The next morning came, and Brennan was the first to wake up. He tiredly managed to open his stuck together eyelids, the bad taste of morning breath taking over mouth.
He sat up, yawned, and stretched, before looking over at Gardevoir. She was still sound asleep. The almost inaudible sound of her slow breaths could be heard in the silence of the room. A small smile formed on Brennan's face.
He slid out from under the covers and threw his legs off the side of the bed, before standing and stretching.
He headed out of the room to make himself some coffee, prompting to let Gardevoir sleep. He figured this was the most comfortable sleep she's ever had before.
He walked down the hallway and headed into the living room and, of course, Blaziken and Machamp were still sleeping.
All's considered, Brennan had always considered himself an early bird compared to his Pokémon. Most of the time at least.
He shrugged it off, before heading into the kitchen to start his coffee.
After he got his coffee going, he remembered that he had washed Gardevoir's dress the previous night and hung it up to air dry.
He walked over to the sliding doors to his "laundry room" and pulled them open. Gardevoir's dress hung on the small rack just to the side of the dryer.
He gently grabbed ahold of the soft fabric to see if it had dried overnight. For the most part, it was dry. But he figured he'd leave it in there just a little longer just to be safe.
He closed the doors back and turned back around towards his coffee pot. The smell of the brewing coffee made his mouth water. He was REALLY looking forward to it.
He walked over to the fridge and opened it to see if he had any eggs left.
He figured Gardevoir deserved a good breakfast her first morning here. He grabbed the carton and opened it up and saw he only had two eggs left. He sighed.
Looks like he was going to need to run into the city to pick up a few groceries.
He closed the fridge door and looked at the two eggs in his hand. Just because he wasn't going to have a good breakfast, didn't mean Gardevoir wasn't going to.
He grabbed a skillet out of his cabinet, cracked open the eggs, and started breakfast.
He didn't know what he was going to make to go with them, but he was going to make something.
After he got the eggs started, he looked around the kitchen trying to find something else to go with the eggs.
He saw his loaf of bread, and decided toast would go well with them.
He grabbed the bread, and again, saw he was almost out of it.
"Crap..." He muttered to himself, as he stared at his remaining four pieces of bread.
He somehow hadn't even realized he was so low on food. Usually he was on top of that. Guess it must have slipped his mind with how much of it had been focused solely on Gardevoir lately.
"Eggs and toast it is." Brennan said to himself, as he opened up the bag with the bread in it, pulled two pieces out, and dropped them into the toaster.
He didn't mind eating a bowl of cereal, it's not like it was anything new. Blaziken may not enjoy it too much, but he'll have to make due.
It didn't take long for the toast to pop back up. Brennan grabbed it and threw it on a plate, before heading back over to his freshly made coffee and pouring himself a glass.
He walked back over to the eggs, taking a sip of his nice, hot coffee, savoring the flavor, and the burn that went along with it, as he did.
He flipped the eggs, watching them cook as he did. He was really hoping Gardevoir would enjoy this.
•••
•••
•••
Gardevoir slowly opened her eyes, before sitting up in the bed. She rubbed her tired eyes before looking around the dark room.
She had somehow managed to have forgotten that she stayed in an actual apartment the night before. She was so used to waking up in a cave every morning, that this was just completely new to her.
She looked over at the now vacant spot on the bed where Brennan had been sleeping. She figured he must have already gotten up.
She pushed the covers off of herself, before crawling to the edge of the bed, doing her best not to wake up the still sleeping Mightyena as she did.
Once she got to the edge, she climbed off of the bed, stretched, and let out a little yawn.
For the first time in forever, she didn't wake up feeling sore or still tired. She was one hundred percent rested.
Sleeping in an actual bed the previous night was the most comfortable she had ever been, and the clothes she had on were quite comfortable too.
Gardevoir quietly exited the bedroom, before heading down the hallway. She walked into the living room and saw Blaziken and Machamp still sound asleep. She let out a light giggle, before heading towards the kitchen.
She slowly walked into the kitchen, and saw Brennan standing by the oven. She figured he must have been cooking something.
She stood there watching for several seconds, before she finally spoke up.
"Gardevoir. Garde?" Gardevoir asked, curiously. Brennan turned around, flashing her a smile as he did.
