Chapter 11: A Lack of Manners
I frowned, looking all my gear over. Tent, sleeping bag, some provisions, a few pairs of clothes, toiletries... There really wasn't much, but it was a heck of a lot more than I ever carried as a kid. Then again, I'd never been one to lug around shampoo and conditioner, and I hadn't even needed things like a razor and deodorant. Water had been fine for me. But puberty had had its way with me since then. My sweat glands were more developed, and my skin produced more oils annoyingly enough. Man smell.
That was probably why I wouldn't survive without things like shampoo and body wash now. My hair was used to being washed and striped of its natural oils, as was my skin, so I'd feel gross in a day or a two. It produced oils faster than it needed to. Maybe I should start washing my hair less. I snorted, standing there with my hands on my hips. I needed some flashlights and batteries as well. It was time to raid the kitchen.
I made my way down the stairs, more excited than I should be. Yay camping, or something. Actually, I think I was just excited to prove I hadn't become a wimp. I needed to arm wrestle an ursaring or something... I certainly had been pampered the last several years…
But I was also still a little pissed that I'd found out I could sign up for more than two weeks off from the gym as long as I gave them some advanced warning and didn't do it too often. That would have been great to know when Gold and I had run ourselves ragged helping Blue with the baby. I scoffed as I stalked down the hall, irritated just thinking about it. Why didn't people tell me this crap?! Idiots. All of them. That dipshit Mike in particular. Useless fucking ref.
One of the maids raised an eyebrow as I started to rummage through the cupboards, my irritation probably tangible. "Do you need something, Silver?"
"Flashlight," I huffed, standing up and nudging the cupboard closed with my bare foot.
"In the basement," she stated kindly. I relaxed a little. I couldn't stay mad around the house's incredibly sweet staff. I nodded in thanks and headed towards the basement, rolling my eyes when I felt that skittish kid coming up behind me.
"What are you looking for, Silver?" he asked curiously.
I just raised an eyebrow at him. He left me alone when I was in my room—typically—but it seemed he'd stalk me anywhere else around the house, or anywhere out of the house especially. Heck, the kid had nearly followed me into the bathroom a few times.
I wasn't so used to being followed. Even Gold gave me more space than this kid. At least he was usually quiet, but it was still unnerving having him around... all the damn time.
I started down the stairs without answering him, surprised when the lights flicked on. Was there a sensor? I glanced back in surprise when I noticed Archen had hit the switch for me. Oh. I'd thought it'd been downstairs. Oh well. I shook my head and started digging through boxes and drawers. There was a lot of stuff down here! We'd actually never cleaned down here after my father has passed. It looked like there was quite a bit of gear for traveling. I grabbed two nice looking canteens, wondering if they were still usable, and a few escape ropes. I also found two nice flashlights. I really needed a fire type pokemon sometimes. The basement had been my father's fitness gym mostly. It was a massive room and largely unfinished, and most of the equipment was too old for me to bother with.
Archen just hovered there like a shadow, as usual, and followed me back up the stairs when I was done. "What the heck is it with you and following me all the time?" I snapped, heading towards the kitchen to wash out the canteens and gather some batteries for the flashlights.
"Sorry," he uttered, abashed, "I'm just... really bored," he admitted softly.
I huffed. "Play a video game, watch some TV, read a book, I don't care. Just stop stalking me everywhere." Hell, half the time I was just lounging around on the couch reading a book. I was a pretty boring individual!
"Sorry..." he uttered again, not agreeing to stop stalking me I didn't fail to notice.
"Are you packed for tomorrow?" I asked.
"Yes," he replied quickly, flushing red of all things. This kid...
