Despite the arrival of spring, there was still a slight chill in the air that morning as Reggie stood outside of his house. He wondered if it was because of his current tenant's bad mood. He hadn't bothered checking just what had gotten under his skin this morning, knowing full well that there was always something but never anything that he would confide about. One thing he was certain of was that the young trainer had a way of sucking the oxygen out of a room and turning the atmosphere to ice when he turned up. Rather than continue to pester him – or at least, that was how he would see it – the breeder waited outside patiently, allowing him to finish his breakfast.
They didn't have long to wait now…
He let out a slight sigh. There was so much spinning round in his head at the moment, there had been for quite some time now. He wished he could find a way of making sense of it all and organizing it but so far that eluded him. That was why he'd made a decision, he was going to try and do something, anything to fix this almighty mess he found himself confronted with. Time had taught him that it was never going to mend itself. So, he was going to have to be the one to try and tackle the problem, grab the bull by the horns as it were. Of course, he was fully aware that in a situation like this, it was more than likely to blow up in his face. After all, he was relying on the goodwill of two people who weren't exactly renowned for their patience, understanding and willingless to give others the benefit of the doubt. That was to say nothing of their stubbornness which in some circles was truly legendary.
He cast a sad glance to the sky for a few moments as harsh words and raised voices from long ago echoed through his mind. They should never have been said but they had and he wasn't entirely sure that there was still a chance to remedy the damage. Please. Please… He let out a silent prayer. Let this work…
The sound of an old motor caused him to lower his gaze back to the road leading up to his house. An old truck was trundling towards them, a rental no doubt and one which had seen better days. Figured… He never was one for comfort or big spending. In all likelihood, if he'd been given the time, he would have either taken his preferred method of transportation or walked. Still, Reggie was glad that he wasn't actually going to have to use the makeshift parking lot the size of two football stadiums he'd managed to clear in the few fields he owned.
The car pulled up. Reggie summoned his courage, taking a deep breath. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he shouldn't have been as afraid as he was. After all, he wasn't in any physical danger. The new arrival would never lay a hand on him. It was more the emotional fallout that he always dreaded because he knew that one way or another, it would always come. It was enough to make him want to call it off and as he stood there, with his fists clenched, it felt almost as if he was preparing for a battle. Maybe, in some ways, he was.
The man got out of the car. Straight and rigid, if Reggie didn't know him better he would have said that he was ex-army sometimes. Heck, maybe he was, it wasn't as if he knew much about who he had been in his passed life, at least not beyond a certain point. He walked briskly over to him, covering the distance rapidly.
"Hey." Reggie called out to the man. "Good to see you again."
"You too..." The man agreed his voice solemn.
"I take it it was an uneventful drive down?" The young man asked eager to make conversation.
"Yes. I suppose so..." The man's voice trailed off for a moment. "You called me."
Straight to the point as always. It was either a quality or a fault but the man wasn't one for beating around the bush. If a direct question was asked, a good answer better follow. Given how vague Reggie had chosen to be on the phone, no doubt the man could sense that something wasn't quite right. Idle banter, never a favorite activity of his anyway, wasn't on his agenda. Naturally, he would be assuming the worst. He was the kind of man who always prepared for the worst and knew how to adapt into situations which weren't quite as bad. It was only the worst which would ever draw him out here. That made Reggie feel a little guilty about calling him out in the first place.
It didn't seem to matter that he was no longer physically looking up to the man. The fact was that in his presence, he always felt small and when it came to looking him in the eye, well you could forget about it. He'd better not keep the man waiting too long for an answer, experience had taught him that he wasn't the most patient of people.
"It's well… You know..." Man, he'd planned this all out in his head and now it was coming out as incoherent mumblings. "Next week is..."
"He's inside, isn't he?" The man cut him short, not attempting to hide his exasperation.
"How did you-?" Reggie began.
