Chapter 2: A New Dawn, A New Day
The sun was setting now, the weather completely still; a full contradiction to earlier in the day. We'd been travelling since the early hours, and it'd taken us so long to get to our destination, but we finally made it to the warmth of David's cosy log cabin.
We'd all warmed up now and were relaxing in the living room as we talked about the old days; the days where we used to play the games of the very world we now lived in, about how much of a prick Josh could be and how much of a non-direct inter-species faggot I was/am... sure... 'good' days.
To be honest, nothing of the sort was secret now, nor was it fifteen years ago (albeit with Latias was more one-sided though). I guess it's one of those things, right? Tolerating a 'flaw'; if you can call it that. The constant jokes towards us I'd grown used to, fond of even; but I still wonder whether they're legitimate stabs at us, or just harmless gags.
Sitting comfortably on one of the sofas, Haxorus curled up against me asleep, David spoke to me directly,
"You do realise I was being entirely serious about the bed thing, right? Not being offensive or anything, but... you know."
I wasn't particularly sure how to reply to what he said. The air seemed to thicken a little.
"I didn't, no, but it's your house so..." I replied, brushing a finger off one of Haxorus' axe blades,
David sat thoughtfully for a moment, before nodding silently.
"You've met Aero, right? My Lucario? Well, the last time you must have seen her was when she was a Riolu, right?" He said, changing the subject, "She can see through walls with her aura powers you know."
"Neat." I said, simply, "We should probably be heading off to sleep anyway; we've been travelling all day, and the snowy routes took their toll on ol' Haxxy, here."
Josh turned to face me and looked me in the eyes; he could see I didn't really know how to handle the situation.
"Good night then you two; sleep well. David says we're gonna meet Maylene and Candice tomorrow up town." Josh said, trying to lighten the mood, "Not sure how Mrs. Shiverscales there is gonna act around ice types though." He continued, laughing slightly,
"I'm sure she'll be alright." I smiled, tickling Haxorus under the chin to wake her up.
She drearily opened her eyes and instantly looked at me for an explanation. I tilted my head towards the back room and smiled at her; letting her know that we should get some rest because of the journey. Slowly clambering off the sofa, and dragging her feet, she headed off to get into one of the beds. Just before I followed her, I turned back to the other two.
"Don't worry Dave; the springs won't need replacing." I laughed, before following her in and shutting the door.
Josh turned to David, uncertainty on his mind, and went to ask him a question, but David was ahead of him.
"I wasn't being serious at all Josh; I thought he was used to us joking with him about... 'it'. It's not like it isn't obvious. Besides, he'll be delighted to know that I lied about there being two singles in there."
Josh smiled slightly, before pointing a finger at David and laughing.
"You jammy so-and-so Dave... you don't think -"
"I do."
******************
As the moon was high in the sky and the two of us were asleep, Josh and David decided it was wise to get some sleep. Josh drowsily went into the other spare bedroom, and fell straight to sleep, whereas David decided to... check on things. Quietly retrieving his starter's Pokéball, he called them out into the hallway.
"Aero. Can you do me quick favour? I just need you see what's on the other side of the wall here." He said, pointing,
She nodded silently, before closing her eyes and focusing hard on the section of wood, a blue glow emanating from her hands.
"Anything other than sleeping?" David asked,
She simply shook her head and imitated sleeping before looking at him strangely.
"I have my reasons Aero; you know what they're like."
She rolled her eyes at him and mimicked hugging, before confirming that was all.
"Fine; thanks Aero." Dave said, ruffling the fur on Aero's head, before returning her to her capsule.
"I sure hope he knows that people probably won't respect his actions..." he thought, before walking to his own bedroom and climbing into bed, "No matter what people think of you."
******************
Hours had passed since we fell asleep; the sun was rising once again, the air was frosty and... and the other side of the bed was empty. Blindly flailing my arm around the cold sheets next to me, I sat upright and was greeted by a certain dragon, who looked incredibly startled.
