(A/N) And here is where I experiment with having a main character act, well, totally out of character. I think it'll be interesting, though it won't last long. I just wanna have some fun with her. I must warn you, there is a sex scene. Not very detailed, but a sex scene nonetheless. And where the hell are all my readers? I've gotten reviews from three different people, though I clearly remember there being many more people who had reviewed the prequel. Did you all die?? Anyway, story time.
There was something foreboding about working at the Celadon City Department Store on a Monday morning. It was absolutely deserted, save for some elderly people who had nothing better to do than to wander aimlessly around the store in a state of indecisiveness before they finally go home without buying anything. Everyone else was either working or attending school. There was only one good thing about this, however: There weren't any annoying little kids running around the store knocking down all the canned goods or making a mess of the bathrooms. There were only three people who worked these days, one of them being Rose and the other two being a couple of fresh-out-of-high-schoolers who didn't bother trying hard. They leaned on the counters they were stationed at and gabbed on about where they wanted to meet after work to have fun, or who they thought was the hottest girl in their circle of friends. It had always gotten to the point where Rose was left to restock the shelves by herself and make a note of informing their supervisor for the hundredth time; even on such a slow day, there was still work to be done.
One of the boys who worked Mondays, as well as all the way through Thursday, was a snobby kid named Gary. His grandfather was none other than Professor Oak, the pokemon expert. Just a couple weeks ago, Gary had begun working at the Pokemon League for some money. But when he'd finally grown tired of doing nothing but ushering champions-to-be into the stadium for six hours a day, he moved to the big city only to become a cashier at the Department Store. He wasn't paid as much as his old job, but this job was much easier with his schedule; except Wednesdays. The Department Store was only ever swarmed on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Christmas.
The other boy who worked at the store was very shy and quiet; he kept to himself unless he was with his friends, which got him a job right next to Rose in stocking. His name was Damien - a lanky, long-haired 19-year-old that wore Converse and tight pants as if they were still "the thing" even out of high school. His dark brown hair always hung over one of his eyes, and it seemed as though it were purposely cut that way. His Converse were worn and torn and falling apart, which indicated either a skater boy or a big concert-goer. He even had the studded leather belt to go with it all.
"Damien, can you help me?" Rose asked from the other side of a tall shelf. "You're taller than me. Could you help me get this up here?"
Damien, with his long legs, strode awkwardly around the corner to find Rose trying to get an enormous bag of pokemon food up on the top shelf. It was high above her head, but it looked like something the six-foot-tall Damien could easily manage.
"Hold on" he said, taking one last gulp of an obnoxious-smelling green energy drink from a can. He set it down on a lower shelf, then lifted up the bag of food and set it high up on the shelf. It leaned against a row of the same brand, right above the wide selection of pokemon treats. Damien grabbed his energy drink back and continued guzzling it.
"That crap is going to kill you" said Rose in her motherly tone.
"Only if I have more than three in a day" Damien responded with a smirk. "Says right here on the can that it's not good to have more than three."
"That's your third one by the way" said Gary, coming around the corner. "I hear it's supposed to cause heart problems or something." Damien simply shrugged in response, then walked off in the opposite direction with his drink in hand.
"I knew he seemed hyper today" said Rose, watching the boy walk away. "No wonder he was trying to bowl with the canned goods." Gary snickered at this.
"Your shift is up at 4, right?" Gary asked.
"Yeah, why?" Rose asked as she sorted the goods on a shelf that she could more easily reach. It was really the only thing left to do besides mop the floor, which had been assigned to Damien hours ago.
"Well... I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the casino tonight. A couple of my friends are going, and it never looks like you get out much." Rose raised an eyebrow. "Um, I mean, I never see you go out anywhere... I didn't mean to offend. I just wanted to know if you'd go out... with me."
"I know what you mean" Rose said with a laugh. "But I'd feel like the odd one out. I don't know any of your friends."
"Well, I could introduce you" said Gary. "And if you want, you can bring a friend or two. It'll be awesome, and it's not like we have to travel that far to get there. Just a couple of blocks from here."
"Yeah, I've passed that building from time to time. But... On a Monday night?"
"It'd be like we've taken over the place." Gary grinned mischievously. "Just us, and maybe a couple of old folks that won't really bother us."
