Multiple POV

Helping Jace become a Nurse Joy is more of a nightmare than he anticipated. He's running on nothing but coffee and catnaps, and he's not even a student here!

Getting the boy into the program was a piece of cake (he's pretty sure the director doesn't want his involvement with Team Rocket getting out), but helping him study while under so much pressure is like nothing he could have foreseen.

He's never wanted to know the anatomy of every single discovered pokemon, and he's certainly never wanted to have to break so many reporters' cameras while making it seem like an accident.

That's not even counting all the girls that go looking for something to distract them from the stress of school life.

It's only the second year, and he's already fantasizing about leaving for Victory Road.

He takes a deep breath and tries to enjoy the quiet morning with freshly-brewed coffee. It's peaceful on the dorm rooftops, and the glimpse of sunrise is enough to give it all a serene glow.

"Hey."

He doesn't understand it when it happens, not at first.

He turns around, lips parted for a greeting, only to feel his breath taken away. Jace stands there, hair framing his face, and sleep still clouding his eyes.

The dim light hits the boy's face just right, and he feels like he's just been punched in the gut.

"What's wrong?" Jace frowns.

"Nothing, just tired," he lies.

He's not sure what's going on, but he thinks his morning has just been ruined.

This happens three more times before he gets it.

The last time happens when Jace is chatting up one of his classmates. They begin talking about Chansey which makes Jace's face light up. The boy's lips curve into a wide smile, and his eyes sparkle.

It's when he can't stop staring at Jace's smile, at his lips, that he thinks—

Oh.

He gulps and dashes down the dorm's hallway and towards the roof. He thanks every known deity that Jace doesn't care to follow after him.

He sort of needs a moment.

His legs dangle over the rooftop, eyebrows furrowed and face pulled into an uncharacteristic frown. His eyes never leave the ground below him.

He's sick, he realizes.

He can hear many voices—all of them female—in the distance. They don't matter, and he keeps listening for that one voice so different from the rest.

He's always known he was messed up, but this is a new low, he muses to himself.

Jace is supposed to be his brother in all but blood. Jace is supposed to be that little kid who needed him to keep the Ghastly away.

Jace is not supposed to make him feel like this. He's not supposed to be in l—

He starts choking on his spit.

Jace is seventeen for Arceus' sake!

He punches the roof so hard his knuckles start bleeding. He hangs his head in defeat.

"Why am I like this?" He asks quietly.

Thinking about Jace—it's wrong, it's wrong, but that smile—is making his chest hurt. He doesn't know if he can bare his thoughts for much longer.

He throws Noctowl's pokeball into the air before shoving himself off the roof.

The pokemon shows her displeasure at having barely caught him by leaving a big gash on his face. He strokes her wings in an apology, and decides to keep away from rooftops in the near future.

He doesn't head back to the dorm, preferring to spend the night at a hotel.

He spends the night trying and failing to sleep, and when he goes to the cafeteria for breakfast, he has to fend off his face from concerned future Nurse Joys.

He fights his way to a table in the corner and makes sure to keep the injury facing the wall. The girls here tend to be equal parts nice and absolutely terrifying.

"Where have you been—what happened to your face?"

He resolutely does not jump and continues to eat his muffin nonchalantly.

"Just a slight disagreement," he mumbles through the bread.

Jace crosses his arms with a frown but lets it go. The boy gives him a few concerned looks before taking a seat across from him.

They ease into their normal banter even as his stomach feels like its pulling itself inside out.

He thinks it'll be fine so long as he doesn't do anything rash, but he soon finds out that it's easier said than done.

He's not sure if it's the way the girls look at Jace, or if it's the way Jace looks back, but it drives him mad. The jealousy and hurt eat at him more than he cares to admit, and it makes him bitter.

The fact that he's feeling any of this at all makes him even more bitter.

Without really thinking about it, he begins to pick fights with Jace. It starts small, and no one thinks much about it at first.

Little arguments with no meaning, cruel remarks he'd never normally say, teasing that goes too far—just anything to stop the unwelcome feelings that seem to have no intention of leaving.

It takes a particularly vicious argument to realize he's been subconsciously trying to get Jace mad at him. He wants the boy to tell him to leave and never come back.

He wants to break the bond they have, but he doesn't want to be the one to do it.

He doesn't want Jace to realize what he's hiding. He's sort of a coward.

That night, he grabs his backpack and flies.

...

How dare he, he thinks with a scowl.

He's hurt, and he's angry. He doesn't know why Kyle's been such a jerk lately, but the Ace trainer has gone too far.

He's working so hard for that early graduation, and the man has the gall to bring in his mother issues!

