Days passed into weeks. Weeks, into months. Time always seemed to blend together when the training began. Gray wasn't too hard on his Pokémon, but he wasn't easy on them either. He had expectations. Of course, they'd all adapted well to this. The goofy greavard named Ade, however, didn't have that fortune. He was happy to leap into battle, but he was terrible at following commands, and more often than not, just tried to cover the opponents in slobber. It was making his training slow and dull. It was funny the first few times. Then it stopped being quite as humorous.
Ares took it upon himself to attempt to discipline the playful pup, but his success was just as good as Grayson's. It took way too long for Gray to change his tactics with the greavard, to shift his training to fit more with Ade's personality. To do that, he treated battles like a game for the dog, who became a lot more engaged in battling this way. Using this strategy, training finally started to pick up. The rest of spring went too quickly. The summer months passed on by. Fall was nearly upon them by the time Gray finally seemed ready to give training a break.
The Ice Path had become something of a new home, but it often got too cold. Atena had had to convince Gray to switch their campsite from inside the cavern to the mouth of the cave. The summer breeze had made the new location extremely pleasant, and the beginning of fall would yield similar results until the cold would settle in, which the gardevoir had no excitement for.
She stoked the flames of their now well-settled campfire. She'd already knocked out a dozen or so wild zubat that morning, and she wasn't feeling particularly excited about taking out a dozen more. After all this time, she figured they'd be running out of wild Pokémon to beat the crap out of, but either there was an infinite amount here, or the Pokémon were gluttons for punishment. The trainers that did find their way in were typically underleveled fodder for Gray to train Ade on. Sometimes there was more of a challenge that appeared, but nothing a little support from other members of the team couldn't handle. Atena had a feeling that there weren't any Pokémon in Clair's team that they couldn't handle. Gray still seemed to think otherwise, pushing them hard.
Atena pulled the stick from the flames and sighed, glancing up at Ares, who was standing nearby, his arms crossed as he stared down the tunnel, vigilant for Gray to return with Ade. Seidon and Sui were outside the cave, enjoying the sunlight, while Runa slept in the Pokémon tent.
That map from Lex was difficult to decipher, admittedly. His chicken scratch handwriting was almost impossible to read, and the various circles and arrows he'd made in different colored inks had seemingly no pattern to them. The only discernible word was at the top of the Sinnoh map, which read in large letters; "the war begins here, or we all lose."
Cryptic and unease was what she felt when she read that. Were these battle plans to fight back against Rinsik? Plans stolen from Rinsik for the fate of Sinnoh? The ramblings of a madman? All three options seemed equally as likely as the other. From what Atena had gathered (by sneaking into Blackthorn's library, for books, newspapers, and their computers), Rinsik had been a relatively small faction in the Tripus region, a very large continent that had always been different from its surrounding regions when it came to Pokémon and how to treat them, the region also being more political than most. The Rinsik party was apparently very aggressive and radical, and when the war rolled around over sixty years ago, they gained a lot of momentum, enough to the point that, when the war ended fifty-eight years ago, Rinsik practically overtook the politics. Then everything else Lex had talked about transpired. Rinsik was what the Tripus government as a whole was known as world-wide. Atena thought her chances against Clair, even the Indigo League, were good. But against something like Rinsik? Maybe they would be better off hiding away in the mysterious Arbos region.
Vague wars and authoritarian regimes aside, Atena let her thoughts drift to Gray. Much to her displeasure, they hadn't been given the opportunity to interact very much after that night. She wanted it to last forever, just sitting there, his hand in hers as she leaned into him. She wanted that every night. When the car stopped, she hadn't had another experience like that with him again. He was too focused on training Ade. She would never admit it, but she was jealous of that silly pup.
Lately, she'd been planning a way to spark some feelings between her and her trainer. To get involved in a situation where she could express herself, unhindered. As always, the fear of rejection was very real. He had every right to reject her advances, for so many different reasons, but she couldn't just sit on these feelings forever. They were eating away at her. Tonight, she thought, she'd finally do something about it.
