Shock was the umbrella term, he felt. It covered just about every base with accuracy. Following that up was shame, regret, then disgust at himself. He'd had to awkwardly slip on his underwear and pants before anyone could notice him, then tossed his towel into the laundry room before heading out of the hotel. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts, he didn't even notice the absurd amount of active police officers all around, but none seemed to pay him any mind for the time being.
Grayson had never been one to drink alcohol. Had never so much as tasted it before, never had the interest, but for some reason, the bar felt like the best place to skulk and try to keep from having a panic attack. He entered, sat at a booth in the back, and buried his face in his hands, finally allowing himself to reflect on what had just happened.
He had kissed his gardevoir.
And not just a little smooch. They'd been full-on making out. He could still taste her on his lips. He could still smell her. Has she always smelled like that? Had he just never noticed it before? He reflected on how passionate it had been. How excited it had made him. And how wrong it had felt.
He shook his head in his hands. Why had he indulged in that? It wasn't as though he'd ever harbored those feelings for her. At least, he felt pretty sure he hadn't. But when he'd felt her hand on his face, there'd been something so... genuine about the touch. He thought back on how recently, their relationship had been shifting. He hadn't noticed it before, but it was clear now. He thought about when she fell asleep cuddling him one night. How she leaned against him as she held his hand on the gondola ride up. He hadn't taken those moments in a way to mean infatuation or attraction, he'd just thought she needed company the first time, and was trying to cheer him up the second. She was an empath, after all, she knew he'd needed that comfort, and it had helped.
But a small part of his mind chimed in, asking if he would have felt the same if any of his other Pokémon had done that. The answer was really simple, but he struggled to admit it. And when he did, it was a resounding "no." She held a power over him that no one else had. He'd always attributed that to respect for her, and understanding that in a lot of ways, she was more intelligent than he was. But it was beginning to feel like there was more to it in retrospect, with context.
Problem was: she was his Pokémon. She was off-limits, period. The law made it clear that humans and Pokémon could not form romantic or sexual attachments. One of the arguments for the law was something Gray didn't agree with, that being "Pokémon were animals, not human." He'd met his fair share of Pokémon that were like humans in everything but appearance, and his fair share of humans were nothing but monsters on the inside. Regardless, it was a law. He'd never even considered breaking it before, but now he technically had by allowing himself to get into that position with his gardevoir. He was feeling sick to his stomach.
Grayson's monotonous thoughts of conflict were interrupted by somebody sitting in the booth across from him. He parted the fingers covering his eyes to see it was his blaziken staring back at him. How the Blaze Pokémon had found him, Gray had no clue. The man let out a sigh, before he leaned back, letting his hands fall into his lap. "How could I let that happen?" He asked his Pokémon.
Ares stared back.
"I mean, this shouldn't even be a problem I'm having. Pokémon and humans..." he glanced around, before lowering his voice. "We can't be doing that. What was I thinking?"
Ares continued to stare back, unblinkingly.
"She's probably as confused and as scared as I am. If I'd just stopped her, none of this would have happened, and we would have continued on like normal."
It was here that Ares shook his head. Gray frowned. "What do you mean no? I could have set ground rules, maybe boundaries, and-"
Ares shook his head again.
Gray paused, staring back, before he folded his arms, sinking slightly into his seat. "You're probably right about that. I guess I... I do like it when she worries over me. Like when she cuts my hair. Or when she helps me when I'm feeling bad. Or..." a smile broke out over his face. "How she makes me dress up for events. Or when she calls me... handsome..."
His smile faded as further realization began to hit him. Ares seemed to recognize this, as he appeared suddenly very pleased.
"Holy Arceus," Grayson gulped, and leaned in over the table, dropping his voice further. "This wasn't just a sudden thing. She's wanted this for a while?"
Ares nodded.
Gray's mouth slackened for a moment. "I-I... Oh man... I was right, she probably is confused and scared, but because I... I mean-" He tried to rattle his brain to focus. "How long have you known?"
The blaziken shrugged.
"You never thought to tell me?"
A shake of the head.
"Why not?"
This time, Ares just stared back, eyes drilling into Grayson's own, who leaned back again, coming to the intended conclusion. "I see," he sighed, before rubbing at his face again. "How am I gonna deal with this, Ares? I mean, I can't just waltz in there like nothing happened, but she can't expect me to go back and pick up what we left off. I could be incarcerated for life if someone finds out. You guys would be taken away to Arceus-knows-where, and everything would be—we'd all-" his voice cut off as he covered his mouth, turning his head to the wall to think and calm himself down.
Ares got up out of the booth, standing up, drawing Gray's attention back to him. The blaziken took a step toward him, before placing a claw gently on his trainer's sternum, before giving a nod, turning around, and walking out.
