A/N: Here it is, chapter three. It is quite long, so I am sorry if somebody who is reading prefers shortness. It just came like this.
I appreciate reviews, all of them, including guests! Thank you very much for encouraging me!
There is someone that made an interesting question I would like to asnwer, because it is a good opportunity to warn all of you as well.
ChickenWithChips: This story is rated T for now, but yes, it will move up to M in the future. Nevertheless, I think that stories starring a relationship between an adult character and a teenager do not have to be M. It is actually possible to write one without certain themes, depending on the writer. But like you, mature fics do not disturb me and that is why this one in particular is going to change rating at some point.
Warning: The beggining of this chapter is a little suggestive. Nothing serious though. Feel free to skip it if you do not like... spicy food.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
"Hey, wake up," a feminine voice whispered.
Eyes still closed, Ingo frowned and his shoulders tensed up. He wasn't a man who loved to sleep, but when he was asleep, it was better –or convenient– not to wake him up.
"Ingo, wake up," the familiar voice commanded, louder.
The Subway Boss snapped his eyes open, and despite the endless darkness racking his room, he recognized the girl who was precisely sitting on top of him. Her knees were pressing on the mattress, her hands innocently resting on her tights, and in lieu of the regular ponytai, her chestnut curly hair was down.
It suited her more, was Ingo's first conclusion. It showed off the perfect contour of her beautiful face, allowing her to look as if she were a few years older, and in addition, watching Hilda from that angle made her delicate figure all the more admirable. Regardless of her youth and physical developement in progess, she was enough to drive him insane. The girl looked just gorgeous and hellishly desirable into his eyes, yet his main reaction was an exceptionally bemused face.
Half of his brain was working properly yet.
"Hilda? What...? Why are you sitting on me?"
'And why didn't I feel your weight? I am not a heavy sleeper, how didn't you wake me before?'
The blue eyed girl tilted her head to the side in an adorable manner and moved her hands to his torso. "I'm sorry, didn't want to wake you..." she leaned a little and started moving her hands temptingly along his abdomen, practically straddling him. "But the study room is freezing, so I was wondering... may I sleep here, please?"
Hilda earned a feeble gasp from the man beneath her. He could perfectly feel her touch through the fabric of his grey T-shirt and that only worked up his urges and stomach stirring. "Y-yes, sure. I-I will go to the living if you... get off."
Leaning closer to his face and dragging her hands to his chest, Hilda's lips curved upwards, forming a hussy smile. Her fingers caressed softly the area in an unsteady motion as Ingo let out deeper and more frequent gasps. "But I don't want you to leave, the bed would be cold..." she shifted slightly and brought her face closer. "Come on, I need you to stay," the young teen breathed suggestively.
The man bit his lower lip and moved her hands away. He was overly temped, but there were still lingering thoughts about how immoral the situation was, and how he shouldn't give in to his sinful desires. "No, I am not going to stay..." he received a hurt look, and proceeded in a serious tone nonetheless. "Now, get off, please, or I will be bound to push you."
He pressed his hands to her shoulders and sat up slowly, expecting to keep away her face. But Hilda didn't show any sign of moving from his lap, whereas straddling him with a blank expression on her face seemed far more fitting. Ingo sighed and gave a gentle push to her knees. "Please, move. We can't sleep on the same bed, it wouldn't be correct. If you want to sleep here, you must let me go first."
No response came from her mouth.
As words weren't helping to get what she wanted, Hilda chose to shove him down into the mattress, his head hitting the pillow harshly in the process. The moment she brought her alluring face closer and he felt her soft hands all over his chest again, all previous thoughts were temporarily left aside. Her face was only inches away from his, too close for their own good.
Her own good.
Ingo could only gaped at her with wide eyes while breathing heavily. He was about to speak when Hilda cut him off, resting her hand on his cheek, abruptly leading her lips to his jawline to kiss, lick and suck pointedly, gaining several deep, low groans from the man. He was on the verge of finally giving in, and the arousing assault didn't give a chance to think straightly about its consequences. But eventually, during all the kissing, his brain came back and tried to take control of the internal battle between reasoning and desire, much to his surprise.
Still gasping for air, Ingo grabbed her arms and clenched them, forcing her to halt and give him some space. The frustrated girl looked down at him; she was losing her patience.
Nothing made sense to him, her attitude changed too fast and she had never been that daring. "Hilda, stop this nonsense! Don't you realize what you are doing?" He paused to take a breath. "And anyway, why are you doing this? What has got into you?"
Struggling a little, Hilda managed to free her arms quickly from his firm grasp and proceed to lean over the man one more time, straddling him fiercely and pinning his shoulders to the mattress with her hands until she heard a shaky whimper.
Music to her ears.
"I'll make my point clearer..." She started, shortening the gap between their faces, noses almost touching. "I need to sleep near you; to touch you; to have you; and I want it as much as you do, so, forget about that damn this-is-wrong bullshit and make something to stop our craving for once and all! IS THAT ENOUGH FOR YOU?" the trainer blurted, adding pressure to grind down against him.
Ingo moaned in guilty pleasure. He could feel her hot breath on his face and her speech caused an intense impact on his body, as if it were something physical rather than spoken words. He didn't know what his hands should exactly do and that implied his brain was losing the battle once more, like he feared. "Y-You didn't m-mean it, you don't know what you are saying," he stammered in a weak attempt to resist, uttering a mental curse when he unwittingly shifted and she pressed even more against him. "Y-You are too young and unexperienced to state such a thing," the man added between excited gasps.
Hilda shook her head in disapproval. "Forget about my age and lack of experience! It doesn't matter!" she smirked seductively at him, putting a hand around his face and the other on his chest. "In spite of my youth and current lack of experience, I'm totally capable of being turned on by you."
It was becoming too much for the Subway Boss. He could see lust and determination in those lovely cerulean eyes, and all he wanted was to touch her the same way she did. But it was hard to ignore those thoughts telling him otherwise and the guilt they brought. "Hilda, I can't... We shouldn't– AAH!"
He was unexpectedly interrupted by her lips sucking all over his neck, and he couldn't help the boisterous moan that escaped his throat. Unintentionally, his hands landed on her hips while Hilda kissed and nibbled the area without rest, dragging her teeth to feel the skin as much as possible.
Heavy gasps and ill-timed groans were impossible to avoid, but even so, when the hand on his chest travelled to his side and the kisses started to nearly burn his neck, increasing the aching yearning he felt in his whole body, Ingo clutched her clothes and tried to convince her one last time. "Wait, Hilda, wait," he managed to catch her attention, therefore the kisses coming to a stop. "T-Think about it, is this really what you want? You may regret–"
"I WON'T!" She attacked his neck once again, biting rather aggressively until the man let out a hoarse moan. "Right now, I want exactly this. It doesn't matter what is going to happen later." Hilda put her hands in the pillow, at the sides of his face and straddled his waist, shifting continuously. "I won't regret it, because regardless of how this ends, sometime I would have wished to be with you," she whispered between mild gasps, then resumed her work on his abused neck.
The Subway Boss was in a daze, still clutching her clothes and moaning repeatedly. But Hilda noticed he hadn't given in to the full extent yet. The girl had pretended to be naive, aggressive, dominant, tempting and had tried to convince him by true words and some pleas. She even was devouring his neck, practically, and none of them worked to achieve what she wanted, so, the only alternative was to keep trying – when she saw a few marks on his pale skin, her teeth dragged all the way until her mouth reached his ear.
Hilda sucked, licked and nipped at his earlobe without hesitation, flicking her tongue every now and then. Ingo couldn't help groaning exaltedly at this; he really wasn't expecting it. His second reaction was to unwittingly apply pressure to the grip on her hips, causing the girl bore him down even more, if possible.
"Hilda, s-stop, for god's sake," the worn-out man stuttered, panted, begged.
"Please, don't make this so hard. Just give in..." The girl took his earlobe between her teeth and licked it painfully slow, earning another blaring moan and a strong squeeze to her hips. "And do whatever you want with me," she purred in his ear, sliding one hand under his T-shirt to caress his abdomen provocatively.
And with that, he lost it.
His abstinence could go to hell, forget about morals and screw society and whatever opinions people have. In a swift and almost violent movement, Hilda was the one being pressed into the mattress, her chestnut hair all scattered on the pillow and cheeks fully red.
She looked delighted to the core by the time Ingo was desperately rubbing as much of his body as he could against her smaller one, eliciting uncountable gasps and wanton moans from the trainer. His hands brushed her sides in the boldest manner as she hugged him tightly, stroking his back and mewling with pleasure – there weren't words to describe how all felt, but it was so pleasing that Ingo regretted not having done it before. He hungrily kissed and licked the hollow of her throat, feeling her pulse hammering, which was the perfect indicator of the girl's arousal along with the cute sounds she made. Hilda burrowed a hand in his hair, pulling blandly, encouraging the eager man to fondle her more, to explore her with his hands, to hold her impossibly closer and to kiss her to death.