The sounds of ghostly yowling echoing from within the cavern signaled Gray and Ade's return, the greavard bounding happily over to them. Atena summoned an invisible barrier inches from her face, which Ade licked at when he came to stop at her, before he moved on elsewhere. She had to do that every time the dog so much as looked at her. Grayson came up, his hair much longer than it had been when they began training Ade. He had it tied back into a ponytail, paired with a Pokémon cap on his head, to keep the hair from his eyes. The beard he was in the process of growing was wild and large. He was almost starting to look like Lex when they'd last seen him, just minus the fledgling beer gut. Atena was usually the one who handled the clipping of her trainer's hair, something she did after he failed to properly cut it himself for so many years. She made sure to alert him of this, according to her plan.
[I'm cutting that mane tonight.]
His shoulders tensed, then relaxed, and he looked toward her.
[It's starting to grow on me, I think.]
[It's been growing on you for seven months.] The gardevoir countered with the sarcasm that her trainer was usually most known for. He chuckled as he took a seat on a log beside Ares, who sat down beside him, staring at the fire.
[It does get pretty itchy.]
[You need a bath.]
[What are you, my mom now?]
[If I were, you wouldn't still look like that.]
[Alright. Cut it tonight, then I'll head down to the lake to wash.]
[A proper bath. With soap. I've already booked a room in the city.]
Grayson blinked, frowning at her. [I didn't approve this.]
[You said today was the last day of training for some time. All of us are ready for that, and you will be too, if you feel fresh.]
Gray shrugged, before he folded his arms across his chest.
[Ade was supposed to evolve today. He's at that point, but he just... hasn't. I was hoping to stop training only once he'd evolved, so he could get used to his new form.]
[Grayson.]
Her trainer noticeably winced. His full first name always made him focus a little more. [What?]
[Think about the rest of us, too.] She watched his jaw clench, knowing he was doing just that, and starting to see her point she was making. Atena knew why Gray was pushing so hard on this. He never said it, but she was aware that Lex's warnings had spooked him. Gray used the excuse of Clair and the Elite Four as a way to push them, but she could sense that dread he tried to squash. He was terrified of losing them, so he figured if he could get them to their maximum potential, they'd be alright.
[You're right,] he finally relented, shoulders slouching. [You're always right, you know that?]
[I do.] She gave him a smile, which he returned after a moment. It looked a little forced.
[I know why you're trying so hard,] Atena told him. [You deserve a break just as much as the rest of us. Please, just let me worry over you tonight, and you can stop worrying altogether. Just for today. Deal?]
His smile felt a lot more lively now. [Deal. While you're being a barber tonight, think you could-]
[I am not shaving your armpits ever again.]
[Yes ma'am.]
Their shared smile made her stomach twist into unpleasant knots of fantasy and desire. The stage was set. She just needed to make sure this opportunity wasn't blown. Whatever happened, she trusted they would still be together. He would never throw her out, at least.
Another gondola ride into the city was experienced, and most of the team was put into their pokéballs by the end of it. Atena led the way toward the hotel she'd booked them in, using Gray's Pokédex. A night was all they needed. As the gardevoir handled the woman at the front desk, Grayson and Ares hung back, shoulder-to-shoulder as they stared out of the lobby window, watching people go by, before an officer entered the hotel, and immediately began to talk to Gray.
Most of this went unnoticed by Atena, who finished the reservation, got the room key, and by the time she returned to her trainer, the officer was already walking back outside.
[What was that about?] She noticed Gray appeared a bit unsettled as his shoulders tensed for a moment.
[I'm not sure. He mentioned Lex, though.]
[Are we in trouble? Is Lex in trouble?]
[I don't know.]
[Well, I got our rooms. Wanna head up?]
He gave a nod. Whatever else that officer had said had her a little worried, but they could discuss it later. While their telepathic conversations were private, they'd draw attention by just standing around, staring at each other.
Atena had wanted to get the most glamorous room she could find, but that was too expensive, so she settled for the cheapest one that had a bubble bath. Fortunately, the reviews hadn't been lying. The room was fairly nice.
Gray set his pack down, gazing about for a few moments. She knew he was seeing how much room the others would have. Seidon was the same size as Ares, but he was a lot more aggressive and unpredictable, so it was decided to leave him be. Sui wouldn't be happy without the sky to fly into, so she remained in her pokéball as well. Runa and Ade came out, and made themselves at home, while Ares stood guard at the door.
