.

-The Shower-

October of 2033. Late Afternoon. Slateport City, Hoenn.

Brendan opened up the cabinets and looked around.

Nothing.

Letting out a sigh, he rubbed his head in frustration. He had spent the past 5 minutes looking for a very particular snack, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't seem to find it anywhere. It was just then that he heard the sound of running water coming from down the hall. Deciding that it was pointless to continue his search alone, he made his way towards the sound.

The door was shut, and Brendan could see the steam creeping out from the crack at the bottom. Without hesitation, Brendan grabbed hold of the knob and pushed the door open. His face was blasted with warm air upon entry, but it didn't stop him as he casually walked up the shower curtain and pulled it aside.

"Hey, are we—"

But Brendan didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. Hilda, who was currently standing in the shower, clad in nothing but a layer of soap, let out a startled yell at the sudden intrusion and whipped the loofa she held in her hand at him.

Brendan, however, wasn't fazed by this at all as he caught the loofa before it could strike him in the face. "Stop screaming, it's just me," he said plainly. "Are we out of Cheetos?"

Upon realizing that it was her husband standing before her and not some intruder as she had assumed, Hilda let out an exasperated sigh. "Brendan!" she snapped, grabbing the shower curtain in a poor attempt to shield herself from him. "Don't do that! I thought you were a burglar or something! You're lucky I didn't deck you!"

Brendan let what she was saying go in one ear and out the other as he continued to stare blankly at her. "…So are we out of Cheetos?"

Furrowing her brows, Hilda stared at him in mild confusion. "Are we…? Wha—" She shook her head in frustration, pulling a hand out from behind the shower curtain so that she could shove him gently. "You interrupted my shower and scared the Hell out of me for that!? No! Screw you!" She shut the shower curtain closed. "Besides, those Cheetos are mine. I'm not letting you have the last of them. Eat your own stuff."

Brendan blinked at her response, looking down at the loofa he still held in his hand. If Hilda had bought the Cheetos for herself, then that could only mean she was keeping them hidden away from him in her private food stash. Eyeing the shower suspiciously, Brendan took a moment before quickly rushing out the bathroom door and sprinting down the hall—dropping the loofa in the process.

Hilda paused when hearing the loud footsteps bang against the hardwood. She instantly realized her mistake, and her face fell.

Meanwhile, Brendan burst into their bedroom. He quickly knelt down on the floor and pulled out a decently sized, plastic box from beneath their bed. He lifted the top off and grinned at its contents. It was mainly filled with brightly colored bags and containers with words written on them in Detin that didn't understand. But sitting right on the top was what he had been looking for all along—the half eaten bag of Cheetos.

He grinned, unrolling the top and sticking his hand inside. He then retrieved a fist-full of the cheesy snack and snickered as he put one in his mouth.

"You dick!"

Brendan's face fell. Turning around, he realized that he had forgotten to close and lock the door behind him, and now Hilda stood in the doorway. She was dripping wet, and her hair hung in front of her face as she clung onto the towel wrapped around her chest. Brendan could have sworn she looked just like something out of a horror movie—and in that moment, she may as well have been.

Looking left and right, Brendan attempted to find an escape as he stood up. However, his planning wasn't fast enough as Hilda tackled him onto the bed.

"Give those back!" Hilda demanded, reaching for the orange bag as Brendan flailed desperately beneath her—all the while attempting to keep the bag out of her grasp.

"We share in this house!" Brendan muffled through a mouthful of Cheetos.

"Well maybe I would have shared if you weren't going around walking into peoples' showers!" Hilda snarled as she continued to wrestle him.

Brendan let out a frustrated grunt as Hilda got a grip on the bag and began to tug. "Don't even kid yourself! You were hoarding!"

Hilda tugged harder. "I was not hoarding! I was saving!"

"Same thing!"

"Give it back!"

"Make me!"

Just then, there was a loud rip, followed by a rain of orange dust down onto them and the bed. All Hilda could do was stare in disbelief, but after a beat her face began to heat with rage as she opened her mouth to yell.

"Uhm…"

Brendan and Hilda both paused at the faint voice coming from the doorway. Turning her head slowly, Hilda's face went from beat red to sheet white. Standing in the door were Allie and Amber—neither of whom Hilda had seen since the start of the new Pokemon Training season.

Amber looked utterly horrified as she took in the sight before her, and Allie looked entirely unfazed as she stared at them both with dead eyes.

"…M-Mom…?" Amber managed after a moment of awkward silence. "Dad…?"

Quickly regaining her composure, Hilda took a breath and sat up, straightening out her towel. "K-kids!" she stammered, stumbling to her feet. "We weren't expecting you to stop by."

Brendan sat up straight and held up his hands defensively. "It's not what it looks like."

Amber's face scrunched in nervousness and confusion as she glanced between the two. But before she got the chance to speak, Allie flatly said, "I don't wanna know." Grabbing a hold of Amber's hand, Allie pulled her out of the room and down the hallway. "We're going to my parents'."

And with that, they were gone, leaving Brendan and Hilda alone. There was a long silence that followed—neither knowing what to say. But once a minute had passed, Hilda scowled angrily and turned on her heel as she marched back to the bathroom.

"Stay out of my showers!"

...And so it continues!