No more time needed to be wasted. No more excuses and thinking.
If both wanted this, they would have it.
. . .
Ingo woke up and shot up, panting and frantically looking around to spot Hilda.
But she was nowhere to be seen.
Upon realizing all had been a dream –one of those dreams– the sickening feeling came back to scene. He had dreamt of her a lot of times; however, that dream in particular was way too bawdy and explicit. Never, since he had met her, had his unwilled fantasies got to that kind of physical interaction, hence he was beginning to panic and feel like he needed psychological assistant.
Ingo gazed at the alarm-clock. It was half past five in the morning, so he had less than thirty minutes to sleep a little more. Finding pointless the idea of sleeping, he moved to the edge of the bed and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing frustratingly. He knew what was going to happen next in that dream. 'What is wrong with me? I can't feel that for her, not even in my dreams. It's too much.' Grunting, he ran a hand through his hair and pulled a bit as a reprimand. It wasn't allowed to wish for something like that or even dream about Hilda in such an impure way. It simply crossed the line.
The man got up from the bed, took his shirt, black pants, shoes and left the room.
A very cold shower was what he needed.
.
The study-room wasn't dark anymore. It had rained a lot a few hours ago, but still, a dull light illuminated the apartment through the windows. Laying on the couch, Hilda felt like returning to consciousness. She stretched and her eyes flew open, blinking twice to adjust her vision. Once able to see clearly, she spotted Ingo standing near the door, looked wearier than normal, and also a bit startled. His hair was barely damp.
Most probably, his presence woke up the trainer.
"Good morning," she saluted and sat up, moving the blanket aside.
"Good morning. How did you sleep?"
"Very well, thank you." The girl checked the clock in front of her. "Actually, I would have liked to sleep some more, but I guess you refer to comfort." She leant forward, extended her arm towards the floor and draw her boots closer. She stopped her actions, however, when an idea crossed her mind. "Umm, Ingo... were you watching me sleep?"
Uh-uh, that struck a nerve.
The man gulped and flushed slightly. ". . . N-No, no, I was going to wake you for breakfast, but you got ahead by coincidence," he stuttered the explanation, which was half-true. Of course, she had distracted him and Ingo had watched her for two or three minutes, but Hilda didn't have to know that. "If you are still tired, I will leave my key so you may sleep more and go home later. Next time we meet, you hand it back."
"Really? Wow! When did we become so confident?"
"It isn't as if you were going to steal our TV," he chuckled. "I trust you enough."
Hilda finished tying the laces and looked at him, laughing a little. "I appreciate that immensely." She walked up to him. "But it wouldn't be fair. I think it is an abuse, and I promised your brother to accompany him today as well."
"Alright, you are going with us then. Did Emmet tell you about his dental appointment?"
"No, he didn't. What's his problem?"
"He has a severe carity which is too late to treat at this time. It have already started to hurt, thus the affected tooth must be removed."
"Ah, I now understand why you don't let him eat so much sweet."
"Is the first reason. The second are the side effects produced by big amounts of sugar on him, but we can speak about that later." Ingo waved his hand to drop the subject, earning a chuckle from the girl. "He has to go after lunch, so my question is if you are going home or... staying with me."
The trainer clasped her hands together behind her back and smiled, blushing the slightest bit. "Bothering you again sounds very tempting, I should stay with you."
He smiled back at her and put his hands on her shoulders. "You can't bother me." His hands moved to the sides of her face and their gazes met, increasing the soft blush on the girl's cheeks. "Stop those comments, I like to have you around," the man told her as he broke the contact, his words dripping fondless.
Soon after, Hilda threw her arms around his back with no choice but to rest her head in his chest due to the height difference. Ingo doubted for a second, but eventually embraced her, laying one hand on her waist and the other higher, precisely on her back. In comparison with hers, his hug was rather weak, yet very kind and demonstrative.
The blue eyed girl looked up at him tenderly, resting her chin on his chest. "You are way too tall."
"You are way too short."
'And way too beautiful,' a voice inside his head whispered.
"Oh, shut up! I'm average height." She protested playfully, letting go of him.
He let go as well, laughing. "I won't discuss that with you," the man said, going for the nearby door. "Hilda, do me a favor: wake up my brother and then both of you go to the kitchen – I know you are planning something mischievous, so have fun," Ingo added and immediately after went to the kitchen.
Hilda meditated for a microsecond. ". . . This is going to be epic!" she cheered aloud and rushed to Emmet's room. Before literally kicking the door open, however, the word 'privacy' echoed in her head, and she decided to knock softly, just in case. No response came, so she entered the room carefully and took a minute to look around. The place wasn't a terrible mess itself, as Ingo had stated, though that was most likely thanks to the older twin and his tidiness.
She approached the bed quickly, without hesitation, and launched herself on the sleeping man, who woke up utterly stunned by the impact. He turned around and found Hilda, only to receive a hard bite on his shoulder. "AH! You little brat!" he yelled in a mix of pain and joy. "Why?"
"You deserved it! How many times have you licked or bitten me? It was the perfect moment for revenge," the girl answered, laughing loudly.
"Yeah, when I'm sleeping, that's so fair and brave," he joked with a contagious smile, pushing her kindly and moving to make some space for the girl.
Hilda understood what he wanted, so she laid down on her side next to him, laughing softly. "You always take advantage of both height and strength difference between us. You can't speak about fairness here."
"Forget the fairness, I was having a nice dream and you interrupted, that's more important..." Emmet brought her closer to the point her upper body was basically on top of his, then he embraced her. Hilda returned the hug and buried her face in his chest. "And now, I'll try to resume it, if you don't mind," he told her, closing his eyes and leaning his chin atop her head.
"I wonder if your dream had something to do with a certain blonde gym leader."
Five seconds of silence went by.
"Maybe, yes... but it's not what you think."
The girl rolled her eyes at how nervous and rushed sounded his last sentence. "You don't have to tell me that, but I do want to know how things are going between you two."
The man's eye shot open and his expression dropped considerably. He sighed. "I'm not sure anymore. One day we are just friends that argue and play like teens, the next we resemble of intimate lovers or something, and the day after, she asks out somebody else in my face... I think Elesa only wants to fool around."
"But your relationship has been like you just described it since I met both of you. The times I have seen you two making out desperately can't be counted, and you aren't a couple yet?"
"We have been like this for two years. She is the one who doesn't want us to be in a committed relationship."
"Did she give a reason?"
"I have spoken to her about why we aren't a couple several times, but it generally ends in an argument, and I mean a real one, not like the ones we usually have for fun, so I never got a reason."
"And why don't you stop this? Two years is a lot of time."
"Because it's not so easy, I really like her. It's more than a simple crush, Hilda."
The trainer noticed the mild sad tone in his voice; he was trying to hide it, but she knew him far more than what he could assume. "Well, I don't think Elesa just wants to... fool around. She could do that with other men, and I don't claim to be an expert, but you don't fool around with someone for two years."
There were a few seconds of silence after the girl spoke. She was starting to regret about her question. If she had known that the Subway Boss would be so affected by her doubt, she wouldn't have asked in first place.
"I don't know if it would be okay to tell you this, but in spite of all the kisses, we never get to... you know..."
". . . You have to be kidding."
"I'm not."
"What?!" Hilda lifted her upper body a little to look at Emmet. "Then she's not fooling around as you suppose, idiot. If you aren't kidding, this must be important for her!"
"That doesn't mean anything. Why does she date other men? Why does she ruin everything without reasons?"
Hilda's lips quivered. ". . . I'm not the one who should answer that." Noticing his gloomy expression, she tightened the hug and tucked her head underneath his chin again. "I'm sorry for asking about her."
"Don't be, I need to speak about this matter every now and then. Otherwise, I would go crazy... but let's change the subject. How is it going between you and my brother?"
"Why do you insist? I don't like Ingo in that way, so cut it off."
"You always tell me the same, but you can't lie to me. I'm not as stupid as I look."
Hilda let go and got up from the bed, ending the embrace. "We aren't having this conversation again. Go and have breakfast."
The Subway Boss sat up, smirking at her. "I'll go if you admit that you love him"
The trainer rubbed her temples and grunted ferociously. "I'm not in love with him, do you understand?" She hissed angrily, pointing a sharp finger.
