I'm really tired of the non-con/dub-con/violent sex AntiGravityShipping. So I did a thing. But I understand why there's so much of that stuff. Fluff with these two is hard. This is as close as I could get. Ghetsis is pretty much a horrible person, let's be honest here. Enjoy some OOC Plasma leaders.

Oh, wait, another thing. I tried to refer to Colress's hair thing but there is nothing to call it. It's not even an ahoge or cowlick or anything. It's a fricking swirly swoosh spiral fuckstick. Also I've always imagined he kind of walks like a girl and I don't know why.

It had been a long day.

Though it appeared that he was hiding or cowering, wedged between two whirring machines, Colress was comfortable. Being surrounded by machinery was comfort in itself, but it was mostly the churning of the gears and the hum of electricity that he liked. It took his mind off the madness.

But he was mad, too. The whole damn Plasma thing had driven him slowly into a descending insanity. Colress hadn't learned a damn thing he didn't already know about Pokémon, but he sure as hell learned a lot about humans he wished he hadn't.

Colress slumped sideways, hitting the machine to his left with a soft thump. His glasses were knocked slightly askew between his head and the metal. He dropped his papers into his lap and laid his arms limp.

He was a criminal.

That fact didn't bother him nearly as much as it should have. After all, "criminal" was a rather relative term. In Colress's own mind, he hadn't done anything wrong— not really, anyway. Sure, he'd assisted Team Plasma. Maybe he'd even led them a little bit. So what? It's not like he'd directly done anything unlawful. That was not his burden to bear. The real person at fault was—

The door to the lab opened loudly. Colress pulled his knees to his chest, sinking into the tiny space further. Now he was hiding.

But he certainly wasn't cowering. He wasn't afraid. He was the last person that would ever fear another human.

He was just far too tired to deal with Ghetsis. It had been such a terribly long day.

The Sage rested his hands on a table near the center of the room, eyeing the odds and ends atop. For a moment, Colress thought that maybe Ghetsis actually didn't notice him.

"Are you going to come out?" Ghetsis's voice was disturbingly calm, almost lighthearted. It was not the voice of a man that had been defeated— twice.

Colress would dare say he lost it, but quite frankly, he wasn't sure that Ghetsis "had it" to begin with.

"I know you're there, Colress," he said in a harsh, low voice, much more like his usual tone. A strange relief washed over Colress. That was the voice that terrified Grunts, but not him. The only time Ghetsis made him feel uneasy was when he wasn't intimidating.

Colress stood and gathered his papers with a sigh, strolling over to him a casual pace, swaying in a manner that could be described as feminine. Ghetsis watched the scientist carefully and furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't remember Colress being that thin.

"What are you doing here, Ghetsis?" Colress asked, even though he already knew.

"I need to speak to you," he replied stiffly.

"I figured that." Colress stopped when he was at the table as well, directly across from Ghetsis. "I just don't know what there is to speak of. We're quite obviously done. There's nothing—" His mind didn't even register that Ghetsis had moved until he felt the large hand wrap around his throat. He choked and dropped his papers. They fluttered to the sterile, white floor like flower petals. He took Ghetsis's wrist in both his hands and tried to pry him off, but the grip was too strong.

"You keep quiet," the Sage hissed. "I'm doing the talking." With a harsh yank, he pulled Colress forward, forcing him to bend over the table. Ghetsis's firm grip on Colress's throat forced his head upward to look him in the eyes as he cut off the doctor's breath. "You listen to me now. For once, just listen. No snarky comment or superiority complexes. Just listen."

"Ghk. You're… one to talk about superiority complex—" Ghetsis cut Colress off by wrapped his other hand around the blond's throat. He leaned down so their faces were close together.

"What did I just say?" His voice was strained and his words came through clenched teeth. "Are you going to listen to me or are you done breathing for good?"

"Gh… let… go…" Colress kicked his legs in desperation. Ghetsis ignored his request.

"The only reason that child—that tiny, inferior little boy—stopped me was because you couldn't hold him back. You're worthless." He squeezed his hands tighter around the smaller man's neck. "Worthless!" Despite his words, Ghetsis released the doctor, who promptly collapsed on the table, gasping for breath.

"Is that… all you needed…?" Colress asked between pants. Ghetsis watched him continue to struggle for air a moment before he replied,

"No."

Colress looked up over his glasses with tired eyes before he dizzily stood back up. What had he done to deserve this?

"Well then, I'd appreciate it if you'd say what you must so that we may end this as soon as possible." Ghetsis narrowed his eyes. "Not that I don't enjoy the company." That was clearly sarcastic and Ghetsis looked about ready to snap.

That is, if he hadn't already.

"Doctor," he said firmly, taking Colress's chin between his thumb and forefinger to force eye contact. The blond waited for him to continue, but he said no more.

"…Yes, Ghetsis?" he inquired warily. He didn't particularly like human contact and he knew Ghetsis didn't either. This was unusual to say the least.

With swift movement, Colress's body bent awkwardly over the table again. Ghetsis's tug caused a pain in Colress's neck (and under normal circumstances, he would have chuckled at that) but that became the least of his concerns.

Colress wasn't exactly sure (and never would be) of what happened then. Ghetsis was gone in a flurry of fabric within seconds, but in the time between then and when he'd been pulled over the table, he thought Ghetsis kissed him.

But that was improbable. Colress would almost say impossible, but there was no such thing as impossible (he had once spent a week not sleeping and pondering the concept). Colress touched his lips with the tips of his fingers. They were cold and dry, but that didn't prove anything because everything about Ghetsis was cold and dry. It could have been contagious.

With a long, soft sigh, Colress bent down to pick up his fallen papers, deciding it best not to question that man. This was probably their last encounter, and surprisingly, he wasn't sure how he felt about that. Ghetsis was more than a little ill in the head and he was absolutely nasty to everyone, but some piece of Colress—somewhere deep inside—had a certain fondness toward the Sage, somehow. He'd once decided it had something to do with the way he held himself. There was something almost regal about him.

Colress shook his head and sighed heavily. As if he didn't have enough on his mind already.

This was, without a doubt, the longest day of his life.