So this is a montage chapter of their first year working in the League before their first Conference, more of a collection of moments both in the journal and not. I think working in the league the trainers will be expected to read up on current events, politics and the like as they represent trainers in each region. And considering how much they're working in the league, it made sense to give them little apartments there too.
In terms of her peers, Serena has never felt smaller. Not when she had a whole school district against her, council members and people from the community of Blackthorn all wanting her out of their city. Instead it's in this moment, sitting in front of the Elite Four for her first meeting as Elijah's assistant.
Lorelei, the ice type trainer, whose stare is enough to freeze anything keeps Serena in her seat as she gauges the woman from across the table. Glasses frame her pretty red eyes, the same color as her fiery hair held up in a ponytail. Dressed in a black blouse, purple skirt and pumps, Serena feels as though she'll need to expand her own wardrobe to appear somewhat professional working with her.
Next to her, Agatha tends to her paperwork, ordering them on the table paying no mind to everyone around her. A sweet looking old woman in a pretty, dark pink dress with a white apron. Her outward appearance is a contrast to the energy swirling around her. Working as a ghost type specialist, her power tends to give off a cold air when she enters the room. Serena's unsure what she can do, but hopes to stay on her good side.
Serena turns to the men in comparison and holds back a grimace. Bruno is shirtless, though there's a towel hanging from his shoulders. He stepped in wearing tattered white pants and indoor slippers. His face is all sharp, muscled angles. Giving him the appearance of a weathered man waiting for his time to retire. Though he's barely in his thirties.
His muscles gleam with a thin sheen of sweat from an early morning workout, hinting at his fighting type mastery. He's a kind man, he greeted and welcomed Serena to the league as soon as she got into the door. His dark hair is well kept and pulled back, showing off his strong jaw and serious face.
Next to him sits Blaise, the man Lance will be replacing. He's a fire type specialist and quite lazy if Serena was going to be honest. As she was familiarizing herself with each member's work on their type, their training hours, challenges against Elijah and goals for the past year, his work was bare minimum. His grin is lazy as he flicks a crumpled piece of paper over the table and into the trash. His dark brown hair is cut short with a design of flames shaved along the sides.
He's lanky and unassuming. Serena supposes that's why he's gotten this far. He's not someone anyone would take seriously and then end up regretting it later on.
Elijah enters the room coming to stand next to her, he clears his throat and introduces Serena to the members officially. She nods politely at each and the meeting is underway with announcements. She and Lance passed their exams to get into the league, and now they begin proper training. He presents a few slides detailing the revenue from the tournament and where it will be funneled. He proceeds to address the changes he'd like to see around the league in the upcoming years; more public relations work, tighter security, and a possible remodel.
Serena watches the other members take in the information with a small smile on her face. They're completely absorbed and fully participating in something Elijah told her would happen. It's a different feeling working with people wanting to make changes and willing to work together. She didn't think it was going to be true, but watching them now fills her with hope.
"And lastly, Serena is my assistant, as I've said," he smiles at them all. "I would like for you to treat her with respect. For now, you are her peers, but as she progresses she will be a colleague and I would appreciate it if you treat her as such. Her work is quite impressive, she made this presentation in three days for me."
Bruno grins at Serena, offering a thumbs up while the women grin at each other and then her. Blaise grunts and makes an indifferent, more approving sound in his throat. Serena ignores the last one in favor of grinning at the others.
"She wants to help make some changes around here, so please show her what your jobs are like when you get a chance so she understands how we operate," Elijah continues with a smile. "I look forward to making our regions a better home for people and pokemon."
Elijah finishes the meeting by collecting paperwork and contracts from the Elites from the past year. Blaise hands in his resignation paperwork, he may be resigning, but has opted to stick around to help train Lance into his position. The grin on his face alerts Serena to trouble, they've definitely already met and she can imagine the situations they're going to get into now. The champion accepts his offer and the dark haired man all but sprints out of the room.
Serena watches him go and holds back a sigh. She accepts the papers from Elijah and stuffs them away when Lorelei walks up to her.
"Welcome to the League," the older woman smiles and holds out her hand. "I hope we get much accomplished with your time here."
"Thank you," Serena beams, shaking her hand. "I'm hoping to shadow you sometime today?"
"Of course! You know where our offices are?"
Serena nods.