"Don't get mad at me! I'm just trying to help. It's obvious that you like him, at least for me... I don't want to annoy you, just hear me out." The man paused and waited for a sign of permission to continue. Hilda took a deep breath, and nodded dejectedly. "We had a small talk at night about Ingo. Although all I said was true, you need to know that he is capable of being physically expressive. If he takes such a habit with you, then feel valuable, because it could just mean exactly that."
Those words were so well-timed. Hilda wondered if he knew something he shouldn't, or if the man had already assumed that her aim was to get closer to the older of them. Even though their displays of affection had just developed and weren't a habit, a more meaningful relationship was hinted from them. "You are trying to tell me affection is the 'ultimate proof' for him?" She asked with noticeable interest, adding quotations marks with her fingers.
"Yes, and I'm also telling you that his physical actions are more intense than you think. He only saves hugs, pats and all those stuff for the people he really loves. Keep it in mind, because I'm sure you want to know whether or no he cares about you."
She tensed up considerably. "You are scaring me. Why do you–?"
"I just need glasses, Hilda. I'm not blind."
Looking at a random direction, the girl regained her usual calm posture. ". . . It's almost half past six. You two are going to be late."
"Oh, right." The man moved aside the covers and got up from the bed. "Tell Ingo that I don't feel like eating. I'll have a quick shower instead."
Without further questions, Hilda nodded and left the room. She went down the hall until she reached the living-room, took her forgotten cap which was still on the couch and put it on. Subsequently, she went to the kitchen and rested her left arm on the arch, folding both of them. "He's going to have a shower. No breakfast."
The already fully dressed man left two steamy cups on the table and turned around to look at her. "As I figured. His teeth must be aching."
"Yeah, I supposed the same. What else could interfere between him and food?"
"I get your point," The Subway Boss chuckled. He turned around once more to take a seat, putting his hands around one of the cups. "Sit wherever you want and eat something."
Hilda walked to the table and sat in front of him. There was a bowl of fruits, a plate with some toast and the remaining cup of coffee that obviously was prepared for her. She sipped the coffee and let out a soft delighted moan. "Did you prepare this by coincidence or what? It's so made for me." The girl took a big gulp, reached out for a piece of toast and gave it a bite.
"Actually, you told me how you like it months ago."
She swallowed and left the toast next to the cup. "You still remember? No, wait. You paid attention?"
"Why wouldn't I pay attention? Of course I did, and it is something hard to forget. You like coffee the same way Emmet does: sickly sweet, almost repulsive."
"Hey, you like sweet coffee too."
"Yes, but normally sweet," he said with emphasis, somehow teasing her.
Hilda smiled and looked down, putting her hands around the cup to feel some warmth.
"And tell me, why wouldn't I pay attention?"
The girl rested half of his arm on the table and her gaze returned to Ingo. "Well, if I were you, I probably wouldn't listen to all I say. Sometimes I would just nod my head or something; it must be hard listening to absolutely all stupid and random things I often comment."
"There is no need to do that. I found your comments pretty entertaining rather than stupid." He paused and sipped his coffee. "I live with Emmet and he does say brainless things most of the time, yet I enjoy his company as much as yours."
"Ah, you are comparing me with your brother?"
"I usually do that, you are so alike in many ways. But he is far more childish despite his age while you are more... mature, and that is why I enjoy your company too."
"Your brother is lovely like a baby pokémon..." she trailed off. "But I believed you like to spend time with me because I'm basically your younger brother in a more mature version?" Hilda kind of questioned.
"No, you are you. My brother is my brother. Sometimes you remind me of him, that is all."
"Well, whatever. You admitted I'm the joy of your life."
The man in black laughed heartily. Much of their conversations always included laughter, even from him. "Those words never left my mouth."
"How weird, because that's exactly what I heard," she assured mockingly before driking down the rest of the coffee, her attention coming to the half-eaten toast. Once finished, Hilda sensed his eyes on her. He was smiling and looking at her in an odd, non-obnoxious manner. "What I did was typical from him, right?"
"Twisting words to your convenience? No, Emmet would never do such a thing."
Hilda narrowed her eyes at his sarcasm while Ingo took the last gulp. "Are you going to deny it?"
"No. In fact, it is quite true, especially when you come for a beating up."
The smile shrank drastically. "Yeah, don't even mention it," she pointed out, her voice holding a tint of anger mixed with sadness.
It wasn't related with his joke nor previous defeats; she hadn't gotten upset before by this sort of jokes, so it had to be something else, Ingo concluded. His first thought was about the League and her unexposed worry. He probably hit a weak spot without intention.
Feeling guilty, his gloved hand travelled to hers to pet it warmly. "I am sorry."
"No, no, it's not about our battles or what you said."
"I know." He paused and squeezed her hand a bit while her thumb rubbed his. "It is about the Pokémon League, isn't it?"
". . . Yes, I'm beginning to feel impatient and frustrated."
Even when her gaze lowered, he could see fear and concern in those shiny blue orbs. 'She is lying,' the Subway Boss thought, not able to understand the wrongness of his previous words. Maybe it triggered ideas in her mind about something he didn't know, like a chain of events, but she obviously wasn't telling the truth, and he wanted to find out what she was hiding.
However, the man opted for playing along and not pushing the issue. "Don't worry, you are going to train and the time will come. Just relax."
Hilda looked at him and smiled sadly. He returned the smile, but her gloominess didn't go unnoticed. In an attempt to comfort her, Ingo interlaced their fingers together and caressed her thumb with his the same way she did. "That last sentence sounded like something you would tell me."
A sincere short laugh escaped from the trainer's mouth. "Yes, definitely."
Both of remained like that, smiling fondly, their gazes fixed on each other.
They only realized Emmet was there when he cleared his throat. Immediately, their hands drew aside in the blink of an eye. "Am I interrupting?" the man in white asked jestingly.
Hilda blushed fairly and pretended not to head, standing up quickly and taking the cups. She rushed to the sink and started to wash them as the older twin was left alone to face the music. He opened his mouth to say something; anything, but in the end, he couldn't formulate an answer, so he closed it again.
"If you wanted private time, you could have just asked for it."
"Emmet, don't be stupid, we were only talking."
"Yeah, sure..." The younger twin laughed blatantly and glanced at Hilda, who was leaning against a kitchen cabinet with rosy cheeks. "We better leave now, it's quarter to seven."
"Let's go, then." Ingo suggested and stood up, walking out of the kitchen promptly.
Hilda stared at the remaining twin, sending him daggers. "When the moment comes, I'm going to bite you so hard that I'll draw out blood from your fragile, pale skin," came the sadist hiss with loads and loads of hate.
"For making both of you feel uncomfortable or for interrupting?"
Hilda grunted, and once again ignored his question. She followed the older twin and Emmet trailed after her, stiffling the urge to giggle madly right behind their backs.
Ingo unlocked the door and the three left the apartment.
.
The cloudy morning flew by.
Hilda had spent it with Emmet, like she promised, and both of them had a great time full of painful laughter. It had been a while from their last battle, so they decided to have a friendly encounter free of the imposed rules: one versus one. The battle was equalized; her Bisharp and his Eelektross provoked and received the same amount of damage. If somebody had watched, said person couldn't have predicted who would win.
She narrowly lost though.
The rest of the morning consisted in random –frequently idiotic– talks, sometimes about Elesa, sometimes about Ingo. Eventually, all led to a war of licks and bites which Hilda miserably lost as well, in spite of putting up a good fight. When a challenger came into the car, the teen and the Subway Boss would stop their 'little quarrel' and pretend to be sophisticated and serious people for some minutes, and in addition, Hilda would watch the encounters, like a small break.
Expectedly, most of them weren't a big deal, but there wer a few that had actually piqued her interest. For example, the last battle: an Ace Trainer who had managed to stand during more than ten good minutes. Hilda felt identified with him, as he did his best and seemed to have a chance to win, until his last member fell to his kness, that's it. She was amazed with him and his team, however. Probably double battles were his facility.
They exchanged some words, so Hilda took the opportunity to congratulate him before he left once the train came to a stop. According to Emmet, the trainer had been flirting with Hilda, and she didn't do anything to repel him like the insect he was. They had argued about that and her 'infidelity' for a long time, and apparently, he didn't have intentions on dropping the subject.
"I can't believe you cheated on my brother," he scolded while they were walking to Ingo's office.
Hilda unwittingly squeezed the bag full of snacks she was hugging. "Enough! I didn't cheat on nobody and you know it!" the blue eyed girl yelled for what felt like the thousandth time that afternoon.
"I was there! You were flirting with him!"
"It isn't possible you are serious about this!" She abruptly stopped walking, and in brief, so did he. The young trainer sighed deeply and placed the bag on the floor, clenching both fists at her sides. She calmy raised her thumb. "First: I don't like Ingo in that way." She raised another finger. "Second: he doesn't like me in that way, meaning there's no one to be unfaithful to." She finally raised her middle-finger. "And third: that boy was flirting with me, BUT I WASN'T!"
