Nanu felt that he should have known better than to think that Guzma would leave him be. However, a few weeks after their last encounter, Nanu was a little surprised to see Guzma enter the station in broad daylight. It wasn't surprising that Guzma hadn't bothered to knock; what was surprising was that he didn't say a word as the younger man went straight for the small kitchen area.
"Any particular reason you're here?" Nanu commented from the couch he was lounging on. The red eyed officer watched Guzma load up a bag of food from the small pantry. "Other than taking my food?"
"You gonna eat all of it before it goes bad?" Guzma responded, not bothering to look at Nanu as he began to fill a second bag.
"Probably not." Nanu quietly watched Guzma a moment longer, before he added, "Acerola brought a lot of the groceries to the station because she said I didn't go out often enough for food. Other than for all the Meowth here."
Guzma snorted, as if not at all surprised by Nanu's admission that he would get food to feed his Pokémon before himself. With a shake of his head, Guzma opened up the small fridge to investigate. That was when the door to the station door was knocked on.
Nanu rose, relieved in a way that Guzma didn't do anything other than peer around the fridge door. It looked as if the younger punk was wondering who would bother visiting him. Nanu sometimes wondered that himself, but since someone was knocking, instead of just entering, he had a feeling he knew who it was going to be. A trainer who wanted to start their island challenge. With a final look at Guzma, Nanu went over to the door without a word and opened it. When the red eyed officer didn't see anyone at eye level, he looked down.
A bright eyed girl who appeared to be around 11 years old stood there, positively beaming in her travelling outfit while she stood there in the rain with her umbrella.
"You the one who wants to start their island with an Alolan Meowth?" Nanu searched around for the name he'd heard. "Amy, right?"
"That's me!" The girl, Amy, smiled cheerfully. "I was thinking about a Litten, but I decided I liked Meowth better after reading up on them."
"Well, come on in out of the rain." Nanu stated, stepping back to allow Amy to come inside, and close the door behind her. "Wait there. I'll go get the Meowth you'll choose from."
"Oh, hi." Amy giggled when several other Meowth came over to inspect her. "Wow, there are so many of you." Amy turned, and her eyes went wide at the sight of Persian trotting over to greet her. Amy cautiously held out a hand for Persian to sniff, and smiled when Persian rubbed its round face against her hand. "Hello to you too." Amy said, petting Persian's head carefully. Amy laughed again when the Meowth around her began to insist upon getting their heads scratched too, which Amy happily gave to them in turn.
Nanu nodded to himself after watching the interaction, and as he headed toward the back of the station, he avoided Guzma's confused look. Nanu didn't feel like saying anything about the exchange until after Amy and the Meowth she would choose were gone. Nanu stooped behind one of the couches and waved a hand under it, softly calling for the Meowth. "Hey, you three. We talked about this last night. Come on out." Nanu frowned when the Meowth didn't appear. "I can't stay like this forever. You know my knee gives out sometimes because of what happened to it."
"What the hell are you doing?" Guzma questioned, as he crouched down next to Nanu.
"Weren't you in the middle of clearing out my pantry and fridge?" Nanu asked blandly in return as he held his hand under the couch again.
"Watching you bend over like this is painful to watch." Guzma commented, and, flashing a grin at the frown Nanu turned on him, added. "Watch this, old man." Guzma tapped a few fingers on the ground.
Almost immediately, several Meowth darted out from underneath the couch to pounce on Guzma's hand.
"I guess they like you." Nanu commented. Ignoring the grin that was still aimed his way, Nanu picked through the Meowth who had appeared from beneath the couch. After brief consideration, he scooped up three of them, again not saying anything in response to Guzma's questioning look. Nanu carried the three Meowth toward the front of the station, and smiled a little at the sight of Amy surrounded by all the felines. "Hey now, give her some space." Nanu shooed the Meowth away in order to make room to set down the three Meowth he had retrieved.
"Here we go." Nanu knelt down and gave each Meowth a few head scratches, before he turned his head toward Amy. "You ready?"
"I need to choose from three?" Amy eyed each of the Meowth in turn before she looked at Nanu.