The league is built with the main components to it in the middle, the public areas up front and the G-men towards the back and under. Elite Four offices are located next to the main field, the field that changes to accommodate each type and is the forefront of the latest battle technology. Lodging for the Elites and other higher up staff, like Serena, is on the opposite side. The living spaces are pretty plain, but thankfully separate to avoid roommate problems.
Lorelei adjusts her glasses on her nose and smiles once again. "Good. Come by anytime if you need help, or just some girl time."
With her gone, Agatha steps up and taps Serena's side with her cane. "Be sure to take care of yourself. You're no use to us if you aren't eating good, exercising or studying up on protocol."
A chuckle escapes Serena as she recognizes the tough love nature of the woman in front of her. "Of course, ma'am."
Agatha seems to nod more at herself before stepping out of the room. It feels as though the room warms up but Serena can't tell if it's Agatha's departure or Bruno's appearance.
"It means she likes you," he grins while wiping at his face with his towel. "If you need a workout buddy, don't be shy. I'll go easy on ya."
"Thank you, Bruno," she beams and waves as he heads out.
Elijah finishes packing up his own stuff and faces her with a wide grin. "So, how's your first week going?"
"Well, I like the Elites," she starts. "The handbook in my room has yet to see the light of day, though."
"Don't worry, you'll catch on," he flashes her a grin. "I know you have a Clan celebration to get to tonight, so work won't go for as long as usual today."
"Oh, did Lance tell you?" she replies as they head to their shared office.
"Yeah, he said he figured you would try to stay until the end of the day, but this is a legitimate event and you should go."
"Right, thank you," she nods.
He shrugs it off and opens the door for her to what was once just his office and is now their office. Since he created her job on the spot, there's no real place for her to work, so Elijah went out and bought a desk and chair as a gift. It sits at a window overlooking the gardens around the building. His office has enough space for her medium sized desk, a couch, his larger desk and a mini fridge.
She settles into her leather chair and pulls out the reports from the meeting. It's her job to go through everything and understand what it means, flag certain numbers and categorize any problems with each other to find solutions as a whole. She stares at the papers before her, her desk and the room she sits in. She feels a sense of power fill her veins with warmth, it surprises her.
I made it.
May 15th
The clan celebration was pretty amazing. Clair was honored as the next gym leader. She took the celebration well and didn't mention anything to Lance or the elders while at the party. I'm not sure if she said something somewhere else, she's been more private about her job now.
Lance, of course, ran off before the night was done without a glance back. It only stings a little though...
Now we're in the League in our own little apartments. (His is across from mine) while we study and learn about how the league works and just what our positions entail. Lance will be spending time with the other Elites, training with them and taking classes on the rules, regulations and laws that Elites look at for trainers in each region. It's a lot more politics than he was ready for but, so far, he's taking it seriously.
My life as Elijah's assistant is pretty hectic. Most of the projects he presented were impressive in their effectiveness, but lacking in information. I've been spending weeks redoing his presentations adding in financial requirements, and analysis to each project. The first one I finished (a proposal for the league to be a 'door' to the next region over) I redid completely. While I was traveling I realized that to be open with each other, the regions need a better way to travel to and from each other. Goldenrod is the center of Johto as well as its biggest city, the same can be said for Saffron, so why not join the two?
Elijah was more than impressed with my idea of a magnet train, even if it'll take a long time to complete. He said it would be a great final project to finish everything else they plan on doing.
Along with that, there was a proposal for a makeover of the league, more community work from gym leaders, better funding for schools and, interestingly, better background checks for gym leaders and Elite members. When I asked about the last one, he got oddly quiet. I let Dad know what he wanted and he seemed happy and spoke with Elijah himself. What they spoke about? I don't know, they won't tell me.
Anyways, I also brought up funding for gym leaders to make their gyms more interactive. The leaders should be able to better express how their specialty type is unique or fun, and it would draw in more trainers. I also wanted to encourage more of a focus on female gym leaders, which he was also excited about. I emphasized that Johto gym leaders were included in that, he didn't seem completely on board until I demanded to know the difference between a Johto gym leader and a Kanto one. I bombarded him with stats from each region (they're roughly the same win:lose wise) and pointed out that most Johto leaders are already involved with their communities.
He gave in and promised to be less biased when it came to Johto leaders. Which he better because he technically represents them. He can't be excited for the good things that will happen in Kanto only.
I haven't seen Giovanni while I've been here. Since the end of the tournament, each gym leader has reported to the league to turn in paperwork for their gyms that Elijah and the rest of the association look over. I know he turned his in, it was sitting on Elijah's desk the other day. If Elijah knows we're related, then he hasn't said anything and must be meeting him without me. Which I'm grateful for, but also, it's going to be really hard to see him in a professional setting for the first time.
