You Light up My Life
Chapter 1- A Tale of Two Nerds
A/N- Yaaaay I'm starting a new fic because I'm indecisive as fuck and can't figure out how to end my other ones! But that doesn't mean my other fics are dead. Just on hold.
I had the idea for this fic when I remembered how much of a cutie Clemont is but realized I had no one to ship him with! So who could I find for him at his age and at his level of nerd? Thus, shota shipping (or shotanerdshipping, whatever the hell people call it)! (And no, this isn't going to end up like Boku no Pico I swear guys I'm not evil.)
(And the obvious disclaimer, I don't own any of these characters. Nintendo does.) Anyways, enjoy!
It was well into the afternoon, when the city of light bustled with people and Pokémon alike. The sun was glaring yet inspiring, and imparted onto Lumiose a share of its undying energy.
Yet even some busy souls had time to lounge amongst all the hustle and chatter of commuters and tourists. Exhausted Skiddo lay with their pals on the soft grass. Tired travelers dozed off under trees to get some shade and sleep (illegally, probably). Hungry and parched townsfolk dined at restaurants or cafes for a taste of classy food and drink.
A certain red-haired boy was one such customer. Being off the clock for his "lunch" break (probably considered dinner by now, since Sycamore wasn't timely with managing his work shift), Trevor had ordered a simple sandwich and a vanilla cappuccino to get him through the rest of his workday. It's not as though he disliked his job at Lumiose's Pokémon lab, however. It was just hectic, as expected when your boss lacked the grace and responsibility needed for said position. But whatever. He was still pretty fun, nonetheless.
Trevor stared out into the street, watching a Gogoat tear up the concrete with sheer speed and the rider almost lose his hat. A chuckle escaped his throat at the comical sight. He's been living in this vast city for years, now, and there were still many things which could impress him. Still many surprises in store.
Or were there? He curled one leg over the other, brushing his knee against the table. He's lived in this city since he was born. It's been about six, maybe seven months after he and his friends' lengthy yet splendid Pokémon journey met its termination. He took a dainty bite of his sandwich. In that time, he had been able to sight just about every Pokémon in Kalos (per request from Sycamore or through his voluntary travels) and add their information to his Pokedex's roster. On top of that, he even saved up enough money to take a train to the nearby Kanto region and meet a plethora of new Pokémon there. It was both an excellent and educational experience! From there on out, he had promised himself he would see the world and all its discovered (and perhaps undiscovered) Pokémon!
Yes, seeing new Pokémon: the only event that could genuinely surprise him now (as humdrum as the thought may sound). Lumiose might entertain him, but by now he was used to it all. The only reason he stuck around was on account of his part-time job as the Pokémon professor's assistant.
Sycamore's lab was just fantastic! How that man could drag in the most common or exotic Pokémon for his research was just beyond him. But they were all a treat. He had a sweet Garchomp, various starters from Charmander to Chespin, a Marill, Zigzagoon, Combees, Riolu, Pikachu, Poochyena, Eevee, Shinx, what have you. Although the place seemed like a madhouse at times, his Pokémon were fun to play with and study. Not to mention his technicians were an absolute riot at times!
He took a sip of his cappuccino, vaguely listening to the conversation of a (rather noisy) couple perched at a nearby table. Sometimes that would allow him to take a break from his thoughts, as would a change from an instrumental song on your music player to one which contained lyrics. But when even those words became simple sounds, his train of thought took off. His mind began to wander, and his friends at the lab reminded him of his four best friends. He thought of their situations in reference to his own.
Serena and Calem were still hardcore Pokémon trainers and competed in various tournaments region-wide (perhaps even national; who knew what Calem could afford as Kalos' new champion?). Shauna was also still a trainer and part-time Pokémon daycare assistant. Tierno took dancing classes, and was probably continuing to develop his Pokémon dance crew.