Rose finished organizing the next shelf down, then stood up and thought for a moment. She hadn't really gone out for a night on the town with friends, even in the fourteen or so years she had lived in Celadon City. It would be nice to get out for a change, she thought. "Alright, that sounds fun. I don't have to work tomorrow, and you won't be working until 2. It'll be perfect."
"Okay, I'll be seeing you there then. 7 o' clock."
The rest of the afternoon passed by like a breeze, to Rose's relief. Even though she had taken Christmas week off, she still found it mentally tiring to be back at work stocking shelves all day when only a total of maybe five people came into the store the entire day. After bidding the two boys goodbye, she made her way back home. The sky was filled with dark grey clouds, promising a storm sometime tonight. But Rose wouldn't let this dampen her spirits. Besides, she'd be inside the whole time and probably gambling away all her money. It would be worth it though, seeing as she hadn't made much of her life since Iris was four. She knew exactly who she would ask to join her at the casino tonight, though she hoped nothing would go wrong. There had been much tension between her and Delilah since she'd came back, and it didn't seem to be getting better. This night out would either make it more awkward, or finally loosen them up.
"I'm home!" called Rose, coming in through her front door.
"You sound happy" said Delilah, sitting on the sofa and staring at the TV. She didn't seem to take interest in whatever it was that was showing.
"Well..." began Rose, hanging up her jacket. "Gary Oak asked if I wanted to go to the Game Corner tonight with him and his friends... I wanted to know if you'd go with me." She turned to the older woman and offered a sincere smile. Delilah smirked.
"You know what they're all gonna be doing, right?" asked Delilah as she got up from the couch. Rose shook her head. "They're gonna end up buying drinks at the bar."
"It's not like we're too young for it" said Rose. "And you know I wouldn't abuse it."
"I know" said Delilah. "I just didn't know if you'd feel comfortable. I can't even picture you drinking with the guys."
"Do you drink?" Rose asked. She followed Delilah into the kitchen, and watched as she began raiding the fridge.
"I took up the habit a few years ago. Depression and whatnot."
"Just make yourself at home" said Rose in an irritated tone. "Don't bother asking me if you can have some food."
"Just a snack." Delilah smirked as she pulled an orange out of the fridge and shut the door.
"Jesus, you're impossible." The woman continued to smirk.
"So you're going to be drinking too?" asked Delilah. She walked to the trash can and began unpeeling her orange.
"I don't mind trying it out" responded Rose, leaning against the counter next to Delilah. "Just for fun. I've never gotten to go out like this before, so I want to make the best of it."
"First-time drinkers always ending up passing out." Delilah finished peeling her orange and began pulling apart the sections. "And then you have the massive hangover in the morning."
"I'll take my chances."
Just then, Iris came drifting into the room and gave her mother a squeeze. "Hi Mom!" she said, bouncing over to the fridge.
"You seem to be in a good mood" said Rose with a smile. Iris simply nodded and smiled.
"Heh, she just got back from that kid Edward's house" said Delilah with a smirk. "Didn't you sleep over there too?"
"Oh stop it Delilah" said Rose. "Her life is her business. If she wants to tell us things, she will."
"Where's Richard?" asked Iris, looking through the fridge for a snack.
"He doesn't get out of work until 7 today" said Rose. "When he does, he'll be keeping an eye on you when I go out. I'm going to the Game Corner for the night with some friends."
"Alright" said Iris, pulling out some ham to make a sandwich. She grabbed the bread and placed everything on the counter, then quickly made her sandwich and went into the living room.
"What if she really is dating that boy?" asked Delilah. "You don't think she's too young?"
"I allow it" Rose said simply. "I trust her more than anything, and I hope you do too. She gets her good judgment from you anyway." Rose turned to give her a hug, which was returned awkwardly with the orange pieces still in Delilah's hands. They pulled away and looked at each other for a moment, then Delilah hesitantly went back into the living room to sit on the couch.
Time passed much slower now that Rose was waiting eagerly to leave for the Game Corner. She continuously checked the clock every five minutes until it finally got to the point where she got up and began cleaning, starting with the living room and working her way to the back of the house. She swept and vacuumed and mopped and washed dishes, making sure she took her time. Delilah watched with an amused look on her face, and Iris and Kane remained absorbed in the TV the entire time. They all knew that Rose was only doing it to pass the time, so they tried to ignore the whir of the vacuum and the clinking of dishes being put away in the cupboard. Finally, as she came back into the living room, the clock said ten minutes to 7.
