AUTHOR'S NOTE

Thank you all so much for the overwhelming support on the last chapter! All your reviews absolutely make my day, and definitely encourage me to keep on going with these weekly updates! I don't express gratitude nearly as often as I should, but please know how much it's appreciated ^^ I definitely depend on you all to keep me honest, and I really do make adjustments to the chapters and even the story timeline based on your feedback when possible.

CHAPTER 12
Travels Across The Land!

In good news, Ash had finally figured out exactly how he felt about Clemont. There was no more guessing, no more trying to convince himself that it was just a phase, and no more wondering if his suspected crush was real at all. Unfortunately, this revelation came at great cost to his sleep.

As much as he had enjoyed that dream, and several others he had since, he learned he had a habit of making sounds in his sleep; sounds that were bound to wake up relatively light sleepers like Clemont. It had become apparent he would be unable to continue getting a good night's rest in their shared room, and for the first time since they had met, Ash was beginning to regret sharing sleeping quarters with his friend. Some nights he slept, waking up in a panic and wondering if he had said anything. Most nights he just stayed up, doing no more than nodding off for a minute before forcing himself back awake. It had started to take a toll on his psyche, and he had been feeling more and more unstable both mentally and physically with each passing day.

"Come on, Ash. Just drink the coffee. You'll feel better."

"I feel fine," he insisted, stifling a yawn. "And I already told you I don't want coffee." If not for the shirt which Ash had put on both inside-out and backwards, and the way he kept dangerously lurching forward even as he leaned against the counter, Clemont might have given up at that point.

"I'll make you anything with caffeine," he wheedled. "Tea? Hot chocolate? I think we might have some caffeinated soda in the fridge..."

"I said no!" Both Clemont and Serena stared at their friend in shock, and exchanged a look. Clemont jerked his head slightly in Ash's direction, then shrugged. I give up, he seemed to be saying. Serena pursed her lips, then stood up and walked over to the counter.

"Some things just need a woman's touch," she said wisely, but so far that touch did not seem to be working well, as Ash jumped slightly and turned to gape at her.

"When did you get here, Serena?"

"Oh, I've been here." She gave him a sweet smile, and if she was surprised he had not noticed her before now, she didn't show it. "Um, Ash, you might want to fix that before going out..."

"Fix what?" he asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion and nearly falling over in the process.

She pointed at the white tag sticking out like a beacon on the front of Ash's black shirt, and he looked down, laughing weakly. "It figures," he said, tugging at it awkwardly. "I think I did the same thing yesterday." He grabbed at the hem of his shirt and pulled it upwards, revealing just a hint of his toned stomach before Serena averted her gaze.

"Not here!" she squealed, but it was too late. Ash had already taken his shirt off, and was now attempting to turn it back on its correct side, oblivious to how red both Clemont's and Serena's faces had become.

"Ooh, what's going on here? Hope I'm not interrupting anything." Having just walked into the kitchen, Bonnie wasn't quite sure what exactly was going on, but she smirked at the way Serena was trying her hardest not to look at Ash, and how Clemont was not bothering to hide exactly how much he was looking.

"We were just leaving," Serena squeaked out, taking a couple steps in Bonnie's direction before chancing a glance back over her shoulder at Clemont, who was staring at Ash with his lips slightly parted, taking in every bit of his appearance. It wasn't that he hadn't seen him shirtless before - they had gone swimming together, after all, and Ash did occasionally sleep shirtless on warm summer nights - but it was the first time he had been able to admire him without Ash noticing, free of any guilt or shame he might ordinarily feel at doing so. "I said," she punctuated with a low growl, "we were just leaving." She reached around and grabbed him firmly on the arm, pulling him out of the kitchen, much to his disappointment.

Only once they left the room had Ash finished fixing his shirt, adjusting it around his shoulders before grinning. "Better? ...Huh?" He looked around the room, his smile fading as he realized he was alone. "Where did everyone go?" Groaning, he took a seat at the counter, and let his head fall forward onto his arms.

It wasn't that he hadn't considered alternative sleeping arrangements. The couch in the living room was relatively comfortable, and had served as a good makeshift bed for daytime naps. But ultimately, he decided he couldn't sleep there for fear of being discovered by anyone that happened to wake up earlier than him, which was unfortunately everyone. And a quick assessment of the apartment revealed he would not have more success anywhere else - either the room was simply not set up for sleeping, such as the kitchen and bathrooms, or it was just as public as the living room. So eventually, he did the only thing he felt he could - start taking as many overnight trips as possible.