Not that he has mother issues.

He scowls down at his essay and realizes he wrote the sentence backward. He scratches it out and sort of accidently scratches out the rest of the essay at the same time.

Not that he was imagining it was Kyle's face or anything.

He ends up sleeping in the library that night and finds nothing amiss until he doesn't trip on the backpack that tends to move around.

It takes a week before he realizes Kyle isn't coming back. He slams a textbook onto the desk and thinks that's fine by him.

It takes another week before that anger turns into worry, and he tries calling the Ace trainer to no avail.

By the third week even his classmates are offering to help him get out of classes to go look for the guy.

It takes a month before he rings up Roger and just starts blubbering over the phone the moment his brother says, "Hello?"

...

"I'm home," he says, shutting the hotel door.

He blinks for a moment.

"Oh."

He hums down at the sandwich clutched in his hand. He's going to have to break that little habit.

He settles down on the end of the bed and tries not to think about anything. The quiet room gets to him, and he releases Arcanine against the hotel's policy.

"Guess it's just us again, huh?" His asks voice muffled against the pokemon's fur.

Arcanine makes a rumbling sound, and he pretends he's not cuddling the fierce pokemon like a lost child.

"Well, I've done it before. What's five years of constant companionship against a life alone?" He asks rhetorically.

Arcanine makes a slight whine, one that makes him smile.

"Yeah, I'm not really alone, am I?"

Not thinking about anything lasts for a good solid month before he's forced to think about it in a rather bizarre way.

"You're Kyle? Would you happen to be Jace's friend?" The Nurse Joy's smile sends a chill shooting down his spine.

The Chansey next to her also seems to be giving off a menacing smile. It's a bit like a scene from one of his nightmares to be honest.

"Er," he takes a step back, and it seems to be all the confirmation the Nurse Joy needs.

"Welcome," she says still smiling, "but I'm afraid you'll have to stay here a while."

Due to longstanding practice, he manages to avoid the Pound aimed towards his stomach. He practically has to dance out of way of the next hit, and flips a table over to keep it between himself and the pokemon.

Everyone else in the center is screaming, and there's a rush to get out. There's a general scream of "Nurse Joy's lost it!"

The same panicking people are also keeping the doors open.

He summons Arcanine, slings himself onto the pokemon's back, and orders the pokemon to move it.

"Don't let him get away, Chansey!"

Arcanine takes the Brick Break in stride, and they're practically flying down the open road.

It takes another similar incident involving a Breeder, the move Sing, and some rope before he realizes he has a bounty on his head.

...

He is the dragon master and eventual master of the Dragon's Den. He is the long-reigning champion of Kanto and Johto, and his name is known in every household.

If he decides to "go for a walk" away from every human being in existence, well that's his business no matter what anybody says.

Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to leave him to his privacy.

"Lance! Lance, come see my new technique!"

He is definitely not hiding behind a rock while his alleged followers call out for him.

"Master! Great Lord Lance, where are you?" A man in a cape wails.

He flinches.

Right, time for a distraction, he thinks.

He whispers an apology to Dragonite as the pokemon flies away, leading his more hard-core fans on a merry chase.

Salamance takes him in the opposite direction, and he breathes a sigh of relief. He's wanted to check on the family of Aerodactyl that's been hiding up in the nearby mountains for a while now, but responsibilities have kept him away.

If only they would have stayed Champion, he thinks not for the first time.

It's funny that the thought could be about three different people.

Excited screeching cuts off his more morose thoughts, and he recognizes those sounds as happy Aerodactyl.

More specifically, he recognizes the sound of happy Aerodactyl with a fun new toy that will eventually become lunch. He taps on Salamance, and the Dragon pokemon speeds up.

The first thing he sees are three Aerodactyl having the time of their life tossing something red between them. One Aerodactyl uses their talons to toss the object to another who catches it with their teeth.

Alarmingly, the object seems to be screaming.

"I'm tastier with sauce you know! You should really let me go get some!"

He knows that voice. He's having a hard time understanding why he knows that voice.

"By sauce I mean my fist inside your—"

It's Kyle, Johto's first Ace trainer. He should have known.

Salamance lands, and he slides off the pokemon. He straightens his back, puts on the most intimidating body language he knows, and commands,

"Put him down!"

Salamance makes an impressive roar beside him, and the Aerodactyl drop the boy immediately. The Ace trainer lands flat on his face with a grunt, and a flick of the cape have the Aerodactyl flying off.

"Oh wow," Kyle marvels, sitting up, "jacket's fine. It really is as hardy as advertised. Pants are a loss—from the rips I mean, not that I peed myself or anything—"

He prays for patience. He's going to need it.