"Well, yeah, that's how the other kahuna do it. Just because they're the same species doesn't mean they are all the same. Need to see which one's temperament would fit best for you." Nanu indicated the Meowth on the far left, "For instance, this Meowth loves to battle, but it can be very vain about wanting to be groomed after each battle.
The Meowth cleaned its whiskers and offered a sly, toothy smile.
"And this one here." Nanu indicated the middle Meowth, which looked alert, "This Meowth is very curious and enjoys looking for items. It might take it a little time to understand battle, but it's a steady learner and will do well with proper guidance."
The Meowth stretched out and sat down.
"And then there's this Meowth." Nanu patted the last Meowth on the head as he smiled a little, "This one loves to cuddle and is very loyal. It'll stick with whoever ends up being their trainer. It's very attentive and unlike some Alolan Meowth, doesn't mind waiting to be groomed. Should make battles go smoothly."
The Meowth stared at Amy, squeezed its eyes shut, and offered a somewhat shy smile.
"Um…" Amy stared at each of the Meowth quietly, all three watching her closely in return. Amy stayed in place for a moment, before she knelt down in front of the last Meowth, and held out one of her hands. "If you're okay with me as a trainer, I'd like to go on a journey with you."
The Meowth made what appeared to be an affirmative sound and placed a paw on the girl's hand. The Meowth even purred a little, before it leapt at Amy and got caught in her arms. Amy laughed at the Meowth, and glanced up at Nanu, a little frown replacing the smile. Amy studied Nanu for a moment, petting the Meowth absently. "Are you all right, Island Kahuna?"
"I am. Here." Nanu offered a Pokeball to Amy, which she took. Nanu turned his attention onto the Meowth in her arms. "You behave."
The Meowth smiled, which could really mean anything with the Pokemon.
"You be sure to take good care of it." Nanu told Amy.
"I will." The 11 year old held up the Pokeball, which Meowth pressed its cheek to. It went into the Pokeball, and when the light faded, indicating that the capture was a success, Amy let the Meowth back out. Seeing Nanu's raised brow, Amy beamed up at him. "I want my partner Pokémon to be out of its Pokeball. It'll make travelling more fun."
The Meowth let out a pleased purr and pressed up against Amy for a hug.
Amy gave a quick hug to the Meowth, before she looked up at Nanu again. "Thank you."
Nanu gave a jerk of his head in acknowledgment, not understanding why he just got another smile from the kid in return.
"Oh!" Amy checked a watch. "My mom's expecting me to check in with her soon."
"Well, better get going then." Nanu said, crossing to the station door and opening it.
"Right." Amy opened up her umbrella again, and ran outside, the Meowth chasing after her. She waved to Nanu, and then set off down the path with Meowth walking by her side.
Nanu remained in the doorway, watching a little sadly the sight of the Meowth as it walked away with Amy. Nanu watched the pair until they were out of sight, before he sighed and closed the door to the station, already having forgotten that he had had an audience.
"I didn't know you were such a softy under all that gloom and doom." Guzma commented from over by the pantry.
"How would you feel about raising bug Pokémon and then giving one of them up to let another person go on their own Pokémon journey?" Nanu asked quietly, not looking at Guzma as he spoke. He was trying to keep himself together until the Team Skull boss decided to clear out.
No answer.
"So you get it." Nanu commented as he bent over to pick up one of the Meowth that hadn't been chosen, and poked it in the belly. "You were baring your teeth on purpose, weren't you?"
The Meowth smiled a toothily, giving off the air of being very smug.
"Hey, old man. Don't go ignoring me like that."
Nanu held still when Guzma plucked the Meowth out of his hands, set it down, and stepped into the red eyed officer's space.
"If this is about the food, then just take what you want and clear off." Nanu gave Guzma a tired look. "I would like to be alone."
"It isn't about the food." Guzma said, as he reached out and grabbed one of Nanu's arms, and forcefully steered him over toward the couch. "And you're alone most of the time, so don't give me the bullshit that you want to be alone."
"I never said I wanted company." Nanu should have been prepared for Guzma to give him a shove toward the couch, but he wasn't ready for it, so Nanu ended up hitting the couch at an awkward angle. Nanu grimaced a little as his hip protested the action. "You going to give me that beat down now? The one you said you'd give me when you were feeling better?"