"Oh, good morning, Gardevoir." He said. "Did you sleep okay?" He asked. Gardevoir nodded.
"Voir." She replied.
"That's good. You were out pretty fast. I'm just glad you were comfortable." Brennan said. This got Gardevoir to smile. "Oh, I'm making you breakfast. Eggs and toast, hope that's okay." He continued, as he turned back to the eggs. "They're almost done if you want to take a seat." He said.
Eggs and toast? Gardevoir had never tried either. So this was going to be new. Just like eating corn dogs was the previous night.
Gardevoir gingerly made her way over to the kitchen table, before pulling a chair out and sitting down.
She sat in silence as she watched Brennan fiddle around over by the stove.
Brennan was actually cooking her breakfast. She had just met him a couple of weeks ago, and she was now staying in his apartment, and he was cooking for her.
This got Gardevoir thinking, how much did he care for her?
She thought he was kinda cute actually...
The thought of that made Gardevoir blush. Did she really think that?
Brennan turned around and walked over to the table, carrying a plate with eggs and toast on it in one hand, and his mug of coffee in the other.
"And breakfast is served." Brennan said with a smile, as he sat the plate down in front of her.
Gardevoir examined the items that were on the plate. They certainly smelled good, she knew that right off of the bat.
Brennan sat down in the chair across from her and sipped on his coffee, as he watched her struggle to lift the fork up.
He knew only having three fingers on each hand probably made things that were simple to do for a human, a hundred times more difficult for her.
"You got it?" Brennan asked, he could tell Gardevoir was starting to grow frustrated with it. He wanted to chuckle, but managed to hold it in.
"V-voir." Gardevoir replied, as she continued to try and lift the fork up.
Brennan didn't push anymore, and continued to sit there watching, until she finally did it.
"Voir! Gardevoir! Gardevoir!" Gardevoir exclaimed excitedly, as she held onto the fork. Brennan laughed. She was adorable.
Watching her was like watching a toddler learn how to eat with silverware, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"Congratulations, Gardevoir." Brennan said, a smile prominent on his face.
Gardevoir smiled back, before looking down at the food on her plate. She was excited to see what they tasted like. She knew she would enjoy them if they tasted as good as they smelled, which she was hoping they would.
"They're good, trust me." Brennan said, after watching her for several seconds trying decide which one she wanted to try first. Gardevoir looked up at him, she trusted him.
She looked back down at her plate, before digging her fork into one of the eggs and pulling a small piece off. She looked down at the now disattached piece, before pulling it up to her mouth.
Brennan sat there waiting for her thoughts on it, as she chewed on the small piece and swallowed it.
"Voir!" She exclaimed happily. Brennan chuckled.
"Good, right?" He asked. Gardevoir repeatedly nodded, before digging her fork back into the egg and pulling off another piece.
Brennan sat there and sipped his coffee as he watched Gardevoir eat. It wasn't for another several minutes that more of his Pokémon decided to join them.
"Blaziken." Blaziken said tiredly, as he walked in stretching, before yawning.
He went straight towards the fridge and pulled it open. Brennan knew what he was looking for.
"Sorry, Blaziken, we're out of eggs." Brennan said. Blaziken quickly looked up from the fridge, before noticing Gardevoir eating eggs.
"Blaziken! Blaziken?!" Blaziken exclaimed, as he motioned towards Gardevoir. Gardevoir stopped enjoying her breakfast and looked at him.
"Gardevoir. Garde." Gardevoir said, pushing the plate towards him. Brennan quickly shook his head, before pushing the plate back towards her.
"No. Eat. Enjoy your breakfast. He can do without eggs for a day." Brennan said. Gardevoir looked at him, before looking back at the now annoyed Blaziken. "You eat eggs all the time, this is her first morning here. You can eat cereal today." He said, turning his attention to Blaziken.
"Blaziken. Blaziken." Blaziken complained, as he pulled the box of Frosted Poké Flakes off the top of the fridge. "Blaziken." He continued.
"Yeah, I know those aren't your favorites. I'll get you some Fruity Poké Pebbles at the store today if you stop complaining." Brennan said. Blaziken frowned as he looked at the box of cereal in his hands.