"Have fun?" Delilah asked. She was currently watching a television show about some Hispanic guy who knew how to tame misbehaved dogs. She found it more amusing than interesting, as she did everything. Iris was sitting next to her and playing a handheld videogame, and Kane was watching with intense curiosity. His violet eyes darted back and forth as he watched the miniature character jump and run and dodge traps, and occassionally the tip of his tail would flick back and forth like a cat's.
"I think I've gotten enough cleaning done for the next few months" Rose responded, sitting down between Iris and Delilah.
"You've been on your feet all day" Delilah said with sincere concern. "You came straight home from work and cleaned for hours, and you hardly have time to sit down before we have to head on over to the Game Corner."
"I'll be fine" said Rose, fixing her ponytail absentmindedly.
Knock knock."I bet that's Gary" said Rose, getting up and hurrying to the door. Delilah got up and went with her. When they opened the door, they were came face-to-face with four guys including Gary. He smirked.
"I remember you" he said, looking at Delilah. "You were the woman with the attitude at the Pokemon League. So, how'd you do? Did you lose?"
"Listen you brat-" Delilah began.
"Hey, that isn't what we're here for" said Rose. "We're supposed to be going out to have a good time." She turned to Iris. "I'm leaving now, and I won't be back until after you've gone to bed. Richard will be here soon, so if there's a problem you have him to talk to. But if something happens, there's a phone number-"
"Rose" Delilah interrupted. "I think she'll be just fine. Nothing's going to happen."
Rose looked at Iris for a moment, than said "... Alright. I'll see you in the morning then." She walked up to Iris and gave her a hug, then headed out the door with Delilah in tow.
The clouds seemed even darker now, and a few stray raindrops fell from them every few seconds. There was a chill in the air, and it would probably get worse. The snow hadn't yet melted and instead stayed on the ground in a light layer as it always had. It had even frozen over slightly so that it went crunch crunch when anyone walked on it. Everyone seemed thankful that there was an actual path to walk through in the snow instead of having to dig their way to wherever they needed to go. The walk took about 15 minutes, and in that time Gary made introductions.
One of the men here was a tall and dark-skinned man with dreadlocks, whom they called Aron. He didn't have much muscle to him, but he sure talked up a storm when you got him into bragging about his level 67 character on World of Warcraft and how he's owned every Nintendo system since the very first one came out. His younger brother was with him, whose name was Nick. He had the same infatuation with videogames, but was much less talkative. He instead decided to play his PSP the whole way there and occasionally nodded or grunted in response when someone was talking to him. The last man in the group to be introduced was Damien, though he only had to be introduced to Delilah. She laughed at the motley crew, feeling as though she were a kid again. This put Rose in an even better mood as well.
They made it to the Game Corner when it was just getting dark and they had just turned on the bright and colorful lights on the front of the building. An enormous neon sign flashed the name "Game Corner", and next to the front door was another neon sign displaying the rules: No drinks except for those you purchase at the bar, no one under 18 can gamble, children must be supervised. These seemed simple enough. They all went inside and as soon as they crossed the threshold onto the multi-colored carpet, Gary and the gang made a bee line for the bar. Rose and Delilah followed after, sitting down on the many stools at the counter.
"What'll it be?" asked the bartender. He was of average build and had tattoos all over the place. He had one long, straight beard on the very tip of his chin like some kind of freakish rock star. He even had the piercings to match - all the way up his ear, on his eyebrow, on his lip, and God knows where else. The men took their orders and then Delilah, who ordered as if she had done this many times before. Rose didn't have time to question it before it was her turn to order.
"Uhh..." Rose said lamely.
"She'll have the Bacardi and lemonade" said Delilah with a smile. She turned back toward Rose. "I might as well order you something you might like, seeing as it's your first time." Rose simply nodded. When the drink came to her, she stared at it for a moment.
"You're supposed to drink it" said Gary with a smirk. His glass consisted of some kind of dark red drink.