"Shut up, geezer." Guzma grumbled. "Or I really will beat you down here and now."
"Well, you got me on the couch here. Might as well have a swing at me if you're not going to leave me alone." Nanu deadpanned. He wasn't prepared for Guzma to manhandle him into a seated position, or for Guzma to pick up two Meowth by the scruff of their necks and shove them into his arms. Nanu automatically held on to the Pokemon protectively, not sure what Guzma was up to. Nanu's back was against one cushion of the couch, and Guzma chose to sit down on the opposite arm of the couch, staring down at him.
"What?" Nanu asked, holding the two Meowth a little closer to his body as the feline Pokémon squirmed, trying to get into a more comfortable position.
"Why do it?" Guzma asked, taking his eyes off of Nanu briefly to look at the front door to the station. The younger man fixed his eyes back on Nanu, and the way the red eyed officer held onto the Meowth. "Why give 'em away?"
"The Pokémon?" Nanu asked, absently running his fingertips along the soft gray fur of the Meowth he held.
"Yeah, why give 'em up if you don't want to?" Guzma asked, jabbing a finger at the Meowth. "You look like someone stole one of your Pokémon when that kid picked a Meowth as a partner Pokemon."
"I need to let some of them go." Nanu looked away as he allowed one of the Meowth to press a cheek to his. "They'll be better off exploring the world with a bright-eyed kid instead of hanging around the station with me."
"But you don't like it." Guzma pointed out.
"More Meowth will turn up. They always do." Nanu sighed as the other Alolan Meowth he held rubbed its face against his cheek too. "They seem to like me, for some reason."
"I like you, when you're not being depressing all the time." Guzma said with a snort.
"What could you possibly find to like about me?" Nanu turned his head to meet Guzma's eyes at that. "We got into a fight, among other things, the last time we saw each other."
"You're not intimidated by me." Guzma offered with a shrug.
"And this is impressive to you?" Nanu asked wryly. "Does it really not take all that much to impress you?"
"You're an asshole, old man." Guzma grumbled.
"So I've been told numerous times by you." Nanu replied, sounding bored.
"Just take the damn compliment." Guzma said with an aggravated sigh. "See? You're irritating as hell when you act like that."
"And yet you keep coming back here." Nanu said, releasing the Meowth to allow them to hop down and play with the other Meowth in the station. "Speaking of, are you going to be leaving any time soon?"
"Maybe I'm trying to liven up the place." Guzma ventured. "And I'll leave when I'm good and ready."
"It certainly was lively last time." Nanu agreed. "I couldn't sleep that night."
"Do you think you could can the sarcasm, old man?"
"It seems to be doing its job." Nanu looked down at Guzma's clenched hands. "You ready to leave yet, or are you going to take a swing at me already? I want to relax after doing my Kahuna duties."
"You just stood there and watched a kid pick a Pokémon." Guzma said, giving Nanu a disbelieving look. "Does that really tire you out that much?"
"What do you think?" Nanu asked, sagging against the couch.
"I think you're full of shit." Guzma said bluntly, "And I'm gonna steal all the food I can carry from ya, and give it to my Pokémon."
"You're full of shit too, kid." Nanu shot back, head turning to the side so that red eyes could bore into Guzma's. "You're not taking that food for your Pokemon. You're going to give it to the rest of the punks hanging out in Po Town, aren't you?"
Guzma broke eye contact first, and muttered something under his breath before sliding off the arm of the couch to his feet.
"Oh? Are you going to leave now?" Nanu asked mildly.
"Bite me, old man." Guzma said automatically.
"Not in the mood to." Nanu said dryly, closing his eyes, but not before he caught a glimpse of a blush crossing Guzma's cheeks.
"I'll come back another day to teach you a lesson." Guzma said after a beat of silence. "You wouldn't be any fun to beat the shit out of right now anyway."
"Guzma." Nanu opened his eyes and sat up on the couch. "What do you want from me anyway?"
"Who says I want anything from you other than your food?" Guzma returned dismissively as he retrieved and carried three plastic bags loaded with food toward the front of the station.
"Think about it before you come back here." Nanu said.
Guzma gave Nanu a narrow eyed glare over his shoulder before he exited the station without a word, slamming the door behind him with a foot.