"Let me see what you grabbed at least," I commanded, heading up the stairs and into my room to dump my finds on my bed. He hovered by the door, half in my room and half out like he couldn't make up his mind. Then I noticed he was staring, practically gawking at something... Concerned, I followed his gaze and rolled my eyes in dismay. A condom was on the bedside table. I was just so used to one or two of them being there, I didn't even feel embarrassed. Maybe a few years ago I would have freaked out, and I was still a little shy on the subject, but I'd certainly gotten more used to it. We honestly didn't use them as often as we should have, but sometimes we grabbed one to make cleaning up a bit easier. The lube and sex toys were at least inside the drawer! I did try to keep most of that stuff out of sight just so the staff cleaning didn't get blatantly reminded I had sex with Gold… The packet was so small I hadn't noticed.
I sighed under my breath, walking over and tossing the offending silver packet inside the drawer. "Surprise," I said blandly, "adults have sex."
Archen just looked about ready to die.
"Hey... are you sure you're going to be okay on this trip?" I asked, probably sounding exasperated. "I mean, yeah, you're going to have to pee in the woods and wash up by the river butt naked probably..."
"Yeah," he uttered quickly, an octave too high, "I'm sorry I just I..." He shook his head when he couldn't finish his sentence. "I think I might be... gay..."
I actually couldn't help smiling faintly. That subject had terrified me when I'd been his age as well. I still remembered how shaken and anxious I'd gotten even when Gold had simply kissed me. I hadn't even been comfortable touching myself and had avoided the idea of sex like it was the plague. Of course, I knew how to comfortably channel that frustrating energy now, and I was confident being intimate with Gold.
I'd only ever felt that way about Gold, though. Blue had said I must have had some sexuality where I only got hot over someone I loved; I couldn't remember what the heck she'd called it, though. I really didn't think it mattered nor needed a fancy name. The media just identified me as gay, and I didn't honestly care. I couldn't imagine feeling that way about every single guy, and still being so uncomfortable, though. I did find other men attractive, but I didn't want to sleep with anyone but Gold or anything.
"It gets better," I offered, giving some rare encouragement. "Just give it time."
Archen gave me a weak smile, seeming to relax a little, and I headed towards his room. He quickly laid out everything he'd packed, and I hummed, picking up his shampoo. "You can't use this. You're going to need to pick up something safer for the water. We're not going to be dumping toxins that make pokemon sick in the streams while we're out there." I nodded towards his body wash, "Or that. Don't worry, the safe stuff has nature friendly labeled all over it in a desperate announcing advertisement."
Archen gave quick nod and I frowned. "No tent."
"Oh, er, I thought you had one," he stated quickly.
"I do, and it's large enough... but are you sure you're going to be okay with that?" Teenagers were teenagers... the kid probably needed plenty of privacy. Also, he might have an aneurism sleeping near me…
"I'm okay with it," he stated quickly. "It's spring anyway, right?"
"Well, sort of. Mount Silver is known for its storms and it's always pouring snow on the peak. That leads to my next observation. You're going to need some heavy-duty winter clothes. I do plan to spend a few days up towards the peak, and you're going to freeze to death in this."
"Noted," he replied, nodding.
"Grab a poncho or a raincoat, and it looks like you're good to go. Make sure you also head toward the pokemon center and get your pokemon healed. We're leaving first light tomorrow."
I turned to leave, but Archen spoke up quickly, "Uh, Silver, could I possibly... ask for some help getting to the store? I... I'm really bad at reading Ja-Japanese still."
My eyes widened in surprise. Oh. Right. They spoke English in Unova. Heck, maybe that's why this kid was so bad at speaking sometimes. It'd never occurred to me that he might struggle with the language. Suddenly I felt a little bad.
"Yeah, sure," I replied. Japanese was supposed to be an easy oral language, but yeah, the writing system was certainly daunting. "Let's head over there now, before dinner. You know, if you need help, I'm fluent in English."
He nodded thankfully and quickly pocketed his wallet, following me like a shadow towards the store. I actually felt like a bit of an ass for not realizing something like this sooner. Just, wow. It really did take guts to move to a region you weren't able to fully understand the language of. I glanced down at the kid again, actually still baffled. "Why did you come all the way to Johto again?" I asked curiously.
