Chapter 8: Permanent
For once, having slow delivery service came in handy. It wouldn't take an hour to get this errand run, but if they'd been any faster, it would have meant having to wait until after they'd eaten. Truth be told, he kind of wanted to get out of there for a while. He wasn't used to having any sort of roommate, or even a housemate, most of the time. With no siblings and his folks rarely home, it'd take some getting used to. Still, getting the guest room fixed up would give them both a bit more space from each other.
Whether that was a good thing or not, he still wasn't sure. Not entirely, anyway.
The automatic doors to the store slid open as he walked inside, taking off his sunglasses and letting them rest on the collar. Taking a basket, Bryce headed straight for the first stop. A 'slash and burn' policy, as some call it; he was getting what he needed and nothing more. No excess browsing, no waiting, nothing that would make this take any longer than it needed to.
A quick glance through the music section's different players, and there it was. She had to be a bit convinced into it, but the color suited her. 'Midnight Purple', huh? Well, thankfully they'd mutually agreed that an older model with a bigger scroll wheel would be easier to use with her paws, and it also meant that it wasn't stuck behind a glass door that would require calling someone over to pick it up.
As he moved on, Bryce continued thinking about it. People obviously weren't his thing, nor would they likely ever be. Even if he was more of a people-person, would he be less uncomfortable around someone so...touchy? And she wasn't even as touchy as some. Then again, if he wasn't, well...himself, he probably wouldn't have found her. He really needed to stop thinking so much. Were Pokemon supposed to be that warm?
Arriving at the paint finally forced his mind to focus on what was in front of him. Not exactly the largest selection in the world, but there were a few purples that were a good shade. Not bright and overbearing, but not dull, either. And darker paint meant it would be easier to sleep at night. As easy as a joke about her being treated like royalty would be, it'd probably go over her head. Who knew if there were colors associated with higher class in that universe anyway, plus Violet didn't exactly seem like the type to expect to be treated better because of who she was, much less someone who wanted to.
Luckily the doorknobs were nearby as well. He'd been meaning to replace his own for a few years now with one that had a lock; this was as good an excuse as any. Two knobs, two keys, and time to get out of here. Everything else they might need-pair of headphones and a screwdriver to install the doorknobs, for one-they already had at the house. Thankfully, four items and a self-checkout meant no human interaction. Even if someone did recognize him, they'd hardly even consider stopping to talk.
The items were scanned one by one before Bryce paid, stacking the basket on the pile and grabbing the shopping bags as he headed for the door. Maybe working on that guest room would help him sleep more easily. Plus it'd make the house feel more...full? Having most people around was exhausting, but every time Bryce had to clean a house devoid of life, it did seem a little pointless. Not much of a home without anyone there other than himself, and he was only ever using a third of the rooms in the house at most.
He checked his phone. Probably about twenty minutes to get back home, more than enough time. As Bryce continued back the way he came, he idly mulled over what to do for the rest of the day. With his father home, it left their options a bit limited. Not that he expected to be interrupted, but his father was one of those 'late to bed, early to rise' types. That meant they were sticking to his room, no way was he gonna risk installing door knobs until at least three in the morning. It was probably better to avoid anything that had them talking, too. Hmm, maybe a movie, then.
By the time he'd decided on it, he was unlocking the front door. Back home with about ten minutes to spare, if the takeout delivery was on time. No sooner had he locked the door than three knocks in quick succession responded on the door. Ten minutes, ten seconds, same difference, he thought, unlocking the door again.
If nothing else, it meant that keeping prying eyes away from his purchases would be that much easier. Aside from removing his father's order, all Bryce had to do was take both bags into his room at the same time, the low, rhythmic 'thunk' of the paint can with each step he took drowned out by the television until the door to his room was safely closed behind him.
"Mission accomplished."
Violet grinned. "That was fast."
"Well I am an expert in avoiding as many things as humanly possible." The teen replied with a quick smirk. He sat the bag with all of the supplies down, food first, after all. As he stood back up to full height, Bryce noticed the Lucario looking at him, curiously. "Anybody home?"
A few blinks of her eyes later and she looked up at him. "S-Sorry. I...that might be the closest thing I've seen to a smile from you."
"Yeah, ya may wanna get used to that." He replied, rolling his eyes as he started taking each container out of the takeout bag. "If it makes you feel any better, you're the only one I know that I don't hate talking to."
She blew a raspberry at him. "I'll get you to smile, one way another."
"Well, they say it is infectious." And if anyone could, it would be her, Bryce was certain of that. "Shame for you, I'm not ticklish."
Now it was her turn to smirk, approaching her prey with paws outstretched. "Oh? ...let's see about that!" And suddenly she was lightly ticking at his underarms.
Bryce continued to unpack the food, balling up the bag as he turned to face her, unimpressed.
She looked up at him, lowering her paws "...that was awkward. I...won't do that again…"
"Not much point since it won't do any good." He responded. "Though that does make me wonder, do Pokemon actually have a limited number of moves that they can use in your universe, or is it more like you can use anything you learn?"
"Anything we learn. Though we tend to stick to what we know best and use the most."
"So you know tickle, huh?" He smirked.
"N-No…"
Even without looking at her, Bryce could sense that blush on her face. "I won't tell a soul." He paused. "Weirdo."
She gave a huff. Okay, maybe it was a bit mean, considering how she felt about her position in her family.