"I'm starting to feel like you're never home anymore," Clemont told him as he walked with Ash to the edge of the city at the beginning of one such trip, only a hint of sadness evident in his voice. "You realize this is your third night out this week?"

"Yeah, well." Ash was getting pretty good at dodging this subject, and although he didn't like lying to Clemont, he felt it was probably safer than the alternative. "Out-of-towners are willing to pay more if I go to them. I want to be able to afford the rent, you know?"

Clemont hesitated just long enough for Ash to start walking away before calling out after him: "You don't pay rent!"

"I know!" he shouted back, sounding pleased. Both he and Pikachu waved as he walked backwards, and when Clemont raised his hand shyly in return, he turned back on one heel, smiling as he thought about the journey ahead.

It had taken a while for news of his traveling services to reach people who did not stay directly connected to communications in Lumiose City, but once they did, there was really no shortage of places Ash could go. He had received multiple invites from the Gym Leaders of Kalos for rematches, and he had friends all over the region he could visit. But he found that simply traveling to a new city with no plan and staying close to the local Pokemon Center was the most rewarding. There was far from a lack of new people to meet, and he was able to engage in plenty of casual battles with people who both knew who he was and wanted to learn from him, and complete strangers who were new to Kalos and just challenged him for the thrill of battle.

One of the more surprising things he had realized was that he did not miss Lumiose City as much as he expected. The worries about leaving behind the life he had made for himself there that had plagued him only a few weeks ago seemed less and less important each time he passed the city limits. He knew that his home, and Clemont, would be waiting for him when he got back; their constant presence in his heart providing him with the peace of mind he needed so badly.

Clemont, on the other hand, did not seem quite as reassured in this as Ash did. As his goodbyes grew more frequent, so did his fears that Ash would leave forever. He was always wondering which time would be the last; when Ash would finally say he was happier in another city and choose to move there instead. On top of that, he seemed almost averse to spending time in the apartment at all, and Clemont couldn't help but take it personally.

"Tough break," Bonnie had told him at one point, after Ash had rushed through the room with no more than a hurried wave at his friends before getting on the elevator and, presumably, leaving them for another night or two.

"This is more than just a bit of bad luck, Bonnie." Clemont adjusted his glasses, staring down at the invention he had been working on. Somehow, his motivation for it just seemed to be gone.

"Aw, don't worry, big brother. Maybe he's just dealing with some...emotions." She had winked at him, but it did not make him feel any better. Ash dealing with emotions, like the ones that had an influence on where he wanted to spend his time, was precisely what he was worried about.

So full of concern, and missing Ash with a terrible ache that did not seem to go away, he had taken to some unusual habits during his frequent absences. He had gone through the process of reorganizing the spice cabinet by alphabetical order, and was planning to do the same to the rest of the pantry at some point. He also had started deep cleaning unusual areas of the apartment, like the cabinets under the bathroom sinks and floor of their coat closet.

"I just have a bit of free time on my hands," he would say if Serena or Bonnie asked him why he was bothering with such menial tasks. But really, it was that he needed to do something that did not engage his creativity in the way that inventing did, and that didn't involve people, like his Gym Leader responsibilities did.

Still, cleaning and organizing were not his favorite tasks, even if they did assist somewhat with his constant worrying. So one morning when he was alone in the apartment and up to his elbows in what was advertised as being the best carpet cleaner around, he was more than happy to take a break and answer a phone call that came through on their personal line.

"Oh, hello, Clemont." The caller was Ash's mom, and her expression brightened when he nodded at her in recognition. "It's so nice to see you. Is Ash there, by any chance?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Ketchum, he's not in right now. May I take a message?"

"Please, dear, it's okay. You can call me Delia." She smiled at him, and he smiled back at her. She reminded him strongly of his own mother; they both had kind eyes and a way of looking at you that just made you feel better, no matter what was wrong.

"Okay, Delia." He was not usually comfortable with calling adults by their first names, even though he was practically an adult himself, but did not want to hurt her feelings by refusing. "Would you like me to give Ash a message? It might be a few days before he gets back to you, though. I think he's in Anistar City right now.

"Anistar City?" she asked, with some surprise. "Isn't that far from you?"