Nanu remained on the couch, and allowed the two Meowth that weren't chosen by Amy to hop up onto him to comfort him. Nanu was glad that Guzma didn't see him shed some tears for the Meowth that wasn't in the station any more. While Nanu knew that it was necessary, he didn't always like performing his duties as a kahuna. But no matter how often he did give a trainer their starter Pokémon, it didn't change the fact that it always hurt each time Nanu had to let one of his Meowth go.
-x-x-x-
Guzma got only a short distance away from the police station before he was able to pass off the bags of food to a grunt loitering around the outside the station. Guzma watched the punks run off, before he followed along after them at a slower, more leisurely pace, his mind elsewhere. As Guzma made his way back to Po Town, he frowned over what the hell Nanu had been talking about. About what he wanted from the older man. Guzma didn't exactly want anything, per say, apart from Nanu not interfering with Team Skull's activities. He wasn't going to stop stealing Nanu's food, because the man always had way more than he needed for the month. It didn't matter that the red eyed officer never protested about the food being taken away. So what else could Guzma want from Nanu? Unbidden, Guzma thought back on the kissing, and cursed under his breath.
What the hell?
Why would he want to think about that? There was no way in hell that Nanu was interested in actually starting something with him. It was more like Nanu was messing with Guzma's head and teasing him. Which kind of made Guzma angry, because he didn't like being toyed with. But Nanu responding so blithely to the offer of biting him…Guzma shivered. Nanu had looked very intent then, like he would consider it if Guzma gave the go ahead, despite claiming to be too tired.
Guzma stopped that thought right there and left it alone. He wasn't sure what he wanted from Nanu after all. And it scared him a little to think that he wanted to be kissed again. That didn't seem like such a good idea, what with Nanu being a cop and all. Even if Nanu hadn't been a cop, it didn't seem like the best idea to get involved with such a dour person. Guzma could all but sense the gloom whenever he went over to the police station and saw Nanu there. And looking like he didn't give a fuck that Guzma was there.
Which kind of also ticked Guzma off because he was used to being feared by most of the Alolan populace. Nanu merely seemed to be annoyed by his presence, like he wanted Guzma to clear off and leave him to wallow in his own despair. When pushed, however, the man fought dirty.
Guzma halted in his tracks despite the rain falling down on him, and half glanced back to the station behind him in the distance. Running a hand over his throat lightly, Guzma dropped his hand to his side and frowned. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on in the other man's head, but Nanu had clearly been doing some thinking since the last time they'd seen one another. Especially if Nanu was asking things like what Guzma wanted from him, and for him to think about it. But Guzma didn't have an answer.
Not right now, anyway.
With a shake of his head, Guzma continued onward, only to stop walking again a few minutes later. This time, it was because he heard a furious snarl and a hell of a lot of hissing coming from the wall that bordered Po Town. The sounds were very close to what Nanu's Persian would sound like, but Guzma knew that Nanu's Pokemon was still back at the station, meaning that it was a wild Pokémon that he was hearing. Guzma hesitated briefly as he debated whether or not to interfere. But since it was happening fairly close to Po Town, Guzma decided to do something about it. He didn't want an angry wild Pokémon around that could potentially attack the other punks lower level Pokémon. Standing in place for a moment to figure out exactly where the noise was coming from, Guzma went in the direction of the snarls from the Persian.
Guzma pushed past a bush in time to catch sight of a Persian heavily striking a small dark furred Meowth roughly with a clawed paw. It sent the tiny thing rolling along the grass as it mewled frantically and tried to right itself, only to be struck again. Guzma ground his teeth at the sight, an uncomfortable feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.
"Hey, knock it off." Guzma yelled at the Persian, not liking the look that twisted the features on the feline. The wild Pokémon looked like it was out for blood. Guzma's hand went for one of his Pokemon's Pokeballs as the Persian made a lunge for the tiny Meowth, paws outstretched and fangs bared. "Scizor! Bullet Punch!"
The red colored bug Pokémon burst out of the Pokeball and landed in front of the tiny Meowth, intercepting the Persian and sending it flying backwards with a Bullet Punch.
The Persian shrieked furiously at the Scizor for its interference.
