"Hey wake up you slacker!" Aster fell out of his bed, alarmed by the sudden shout. His friend Damien was also woken up by the yell, banging his head on the sofa he had been sleeping on before the rude intruder scared him awake and caused him to fall.
Aster grinned sheepishly at the dark skinned woman glaring down at him with blue eyes darker than his own.
"Sorry Admin Shelly, I was up all night watching a horror with Damie, neither of us could sleep." Shelly's glare just darkened and she looked at Damien. The other boy's bright red eyes filled with fright and his yellow ringed ears pricked up. To his surprise Shelly giggled and stroked one of his ears, he quietly purred to his own embarrassment. One of the many disadvantages of being an Umbreon gijinka, no matter who stroked your ears, friend, acquaintance or foe, you'd end up purring. It was even more embarrassing when people laughed, which Aster was currently doing. Aster stopped as soon as Shelly shot another glare at him.
"Well 'Damie' doesn't work here, you do Aster. So stop forcing the poor kid to watch horror movies with you late into the night and go to sleep early so I don't have to come here whenever you miss roll call and drag your sleepy little body there myself." Aster cowered away but made one final retort.
"Kid? Damien's older than me!" Not that he looked older.
Damien was 16 but he was small and thin with dark messy hair, a blond streak on the left side that when curled looked like a crescent moon. His big round eyes were constantly filled with fear, happiness only present when alone with his best friend. He was pale but not sickly pale like he had been when he met Aster a year ago. And something about him just charmed people, he was just so cute that people felt that he had to be protected. Which Aster had done for a year and would continue to do.
On the other hand Aster was 14, part of Team Aqua due to both his mother's association and his love of swimming and surfing, which had gave him a toned body. On his days off he went to the beach, the sun giving him a healthy tan. His hair was a deep blue that almost reached his shoulders when it wasn't gelled into a spiky fashion. His eyes constantly shone with playfulness or at moments like this laziness. It was rare to see negative emotions in his lively eyes. Like Damien he was a gijinka also, him being a Vaporeon. However he always hid his ear fins under his bandanna, tying his tail in an odd way to conceal it under his uniform.
"I don't care, he doesn't work here. Now if you don't show up in the meeting room in 20 minutes I will feed you to my Sharpedo." Shelly gripped the poke ball to make her point and Aster shivered. She turned to Damien and smiled much to his confusion. She pat him on the head. "Sorry for waking you up sweetie." And with that she left, leaving the two teenagers puzzled.
Aster gave Damien a look of disbelief as he took his uniform out his drawers, taking his pyjama shirt off to Damien's extreme embarrassment.
"Geez why does Shelly shout at me then talk to you with her speech all sugarcoated? If she wasn't already in a relationship I would assume she was hitting on you." Damien was too flustered to speak, looking away immediately as Aster continued undressing. Who said it didn't matter if they were the same gender?
As soon as Aster was changed he grabbed his poke balls and clipped them to his belt. "Okay I'm off, see you tonight." Damien's ears drooped and he gripped onto Aster's shirt as he was about to walk out of the door, speaking for the first time that morning. "I-I don't like this... Could you maybe take me to see Archie when you return?" Aster knew immediately what his timid friend meant. Damien didn't like being left alone, whenever he returned from a mission the dark haired boy would instantly cling onto him like a young child, cheeks flushed and damp. And only Aster knew why the small boy was like this, clingy and constantly afraid. He didn't want to be separated any longer, he wanted to work alongside him.
Aster ruffled his friend's hair, stroking one ear and hearing him purr. "If it bothers you that much, sure. It's my brother's day off, do you want me to ask him to stay with you until I return?" Damien quickly shook his head, fear lighting up in his eyes again. But that was understandable. Levia, Aster's twin, was seen as one of the most sadistic and intimidating members of Team Aqua. It was daft for him to even consider letting Damien be alone with Levia, he scared even Aster. "I'll see you later Damie, don't worry."
And with that he walked out. Damien sat back down on the sofa silently, staring at the ocean outside the near window. It started to rain.
Aster didn't return until late, he was being overwhelmed by orders. Long tiring missions, cleaning duty for his lateness, everything just came on and dragged. But the whole time he worried about his best friend. He usually returned to their room at 6pm, where Damien was upset enough to tackle him, tears leaking from his eyes. Today when he finished work it was about 10pm, and he wondered how upset his friend would be now. Well tomorrow he'd make an effort to wake up early so they can visit Archie so Damien could become an official member and they wouldn't be separated. There was a little snag in that the Umbreon gijinka did not have any pokemon like he had, having befriended a Vaporeon like himself and a Horsea. But gijinka had their own moveset, Damien having been trained under harsh conditions for battling. Which was part of the reason he was now like this... Well perhaps being in the same work as him would make his friend more confident and happy.
Aster noticed the door was locked and realised Damien must have gone to sleep. He unlocked the door and stepped into the dark room. The Umbreon was asleep on the couch, lying on his stomach with a leg hanging off and his ears flopped in a cute fashion. Aster quietly chuckled and gently pat his friend's head, careful not to wake him, before getting ready for slumber.
Aster was awake just after midnight. He looked at the digital clock, cursing himself. He had work in the morning and did not want to get scolded by Shelly again. However a nagging feeling kept him awake, his ear fins picked up a quiet whimper. Slowly he got out of bed, following the noise. Damien was now curled up and whimpering, his cheeks flushing as he began to sweat. His thin fingers started to reach around to grab something, anything.
Aster felt sick as he watched his roommate suffer, as soon as tears started to form he reached for Damien's prying hand and squeezed gently, rubbing his thumb along the top of his hand.
"Damie I'm here... Please calm down..." He whispered as the whimpering mellowed out. The pale hand squeezed back as he opened his eyes, crimson orbs dark and glazed over in a tired haze before focusing on Aster.
He shifted to a sitting position and Aster whispered once more, frightened by the lack of reaction.
"Are you okay?"
As soon as he said that Damien threw his arms around Aster, burying his face in his chest. Aster was surprised and staggered back, they fell to the floor. He heard quiet sobs as he felt water drip on his skin. He sighed silently but smiled softly and wrapped his arms around the upset boy's small body. Damien didn't often have nightmares but Aster knew what they were all about. His dark past with Team Rocket haunted him, being their property until a year ago. When he found him alone and broken.
At that moment he knew he wanted to be by his side and protect him from the dark.
The tears slowly ceased as Aster gently pat his back, misty eyes gazed at him. His voice was a whisper.
"Aster, if they come for me let them have me. I don't want them to hurt you..." It broke the Vaporeon's heart to hear him say that. For his wellbeing Damien would go back to the group that ruined his childhood. His nightmare was about them hurting him. Aster squeezed him tight and looked at his flushed face.
"I'll never let them have you Damien. I would risk getting hurt. I've been by your side for a year, why stop now?" The dark haired boy buried his face against the blunette's chest and the water gijinka stroke his hair soothingly.
They stayed like that for a while. After what seemed like an eternity in each other's embrace Damien spoke again, almost inaudible.
"You should be going back to sleep, you got work in the morning. But... Aster..." The Umbreon's cheeks flushed red and Aster's ear fins perked up. "I'm scared, it sounds stupid but I'm scared. Please... Please may I sleep in your bed?"
The request caught Aster off guard, in the year they knew each other, in the year Aster had on numerous occasions comforted him, Damien had never asked that. The tanned male smiled warmly and nodded, picking his friend up easily. He carried him to his bed, settling him down before laying next to him.
The small boy snuggled into his chest again and soon Aster heard quiet breathing. He chuckled quietly and kissed the top of his head before falling asleep himself.