"A bit, yes." Clemont's face fell a bit as he thought about just how much distance was between him and Ash at the moment, but remembering that he was on a video call, he forced a smile back on his face. "He's been traveling around Kalos again. I guess he's bored of Lumiose City already!"

Delia frowned slightly, sighing. "He has me so worried lately! First he misses his flight here and tells me he can't leave Lumiose City right now, and now he's going other places...is everything okay over there? Do you know if he's eating right? Sleeping okay? Brushing his teeth? Changing his underwear?"

"I-I'm sure he's doing all those things!" Clemont exclaimed, feeling a blush creep onto his face. He had not been prepared to deal with any questions about Ash's underwear today, especially from his mother. "Wait...what did you say about him missing his flight?"

"He didn't tell you? He had been planning on visiting me, oh, I don't know, maybe a month ago? Booked the flight and everything, then never showed up! Samuel and I were so worried." Clemont assumed she was referring to Professor Oak, who seemed to be a family friend and also called Ash frequently. "I called him, of course, and he gave me some excuse about how he had important things to do in Lumiose City and couldn't leave right now. And he specifically mentioned you. You aren't holding my boy hostage, are you, Clemont?"

Clemont frantically shook his head, and Delia laughed. "I didn't think so," she said, and he instantly felt relief wash over him. "But I had to check! Well, I am sorry to take so much time out of your day. But when he comes back, can you tell him I miss him? And that he should come home and see his mother?"

"Of course I will," Clemont assured her. "I'll let him know as soon as I see him."

Despite what Clemont had promised, he did not end up giving Ash his mother's message the next time he saw him, though it hadn't been for lack of trying.

"Hi Clemont! Bye Clemont!" Ash yelled as he passed by after returning from Anistar City, running across the living room with Pikachu hanging onto his shoulder for dear life. He was gone so fast that he had disappeared by the time Clemont had even looked up, much less before he could ask him to wait a moment.

He was more prepared the second time around, correctly assuming that Ash would be leaving again immediately after he had deposited his backpack in their room.

"We need to talk," he told him, blocking the entrance of the elevator.

"Can't we talk later?" Ash reached around him to press the button for the elevator. "I'm running late to meet a client."

"Already?" Clemont frowned, and pushed his glasses up a bit higher. "But you just got here!"

"I was supposed to be here an hour ago," Ash admitted. "I got lost." The elevator made a small dinging noise as the doors opened, and reluctantly, Clemont stepped out of the way. He had some strong opinions about Ash getting lost on his way back, when all he had to do to find his way home was walk towards the tallest building in all of Kalos, but now was no more the time to voice them than it was to talk to him about anything else, and he sighed as Ash stepped onto the elevator, pressing the button for the first floor.

"We'll talk when I get back," Ash told him as the doors closed. "I'm looking forward to it!"

But by the time Ash had returned, Clemont was wrapped up in his Gym Leader responsibilities, and did not get free until dinner time, during which the conversation focused more on Ash's trip, and when he was going away again.

"I don't have anything scheduled yet," he had answered with, mumbling around a mouthful of food. "Serena, where's your next showcase?"

"Laverre City! Would you like to come with me?" she offered, smiling fondly at him.

"Hmm, Laverre City." He closed his eyes and tried to remember the last time they had been there. That was where he had needed to wait a day for the gym to reopen, he recalled, and it was where both Serena and Bonnie had been drafted into a fashion show. "Maybe!" In truth, he had no interest in returning to a place where the focus was more on what clothing a person was wearing than what Pokemon they had, but a quick maybe was usually received better than an outright no, in his experience.

"It's not for another couple weeks," she told him. "I would love the company!" His frequent travels had not only impacted the amount of time he spent with Clemont, but also the amount of time he spent with Serena, and though she traveled a decent amount herself she was starting to miss the time they spent together.

"I'll think about it," he told her. He was sure he would have found something else to fill his schedule by then, and as luck would have it, something to fill his schedule was exactly what Clemont wanted to talk to him about.

"You don't usually go to bed this early," Ash told him as they both laid down in their respective beds that night, the lamp on their shared nightstand casting a warm glow throughout the room.

"How would you know?" Clemont asked, chuckling at him. "You're not usually awake this late!" His laughter faded as he realized that no, that wasn't true, not anymore. Ever since that first night he had woken him up from what he thought to be a nightmare, Ash just...didn't sleep. They hadn't spoken about it; nor had Clemont given any sign that he noticed any further trouble sleeping on Ash's part. But he knew about it, the same way he was sure Ash knew he knew about it, and he fell silent in the wake of that realization.