Guzma took a quick look around, and noticed the amount of egg shards lying around in the immediate area. Guzma turned his head and caught sight of other baby Meowth with soft gray fur watching from nearby with wide eyes. Guzma noticed the Persian getting back up and narrowing its eyes at the tiny Meowth crying on the ground. Guzma took a step toward the Persian. "Hey! Clear outta here with your babies and leave that one alone!"
The Persian turned its round head to Guzma, and bared its fangs as it let out a hiss.
"You want some of yer boy Guzma?" Fists tightened as a wild grin spilt the younger man's face. "I'll kick your ass, you damn cat." Guzma's hands shook. "A parent shouldn't hurt their own children." Hearing that come out of his own mouth made Guzma briefly drop his guard, and the Persian apparently decided that attacking a human that day was fine. Luckily for Guzma, Golisopod popped out of its Pokeball to defend its trainer, and swatted the Persian through the air to cause it to land near its brood. Golisopod let out a series of angry hisses and clicks and waved its many limbs in warning.
Scizor joined Golisopod, depositing the crying baby Meowth near Guzma as it readied itself to continue the fight.
The Persian peeled back its lips in a silent snarl, before it appeared to think better of continuing its attacks, and instead herded its other babies away from the area after a final evil glare at both Pokémon and Guzma.
Golisopod let out a long whirl of concern as it nudged Guzma gently, since the younger man had taken to staring off into the distance as if caught in some unseen memory. The bug Pokemon's touch seemed to draw Guzma back into reality.
"I'm okay…" Guzma said after he took a long breath and let it out. He gently waved Golisopods' limbs away from him. "Seriously, I'm good." Guzma crouched down to inspect the tiny dark furred Meowth, and carefully turned it over in his hands, noticing how big they were compared to the Meowth.
The tiny Meowth shivered like a leaf, wide eyed and fearful as it looked up at Guzma, as if thinking he was going to bat it around too.
"I got you. You're gonna be fine." Guzma muttered to the Meowth as he carefully picked it up, and then stared at a few scratches down its back where blood had been drawn. Some of the scratches looked deep. Guzma rested the Meowth on his knee as he hastily zipped up his jacket, feeling the baby Pokémon shivering. Guzma carefully picked the Meowth up, before he tucked it into his jacket out of the rain.
The Meowth, likely having had its wounds jostled, began to mew frantically between its shivers.
Guzma pet its head gently with a finger. Poor thing was probably still calling for its mother despite the mother trying to kill it. Guzma flicked some dirt off the tiny coin on the Meowth's forehead, before he scowled in the direction the Persian went. Guzma hated the fact that the damn Pokémon had dredged up some unwanted memories. Guzma had never been in danger of dying, but seeing the Persian bat around the helpless baby Meowth pissed him off.
"Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out of the rain." Guzma murmured over the mewling as he had his Pokémon go back into their Pokeballs. If the Persian showed up again, Guzma wasn't too worried about them popping right back out to deal with the wild Pokémon. Guzma headed back in the direction of the police station, not really wanting to bring the feline to Po Town, despite some of of his team being more than happy to have a Meowth on their team. But with the way that Guzma had found the Meowth, he felt it might be better to take it to someone else. Like to Nanu, who was always surrounded by them, and would probably know better what to do to calm the baby Pokémon down. Guzma only briefly hesitated before he had made his decision, since Nanu had a Persian.
With a shake of his head, Guzma continued onward, as he figured that since it was a trainer's Pokémon, that it might be more willing to overlook differences. The more Guzma looked down at the Meowth curled up in his jacket, the more he realized he hadn't been imagining the color difference. Guzma reached the station, and, upon finding it locked, hammered on the door with a fist, and raised his voice to shout through the door.
"Hey, old man! Open up! Got a Pokémon to give to you." Guzma grinned when the door opened and Nanu was there, giving him an aggravated look. "What? Did I wake you up from your cat nap?"
"If you're just here to bother me again, go away." Nanu said shortly, his expression suspicious. "And why not give one of the punks in Po Town another Pokémon?"
It didn't escape Guzma's notice that Nanu's eyes appeared to be redder than usual, as if…as if he had been crying. Guzma frowned at Nanu. Did giving up a Meowth to another trainer really upset him that much?
