Upon landing in Lavaridge, even after Raikou left, Sera and Morgan were the subjects of much rumor and awe. People stared, but kept their distance, and some whispered as they passed. In the Pokemon Center, even the nurse seemed nervous talking to them, fumbling as she took their Pokemon to be healed.
Sera finally attempted to check all the messages they'd missed on their Navs, but found the audio still broken, such that she couldn't hear any voice or video mail or the other end of calls even when she wanted to. It seemed outgoing audio was fine, however, as were all visual aspects. With a few texts, they were assured technicians would arrive as soon as possible to repair their Navs.
Several League officials would be arriving with them, to have a serious talk with both trainers.
"That.. doesn't sound especially grateful," Morgan muttered.
"I'm… sure they are," Sera assured her. "It's just… We also went against protocol and ignored orders. We're really lucky things worked out as they did, but the rules are in place for a reason, and if they don't at least make some effort to show that, everyone might start thinking they can play vigilante, and…" She averted her gaze, and reflexively moved to pull her cloak around-... She gripped the hem of her shorts instead.
"Mm. I guess that's fair." After a moment, though, she chuckled. "So what you're saying is, we should've made a point to say-" she held up her Nav and looked up to it even though she was sure that wasn't how its camera function actually worked- "Don't try this at home, folks!"
Sera laughed lightly. "Yeah… Maybe so."
Morgan dropped the Nav to let it float and turned to her rival. "Hey. You okay?"
"Hm? Y-yeah, it's just… I guess I'm still processing everything that's happened today." Yawning, she added, "And I'm sort of exhausted," followed by an even weaker laugh. "Mind if I turn in a little early?"
"Ah. Nah, go ahead. I might do the same in that case," Morgan said. Glancing toward the currently vacant counter, she mused, "It feels sort of weird to realize how much I hate to sleep without Cerberus, now. But I guess they really should stay overnight either way, huh."
Sera nodded, but answered, "It's not weird though. Lots of trainers feel that way. Whether they cuddle up or have their Pokemon across the room or just like knowing their Pokeballs are there next to the bed. It's… comforting, you know?"
Morgan's mind briefly flashed back to Sera's form clinging to Flash, Tank curled up behind her, Pelt asleep nearby. ".. Y-yeah. I guess so." Morgan stood then and stretched, avoiding looking at Sera directly. "I'll see you in the morning, though, eh? Night."
"Night, Morgan."
Morgan was glad they passed out when they did, because the morning began early.
First it was just a knock on the door asking for her Nav to get started on repairs as soon as possible, but before she could get back to sleep, there was another to warn her that she was to meet with some League representatives in about an hour, and another to tell her they'd arrived.
She greeted Sera in the hall, and they headed downstairs to the lobby together. There, they found several faces Morgan didn't recognize, and one she thought she'd spoken to on video call once but knew nothing else about; but also the familiar sight of Genevieve and the jovial face of Professor Birch.
"Oh wow. I'm a little surprised you guys came all the way out here," said Morgan.
"Hello, dear," greeted Genevieve. "The League thought it best if you each had someone… invested to talk with you about recent events. My dear Norman would have come himself, but… Well, you can imagine how busy Gym work is~" That her tone came off so sweet told Morgan she was none too pleased. Great.
"As for me, my research takes me most everywhere, don't you know!" laughed Birch. "So it wasn't too far out of my way, and I thought, why, this will be a great opportunity to study some of the local Pokemon in these parts while I'm here. A real win-win situation all-around~"
"Huh. Yeah I guess that's cool," shrugged Morgan.
Sera was silent.
"If you would please come with us, Morgan, sweetie." Genevieve stood, along with one of the other random personnel. "The Center has been kind enough to offer us a room in which we can talk privately." Well this should be good.
"And Sera? You'll be coming with me." An official stood alongside Birch as well, but he shot the woman a glance and added, "Alone." She hesitated just a moment, but sat back down to allow it.
"... Y-yes sir."
The reprimands felt pretty run-of-the-mill, and Morgan admittedly zoned out for probably at least a third of it, offering the occasional 'yes' or 'no' reaction as appropriate to appease her co-sponsor and the League at large.