The younger Subway Boss blinked twice at her, then leant forward to match height and, raising his hand to her face level, he touched her nose with his index finger, making a 'bip' sound.
Hilda's eyes widened in a blank expression, and a feral, delayed grunt came out. She tried to tackle him, but it theoretically ended in a hug because the man didn't feel a thing. He let out a cackle at her pathetic tackle attempt, petting her back, until she yielded in laughter too, still hugging him. It was impossible to get mad at him, no matter how annoying was his portrayal.
"You are an idiot," she told him, her voice muffled by his body.
"Proudly."
She let go and grabbed the bag again.
"Come on, I need my personal dose of snacks."
They kept walking until they reached the office. Emmet was the first to enter, pushing the door with his side in his own self-effacing way. "Honey, I'm home." Pause. "Oh, I'm sorry, that was your line, Hilda."
The girl walked in from behind the man, smacking his back in the process, mumbling the most artificial 'sorry' ever heart.
Ingo couldn't help smiling at that scene; someone ought to physically hurt his twin. "Well done," he congratulated the trainer. Her response was a smug smirk.
She got closer to the desk and placed the bag on its surface carefully so as not to mess with the papers Ingo hadn't read yet, taking a random snack from the bag and heading straight to the couch. Shortly after, the younger twin joined her.
"Do you want some?"
"No, thank you. That damn tooth is ruining my appetite."
"Crap, I forgot about your pain." Her eyes travelled to the bag on the desk. "Well, I guess those snacks won't be eaten."
"Snacks? That is what you are having for lunch?" The older twin asked from the desk, postponing his reading.
"You only have a cup of coffee with who knows what rubbish. Don't you dare to reprehend me."
He considered her words, and shrugged his shoulders, resuming the reading. "Fair enough."
There was a brief moment of silence, until somebody pushed the door open aggressively. Elesa entered the room, slammed the door strong enough to send some papers to fly, and stood there for a while, looking at Ingo with scorching hate. "You so owe me."
The man's gaze never left the report. "Nice to have you here, Elesa," he answered sarcastically. "I sense you are quite moody today."
Hilda and Emmet didn't understand a thing, but they were paying attention as if their existences depended on the scene before them. It was like a movie, just replaced popcorn by a package of snacks.
"What were you expecting? I had plans and now I have to babysit!"
His penetrating gaze finally landed on the model. "I didn't threaten you with a gun, I just asked for a favour, if you didn't want to do it–"
"Don't say it!" She shouted, soon followed by sigh. Elesa touched her forehead and added in a more polite tone. "I'm already here."
"Um, guys, what is happening?" the younger twin interjected in a timid voice.
"Let me explain this: we can't be absent at the same time. It would be problematic, so I can't go with you to your appointment. On the other hand, you really need to go with somebody else, because you will be anesthetized, and that could be dangerous when it comes to, well, you. The dentist told you to go with a person of legal age for your own good... do I ought to say more?"
"No, it was clearer than water."
Elesa leaned against the wall, crossing her arms and legs. "I don't understand, Ingo. Is he your brother or your little child?"
The man in white tried to ignore the double sense in Elesa's question; he had been called 'child' before, but in an acceptable way, as if it were his main virtue. On the contrary, this time was almost an insult."If he is my father, then Hilda must be my mother!" He joked in an attempt to ventilate his mild hurt.
What was better than disturbing the quiet girl?
Hilda languidly turned her head and sent him a murdering stare. Seconds later, a can of soda flew across the room and hit him violently, courtesy of Ingo. The girl erupted in hysterical laughter. She wasn't expecting something like that to happen.
"You two can't stand a joke," the attacked man said with a grin, resting himself on the trainer beside him.
When she managed to calm down, Hilda grabbed the can and, before drinking its content, she raised it in the direction of Ingo, smiling broadly at him, like a toast in his honor. He returned the smile enthusiastically and then moved away the report he hadn't finished reading.
He got up and looked at Elesa, who had shown rather indifferent. "It's time to come back to work, which means you should leave with my brother."
"Fine," the model replied with a poisonous tongue. "You." She pointed at the agonizing man clinging to Hilda. "Let's go, now."
No response came.
"Aren't you listening? Hurry up!"
The Subway Boss seemed to be electrocuted by a lethal discharge after she yelled. Reluctantly, he stood up and released a feeble sigh. "Those painkillers aren't killing anything but my brain," he mumbled to no one in particular, taking off his cap, coat and gloves to hang them in the rack.
"HURRY UP!"
"Okay, okay, let's go!"
He rushed to the door and opened it for her. She quickly walked out of the office, not bothering with saying good-bye.
"Good luck," Hilda chirped from the couch, waving.
He waved back at her, smiling perforce, then trailed after Elesa and closed the door.
The blue eyed girl sipped the soda for the last time and threw the empty can into the trash near the desk. "I have never seen her like that, do you know what the problem was?"
"When I asked her this favour at night, Elesa told me she would go out with somebody today. I suppose her anger is due to the missing date."
"No, that's too simple. I mean, any man would wait a day or even more for her. She is a gym leader and a model, after all."
"Well, we will eventually find out later; the break is over so we must get going."
"Oh, sure."
Both left the office and walked for quite a while until they were stepping into a train. Hilda couldn't remember what happened exactly on the way. She knew a few words were exchanged and two or possibly three depot agents passed them by, but the rest was unfinished. Had she not been recalling certain moments, she would remember the path.
When the doors automatically closed, Hilda realized she was standing alone beside them and instinctively rushed to the spot next to Ingo; not too far, yet not uncomfortably close. The train started moving, but she was so busy looking at the man's distracted and concerned face out the corner of her eye that she didn't pay attention.
"You look worried, is everything okay?"
The Subway Boss moved a bit until he was sitting diagonally, aiming for better view of her. "Yes, everything is fine, I was only thinking."
The blue eyed girl did the same to share a more comfortable talk. "You are worried," she confirmed. "Is it about Emmet?"
". . . Yes, he is really scared of dentists, and Elesa was too fretful. I am thinking it probably wasn't a good idea, she is going to make him feel more afraid."
"Oh, you care about him a lot."
"Of course I do, he is my younger brother and my only family," he told her, his tone similar to one last minute confession.
"I know, and it's honestly very nice to hear you saying it. But I always thought you didn't like to encourage his child crazes such as fear of dentists."
"I don't. However, this craze, as you name it, is acceptable for me. He had an extremely painful experience with different dentists which lasted nearly four months. If I were him, I would be scared of them too."
"Four months? What the heck did they do?"
"Well..." He crossed his legs and interlaced his own fingers on top of his knee, looking thoughtful. "I will try to resume it. He needed to have a molar taken out because a small part had broken. The first dentist told him anesthesia didn't work on him after it was injected a few times, so he tried to pull out the tooth without it; my brother could stand the pain for three minutes, then it became too much and he left." The man uncrossed his legs, taking a more relaxing position.
"The second didn't apply the correct amount of anesthetic and when he tried to take out the tooth, he apparently stuck a nerve was hit and received an unwilled punch from my brother in exchange. Emmet left that time as well, because he didn't want to go through suffering anymore. Finally, the third did it fine with the anesthesia, but he managed to remove the tooth by pieces. The day after, my brother got a severe infection because that man missed a small piece. It lasted almost three months."
Hilda grabbed the sides of her face and squeezed her legs together, shivering at the thought of that situation happening to her. "Oh my god, I'd have killed all those men one by one." She dropped her hands on her thighs. "Your brother is so unlucky sometimes, I swear I'll never use this to tease him."
"He certainly wouldn't laugh at that." Ingo looked up to nothing in particular. "I hope Elesa treats him well."
"She is a good woman, in spite of behaving like that today, I'm sure she'll do the correct."
He nodded, and both fell silent for a very few minutes. The man didn't apart his gaze from what seemed to be the roof of the car whereas Hilda was looking down at her hands, remembering moments, phrases and questions she had considered to ask him. She knew there was confidence enough, but she didn't wish to disturb either.
'Do you want to know him better or not? Ask, and if he doesn't answer, just change the subject.'
Following her own advice, she moved closer to Ingo. "Hey, can I ask you something?"
His attention came back to her. He noticed the sudden approach, but as there wasn't any kind of brushing, it didn't alarm him. "Yes, ask whatever you want," he answered gently.
"How was yours and Emmet's childhood?"
His eyebrows furrowed a bit. "Why do you want to know about that?"
"I-If you prefer not to answer is okay," she stuttered, her eyes drifting to her clenching and unclenching hands.