"Your mom called yesterday," he said finally, breaking the awkward silence between them.

"Oh." Ash did not sound particularly enthused by that, and paused for a moment before asking: "You answered it?"

"Was I not supposed to?" There was more silence, and Clemont turned around so he could get a better look at Ash. He was laying on his back, his arms resting behind his head as he contemplated the ceiling. "Ash?"

"I guess it's okay." he responded then, turning his head to face Clemont. He caught his eye and smiled at him. "So what did she want?"

"She misses you, and wants to know when you'll be visiting. But that's between you and her." He took a deep breath. He hated confrontation, and he knew with his next inquiry he would be plunging into it head-first. "I'm more interested in why you seemingly booked a flight to see her last month and then never got on the plane."

Ash coughed guiltily, and turned away so he would not have to look at Clemont. "You weren't supposed to find out about that."

"Like hell I wasn't," Clemont snapped, and Ash looked at him in shock. He had never heard Clemont swear before, not once in the years they had known each other - not even when his inventions exploded in his face or when Bonnie had been in danger. To hear him do so now was surprising, and made him feel somewhat ashamed. "You can't name me as one of the reasons you won't go see your family, and then expect me to not find out about it."

The reasons that Ash had provided at the time didn't feel so relevant now. I just can't leave because Clemont needs me here to help with the gym, he remembered thinking. I can't leave everyone behind when they're depending on me. But Clemont was more than capable of running the Lumiose Gym without him, and truthfully he did not do nearly as much as Serena and Bonnie did, as they often refereed matches and helped care for Heliolisk, Magnemite, and Magneton. No, he knew now that he had been afraid to leave because he was worried that he would come back to his worst nightmare; returning to Lumiose City to find that he no longer had a place to stay and that Clemont had forgotten all about him. But those concerns weren't ones he carried with him anymore. All he had to do was make Clemont believe he never had those fears to begin with.

"Chill out, Clemont. I just forgot, that's all. I had to tell Mom something!"

"You...forgot." Ash winced at the tone of Clemont's voice. Whether he was upset because Ash had used him as an excuse, because he felt that family was too important to simply forget about, or because flights were expensive and not getting on one was a huge waste of money, he wasn't sure, but it was obvious that something had definitely irritated him.

"I'm sorry," he told him, but Clemont cut him off.

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. You should be apologizing to your mom. She cares about you a lot, you know? And all you had to offer her was an excuse."

So it was the family aspect that had him so upset. "I'll call her tomorrow," he promised. "And I'll fly out to Kanto to visit her. Soon. Really! Look," he said, hoping to calm his friend down. "I understand -"

"You don't understand," Clemont told him firmly, and Ash decided right then and there he would rather have Clemont yell at him than keep talking like he was disappointed in his decisions. "I would give anything - anything - to have another moment with my mom. You're so lucky, Ash. Not everyone has family that cares or that's still around, but your mom loves you and wants to spend time with you. And you miss out on a chance to see her because...why?" He paused, and looked at Ash, the anger evident in his eyes. "No, really. Why? I don't believe for a second it had anything to do with me or with Lumiose City."

I wish I could tell you just how wrong you are, Ash thought, but all he said was, "It's not that big a deal, Clemont. It's not like she's going anywhere. I could fly out there anytime."

"I thought that once," Clemont said, and he sighed. "I thought that I would have all the time in the world to spend with my mom. And then she was gone, before I could even tell her I loved her one last time. One day your mom will be gone too, and then you'll be kicking yourself over every missed opportunity, every time you told her you didn't feel like spending time with her or meant to call her but didn't, and you won't be able to apologize or reschedule." His voice wavered as he spoke, and Ash swallowed hard, knowing that he was right. His mother had him when she was very young, and was therefore quite young herself; too young for him to have ever given any thought to a world without her. "Please," Clemont was saying, and Ash looked into his tear-filled eyes with as much sympathy as he could. "Schedule a flight back to Kanto. Even if you just go visit for a week or two. You never know if you might end up regretting not doing so one day."

Things were strained between them.

There was no better way that Clemont could put it. It had been a full week since their conversation, and now, there was only one day until Ash left for the Kanto region for a couple weeks, and things simply hadn't improved.