[What did you tell the officer?]
[Nothing.]
[...Really?]
[He gave me bad vibes, Atena.]
[Lex's theories get to you?]
[No, I just—he didn't strike me as an honest cop is all.]
[I don't follow.]
[He uh, was actually looking for me.]
Atena thought about that. It wasn't like Grayson to be dishonest, especially with the law. [There's something you're not telling me.]
[He called me an "accomplice." Lex apparently did something bad, and they think I'm involved. I only got away because of the beard and Ares. He didn't realize who I was. He showed me a picture of us with Lex. Grainy, but it was us.]
Atena bit her lip, gaze falling downward in thought. Either Lex really did do something "bad," or his findings were being covered up. She didn't want to buy fully into the conspiracy, but Rinsik was absolutely bad news, no matter the context.
[It's probably best if we left.] Atena thought.
[Leave? We can't just... do that, we've got stuff to do here.]
[Then I recommend we challenge Clair tomorrow morning.]
[We're not ready.]
[You're not ready. We are.]
Grayson appeared taken aback by her direct bluntness. She'd always had her moments like these, but they always made the trainer feel sheepish, to an extent. His gardevoir had kept him from making a lot of mistakes in the past. While he'd argue... he trusted her judgment more than his own.
[What about Ade?]
[His training will resume later. We get the badge, then we go.]
[Why not just do this tonight?]
[You are NOT challenging Clair looking like that.]
[What? Why not? I look great with a beard.]
[It covers up too much of your face. You want to look handsome and clean for events like this. We always do this.]
It was true, he did always do this. She could recall, ever since her days as a Ralts, he would try to rush into every situation without preparing beyond the training. When she'd properly bonded with him was when she'd started to give him the orders, and tried to make him look at least somewhat decent for social situations. She knew he probably wouldn't let anyone else talk to him the way she did.
[You think my face is handsome?]
Atena was well aware that his comment was a joke, just to make her laugh, but it was enough to catch her off guard, and she struggled to keep a blush from crawling to her face. [If you want to challenge Clair now, you better get yourself cleaned up, and fast.]
[Tomorrow's fine.]
Atena severed their connection as she strode across the room to one of the windows, and gazed out at the small city. It wasn't a fact she thought about too often, but she and her trainer were very different people. She was a romantic. He was a jock. She liked cleanliness. He loved the dirt. She liked the comforts of civilization. He preferred the roughness of nature. She wanted to love. He wanted to fight. Even if she ever got her desired romance with him, what would change between them? They already had such a solid foundation, but would that crumble under the shift? The sex would probably be great, sure, incredible even, but that wasn't why she wanted him. And on the other hand... could she accept his rejection if she revealed her true feelings? Could she handle it? What would change between them then? The thought was frightening.
The gardevoir frowned, staring down at the city street, noticing there were a lot of police around and active. More than she'd seen before. That was worrisome. They probably really wanted them, and they had barely escaped a close brush.
Because of police activity, it was agreed that everyone would remain in the room until tomorrow morning, when they'd leave to challenge Clair. It was way ahead of the schedule Gray had carefully planned, but Atena preferred this, and she could tell Ares was appreciative that she'd changed their trainer's mind.
As time passed, Atena made sure to spend some time playing with Ade, trying to wear him out so that he'd sleep at the same time everyone else did, otherwise he'd keep her up way late. It wasn't working, however, as Ade didn't seem to have any limit to his stamina, and only wound up wearing her out instead. Normally she'd leave that all up to Seidon, who seemed decent at wearing down the greavard some, but he was too aggressive and destructive for a hotel room, even if he knew to be gentle with Ade.
Finally, as the sun began to sink, Atena got Gray's attention and gestured to the bathroom. "What? Come on, we'll do it in the morning."
She raised both brows at him, and he instantly seemed to shy away from her gaze. "Point taken," he chuckled. She watched him slowly gather up his cleanest clothes and head into the bathroom. She stopped him, took his clothes from him, and gestured for the door. He was confused, but obeyed. Once the door was shut and locked, she told Ares to make sure their trainer followed through while she washed his clothes. With that, she telekinetically carried the laundry pile out and down the hall to the laundry room she'd seen on their way to their room.