"How did I know? I know because this isn't exactly the first time you've pulled a stunt like this. I'm disappointed that you called it an emergency though."
"Well, what would you have called it?"
"An everyday occurrence."
Well, that was that. He half expected the man to turn around, get back into his car and drive off. He didn't though and that puzzled the breeder a little. The man seemed to just stare at him for a moment, it was near to impossible to work out what was going through his mind and the silence that he maintained so effortlessly only seemed to make things more awkward for the young man. He had a way of making you feel small which Reggie had long since grown accustomed to. It was something you accepted if you lived and worked with him. Either that or you left. That was why they were here in the first place after all.
Reggie looked down, accepting the silent scolding and lecture without so much as a complaint. He knew what he did was both reckless and a good way to anger someone who on all accounts had a lot on his plate at the moment but the fact was that this had to be done.
He was shaken out of his stupor by the man who walked past him. He stopped just in front of the porch before folding his arms across his chest as he admired the house. Admire, might have been the wrong word for it, more like passed a disinterested glance over it. Reggie hadn't been expecting him to gasp in admiration. It wasn't the biggest place in the world but was more than enough for his needs. It was the land he was more interested in, he needed the space for his Pokemon after all.
"So… This is your house?"
"Yes." He turned around to look at it. "Bought it with the money mom left me."
"Figured." The man muttered looking around once more. "Are you going to show me around?"
"You're coming in?"
The man simply shrugged. Whether it was curiosity or simply a need to stretch his legs after the car journey which motivated him remained to be seen however. Reggie could easily have believed both. He was already aware that the house was hardly going to thrill the man. Unless he had changed greatly, he took little to no interest in such things. Were he dealing with anyone else, the pokemon breeder was pretty sure he would have left a while ago. Feigning interest was a step in the right direction, he supposed.
He opened the door, allowing the man in. He entered without saying a word. Everything was simple and neat, the way he liked it. At least the man wouldn't find fault in the cleanliness not that he was the type to notice such things. If his memory was correct, Reggie could recall his old house being in a hell of a state sometimes and it was only reluctantly that the man would do anything about it. So, he was in no position to start rattling on. Not that he would, the pokemon breeder would be truly surprised if he said more than a couple of words here or there.
He stopped in the living room, his eyes focused on the badges in their cases. All there, all save for one.
"You kept them all." The man noted approaching them.
"Seemed pointless throwing them out." Reggie explained stepping over. "I'm not about to turn my back on that part of my past."
"Good. You might have learnt something." The man declared his eyes focusing on where the missing Frontier Symbol should have been.
"I had a good teacher."
The man turned back to look at him, casting him an uncertain glance. Reggie tried his best not to shy away as he had done earlier. He knew the man well enough to know that not only would he notice but it would only irritate him. As calm and stoic as he might appear, there was little doubt in the breeder's mind that his visitor knew full well that something was afoot. It was only a matter of time before he stopped this little act of his, which he was only doing half-heartedly and decided to tackle the elephant in the room. No doubt, he would already have figured out that this could only be about a handful of issues.
"What's he gone and done now?" The man grumbled after a while as they entered into the corridor leading towards the kitchen.
"What?" Reggie raised his eyebrows trying his best to appear to be clueless.
"The last time you called me, it was so that I could bail that brother of yours out of jail." He reminded him not even turning to greet him.
"You know he's cleaned up his act." The pokemon breeder hesitated a moment before adding under his breath. "More or less..."
"It's the less I worry about."
It was a sad fact that pretty much every single time the two of them were together, it was for the same reason. It was more or less severe. The man had often made him fully aware that IF he was going to disturb him about his brother then it had better be because of something pretty darn serious. What qualified serious was becoming increasingly select and as the months and years trickled by it was only matters which actually physically required his presence which would lead him here.