"Oh well, I like weirdos." He shrugged, opening his container of rice. "They tend to be more interesting. 'Fierce loyalty to the crowd's perception is little more than nature, the collective will of the world, one that will never bring any change', as they say."
"Since when do you like change?" She raised an eyebrow, watching him unpack the utensils.
"Since you." He responded. Very quickly, he felt rather sheepish saying that. "Less boring with an extraterrestrial around here, I guess."
Violet was grinning at him again. Tempting as it was to glare back, it'd just get him flustered again.
"Anyway, how's a movie sound? It's essentially like a book, except you watch actors go through the story rather than reading about it and imagining it."
"I haven't seen one before, but they do exist back home. Sure."
He always felt a bit dumb when having to explain something to her. Either she didn't know what it was and Bryce tried his best not to sound too condescending or she did know and then he just looked stupid for giving a mini-lecture. Raising up the chair to its full height, he set the remaining containers on the chair before wheeling it over next to the bed. A makeshift nightstand if ever there was one.
"Any preferences to types of movies?"
Her response was quick and concise. "Adventure!"
Adventure, huh? Made sense for someone willing to travel to another universe. "Can do, I know just the thing." It was going to be a long night, after all. "Plus, as good as the books are, they can get to be a bit much." Reading songs? Hard pass.
A few minutes later and the computer was on the media player, the CD tray sliding back into the computer's tower as the DVD started to play.
"Hope you don't mind violence, by the way. Depends on how far we get if we'll see anything big." And since they were gonna be here for the rest of the night, there was a good chance there would be.
"I don't mind." She grinned. "There's plenty of sparring back home all the time, and it can get out of hand once in a while. As long as it's not...y'know, bloody and gross."
Well, well, that would be good ammo to use later on to watch a horror movie. "Only a little, so not too much." He responded, clicking the play button with the mouse before stepping back and sliding onto the bed, laying back with his head propped up in the corner where a headrest of pillows sat. "Coming?"
If ever there were an expression of proper surprise, that would be it. "W-What?"
Perhaps this was some Pokemon thing with the innuendo of 'inviting someone to bed', but he'd already thrown it out there. Either she'd join in and they could watch the movie, or he'd get to embarrass her. Sounded fun, however it turned out.
"Well where else are we gonna be able to both sit comfortably and see the screen?" He said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Maybe she wasn't as touchy-feely as Bryce had first thought.
"...I thought you didn't like physical contact." She eyed him, arms crossed.
"Not really. You tried to tickle me anyway, though." Bryce shrugged. "I could always change my mind, I suppose."
"Fine, fine." She uncrossed her arms, a devious smirk coming across her face as she walked towards the bed. "If you really want to snuggle, I suppose we can."
Snuggle? "Okay, nope, offer retracted, nuh-uh, forge-" Aaand before he could get up, she was resting her upper half on his chest. Bryce gave a loud sigh of indignance. Deep down, he supposed he probably deserved that.
"I wonder how many people here would be jealous of you, getting to snuggle with your Lucario buddy…~" She teased.
'Probably a lot…' He thought, choosing not to answer as he grabbed for their food, handing Violet's meal to her as he dug into his own. At least he could get distracted with something like "Lord of the Rings".
Were Lucario supposed to be this warm?
Eventually his brain zoned out, getting immersed in the story on the screen that lit up the otherwise dark room. Only the occasional movements from his roommate would break the cinematic spell. As time went on, even the movie couldn't keep his attention from the drowsy feeling overtaking him. A rather uncommon feeling for him in particular, but still one that he accepted, bit by bit, before eventually his breathing slowed. Bryce was only vaguely aware that Violet was still resting against him as he drifted off.
Right then, he could only hope that she wouldn't subject him to endless teasing tomorrow.
Author's Notes: Yeah, been a while, hasn't it? I had to play some serious catchup on doing commission work. People that have been around for a long time may not know this, but yeah, I do write for money as well. I'd been putting off my current queue for far too long, namely because they were really long stories. So I kinda just had to set aside what free time I had to get them done. Based on the tips, despite the wait, I guess people still liked it, so that's a plus!
This chapter was actually done all in one sitting, so hopefully that doesn't show too terribly badly. It was kinda nice, having the first half of this be too dialogue heavy. Several of my readers and commissioners think my dialogue is my strong suit. I go back and forth on if doing a story or chapter in one hit is a good idea or not, namely because I'm not a fan of putting something down and having to come back to it a little while later.
I'll make a note of this later, but I do plan on going back after each arc and adding more details in. It'll be stuff like making sounds and locations feel more realistic, namely, but maybe some other things here and there. Already caught a typo from the last chapter that I goofed on, so I got that fixed. Plus there's something I'm looking at adding into this chapter later on, potentially, but I'll first have to see how more of the story pans out. It's admittedly quite enjoyable not sticking so closely to the script of the original, even if the key elements will certainly stay the same. History doesn't exactly repeat itself, but it often rhymes. I'll also have someone else reading through to look for errors. It's easier to miss things when you're the one writing it, trust me.
Also, be sure to give your Pokemon a good snuggle. Even if you hate calling it that. And if you plan on messing with someone's expectations of you, be warned: they just might call your bluff.
Comments are always appreciated, and remember that others are always capable of surprising you, but it takes trust and respect to see those other sides of them. -Delta