Gray watched him go until he was out of sight, then placed his arms on the table, leaning against it. He understood what Ares meant. To "trust his heart," or something along those lines. He already knew now that his gardevoir had harbored feelings for him a bit longer than he'd thought. He was also willing to accept that he enjoyed her affections. That he even enjoyed what they'd shared some odd thirty minutes ago. But that simply wasn't something they could do, now or ever. The world didn't work like that. She'd been reading too many romance novels.
Well, maybe he hadn't read enough.
After several more minutes of contemplation, Gray came to a decision, and slid out of his booth, ready to return to the hotel room.
The walk back was filled with a lot of dread and anticipation, which only grew with each step nearer to his door he got. By the time he was finally outside of it, he felt pretty confident Atena could feel his presence due to the waves of anxiety washing off of him. He knew she wasn't going to like the choice he'd made.
Opening the door, Grayson stepped inside to be greeted with a relatively simple scene: Runa lying at the foot of his bed beside Sui and Seidon's pokéballs, watching him enter with a look of almost disdain, he felt. Ares had taken his claimed spot in the corner, and gave him a nod in greeting, with Ade sniffing around the room at every edge. Then there was Atena, seated on the second bed, her face somehow even more pale than usual as her crimson eyes stared wide back at him.
There was an awkward moment between them, before Gray cleared his throat, and gestured for Atena to follow him somewhere with more privacy.
She was hesitant at first, but complied, leaving the room with her trainer. He led her to the laundry room, and shut the door behind her when she stepped in. The hanging overhead light was surprisingly dim: both had just left the door open for the outside light when doing their business here before. Now they kept it closed.
"Establish a link, please," Gray ordered.
Atena blinked, before he felt her presence sink into his subconscious. His shoulders tensed, then relaxed.
[You're mad.] Her voice pierced his mind.
[Not... mad,] he assured her. [Just...] He was already struggling to find the right words.
[I'm sorry. I shouldn't have...] it was her turn to let her voice trail off, at which point Grayson sighed and leaned against the dryer, staring back at her.
[Atena, I love you. You know that. You're not just my best Pokémon - you're my best friend. Ares is more like a brother to me, and...] He tried to think of how to continue where he was going with this.
[I'm like a sister?]
[Actually, no,] Gray shrugged. [Atena, how long have you been... harboring these... impulses?]
He could see her flinch slightly at how he'd described her affection, and felt a pang of guilt at saying it like that. [Not long after Minos.] She stated with clarity.
Grayson blinked. Then he blinked again, digesting this. That long? Was she being serious? Suddenly, her actions in the room earlier didn't seem quite as spontaneous. He'd already been reflecting on their relationship while in the bar, and had come to the conclusion that her oftentimes shyness probably resulted from her affection. This confirmed it. Confirmed it years back, even.
[That's... wow...] was all he could offer.
Her cheeks tinted rose as she stared back at him. [So what... happens now?]
His plan had shifted a bit. He hadn't realized just how contained her passion had been. She'd always been dropping hints, but they were hints he'd never picked up, for he'd never considered the possibility. It was like a veil had been lifted, and he could reflect on their time together with a whole new context.
He wasn't sure how to reply. She seemed nervous for his response, but the drawing silence only seemed to increase her worry. He was beginning to not just realize his own feelings, but he felt they were beginning to sink in. He was almost starting to accept them.
But that wasn't all that was on his mind. He thought back to Lex, wherever he could be now. Everything he'd said. The way he was on the local law enforcement's radar. Obviously he couldn't stay here, out of fear of what might happen. If Lex's words were true, he'd lose his Pokémon, maybe even forever.
Grayson didn't want to live with regrets, if the paranoid fear Lex had instilled in him turned out to be true.
Without answering, the man moved forward, and locked his lips back to his gardevoir's, who stared back at him in shock, like he had toward her earlier, but she was quicker on the uptake, immediately wrapping her arms around him and holding him close, feeling her empathy horn press roughly against his chest, bending slightly to the side, the contact enough to heighten her passion. The open link between them that she hadn't severed heightened this for her trainer as well, who could feel his mind immediately cloud over as he gave himself over. He pressed her up against the door, before he pulled his lips back, traveling to her chin, feeling her shudder at his touch as his hands moved down with his face, from her shoulders to her arms as he planted kisses down her neck, his check brushing against her empathy horn as he moved down, hands sliding to her hips as he kissed down her stomach, before he came to a stop and looked up.
Her hand was on his head, fingers entangled in his hair, her face to the side, the shade of red heavy over her as her chest heaved heavily. After a couple seconds, she slowly opened one of her eyes to look at him. [Why... why'd you stop?] Even her telepathic voice sounded breathless.
[Just wanted to look.]
Somehow, her blush deepened, and her fingers gripped a little at his scalp. [Not having second thoughts?]