"...Hax? What're you doing in my backpack?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes,
She softened her expression and tried to smile innocently. It didn't exactly work, her sharp teeth were basically baring. I just cocked an eyebrow at her
"Couldn't it have waited till we were both ready?" I asked, sidling out from under the warm bed covers,
As I walked over to her, I noticed she had something behind her back. It was obvious that it was from my bag. Sighing deeply, I smiled at her and held out my hand.
"Come on, silly. Hand it over."
She sighed back at me, before she placed the item in my hand. It was what I'd bought the other day, from the costume store. A cape to be exact. Even today I still don't know why she wanted one so badly.
I sleepily looked at Haxorus and chuckled. I could tell that she didn't expect me to wake up before she was ready; I can only guess she wanted to surprise me when I got up.
"You're just as daft as I am, Haxxy." I laughed, rubbing her on the nose with my free hand, "Come on then; turn around." I said, making a spiral gesture with my index finger.
She looked surprised, but complied quickly. Taking hold of the buckle I placed it around her neck and clasped it together, tightening it slightly so it wouldn't come undone. After straightening the fabric out, I gave her a kiss on the neck, inciting a quiet giggle.
She turned to face me and looked mildly embarrassed. She began twiddling her claws as she looked around nervously.
"Very nice. You look great." I said, smiling.
She turned her attention back to me, timidly taking hold either side of her cape.
"Care to give us a twirl then?" I chortled, as I retrieved my gown and put it on,
She obliged by slowly spinning on the spot, arms outstretched, before letting them drop to her side again.
I smiled and nodded quietly to her, before Josh burst into the room without warning, making Haxorus nearly dive at him out of shock.
Obviously surprised himself, he mumbled, "S-sorry, Dave jus' wanted to let you know we're leaving in an hour." Before shutting the door again.
I shrugged my shoulders, before the door opened slightly.
"N-nice cape by the way."
******************
The weather was still calm from the morning, the three of us wrapped up in thick woollen clothes as we walked towards the city centre with our starters by our sides.
Josh's dim-witted Steelix tagged behind, leaving massive trails in the snow, as Aero was happily conversing with Haxorus along the way. I noticed the dragon blush a few times on the trip, but was glad to see her making conversation. I do believe Haxorus was complimented on her new appearance... before Steelix decided to take a chunk from it. He earned a gloved slap from Josh and a trip back into his Pokéball because of that.
"So... where abouts is this bar then Dave? Never been around this part before." I said, as I tried cheering Haxorus up,
"Not far, really. It's a nice little place; pretty atmospheric. Good choice of drinks too, since there's not much choice for pubs." David replied,
Josh casually looked back at me only to find that Haxorus was glumly leaving her footprints in the snow as she plodded along, her newly tattered cloak trailing behind her.
"For a soldier, she seems a little… soft, don't you think?" Josh whispered, nudging me in the side,
"Depends; outside of the barracks she's pretty sweet and relatively harmless, but when we're training against the test dummies… there's never anything left of them, usually. She also has makes the most deafening noise I've ever heard." I replied, patting Haxorus on the back.
"I bet you've heard that a few times, 'ey?" Josh laughed, before signing to Haxorus he was kidding,
Laughing with him, I replied, "Don't you know it!" after putting my arm around her shoulder,
Haxorus looked at me in bewilderment, before blushing slightly. I chuckled at her and slowly shook my head. She quickly shyed away and timidly toyed with the edges of her cloak.
******************
We took slightly longer than anticipated to arrive at the bar; Josh forced us to go to the nearby store and let him stock up on caffeine… twice. Haxorus gave him a playful smack on the shoulder upon the third attempt.
David was the first to enter the building, the heavy wooden door being pushed open letting the smell of beer and whiskey flow directly into our faces. In the far corner of the rustic building, at a large wooden table, were the two people we were supposed to be meeting. Candice called to David and waved us over.
Taking our seats at the table, we exchanged hugs and a few 'good to see you again's, before we started talking about...well... whatever really.