Ah, Tierno. Trevor's undeniably best friend of the four. Unfortunately they hardly talked anymore. It's not because he disliked him, though. At the start of their journey, he might've found Tierno's obsession with dancing and Pokémon moves to be detrimental, if not mildly annoying. Tierno had always been like that of course, but he displayed his kinesthetic side even more when they began to train Pokémon. Soon enough, though, it grew on Trevor. He recognized it as a passion, and something that should be respected just as much as his own goal to collect each and every Pokedex entry. Thus, his dancing became mildly amusing, if not cute (though it may have cost them a few battles). Sometimes on their outings and training sprees, Trevor found himself mesmerized by the well thought-out dance moves Tierno would show him; after a while of honing his raw talent, he actually became pretty good. A hobbyist with actual potential, it seemed.
And not soon after, it became apparent to Trevor that he was falling for his charming best friend. He began to notice and appreciate things about the bear that he hadn't before. Then that morphed to fantasizing and...well...one could only imagine what came next. It was a hard fact to swallow that he would unconsciously fabricate lewd thoughts about another man. It was awkward at first- dealing with his weird, prepubescent urges- but he got over it. It couldn't be too bad, right? It was just his friend, so maybe that was normal for a growing boy to think. Whether or not, no one had to know. Not his parents, and especially not his nosy older sister.
But...was it also normal to consider how cute Calem was, or fawn over the features of some (undeniably attractive) male Pokémon trainers on their journey? Was that normal for a boy his age? Or was he supposed to think that way about girls only, and why couldn't he?
All of those thoughts dwelled in his mind for a long while, even after Calem nabbed Diantha's title and had that spectacular parade. Even after all that and a month, Trevor still held great affections for Tierno. To the point where it hurt to be called just his 'friend' and to withhold his feelings even. He knew he had to tell someone about it, and his lame older sister was out of the question. (She thought it was a girl! How could she be so naive?)
So who better than the sex god himself? (Pardon his French.)
It was...in part why he began to work under Sycamore. He did intrinsically enjoy working with the man, though. Every day they were studying something new and interesting. Whether he or his technicians were hitting the books or doing hands-on research, there were always so many surprises in store for him. So when the group of friends decided to take to their own paths after their lengthy and arduous Pokémon journey, Trevor settled down in the lab. Apparently the quirky, scatterbrained professor had found Trevor's youthful cuteness appealing and his eagerness towards Pokémon admirable. The dex collector was an inspiration to him, so Sycamore made him his assistant upon request.
After they had gotten to know each other and Trevor was assured of just how liberal the older man was, Trevor posed his concerns to him. How he adored his best friend and may have been fond of males in general. He asked the man what that meant about him. Sycamore shrugged and simply told him not to deny it if he was a homosexual, and just tell Tierno how he felt towards him, lest he bottled everything up inside. It could gnaw at him till he was nothing left but anxiousness and regret. It was better to come clean and deal with the repercussions, if any, than to live vexed, wishing you had done so long before. After those wise words, he tumbled off a ladder he had been using to scale a bookshelf.
At first Trevor was incredibly skeptical of the advice. But a few weeks after, he tossed his cares to the wind and just came out to Tierno. His friend was shocked, of course, and as expected did not feel the same way about him. He didn't like men at all.
Trevor sighed, tapping the side of his cup repeatedly, restlessly. People began to fill in the cafe's patio tables. The couple beside him was growing obnoxious with their loud banter. They were so goo-goo eyed and lovey dovey. He would've loved to send out his Raichu and shock the living daylights out of them both.
Of course, Trevor was heartbroken. Tierno wasn't too harsh about the topic, though, and still wanted to be his pal. Yet as all coming-outs go, a rift between the two friends developed due to awkwardness, and Tierno made a point to barely spend time with him. He once thought Tierno was just too busy with dance class. But when he wouldn't even contact Trevor on the Holo Caster or phone- forget it!
Trevor hadn't seen his (ex?) best friend in months. It was a hard thing to swallow, losing a friend by saying a few harmless words, and the absence of what was once an omnipresent entity in his life definitely took weeks to adjust to. But he got over it, and only sighed- rather than cried- when thinking of Tierno.
Now he just lived day by day, his primary form of friendly interaction being with his lab coworkers and older sister with whom he dwelled near Jaune Plaza. Sure it was all interesting, but the only thing truly going for him was the thought of travel. Thus, he saved up money for a Pokémon-spotting trip in another region, just as he had in Kanto and Kalos. Having heard only good things of it from Calem just recently, he was thinking Unova, but even then that would be an expensive trip.