It's all my fault, he thought miserably. But though he was upset that Ash had been practically walking around on eggshells near him or just avoiding him outright since then, he was not sorry for what he had said. He knew he would be sorry, though, if they did not make up before Ash left. So it was with some conviction that he went looking for Ash, holding a scientific peace offering behind his back.

"Is...that really all you're bringing with you?" he asked as he found him packing his suitcase in their shared room, noticing that it did not hold nearly as much as he would have expected him to bring on a two-week trip.

With a half-hearted shrug, Ash flipped the lid closed on his suitcase, experimentally pushing down on it a few times. Since it was not very full, it offered little resistance, and he zipped it closed, moving it down to the floor. "Good enough," he said, flopping down on his bed. "It's not like I don't still keep some clothes at home."

Clemont felt a small pang of disappointment at hearing him refer to somewhere as home that was not by his side, but he understood. If he ever left Kalos, he knew there would be a part of him that thought of it as home - it was unreasonable to expect Ash not to feel the same way about Kanto. Especially when it was him who had encouraged him to go back for a visit in the first place. "I guess," he replied softly.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Ash asked him, propping himself up on his elbows. "I thought you were busy."

"Oh," Clemont said, ducking his head in embarrassment. "I was busy, but, uh..." He could not bring himself to admit that he had exaggerated exactly how long he would be up in his workshop, worried that Ash might find some way to evade him. Too focused on what to say, he nearly dropped what he had been holding, which probably would have resulted in it breaking, or worse.

"What have you got there?" Ash asked, suddenly more interested in what Clemont was concealing behind his back than why he was in the room to begin with. He craned his head to the side as if that would somehow enable him to see the object more clearly, and then with a slight frown, he pulled back and rubbed at his neck.

"It's...something for you," he said, feeling incredibly nervous. He had not been quite sure when he walked in if he was actually going to give this to Ash or not, even though he had been up late every night for quite a while researching and building it.

"Really?" Ash's eyes grew hopeful and he smiled wide, appearing as excited as a child standing before a pile of holiday presents. "What is it?"

This is wrong, Clemont thought as he withdrew his latest invention and held it out to show Ash. Science shouldn't be used this way. But his guilt had not been strong enough to stop him from making it, nor was it strong enough to stop him from proudly explaining the invention - or at least, the part of it he wanted Ash to know about.

"The future is now, thanks to science!" he said, enjoying Ash's star-struck look more than he should have; his typical murmured fascination bolstering his confidence. "Behold, the Relaxing Sleep Assistant! Simply attach it to your forehead before going to bed, and wake up feeling the most rested you ever have!"

The original design of the Relaxing Sleep Assistant, or RSA as Clemont had taken to calling it, was meant to increase levels of melatonin being produced in the body, a chemical that would have made Ash drowsy. But melatonin only helped to ensure one could drift off to sleep - it didn't pledge to make that sleep a restful one. And after so many nights of witnessing Ash tossing and turning, mumbling incoherent phrases in his sleep, Clemont knew it was the quality of his sleep, not the quantity, that he needed to target.

As it turned out, the science of sound sleeping went far deeper than just chemical production. It was dependent on the different cycles the brain went through during the process, and those cycles in and of themselves were dependent upon an individual's circadian rhythm. So not only did Clemont need to ensure his invention would put Ash to sleep, but he needed to make sure it kept him asleep for at least one full non-REM cycle.

But Ash, who had always truthfully been more interested in the sound of Clemont's voice than the content of his scientific explanations, was not really paying attention to that. In fact, he had stopped listening as soon as he found out how the invention was intended to be used. "Let me get this straight," he said, sounding rather alarmed. "You want me to put that on my head? While I sleep?"

"Right!" Clemont said, not seeming to notice his reluctance. "You just attach it over your eye, like so." He demonstrated by sticking the device in place above his left eyebrow, moving his head back and forth to show it wouldn't move.

"And then it will help me sleep?" Ash clarified, still eyeing it suspiciously. He would never dream of expressing anything but support for Clemont's inventions, but if this one would follow suit with the others and explode, he would prefer to not have it near his head for an extended period of time - especially if that period of time was while he was unconscious.

"It should," Clemont murmured, uncomfortable with the half-truth. While melatonin helped people relax, it wasn't the only chemical the RSA was designed to influence - and the other chemicals had very different functions.