I'm a little nervous tbh. Since Dad's warning last month, I keep thinking of what he would do to me because we're 'equals' now. Whatever that means. I haven't outright attacked him, verbally and psychic-ally (is that a word?), yet. I'm going to wait until I'm more secure in this position before doing anything dramatic.
"Hey, Rena?" Lance barges into her apartment carrying a thick workbook while frowning.
She sets down her pen with a sigh. He's always barging in like this whenever he doesn't understand something or he's bored and can't find anyone to sleep with. Her internal tone makes her flinch at the last statement.
Don't be jealous.
"What's up?" she flicks her hair behind her shoulder and gestures for him to sit next to her on the couch.
Despite living in the league building, the apartments are oddly modern. Concrete floors, marble countertops with up to date appliances, comfy couches, huge TVs with lots of natural lighting Serena enjoys. The living room, kitchen and dining room are open to each other which makes the space look big, but also makes her feel lonely when she's studying at night.
Elijah may have said she wouldn't have to worry, but that's her specialty. Dressed in leggings and an oversized sweater, Serena's day off began with her studying and that led to her journaling sometime ago.
He plops down beside her and covers her journal with his textbook. "I need you to quiz me on economics because my brain feels like it's going to explode with all that I've been doing for the past three hours."
"Three hours?" she peers at him in surprise.
"Well, there was this girl-"
"Nope!" she shakes her head. "I'll help you, please spare me the story."
He laughs and leans back, placing his legs in her lap with his hands behind his head, to rest against the arm of the sofa. She picks up his book with one hand, holds his legs steady with the other, and adjusts to sit back to begin reading questions out loud.
When they went to school together, Lance was an inconsistent student. He'd study hard for some tests and others he didn't. Either way, he passed with exceptional grades. It pissed her and Clair off to no end, even though Clair was just the same. The economical and political classes that come with being a prominent figure for trainers was a struggle in the beginning for Serena.
Thankfully, Elijah is a good teacher. Now she helps Lance whenever he wants it. She knows he understands this stuff, sometimes he wants an excuse to put off his application for the league position. Despite Elijah nominating him, he still needs to fill it out so they have it on file. Then at the end of the year, he has to take two exams, one for his specialty type and one for the current subject matter,etc... to pass in the eyes of the Association. Same with Clair.
Serena will take the test to qualify, in the eyes of her peers here, to help with projects, regulation passing and other work at the league. Elijah has her working on them already, but when it comes time to push them forward, she'll need the credentials. Even with the presentations this year, she can't work on the actual paperwork until she becomes a league official.
After a few minutes of answering questions, Lance becomes silent. Serena peeks around the book to find him asleep. His mouth hanging open and one hand on his stomach. She giggles, shutting the book and leaning against the back of the couch with her eyes closed and immediately drifts off.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound jolts Serena out of her dreamy state. The clock lets her know it's only been a few minutes since she closed her eyes. She eyes Lance's drool and maneuvers out from under him without waking him. She steps up to the door, taking care to be quiet and props it open a few inches.
She's met with a blue eyed gaze of a girl around her age wearing ripped jeans, a striped shirt under a black leather jacket and sneakers. Her eyes stand out against her smooth, dark skin. There's a nose ring in her left nostril and an eyebrow piercing on the same side. Her hair is back in a french braid with the end resting over her shoulder.
She offers Serena a sweet smile. "Hi, sorry to bug you. He said to knock on this door if he's not home."
"Lance?" Serena replies with a frown. At the girl's nod, she gathers her wits to be polite. "Oh, makes sense. I'm Serena."
"Call me Mac," she beams back. "Is he with you?"
"Uh, yeah. Let me get him."
She leaves the door open and turns on her heel to hide the uncertainty on her face. "Lance?" He stirs as she approaches, inhaling deeply and stretching out his limbs. She places a hand on his shoulder to shake him. "Mac is here."
"Who?" he mumbles, his hands come up to wipe his eyes.
"Don't let her hear you say that," Serena whispers back with an eye roll. "A beautiful girl is here for you, her name is Mac."
"You're beautiful too, Rena," he yawns. He sits up and stretches his arms above his head. His eyes blink into focus as he grabs his book and pats her cheek as she stands next to him. "I'm going to be late for movie night. Don't start without me, okay?"