So until he saved up enough money, the farthest he would trek to was the Pokémon lab where he worked and his favorite cafe in Lumiose, where he was now, sipping on a bubbly vanilla cappuccino and letting bygones be bygones.
~~~~
"Biiiiiiiig brooooooo!"
Oh sweet mother of Mew. There she was.
"Big BROOOO!"
Sigh. Just ignore her. You're hidden in the workshop. She'll forget about you eventually.
"BIIIIIIIGGGGGG BROOOOOO! Where are yooouuu?!"
His hand twitched from the annoyance-induced anger boiling under his skin, making his hold on his wrench weaker. She was getting closer, and her footsteps louder. Well, nuts to her. He sighed, tuning her out so he could return to tuning his faulty invention. But not, you know, faulty in that way. The Slice-O-Matic wasn't entirely hopeless! It just needed a bit of tweaking! Third time's the charm, as they say. Soon enough, it'll be slicing and dicing apples, berries, and veggies in no time flat-
"BIG. BRO."
The wrench flew out of his hand from the fury and proximity of her squeaky voice. Taking things in stride, he bolted to his feet and turned to his whiny little sister. "WHAT?!" Clemont barked, exasperated.
Bonnie didn't flinch at all, pouting and puffing out her chest in retaliation. "You forgot to pick me up from school today! Don't tell me you were too busy playing with your little robo-toys and forgot all about me?!"
"...What?" His eyes shot down to his wristwatch. It was 3:38. Rattatas! "No! That's not what happened at all!" That's totally what happened. "I just...erm...figured you could...um...handle going home by yourself today! Yeah! You're old enough, and you know the route..." He rubbed his neck nervously. That was such a weak excuse. His parents would kill him.
Bonnie crossed her arms and frowned indignantly. The stern face of a kid who didn't give others shit, and most certainty didn't take shit.
It was then Clemont realized he was in big trouble. Let's climb back up this hole before it gets any deeper.
"Um...okay. You're right. I did forget about you. I'm really sorry though!" The gym leader apologized without hesitation, gesturing wildly in a pleading manner. "Please forgive me!" He squeaked.
Unphased, Bonnie continued to glare at her brother without mercy. It was a stare that, if developed, could rival that of a vicious Seviper's. Maybe she could even paralyze one.
After a few seconds of Clemont shaking in nervousness and Bonnie's icy-blue eyes piercing his very soul, the younger replied. "I'm. Telling. Mom."
As if on cue, Clemont dropped to his knees and clasped his arms together in a kowtow. "NO PLEASE DON'T I WANT TO STAY A GYM LEADER!" He groveled, knowing that if his parents knew he was so irresponsible as to forget about his little sister, they would most definitely assume he was too irresponsible to run the gym of one of Kalos' largest cities.
"Uhuh. Yeah. Keep talking."
"WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO ME?!"
"Bro, this is like, the third time since school started that you left me waiting at the pick-up area."
"BUT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT I PROMISE IM SORRY I'LL GET AN ALARM NEXT TIME OR SOMETHING PLEASE DON'T TELL MOM."
"...and school started last week."
"IM SORRY IM REALLY SORRY IT'S NOT LIKE I HAVE A CAR ANYWAYS SO IT'S LIKE THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME FOR ME TO PICK YOU UP AND TAKE YOU BACK HOME AS IT IS FOR YOU TO GO BACK HOME YOURSELF PLEASE SPARE ME I'M SO SORRY!"
"...and I called you like three times."
"I'LL DO YOUR SHARE OF THE DISHES AND LAUNDRY FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH AND I'LL BUY YOU TOYS OR STUFF OR WHATEVER JUST PLEASE GIVE ME TIME TO SHAPE UP IM SO SUPER SORRY BONNIE!"
Finally, the younger sister silenced her older brother. She ground a noogie into his skull, almost causing his glasses to slide off his nose. "SHUT UP AND STAND UP, BRO. You're a gym leader for Pete's sake, act like one!"
Dazed, Clemont did as he was ordered. "Ouch, Bonnie, that hurt!" He whined, rubbing his tender scalp.