"Yeah, I know that!" Rose yelled down the counter at him; he was sitting on the very end next to Damien. "Couldn't you have ordered me some wine or something?"
"They don't sell wine here" said Delilah. "These are all mixed drinks. Just try it. You told me once that you liked lemon."
Rose sat there for a moment and continued to stare at the drink, seeing little bubbles floating around the ice cubes. She shrugged, then picked up the glass took a sip. "It tastes... alright" she said, taking another sip as if to make sure. "It's weird though..."
"Well, it's not like you're drinking juice" said Delilah, sipping her martini. "It has a kick to it."
"Watch our drinks while we head to the slots" said Gary, putting down his glass. He the other two hopped off their barstools and began walking away. "Come on Nick" said Aron.
"Alright, alright, hold on" Nick said quickly. "Let me save first." He had been the only one not to order a drink.
"This ought to be interesting" said Rose, taking a bigger sip every time she let the glass touch her mouth.
"Mmhm" said Delilah, sipping out of her own glass.
They sat in silence for a bit as they watched Gary and the others play on the slot machines. Aron looked like he was close to kicking the living crap out of his, but Gary seemed to be doing alright. The others cheered him on as he won game after game, filling up his bag of coins until no more would fit. He headed for the front desk to trade them for a prize, while Aron watched him enviously. Rose reached the halfway mark on her bacardi and didn't seem to be slowing down. She watched Delilah as she sipped from her glass, not really paying attention to anything else. Delilah finally finished her drink and set the empty glass down on the counter.
"What are you thinking about?" asked Delilah.
Rose seemed to snap out of her trance, looking down at her drink with a blush on her face. "Just... us, I guess."
"What about us?" Delilah saw the bartender coming her way and promptly ordered another drink.
"Well, I had a question, to start" said Rose. "Why haven't you left yet? I thought you couldn't stand me."
"That was years ago" responded Delilah. She took her newly filled drink off the counter and took a sip. "Things are different now. It's like... we're starting all over again or something. I know there will still be feelings there, and reminders of what happened to us, but we have to learn to get past that. What's important right now is Iris. We've already kept this from her for years. I can't come back after all this and let her know the truth, and then take all that away from her and probably risk hurting her even more by leaving again. I'm here to stay as long as you let me. But... I guess I've been... anticipating, you could say, you kicking me out. I've been prepared to buy myself a house here so I can at least see Iris once in a while. I want her to get to know me, and to know what her real mother is like. But it's also up to her whether or not she can see me. If she doesn't want anything to do with me, I can understand."
"I think she wants to get to know you" said Rose, finally finishing her drink. "But I don't think she knows how to approach you. You've been here for a few days. Maybe you should talk to her first, since she hasn't yet come to you. She's very sweet and she has a good head on her shoulders, so the worst she can really do is simply tolerate rather than bond."
"Another bacardi lemonade?" the bartender asked as he came up to Rose.
"Um, oh, yes please" said Rose, handing over the empty glass.
"Hey! Mr. Bartender Guy!" came an approaching voice. It was Damien, running up to the bar with a few dollars in his hand. The bartender ignored him as he mixed Rose's drink and slid it over to her. "Hey you!"
"My name is Paul" said the man, pointing to his name tag in annoyance. "What do you want? Another drink?"
Damien shook his head, his face slightly flushed from his last drink. "I wanted to know if you guys are selling Monster."
"That energy drink crap?" Damien nodded his head. "There's a vending machine over there, but you can't bring it into the casino area. You have to stay here to drink it." Damien headed in the direction Paul was pointing without so much as a "thank you".
"You have some strange friends" said Delilah, already finishing her next martini. She set it down, but waved Paul off as he approached again.
"It seems I'm a lightning rod for weirdness" said Rose as she watched Aron punch his slot machine angrily. The others laughed at him.
"I remember you told me that Gary and Damien work with you," said Delilah, "but what about the other two?"
"Well, I actually don't know Nick." Rose stopped to gulp her drink, then continued. "But his brother, Aron, works on weekends at the Department Store. I only ever see him on the few Saturdays I'm asked to come in and work, but I usually have that day off. I hear he has a lot of brothers and one sister who moved far away. His two older brothers went off to college to become mechanical engineers, Nick works at the videogame store nearby, and the other younger brother is still in high school. Their father was in the military for a while, but inherited enough money from his father to live off of without working. I'm not sure what the grandfather did for a living, but the whole family itself is rich."