"Well?" Nanu prompted. "Are you going to come in or stand in the rain and stare at me?"
"Get outta the way." Guzma grumbled, as he reached out with a hand and pushed Nanu back, so that he could get inside and shut the door behind him. Guzma then stuck his hands into his half open jacket, not noticing the raised brow from Nanu. But Guzma didn't miss the longing on the older man's face when he saw Guzma pull out the tiny soaked bundle of fur.
The baby Meowth had quieted but began to cry again frantically when removed from the warmth of Guzma's jacket. It squeaked out when it twisted its body and pulled on the scratches down its back. It started to actually cry then, little tears leaking down from its wide eyes to mix with its already wet fur.
Guzma had not at all expected the amount of emotion that washed over Nanu's face then, nor how quickly Nanu reached out his hands for the Pokémon. Guzma handed it over with a quiet laugh, supposing he would do the same thing with a bug-type Pokémon. Guzma followed along after Nanu as the older man carried the Meowth over to a small bathroom hidden in the back of the station, and carefully set the Meowth in the sink to keep it from crawling away.
The tiny Meowth didn't seem inclined to go anywhere and cried at the loss of more warmth.
Nanu seemed to find the supplies in the bathroom he was looking for more quickly at the sounds, and, casting a quick look in Guzma's direction, spoke quietly.
"Can you help hold it still? It's going to need some medical attention right now, from the looks of it."
"Not at a Pokémon Center?" Guzma asked, even as he went to the sink to run a reassuring finger along the Meowth's head. Guzma then picked up its lightweight body in one hand, turning it so that Nanu could clean the long scratches and dry the fur as best he could with a towel.
"Not for this type of an injury on such a young Pokémon." Nanu said in return, apparently not caring that his towel was getting stained with some blood.
The Meowth crying at its injuries being seen to drew in many of the Meowth from the station. Persian had even squeezed itself inside the room and hoisted its front paws up on the sink so that it could watch. The baby Meowth seemed to calm immediately upon seeing the Persian, and let out a little mewl that Persian answered with a soft chuff. The Meowth quieted, wincing as Nanu stitched some of the wider scratches shut, despite having the area numbed a little, before tracing some antibiotic for Pokémon over the scratches. Nanu finished by wrapping the tiny body with bandages, which covered and went around most of the Meowth's torso.
"You didn't steal it, did you?" Nanu asked, after he'd cleaned up. He offered some medicine to the Meowth, which it took with little encouragement. It seemed too exhausted to resist and apparently decided that doing what someone wanted it to do was best for now. The older man picked the Meowth up in his hands carefully, and offered a small smile to the Meowth, causing an uncertain one to rise from the Meowth in return. Nanu glanced at Guzma. "Well, did you or didn't you steal it?"
"I didn't steal it." Guzma said defensively. "I just chased off a Persian that was attacking it. There were a few other Meowth that looked like they just hatched too." Guzma reached over and ran a finger over the dark purple fur. "Didn't look like this guy though."
"Ah." Nanu retrieved the towel and dried the Pokémon off, careful of the bandages. The motion seemed to calm the baby Meowth in the process but it was not long before it started to cry again. Nanu stroked the fur as he spoke emotionlessly. "Sometimes there are Pokémon that end up being different colors than you'd be used to seeing. Not all Pokémon will accept them if they look different." Nanu turned his attention to the Meowth that had crowded around him curiously, along with Persian, whose round face was intently watching the towel, ears tilted forward and tail twitching.
"You be nice to this Meowth here. It just has different colored fur." Nanu crouched down to allow the other Meowth to get a good look. Pretty much all of the Meowth wandered off after inspecting the newcomer, and appeared disinterested. None made as if to swat a paw at it.
"What do you think?" Nanu asked his Persian, as the larger Pokémon came over and sniffed the shivering Meowth.
Persian carefully began to groom the Meowth, almost instantly quieting the smaller Pokémon. With a squeeze of its eyes, Persian carefully picked the Meowth up by the scruff of its neck.
"Be careful of the bandages." Nanu cautioned his Pokémon.
Persian let out an affirmative huff around the fur in its mouth, and carefully carried the Meowth out of the bathroom, and over into the main living space of the station to curl up in a Pokémon bed. Persian set the Meowth down, tucked it in close to its body carefully, and then resumed grooming it.
