Three days had passed since Luna, Lane, and Frankie's visit. Three days had also passed since the bathroom incident.
For the most part, Gardevoir and Brennan had tried their very best to forget that it even happened. It just made them feel uncomfortable around each other if they didn't.
But, besides that, everything else had been good.
Gardevoir had actually really enjoyed Luna. She didn't feel as comfortable with her as she did Brennan, of course, but still.
Lane was okay, too. But she didn't feel like she cared too much for Frankie. The way she caught him staring at her chest was just way too off for her.
She was excited, however. Tomorrow, they were supposed to be meeting up with Luna, Lane, and their Pokémon and spending time in the city. Gardevoir couldn't wait.
For the first time since she had been there, Gardevoir was actually excited to be going back to the city. She couldn't wait to go to some of the stores with Luna.
Brennan had actually been pretty relived that Gardevoir liked Luna so much. Luna was actually pretty hard not to like. But with how shy Gardevoir is, he figured it would have been possible.
Today, the group had been lounging around the apartment. Gardevoir didn't even feel the need to change out of her pajamas, so she didn't.
They had all been relaxing in the living room watching tv. Brennan didn't care what was on. He knew his Pokémon all had different tastes in shows, so he let them decide.
After Blaziken had refused to give up the remote, Gardevoir used her psychokinesis to once again take it from him. Brennan got a kick out of it. Gardevoir enjoyed seeing him smile, it made her feel good. Especially considering she was the one to do it.
Blaziken wasn't too thrilled about having the remote taken from him. He still didn't seem like he cared for Gardevoir.
Yes, it did still annoy Brennan the way he acted towards her. But at this point, it didn't seem like Blaziken even fazed Gardevoir anymore.
Before it would make her feel uncomfortable. But now, she just plays it off like he's not even there. And Brennan figured that annoyed him too.
Brennan leaned back against the couch, with his arms folded and his feet propped up on the coffee table, staring at the tv as Gardevoir, who was sat next to him, flipped through the channels. He knew she was looking for any type of modeling show.
What Brennan thought was funny was Gardevoir had somehow managed to turn Roserade onto watching those modeling shows. Fashion was something Roserade had very little interest in before Gardevoir showed up.
Roserade had been lying on her stomach, but when he realized that Gardevoir had the remote, she quickly sat upright, waiting for Gardevoir to find a channel.
A small smile grew on Brennan's face. With the exception of Blaziken, his Pokémon had finally been interacting more with Gardevoir. It was a pleasant sight to see.
Machamp joined them for one of their nature walks a couple of days ago, and he and Gardevoir had a contest to see who could lift a heavier tree log. Gardevoir won, but that's because she used her psychokinesis to lift.
Machamp wasn't sore about losing either, he thought it was quite funny just like Brennan did.
And of course Brennan already knew that Mightyena liked her. He wasn't shy when it came to meeting new people or Pokémon. And Gardevoir seemed to know where his sweet spot is when she's rubbing him, just like Luna does. He loved anyone who knew where his sweet spot is.
And ever since Roserade started her bonding with Gardevoir, Sandslash has started to try, too. Brennan knew that was going to happen. Sandslash and Roserade were close, so whatever one of them did, the other had to.
Sandslash wasn't into fashion like the girls were, but he and Gardevoir did realize they both really enjoyed the same cartoons. Sandslash did have a good taste in cartoons, so he wasn't surprised.
Brennan was broke away from his thoughts, when he heard Blaziken groan. He looked at him, before looking back at the tv. Gardevoir had managed to find another fashion show.
A smile was very present on her face, as she sat back, entranced with the models on the tv. Brennan smiled at her, before looking back at the tv.
Roserade was sat still, enjoining the show just as much as Gardevoir was. Brennan let out a light chuckle when he noticed.
They watched as the tall, brown haired model walked down the catwalk wearing a short, lacy-black dress. Her Sylveon, who was wearing a matching lacy-black vest with two bow ties on over her already existing ones, followed her. Brennan had to admit, it was kinda adorable.
He started wondering what it would be like if one of his Pokémon' was a model. The first thing that popped into his mind was Blaziken wearing some sort of dress, strutting as he walked down the catwalk. Brennan struggled to keep from breaking out into hysterics at the thought.