Why bother even coming? She bites her tongue.
"Okay."
The two disappear in a flurry of giggles from Mac, leaving Serena in silence as the door shuts behind them. She sits on the couch and stares at the blank TV wondering just what the empty feeling in her chest means. Being in the league has given her a purpose she didn't have when she set out, she's learning every minute of the day while she's working (her dream!) and her best friend is her co-worker.
What could possibly be the cause of this empty feeling?
June 20th
The first time I saw Giovanni for a meeting was yesterday. Aaron had two G-men at the door the whole time and the other Kanto leaders (and Johto) seemed oblivious to it all. Elijah was a good sport, he told me I didn't have to go, but I can't let Uncle have the upper hand in everything. (Besides, he won't always be a gym leader if I can help it.)
Anyways, the meeting was to present to them new regulation that makes them more responsible and more of a forefront in their respective communities. All were receptive to the idea (Minus dear old Uncle). It would just require a specific amount of volunteer hours from them in the form of classes on their specialty type with kids any age, even adults.
We spent a few hours discussing the details and asking for their advice and what was possible with their schedules. Elijah loved my presentation, it was the biggest part holding him back from showing the others. With his other responsibilities he had no time to make a slideshow or come up with all the necessary paperwork for everyone to look at. Anyways, the gym leaders (not giovanni) took home the packets and promised to work on them and see if they could come up with something that works.
It was strange having to talk in front of Giovanni. Sometimes his gaze would be on me, other times he barely paid me any attention. He stayed quiet, only offering his vote (mostly opposing) on certain rules. A lot of the other leaders seemed not too friendly with him, many of them opposing his opinions when he spoke up. He seemed not to care...
Clair got to sit in on that meeting with our current gym leader. She looked so cute in a professional setting, I know she's going to be a great leader someday. Her ideas of making an outreach program starting in Blackthorn to create awareness of dragon types and invite the world to try and learn our ways was inspiring. I told her to write it in the packet so we can include it in the funding for that project.
Elijah is a nice boss. He lets me work at my own pace and understands that I'm pulling most of the projects together with the harder part so he's patient when I have yet to finish something. Stephanie stops by every so often with the kids and snacks for the two of us. I hope I'm not letting her down...
Even though the leaders are on board with the idea, the Association itself has to approve the idea. They could turn it down because of one little thing. It feels like I've taken half a step in the month plus it took for me to put together that presentation. In two weeks I'll have their responses and then I'll have to spend time drawing up a draft with the League's attorney's and then officially present it to the Association and Grand Council at a meeting over here in the league.
And that's the beginning! It needs to be accepted, fixed to their standards, then there needs to be an action plan drawn up, implemented through training and then the ball gets rolling. It's going to be a rough first year, but they'll catch the hang of it. No one knows their city better than them, right?
All of that for one change. It's going to be a long year.
XxXxXxX
"This is just an introductory meeting," Elijah comforts Serena as they head towards the back of the building towards the G-men area.
Having a bit more than a month under her belt, Serena expressed her interest in working with the G-men as well. During her conversation with Elijah, she pointed out the flaws of not utilizing the Elites already in the building as well as putting a few jabs in there about their problems with police departments. Elijah's arguments sounded much like her father's, blaming the men in charge and citing 'it's always been this way'.
She pushed her point further and it led to Elijah calling a meeting with the heads of the G-men to get her foot in the door. Despite having a father in the G-men, she has yet to meet the director and his second-in-command. She's heard lots of colorful things about Hendrick at home and how Michael is always agreeing with him like a man void of any rational thought of his own.
They walk up to a circular front desk where two secretaries type away at computer screens and a guard stands in the hallway to their right and another one watches the elevator to their left. On the back wall is the G-men emblem, a circle with one side half of the earth and the otherside half a pokeball. Everything is plain colors, black, white, charcoal with bits of gold for accents.
Elijah shows his ID to the secretarys before leading Serena to the hallway. It leads to a large room filled with cubicles along the back then some rows of computers towards the front. There's a large TV screen on the front wall displaying information and camera views of various places around the regions. Lofted to the right of the main room, sit offices for the bigger suits of the G-men.
Serena waves to Aaron and Wesley as she walks behind Elijah towards the stairs. The two give her nods as she ascends the stairs to speak with their bosses. When she told her father what she was going to do today, he was not happy. Despite challenging her to be a league staff member and then go for the G-men, he didn't think she would actually accomplish it. Even though she should have been mad her father didn't believe in her, she found it hilarious and ignored his attempts to convince her not to meet them.