"Blaze. Blaziken. Blaziken." Blaziken muttered to himself as he grabbed a bowl out of the cabinet.
Gardevoir had now slowed down eating. She felt like she had done something wrong. Blaziken lived here, why should she get the rest of the eggs when she had only been there one night?
As Brennan sat there, he started feeling guilty. It was weird. It reminded him of how he started feeling dread out of the blue the previous day. That's when he looked back at Gardevoir and saw her staring down at the plate.
"What's wrong, Gardevoir?" Brennan asked. Gardevoir looked up at him.
"Gardevoir. Garde. Gardevoir." Gardevoir replied, as she looked from the eggs, over to Blaziken, who was annoyingly pouring himself a bowl of cereal.
Brennan caught on to what she meant.
"Gardevoir, ignore him. He'll be fine one day without eggs. Isn't that right, Blaziken?" Brennan said loudly, and seriously.
"Blaziken. Blaziken." Blaziken replied in annoyance.
"See, he's fine. Enjoy your breakfast. You deserve it." Brennan said, turning his attention back to Gardevoir.
"Gardevoir?" Gardevoir said curiously. Brennan nodded.
"Really. Enjoy it." He said. The sudden feeling of guilt instantly vanished from Brennan's mind, once Gardevoir smiled.
It was weird. It was almost like he could feel what she was feeling.
Dread the previous day when the group of Ursaring' attacked her, and guilt just now when Blaziken started acting up about her getting the last couple eggs.
As Gardevoir continued eating, Brennan couldn't help but sit there and wonder just exactly what was going on.
After Blaziken angrily finished eating his bowl of cereal and left the kitchen, and Gardevoir had finished her breakfast, her and Brennan sat at the table in silence.
Brennan was now on his second cup of coffee, and he was slowly sipping on it.
"Oh, I washed your dress last night. It's hanging up so it'll dry. Should be about dry by now." Brennan said, causing Gardevoir to smile.
"Gardevoir. Garde. Voir." Gardevoir said, happily.
Brennan smiled at her, before standing up and walking to the closet were Gardevoir's dress was currently hanging. He opened it up, and once again felt the soft cloth of the dress, only this time, it was one hundred percent dry.
Brennan grabbed the dress and pulled it out of the closet to show Gardevoir. It was actually a nice, beautifully clean white like it was supposed to be.
"Ta da." Brennan said, as he showed Gardevoir her now clean dress.
Gardevoir got up from the table and made her way over to the dress, before grabbing it and admiring how clean it was.
"Gardevoir!" She cried happily. Brennan chuckled.
As happy as Gardevoir was that her dress was now clean, she was a little upset that she was going to have to get out of her comfy sleeping ensemble from the previous night.
"You can go change if you want, I'm going to head into the city to grab some groceries. You're welcome to come with if you want." Brennan said, as he handed Gardevoir the dress.
Gardevoir honestly didn't want to go back into the city, at least not right now. She felt very uncomfortable with the way all of the trainers' and other Pokemon were staring at her.
She knew she had Brennan and his Pokémon to protect her if something happened, and she believed Brennan when he told he wouldn't let anything happen to her.
Gardevoir followed Brennan down the hallway and into his bedroom, as she thought.
Brennan gathered some clean clothes before heading into the bathroom, leaving Gardevoir alone in the room.
She walked over to the door and looked down the hallway to make sure all of the others were distracted. They were. Once she saw they were distracted, she closed the bedroom door.
Once the door was closed, Gardevoir walked back over to the bed, where her dress was currently laying. She started stripping out of her night clothes, not taking her eyes off of the dress as she did.
After stripping out of the t-shirt and the baggy basketball shorts, she stood in the bedroom completely bare of clothes. She was getting ready to put the dress on, when she looked down at her body.
She started feeling the same way she did the previous day in the bathroom. She didn't think she was beautiful, and she honestly didn't think anyone else would either.
She obviously wasn't anything compared to human women, and she knew that. She couldn't compare. No way. Or at least, that's how she saw it.
Gardevoir shook off the negative thoughts, before grabbing her dress and sliding into it.
It was not only cleaner and smelled like a spring meadow, it felt a whole lot more comfortable to wear too.
Gardevoir did a quick twirl, before looking down at her now clean dress.