It had started out innocently enough, really, with one simple question: is it possible to make someone fall in love? Of course the initial answer was no. But as his thoughts flitted towards Ash, and the pain he had come to be in every day as his heart became less and less his own, he knew he had to try.

It would have been one thing if Clemont had decided to make an invention to reverse his own feelings. After all, there was nothing morally wrong with changing something that belonged to you. But he didn't want to do that. His love for Ash had been a good thing for him, even if it didn't always feel like it. It had made him who he was today, and transformed the shy nerd into a slightly braver individual. Besides, even if he had wanted to, it would surely be more difficult to erase love than to create it.

Creating love, though, was more difficult than Clemont had originally suspected. At least in the beginning stages, falling in love happened in response to a feedback loop in the rise and fall of certain chemicals in the brain, and once that loop activated a reward system in the brain based on the amount of euphoria felt around a certain person, people usually reached the conclusion that they were in love. The main difficulty that he had run into was that his presence, or at the very least a reminder of him, would be needed in order for Ash to fall in love with him. But he thought he had figured out a way around that - or at the very least, he was sure he had prevented his invention from making Ash fall in love with someone else entirely.

"Well, I really could use the rest," Ash said, laughing and putting his hand behind his head. "Yeah, I guess I'll give it a try!" He still had a few misgivings, but science, after all, was amazing. And Clemont even more so. He knew his love interest would never intentionally hurt him.

With a small smile, Clemont took a seat on the bed next to Ash, holding out the RSA. There was something energizing about actually creating an invention that someone wanted to use, and it had given him the courage to make a passionate speech about said invention. But as Ash removed it from his hand and tucked it into his suitcase, he remembered that he was leaving, tomorrow, and it would be two whole weeks before he even saw him again - if he ever saw him again.

"...Clemont?" Ash asked, noticing that his friend had not only fallen silent, but looked rather depressed. "Is something wrong?"

"N-no," Clemont responded, inwardly cursing his unpredictable stuttering pattern. "I just..."

"Are you worried about me flying back home?" Ash asked, remembering at one point Clemont mentioning he had turned down past offers to fly to other regions, though all those invitations had been made before they met. "Planes are really safe! And this isn't the first time I've made this flight -"

"It isn't that!" Clemont interrupted, his voice sharper than he intended. "I'm afraid you won't come back," he whispered, closing his eyes.

"Why would you think that?" Ash asked, stunned. But Clemont did not answer, and his chin trembled in a such a way that indicated he was close to tears. "Clemont, I...of course I'm coming back. Being here...being with you...I could never just abandon you like that."

"You've traveled a lot." He still did not speak in a voice any louder than a whisper, though he no longer seemed like he was going to cry. "You've seen more parts of the world than I've even thought about before. And you've been spending so much time away from here. Aren't you happier when you're out on the road?"

Ash sighed. There were certain elements of truth in what Clemont had said, but even the enjoyment of his recent overnight trips had not changed his mind when it came to staying in Lumiose City. Now was as good a time as any to try and explain that. "Things are different now," he told him. "I've never won a League before. It seems awfully rude to take that title from people who have lived here and worked towards it all their lives, and then leave." He smiled shyly at Clemont, leaning in a bit closer to him. "When you offered to let me stay here in Lumiose City with you...it answered all those questions I had since winning. Like how I was going to do right by Kalos and all the people that cheered for me during the League. You're right," he said suddenly. "I like traveling. I like seeing new places and meeting new people. But..." he took a deep breath. "I only want to do those things if I know I'll be able to come back to you. I...I've never cared about anyone as much as I care about you." He took Clemont's hands in his own, and stared wistfully at his lips which had formed a small 'o' in surprise, wishing that he could kiss him. "I made my decision a while ago. I want to stay with you for as long as you'll let me."

"Forever?" Clemont asked, his eyes searching Ash's face for the answer to a different question, one which he did not have the courage to ask.

"If that's what you want, then yes. Forever."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

By now, you all probably realize I'm a Trekkie, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Relaxing Sleep Assistant is modeled after Seven of Nine's Borg implant - though the function is obviously quite different. Ironically, I had to sacrifice a decent amount of sleep in order to read up on the science on it.

Up next - we'll be taking a small break from your regularly scheduled torture to remind you that this is, after all, a story taking place in the Pokemon universe!

Stay tuned for Chapter 13, and thank you for reading / following / favoriting / reviewing!