A simple knock on the door and suddenly she's in the presence of two men she and her father think are working with her uncle. Elijah introduces her to them with a tight smile on his face. Hendrick's seems genuine but Serena can see the annoyance in the tightness of his eyes. Michael seems oblivious to them all and welcomes her with an airy greeting.
The two try to dismiss Elijah, but he stays put. Planting his feet in the carpet and folding his arms behind his back as Serena takes a seat. The air in the room is tense while they get out some papers before diving into what it is to be a G-man.
Serena ignores their words entirely to take in their appearances. Hendrick's orange hair is gelled back out of his face. His blue eyes are like icicles as he explains the duties of an individual agent. His face is angular and his build is strong, what he's doing behind a desk Serena is unsure of with those arms.
Michael interjects every so often to make snide comments about woman agents that everyone ignores. His head is shaved except for an impressive dark colored beard along his jaw. His green eyes are a bit dull but she senses something lurking behind them and makes note to watch herself around him later. Unlike Hendrick, this is a person that spends their time at a desk. He's thin and a bit clumsy as he moves, as though he's still not used to being so tall after all these years.
"Just because your father is in the G-men doesn't mean you will be, this isn't a club," Hendrick announces as though she were a child. "We have extensive tests for you to pass and even then, we have a 30 day trial period."
Asshole.
"Sounds extensive, I'll be sure to be well prepared when the time comes."
XxXxXxX
Serena rushes into the meeting room normally reserved for the Four. She swings the door open, expecting to find Lance hurt as specified in his text, only to be met with Lance and Blaise sitting in a chair with stopwatches. Both click them when she steps in and give her dazzling smiles.
Blaise is in his mid-thirties and his type is fire. His mop of blond hair nearly covers his steel gray eyes as he beams at her. He's a nice guy. Quirky, kind and easily bored. He's held his position for three years, which surprises her given he can never keep an appointment with Elijah. He's less responsible than Lance when it comes to being professional and that's saying something.
"What?" she frowns at her best friend. "I thought you were hurt?"
"Nah, we were seeing how fast you'd come running," Blaise grins. "You're a good friend Serena. I would have left him."
Her cheeks burn as she glares at Lance. "I was doing something important. I thought you were hurt."
"I'm sorry, Rena," his smile falters. "Blaise kept saying you were uptight and cold. I wanted to prove him wrong."
"Excuse me?" she rounds on the older man as he stutters out excuses.
"Th-that's not what I meant!" he holds up his hands in surrender. "You just look so serious all the time, you're like half my age! So I just wondered if Elijah is working you too hard."
Serena huffs and rolls her eyes. "I'm on my own schedule. There's a lot to do, which, shouldn't you guys be working now?"
"Nope," Blaise pops the 'p' and grins at her. "We finished our days' work."
"Uh huh," she glances between the two of them. "Okay. Well, glad you're not hurt Lance, but do it again and you will be for sure. I'll see you two around."
"Hey, Rena?" Lance calls as she moves towards the door. She turns towards him with a questioning look. "Thanks for coming so quickly. 45 seconds. I'd do the same for you."
The honesty in his voice makes her smile back. "I know you would."
August 24th
They accepted it. After weeks and weeks of revising and editing the proposal, the Council and Association okayed it. Gym leaders will NOT ONLY be able to give classes in their gyms, but have the funding to remodel said gym (to specific standards set by the association and inspection agency) to have such classes. There were a lot of long nights (with lots of coffee) where I stressed about this but it paid off. I feel so accomplished... I made a specific clause where Johto and Kanto is equal, they will get the same amount of funding and can ask for more if needed. In the meeting I made it clear that the league will begin to see both sides as equals.
Lance held a surprise party in my apartment after it was officially announced. Clair was there, as well as my parents and Elijah and his family. It was a great night, there was cake, and games. Like we were all one big family.
After the adults left, the three of us played games well into the morning. When we woke up the next afternoon (crazy, right?) we were all passed out in my living room. Since it was so late in the day already, we showered, changed and had a movie night.
That was a few days ago. Now it's back to work, my next project is funding for lesser known schools. Not like Tech or anything that's well off. For smaller ones in towns that may not have rich families to secure them. I'm pushing a curriculum where both regions' histories are taught on both sides. I get a lot of push back whenever I bring it up, but Elijah is finally on my side. His word goes a long way around here.