"No, no, don't get me wrong." He stroked kindly one of her nervous hands. "I just wasn't expecting that question in particular," he murmured in a warm manner and then removed his hand. "What would you like to know?"
"Mmm, let's see..." Hilda trailed off, getting closer to the Subway Boss, their legs brushing slightly. "I haven't talked this with Emmet, so you should tell me the basics, because I really have no idea. You two know a lot of me, but it's not mutual, especially speaking about you."
"Yes, you are right, it isn't so fair," he agreed, barely shifting at the contact. "We have only talked about this with Elesa; she is quite a good listener when she isn't angry..." The Subway Boss started tapping his fingers on his leg, focusing his gaze there. "First off, we didn't have a happy childhood... do you want me to continue, anyway?"
His soft grey eyes searched for her shiny blue ones, meeting them right away. Hilda saw his intention in them. He wasn't asking to show discontent with this subject and stop talking, he was asking because he needed to be heard. Ingo wanted to make sure she truly wished to know about him.
"Yes, go ahead, please. If you don't want to tell me all details, just tell me the most important."
He clutched his thighs softly and let out an inaudible sigh. Ingo didn't feel awkward, but he usually didn't speak neither about his past nor his problems with anybody aside from Elesa –rarely– and his younger twin. "We used to live in Anville Town with our father. When we were three years old, our mother abandoned us because she was fed up of her bad choice of a husband." He paused to shake his head languidly. "But I don't blame her, I would have left too if I had had the chance," the man commented ironically.
Seeing where all was going, Hilda bit her lower lip. She always knew there was a well-hidden and dismal lapse in their life, but it was hard to believe that he was the one telling her.
"Our father was awfully violent, with her and with us. What surprised me most of him, however, was that he could easily tell apart Emmet from me without never paying attention to us. There are just a few who are capable of finding differences between us, ignoring his usual smile and my serious nature. For example, you are one of those."
"Well, it's not so difficult to tell you two apart, you are so different in personality, and there a lot of physical questions too: you are one inch taller, your hair is always neatly-combed while Emmet's is messier, there are very smooth lines below your eyes which can't be seen on him, your voices are..." Hilda stopped her speech and finger counting when she noticed his blank expression. "Am I scaring you?"
He laughed lowly, shaking his head. "A little, but you surprised me a lot too. You are very observative."
". . . And he wasn't, right? Your father."
"No. I will never understand how he did it."
"Did he use to... beat you?" Hilda asked with hesitation.
"Not so much, unless I tried to stop him from beating Emmet," he told her with bitterness, clenching his fists. "He used to beat him a lot, enjoying each second, every single day." The Subway Boss ran a hand over the side of his face, closing his eyes and trying to calm down. "That was why he distinguished us, he had a favourite victim. He always looked for an excuse to punch or kick him." He went on in a calm tone, but his hate couldn't go unnoticed.
When Ingo saw Hilda's terrified face and the way her fist was applying pressure on her chest, he left behind his remorse and decided to skip to the end of his narration. The girl opened her mouth to speak, but he got ahead. "When we were fourteen, he got terribly sick because he used to... intoxicate himself. He finally died when we were fifteen. We then moved to Accumula Town with his sister and the rest of her family, who were our only relatives, but it is plainly complicated to take care of three children plus twins, so we left at the age of sixteen, after we had the chance to catch our first Pokémon... and here we are."
Hilda stayed still, perplexed. There was a lot she fancied to ask, such as why did they really left their aunt's house, or what had led them to become Subway Bosses, or how did their father's death affect them. But she couldn't bring herself to articulate the questions – speaking about this wasn't easy for him, it was written in all his face.
The girl met eyes with him and slowly reached for his hand, caressing all the way to his forearm, repeating the process. "I'm so sorry Ingo, I didn't–"
"Thank you for listening, I really needed that."
And again, they interlaced fingers, squeezing their hands and caressing with their thumbs. They remained like that for what felt like hours, moving along each other's fingers... until the man in black drew his hand away. It wasn't healthy at all, he told himself every time; stop the hugs, strokes, excessive closeness, stop it all. He couldn't take the opportunity to touch her whenever he pleased. It didn't matter how innocent the touch was, it was prohibited.
Hilda felt some inner rejection, but she couldn't expect him to hold her hand all the afternoon, could she?
To start a new talk, the trainer thought that a harmless question related with the previous subject would work. She had a lot to ask him, but she opted for one question that perhaps wouldn't bring so much bitterness. "Hey, about what you told me... is it connected with the way you treat Emmet?"
"What way?"
"You know, he is like a 'giant baby' and you agree with it, usually 'spoiling' him... alright, that's too exaggerated, but you understand what I'm trying to say." She made sure to add emphasis and quotation marks to show her point.
"Well, as he had a harder time than me, I only want to give him all he should have received. The only thing I try to avoid are his addictions, they make Emmet lose his mind completely."
"Ah, you are speaking about sweets, Joltik and Elesa."
"And alcohol."
Hilda almost jumped to her feet. "I KNEW IT! He denied it, but I knew better!" She shouted, as if she had won the lottery. "I wonder which one is the worst."
"I am not sure, all of them have more or less the same effect on him," he half joked, half told the truth.
Hilda's lips curved into a smile. They had met seven months ago, she had physically liked him and his way of being had intrigued her to no end, and now, there they were, speaking comfortably to each other. It was a pleasing sensation which increased when she spotted through the window door a confident Pokémon Breeder walking in the next car.
"Oh, look, here comes a challenger! Kick his ass and send it back to him by a letter! Come on!"
.
The monotonous and colorless waiting room wasn't in deathly silence as it should. Aside from the occasional sound produced by the dental drill in the next room, a certain nervous man was tapping his foot and shifting continuously over the leather-wrapped bench. Beside him, the short-tempered model was reading a fashion magazine, prevously on a nearly small table; the sound of leather brushing against clothes and foot tapping already starting to make her blood boil.
Lowering the magazine, she leered at Emmet as a warning, but he was so busy planning an escape through the window –the door was far too boring and typical– that he didn't noticed the heat emanating from her sky-blue eyes.
"BE QUIET!"
The purple haired woman, who had arrived a few minutes ago and was sitting in the corner of the room, looked plaintively at the pair over the rim of the book she had brought. When she received a murderous stare from Elesa, she quickly got her head back behind the book again.
"Sorry, I didn't realize–"
"I can't believe you are scared of dentists!" she spated, throwing the magazine on the table.
"What? No, I'm just feeling a little active," he lied, clutching his forearms nervously. "Why don't we go for a walk? Or, or... why don't we travel to Sinnoh? From what I've heard, it's a nice region!"
Elesa narrowed her eyes at him with loathing. "Shut the hell up and face your fears, you idiot!"
Pouting, the Subway Boss looked down at the floor, then at the stranger woman. She sensed his gaze and looked at him too. "And you? Would you like to travel to Sinnoh?"
The woman's eyes widened and her mouth fell ajar slightly as an aura of discomfort washed her scent.
Elesa smacked his arm harshly and clasped his shirt, forcing him to focus his eyes on her light-blue ones. "Don't speak with her, and stop being such a moron!
Emmet nodded obediently and stayed as still as shivering person could. Checking the time on the clock in front of her, Elesa grunted. He was supposed to be attended at two and it was almost half past three in the afternoon. What the heck was that dentist doing with his patient?
She crossed her arms and ankles, closing her eyes to relax a little. It didn't last much, however, once the man beside her grabbed her arm and shook it tenderly until she re-opened them, successfully getting her attention.
"WHAT?"
". . . I'm nervous," he admitted shyly, visibly embarrased.
"And what do you want me to do about it?!"
The Subway Boss moved closer to her, not leaving a gap between their legs. "Just say something, whatever you want, without anger," he whispered, resting his head softly on her shoulder.
". . . Get off or I'm going to rip that tooth from your mouth with a pair of pliers."
Hurt, he lifted his head and she moved away from him.
Suddenly, the door that would lead him to hell swung open and an old man came out. The elderly went through the main door and left. Leaning out, the dentist pointed to Emmet and made a motion with his hand gently, asking him to enter.
"You know, I changed my mind." He stood up and pointed to the door the man just went through, grinning. "I'm going home."
"OH, NO, YOU WON'T!" Elesa yelled and stood up as well, grabbing his arm aggressively when he started to walk. "I waited for two hours, so get in there NOW."
"But I can't! Don't make me enter there, I can't."
The dentist and the purple haired woman exchanged a fleeting look, then resigned and watched their quarrel with startled expressions, neither of them wishing to interrupt.
"I swear, if you don't obey, I'll burn down your hair!"