Yes, of course she understood the dangers. No, of course she didn't plan to make a habit of this. Yes, of course she was sorry for ignoring their attempts at contact. No, of course she wouldn't do it again. Yes, of course she understood how this reflected on Norman and Genevieve. No, of course she didn't think of herself as a hero. Yes, of course she understood that the general public might and would handle her newfound renown responsibly. Yes, of course she knew that more than ever her actions would reflect on the League as a whole. Yes, of course she would remain humble and reasonable and see her journey through to the end. No, of course she wouldn't expect special treatment. No, of course she wouldn't let it go to her head.
All in all, about what she expected.
She hadn't expected Genevieve to be here, and some of the woman's bite and the subtle threat under some of her words did occasionally take Morgan off-guard, but only a little. It was enough to get her a little chilled once or twice, but she had quickly grown accustomed to these moods, and really had been given no reason to fear Genevieve following up on any threat. Maybe- maybe- disowning her as a sponseree, but Genevieve seemed to have become a little too invested for Morgan to fear that too seriously, and she was fairly sure that between what Pokemon she had now and the Guild of Secrets she would at least get by fine if it did come to that, so… Smile and nod.
Once all the official stuff was taken care of, their third party was dismissed, leaving the two of them alone.
Genevieve offered a relieved sigh. "I do have to thank you for being so agreeable to all this. Not that I was too concerned, but… Well, I'm sure you've realized by now that not every competitor is as grateful for their opportunities as you've been."
Morgan shrugged. "When the choice is between fighting for your life or playing a high-stakes game for your livelihood, there's really not that much difference. Permission to speak freely?"
Genevieve seemed somewhere between surprised and annoyed at that, but she answered, "Everything here is off the record, now. So… granted."
"This whole system kind of sucks," Morgan said flatly. "I get that it's like an ongoing tradition and it seems like it mostly 'works', but… Are these Games keeping people entertained while Hoenn's bigger problems are being fixed or instead of fixing them?"
"! Excuse me but-"
"I mean I know some efforts have been made to keep Aqua and Magma in check, but that they've had the means to get away with as much as they have with such slow and minimal responses seems to suggest a lot about the region's failing infrastruct-"
"That's enough," Genevieve snapped. "Devon does its-" She stopped then, and pursed her lips before calming down and taking a deep breath. "It's not as simple as it sounds, all right? There's a certain… balance that has to be maintained, and sometimes figuring out where exactly that ideal spot is… Well it just gets very complicated. I'm sure you can find better things to spend our time on than getting into all those boring details."
"Uh-huh." Well, it wasn't like it was her problem. Which was to say, it kind of was, but the bar was set so low that she couldn't be bothered to push the issue, so whatever. … Ha, while she was pushing buttons… "Well if we need a subject change… Care to fill me in on what exactly happened with New Mauville and Sea Mauville?"
"Where did you even hear-" Genevieve's mouth clamped shut, though her eyes remained wide a few more seconds before she took a deep breath, then another, and then offered Morgan a pleasant smile. "Oh, but speaking of Sea things! It does so relieve me that those Aqua brutes didn't hurt you. Have I emphasized that yet? I mean it's good no one outside their own ranks has been harmed in general, but I was especially worried for you, and not just as your sponsor."
"... Mm." Morgan wasn't really sure what to say to that, but… She did actually believe it. And that was a nice feeling.
"I really do hope this will quell any concerns about your loyalties, as well. Although I suppose some may still be unnerved by how friendly he seemed toward you…"
Morgan shrugged. "I think that's just the sort of guy he is, honestly. Sometimes the nicest people are still batshit crazy." Giving her sponsor a bit of a sideglance, then, she added, "And sometimes, brash and officious people are surprisingly big-hearted."
Genevieve flustered at that, fumbling a few moments before saying simply, "Yes, well." She stood and straightened her dress. "I shouldn't keep my escorts waiting too long, I suppose."
"Of course," hummed Morgan. "See you around~"
She did not reply at first, simply double-checking she had all her things and making her way toward the door, but when Morgan stood as well, she stopped and came back, wrapping the young trainer in a tight hug. "Please be careful out there."
Morgan froze for a few moments before mumbling, "I will."