After that it's the background checks, which leads into working with the G-men. I'm shocked the G-men and the League/association don't coincide with each other. How can one have all the power over the other while working in the same building? It doesn't have to be perfectly equal (Elijah argued that part out of me) but we agreed that it would be easier if the Elites were part of the G-men and that sharing personnel would benefit the funding of both the League and G-men. I'd have to talk with the director and deputy director of the G-men along with the association and council.
The Council is a group of people who have no interest in owning a pokemon or own very few pokemon. (So matters not pokemon centered) They're the ones working with the mayors (house of reps and such) of each town to create laws, regulations, etc... with the focus of people in mind. They're the ones that set the drinking age, license (driving) requirements and other things. They a balance-check for pokemon centered stuff just as the Association is for them on non-pokemon centered stuff. Since G-men deal primarily with people, they are included.
There's so much politics my head is swimming at the end of the day.
This project is going to kill her. Can she count? Serena is not so sure anymore. Creating graphs to show how much funding is needed, but also how much they'd get in revenue from investing in schools is confusing.
She glances at the clock, it reads eleven at night. She's been working on the graph for three hours, it's no wonder she's not getting it right. Rubbing her eyes, she shuts the lid of her laptop and stretches. Her body turns to find Ty and Thea stretched on the couch sleeping carelessly. It's easy to guess that Drift is in her room sleeping on her side of the bed as usual.
Guilt rushes over her, she forgot to let out Sygna for his daily swim in the pool. If she goes now, he can swim for an hour and that's better than nothing. Wynn got her flying time early this morning. Poor Sygna.
Slipping on some shoes, Serena pulls on a sweater and disappears down the hallway towards the first arena. Lorelei's field is defrosted during non-tournament times, leaving the room warm with a nice deep and large pool at the center. If Serena isn't in Blackthorn for a day or two she makes due with this pool for exercising Sygna.
"I'm so sorry!" she clasps her hands at her pokemon to beg forgiveness as he stretches out in the water. He grunts before squirting a bit of water at her face. She spits it out and smiles at him. "I love you too."
His eyes light up before he disappears into the depths of the water to zip around. Releasing a gentle sigh, Serena kicks off her shoes and socks before sitting down and dipping her feet into the water. It's slightly warmer than her body temperature, just enough to be soothing on her feet. While she sits with her feet moving in a rhythmic sway, she senses a familiar mind come and open the door to the arena.
"Hi Lance."
His footsteps shuffle up to her and pause a few feet away. "Are you just sitting here with your feet in the pool?"
"Sygna is out," she responds and pats the spot next to her. "Sit with me."
"Of course," he obliges and kicks off his own shoes and socks. He knocks his shoulder into hers as he takes a seat making her giggle at his theatrics. "How are you feeling?"
"Tired," she sighs.
"Well yea, but besides that," he snorts. "You're always working hard."
She considers his question. Her day begins at six to fly with Wynn for an hour and a half. When they return she showers, eats and heads to her first meeting with Elijah at 8:30 where they go over project progress, current project paperwork and proposals. That usually goes until lunch, which she and Lance meet up in the cafeteria everyday, at 12:30 until 1:30. After that it's attending meetings with Elijah where she takes notes on what's going on currently in the region and what they can do to help.
Everything is running kinda bumpy due to a rise in disappearances and crime. The riots they saw on their journeys are getting bigger and more violent. A lot of Serena's time is spent helping Elijah prep speeches to try and smooth out the G-men and PD not seeing eye to eye. He may not work with them (yet) but he is willing to start bridging the gap to get the ball rolling.
"Stressed," she admits. "I was hoping it would be one project at a time, one thing merging at a time, but it's all happening at once. I can barely keep up with what proposal goes with what graph and now with the G-men thing, it's a whole other mess."
"Jeez, you're not the only one working, you know that right?" he whistles in the empty arena.
Sygna comes to the surface to check on her, notices Lance and dives down once again. Serena smiles. "I know, I'm not complaining. I like what I'm doing."
"Good, I worry about you sometimes," he nudges her. "Side note, I have to admit that you're right. The way the G-men are handling things in other cities is kind of messy."
"I told you," she snickers back at him. "What made you change your mind?"
"Elijah's speech the other day, which is technically your speech?" he raises a questioning brow at the end.
"Mmm, more like fifty-fifty," she shrugs. "It's getting pretty bad now."
"Luckily, we're here and you're trying to help," he points out. "What else?"
"Nothing much..."
"You haven't been home for a while."
