The ship made too much noise, all the people made too much noise, the rain made too much noise, and the damn ringing in my ears made too much noise. Today was not my day. If I had the choice, I wouldn't have shown up to this gloomy little event. However, Iris gave none of the gym leaders a choice; show up or get out.

A few weeks earlier, news about a problem in Johto finally reached Unova. The champion of their region, Lance, had officially decreed that all of the leaders of Johto go on break for a year, to have space to remodel the gyms. The gyms were crumbling, due to disrepair and disuse due to the disrepair. The gym leaders had apparently all taken a vacation to Unova, and that was why I was on this sad little dock on a rainy day with too many people.

Iris had ordered all of the Unovan leaders, including the Elite Four, to welcome the Johtans. Most of them (the Unovans) had shown up before me, excluding Marlon. Honestly, that was expected of both of us. We were always the procrastinators, albeit with different reasons. Marlon was the care-free, joyous person with too much fun to be had, while I was the one who couldn't give a damn about anything or anyone.

I stood on the dock, twirling my scarf in my hand next to Leader Burgh, trying to not kill myself out of boredom. Why is this boat so slow? I tapped my foot, twirled my scarf, and sighed.

"Grimsley, honestly, you could at least pretend to care," Burgh whispered to me. "We could at least have some hospitality for these poor people!"

"It's not like they're orphans now. They are going back in a year, correct? Then why should I care? It's their own fault their gyms are practically falling down." I drawled, not taking my eyes off of the small ship in front of us.

The boat was now approaching the dock, while skippers hastened to tie it down. I scanned the deck of the ship, picking apart the different faces. A pink-haired girl and a male with a purple bowl-cut were leaning over the railing, and behind them stood an elderly man with a cane.

I sighed. Were these really Johto's leaders? How depressing. I really didn't want to spend my precious time with elderly men and children.

The small ship was docked now, and a staircase was brought forward, connecting the deck of the boat to the dock. Security guards in blue outfits began pushing people back from the end of the stairs, making room for people to get off.

First off were the children and the elderly man. He hobbled around, almost falling when his cane slipped in the rain. The security guards placed them in a roped-off area away from the crowd. Next, emerging from the cabin area a blue-haired teenager appeared, eyeing the crowd nervously as he joined the others. After him an eye-catching man appeared. He was wearing a grey sweater, khakis, and a scarf, completely relaxed yet somehow he made it work. He stood uncertainly at the top of the stairs, looking like a deer in the headlights, and completely delectable. His blond hair was soaked in the rain, the headband barely keeping it out of his eyes.

I was never one to question my sexuality. I'd always push the fact onto anyone- who you loved did not define you. Same gender or not, love is lust is love. As such, I knew one thing immediately; I lusted after this man.

My eyes followed him, watching as he descended the stairs, only stopping halfway down to the fucking sexiest sneeze I had ever seen. He kept going down the stairs and turned into the roped section, where I finally could not see him.

Even better, I would have him for a whole year.

Morty==========================================

Despite my scarf and sweater, I was shivering. Unovan rain was not the same as Johtan rain. Unova was definitely not the same as Johto. Nowhere close, not even the leaders.

The leaders of Unova were, needless to say, intimidating like Gyarados on a murderous rampage, and as shrewd and calculating as Sandshrews. For once, I was glad to be roped off. The Unovans looked as if they would attack us for showing up.

It wasn't as if we didn't want to come here. We were just shoved like Tauros onto the boat while Lance took his sweet time with the designers, and shipped off to this cold region.

Speaking of cold, the rain felt more like sleet, running through my hair, through my headband and into my eyes. It soaked into my scarf, my sweater and worst of all- my shoes. I couldn't stand soaked shoes. I pushed my headband up with my shaking hand, pushing the damp locks up and out of my eyes, only to have it slip down a second later. I huffed my breath out, seeing it fan out in the air before me while I waited for my partner.

Lance had assigned us all "guides" to help us through the Unova region. He had given us a sheet of paper detailing our guide, where we would live what we should and should not do, and all that dandy stuff. He even had the consideration to put males with males and females with females to prevent inappropriate… matters. Too bad for him, since I was gay.

I pulled my paper out of my back pocket. Apparently I was to live with a man named Grimsley. I skimmed over the paper, doing my best to keep the rain off of it. Often wore a suit and scarf… black hair, blue eyes… member of the Elite Four…had "wings" in his hair? Dear Arceus Lance, you're awful at describing people.

As the security guards un-roped us, I began to navigate the crowd looking for my partner. Pushing through the various suits and ties I found myself face to face with a tall green-haired man. I turned around, searching for the man on my paper, until the tall man tapped my shoulder.

I huffed once more and turned, looking at the tall man in the face. Who did he think he was? Every leader was also given a description of who they were supposed to guide, and unless there was some sort of mix-up (which I wouldn't put past Lance) then I was not this guy's partner.

"Hey, you look lost. Who are you looking for?" The green-haired man said with a rather feminine voice, holding my shoulders as if to steady my shivering. I pushed his hands away and met his eyes. I cleared my throat, and said, "Do you know of a man named," I glanced down at the paper, "Grimsley?"

The tall man's eyes danced with amusement. "He's right behind you." I whirled around, nearly running into a chortling man, hands on his knees in laughter. I backed up running into the tall man who moved to the side to let me pass. As such, I slipped in a puddle and fell elegantly onto my ass.

At this point the laughing man- Grimsley I supposed- was nearly falling down, laughing huge yet… delicate laughs as he gripped the tall man for support. I began to pick myself and my sopping ass out of the puddle, and as the tall man held his hand out to me, I grabbed it and pulled down while pulling myself up, leaving me standing while the tall man was in the puddle.

Even though I didn't think it was possible, Grimsley began to shake even harder with laughter, breathing silently in and out while his sides shook like my shivering. He clutched at my sweater, and began to fall on the ground, pulling me with him. I struggled for a moment, then gave in to the thin man's surprising strength.

He looked up at me and I noticed more details of his face. He had a sort of high class charm. His face was, in a word, handsome; the only mar to his features a thin scar just above his left eyebrow. Grimsley's eyes were a pale blue, a blue that reminded me of Johtan skies instead of this gloomy grey region. This is going to be interesting…