He broke away from his thoughts, looking over at Blaziken as he did. Blaziken sat at the opposite end of the couch with his arms folded and an annoyed look on his face.
As annoyed as Brennan got with Blaziken over the way he had been acting over the past couple of weeks, he did kind of feel bad for him. Blaziken was used to things being the way they were before Gardevoir arrived. But regardless of whether he liked it or not, she was there. Things have changed. The others have gotten used to her, so why won't he?
Brennan sat there lost in thought again. He really wished Blaziken would warm up to her, at least a little.
After all, even though Brennan was the trainer, Blaziken was the leader of his team. He had always been. Heck, the others looked up to Blaziken. So seeing him being so stubborn was... sad.
"Roserade!" Roserade exclaimed, happily, as she pointed at the tv, once again breaking Brennan from his thoughts.
"Gardevoir. Garde." Gardevoir said, as she smiled and nodded.
Brennan looked at her, before looking at the tv. The reason Roserade had been so excited was because the next model that came walking down the catwalk, was being accompanied by none other than, a Roserade.
The model was a tall, slender brunette women, wearing a tight to the body, green sequin dress, that hung down to about her thighs. The dress had a half pink, half blue rose pinned over the left breast. It was pretty obvious why that was.
Her accompanying Roserade was wearing a matching sequin dress that hung down to the floor. She had her hair tied with with a pink and blue ribbon. Brennan's Roserade was enamored with her.
"Roserade? Roserade?!" Roserade asked, as she turned around to face Brennan.
"That dress probably costs more than I have saved up. Maybe if we win the lottery or something." Brennan replied. Roserade looked away in disappointment. Brennan slightly shook his head, as an amused smile formed on his face.
After the last model made her way down and back up the catwalk with her Fennekin, all the models made their way back down the catwalk with their dressed up Pokémon' one last time. There was a series of flashes from cameras and claps, as the show ended. Both Gardevoir and Roserade were disappointed by this. Blaziken... not so much.
"Blaziken. Ken. Blaziken?" Blaziken asked, annoyance clearly present in his voice. Brennan looked over at him, equally annoyed.
"Blaziken, you have had the tv to yourself all day. Let the others watch what they want for a little while." Brennan said. Blaziken huffed and folded his arms as he looked away. It was like dealing with a child who wasn't getting their way.
He slowly looked over at Gardevoir, who was back to flipping through the channels. He growled in annoyance.
Brennan heard the growl, and was growing very fed up with the way Blaziken was acting. So he decided something.
"Hey, how do you guys feel about pizza for dinner tonight?" Brennan asked. His Pokémon all let out some sort of happy cry in response. He chuckled.
He looked over at Gardevoir and saw just how confused she was. She had never had pizza before.
"Trust me, Gardevoir. Pizza is great." Brennan reassured her. "It's like a pie, but has cheese, pepperoni, sauce and other toppings of the sort." He explained. Gardevoir was intrigued by this. She smiled and happily nodded.
"Gardevoir!" Gardevoir said, happily. Brennan chuckled.
"Champ. Champ. Machamp." Machamp said, getting Brennan's attention.
"Yes, Machamp, I know you don't eat pepperoni. I will order two." He replied. Machamp nodded at his trainer in response.
Brennan stood up and stretched. He was getting ready to walk into his bedroom to grab his cellphone that he had left laying on his dresser.
"Voir?" Gardevoir said curiously, getting Brennan to stop and face her.
"It's okay, Gardevoir. I have to go grab my phone. I left it in the bedroom." He replied. Gardevoir nodded.
Every time Brennan would leave a room, Gardevoir would get somewhat paranoid and ask him where he was going. She was always so scared that he wasn't going to come back, even if he was just going into another room for a split second.
Brennan didn't get mad at her or anything for asking. Every time she asked, he could sense her worry. But, he had come back enough times over the past two weeks she had been there to where she was getting more trusting. Well, at least Brennan thought she was getting more trusting.
He walked out of the living room and down the hall. Gardevoir didn't take her eyes off of him until he was completely out of view.
Her lingering sense of worry didn't last too long, however. Brennan wasn't out of the room for ten seconds before re-appearing from down the hall. Gardevoir was once again able to relax.
