The next morning came faster than Brennan had expected.
After their dinner last night, which Gardevoir loved by the way, everyone pretty much just went back to lounging around the living room as they let their food digest.
Blaziken hadn't said a word to Brennan since their falling out. He was still trying to think of the right way to try and make amends with his Pokémon.
Brennan stared up at the ceiling in his dark bedroom- the only small amount of light coming from the cracks in the blinds over the window. He looked over and saw Gardevoir still sound asleep. A small smile crossed his face.
He felt somewhat weird thinking it, but he couldn't deny that Gardevoir looked very adorable when she slept.
He moved his eyes towards the foot of the bed where Mightyena was still curled up sleeping. He always slept in that same spot at the foot of the bed.
Brennan had always heard that Pokémon did that as a means of protection for their trainer. He figured that was the reason Mightyena did it. Either that, or he was looking way too into things and the bed was just comfortable. He sat up, a small chuckle escaping his mouth.
As he stared down at the sleeping Mightyena, he felt the bed shift beside him. He looked over and saw Gardevoir slowly opening her eyes.
She slowly sat up, before tiredly looking around the dark room, her gaze eventually landing on Brennan.
"Good morning, Gardevoir." Brennan said, a smile on his face.
"Gardevoir." Gardevoir replied, before stretching and letting out her usual adorable yawn. Brennan's heart seemed to melt every time she did.
Brennan pushed the covers off of him, before throwing his legs over the side of the bed. They sunk into the soft carpet as he stood up.
"It's only ten, but we have to leave by eleven thirty if we're going to meet Luna and Lane for lunch." Brennan said, stretching out his own muscles.
"Gardevoir. Garde." Gardevoir said, as she slowly crawled over to Brennan's side of the bed. Brennan turned around as Gardevoir dropped into a sitting position and hung her legs off the side.
Brennan managed to make out Gardevoir's form in just the little bit amount of light that was shining through the blinds. He smiled as he looked her up and down.
"C'mon. I'll make you breakfast." He said, motioning for Gardevoir to follow. She smiled and nodded, as she hopped off the bed. She floated behind Brennan out of the room, down the hallway, and into the kitchen. Once they arrived in the kitchen, Brennan pulled a chair out for Gardevoir. She flashed him a cutesy smile as she sat down.
"Gardevoir. Garde." Gardevoir said. Brennan smiled and nodded.
"You're welcome." He replied. "So, I'm not going to make anything too fancy. Don't want to fill up before lunch." He said, looking down at Gardevoir. "How does toast sound?" He asked.
"Gardevoir. Gardevoir. Voir." Gardevoir replied, her smile still on her face. Brennan nodded.
"Toast it is, ma'lady." He replied, causing Gardevoir to giggle.
Gardevoir sat in the chair, watching Brennan as he maneuvered around the small area and made them breakfast. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him. He made her happy. More happy than she had ever been before. He was sweet with the way he treated her, and she couldn't help but wonder just how much he cared about her.
She had honestly thought about this a lot over the past couple of weeks. Brennan made her feel safe. He made her feel wanted. He made her feel... happy. So, so happy.
Gardevoir was broken from her thoughts when she heard the toast pop up from the toaster. The sudden sound still surprised her when it happened. She watched as Brennan grabbed the two pieces of bread and put them on a plate. After that, he blocked her view just well enough so she couldn't see what he was doing.
She craned her neck so she could try to see what he was doing, but it was no use. Several seconds passed before Brennan finally turned around.
"Your favorite, right?" Brennan said curiously, a small grin on his face.
"Voir!" Gardevoir cried happily. On the plate were two pieces of toast with a small mixture of strawberry and grape jam on each piece. Gardevoir's love for fruits and berries was quite obvious. She tried the jams Brennan had in his fridge one of the first mornings she was there and instantly fell in love with it. Since then, every time Brennan makes toast for breakfast, Gardevoir has to have jam on it.
Brennan sat the plate down in front of Gardevoir, she smiled a wide smile up at him.
"Enjoy, ma'am." Brennan replied, in a fake Italian-waiter accent, as he bowed. Gardevoir giggled again.
The two were interrupted when Blaziken tiredly walked into the room, scratching the back of his neck.
"Hey, don't fill up too much. We're meeting Luna and Lane for lunch in a couple of hours." Brennan said. Blaziken ignored him as he walked past him and made his way to the fridge.
Both Brennan and Gardevoir watched as Blaziken opened the fridge and dug through it for several seconds, before pulling out the milk.