"Well, Persian seems to be all right with it." Nanu breathed out a sigh of relief. "I'm guessing the wild Persian would have been vain about its offspring looking the same. Since that wild Persian isn't related to mine, or any of the Meowth here, I think, I don't believe any of them care about its fur being darker." Nanu glanced at Guzma, and offered the punk one of his half smiles. "Guess you're a softie too, under all that posturing." From the smile remaining, it was clear the older man was echoing Guzma's earlier words regarding Nanu and his Meowth.
"Don't push your luck." Guzma hunched his shoulders up. "I'm still gonna beat you down, you know. I just didn't want to do it when you were lookin' so down about having to have one of your Mewoth go to another trainer." Guzma looked away. "I thought that the Meowth shouldn't be around any violence or Pokemon battles for awhile. Either could happen in Po Town, but not here in this place." Guzma glanced down at a Meowth standing near him. "Your Pokemon here are pretty calm, too."
"Guzma."
Guzma twitched when Nanu came up close to him and ruffled his hair as Nanu offered a half smile again.
"You did good."
"What the hell, old man." Guzma griped, shooing Nanu's hand away from his hair. Guzma pressed his back against the bathroom wall and narrowed his eyes when Nanu smirked at him. "I'm not one of your damn cats."
"You're not." Nanu agreed, and stepped forward, closing the distance between them again.
Guzma met Nanu's eyes, and realized that the older man was looking at him with an unasked question in his eyes.
"Do what you want to do." Guzma grumped, figuring he knew what was on the other man's mind.
"You sure?" Nanu asked, sounding doubtful.
"Either shut up and kiss me or get outta my way." Guzma barely had time to finish speaking before Nanu leaned up to press a kiss to his lips, one hand resting lightly on Guzma's shoulders. It was brief, and before long, Nanu stepped away and walked out of the bathroom.
Guzma fidgeted, before he grumbled something and left the bathroom as well. Meeting Nanu's gaze from where the older man had propped himself up against a wall with an indifferent look, Guzma decided that Nanu was like one of his damn Meowth.
Aloof and confusing as hell.
Guzma settled for a sneer, though there wasn't much effort put into it. "You kiss like an old man."
"That all you got?" Nanu raised an unimpressed brow.
"Make sure that Meowth gets lots of treats." Guzma bristled at the amused smile that tugged at the corner of Nanu's neck, and the Team Skull boss prowled right up to Nanu and loomed over him. "Got something to say?"
"That you may be a punk, acting all tough, but your actions don't always reflect that." Nanu glanced over at the baby Meowth slumbering with his Persian. "You care enough to at least make sure a defenseless Pokémon didn't get hurt further."
"I just happened to be around." Guzma tried for a hard stare, but Nanu merely stared at him in return, as if he were thinking about something. When the red eyed officer merely continued to stare, Guzma shook his head irritably and turned to stomp toward the door. "Just make sure it doesn't get hurt again."
"Guzma."
"What?" Guzma snapped, hand on the door knob.
"Don't slip on any of those ledges on the way back to Po Town." Nanu said, straight-faced. "You don't want Persian to drag you all the way back."
"I'll be fine. Save your concern for that Meowth." Guzma jabbed a finger at the Meowth in question, before turning away. He paused just before stepping outside, hesitating as a something occurred to him. Guzma knew that he was unlikely to get any sleep that night, but if he did, he was only going to wake himself up with memories of the past. And probably break a piece of furniture again.
"Forget something?" Nanu asked.
"Hey, old man." Guzma said without turning around. "Got a question for you."
"…What is it?"
"What do you do when you see something that makes you…think about something you'd rather forget?" Guzma realized what he'd just said, and waved a hand, words tumbling out of his mouth when he heard Nanu start to say something. "Forget it. It's nothing." Guzma twitched when Nanu suddenly came up alongside him, and Guzma tried to brush off the discomfort of not hearing the older man by grinning a little, "Damn, you move like one of your Meowth."
"Guzma. What happened?" Nanu sounded oddly serious, red eyes assessing Guzma carefully. Nanu seemed more alert than he usually appeared to be.