"Because..." he began carefully, frowning and trailing off. "It's really because I wanted to meet you... but my mom, she's a scientist that works with fossil pokemon, and she wanted me to deliver some things to the lab in Cinnabar. Why it couldn't have been done by mail I'm not sure. I guess it was a sensitive sample."
That was interesting. It definitely explained Archen's pokemon, and name for that matter. I still didn't think I'd name my kid Nidoking, though. Maybe it was a Unova thing. "And why me, again?" I asked curiously.
"You're actually a fairly popular gym leader in Unova. You're young, and attractive," he paused, looking incredibly embarrassed, "and you're also really well known for being homosexual. I think you and Wallace are the only male gym leaders in a relationship with another man, that the public actually knows about, anyway." He fidgeted again, and I had a feeling where this was going. Either I was some celebrity crush, or some inspirational figure, then.
Weird. I'd tried to slash Lance's throat when first meeting a celebrity like him. We all could die the same, so I'd never really grasped how people could be star struck.
"You know I'm the son of some mafia leader and have a bit of a shady past, right?" I asked curiously, wondering if that made it through the media over there. The media here liked to bring up me being Giovanni's long-lost son, and that Giovanni was the leader on Team Rocket, however they never seemed to put the two together, oddly enough. I'm sure they would if they wanted to make me the bad guy or something, but for the most part gym leaders were idolized, and I was just another bright shining example of one to most people...
"I've heard, but no, most people don't know much of anything about your father, so they don't know any of that..."
That was sort of interesting to me. Since Team Rocket had been so prominent in Johto and Kanto, the media loved to focus on my father. He never did have to answer for his crimes before he'd passed. When the word got out that I was his estranged only child, they'd lapped it up like honeyed milk. I was just used to having my identity tied with his especially since I'd taken over his gym. Apparently, I was just... me in other regions. I'm surprised I had any popularity considering how boring I was. There were plenty of other attractive male gym leaders...
I took my apprentice shopping and we got back to the house before dinner. I'd spent my morning in the gym dealing with some challengers. There seemed to be more showing up since we'd put up the notices that I'd be gone for a little while. I'd just been spending the rest of the day packing, since I was leaving first thing in the morning. I'd been a bit excited and restless and my pokemon had picked up on my energy.
Weavile sat on my bed looking amused as I finished closing up my bags. It was more than I'd ever carried around as a kid, but I could still easily manage it all. I was still considered to be a bit lean, but my shoulders were broader, and I was a lot stronger. I stretched and glanced over towards my door when the door creaked open a bit. I just sighed at Archen's appearance. Again. The kid had been extra clingy lately, as if he thought I'd vanish in the middle of the night without him.
"What do you want now?" I sighed, sitting at the edge of my bed and gently ruffling Weavile's soft short fur. He was probably bored.
"I'm bored," he admitted, confirming my thoughts. Of course.
"Read a book," I complained.
"Weavile is your first pokemon, isn't he?" Archen asked curiously, walking into my room anyway. He reached out to the dark type and Weavile just gave him a bored look, although he would swipe at someone touching him. I waved Archen away from touching my partner. I was about the only person he'd tolerate being touched by. They were ice types too, and I'm sure warm human hands were annoying.
"We have sneasel and weavile in Unova, around the giant chasm, northeast. They're known to be pests around the local towns I believe, though."
I chuckled and nodded. "Yes, they are. In Johto they don't leave their ice caves very often, but I've heard in the other regions where the towns are closer to their habitats that they can be annoying. They are skilled thieves after all." My first pokemon playfully nuzzled me, obviously knowing where I was heading with my statement. "We were probably pretty annoying to people, huh? People here aren't even used to seeing a sneasel running around."
He gave a cry of agreement, and I gently rubbed his front paw with my thumb, feeling the claws he currently had retracted while lying in my bed.
