pro·pi·tious adjective
giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorably disposed toward someone


Chapter 8


With only one day to go before classes start, Cheren's so on edge that he can't sit still. It's stupid, he knows. He's not even going to be the one doing anything, but he can't help it. They've worked so hard for this. He really wants it to go well, both for Alder and himself.

Alder has him nervous too. Now that he's sort of, kind of, acknowledged his feelings for him, he can't stop thinking about it. That's really stupid, considering there's nothing to think about. Alder would never be interested in him, and it would never work if he were. Cheren isn't that naive. He has to forget about it.

And so he's pacing around the living room for the hundredth time that morning when Alder finally sets his newspaper down, fed up. "Would you stop that already?" he demands.

"Sorry." Cheren sighs and falls back on the couch, closing his eyes. He starts unconsciously tapping his foot a few minutes later, and Alder glares at him from across the coffee table.

"What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Cheren insists, trying to force himself to sit still.

He can't.

Cheren stands back up, intending to go back to his room, but Alder puts a hand up to stop him.

"Don't go anywhere," Alder tells him, getting up from his chair with a grumble.

"What?"

Alder grabs his coat from the back of the chair and puts it on, tossing Cheren his own. "We're going out."

"Um," Cheren says, confused. He pulls his jacket on and suddenly realizes he's not wearing any shoes. He sits back down to put them on. "Where are we going?" he asks, as he ties his sneakers.

"Out," is all Alder says. "Bring your Pokemon," he adds.

Cheren raises his eyebrows but grabs his Pokeballs before they leave.


Alder ends up taking him to the park.

"Um," Cheren says again, confused. It's not that rare for them to come here, but he's not sure what Alder is planning.

"We're going to battle," Alder finally explains, pulling out one of his Pokeballs and releasing his Volcarona.

"Really?" Cheren's face immediately lights up. He hasn't had a Pokemon battle with Alder in at least a couple years.

"You've gotta get that energy out somehow." Alder shrugs. "Might as well do it this way."

Cheren nods, then looks at the Volcarona and thinks, finally choosing his Gigalith. He's glad he brought his entire team. He'll need it if he even wants to stand a chance.

"Good choice," Alder approves. "You go first."

They back up to a reasonable distance from one another. The cool winter air has apparently chased everyone inside, so there's plenty of room.

Cheren pushes his glasses up, feeling excited. "Ready?" he asks.

Alder nods and seconds later Cheren's Gigalith attacks. Volcarona dodges, quickly countering. Cheren pauses for a split second - it's too long. Volcarona's attack hits, and Cheren winces. That was completely his fault.

"You've gotten rusty," Alder teases from across the field.

Cheren makes a face at him, but he's right. He brushes it off. Years ago, a mistake like that would've crushed him. Luckily he's not that kid anymore.

He orders his Gigalith to use Stone Edge, and it lands this time. Yes, Cheren thinks. His heart races as he waits for Alder's move.

Cheren doesn't win, of course he doesn't, but it was fun. He's missed this.

He drops down on the ground, suddenly exhausted, and calls back his Pokemon. He hasn't actually battled seriously in a long time. Too long. He couldn't exactly go all out at the gym.

"Better now?" Alder asks, standing next to him and looking down.

"Yeah," he smiles. "Thanks. That was nice."

"Good." He holds a hand out to help Cheren up.

Alder's hand is warm in his, and he waits longer than he probably should to let go. "Home?" he finally asks, dropping it and moving away.


Opening day comes sooner than Cheren would like, but he reminds himself that they're ready for this.

He fusses over Alder as they leave the apartment. "You have everything, right?"

"Yes." he laughs. "For the third time."

Cheren wonders if he's nervous. He doesn't look it, but sometimes it's hard to tell with Alder. If not, Cheren's terrified enough for the both of them.

They get to the school early, but unlike on preview day, it's just the two of them. Burgh has gym duties all morning. Cheren's disappointed, he has to admit. He would've liked to have him there as support, but they'll have to manage on their own for today.

Cheren does a walk around the building, flipping the lights on and double checking that everything is how it should be. Once he's satisfied, he heads back to the entrance. Alder's sitting in Cheren's desk chair at the reception desk, arms crossed.

He looks up as Cheren walks over and leans against the desk, back to the door. "You ready?" Cheren asks him.

"... I thought I was," he says after a slight pause. "Maybe not."

"Are you nervous?" Cheren asks, surprised.

"Maybe a little," he admits sheepishly.

"Wow."

"Why do you sound so shocked? … And happy, for that matter."