"So, I'm getting two pizzas. One with pepperoni and one without. Is that good?" Brennan asked, as he looked around at his Pokémon.
"Blaziken. Blaze. Blaziken." Blaziken said. Blaziken liked getting olives and green pepper on his pizza, Brennan didn't care either way. He liked those toppings. But, he was worried Gardevoir wouldn't. And instead of making her pick them off, leaving an after taste on the pizza, he decided something that Blaziken wasn't going to like.
"This time we're going to avoid getting those, buddy. I want to make sure Gardevoir will actually enjoy it since its her first time eating it." Brennan said. Blaziken didn't enjoy his response too much.
"Blaziken. Blaze." Blaziken complained.
"It's just this once, okay?" Brennan said. Blaziken crossed his arms in annoyance. He narrowed his eyes as he glanced over at Gardevoir. Brennan took notice.
Brennan shook his head, before looking over at Gardevoir.
"Does that sound good to you?" Brennan asked. Gardevoir nodded. She still had her cute, innocent smile on her face. Brennan had really grown to enjoy that.
After the pizzas were ordered, Brennan got ready to head into the city to get them. He planned on taking Blaziken with him so they could have a little privacy to talk. Brennan really wanted to try and get him to change his behavior.
"Blaziken, I want you to come with me to pick them up." Brennan said, as he stood in front of his Pokémon.
"Blaziken. Blaze." Blaziken complained.
"Yeah, yeah, I know you don't want to, but it'll get you out of the apartment for a little while. You're the only one that has refused to get off that couch in the last week." Brennan said. Blaziken groaned loudly, before standing up. "Machamp, you're in charge while we're gone." He continued, looking over at his four-armed Pokémon as he did.
"Machamp." Machamp replied, as he nodded.
"Good. Again, you guys know the rules. I don't want any of you leaving the apartment while we're gone, got it?" Brennan said, strictly. His Pokémon nodded in response.
"Gardevoir. Garde?" Gardevoir said, curiously, as she hopped up from the couch and grabbed Brennan's arm.
"I'll be okay. We should only be gone about half an hour." Brennan replied, trying to reassure her. Gardevoir nodded. Like usual, she started to get really worried. The fear of him not coming back was once again prominent. But, she had to tell herself over and over again that he's always come back. That helped relax her, a little at least. She wasn't going to be fully relaxed again until she saw him walk back through the door. "We're heading out. Again, we shouldn't be gone long. So behave." He continued, looking around at his scattered Pokémon.
After, he turned back towards Gardevoir, gave her a small smile, and patted her on the shoulder.
"I'll see you when we get back, okay?" Brennan said. Gardevoir's cheeks lit up with just the slightest amount of blush, causing her to look away nervously.
"V-Voir." She replied in an almost inaudible tone. Brennan's smile grew ever so slightly wider with her response.
"Okay, Blaziken, lets go." Brennan said, before he and Blaziken headed to the door.
Gardevoir slowly lowered herself back down into her seat on the couch, as she watched them leave. Her blush remained on her face as she did.
•••
•••
•••
Brennan and Blaziken had started their walk into the city. The pizza place wasn't too far off of the path, so that was good.
It had been a pretty lazy day, so it had passed pretty quickly and the sun was starting to set.
Brennan looked over at his Pokémon- watching the wind blow through his already messy fur.
"Blaziken, look. I know things have been...different the past couple of weeks, but you have to stop acting so cold towards Gardevoir. She hasn't done anything wrong." Brennan said, getting Blaziken to look at him.
"Blaziken. Blaze? Blaziken?" Blaziken said in a surprised annoyance. "Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaze. Blaziken!" He exclaimed. Brennan was somewhat caught off guard with the way Blaziken had just raised his voice at him, but that was the least of his worries at that moment.
"Blaziken, I'm not playing favorites. I don't know why you would even say something like that. Just because I made you let Gardevoir watch tv, or because I ordered a pizza without your favorite toppings...once, doesn't mean you need to treat her like she pissed in your Poké-O's." Brennan said. Blaziken shook his head as he looked away.
"Blaziken. Blaziken, Blaze?" Blaziken said, curiously, as he looked back at his trainer. "Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaze. Blaziken. Blaze-I-ken." He continued, flailing his arms as he did. He wanted to get his point across.
