She slowly walked away from the table to the other side of the restaurant, her destination most likely being the bathroom to exhaust of any tolling emotions. Shinji simply stared forward, and sighed.
'And now this happened.' He casually thought to himself, beginning to figure what to say to her to make her happy again, and possibly find an excuse to just go home and forget this entire escapade. However, he was broken from his thoughts as a discordant voice sounded throughout the restaurant.
"How are you doing?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the two conspicuous young men he had seen earlier speaking to Hikari, leaning into her with interest as she remained silent. The one that spoke up to her was taller than his companion, had dark, brown eyes, and suave brown hair that accented his chiseled face well. He wore a casual white t-shirt and khaki chinos, making him look like an approachable guy. The other man had ruffled blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. He had a wardrobe similar to that of the man beside him, but he wore a gray shirt instead of a white one. Their table was practically in front of where the restrooms were, and as they sat there eyeing her, it didn't take long for Shinji to deduce exactly what they were doing there.
"What's a pretty girl like you lookin' so sad for?" The other asked, walking closer to her.
Shinji continued to eye the situation from afar, observing Hikari's actions. She saw that they were rather good looking men, so there was no initial threat for her to call out to anyone, so she responded in the manner that Shinji anticipated she would: polite, friendly…
"Oh I'm not sad at all! I just…need to use the restroom." She pursed her lips.
…And a little awkward.
"Are you busy tonight?" The taller man continued to pursue.
She widened her eyes a bit, but then uncomfortably smiled back at the two, now grinning men. "I uh, I am a little occupied…"
"I'm sure it ain't that important if you're lookin' so down?" The blonde commented, smirking.
The two men slowly rose to their feet, and walked closer to Hikari, smiling down at her. He watched her face drop a tad, noticing her glance back at him for a split second before looking down at the ground, her fist clenched against her chest.
She looked up at them, eyes slightly narrowed. "I'm sorry…I do need to use the restroom. Perhaps we can continue this conversation afterwards?" She was holding her hands up as if to defend herself, but still had an amicable smile on her face.
The two men nodded in unison as she swiftly turned to hide into the bathroom, the previous tears now gone. She held her body against the door once inside, and caught her breath.
Shinji remained sitting where he was, still peering at the two men as they lounged against a counter and talked to one another.
"Hot damn," the brown-haired one began, running his fingers through his hair.
"I know, right? So young looking. She's probably in her twenties, but she didn't look a day over seventeen, let me tell you…"
"Hey…" he leaned into his comrade. "You think she's had any?"
The other looked up, "nah, she seems too 'precious'…" then he smiled. "But man, can you imagine?"
"Only…I saw her first, though."
"What?" The blonde-haired man became annoyed. "Are you kidding me? She kept looking at me."
"Relax, relax…I'll tell you how it was."
Shinji pressed both of his hands against the table as he slowly rose to his feet, eyes calmly closed. He could still hear the two men speaking so grossly of Hikari, the blonde making a fuss over the brunette's past comment and sly smile. He stood up straight, opened his eyes, and slowly made his way over to the two men, face calm, body relaxed. Once he stood in front of them, he remained silent until the two of them ceased conversing and looked up at the purple-haired man who towered over them.
"Hey…what do you want?" The blonde man asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.
"Wait…isn't he the Sinnoh League champion?"
The two stopped for a second, and then broke into cheerful laughter.
"Shinji! It's you! But…why are you in this type of place?"
"Hey, he's a guy too. He needs a fix every now and then, right?"
Shinji simply stared down at the two, and then furrowed his brow, still silent.
Hikari found it difficult to regain her composure after the cluster of events that had just taken place. She convinced herself that something/one was testing her, but what for; strength, faithfulness, independence, she hadn't the slightest clue. She looked at the mirror to her left, analyzing her saddened expression. The pink décor, gold trimming and accenting flowers typically would have cheered her up, but all she could think of was Shinji's face as he said those words to her:
"It's not my thing."
She knew more than anyone that he was inherently selfish; truth be told, she believed everyone was, but he was simply more upfront about it. While that would be a distasteful characteristic to some, she admired his confidence and assurance of himself. He was never directly rude, but actually rather polite to others. He was pleasantly honest to her, in his own strange way.