"B-But you don't understand..."
"ENTER!"
"I-I... I'll do it if you come with me, " the terrified man pleaded, looking at her with hopeless eyes, desperately searching for sympathy.
"Forget it, I don't have to do that!"
Shivering notably, he turned around, facing the stranger woman. "Would you enter with me?"
"Please, stop talking to me or I'll call the police!" the frightened woman threatened, using the book as a shield.
The gym leader turned him around, grabbing his shirt. "I can feel a migraine coming, so I recommend you to enter that room if you want to keep your life!"
"Please, please! I can't do it alone, I need you there!" he begged, on the verge of kneeling down for her.
"FINE! FINE! BUT GET IN THERE FOR ONCE AND ALL!"
She was going to receive a feral squeeze, but she pushed Emmet away; not the best moment for a Beartic hug. Both of them walked into the other room, passing by the startled dentist and leaving a psychologically traumatized woman on the waiting room.
.
It had been a very tough afternoon, and sadly, it hadn't reached its ending yet. The model wasn't sure how much more she could tolerate, but at least she had tried... mainly.
Elesa pushe the apartment door open and stepped in, threw the key in the nearby cupboard and walked towards the couch to sit down for a while.
Shortly after, Emmet walked in too, tottering the slightest bit. He closed the door without turning around, slumping his back on the wooden surface. Grinning, he watched Elesa through half-lidded eyes. She could tell the cheerful man was still disoriented since he had been anesthetized correctly as he had implored to the dentist uncountable times.
"Take that damn piece of cotton out of your mouth, I didn't understand anything of what you said in all the way."
"OKAY!"
Emmet removed the bloodstained piece of cotton as he was told. Not knowing what to do with it next, he tossed the cotton haphazardly across the room, screaming a chirpy and senseless 'weee' when it collided with one of the walls. Elesa made a disgusted face at that sight. White walls and blood didn't look nice.
"Oh god, I can't feel my face." He slapped his cheek softly many times. "Awesome! ELESA, SLAP ME!"
"Don't say it twice."
He kept slapping his cheek excitedly, his eyes gazing up as if he had made an essential discovery for mankind. At some point, the gym leader got tired, rushed to him and grabbed his wrist gruffly. "I can see why Ingo asked me to stay. You are even more stupid than usual when you are drugged."
The smile quickly disappeared. "You have been insulting me all day long, what's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong, I'm just sick of you and your clumsiness."
"What? Why? I'm the one who should be fed up of you! But nooo!" The man clutched her arms and pushed her back while he staggered, forcing Elesa to slowly walk backwards until her legs bumped into the edge of the couch. "I take every single thing you do without complaining."
The model swatted his hands away. "It's not my fault you are so submissive."
He swallowed hard and ignored her comment. "There is no reason to be mad at me. I treat you very well and you don't even deserve it!"
"Look, I'm not having an argument with a drugged idiot right now, so drop it. If you don't want to be insulted, then don't talk to me!"
She sat on the couch, grabbing the remote control furiously and pushing Emmet aside to clear the way between her line of sight and the TV. He lost a little his balance, but easily caught hold of the small table so as not to fall.
"Alright then. As you wish," the dazed man mumbled before heading to the kitchen.
His head felt heavy and it was very difficult to articulate words in a consistent sentence or walk normally, but nothing stopped him from opening the fridge and taking out a bottle of wine. From her sitting position on the couch, Elesa heard the unmistakable and familiar sound of a glass bottle full of alcohol softly hitting a hard surface.
'Holly crap.' She ran to the kitchen and snatched the bottle from Emmet's hands. "ARE YOU INSANE!? YOU CAN'T DRINK UNDER THE EFFECTS OF ANESTHESIA!"
He looked at her like a kid who had been reprehended unfairly. "But I'm never at home this early, why can't I drink in my own apartment?"
By the time he ended talking, Elesa had already put back the drink in the fridge. Her features twisted into a murderous expression with narrow eyes. "Sit in the living room when I may see your movements."
Complying, he followed the gym leader and sat close to her. To spend more time and overcome the rest of the day, she started zapping through the channels, looking for something to distract her, or preferably, to distract Emmet.
"I'm feeling sleepy, can I take a nap?"
"It's 6:00 p.m., but do whatever you want."
"Would you yell at me if I use your lap as a pillow?"
Elesa inhaled deeply through her nose. "Until my throat hurts, so don't even think about it and better move away, you are too close."
The Subway Boss obeyed, as he had been doing all the afternoon, and slipped onto the couch to the opposite end, feeling a stinging pang of hurt within his chest. Never before she had complain about closeness, his personality or his clumsiness. She had allowed him to sleep on her lap several times, even in public, and at the time she was refusing to do it in private, when they usually weren't so limited with their touch due to the absence of spectators.
'What if she finally got a serious relationship with some other man and she is trying to dismiss me? What if she is bored of me?' he thought, increasing the pain in his chest. No matter how bad she acted with him or how many men she dated, although it all hurt immensely, nothing hurt more than thinking about Elesa ending their 'relationship'. Emmet admitted it was a sickening one, but he needed her so much that it was enough. He had learnt to conform with it, even though the man ached for a real relationship with her since the beginning.
How would it be to know if they have a future together? How would it feel to have her for him and only him? He dreamt of that, he suffered trying to keep their attempt of relationship, hoping to make it real one day. He knew how demeaning was his acceptance, but if he had this, he was able to have hopes, whereas if he lost it, there wasn't anything to wait for.
Voiceless minutes went by, the TV being the only source of sound. Emmet was closer to fall asleep every minute, not sure if the reason was anesthesia or he simply felt tired and sleepy. Either way, he didn't want to fall asleep without talking to her first; his insecurity would gnaw his dreams.
Staring dolefully at her, he awaited to be noticed again, though she had no intention on moving away her eyes from the trashy film, much too his disappointment ". . . You were going date another man. That was your plan, wasn't it?"
"None of your business."
"And that's why you are angry with me, I made it impossible, right?"
"Shut your mouth, I'm trying to listen," she hissed, her eyes not looking away from the TV.
The Subway Boss gave up and laid on the backrest. 'She doesn't even look at me.'
He focused his tired eyes on the film, his eyelids turning heavier and heavier until he became less aware of his surroundings. When he was about to sleep in, through that point in which you don't know if you are dreaming or thinking, Elesa grabbed his arm and forced him to move closer. He snapped his eyes open and Elesa gently pushed him down, his head landing on her lap. The stunned man turned on his back to see her.
"Be careful, don't make me change my mind," Elesa suggested seriously, almost like a warning.
Emmet smiled gratefully at the only sort of kind action she did; the model likely knew the emotional pain she was causing. In spite of her inexplicable anger, Elesa wasn't a heartless person.
For more than half an hour, no words were said. He had fallen asleep and she was paying minimal attention to the terrible teen movie. The gym leader wondered why she hadn't changed the channel, but there wasn't a specific reason, so she made herself as comfortable as a cushion could, resigning and closing her eyes for a while. She must have fallen asleep too, because when her eyes shot open for unknown reasons, there was a large gap in her mind after the moment her eyelids fell shut. The model could see through the picture window that it was pretty dark outside, and the sudden pain she felt on her neck and the numbness in her legs hinted a nap too.
Elesa stretched her upper body, stroking and massaging her neck. She wanted to do the same with her legs, but Emmet's head prevented it for at least one of them. Eying him, she noticed his shoes were on the floor and he was laying on his back with bent legs and his feet on the couch. 'Ah, then he woke up at some point.'
Her eyes travelled all the way to that small angelical smile he always had while sleeping. "How do you do that?" she asked in a whisper, reaching out to touch tenderly his face with her fingertips. She caressed his cheek lovingly, sliding her hand down to the side of his neck. Elesa acknowledged that if he woke up and found her doing such a thing, all her effort would be in vain, because it was always the same, a simple caress slowly would lead to passionate kissing and neither him nor her would hinder it until they reach the limit. Nevertheless, she was beginning to consider the idea of sending her plan of restraint to hell. The purpose was to stop hurting him, but in the end, wasn't she hurting him even more? It was a very badly thought plan to mistreat Emmet without reasons. They could have spent their private time together, doing stuff so much more... ahem, interesting.
'No, don't think like that. I must carry on to make him realize that I'm not a good choice, that he deserves someone better.'
She brushed slightly the bangs on his forehead, running her hand down his cheek for a second time and trailing her thumb over his lower lip. 'But... god, you are so cute, how am I going to resist?' Her hand stroked his chest and went down his stomach, painfully slow. 'I need you so bad, but I can't give in now. It's obvious you were hurt today, but we both know you'll eventually end much more hurt if I don't end this for once and all.' No matter how much Elesa debated with herself, she wanted him to wake up and notice her touch to recover the lost time; her hand contradicted all thoughts and kept caressing his stomach in unfinished circles, making its way down to his belt buckle. The blonde model bit her lip and hesitantly tried to undid it.