She turns to him with a frown. "It's been two weeks. Did Mom send you?"
"Not yours, mine," he shakes his head with a laugh. "Mom is worried you're letting your childhood get away from you in favor of doing this."
"Oh?" she laughs in return. "Let Mom know I'm fine. I promise I still leave the League to explore every once in a while."
He agrees to let Kaida know and she relaxes against him as silence envelops them both. It's a comfortable, normal silence that often fills any space they occupy, with or without Clair. Sygna pops up every once in a while and it's after almost an hour that Lance decides it's his turn. He gets up and pulls off his shirt while Serena glances away towards the water.
"What are you doing?" she demands as he then moves to take off his pants. "Lance!"
"What? You've seen me naked before," he laughs. "Come on, let's jump in. You need to let loose."
"I am loose," she retorts, turning her body away.
"Mmm, actually you're not," he moves to stand in front of her and kneels to hide his parts from her.
A blush burns her face and she smacks his face. "I hate you."
"It was a good joke, though, right?" his laugh rises up from his chest, shaking his shoulders.
Her heart thumps at the sound, she missed hearing him laugh like this and it's been a while since they've been able to just relax without worrying about something. She gestures for him to turn around and proceeds to shakily take off her own clothes. He maintains her delusion of privacy while keeping his body turned, giving her a nice view of his backside.
"Stop looking at my butt," he holds up a finger pointed back at her.
"I'm not!" she shouts, hiding her face.
"It's okay, it's a nice butt," he pats it before leaping into the pool. Serena watches his body rise to the top and scrambles to hide her naked body from him. "Rena, I've seen you naked before. Stop being uptight and jump in."
"I'm not uptight for having standards," she snaps back and jumps in next to him.
The water swallows her body, bubbles tickle her bare skin as they travel up towards the surface. Her body unravels, welcoming the warmth of the water, and spreads as she floats upwards. At the surface, she lets out her held breath and grins as the water slides off her head and neck.
"Nice, right?" Lance hums behind her.
Serena spins around to see him watching her with a smile. The blue reflected in his eyes makes them glow. Despite the way he looks, she manages to glare at him. "I know how to relax Lance. You and Blaise didn't invent it."
He tilts his head at her tone. Rarely did Serena snap at him, he realizes his mistake and frowns. "Hey, I'm sorry for being a jerk. I'm just worried about you and I guess I'm letting Blaise get to me on that part."
"It's okay," she says after a moment and relaxes in the water. She almost leans back but blushes and decides not to. "Just because you're not around to see me relax doesn't mean it's not happening."
He pouts at her, giving her a gentle splash. "I'm sorry, Rena. Do you still love me?"
"Hmm," she pretends to ponder. "I guess."
A smile lights up his face and he raises his fists in the air. "Yes!"
At that point, Sygna comes up to play by swirling the water around them and darting around shooting small jets of water from his mouth at them. The two laugh and splash around for at least an hour more before Serena can barely keep above water. In the midst of her exhaustion, Lance helps her out of the water. His hands are careful to avoid intimate places as he slips his shirt over her head instead of trying to squeeze her back into her clothes.
She feels his boxers slide up his legs and giggles. "Are you going to wear my underwear?"
"You weren't wearing any?" he frowns at her before glancing around the floor to look for them.
"Oh my gosh!" she gasps, her eyes widening before she dissolves into giggles. "I wasn't."
A blush blooms on Lance's face at her giggle, his heart restarts at the look of glee on her face at the 'scandal'. Seeing her so free and happy is all he ever wants and he'll go to any length to get her there. He didn't mean to be a jerk about it, he just feels them drifting and he's not sure why. With everything on her plate, he doesn't want to weigh her down with his observation. He's just trying to get more time with her.
He misses her.
She yawns while holding up Sygna's pokeball, her head bobs to the side as she tries to point it at the pokemon waiting patiently in the water. Lance laughs and straightens her arm, the red light darts out, envelops Sygna and pulls him back into his little home. Despite seeing this happen nearly everyday, Serena nearly tosses the pokeball in the air to do it again.
"You're not even drunk," Lance mutters as he gathers her clothes, wraps an arm around her waist and puts her around his shoulder.
"I told you, I'm tired," she slurs and stumbles as they head towards her apartment. It takes him a while to get her through the door and onto her couch, but he manages it and dashes to her bathroom to get her a towel.