As Brennan watched his Pokémon pour himself a bowl of cereal, he once again couldn't help but think back to what had happened the previous night. He hadn't told any of his other Pokémon about what had happened. He didn't want to worry them over a falling out that was realistically his fault to begin with.
After Blaziken had his cereal poured, he walked out of the kitchen without even saying a word. Gardevoir could easily sense the hostility between the two. She started growing very worried, and Brennan could sense it.
He turned to face Gardevoir, and saw the worried expression on her face.
"It's okay, Gardevoir. It's nothing that we won't be able to work out." Brennan said with a smile, trying to ease her worries.
"Gardevoir. Gardevoir. Garde?" Gardevoir asked.
"We just had a slight... disagreement. He'll get over it. Everything is okay." Brennan replied, before softly patting Gardevoir on the head. She lightly blushed, before looking back down at her jammed up toast.
Gardevoir didn't know exactly what happened. But she did realize that whatever it was, is what probably led to Blaziken ditching Brennan and coming home without him last night.
She wasn't one to be nosy, but she knew Brennan was upset about it, and she didn't like seeing him upset. He was too nice of a guy to be upset. He didn't deserve it. She frowned when the thought of Blaziken making him upset ran through her mind.
She knew Blaziken didn't like her. It's not like he tried to hide his feelings either. For the most part, she tried to ignore him like he did her. But realizing that he was at fault for Brennan being upset didn't sit well with her.
Gardevoir watched as Brennan made his way back over to the toaster to make himself some toast. She could still sense his feelings. He obviously wasn't as happy as he usually was, so whatever happened between him and Blaziken was really bothering him.
Brennan stood there waiting for his toast to pop up. Unbeknownst that Gardevoir was watching him. Of course this whole thing with Blaziken was bothering him, and it was going to until they made up. But, again, he didn't want to worry the others, so he knew he was going to have to pretend that everything was great... even though it wasn't.
Once Brennan's toast popped up, he threw the two pieces on his plate and quickly smeared some butter on them. Gardevoir watched him as he did.
She wanted to make him feel better, or at least she wanted to try. She got up and quickly floated towards him. Brennan turned around just as she collided into him, wrapping her arms around him. She was trying to be as cautious with her spike as she possibly could, so she wasn't able to get as close as she would have liked.
Brennan was somewhat surprised. He had almost dropped his plate when she tackled him, but he managed to hold onto it.
"A-are you okay, Gardevoir?" Brennan asked.
"Gardevoir. Gardevoir. Garde." Gardevoir replied, softly, as she continued to hug him. Luckily for her, he couldn't see the blush that had formed on her face.
Even though it made her quite nervous to hug and be this close to Brennan, not like anything has stopped her before, she knew that when she hugged him, it always put a smile on his face. So she was hoping it would this time.
As Brennan and Gardevoir stood there locked in their embrace, Gardevoir could sense Brennan's sadness diminishing. She was very happy about that. Her blush faded and a more relaxed smile formed on her face.
•••
•••
•••
The group had finally started their walk into the city. They were all pretty excited to be able to spend another day out. Brennan's Pokémon always enjoyed days like these.
Gardevoir had been pretty excited too, but the closer and closer they got into the city, the more nervous and reluctant she grew.
Brennan could feel her nervousness. He looked over and saw that she had fallen behind a little, so he slowed down so he could catch back up to her.
"Gardevoir, what's wrong?" Brennan asked. Gardevoir looked at him, and with the look in her eyes, it was very apparent that something was wrong.
"Gardevoir. Gardevoir. Voir. Gardevoir." Gardevoir replied. Brennan assumed it had something to do with the trainers and their Pokémon. They were plentiful in the city, and after the way they were eyed on their way out of the city a few weeks ago, Brennan knew Gardevoir was worried they were going to do the same thing again.
"Hey, it'll be okay. Just don't pay any mind to them. I figure the only reason they would be staring anyway is because you're so special. And that's not a bad thing either." Brennan said, a small smile on his face as he did. Gardevoir blushed a deep shade of red and looked away in embarrassment as he did.
Brennan just called her special. But was she though? She enjoyed hearing it from him because it was a compliment. But she just didn't feel special. She felt... different.
"And don't worry, if anyone has anything to say, we'll be there to take care of it." Brennan said, as he motioned around at his group of Pokémon. "And I'm sure Luna, Lane, and their Pokémon would be of assistance if need be, too." He continued. This made Gardevoir fell a little better. She knew very well that Brennan and his Pokémon wouldn't let anything happen to her. She wasn't so much scared of what she was about to encounter in the city, she was more... uncomfortable with it.