"Yes, I know you were there first, and it's still your home just as much as it is the others. But Gardevoir, she obviously hasn't had it as easy as us. The others and I are trying to make her feel more at home, and you should start too. Because I'm pretty sure, if the roles were reversed, and Gardevoir was treating you like you don't belong, it would make you feel unwelcome and uncomfortable, too." Brennan said. Blaziken shook his head again, as he quickened his pace just a little bit.
"Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaze. Blaziken." He said, not looking back at his trainer as he did.
"What do you mean you're done with this conversation? Blaziken, I'm being serious here. You can't just walk away from me." Brennan said.
"Blaziken. Blaze." Blaziken replied. Brennan was starting to grow very annoyed at this point.
Brennan sped up to catch up to Blaziken. When he caught him, he grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to stop.
"Blaziken, stop acting like this." Brennan said, causing Blaziken to shrug his hand off.
"Blaziken. Blaziken? Blaze. Blaziken. Blaze. Blaziken!" Blaziken yelled, as he finally turned around to face Brennan. "Blaziken! Blaze. Blaziken!" He continued.
Brennan stood there, watching as Blaziken finally exploded. Unfortunately, Brennan saw this coming. He was hoping he could calm Blaziken down before it happened, but it doesn't seem like he was able to.
"Blaziken-" Brennan started, before being cut off.
"-Blaziken! Blaziken. Blaze. Blaziken." Blaziken said, weeks worth of frustration finally forcing its way out of him.
Yes, Blaziken disliked Gardevoir. He disliked her because she shows up out of nowhere and Brennan turned all of his attention to her regardless of whether he wants to admit it or not. It made him mad. It wasn't just about the eggs, or the tv, or the pizza toppings, it was the fact that she shows up and she automatically starts getting special treatment. Like she was more important than him and the others, and he was tired of it.
"Blaziken! Blaziken! Blaze!" Blaziken yelled. Brennan just continued to stand there, allowing Blaziken to get everything he needed to off of his chest. "Blaziken! Blaziken! Blaze! "Blaziken!" He continued, before turning his back to his trainer. "Blaziken. Blaziken. Blaze." He finished, before walking back towards the apartment.
"Where are you going?" Brennan asked.
"Blaziken." Blaziken replied. He was going home. He didn't even want to be around Brennan at that moment. He didn't want to be around Gardevoir either, but he didn't really have too many options.
Brennan stood there, watching Blaziken as he walked back the way they had just come. Blaziken knew his way back to the apartment, so he wasn't worried about him getting lost. He figured he needed some time to himself, so that's why he decided not to go after him.
Heck, Brennan needed some time to himself to think through everything that had just happened. He brought Blaziken with him in hopes to talk him into changing his attitude towards Gardevoir, but he ended up pushing him over the edge instead.
Brennan shook his head in disappointment, as he continued his walk into the city to get the pizza. This was going to be rough to patch up, and he knew it.
•••
•••
•••
After slowly making his way back to the apartment, Blaziken stood outside staring at it. He honestly didn't even want to be around anyone at that particular moment. He was frustrated and upset with what had happened. He had never yelled at Brennan the way he had just done, but he just couldn't hold his frustrations in anymore. He couldn't.
Blaziken stood there for several minutes just staring at the large, brick apartment building in front of him.
He eventually decided to back inside. He was thirsty anyways.
Blaziken headed back towards their apartment and knocked on the door. Brennan had the key, so there was no way he was getting in without knocking.
Several seconds passed, before Blaziken heard heavy footsteps approach the door.
After several more seconds of waiting, the door opened, and Machamp stood in front of him. He was confused.
Blaziken pushed through without waiting for him to move. Gardevoir immediately jumped up when she saw that he was alone.
"Gardevoir?! Gardevoir?! Garde?!" Gardevoir exclaimed, panic starting to take over.
"Champ. Machamp?" Machamp asked.
"Blaziken. Blaze." Blaziken replied, not stopping as he walked towards the kitchen. He simply told them Brennan was on his way to get the pizza, and that was it. They didn't need to know why he had come back.
Gardevoir was still in panic mode, fearing that something had happened to him.