She's passed out by the time he returns and he chuckles at her. In the soft glow of the kitchen light, she looks so peaceful curled up on the cushion and face dug into his shirt. He ignores the way the sight makes him feel, her in his clothes looking so much sexier than any of the other girls he's had over, and dries off her hair, face, arms and legs. Her hair takes the longest, but he manages a loose braid and picks her up bridal style to take her to her room.
Ty flinches at the smell of chlorine and the wetness soaking the shirt, but accepts his trainer into his and Thea's bed of warmth. Lance sets her in the middle and draws the blanket up to her chin. With his head leaned in close, he doesn't notice he's kissed her forehead until he's pulling away and watching a smile cross her face.
The fire type grunts at him, just a warning, before Ty nuzzles his trainer and exhales warm air on her. Lance glances up at Thea, the psychic type watches him intently, her gaze piercing him as though she's seeing more than just his physical appearance. He awkwardly nods at her before leaving the room to return to his.
October 24th
Yesterday was Lance's 18th birthday. I had the whole day planned out for him and it was a success. In the morning, I snuck over and made him breakfast (joined by Mac) where I gave him a gift of a new watch, waterproof and able to withstand mishaps that happen from training dragon types. He had been eyeing it for weeks, so Clair and I went halfsies and bought it for him. (He loved it!)
His day was full of meetings, but he got gifts from his parents and Clair brought him lunch. At the end of the day, I redecorated one of the practice arenas (much smaller than the others) into a party place. I got a DJ and some games and we had a blast in the little arena.
He was surprised it was me that put it all together. TBH I did most of it for him, but also to let him know that I can have fun, it's just not the same way he has fun. The night ended up going pretty late, he ended up finding another girl and taking her back to his place afterwards. Which is FINE. I wish he would have said that he was leaving, but we were enjoying the games and clean up took just an hour.
Jax was helpful and he made sure I got to my room before heading back to Blackthorn with Clair. Lance was late for a meeting this morning, to see my presentation on the renovation of the pokemon league, considering he'll be part of the elite four, but he promised to catch up today. The funding for schools didn't go through, I was devastated. I worked so hard and it got shot down within the first half of the meeting. Apparently, I am too hopeful and cocky after my first two ideas got accepted and started to get too wild with the projects. Elijah couldn't do much either, the Council was adamant in their ruling, so the schools that need funding will have to try for funding on their own, I guess.
It was a hard couple of days after that. I mean I get it won't always go my way, but that was something so small, it would be easy to fund and they shot it down without a second glance. Elijah explained it wouldn't work because there are a small amount of schools it wouldn't be worth it to focus resources in funding them.
So that's dumb.
Anyways, it's getting closer to the end of the year and the other proposals are being presented soon so within the next year we will be working real hard to get the regions together.
"How do you think you did?" Lance catches up with Serena as they exit the Association headquarters in Goldenrod City.
Today they took their final exams needed to ensure they're ready for work in the league. It is a test with politics, economics, Kanto and Johto history, and an overview of the positions they'll be heading into. Lance's exam had no regional history, just the history of dragon types with questions written by Rowan. Serena remembers seeing a shiver run down his back at the sight of her mother's tough questions, hopefully he brushed up on his textbook information.
Serena studied hard with Clair for her test, a lot of her answers were based on her experience helping Elijah the past few months, so she feels confident. Her brain is swimming with stress, the questions from the test and whether or not she answered correctly for a few as they head down the street towards a cafe.
"I'm pretty sure I passed," she replies after a short silence. "My brain is foggy though."
"Let's get some coffee," he offers and opens the door for her.
She steps over the threshold and inhales deeply. "Ah, I love the smell of coffee."
"If only smelling it was all you needed," he snickers.
"I wish."
The two order coffees and sandwiches, Lance pays much to Serena's chagrin. He brushes her off, leading her to sit near the window. Fall is hitting the region pretty quick, the normally hot temperatures in Goldenrod have cooled considerably. Serena loves the cooler temps, it makes wearing a scarf less conspicuous and keeps her warm rather than making her overheat. Outside the colors of fall have taken over the city foliage; reds, yellows and oranges paint a vibrant picture.
"What have you got planned next?" Lance muses as their food and drinks are brought to the table.
"So much."
She relays her next steps while he listens intently. All around them, life continues on well into the evening. At closing time they're politely asked to leave, much to their surprise, and head out into the town. Arm and arm the two wander the streets without a fear of what could happen as they relish these calm moments when they're not expected to be in meetings and are still the teens they were when they left their homes a year ago.