Gardevoir finally looked back over at Brennan- her blush have faded away at this point. She was still worried, and Brennan could tell. He gave her a reassuring smile, before taking one of her three-fingered hands into his. This surprised her. She looked down at their now intertwined fingers, before looking back up at Brennan.
Brennan knew that holding her hand is what comforted her enough to get her through the city the first time. He knew it was something that relaxed her, and that was something that she needed at that moment.
"Like I said, there's nothing to worry about." Brennan said in a voice that matched his smile. That smile of his always made things better to Gardevoir. It was especially helping her at this current moment. A small smile finally made its way onto Gardevoir's face, as she clasped her hand shut, finally taking hold of Brennan's.
"Gardevoir. Garde." She said, in a low, yet thankful tone. Brennan gave her a single nod, his small smile showing no signs of going away.
"You're welcome, Gardevoir." He replied.
Blaziken looked back at the two as they walked and talked. He saw the smiles and the hand holding. He huffed and shook his head, before looking forward once again.
Machamp, who had been walking next to him, heard the huff. He looked over and saw the look of disgust on his face.
"Machamp?" Machamp asked.
"Blaziken. Blaze." Blaziken replied, as he pointed behind himself towards Brennan and Gardevoir. Machamp looked back and saw the two holding hands, but didn't think it was a big deal.
"Champ." Machamp said, shrugging as he did. Blaziken shook his head, before looking straight again. Machamp was confused. He didn't know why what Brennan and Gardevoir were doing bothered him so much.
"City isn't much further, guys." Brennan said, getting his Pokémon's attention.
Machamp looked back at his trainer and nodded, before looking back at Blaziken. He knew something was wrong, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. But that was going to have to wait. Ruining the day for the others was the last thing he wanted to do, so he decided that trying to get information out of Blaziken was going to have to wait. He just hoped that whatever was going on, didn't end up ruining something.
•••
•••
•••
Brennan's group had arrived in the city. Gardevoir had stayed pretty close to Brennan so far. Of course they were getting looks from other trainers', but Brennan told her to ignore them.
They headed towards the small diner that Brennan agreed to meet Luna and Lane at, and of course, they were already waiting. They didn't make it far, before Luna spotted them.
"Oh, hey guys!" She exclaimed, excitedly, before quickly making her way over to the group.
Once she reached the group, she hugged Brennan first, causing him to finally let go of Gardevoir's hand. Gardevoir stood there staring at the two, a frown forming as a hint of jealousy ran through her. She liked Luna, and she knew her and Brennan were nothing more than friends. But seeing another girl hug him like that made her mad. She knew it shouldn't, but it did.
Luna broke the hug, a smile on her face. She looked over at Gardevoir next, before giving her a wave.
"Gardevoir, hey! I'm glad you agreed to come hang out with us today." She said. Gardevoir gave her a small smile, before nodding.
"She's been excited about it all week." Brennan said, a light chuckle escaping afterwards. Gardevoir looked away, slightly embarrassed.
"That's great! Delphox and I have been really excited, too!" Luna said, happily.
Blaziken, who had had his back turned to the group, turned around at the mention of Delphox. He looked past Luna towards the entrance of the diner where Lane, Greninja, and Delpox stood. Delphox had been staring at him the whole time, waiting for him to turn around. And when he did, she gave him a seduction-laced smile, before winking at him. Blaziken turned bright red, before looking away.
"So, how's about we get to that lunch?!" Luna said, curiously.
"Sure. Lets do it." Brennan replied, nodding as he did.
"Cool! So, this diner is still relatively new. But, the reason I suggested we eat here is because it is a Pokémon friendly diner. So, they will allow all of our Pokémon in there to eat with us." Luna explained.
"Wow. Great choice in restaurant then." Brennan said, as he, his Pokémon, and Luna started their walk over towards Lane. "So, are you guys letting your other Pokémon out, or is it just going to be Delphox and Greninja joining us?" He asked.
More Pokémon? That made Gardevoir somewhat nervous. The only thing that she could think of was more Pokémon to judge her. She was already having to deal with enough of that just by the people they were passing by. She didn't want to worry about having to deal with anymore.
"That's actually a good idea! I'm sure the others would love to join us!" Luna exclaimed. Gardevoir instantly started to grow more nervous and uncomfortable than before. Luna grabbed her Poké balls off of her belt and was getting ready to release them, when she was stopped.