"...You know what I think?"
The mechanic shook his head quizzically.
"I think you need a hobby."
Clemont pursed his lips, musing the thought over. "A hobby? I have a hobby. I'm a gym leader."
"Hmmm...no." She shook her blonde head. "That doesn't count. That's a job."
"Oh. Right, um. Well...I make stuff!" He said excitedly, lifting up the invention with which he was fiddling.
Bonnie put a hand to her chin and rubbed it pensively, as would a bearded wise man. After much thought, she shook her head again. "No. That's a career."
Clemont opened his mouth to protest, but shut it almost immediately. She did have a point. Being a mechanic was more of a passion than a hobby. And sometimes he was even commissioned and paid. "Okay, then I dunno. What would you call a 'hobby'?"
She shrugged. "Just something you do to get your mind off work, I think. Like, do you see me doing homework and all that lame stuff all day? No! I do fun stuff on the side. My teacher said you have to do fun stuff on the side, or else you'll be stressed with business stuff all the time."
Clemont cocked his head to one side. "I'm not stressed. Pokémon battling takes my mind off things. So does fabricating and programming robotics. My life is very balanced in that respect." Clemont retorted calmly, incredibly sure of himself.
She shook her head. "No, that doesn't make any sense. How would work distract you from work?"
Clemont shrugged. "I dunno. Just does."
"But don't you always have troubles with it? Every other day I see you pulling hair over a machine that won't work right, or struggling to make up a new battle strategy when you give out a badge."
"...Oh. Well, there's that." He mumbled.
"Yea! So my point is, you need a hobby. Maybe it will help you keep a level head and REMEMBER TO PICK ME UP AFTER SCHOOL." She growled.
Clemont flinched, sidestepping slightly away from the venomous girl. In a shaky voice, he retorted. "I'm sorry, really I am! And I'm fine, seriously! I don't need a hobby! I can't think of any to adopt, anyhow. I can't imagine doing something as menial as reading a book or watching TV." He snorted. Lame.
"Pft, you don't need to do that. Just do something exciting! Do something you've never done before." Bonnie suggested, gesturing profoundly.
"Uh..." Clemont scratched his head, trying to think. What hasn't he done before? A lot of things. Her advice wasn't narrowing anything down."Erm...care to give me an example?"
"Hmmm...lemme see here...OH I know! You can get out of the gym for once! Get some fresh air, a cup of coffee at a cafe."
Clemont was cross. "Hey! I go out sometimes!"
"...Sometimes."
"WHATEVER. Technicalities." He crossed his arms and pouted.
"Well go out more often. And make more friends while you're at it. I'm eight years old, and I have more friends than you." She teased.
"What?! I have a lot of friends! Tons of them- more than I have fingers. You don't know what you're-"
"Your coworkers and Pokémon don't count."
"...Rattatas. Well...you're my friend, right?"
"Sometimes I wonder..." She began, causing Clemont to pout. "Just kidding! I'm your sister, so that doesn't count either. And even if it did, I'm only one person."
The older of the two grumbled in response.
Bonnie continued. "Just go out and make a friend. Today. I dare you."
"Really? How much do I get if I do?"
"Um...500 poke."
He crossed his arms and turned away. "Nah. Chump change."
"Is it? Or are you just Torchicken?"
He turned on his heels. "WHAT. You calling me a wimp?!"
"You're calling yourself a wimp."
"That's a load of BINACLES! I'M GOING." Clemont dropped his chopping device and stormed out of the workshop. "I'M GONNA GO GET A FRIEND. YOU'LL SEE! IT'LL BE EASY PEASY."
"Alright, whatever you say, bro!" Bonnie called out to him as he slammed the door.
Not a moment later, the gym leader opened the door again, popping his head in. "Um...I don't have to do your laundry and dishes for a month, right?"
Bonnie looked up, having been staring at her older brother's kooky machine. "You do if you don't pick me up from school tomorrow."
He shook his head at the thought. "That's the plan! Dangit...see ya!"
Bonnie laughed at the sound of his frantic, receding footsteps. It'd be a definite miracle if her reserved, eccentric brother could pull this one off.