"What were you doing?" He demands, cutting off the rambling trainer.

"What it looked like. I was letting them eat me," Kyle deadpans.

He crosses his arms and gives the trainer a severe look. The Ace trainer winces.

"I was trying to find a good cave to hide out in," Kyle mutters.

"Hide?"

He taps his cheek in thought.

"Ah, about that bounty then?"

"He contacted you, too?" Kyle asks, gaping. "That nasty, little—"

He clasps the boy's shoulder to stop the tirade in its tracks. It works even if the Ace trainer's face turns red as a result.

"The only thing anyone knows is that a concerned big brother is trying to look out for his family." He pauses. "Well that and the huge cash reward."

"Great," the Ace trainer groans, "now I sound like a runaway groom who left their bride at the altar. I can't believe I have a bounty on my head again."

He blinks and goes to ask about the "again" part, but thinks better of it.

"How about we talk about it over a campfire cooked meal?" He suggests.

It's not the solitude he was looking for, but he isn't heartless enough to throw the boy to the Mightyena either.

Kyle pokes his fingers together before shyly saying,

"Okay."

They wait for Dragonite to join them before making camp at his usual hideout in the mountains surrounding Blackthorn City. It's a quiet affair, and he finds it surprising that he doesn't mind the extra company.

Kyle stays withdrawn over the next couple of hours. It's a bit concerning, but it lets him enjoy the peace and quiet he was seeking.

It gets ridiculous when Dragonite actually falls asleep on them.

"Alright, what's wrong?" He finally asks.

"I'm in love with a guy who's seventeen!" The Ace trainer wails before throwing himself backwards dramatically.

"Alright?" He tries to understand. "And?"

Kyle props himself up on an elbow and shoots him a glare.

"I've known him since he was twelve. He's supposed to be my little brother. He's a guy who's seventeen," he repeats the last part bitterly.

He taps his cheek in thought.

"Well, it's not exactly the end of the world. Marriage is legal for sixteen year olds in Johto, and that's after the recent law to up the age."

Kyle gapes at him.

"That's only here! It's twenty in Kanto, and eighteen in Unova. But that's not the issue!" Kyle waves his hands wildly, "He's completely straight, he's supposed to be my brother, and I am a sick person!"

"Have you done anything to him?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Absolutely not," Kyle growls at him.

"Then you're not sick, just confused over your feelings," he concludes. "You've never felt like this before, right?"

"Well," Kyle blushes, averting his eyes.

"Right," he coughs, "moving on. What do you plan to do about it?"

"Do about it?" The Ace trainer repeats brokenly.

"It's not going to go away just because you want to. You also have an angry brother searching the region for you," he points out.

"Hide forever?" Kyle asks hopefully.

"I'll turn you in myself if you try that," he says with narrow eyes.

The Ace trainer wilts and gives him the saddest eyes he's seen outside the Champion floor. He closes his eyes in defeat.

"If you really want some time to think things through, I might have some work for you if you're interested," he offers.

He's not really prepared for the tackle that sends them both to the ground, or when Kyle faints on top of him.

It takes him a moment to recall the other had been an Aerodactyl chew toy and was prone to being stubborn when it came to injuries.

"Dragonite!"

...

"He's been sighted at the Blackthorn Gym, doesn't seem to be leaving," his contact tells him.

"Alright, thanks," he replies.

"Good luck, Roger."

He hangs up the outdated phone with a sigh. Technically it's good news, but he really didn't want to have to confront the man himself.

"Rapidash," he releases the pokemon, "time to show me why you've won so many races!"

The pokemon kicks the dirt at the challenge; its fire brightens to white before settling down in an intimidating inferno.

He slides on a well-worn harness before slinging himself onto the pokemon without hesitation. The tricky part, he's learned, is not the staying on part, but the not letting go bit.

"To Blackthorn City! Let's go hunt down that son of a—" His words are drowned out by Rapidash's sudden cry.

His teeth click together, and the only thing he can think of is don't let go. The world passes them by in a blur, and he's forced to take shallow breaths.

No matter how many times he's ridden this particular Rapidash, it always amazes him.

They make it to Blackthorn City in no time. He takes in gulps of air as Rapidash slows down to a trot, the pokemon having no idea where to go from here.

He gently leads the proud beast towards the Gym. Rapidash follows his directions all the while pretending it knows exactly where it's going.

If he was the type to roll his eyes, he'd be doing it about now.

He all but leaps off the Rapidash the moment he spots that annoying blue hair and red jacket.