Roserade and Mightyena were immediately to their feet trying to calm her down. Machamp stood in the same spot he had been after being nudged out of the way, watching Blaziken as he disappeared into the kitchen.
Something had happened, and he knew it.
•••
•••
•••
Brennan had got the pizzas and was almost home with them. The whole walk there and back, the only thing he could think about was what had happened between him and Blaziken.
It hurt him as he thought about it. Blaziken was his bestfriend, and had been for almost ten years. And over those ten years, they had never had an argument like that before.
Brennan knew he was going to have to fix things. Realistically it was his fault the reason Blaziken felt the way he did, so it was his responsibility to fix things.
Several minutes of hurtful thinking passed, before Brennan finally reached his apartment. He hesitated going inside because he knew he was going to have to face Blaziken again. He was hoping he had calmed down some.
Brennan headed for the door. He went to unlock it, but saw that it was already unlocked, meaning Blaziken had made it home. That relieved Brennan somewhat. At least he knew Blaziken actually came home.
He pushed open the door and saw Gardevoir sitting in a panic on the couch with his other Pokémon trying to calm her down.
"Gardevoir, what's wrong?" Brennan asked in a worried tone.
"Gardevoir! Gardevoir!" Gardevoir exclaimed, as she jumped up and quickly made her way over to him. She tackled him into a hug and practically took him off of his feet.
When she tackled him, he threw the pizzas up in the air. Luckily, Machamp was successfully able to catch them.
"G-Gardevoir. Gardevoir. Voir." Gardevoir exclaimed, as she hugged him. Brennan rubbed her back, obviously able to tell that she had been worried. Mainly because he was able to feel that she had been.
"It's okay, Gardevoir. I told you I was coming back." He replied, soothingly, trying to ignore the fact that he was being stabbed with her chest spike.
"G-Gardevoir. Voir." Gardevoir said in an inaudible whisper, as she continued to hug him.
"Champ. Machamp?" Machamp asked, as he pointed to the kitchen. He knew Blaziken was in there.
"It's nothing guys. Blaziken just didn't want to come, so he came back. Nothing to worry about." Brennan replied.
Machamp was a lot smarter than he was given credit for, so he already knew something had happened, he just didn't know what.
"So... how's about we eat?" Brennan said, curiously. Gardevoir finally broke the hug enough to look up at him. She was more relaxed now, which was good.
Brennan headed for the kitchen to get some plates and napkins. It was now time for the awkward dinner they were about to have to go through. Brennan tried to push that thought to the back of his mind, remembering this was also going to be the first time Gardevoir got to eat pizza. He was generally curious about how she was going to react to it.
And having to awkwardly eat with Blaziken after their fight, was going to be worth it to see Gardevoir's reaction to another new food. Besides, it gave him time to think of his he was going to apologize to Blaziken. 'Cause he sure did need time to think that one through.
•••
•••
•••
The room was dark. Two men nervously stood in the middle of the room, waiting for their boss' response.
"What do you mean you couldn't find here?!" A tall, brown haired man yelled, as he spun around in his chair to face the two men that had just entered the room.
"W-we're sorry, sir, b-but we couldn't find her." One of the men replied, nervously. The boss growled in annoyance, before pounding on the arm rest of his chair.
"I gave you morons one job and you couldn't even do that!" The boss yelled, angrily, causing the two men standing in front of him to start shaking in their boots. "I told you exactly where she was going to be, and you STILL failed to bring her back!" He continued, somehow sounding more angry than before.
"P-please, sir, give us another chance. We'll find her, and we'll deliver her to you." The other man begged. The boss growled, as he stared at the two men.
"Fine. Because I'm such a nice guy, I will give you pathetic wastes of space another chance. But I promise you, if you do not track her down and bring her to me, there will be SERIOUS repercussions that I know neither of you will enjoy!" He yelled, causing the two men to jump. "Now get out of my office and don't fail me again!" He continued.
"Y-yes, sir!" Both men exclaimed in unison, before turning around and taking off out of their bosses office.
The man spun back around in his chair to face his computer monitor. On it, a picture of a Gardevoir. A sinister smirk grew on his face as he stared at the picture.
"Soon my dear." He said, before letting out a very dark laugh.