By the time the gardevoir returned to the room, the pile of fresh, clean clothes in tow, she found Gray digging through his bag, a towel around his waist. It wasn't the first time she'd seen his bare torso, far from it, but typically it was at a distance, and usually she was busy with something when he went to bathe in a lake or a pond. She grabbed her face, feeling confident that if she'd had a nose, it would have started bleeding. A lack of nose didn't hide her crimson cheeks however, and she quickly tried to conceal it by turning around before he could notice her. She closed the door, trying to cool the rising temperature in her face.
"You washed my clothes? Cool. Thanks, Atena!"
She gave him a thumbs up, still facing away from him. He didn't seem to find it odd, as he was still busy rummaging through his bag, eventually finding his hairbrush, and heading back into the bathroom. She realized she was probably going to be seeing his chest a lot tonight, as she didn't want to get hair all over these nice clean shirts.
She followed him into the bathroom to find him brushing his long hair back. Despite its dampness, it was very clearly clean now. He glanced at her through the mirror. "Hope you're happy," he said. "You're the only person I'd do this for."
She blushed again, and walked out of the room to hide it. Atena knew what he meant by it, but it was hard not to take it in a more romantic way. She noticed Ares watching her from his corner of the room he'd seemingly claimed. He gave a slight nod to the bathroom door, trying to be encouraging. She nodded back, calming herself down enough to get her face to its usual pale shade.
After grabbing a pair of scissors from the hiking bag, alongside a razor, the gardevoir returned to the bathroom just as Grayson had finished brushing his hair. She raised the scissors and clipped them in the air, drawing his attention. He stared at the scissors, before he looked at her. "Alright," he sighed, scratching his beard. "I guess I can't delay it any more."
She sat him down on a chair that she hovered into the bathroom, and got to work immediately, running her hands through his locks, and cutting off thick strands of hair, moving about him as she worked. It wasn't a fact Gray shared, mostly out of embarrassment, but she knew he liked his hair being touched and played with, almost like it was therapeutic for him, so she took extra care to run her fingers through his hair as many times as possible. Every time, he'd relax a little, sometimes even letting out a satisfied hum. She found it equal parts sexy and adorable.
In her opinion, it was over too soon. She'd finished on his hair, leaving it feathered and ruffled in appearance, but short and proper. It was very handsome. While she did have a fondness for the beard, she liked being able to see his jaw and his lips. She handed him the scissors, pointed at the razor, then left the room. He knew how to handle this part.
Then she waited. She had to admit, she was eager to see his face again. It felt like ages since she'd seen it cleaned up last. Ares abandoned his post to join her, and she got the feeling he wanted to talk. She established a connection.
[I never took you for a romantic, Ares. Why do you support my endeavor?]
His voice in her mind was always a very cold one, and airy, like it was air leaking out of a hole in a blow-up, but at the same time deep and bold. A strange combination that gave him an air of mystery and intrigue. [You would be good together.]
[Even though I'm a Pokémon, and he's a human?]
[Should it matter?]
[I don't think so. It might matter to him.]
[It won't.]
[Why so sure?]
Ares paused, staring down at her for a moment, before he looked back up to the bathroom. [He feels the same way. He just doesn't know it yet.]
[What?]
But Ares didn't answer her this time, instead walking back toward his claimed corner, clearly having said his piece. It only left her flustered more than anything. Ares was a very good judge of character, she knew that, and he'd known Gray a bit longer than her. What he'd said, however, conflicted with everything she'd accepted in her mind. The prospect of having a chance, confirmed by the blaziken, was making her more hesitant than anything. She kept coming up with excuses in her mind, reasons to not confess her love, beliefs of some outcome. Her future foresight ability wasn't always the most reliable, it could detect multiple futures, even hundreds, not always the most assured one, and she'd refused to use it in the event of her confession because she was scared of the answer, and also because it felt too much like cheating.
But... if Ares thought she had a chance... maybe she did?