She abruptly removed her hand when she sensed voices and movements coming from outside. The door swung open and both Ingo and Hilda showed in. Elesa sighed in relief and thanked them in her mind. If if were not for them, she would have done something really stupid.
'Okay, so, this means I slept for... more than four hours? Oh, I'm such a mess.'
"You are still here?" the older twin asked, surprised.
"You are talking to me, but no, I'm not here, so you must me drunk or something."
Hilda laughed at her angry sarcasm. For some reason, she found the gym leader's bad mood artificial and funny.
"Mmm, I see you are still a little rabid."
Smirking, Hilda tugged lightly his coat sleeve and pointed at Elesa's lap. "I think you owe me a lunch."
"I disagree, don't you see the hate in her eyes, Hilda?"
Elesa raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"Have you made out today?" Hilda asked sassily, taking a step and putting her hands on her hips.
"WHAT? NO!"
The young girl mumbled a disappointed 'ooh', pouting a little and dropping her arms to her sides. Ingo took some steps forward and bent to match her ear level. "It seems that you owe me a lunch," he playfully breathed on her ear.
". . . Damn it." Hilda cursed, looking at him over her shoulder.
"You two bet on us!?"
"Um, no... you must have heard wrong."
"Yeah, you must be drunk or something," the older Subway Boss added smugly to complete Hilda's answer, earning a cackle from the girl and a hatred glare from the model. "Did he behave correctly?"
Elesa sighed and shook the man on her lap energetically to wake him. One of her legs was ready to be amputated, she had to stretch it as soon as possible. Shaking him again, his eyes finally fluttered open and set a baffled gaze on her, as if expecting an explanation.
She grabbed his shirt sleeve and desperately pull it, forcing him to sat down. "No, he behaved like an idiot." Elesa paused to stretch her legs, a tingling sensation running over her legs. "I don't know how I managed to stand him. He refused to be attended and even tried to escape."
Being woken up violently and hearing an insult coming from one of the people you love most can't make anyone happy. Eyes downcast, the younger twin touched the scarcely swollen side of his face to hide his emotional distress.
"He had extremely painful experiences with dentists. Don't be so harsh, Elesa," Ingo requested as he made himself comfortable on the armchair.
Sensing his tone, she eyed Emmet and suddenly felt guilt washing over her. He actually looked mirthless and it was because of her actions, again. The more she saw how her attitude affected him, the more Elesa considered a different way to end their twisted relationship.
Softened by his sorrow, the model gave a curt nod. "Well, this time was the other way around: in an attempt to refuse, he bit the dentist. I think that poor man is going to lose half of his index finger."
"Really? You did that?"
Emmet shrugged his shoulders innocently and looked at his older twin. "I told him to back off and he didn't. He can't complain though, it was better than a punch in the eye. This one was very lucky!" he exclaimed proudly, eliciting a chuckle from Ingo and the blue eyed girl. "Are you staying the night again, Hilda?"
"No, not tonight, I told my mother I would go home. Just came to check on you," she answered, walking towards him when he looked at her with those manipulative puppy eyes. She sat on his lap as if he were some disguised Santa waiting for little children in a shop and threw both arms around his neck, rubbing the safe side of his face with her own sweetly. He embraced her and reciprocated the display of affection. "Don't worry, you'll see me very soon."
With a roll of her eyes, Elesa rested her elbow atop the armrest and her cheek on her fist. Of course she wasn't jealous of Hilda, but their actions reminded her about the wasted afternoon, her addiction for Emmet and... 'What I'm doing here, anyways?' She stretched her legs some more, the tingling no longer a problem, meaning she was ready to come back to her own apartment. She stood up and made her way towards the door. "Alright, I'm outta here. See you around."
"Wait, Elesa, wait!" the younger twin cried out and moved Hilda from his lap gently, jogging over to the model, who sent him a questioning glare as she opened the door instead of laughing at his feet covered in two different pair of socks.
"What do you want?"
Emmet leaned his hand on her waist and led her out, trailing after her and closing the door. Once outside, he fixed his grey eyes on her light-blue ones and haltingly caressed her face with one hand. She felt like melting, it was impossible to ignore the sadness reflected on them. He took a small breath and swallowed hard, trying to think of a proper question. ". . . May I kiss your cheek, please?"
Her eyes filled with sympathy. Elesa opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, she didn't answer and looked away from him. Not finding the words, she just closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, showing him the allowed area, the same cheek he hadn't touched – it was his chance, he couldn't ruin it. Carefully, he planted a soft moist kiss on her cheek once... twice... three times... until he managed to earn an almost inaudible whimper from the back of her throat. That only encouraged him to jump right into the pool, trailing smooth kisses along her jawline, his lips making its way down her neck as Elesa fought the urge to hug him and smash their lips together.
His mouth began to apply more pressure and he placed his free hand on her lower back, bringing her closer to his body to create some friction between them. By the time their middles were pressed against each other and his lips had made its way to her cheek again, dragging until the corner of hers were reached, she regained enough willpower to grunt and shove Emmet sharply. His back collided with the door, causing a loud sound to echo in the large hall.
He couldn't do anything aside from staring at her with a hurt expression. The gym leader saw it, but she only stepped back a little so as not to leap into his arms and hysterically ask for forgiveness. Their gazes met for some seconds as Elesa backed away, until she turned around and ran towards the stairs as fast as she could, going downstairs and out of his sight. The Subway Boss felt a hand were squeezing his heart mercilessly.
What was he supposed to do? Run after her? Stay outside so that his brother and friend wouldn't see him suffer?
No, those didn't seem good ideas – he opted for getting back into the apartment quickly. His twin was still sitting on the armchair while Hilda was sitting on its armrest, her hands shyly between her thighs. Their eyes full of concern confirmed they had obviously heard the loud thud.
"Did something happen?" Ingo asked, in spite of knowing the answer.
"No, no, why do you ask?"
"You look depressed..." Hilda commented, fairly worried.
"Oh, no, it's just that... the wound is starting to ache as that damn dentist said, and it bothers me a little."
Both of them knew it was true, but that wasn't the reason to his noticeable sadness. At that moment, Hilda decided not to speak anymore and Ingo to simply play along; he would talk to him when the opportunity arose. "Did he prescribed some painkillers?"
"According to him, the pain will be bearable, thus it's not necessary," the younger twin informed, walking up to Hilda. He kissed her cheek softly and she smiled at him. "I'm going to sleep, be careful on the way home."
"Okay, sleep well."
He took his shoes and went down the hall, leaving his brother and friend alone.
"He was lying," Hilda stated aloud, shifting slightly on the armrest to get a better view of the remaining Subway Boss.
"Indeed."
As she was relatively taller than him in that position, the girl took the chance to snatch his cap away, not on purpose, but rather instinctively. "What do you think that happened outside?"
He sighed and focused his gaze on the stolen cap. "I don't know, but I can assure he is going to tell me later."
"I hope all gets better, it really makes me sad when he is like that," she said while fidgeting with the cap.
No more comments came from their mouths. It seemed the older twin was affected too.
"What would you say if I stay the night again?" Hilda randomly asked to make him forget for a while, hoping to hear his voice again.
"I wouldn't mind at all."
"Well, next time I'm staying then," she stated, twirling his cap on one finger.
For some reason, that made Ingo a little nervous. Both what she told him and the spinning cap. But in this case, he could only do something about the cap. He reached out to take it back, and she quickly stood up, moving away from him. "I understand why you don't let me have your cap while you work, but why can't I have it here, uh? You lose authority without your beloved cap?" Hilda scoffed, smirking archly.
The man barely furrowed his eyebrows. "Authority has nothing to do with a simple cap, I just don't like to be teased with it. May I have it back, please?"
"Fine," she whined, throwing him the cap in a frisbee-style. "I must go, anyway."
"Shall I go down with you?" he offered, getting up and taking enough steps to be in front of her.
"No, thanks, it's not necessary..." The trainer headed to the door, taking the handle. "I'll see you soon."
"Hilda, wait, come here."
She looked at him over her shoulder and let go of the handle to fulfil the order. "Yeah?"
The man in black pulled out his Xtransceiver. "Upon getting home, you are going to send me a message."
She grinned mischievously at him, pulling out hers. "You'll have to register me too... meaning I'll give you a call whenever I want."
"Alright, I will take the risk," he chuckled cordially.