Reggie hesitated a moment, he had better level with the man sooner rather than later. Dragging this out was only going to end badly. Still, he wondered where to begin. Going about things the wrong way would no doubt just get the man storming out, likely before he had even heard the end of what the pokemon trainer had to say. The way that the visitor stood there however, with his arms folded across his chest and that intimidating frown which seemed to be his almost permanent facial expression told him that he was out of thinking time however and that he would be best to start talking.
"You're right… It is Paul that I'm worried about."
"What a surprise..." The man rolled his eyes.
"Please, let me finish." Reggie requested in a quiet voice. "Anyway, after the Battle Pyramid I thought that-"
"I told you never to bring that up again."
A voice coming from the doorway drew both their attention. The timing was such that Reggie had to wonder if his little brother hadn't spotted the man pulling up outside, watched from a window, eavesdropped and waited for the precise moment when his appearance would have the most impact. He really, REALLY, wouldn't have put it past the lad. Over the past few years, Paul had literally turned the act of making both making himself hated (he wouldn't be surprised if within a year or so he was the most hated trainer in all of Sinnoh) and generally ruining a good atmosphere by turning it ice cold into a fine art.
The man shot the boy a cold glare, the likes of which would cause most people to shut up instantly. Unfortunately, it only seemed to encourage the lad. Slowly, the man walked over to him. With each step he took, Reggie readied himself for the hostilities to come. There was no point intervening just yet. He'd learnt the hard way that it paid not to get between the two of them until they had blown off at least some of their steam and had traded a few verbal blows. Until then… The Pokemon breeder allowed himself to plop down in an armchair, trying his best to steady his nerves and wait until the worst of the inevitable storm had blown over.
"Paul." That was it for the man's greeting, cold like steel and with a harshness he made no attempt to hide.
"Brandon." Equally the disgust and resentment was plain to anyone watching.
"Here we go..." Reggie muttered quietly to himself.
To their credit, the two of them made an effort in public not to tear into each other but that was only so that more questions weren't raised. In private however… Well, the gloves came off. Were their personalities even slightly different, then it would almost certainly have been more bearable. As it was, he knew that a tidal wave was about to go up against a mountain. He'd seen it many times before and was fully prepared for what was to come. Just sitting back and letting things play out was the only way to proceed for the moment. It wasn't as if they were going to listen to him anyway.
"Are you in trouble again?" The man looked down coldly at the boy.
"Not unless you're the one bringing it." Paul replied looking his straight in the eye.
"I hardly need to do that..." Brandon reminded the boy. "Of the twelve."
"Eleven." Paul corrected him.
"Eleven." The man took it into account as he continued. "Times our paths have crossed in the past five years, eight of the have been when I was called because you had gotten into trouble of one kind or another. Even, Snowpoint was sheer dumb luck!"
"Bad luck..." Paul replied in a low voice. "You freaking humiliated me! You realize that?!"
"You did that much yourself." Brandon shook his head. "And you will mind your language in my presence!"
Snowpoint remained in Reggie's mind one of the worst experiences he had ever lived for. It had been both a shock and a silent humiliation for him. Something he hadn't been able to let the others catch on to, at least as anything other than concern for his little brother. Paul had been fuming. It was probably the single longest rant he had ever had to listen to from him and had started pretty much as soon as they departed from the Battle Pyramid, only finishing when the pokemon breeder had been forced to almost lock him in his room until he shut up and stopped swearing. It remained a bitter incident and one which despite a few tentative attempts to get him to open up a little from his brother, Paul refused to talk about.
"Why the hell do you care?" Paul continued, his voice gradually raising in volume. "It's not like you're ever around to be bothered by it!"
"Your wish again, if I remember correctly." The man replied stiffly. "You can only blame so much on me, kid."
"Can I? You're the one who was supposed to have raised me! Sort of makes me your responsibility doesn't it?"
"I washed my hands of that affair a long time ago." Brandon reminded the lad. "What was it you said to me? Ah yes! "Get the hell out of here you" I'll spare you that part. "I don't need you, I never have and I never will"."