Morgan waited a minute after Genevieve left to follow her out, partially to think over events but mostly just to avoid having to walk with her now while feeling awkward. When she did leave, she decided to head the direction Sera and Professor Dad had gone, to the far side of the Center, to see if they were also done yet. Odd. When did she actually start wanting to spend time with-
"-that, did you?!" Oh wow that sounded at least a few rooms away. Morgan was only catching every few words but someone was pretty upset about something. "-ever consider- … -BEST FOR- ... -ALL YOU CAN FUCKING THINK ABOUT-"
As Morgan drew closer, it became all the clearer just how enraged- was that Professor Birch's voice?
There was a tiny squeak that could only have been Sera, though Morgan couldn't make out what she'd said.
"I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT."
Morgan stopped a few feet away from the door and leaned against the wall to eavesdrop, not that she needed the help to hear Birch.
"-are asking ME questions, doubting ME, because YOU up and decided to just SIT BACK and let Team Magma do WHATEVE-"
"I didn't le-"
There was a sudden loud sound, followed by "DO NOT INTERRUPT ME."
It was silent for a few moments before Sera finally said something about "just froze".
A sarcastic laugh. "Oh. You JUST froze. Is THAT all! You lying, WORTHLESS little-" Morgan bit her lip at the sound of Sera's pained scream. "A TERRORIST LEADER was AS GOOD AS DEAD and YOU opted to SAVE HIS LIFE. This could have been HALF OVER if not for YOUR-"
With a sudden desperation, she cried back, "He's still a perso-" A much louder sound cut her off this time, including what was surely furniture being knocked over.
"DO. NOT. GIVE ME-"
Okay Morgan couldn't do this. Throwing consequence to the wind, she moved to knock firmly at the door, and the room fell silent. After a few moments, Morgan said in a pleasant tone, "Excuse me, Professor? I think everyone else is getting ready to leave."
Another few seconds, and the door slid open. Professor Birch gave her his hearty smile, and in a jesting tone said, "I guess time must have slipped away from me there! Thank you, Morgan, for letting me know." With a look back to Sera, he asked, "I trust we won't have any more slip-ups, isn't that right, dear?"
Sera's face was red, her hair a mess, and she stood with a very guarded posture; yet the tears in her eyes refused to fall and she wore a smile as she answered, "Yes sir."
Birch smiled wider at them both and bid them adieu.
Only once he had rounded the corner down the hall did Morgan enter the room herself. "Oh my gods, are you okay?"
But Sera forced a small laugh and shook her head. "I'm fine."
"...Sera." Morgan looked between her face, the toppled chair next to her, the arm she was clutching tightly. "Sera, no. Nothing about this looks fine."
Sera set the chair upright again and took a seat, replying, "No, really. I just… I need a minute, but I'll be fine."
Morgan crossed her arms as she moved closer. "Has… Has he always been like this?"
Sera shook her head, still holding a weak smile in place. "No, he's usually not this bad. He almost never actually hits me or anything, and when he does get physical it's usually just my hair."
"... Sera. That's not-"
"Morgan I'm fine. I figured I had this coming once I saw he made the trip out here so I was even mostly ready for it this time."
Morgan made a series of confused gestures. "'This-' Any times is too- What could possibly justify-"
"I'm sure you could hear. I froze up in Meteor Falls, I let Team Magma get away, I saved a dangerous man's life, and I went repeatedly against the organization I'm supposed to be doubly representing." Her lip had begun to quiver as she fought to keep the smile from turning to a grimace. "I couldn't- How could I not expect to be punished for all that?"
Morgan rubbed her temples. She opted not to get into the fact that her own 'punishment' had been a calm verbal reprimand and a 'don't do it again (or else)'. "Let's pretend for argument's sake that I agree with that. You said this isn't the only time it's happened, and I have a hard time believing that you're accused of conspiracy and treason too terribly often."
Sera forced a laugh and shook her head. "I just… I can't believe you've known me this long and you even have to ask. I mess up... everything."
"...Sera-"
"I space out and forget things constantly."
"Okay no, you are a walking encycl-"
"Pokemon," Sera interrupted her. "I'm good at Pokemon. I can tell you every Pokemon's method of evolution and every rule of the Games and every type match-up if you quiz me, but the sweetest Pikachu that ever lived is dead because I can't even keep those straight in practice."