Sometimes, he was a tad aloof, and she was okay with that.
He wasn't a grinning, happy-go-lucky kind of guy; the one that Hikari would be expected to trust with her delicate feelings.
And she was okay with that.
But today, she wasn't okay with him.
The thought stung, even just in her head, but knowing that it hurt, meant that it had some truth and solidarity to it. She faced her reflection in the mirror, surprised at the sudden determined countenance. It had been a while since she was moved to complete a task for herself, and with a bolt of confidence, she turned to exit the bathroom.
But, as she reached for the door handle, she heard a cacophonous arrangement of yelps echo from the dining room.
She instinctively rushed out the door, and when she entered the room, her mouth went agape at the sight.
Piano works of Ravel softly played in the background, as all the waitresses were huddled together, eyeing the familiar, dark man who stood at the table, staring straight at Hikari. She returned his gaze before glancing at their table, and saw a spread of various cakes and pies, as well as green tea. Her immediate reaction was joy at the beautiful arrangement and decadent array of smells, but the confusion set in when she saw Shinji holding her black purse, eyes empty.
He looked as dull he usually did, but when Hikari looked back at the waitresses, they appeared to be gawking at him, eyes wide with, somehow, both fright and admiration.
"What's…?" She began, but was immediately interrupted by the man in question.
"Are you feeling alright? You were in there a while," he asked. While these two phrases typically read concern, his expression did not change, nor did his tone waver in worry.
She widened her eyes at his question. "I, uh…yeah. I'm fine. But—"
"This place is about to close. I'm thinking that we can just take all of this home?"
She was about to respond when he turned around to the waitresses who visibly flinched as he looked back at them. "Would you mind boxing these up for us—"
"Yes! Right away sir!" They all responded in unison, bowing a couple of times before rushing to the kitchen to fetch boxes for the multitude of pastries.
As the gaggle of women scurried to the kitchen, Hikari continued to stare at Shinji, who returned his gaze back to her. She opened her mouth to speak again when he walked over to her, never taking his eyes off of her. He stopped as he was inches away from her, and held out her small, black purse.
"I'll carry the rest of the stuff, take this, would you?"
Her eyes widened. "Uh, yeah…I…Shinji…"
"Hn?"
"…what—"
She stopped herself when he unexpectedly took her hand in his, and pulled her closer to him. She couldn't help but look up at him, her eyes full of wonder while his remained apathetic and black. To the naked eye, they were empty, but she saw something in him that she had never seen before.
"We also decided that we would give the two of you that tea set as a gift!"
One of the women's chirping broke Hikari from her stupor, and when she looked over, they had hastily returned, bags in hand, as well as a box of a complete, china tea set, adorned with pink flowers and gold lining.
"How lovely," Hikari commented, looking back up at the quiet man standing in front of her.
Shinji simply nodded and grunted at the women, who nervously nodded back at him.
"Shinji—"
"Well, I'm sure the store needs to be closing soon, let's not get in their way?"
Hikari became irritated by Shinji's sudden change in attitude, as well as his constant interruption with a tone that didn't ring as confidently as he usually spoke. She looked at the women, a certain number holding plastic white bags of their miscellaneous items. With a dubious smile, she walked over to the women and took the bags, appropriately thanking them, but simultaneously searching for answers in their eyes. To her disappointment, she only received a polite "you're welcome", and no other utterances, so, she turned back around, only to have the bags practically ripped out of her hands.
"I told you, just carry the purse."
He nodded at the women again, and started walking towards the door. Hikari could do nothing but stare at him for a couple of seconds before he turned around and looked back at her, wondering why she was still standing there. She shook herself out of whatever she had fallen into, and scurried to catch up with him, catching one last glance of the women who sighed in unison once Shinji had left the building.
Been working on this one for God knows how long. I'm planning on one more chapter. Initially, it was going to be a one-shot, but it was getting too long, and I started getting more ideas.
Hope you like it! It's a bit different, and idk if my original readers are even around anymore, haha ^^; I still love Ikarishipping with every piece that's left of my heart. 3
~AsanganiKalani