[I am,] he admitted. [But I just thought that if something bad happens... if I lose you guys... I don't want us to regret not doing anything about this. About you. About... us.]
With that, he parted the folds of her dress, which wasn't actual clothing. In fact, the closest thing to human biology it came to was hair, of a much different variety, forming together almost like a mushroom, but of a silk-like quality in both texture and substance. It was easy to part, almost no different than actual clothing, and he could see what he was looking for between her legs.
Their connection let him feel her mental shivers as she felt his breath brush against her sensitive skin, and he cast one more glance up at her. She stared back at him with a look he'd never seen from her before. It reminded him of something she said a lot, when reciting her favorite romance novel.
Love is a tricky thing. You'll never know it, until it's there. No matter how much you tell yourself otherwise. When love finally arrives... You'll know. And you'll love.
He felt that love, down to his soul. Could feel the unbridled passion exerted from the depths of her mind and heart. Why hadn't he realized he felt the same sooner?
Finally, after one more lingering moment in each other's eyes, he moved his face inward. He could hear her try to cover her mouth with her free hand, to conceal her shriek of delight as his tongue came from his mouth, feeling her out. He could feel her folds of warm flesh part at his intrusion, her hips moving forward as her back pressed against the door. Grabbing her hips, he moved her legs over his shoulder, giving him better access to her sex, kissing along her clit, feeling her squirm in his grasp as she continued to try and keep her sounds from escaping.
Picking her up, he turned around, sat her upon the dryer, and buried his face deeper between her legs, the slickness of her natural lubricants making him sound sloppy. Admittedly, he'd never done this before. It was a wholly new experience for the both of them, something he'd only seen in videos, so he was experimenting along as he moved, striking his tongue to push open her thin vaginal slit, her legs wrapped tightly around his head.
She seemed too engrossed in what he was doing to offer much sex talk, but he wasn't complaining. He liked to see her like this. He liked doing this with her. How the hell had he never considered this before?
Slurping sounds grew louder as Grayson ate Atena out, the clear liquid coming from her vagina a steady stream that coated his mouth. He hadn't been sure what it would taste like, but fortunately, Atena was a cleanly individual. No unfortunate residues lingered, and her juices tasted almost like fresh tomatoes. It was a weird association, in his opinion, but he couldn't think of anything else that it reminded him of. He lapped at her sex, relishing in the way she squirmed, her muffled squeaks, the feel of her hand pulling at his hair. Her hips were starting to buck against his mouth, and his tongue slid deeper inside of her. He could feel the walls of her vagina flexing. It was fortunate her reproductive anatomy was nearly identical to humans, else he'd have no idea what to do besides "insert."
[Gray...] he could hear her voice. It sounded deeper in his mind. He liked hearing her say his name like that. He continued his work, slurping at her pussy as she held his face close to her sex, watching him as she kept her mouth closed and covered, chest heaving with excitement. He could feel her muscles tensing and flexing more frequently, and suddenly, he felt her hips shudder against him, a fresh wave of juices soaking over his mouth.
He nearly coughed on it, before he pulled his face back, blinking away some from getting into his eyes as he looked up at Atena. She had slumped against the dryer and the wall behind it, eyes closed as she panted, her fluids coating the dryer and the interior of her legs. He swallowed, before glancing around, trying to find any sort of cloth to wipe his face with, noticing the towel he'd tossed in earlier. Grabbing it, he wiped at his face as Atena slowly regained herself, her eyelids seemingly heavy.
She watched him for several moments, before she scooted out of the way for him to wipe away her mess on the dryer. That was all she did. Just stared at him, before he stared back.
[So?] He asked.
[So what?]
[How was it?]
She shied her face away as the red tint returned. [I've never felt something like that before,] she said. [It was... amazing.]
He placed his hands on either side of her against the appliance, leaning in, feeling his lips part in a small smirk. [You taste good, y'know.]
She bit her lip, watching him slowly draw his face nearer to hers. She placed her hands around his neck, leaning into him.
[Maybe I get to taste you, now.] She offered, but at that moment, the sound of a creaking door made the both of them freeze. Atena was the first to act, raising a hand, the door to the room telekinetically slamming shut, and the sound of someone falling outside followed.
The two decided that was all the time they'd get, as they hurried their way back to the bedroom. Gray could hardly believe he'd indulged in it, but a growing side of him was excited about it. About this new relationship with Atena he was taking. For some reason, he felt like he wouldn't find something like he had with her, with anyone else.
And if they managed to slip the authorities and beat Clair tomorrow?
They could explore their passion more together. He was thrilled at this prospect. It was like a whole new adventure had opened up, and more than that, it was illegal. It gave him that extra rush just to even think about it.
His last thoughts that night were of Atena, and how quickly their relationship had just deepend in a single night. Despite the recent development, however, he still made sure they slept on separate beds.
At least for tonight...