Morgan opened her mouth, but couldn't find words. Instead, she opted to squeeze into the chair next to Sera, which was little problem with Morgan's bony frame; she hesitantly put an arm around Sera, who did not react one way or the other.
"You remember the day we met, right? We were heading out specifically to work with Pokemon, and I still walked right off and forgot mine. And I do things like all the time."
"...To be fair, I kind of threw off your rou-"
"I break down under pressure and I can't get anything done when it really matters."
"Okay you literally saved a minimum of two lives yesterday."
"I- I guess, but one of them-"
"Was still a person," Morgan finished for her, taking her own words.
"A… a person who was actively hurting me and threatening everything I care about-"
"Sera."
"-and I can't even bring myself to hate him because I'm just-"
"Sera."
"...just a naive little girl." Her smile was long gone by now, and tears had started to well again. "I'm sheltered and annoying and selfish and-.. I try to act big and important but I-"
"Sera I swear."
"I guess I just thought if I could prove I was the Very Best Trainer that everyone would ignore how bad I am at everything else but-"
"If you think I'm going to let you clam up every time someone raises their voice at you but then just keep rambling like this to tear yourself down…"
"I'm not, though. I'm not being hard on myself, I'm just acknowledging the-"
"Sera I swear to the god we personally met that I am about to shut you up in the most cliche way possible if you don't stop."
It took Sera a few seconds to process that, at which point she genuinely laughed. "Oh no, please don't throw me in the briar patch," she faux-pleaded. Lightly rolling her eyes, she added, "You wouldn't anyway."
… Morgan was tempted to take that as a challenge. "What makes you so sure?"
"You made it pretty clear you don't like me that way, for one, and there are no cameras to tease right now." … About that… "But for two, you're conscientious enough to know I'm vulnerable and kissing me right now wouldn't be a good idea for either of us."
"... Right. There's that." Now that she said it, at least…
A moment passed, and Sera gave a more strained laugh. "Though I guess… it would probably serve me right. I never did apologize for kissing you the other… week, I guess? But I realize now that was… probably pretty shitty of me to spring on you."
"... Yyyeah, I uh-.."
"I think…" She laughed again. "I think some part of me hoped it might? Make you like me, or something? Which was obviously a stupid plan and probably just made you think I was weirder. Because flirting is apparently yet another thing I'm bad-"
Morgan spun Sera to face her and didn't quite kiss her, but pushed her forehead against Sera's in a clear threat to do so, her blue eyes locked on Sera's red. "Hey. No. Listen. You are great. You are smart and cute and helpful and sweet and I am not going to listen to this. Repeat after me: You are great."
…
…
… "You are great." Morgan's wide-eyed death glare made her laugh, but Morgan kept her from turning away.
"No. YOU. You are great. … You- You are literally one of my favorite people in the entire world!"
Sera laughed harder. "I'm one of the only people you know in this entire-"
"Not the point."
Sera couldn't stop giggling long enough to respond now, so Morgan just… gave up and pulled Sera's head against her chest to hug her tight instead. "I don't want to hear you beating yourself up again, okay?" Sera still didn't answer, but Morgan decided that was better than arguing, at least.
Eventually, Sera returned the hug, and once she quieted down, they just sat for a few minutes in silence.
"...Hey Morgan?" she eventually asked.
"Hm?"
"Do…" She took a deep breath, but did not look up from the embrace. "Do you actually like me, or were you just… Trying to cheer me up, or calm me down."
Morgan blinked. "...I think we just had this conversation, of course I-"
"Romantically, I mean."
"Oh." She thought on that harder. "I… Honestly, I can't tell if I genuinely like you, or if I just like the idea of you liking me…? I'm… sorry that's probably not a very good answer."
But Sera pushed back enough to shake her head and smile and Morgan now. "It's good enough for me." That was… oddly relieving, Morgan found. After a few more seconds, Sera asked, "So… Is that offer still on the table, by any chance?"
"...What offer?"
Sera leaned in even closer than Morgan had, such that their lips did not quite touch, but Morgan could feel Sera's breath on hers when she cooed, "This one."