"I didn't know you had it in you," Cheren shrugs, smiling. "Now I know you're at least slightly human."

"Thanks?"

Cheren glances at his watch to see it's almost time. He looks at Alder. "You can definitely do this," he reassures. "It's what you've been doing this entire time."

"That's true," he agrees.

"Besides, none of these kids can possibly be as bad as I was," Cheren jokes.

Alder laughs at that. "Also true. Man, you were a brat. And you were barely even a kid. You had no excuse."

Cheren pouts a little, but can't deny it. He isn't sure why Alder put up with him. "Remember when we first met outside Nimbasa?" he asks.

"How could I possibly forget? You immediately started insulting me! I couldn't believe it."

"Well, you called me judgemental," Cheren points out.

"Yeah, after you insulted me."

They both laugh. "Sorry," Cheren apologizes. He wonders if it's too late to apologize for something he did 4 years ago. "You just weren't what I was expecting I guess."

Alder just shakes his head, amused. "It's alright. I didn't really mind, to tell you the truth. You were kinda cute, in some way. Kept me on my toes."

"Cute? How?"

He shrugs, then studies Cheren with a serious look. "You've really grown up," he says, patting Cheren's leg.

Cheren stares down at him, taken aback. He opens his mouth to say something, but the door opens and startles both of them. Cheren almost falls over in his attempt to jump away from Alder and turn around.

A kid lingers in the doorway, looking apprehensive.

"Hi," Cheren greets, a little too enthusiastically and probably sounding unnatural. He hears Alder stand up and glances over to him.

He's already moving, immediately walking over to greet the kid. He doesn't look back at Cheren. "Hey! What's your name?" he asks, immediately engaging him.

The kid relaxes immediately, and Cheren takes a moment to envy Alder's ability to deal with people. It was something he seriously struggled with when he was teaching and still does to this day.

Alder starts guiding the kid into the classroom, then glances over his shoulder at Cheren. "Do you have the class roster for today?"

"Of course," Cheren says, moving back to his desk to dig through his binder. He hands it to Alder, who thanks him and disappears into the classroom. He hears him still talking to the kid as others arrive.

Cheren continues to point students to the classroom until it's time for class to start. As the last one arrives, he closes the classroom door and sits down at his desk. He slumps in his chair in relief. So far, so good.

He turns on his computer, wondering how he's going to kill the next few hours.


Class lets out for lunch at noon. Most of the kids seem to have brought their lunch, just eating in the classroom at their desks.

Alder slips out after a while, appearing next to Cheren.

"How's it going?" Cheren asks, glancing up from the computer.

"Good, I think."

Cheren nods. "Good. Do you want me to go get you anything?"

"Hm," Alder thinks. "... If you don't mind? I didn't even think about bringing lunch."

Cheren almost rolls his eyes at that. "That's what I'm here for," he reminds him. "Of course I don't mind." He grabs his wallet and stands up. "What do you want?"

"Doesn't matter. Anything." Alder shrugs.

Cheren does roll his eyes this time. "Helpful. Alright, I'll be right back." He heads down the street to a sandwich shop they go to occasionally.


When he gets back with Alder's food, he's already gone back in the classroom. Cheren stands in the doorway, just watching as a couple students have Alder cornered at his desk, asking him questions. He hides his smile, walking in and handing Alder his lunch.

"Popular already," Cheren says teasingly.

Alder just smiles helplessly.


Class lets out at 3.

Alder and Cheren stand out front, saying bye to the kids and talking to the few parents who're still hanging around. He notices the guy from the cafe standing off to the side, waiting for his son and gives him a brief wave.

When everyone's gone, they go back inside to straighten up.

"So?" Cheren asks expectantly, as he cleans off one of the desks.

"It went better than I could've hoped," Alder admits, looking happy. "They're good kids. It's easy to teach them when they want to learn."

"That's for sure," Cheren agrees. That's something he figured out in Aspertia. There were always those few who clearly didn't want to be there.

"I just hope tomorrow's group will be as well behaved. I'm a little worried that I got too lucky today."

Cheren hums in agreement as he pushes a last stray chair back into place. He puts his hands on his hips and surveys the classroom. It looks good as new. He faintly hears the door open and close out front, and Burgh comes sauntering in a moment later.

"Hey." Cheren blinks, surprised to see him.

"I couldn't not come by to see how things went," he explains with a smile. "Looks like you survived."

"It seems that way."

Burgh glances between the two of them with an odd look on his face, before he suddenly grabs Cheren and Alder by the arm and forces them into a hug. "I'm so proud of you two," he says, not letting go.