"Interesting" said Delilah as she watched the group move from the slot machines to the poker table. "So what's with this Richard guy who's always at your house? Are you two dating?"
Rose gasped and choked a bit on her drink. "No!" she yelled, trying to clear her throat. "I met him here at the Game Corner a few years ago and after we got to know each other, he became almost like family. He was the fatherly figure Iris never had in her life. He would come over on the holidays to visit and he'd even help pay for groceries if we were running short. He's a huge help, though he's never here in Kanto for long."
"What does he do for a living?" Delilah asked.
"Mostly he just travels" said Rose, her voice slightly slurring. She took a huge gulp of her drink to finish it off. "He goes all over the place to collect badges and catch rare pokemon. He likes to learn about them too. I don't think he really stays still for long enough to have an actual job. I guess he just makes his earnings fighting gym battles. I hear trainers win money at the gym." Delilah nodded to confirm this. "Anyway, he's gotten all the badges for this region and actually managed to defeat the Elite Four at the Pokemon League."
"Wow, that's pretty big" said Delilah. "Did you know there aren't actually four members there to defeat?"
"Yeah, I know" said Rose. She nodded to Paul as he walked up to her before he could even ask her if she wanted another drink. "Richard told me that he had to win against this guy named Lance for the championship title, but the first four still count even when you don't beat Lance. Richard didn't win by the way, but went on to train harder. I think he's saving Lance for another day. He has most of the badges from the Kanto region. Just a few weeks ago he told me he got the Goldenrod City badge. And you know, the funniest thing happened..."
Delilah chuckled. "I was the one who fought him outside the gym that day, and he lost. I needed a challenge, but I guess he wasn't it."
Rose slapped her on the arm playfully. "Oh stop that. I think Richard's a great trainer."
"How old is he by the way?" asked Delilah.
"He'll be 46 in April. I know he's a lot older than me, but I see him as my best friend. He's always there when I need him. When both Iris and I need him. I don't even know how I can repay him for everything he's done for us. I think he's been wanting to date me for a while, so he could be more like Iris' father, but I just can't see myself doing that." Delilah started laughing again. "What is so funny??"
"You know, you talk so much when you're drunk" said Delilah.
"I'm not drunk." Though the flush on Rose's cheeks told otherwise.
"It's good to be able to talk to you though" Delilah said. "Um, but I think you need to slow down on those drinks..." Rose looked down to see that she had finished off half of her third drink, and already the room looked like it was tilting. She blinked the feeling away and concentrated on Delilah, who was looking at her with concern.
Rose scoffed. "I'll be okay. This will be my last one."
Two more drinks later, Rose had finally decided to join the gang at the pool table. They had migrated here to have some fun, and Delilah had gone off to play poker. Rose got into talking to Damien about whatever came to mind, though she couldn't remember for the life of her what went on in the conversation. She could remember bits and pieces, like when she rambled on about her family life and admitting to having been married to Delilah. But distinguishing between an "indoor voice" and an "outdoor voice" was completely forgotten in the time she'd sat at the pool table, during which everyone within ear shot, meaning everyone at the pool table and near it, heard her life story. Damien suggested that she take the time to compose herself and relax, though she insisted on talking his ear off.
"Alright, I got this one" said Gary, strutting up to the pool table and grabbing the stick from Aron. He lined up his shot and fired away, pocketing the black ball along with a few others that weren't even his colors. "Dammit" he said, throwing the pool stick aside.
"I'm bored" Nick complained, pulling his PSP out and turning it on.
Swaying slightly, Rose got up from her seat to see what Delilah was doing. In her clouded reality, she could hear garbled noises that sounded like laughter. Gary and the others watched her in amusement as she used the pool table to hold herself up, walking over to the other end of the room with hindered equilibrium. She found Delilah at the poker table with an endless mountain of playing chips in front of her. Rose pulled up a chair and sat next to her, moving over as close as possible and resting her head on the older woman's shoulder.
"I think you've had too much to drink" said Delilah as she made a bet on her hand of cards. Rose shook her head defiantly. "After this game I'm taking you home." She shook her head again. Delilah sighed.