"Assho-"
"Language boy!" Brandon snapped angrily.
Reggie peered over from his position in the armchair. They had seemingly forgotten about him completely. Had it been just him and Paul then they might have been able to chat a little. Just him and Brandon, things would have been awkward but if you'd forced him to guess, he would have said that they could have made it work. With the three of them together? Nope, no way, not happening. If left to themselves, they could go on like this for hours potentially. His presence didn't bother them in the slightest and neither would ever turn to him for backup, they didn't feel that they needed it.
"You get to talk back when you beat me." The man continued a moment later.
Shoot. That was it. The signal Reggie had been waiting for. The thing that would push Paul over the edge. Brandon knew that full well of course. He just did it out of spite and to make a point as far as the eldest brother could tell.
If Paul lost 90% of the arguments with Brandon, it was because of his temper. Brandon knew how to draw out said temper remarkably well. Instantly, the lad's face clouded over as anger took over from reason. He clenched his fists. The Frontier Brain tensed up slightly, maintaining an air of superiority but none-the-less ready should Paul lose not only his temper but all trace of reason as well. More than once, they had witnessed the lad swing a fist at someone who had gotten on the wrong side of his anger. Before it could get to that stage however, Reggie intended to intervene. By now, they had hopefully blown off enough steam to be reasoned with.
"That's enough you two." He spoke up, rising from the armchair.
"Stay out of this Reggie!" Paul commanded looking past Brandon in order to shout at them.
"No! Not this time..." He replied walking forwards and pushing the two apart. "You two are going to listen to me for once!"
Amazingly, they both remained silent. He had their attention all right. Now, he would have to speak quickly if he wanted to maintain that of Paul. Brandon would hear him out. Fortunately, the fact that he'd actually managed to break them up for once, gave him some courage. There was some anger behind both of their eyes, no doubt their frustration had built up to a certain point and now that they couldn't take it out on each other… Well, he had better explain himself sooner rather than later if he wanted to avoid more trouble.
"This… It can't go on!" He told the two of them. "You realize we're a family right? As in father and sons?
"Not any more..." Paul's voice was low and cutting. "Not since..."
"Yeah! You and Brandon decided that much. I don't remember being asked for my opinion."
"You can't be that naïve..." Brandon began.
"Yes I can. Just think about me for a sec, would you? I mean, I'm stuck between the two of you! Snowpoint, that was embarrassing to put things lightly. You two pretending not to even know each other. You got that down to a fine act!"
Both of them looked away from him at that point. It would seem that Snowpoint remained something of a touchy subject for the two of them. Good, perhaps he could use that to his advantage. If the truth was told, he would much rather not bring up those events. They hadn't been one of the prouder moments in his life. He remembered being a mixture of horrified and livid at both his brother and father. The former for making a scene, the latter for humiliating his youngest son and both of them together for refusing to acknowledge the other. If he'd gone along with it it was only because it was their status quo and he had wanted to avoid an all out fight in front of so many others.
"Where are you going with this, lad?" Brandon asked blunt as always.
"I'm asking- No, telling you to give this another chance." He declared earning some wide eyed looks.
He had been expecting as much. Just to get there together like this, he had been forced to lie to them: telling Paul that he should come and check out a move his Magmar had just learnt and simply informing Brandon that he needed to see him (as far as their father was concerned, that meant it had to be something pretty serious). Neither of them, would like the idea. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that they would. Hence, the secrecy… After a few moments, Paul grunted and shook his head.
"You might not have noticed Reggie but I'm busy with other things: namely the Sinnoh League." He waved his hand dismissively.
"I also happen to have work, back in Kanto… I won't be in Snowpoint for much longer." Brandon shook his head negatively. "Sorry kid but it just wouldn't work out."
"Hence why it would be a short trip. I've already planned everything out: the route, our stops and I've even got your supplies ready. It will be one week's trip." Reggie told the two of them. "Specifically a camping trip."