"I said, it's nothin'." Guzma said, taking a step outside into the rain as he pulled up his hood to block it out as best he could.
"If anyone is still awake when you get back to Po Town, talk to them or hang out with them. Distract yourself." Nanu's voice followed Guzma as he walked off into the rain. "Don't do what I do."
"What's that?" Guzma came to a halt, and heard Nanu's quiet response.
"I'd rather not say. If you can't figure it out, it's probably for the best."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Guzma looked over his shoulder.
"If you want to talk about it, you know where to find me." Nanu said from where he was leaning against the doorway of the station.
"I don't got anything to talk to you about." Guzma said defensively.
"Don't do anything stupid back in Po Town. Those punks living with you don't need to see you lose your temper."
"I'm fine." Guzma insisted, and scowled when Nanu merely stepped back into the station and closed the door. Shaking his head, Guzma continued onward to Po Town, jamming his hands into his pockets. The idea that Nanu had actually offered to listen to his troubles almost seemed laughable, because the man was so apathetic most of the time. It seemed more that the man would half listen, just to humor him, and then send him on his way. Guzma allowed a sneer to rise. Like hell anyone would listen to him and take him seriously. More tell him to get over it and move on, so really, there was no point in talking about his troubles to anyone.
Some dark shape flew overhead, but since it didn't dive down at him, Guzma wasn't overly concerned what Pokémon had just flown by.
Guzma made the attempt to ignore the feelings welling up inside him, despite his very best efforts to crush them down. But he couldn't deny that he didn't feel a little good about the smile he'd made appear on Nanu's face. Nor had the hair ruffling overly bothered him. Guzma figured that with the way that Nanu spent so much time around Meowth that it was probably just a way that Nanu expressed affection or whatever.
Guzma was a little more flustered by the time he got to the mansion within Po Town and it irritated him because he didn't know what to do about it. Other than to go back and check on the baby Meowth, as well as bother Nanu again at some point to see what kind of rise he could get out of the red eyed officer. Guzma flushed over the thought of getting another kiss, before immediately getting annoyed with himself for wanting to be kissed by Nanu specifically. Guzma prowled into the mansion, past several grunts, and said nothing as he went and shut himself in his room on the second floor.
Guzma growled under his breath as he sat down on the bed, fidgeting again before clenching his hands into fists. Why the hell did Nanu kissing him and then ruffling his hair make his body react like this? Guzma ran his hands through his hair, narrowed his eyes at his lap, before closing them and letting out an aggravated, drawn out sigh as he swore again.
Dammit.
What the hell was going on?
A knock on the door drew Guzma's ire some minutes later, and he snapped at the door. "What?"
"Boss, there's a Honchkrow in the hall out here."
"I think it might be Mr. Nanu's."
Guzma let out a huff of breath. Couldn't that old man leave him be for the day? Guzma got up off of his bed, and opened the door, nearly hitting one of the Team Skull punks.
"Over there, boss." One of the female punks said, pointing over to where the window had been broken and remained broken.
A Honchkrow was standing there, shaking its feathers free of the rain. It spotted Guzma, and stalked up to him to hold up a bag in its beak with something in it.
Guzma took it, and as soon as he did, the bird Pokémon about faced, brushed past the Team Skull punks loitering nearby, and flew out the window.
"Boss?"
Guzma shook his head wordlessly and merely turned back to go into his room. "Let me know if it comes back."
"Sure thing, boss."
Guzma closed his bedroom door behind him, and, shaking the bag free of some rain, couldn't help but laugh when he took out what was in the bag.
It was a photo, and it had obviously been taken recently.
Guzma couldn't help but laugh again over the idea that Nanu had an instant camera to take pictures of his Pokémon. To have the Kahuna of Ula' Ula' island send his Honchkrow out to deliver a photo of the baby Meowth to the Boss of Team Skull struck him as hilarious. Guzma thought about harassing Nanu about his obsession over Meowth the next time he saw him, until Guzma turned the photo over and saw a short note scrawled there.
If it helps, instead of dwelling on the past, think about the future you saved instead.
Guzma didn't know how long he stared at the photo of the tiny Meowth after that, mainly because he hadn't expected the words that had been written on the back of the photo to strike a chord with him.
It was a long, but quiet, night.