"Thanks," is all Cheren can get out, squished between the two of them. His shoulder is pressing into Alder's chest. He tries to ignore it, but his face is slightly red when Burgh finally releases them. He straightens his tie, looking away.

"Well," Burgh says, walking over to Alder's desk and sitting on it. "Tell me all about it."


They're both considerably less nervous on the second day, now that they have one success under their belt.

As they stand out front waiting for everyone to show up, Cheren looks over to Alder. "Make sure you tell me if you need anything."

He nods. "I will. Thanks."

"I'll get your lunch early today so it's ready for you-" Cheren starts to say, but he's interrupted by someone yelling his name. He glances over in surprise and sees a kid he recognizes. He was one of his students as Aspertia.

"Cheren!" the kid says again, running over.

"Hi!" he responds, caught off guard. "What are you doing here?" he asks. The kid's mom walks up behind him, and Cheren smiles at her. He's talked to her a few times before, back at school. "It's good to see you again," he says.

"I'm surprised to see you here," she tells him. "Glad though, my son always liked you."

He smiles, a little embarrassed. "I'm surprised, too. Did you move?" The kid tugs on his sleeve and he bends down to talk to him. He was one of the younger students at the school and extremely shy. Cheren liked him too.

"Yes… his father and I got a divorce," she explains. "He's been having a rough time adjusting. I'm happy to see a familiar face."

Cheren nods understandingly. "I know how you feel," he says, turning back to the boy. "But I bet you'll like it here once you get used to everything." He smiles and ruffles the kid's hair, before straightening back up. "This is going to be your teacher," he says, gesturing towards Alder.

"Hey," Alder smiles. He holds out his hand for the kid to shake.

"You're not teaching here?" his mom asks, sounding surprised.

"Ah… not right now."

She looks like she has something else to say, but a crowd's started to gather around the door. She excuses herself instead, waving goodbye to her son as Alder and Cheren lead everyone inside.

Alder shoots Cheren an amused look. "Looks like you're pretty popular too."


Cheren goes to get their lunch a few minutes before noon. When he gets back, Alder's just let the kids out. He walks into the classroom and drops the bag on Alder's desk.

"Good timing," he says. "Thanks."

Cheren starts to head back out with his own food, but the kid from Aspertia grabs ahold of him again.

"Will you eat here?" he asks.

He glances over at Alder, who's grinning at him, then down at the kid. "Sure," he agrees. He drags a couple extra chairs over to Alder's desk, then sits down in the one closest to Alder. The kid hops up next to him.

They eat in silence for a few minutes, before Alder speaks up. "So, you were one of Cheren's students, huh?"

"Yeah! He left though," the kid says, turning to Cheren and frowning.

Cheren puts his sandwich down. "I'm sorry," he says sincerely. "I'm not going anywhere this time." He feels Alder looking at him and belatedly realizes the weight of what he just said.

They haven't talked about it yet, but it's the truth. He hasn't exactly had time to think about what he wants to do next. And he likes it here. He knows he can't stay forever, but for now Castelia has become something like home.

They finish eating and Cheren drags the chairs back, waving bye to the kid and shutting the door behind him. He spends the rest of the afternoon working at his desk.


When they get home that night, Alder immediately collapses in his chair, closing his eyes. "It's only Tuesday," he says. "There are three more days of this."

Cheren laughs, going into the kitchen to see if there's anything he can make for dinner. "But it's fun, right?" He opens the pantry door and stares inside. There isn't much to look at.

"Definitely," he agrees. "But I might be too old for this."

"Please, you're not that old."

"I am," Alder groans.

Cheren just sighs, both at Alder and at the state of the cupboard. "Do you want rice? That's about all we have." They really need to go to the store soon.

"Sure."

He gets a pan out to start boiling the water, leaning against the counter as he waits.

"Did you mean what you said earlier?" Alder asks after a few minutes, sounding curious.

"What?" Cheren wonders aloud, trying to think what he could be talking about. "Oh. Well, pretty much."

"Really?" Alder turns around in his chair to look at him. He seems surprised. Cheren hopes he didn't expect him to run off at the first opportunity, but he supposes he can't blame him if he did.

It's not like he hasn't done it before.

Cheren shrugs. "You'd be lost without me now. I can't go anywhere," he explains.

"You're right about that," he agrees. "Thank you. I'm glad."


Notes: Sorry for the delay. Was finally able to get this knocked out thanks to Hurricane Matthew trapping me in the house for 2 days.