It was a shame really that he didn't have a camera. Their faces were rather priceless. If he'd managed to get a shot, it would no doubt have made for precious blackmail material in the future. With these two, he had discovered that blackmail could sometimes come in surprisingly handy. It was clear as day to him that his idea struck them as so preposterous they didn't even know how to act. Either that or they thought that it was a stroke of genius so profound that they simply didn't know what words could compare to it. Somehow however, the eldest brother doubted it.
He waited uneasily for a response. The longer the silence dragged out, the more he dreaded the response. Finally, after what felt like almost an eternity of them staring at him as if he had just grown another head, Paul spoke out in his typical condescending tone:
"I can't believe you just said that..."
"Yes. Truly the worst idea that I've heard since Tucker decided he was going to wear pixie wings." Brandon agreed nodding slowly.
"Well… I wasn't exactly expecting you'd jump at the opportunity." Reggie conceded looking away for a moment. "Which is why I'm willing to make a deal."
"A deal? With what?" Paul asked raising an eyebrow quizzically. "It's going to take more than saying you'll do the dishes for a week!"
"I know." He replied forcing himself not to answer back to Paul's sarcastic tone. "Which is why, I promise, if you agree to this, I'll never try to get you two talking again."
That caused them to stop and think. He could see it. Reggie was as aware as anyone else that he drove the two of them nuts with his constant insisting that they at least try and get along. They'd told him as much. At times, it would seem that it was even too much. He'd known them to give up on answering his calls from time to time assuming that they were just going to be hassled and bullied into sending a Christmas card or something similar. He knew they would liked to have cut that part of their dealings with him out of the question. Apparently, for both of them, talking to Reggie was fine so long as their youngest son/father was never brought up.
It was Brandon who spoke first, uneasy and evidently a little skeptical:
"Never again?"
"Never again." Reggie placed his hand over his heart for effect. "I swear."
"Well then young man, I see no reason why not." Brandon held out his hand as if he were agreeing to a business proposal.
Reggie was quick to shake his father's hand. He could tell that the man wasn't happy about this and that one way or another, regardless on how it all ended, he was going to be blamed for it all but it didn't matter. One down. One to go.
That left Paul. He was a lot harder to predict. Reggie wouldn't put it past him to refuse simply because Brandon had accepted. He was an expect at making himself a pain like that in times like this. All they could do was hope that the lad would see that agreeing to it would ultimately prove more beneficial to him in the long run as opposed to trying to score some cheap points against their father right now. He was definitely taking his time thinking it through, that was for sure. Were their positions reversed, the pokemon breeder knew which option he would have chosen. Although, the elder brother had given up long ago trying to work out what was going through that brain of his…
Finally, after making everyone wait, Pail slipped his hands in his pockets and shrugged indifferently.
"I don't know what you expect to happen... Us to sit round a camp fire and sing "Kumbaya"?" He sounded bored already. "But if it means I never have to hear about him again-" Paul shot the Pyramid King a particularly cold glare which the man returned. "-then so be it.."
That was it. No handshake. Nothing. Well at least it didn't feel quite so much like a business contract.
They stood there for a moment in silence. It was one of those awkward moments where Reggie rather hoped that one of them would say something, even if it was either Brandon or Paul making some comment about the other one. Instead, they just seemed to stand there starring at each other and looking lost. If this was a taste of things to come then they were in for a rather tedious time. With any luck, the longer they spent in each other's company the more the two of them would open up. That was the theory at least… In practice knowing these two, they could easily make his life hell for a week. Still, it was gamble he was going to have to take if they had any chance of getting back to normal.
"So.. You guys up for some dinner?" Reggie asked eager to try and get things moving at least a little.
"I guess..." Paul shrugged his shoulders.
"Might as well." Was Brandon's response.
Reggie struggled to hold back a sigh. This wasn't going to be easy…