Archen looked a little confused, and I was about to explain how Sneasel and I had been notorious thieves when we'd been younger. However, my pokegear buzzed and I reached over to check who was calling. It could be the league calling me to confirm my absence. Instead, I was happily surprised by it being Gold. I quickly accepted the call and pressed the device to my ear.
"Hey Gold," I greeted.
"Hey babe. You're leaving tomorrow, right?"
I rolled my eyes at the word babe but didn't comment on it. "Sort of. I'll probably just travel around Kanto a bit for a few days. Misty lined up a match with me, it'll probably be televised if you want to watch." I got up off the bed, stepping over to the window and gazing out into the night as we talked. I didn't fail to notice Archen hadn't left. The kid was really lacking in manners.
"I'll definitely be watching. Have you been okay on your own lately? Miss me?"
I smiled faintly. He was fishing for me to say I was miserable and missing him. I did miss him, particularly at night, but it actually hadn't been too bad so far. There had been a lot going on lately and keeping me occupied. When he'd left to visit home for those two weeks, I'd been stuck in my boring gym routine (I also hadn't exactly gotten to visit him for a blowjob).
"Yeah, but not too bad right now." I wanted to tease him he'd gotten me off just the other day, but I wasn't bringing that up with Archen behind me.
"I'll check back in a few days, you call me, too," he teased. "You should probably get some sleep if you're leaving early. I love you."
I paused, shifting uncomfortably. "I love you, too," I admitted softly, despite Archen still sitting on my bed. "I'll check in with you when I can."
I clicked off the device and sighed softly, clutching it tight as I composed myself for a moment. Then I turned back around and found Archen curiously gazing at me. I just raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure who taught you your manners, but it's polite to leave the room when someone is on the phone. This is my bedroom."
Archen averted his gaze, at least looking a bit remorseful. "Sorry. I'll keep that in mind. So, you'll battle Misty tomorrow?"
I nodded and started sorting through my pokemon. Trainers officially carried six with them for battles and the like. Six was also the comfortable number of pokemon most trainers could handle at once. It was just... the number. But it wasn't like you couldn't carry more than six. A pokeball wouldn't teleport itself away or anything crazy. But you could lose your license if you tried to battle with more than six pokemon in official settings.
I personally was going to carry my team including Rhyperior, and my father's mix of pokemon with me. Lance had also handed me Tyranitar a few days ago, and I was sure going to take that invaluable beast with me. There were plenty of tyranitar roaming Mt. Silver after all. I wasn't their trainer, but my particular talent had always been that I worked well with Pokemon that I wasn't the original trainer of. Plus, my father's old lazy pokemon could use some exercise.
"I'm going to sleep," I stated, motioning for Archen to leave my room.
He did his uncomfortable little squirm thing, and I waited patiently to hear what he had to say. "Silver…. I… um… wh-what's it like?"
I tilted my head in confusion, not sure what he was asking about, and he slowly turned redder in the face. "…sex."
My eyes widened, and I flushed right along with my apprentice. "Uh. Well. Th-That's…" I had no idea how to respond this question. "I mean it… feels good?" I uttered weakly.
"Better than with a girl?" he practically whispered.
I didn't deserve this. This wasn't fair! "I've never been with a woman," I choked out, "So I can't exactly answer that. But just try to make sure it's with someone you care about, and that they care about you… and take it slow… and it should be fine. Amazing even… Now go to bed!"
"Thank you, Silver… I'll see you in the morning," he uttered shyly, dropping his gaze.
I just sighed and nodded; thankful he closed the door behind himself. I glanced over at Weavile and promptly pounced on him, grinning at his overboard wailing. I loved my stupid pokemon. We were going to go be free tomorrow! Like when I was younger! No gym duties, almost no people, just battles and adventures.
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AN: I try to capitalize a pokemon's name if it's their name, and use lowercase if I'm just referring to the species, such as the word cat. However, I do I try not to think about how often I mess that up.