"Iris can't see me like this" Rose muttered.
"I'll bring you right to bed. Besides, do you even know late it is right now?"
Rose took a moment to think. "Half past 8?"
"No, that's what time it was when you were on your third drink" said Delilah. "It's a quarter to midnight."
"Will you sleep with me?" Rose asked, looking up at Delilah with hazy eyes.
There was a pause. "... I can't do that" said Delilah. She set her cards down face-up on the table to show her winning hand, scoffing as she saw more chips coming her way.
Rose snickered into Delilah's shoulder. "You have a dirty mind."
"I'll sleep IN bed with you," said Delilah, "if that's what you're asking."
"What if I wanted differently?" Rose slurred, attempting to move herself to a poor excuse for a standing position; she managed to stand up for minute before falling over, and Delilah caught her as she nearly missed the chair.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Delilah. "...You know, never mind. I don't want to know. We need to get you home, come on." Delilah stood up from the table and stretched. She helped hold Rose up and guide her to the others, who were wrapped up in a discussion about their favorite hot actresses.
"I'm taking Rose home guys" Delilah said.
"You gettin' laid too?" asked Aron from within the group. Delilah rolled her eyes and headed for the front doors. She wrapped her arms around Rose's shoulders to keep her warm against the torrential downpour that had started, hurrying down the street and taking a turn around the corner. She remained patient with the drunken woman, despite the fact that she continuously rambled on about food cravings and sexual fantasies the whole way there.
"When we get home, you're going right to bed" said Delilah.
"I'm not a kid" said Rose, stumbling to keep up even with Delilah holding her steady.
"But I'm still going to take care of you."
They finally made it home at midnight on the dot, as displayed on the clock in the dark living room. Richard was fast asleep on the couch, an arm and a leg hanging limp over the edge. He muttered something in his sleep, then turned over and pulled his blanket tight around himself. Delilah led Rose to her room and carefully sat her on the bed, then went upstairs real quick to check up on Iris. She was buried under a mountain of blanket with Kane curled up in a ball at the end of the bed. The orange glow of his tail filled the room like a campfire, forming dancing shadows all over the walls. Delilah smiled and shut the door carefully. She made it back downstairs and back to the bedroom, just in time to see Rose lying completely naked on the bed.
"What are you doing?" asked Delilah, crossing her arms without the slightest look surprise on her face.
"I don't want to sleep with clothes on" said Rose, shutting her eyes and laying on her back comfortably.
"At least get under the covers" said Delilah. "You're going to be cold." She took the blankets from the end of the bed where they were folded neatly and pulled them up over Rose. "Do you have any pajamas I can wear?"
"Sleep naked with me" said Rose. "You'll keep me warm." There was a hint of sincerity behind her voice, even though there were hardly any coherent words coming out of her mouth.
Delilah sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight. "This isn't appropriate." She took her shirt and pants off, then slipped into the bed next Rose. Rose turned to face her and wrapped her arms around Delilah.
"I said naked" she complained, tugging at Delilah's bra clasp. She rolled her eyes and took that off as well, her nipples immediately hardening from the cool air; she pulled the blankets up to her chin.
"Happy now?" she asked. "Now get to sleep." She gasped as she felt Rose trying to get her panties off. "None of that" Delilah said, grabbing the offending hand and pulling it away. "I know what you're getting at and I'm not going to let you do it."
"Why won't you let me?" Rose whined as she tried to get her hand free.
"I'm not going to explain this to you while you're drunk. We just can't do it."
"It's just this once" said Rose, managing to pull her hand free and grasp Delilah's panties again. She sighed.
~~~~~
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~~~~~
This is so bad... Delilah thought as she gripped the blankets underneath her. She moaned as another wave of pleasure washed over her. We really shouldn't be doing this... This is wrong. Oh God... Her fingers were tangled in Rose's hair, and her back arched with every moan. She doesn't even know what she's doing... The feeling suddenly faded, and Delilah looked down to see that Rose had passed out right between her legs. She pulled the woman's limp body up, laying her gently beside her and stroking her back.
Suddenly, Delilah began laughing. She laughed until she was crying, and cried until she eventually cried herself to sleep.