Once that was done, Hilda feinted to leave and paused, turning around. She got closer to Ingo and practically tackled him in a hug, standing on her toes in order throw her arms around his neck. Though he was taken by surprise and had promised himself to stop physical acts of affection, he didn't doubt for a second, and gave in the tender embrace. When the blue eyed girl let go, the Subway Boss took the opportunity to bent over and kiss her cheek warmly, eliciting a soft gasp from her. He quickly kiss it again and seized her temple to weakly nuzzle the area. "Be careful," he whispered near her ear.
Hilda couldn't help clutching his shoulders after his hot breath brushed against her face. She nodded slowly and kissed him back on the cheek amorously, and just like that, they moved apart in silence.
The trainer smiled coyly and walked to the door, her face all red as a tomato. "Bye."
"Bye. Don't forget about the message, please."
"I won't," she smiled at him one last time and left.
Ingo let out a breath he had been holding without realizing; it was incredible how she managed to psych him out and make his insides go crazy. 'No, definitely, I can't do anything more than resist.'
He sighed and went down the hall – he wasn't going to neither read nor sign anything. There was a more important problem he needed to fix. The man knocked at his twin's room. "Emmet, I know you are still awake and something happened to you..." He trailed off, expecting and answer. But upon no getting one, Ingo continued his speech. "I am not going to be in the study-room, so if you want to speak, feel free to come by my room."
He stood there for a while, waiting for a sign of his brother. It wasn't possible that Emmet had fallen asleep so fast if he was depressed, but he couldn't even hear the slightest sound coming from inside. Not feeling like invading his privacy, he went to his room. Eventually, his brother would show up if his problem was so serious.
The day had been very nice indeed, yet a little dense considering the man had only slept two hours. Although he didn't want to sleep yet, lying on the bed to relax a little sounded like the most brilliant plan. He removed his uniform and put on a pair of black pants and a grey T-shirt. Before getting under the covers, he made sure all the removed clothes were on the right place and then proceed to make himself comfortable in bed, folding his arms behind his head.
He recalled all moments with Hilda: their legs brushing, the kiss on the forehead, her hugs, their hands interlacing, random talks and the kiss he had reacently planted on her cheek. No, he absolutely was doing a bad job. Ban physical affection? Impossible. Like Ingo had assumed, he could just try to resist and stop wondering if this was mutual, because it obviously wasn't. Hilda would choose a boy of sixteen or seventeen years old, why would she be interested in a man twice her age?
It was a shame though, such a perfect person for him and he couldn't allow himself to at least try to have her. There were lots of dilemmas in his poor saturated mind. As a matter of fact, his feelings for Hilda implied attraction in a critical high level, but it wasn't just that, he actually felt something potent for her, because it wasn't all about her body –which he found incredibly alluring– it was about her as a person as well. Even though she sometimes behaved like the teenager she was, most of the time, Hilda resembled a mature, smart girl, and aside from his twin, he couldn't think of another person he enjoyed talking to that much.
Ingo had considered the idea of being in love with her several times, and he wasn't sure if it made his situation more acceptable or even worse. As love is somehow connected with passion, the feeling was the same: he desired a youth.
Besides, he had never been in love in his whole life, so how could he know?
Whatever he was feeling, either love or just 'a crush', it had grown strong and couldn't be accepted. He had to struggle as not to fall into the dark sickening intentions produced by his own body, no matter his urges or special needs.
. . . Right?
A knock at the door caused his body to flinch under the sheets.
"Are you decent?"
The man laughed. Of course his twin would finally show up, it was a habit for both to chat in his bed. He actually didn't know why they had separated rooms; Emmet slept in his brother's frequently. "Yes, I am, come in."
The younger twin swung the door open and quickly close it again once he was inside. Meanwhile, Ingo was made some space for him, moving the covers so he could get under them too. He approached the bed and joined him, laying on his side next to his brother. Ingo realized that his problem was quite serious. When he chose to lay next to him, it meant exactly that. He needed to talk about the issue, otherwise, he would have laid on the foot of the bed and just comment random subjects until falling asleep, probably without covering himself.
"There's a problem with Elesa, isn't it?" the older twin guessed, gently, his eyes on the ceiling. In his peripheral vision, he saw Emmet nodding and clutching the sheets in front of his mouth. "Tell me what happened."
". . . Well, you noticed she was kind of moody," he started with a muffled voice, moving the sheets a bit so he could speak clearly. "I don't know what was the problem itself, but she insulted me all day long, and I mean real insults, as if she wanted to hurt me. When we were outside, I tried to... kiss her. She pushed me violently against the door and left without uttering a word."
"It sounds incomplete, aren't you forgetting some important details? I am sure you asked about her anger, what did she tell you?"
His question was answered with silence. At first, Ingo believed his twin was taking time to answer properly, but after several seconds, he caught sight of Emmet's watery eyes.
By obvious reasons, they used to cry a lot in the past. During childhood and half of their adolescence, most tears had been shed, especially speaking about the younger of them who was the most dejected and vulnerable. Ingo hadn't cried again since his father died, and so hadn't his brother, but he still was the most sensitive and his eyes would fill with tears that, in the end, would never stream down his face. It was how he exposed his higher point of depression.
And how the older of them felt his life collapse. He suffered at that mere sight.
"She is fed up with me..." Emmet whispered, his grief no longer unnoticed. "Should I... change? Am I that childish?"
Turning on his side, Ingo locked eyes with him. "You don't have to change anything. You are just fine, and if she can't see that, probably somebody else will." He reached out to run a hand through his twin's hair. "Most people have important and complex defects on their personalities that need to be corrected, or at least, improved. I can assure you aren't one of those."
He earned a sincere smile from his brother, and the latter blinked the tears away. "Thank you..." The smile disappeared just as it came. "But the big problem is... I don't want someone else; I'm in love with her, and I'm also well aware about you thinking this is just passion, but it's not what it looks like."
"Sorry, I have never been in love. I don't know how it feels or how to correctly identify it."
Emmet narrowed his eyes, his sorrow soon falling into oblivion, and pushed his brother's chest with the palm of his hand. "Oh, don't be silly! You are in love right now!"
"I am not! And we aren't talking about that" the older twin yelled back, clearly frustrated, not feeling like having another conversation about that issue like most nights. "Look, if you wish to carry on with your twisted relationship with Elesa, do it. I just hope you are conscious of the pain you may have to overcome later."
"Believe me, I would suffer more without her... and that's the hardest part for me." He closed his eyes and tucked his hands under his face, taking a sleeping position. "But enough for today, I don't want to speak anymore about Elesa, she's been my main subject for the last two years."
"Alright, is that is what you wish. We can talk about this any other day."
Ingo didn't turned, however. He wanted to make sure Emmet was actually feeling better, not pretending. He hadn't opened his eyes again, but Ingo could tell he was still awake.
"Thanks for listening. You are an excellent brother."
"You are welcome." He ran a hand through his twin's hair once more. "Do you really feel better?"
"Yeah, considerably better... and sleepy, but if you want to speak about Hilda and how much you love her..."
"Oh, shut your mouth and sleep," the older Subway Boss barked and turned on his side angrily, pulling the sheets with him more than necessary, his back to Emmet.
"Okay, okay, I'll sleep. Can I put my leg over you to do so, Ingo?"
"Don't you dare."
"But I like sleeping in that position! Why do you think there are two pillows in my bed?"
"Forget it, I said no."
"Come on! I don't snore, I don't kick, I don't drool, and the most important, I don't sweat in my sleep! I deserve to put my leg over you!"
"NO!"
"I'll pay you!"
Ingo glared at his twin over his shoulder viciously, only to found him with open eyes and a blank expression. In response, a toothy broad smile appeared on his face in an attempt to persuade him and dispel his glare to no avail. "Emmet, no!"
Defeated, he whined a little and his twin finally looked away, making himself comfortable.
More than half an hour went by.
Judging by the scarse snoring coming from his 'little' brother, Ingo assumed he was the only one awake and would remain as such until he received a particular message. There was no chance he could fall asleep so worried, much less when Hilda could have stayed with them if he had insisted.
He shifted lightly, intending to face Emmet, but when he noticed his face uncomfortably close to his very own, he opted for simply looking at the ceiling, enabling his thoughts to wander his mind again, a pair of shiny blue eyes present in all of them... and suddenly, he heard a small device sound. Ingo immediately reached out for his Xtransceiver on the lamp table and checked the screen.
'Arrived safe and sound! Thanks for everything! I hope you dream about me! (Mainly, I hope you sleep, at least.)
P.S: I'll be back this week to stalk both of you.
Good night!'
A thin smile formed on his lips against his will. He left the communication tool on the table and got under the covers again, as comfortably as he could.
If only she knew; he definitely was going to dream about her.