Morgan was relatively certain her face was not as dark as her hair right this moment, but she may have guessed it a shade darker than Sera's. Floundering for an answer, she eventually snarked, "...And you said you're bad at flirting."
Sera burst into another fit of giggles even as she leaned in the final inch. Rather than a single small kiss, or a long passionate one, Sera kissed her quickly, lightly, and repeatedly. Some lasted a little longer than others, and some began to stray from her lips. Morgan found the laughter catching on as Sera kissed her cheek, her forehead, the tip of her nose…
Morgan began returning the favor, until it became something of a silly battle to see who could kiss the other more unexpectedly without being intercepted. A game that Sera soon won when she allowed Morgan to kiss her cheek only to lean down and nibble at Morgan's neck, eliciting a small gasp. "That's cheating," Morgan hissed, though her protest was not exactly adamant.
"Mmm, my memory seems to be failing again," Sera responded coyly. "What was that thing they say about love and war?"
Morgan put on her best pout, but then retorted, "Well if all's fair-"
She attempted something akin to a close range pounce only to elicit an "Ow!"
"Shit what did I do?"
But Sera assured her, "Oh, no you're fine, you just bumped against my arm and it's still kind of sore. It uh.. It might end up bruising a little, but I should be-"
"Have you ever told anyone?" Morgan asked suddenly.
"...That my arm is bruising?"
...Morgan resisted the urge to facepalm, if barely. "No, about your dad."
"...Oh…" She bit her lip. "I mean… Mom knows, obviously. She used to get a lot more than I did, but they seem to be doing better lately. I'm not sure if that's because it's shifted more to me or if it's coincidence or if I just see it less, but I… do admit I've been a bit worried since I left home."
"...I see."
Sera smiled and offered, "But hey! She seems pretty happy whenever I talk to her."
And you've always seem happy when I talk to you, Morgan thought. Though, in retrospect, she supposed there might have been a few things that suddenly made more sense…
"And really, Spitfire should be a little extra safety net, too. Did I tell you? She seems to be doing a lot better too. Mom said she actually slept through the whole night last- or, I guess it was night before last."
"Oh, congratz! Or, to Spitfire, by proxy, I guess…" This definitely made sense. Ssh. But back to the matter at hand. "Why don't you report it, though?"
Sera frowned, then sighed. "Morgan… He's one of the most powerful people in all of Hoenn. If the worst thing he ever does under stress like that is scream a lot and slap me around once or twice a year, I think it's better not to get the entire country in a stir over it. Besides, since he's been better with mom and I'll probably be getting my own place after the Games, it's not like it'll really be an issue for much longer."
… That's still not OKAY… Morgan thought with a grumble. If she were inclined to make protest vocal and start another argument she knew Sera wasn't going to concede right now, though, that inclination was interrupted by the sound of the Center's PA:
"Morgan Fail, your Pokemon are now ready for pickup at the front desk. Morgan Fail."
Sera covered her mouth and half-stifled her laugh at the most blatant mispronunciation of Morgan's surname yet.
Morgan stood and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Maker's breath, you would think after stopping two madmen bent on world destruction people could be bothered to learn how to say Fayel."
"I dunno," teased Sera. "I think it kind of suits you."
Morgan leered. "Watch it. Just because you're cute doesn't mean you can get away with insulting my family name like that."
"Mm?"
"...I mean. I don't actually care much about what little family I have left, and the feeling is pretty mutual, but the name, dammit! I shall uphold this particular collection of phonetic projections, by the gods!" Sera could barely breathe, and Morgan flashed her a grin. "Anyway, we should probably get going. We've got another badge to get, right?"
As she finally settled down once more and got to her own feet, Sera answered, "Yeah, you're right. ...Race you!"
Sera took off down the hall, but Morgan just chuckled and followed at a leisurely pace. After all, they hadn't called for Sera's pickup yet, so it didn't really matter how quickly she got to the-
"Sera Birch, your Pokemon are now-"
Shit. "Wait up!"
(A/N: Morgan's player just pointed out to me that this ended up being posted on Father's Day. I... That sure wasn't my intention but now I can't stop laughing at the coincidence.)