As she stood there looking down, there was a knock on the door.
"Gardevoir, you decent?" Brennan called.
"Voir." Gardevoir replied. Brennan waited a few seconds after the response, before opening the door. He stopped and smiled when he saw Gardevoir standing there in her freshly washed dressed.
"Wow, you look great, Gardevoir." Brennan said. Gardevoir blushed at the compliment.
Brennan walked over to his dresser and grabbed his backpack and his cap, before looking back at her.
"You want to run with me?" He asked. Gardevoir thought about it a minute, before finally shaking her head.
She honestly would have loved to go with him, she just didn't feel comfortable around all those other people, at least not yet.
"Gardevoir. Gardevoir. Garde. Gardevoir." Gardevoir replied, sadly. Brennan walked up to her, before patting her on the shoulder.
"It's no big deal. Stay here and relax. I'm just going to get some groceries anyways." Brennan said.
"Gardevoir?" Gardevoir asked.
"Yeah, it's okay." Brennan replied with a smile. This made Gardevoir relax a little. She smiled and nodded back.
After, Brennan headed into the living room, with Gardevoir behind him. The others were already all sitting around the tv, lazily watching something none of them were even paying attention to.
"Machamp, Mightyena, do you two want to make a run into the city with me?" Brennan asked. Mightyena instantly jumped to the feet, tail wagging and tongue hanging out. Brennan chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes from you." He said, as he gave Mightyena a pat on the head. "What about you, Champ?" He asked.
"Champ." Machamp replied, before lowering the footrest of his recliner and climbing to his feet.
"Cool. Blaziken, you're in charge. Don't act up, and this goes for all of you, I don't want ANY of you leaving the apartment, got it?" Brennan said, sternly.
"Blaziken." Blaziken replied. Sandslash and Roserade nodded. Brennan then turned around to face Gardevoir.
She may not have technically been his Pokemon, but he still didn't want anything to happen to her.
"You okay with staying here with them and watching tv or something until I get back?" Brennan asked. Gardevoir nodded.
"Voir." She replied.
"Cool." Brennan said. "We shouldn't be gone any longer than an hour." He continued. "You two ready?" He asked, looking at his two ''helpers'' for today's mission into the city.
Both Machamp and Mightyena nodded.
"Alright, let's get going." Brennan said, before heading towards the door.
"Voir!" Gardevoir called, before running and stopping in front of Brennan.
"What's wrong, Gardevoir?" Brennan asked.
"Gardevoir. Gardevoir. Garde. Gardevoir." Gardevoir replied.
With how worried Gardevoir looked when she said that, Brennan figured he knew what she said.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry. These two aren't going to let anything happen, right guys?" Brennan said curiously, as he looked back at the two Pokemon joining him on his trip.
"Champ." Machamp replied, as he nodded. Mightyena nodded, too.
"See, you don't have anything to worry about." Brennan said, as he turned his attention back to Gardevoir.
Gardevoir was unsure, she didn't want to see anything happen to Brennan. It was just a simple trip into the city, something she figured he had done a million times, but still, anything could happen, and she knew that.
Even though she was still worried, she reluctantly nodded anyways.
She saw the previous day how strong Machamp was, and she figured Mightyena was just as strong and protective of his trainer.
"We'll be back, okay?" Brennan said, a reassuring smile on his face.
"Voir." Gardevoir replied, before stepping out of Brennan's way.
"Alright, now lets get going." Brennan said, before he and his small group once again headed for the door.
"Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaze." Blaziken called, as Brennan exited the apartment.
"I won't forget your Fruity Poké Pebbles." Brennan replied, not turning around as he replied.
"Blaziken. Blaze." Blaziken said, as Brennan closed the door behind him.
Gardevoir stood there staring at the door, before looking over at the other three Pokemon, who remained lazily strewn about the living room.
She gingerly made her way over to the recliner that Machamp had been sitting in. The large sinkhole he had created in the cushion from how much he had sat in it, made Gardevoir sink further into the chair than she had wanted.
She looked at the couch and saw Blaziken was spread out on it, and she knew he wasn't going to be moving any time soon, especially not for her, so she just dealt with Machamp's chair.
Now she played the waiting game. Waiting for Brennan to return.
She hated the waiting game...