"Uh... Luna, don't you think going in there with eighteen Pokémon is a little excessive?" Lane asked. Luna shook her head.
"No. Why would it be?" She asked.
"Because... that's a lot of Pokémon." Lane replied.
"It shouldn't be too big of a deal. This place kinda looks like a Pokémon center anyways." Brennan said, as he looked up at the building in front of them.
For being a diner, it was a pretty large building. It wasn't as big as a Pokémon center, considering it didn't have rooms you could rent. But it was quite large. Brennan stepped forward, cupped his hands, and placed them against one of the large tinted windows so he could see inside. There were plenty of Pokémon in there. Booths and tables were filled with trainers, their teams, and their friends. One table had two trainers and at least ten Pokémon. That pretty much answered their question.
"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine." Brennan said, as he turned back towards the group behind him. "There's all kinds of Pokémon out in there." He continued, pointing his thumb over his shoulder back towards the window.
"I don't know about you, but I'm letting my Pokémon join us." Luna said, before smiling. "Come on out girls!" She continued, happily, as she threw all five Poké balls up into the air. Five red flashes with five matching swooshing sounds filled the air, as Luna's Pokémon were released from their balls.
Marill, Delcatty, Spinda, Ninetails, and Beautifly stood or floated in front of Luna, all making some kind of happy cry as they did.
"Hey guys, I want you all to meet someone-" Luna said, before motioning over to Gardevoir, who was halfway hiding behind Brennan at this point. "-This is Gardevoir. She's a new friend of Brennan." She continued. Gardevoir stayed where she was. She was worried about what they would think of her.
"It's okay, Gardevoir. I've known these guys a long time. They're good." Brennan said, looking over towards Gardevoir. She looked up at him, she was still a little unsure. Brennan could clearly see the uncomfortable-worry in her eyes, so he gave her a reassuring smile and a single nod.
There was that smile again. It reassured Gardevoir and made her feel more relaxed when he would give her one. She finally returned the nod, before slowly stepping out from behind him so the others could get a better view of her. All of Luna's Pokémon let out more happy cries when they saw her. It was their way of saying hello.
Gardevoir blushed in embarrassment at the surprising greeting she got from Luna's Pokémon.
"See, Gardevoir! They like you already." Luna said, before letting out a giggle. "Lane, are you going to let your Pokémon out?" She asked. Lane looked around at the group, before looking over at Greninja.
"What do you think?" He said curiously. Greninja shrugged in response. Lane finally shrugged. "Alright." He said, before grabbing his five Poké balls off of his belt. He threw them all up in the air, five swooshes and five red flashes filled the air, as Lane's Pokémon were released.
More Pokémon? Gardevoir was nervous again. But surprisingly not as nervous as before. If Lane's Pokémon were as nice as Luna's, this would be okay.
"Uh... first things first. Guys, this is Brennan's newest team member, Gardevoir." Lane said, as he motioned to Gardevoir.
Lane's Pokémon, Swampert, Nuzleaf, Alakazam, Duskull, Aggron all stood there staring at Gardevoir. Hearts formed in both Alakazam and Aggron's eyes as they stared at her. They both walked over to her, as if they were in a trance.
The closer they got to her, the more uncomfortable she got and the more she moved back behind Brennan. Lane saw how uncomfortable they were making her, so he called them off.
"Hey, guys. Back off. Give the lady some space, will ya?" Lane said, breaking the two love struck Pokémon from their trances.
They backed off, but not before each giving her a wink. After they winked, they both noticed that the other had winked at her too. They both instantly glared at each other, before letting out light growls.
"Enough. I'm starving. Lets go and grab a bite to eat." Lane said, as he pushed his two Pokémon apart.
"That sounds like a great idea!" Luna exclaimed. "Lets go!" She continued as she headed for the door, motioning her Pokémon to follow.
Lane and his Pokémon followed her, followed by Brennan's Pokémon. Which included the still angry Blaziken.
Gardevoir and Brennan were last to head in. Brennan looked at Gardevoir and saw how uncomfortable Aggron and Alakazam had made her.
"It's okay. Don't worry about them. They've probably never seen a Pokémon as pretty as you before." Brennan theorized. Gardevoir blushed a deep shade of red yet again. "Come on, the others are waiting." He continued, his small smile had remained on his face the whole time. Gardevoir barley nodded, as she followed behind.