"So, I hear that you passed your training in Kanto, Lucas, right?" Candice asked, picking up her drinking glass, "Haxorus did well too, apparently." She continued, drinking whatever liquor was in the beaker,
"To be honest, she probably went through worse than I did; she needs to be able to handle more situations than I do, as unfair as that sounds. Personally, I think she deserves more credit." I said, sifting through the wallet I got from my backpack,
"You like embarrassing the poor girl, don't you?" Maylene laughed, heartily
Confused, I turned round to Haxorus to find her blushing brightly again.
"I guess I'm gonna need to stop saying things publically, 'ey?" I said, forcing a laugh
Deciding to buy everyone a drink, and partially to leave the situation for a while, I got up and headed to the bar. I was approached by a relatively young man with fair skin, dark hair and a smart dress sense.
"What can I get you sir?"
I was trying to think about what to say to the others about the tension I'd spontaneously created, between me and my dragon.
"Sir?"
I was at an impasse at that point; not entirely sure how to defuse the situation, so to speak.
"You alright sir?"
"Huh?" I said, jolting awake from my contemplation,
"Anything I can get for you?" he asked again,
"Oh right, sorry. Can I get a vodka and lime, three glasses of water, a scotch and Baileys and two premium lagers please?" I asked, sliding him eight hundred Pokédollars,
"Coming right up."
******************
"So... you're saying he has a... thing for her?" Candice asked David, keeping an eye on Haxorus as she chatted away with Aero,
"I guess you could say that; but he makes it out to be a big joke, which I think he feels we believe. That or he's just playing along. Either way, the evidence is obvious." He replied, removing his Pokéball belt,
"And her?" Maylene asked, gesturing towards the dragon,
"...i'm not really sure. She seems to get embarrassed whenever anything to do with the subject is brought up; like she gets really timid, but... we're not one-hundred percent sure why-"
"Probably because she knows that we're onto them, and that Lucas is making a fool of them both by rejecting the idea of it." Josh interrupted,
"So you really think that it goes further than being close teammates, or even close friends?" Maylene continued,
"You could say that. Or you could say that he's waiting till night rolls in an' then fu-" Josh tried saying, before Haxorus caught wind of the conversation (with a little help from Aero, that is)
She was staring daggers at him, before giving him a hard slap. She then promptly stood up, flicked her cloak around her back and stormed off, walking straight past me, and out the front door.
"What the fuck's gone on here then?" I demanded, placing the drinks on the table,
Aero tugged at my fleece, trying to get my attention. She pointed at Josh and made a... gesture with her finger and paw. Understanding fully what she meant, I groaned and ran after my partner.
******************
"Haxorus! Haxorus, wait!" I called, as I ran down the street after her,
She wasn't in a hurry, so to speak; she looked as though she was walking normally, but I could guarantee that the situation was far from it.
Finally catching up to her, I caught my breath and leaned on a nearby wall. She must have known it was me, and stood perfectly still.
"Hax... I know what was said. I guess it's mainly my fault though; I really shouldn't play everything off as a joke, when you and I both kno-"
She turned her head round to face me; her face bright red, water dripping off her axe blades and onto the snowy concrete.
Just looking at her made me feel horrible; I know that I was the main cause of this.
Ignoring the fact that we were in the middle of a busy street, I quietly walked over to her and held a hand in front of her. She looked at me confused, her face still bright red. Nodding at them, she placed a hand on mine, and gripped it firmly. Dipping my head and resting my nose on hers, I whispered to her,
"You and I both know what goes on between us, and I'm pretty sure everyone else does by now. Do you think... we shouldn't keep it a 'secret' from people?" I asked, placing my hand on her neck
She closed her eyes momentarily and looked as though she was smiling slightly. She began making the same quiet purring noise from the night before, before nudging me with her nose.
"Just ignore Josh; he's always been the same way, ever since I've known him, and he won't change. David on the other hand... he's not really poking fun at you or me, he's... hinting to others as to what we're like, so to say." I said, chuckling
Her purring got slightly louder.
"Come on; we'll settle this the way we're supposed to." I said, planting a kiss on her nose,
She gently returned the motion and looked at me questioningly.
"We're soldiers. What're we trained for, huh?" I asked, smiling wildly
A grin began to spread on her face as she realised exactly what I meant. Looks like the bar was about to get some live entertainment.