All he can do is point while the man that has been practically making his brother cry for the past year is standing there munching on a candy bar.

The Ace trainer points an index finger up to sign "one second" at him before scarfing down the rest of the candy bar. Putting the wrapper in his pocket, Kyle opens his arms in a silent, "I'm ready now."

He can feel his eye start to twitch already.

"Alright, you have exactly fifteen seconds before I beat the living daylights out of you to tell me what's going on," he threatens.

He expects a smug reply or even a hostile one; what he doesn't expect is the ominous, thoughtful look that crosses the trainer's face.

"How would you feel if I married your brother?" Kyle asks.

He blinks.

"Rapidash, Flamethrower," he orders.

Rapidash wastes no time and a strong stream of fire is aimed towards the other man. Kyle simply rolls out of the way before springing to his feet none the worse for wear.

"Knew you'd be like that," Kyle laughs. "Take it easy, big bro!"

"If you've been doing things to him—" he seethes.

"Like I would," Kyle says dismissively, "we're not like that."

The other man gives him an intense look, one that makes him uncomfortable in a way he can't describe.

"But I've decided on something very important."

The Ace trainer's Noctowl appears in a dramatic flash of feathers and light, and the familiar glow of a special move wraps around it.

"So, bye!" Kyle waves cheerily.

The Ace trainer grabs onto the Noctowl and is whisked away into the sky immediately.

He has no idea what just happened, and he's left standing there with his pokemon. He decides to fall back to the standard when dealing with the annoyance.

"You little—!" He begins.

...

"I'm home."

"Welcome back," he says, putting the textbook down next to him.

He slings his legs over the side of the bed and narrows his eyes at the other man. Kyle's standing in the middle of the room, backpack still slung onto a shoulder.

There are many things he wants to say; he's had so many imaginary conversations inside his head, it's not funny.

"You're late, coach," he says instead.

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure you wanted a coach that took to jumping off cliffs to get away from his problems," Kyle says. "Well, even if it did actually work once a bunch of hungry Aerodactyl swooped in," he adds absentmindedly.

He's not touching that, not today.

"You going to stand there all day?" He asks.

The smallest of smiles cross Kyle's face before he throws the backpack down onto the unused bed. The Ace trainer unzips a pocket and begins rummaging through it.

"So you know I'm sorry, but that's just paltry words. So for my apology I got you this," he says, thrusting out a familiar item into his face.

"You got me a TM?" He blinks down at the CD before taking it gingerly.

"Yep! It's Fire Blast for Chansey," Kyle beams at him. "You remember how Arcanine melted those Yamask?"

"How could I forget?" He shivers in remembrance.

"Well, now you need to fear Ghost pokemon no longer! It was actually your brother who gave me the idea."

Kyle stands there with a smug look and hands on hips, and he tries to hide the smile he can feel threatening him.

He's not done being mad yet, darn it.

"So what was all that about?" He asks, tucking the TM behind his pillow.

"Ah, that. You see, I—" Kyle pauses and taps his cheek.

"It's very important, I need you to listen to me very carefully," Kyle begins.

He stands up and gives the man a serious look.

"I'll listen to anything you need to say," he tells the trainer.

"Something scary happened to me," Kyle tells him, dead serious, "and it was affecting everything I was doing, saying, thinking. It just came on suddenly, as if from nowhere, and it involves you."

Kyle's stare is intense, and it takes everything he has not to look away.

"Me?" He whispers.

"Yes, you see Jace, I—" Kyle grabs him by the shoulders, and he finds it hard to breathe, "—was having a mid-life crisis!"

"What," he says.

"It was terrible!" Kyle sobs. "I couldn't come to terms with it! All the while your brother was hunting me down like I was some Legendary!"

"You're twenty-two," he says in disbelief. "You can't have a mid-life crisis! And Roger did what?"

Kyle pats him on the head and sends him a condescending look. He can feel his eye twitching.

"It's okay, one day you'll understand. Also, your brother is a nutcase, do you realize?"

He sighs.

"Let's just go get some dinner. I'm starving," he says.

"Sounds good. I missed pizza that tastes like cardboard," the Ace trainer reminisces.

"You'll love the new onion special," he tells the man.

"Rumor has it," he pauses dramatically, "it's got Farfetch'd in it."

"Really?" Kyle gasps in delight, "I've got to try that!"

"It's just a rumor," he reminds the trainer as he's grabbed by the arm.

Kyle drags him towards the cafeteria and both of them ignore the pointing and whispering from nosy classmates.

"I'll be able to confirm it for you because you see one time my parents bought me this Farfetch'd, and—"

He groans but doesn't run away, if only barely.