When Grayson stepped out of the bathroom, still wearing the towel around his waist, Atena thought his face was practically glowing. Also his pecs. Or just the whole thing. Everything was glowing, why not. He was radiant, and handsome. She could feel her heart fluttering in her chest, but also felt a new sense of confidence, not like the bursts she'd had before, this time real confidence, and it was probably thanks to the blaziken's encouragement.
Atena felt herself moving without thinking, like on auto-pilot, as she approached Gray, who was grinning at her. "Check it out, fresh face," he was saying. "I won't lie, I nicked my neck in a few places, but I can hide that pretty easy."
She finally regained control as she came to a stop a foot away from him, and had to resist the urge to grab his face and pull it into hers. Instead, almost timidly, she reached up and brushed a stray water droplet on his cheek—but held her hand there. To her surprise, Gray pulled back as a redness tinted his cheeks, and he let out a nervous chuckle.
She slowly retracted her hand, more curious now than anything. A part of her felt like Ares was right, about the reciprocated feelings. Either that, or she just weirded her trainer out, but she felt fairly confident they were close enough that it probably wouldn't have weirded him out...
Unless he was feeling the same way.
That thought was reassuring. Gratifying. Exciting.
And it spurred her to grasp onto opportunity with a firm grip this time. She stepped closer to her trainer, bringing her other hand up to grasp his right cheek, and turned his head to face her. He looked so uncertain, conflicted, even shocked. Was she doing the right thing right now? Was she reading him right? She was picking up a clash of emotions from him, too many to give her a clear idea. What if Ares was wrong? What if this was wrong? What if... what if...
...
Screw what if's.
Atena closed the distance, so caught up in her thoughts and the moment that she didn't care that they weren't alone. Nothing else right now mattered but him. Her thin lips met his, which were thicker and plumper in comparison. Her right hand raised to brush against his left cheek, no distance remaining between them.
She breathed in deeply as she felt their lips press together. It took him a second to react, as though delayed, but when he did move, she felt his rough hands on her elbows, before running up her arms to her shoulders as his lips pressed back against hers. Her own hands moved past his face to his hair, running her fingers through it. His hum of satisfaction sounded more like a moan that escaped his mouth, and she felt the vibrations on her lips, exciting her further. His forehead pressed against her green helmet, pressing it against her own forehead, bending, as flexible as her empathy horn.
His hands moved from her shoulders to her hips, pulling her lower body closer to his, their waists pressing together as he kissed back, his mouth parting. She could feel the wetness of his saliva against her lips, and parted her own in response, her mind clouded and heavy. She couldn't think of anything but this. Her hands slipped down as her arms moved up, slinging around his neck to pull them even closer together as his hands starting to explore her body. She shuddered as they rubbed across the back of her empathy horn, feeling a surge of lust from the contact, confirming he was overcome with passion like she was. She in turn explored him, moving her arms from around his neck to begin tracing along the muscles of his chest, moving from his pecs to his abs, then to his sides. She could feel a hardness beneath the towel pressing against her, building her excitement even beyond the limits she thought she'd had.
But it was over too soon. He pulled away, breathing heavily, his eyes suddenly growing wide. She slowly opened her own eyes, almost as though coming out of a trance, noticing a thin trail of saliva from his lips to hers, which quickly fell away. He pulled his hands away and stepped back, her arms sliding away from his neck. This woke her up from her stupor a little faster, and she closed her mouth, her own eyes growing wide as she stepped back. For several long, tense moments, they could do nothing but stare at one another, panting from their session, before Gray swallowed, and finally looked away, moving toward the clean clothes pile. He grabbed a few select articles, before he slid the shirt on, and then walked to the door. He opened it and left.
Atena watched him go, before she couldn't see him any longer. Her mind was still heavy, but she was starting to realize what had happened, and what she'd done. Her panting began to increase, but for a much different reason than a passionate makeout. She turned her head to look at Ares in the corner of the room, her face flush with embarrassment, to find he had disappeared.
She found him when he emerged from the bathroom, Runa slinking out from between his legs, and Ade bounding after her. The blaziken had moved them in there to give Atena and Gray privacy. His eyes bore confusion when he saw the panic settling into her eyes, and the absence of Gray.
Atena could only think one thing.
What had she done?