Chapter 9: The Cover

Although it was the first time in a long time that he'd slept well, whatever Bryce had been dreaming about wasn't important enough for his subconscious to actually remember. Even as he slowly stirred awake, whatever had happened was already blurring into one monotone color before dissipating altogether. Before his eyes even so much thought about opening, their owner remembered exactly what had happened last night. In turn, he quickly realized that the distinct lack of weight on his chest meant that Lucario had gotten up before him. Maybe she hadn't even slept in the position they'd watched the film.

Ugh, he was never going to hear the end of this.

A few moments went by with not a sound. Bryce slowly let an eye drift open, only to find the room empty. He looked around slowly, as if he were seeing his own bedroom for the first time in ages. For a few moments, he felt a sickening feeling in his stomach, as if the feeling of eating a sour candy had magnified tenfold and transferred that feeling to his gut to make it feel even worse. He sat up after a few moments, noticing the title screen of the movie still on his computer screen, as well as the remnants of what could only be takeout for two.

Well, no going back to sleep now. His legs slowly slid off the bed, one after the other. Morning routine could wait for now, better make sure Violet was ok. She seemed like she could handle herself just fine, but just in case. Still half asleep, Bryce stood, resisting the urge to rub his eyes as he staggered out of the room. The only one that was dutifully waiting for him, however, was Shadow, perched up on the countertop with patient, expecting eyes. In front of Shadow rested a note. Walking over and petting Shadow for a few moments, Bryce picked up the letter, going straight to the bottom of the note for the signature.

Nope, not Violet's.

He read the note over again, slightly slower than before. It was a note similar to ones he'd read many times, letting him know that he'd have the house to himself for, as the letter put it, 'a while'.

"Tragic." He replied flatly, tossing the paper into the trash can. "I'll feed you in a moment, Shadow. Gotta find our plus one."

The feline gave a gentle nuzzle into his wrist, seemingly content to wait. With Shadow's blessing, Bryce turned to the hallway. There hadn't been a light on in the bathroom. If he had to make a guess, Violet was out in the backyard. As he turned the corner, his hand came up to shield himself from the morning sunlight. It was one thing to see a clock tell him that he'd slept in late, but it was another to see it thanks to the sun being plenty high in the sky.

Sure enough, there she was, sitting cross-legged on the concrete. Right, Lucario were big into meditation. Bryce started to lift a hand to turn the door handle, but once his digits wrapped around the doorknob, he stopped. It was probably best to give her the space she needed. He should know that better than anyone. Still, he couldn't help but watch for a few moments. Meditation was one of many things he'd tried to help with sleep, but just like everything else, it had been totally ineffective. A small gust of wind blew through the backyard, making her tail sway ever so slightly. Maybe he should ask her about meditation at some point. Perhaps he was doing it wrong. Sure, he could daydream like no other when he got bored, which was often, but meditation was on an entirely different level.

He stood there a bit longer, just taking the scene in. It was strange; even when Violet had been unconscious, she didn't look quite this way. Bryce couldn't see her face, but she still somehow looked...peaceful. It almost felt like she could be placed in any environment, no matter how chaotic, and still stay totally calm...but not in the same way that he could. All he would do is feel annoyed, try to drown out the world around him, while it felt like she could absorb it all and accept whatever would happen. Although he didn't feel jealous, it was something Bryce wished he could learn.

Maybe he would, sometime. He'd be seeing her every day. If anyone could teach him something new and valuable, it would be her.

Had it not been for a certain cat bumping his face against Bryce's ankle, he may have just stood there until Violet made some kind of movement. He knelt down, still looking through the glass panes as he picked up the feline, standing up as his gaze continued to look ahead. Eventually Bryce took a deep breath, before looking at Shadow. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like he should be out there with her. Still, it was her time, and besides that...hadn't he felt like they shouldn't be spending too much time together? Bryce turned, heading back to the kitchen with Shadow in his hands.

One fed feline later, Bryce started to get to work. With everyone else out of the house, it was a perfect time to work on installing those doorknobs. Headphones on and mind elsewhere, he began with his own door. Oddly enough, it didn't feel all that strange that he was going this far out of his way to help protect someone he'd only met a short time ago. As for protecting his parents? The thought hardly crossed his mind, other than getting a chuckle out of seeing their wide-eyed stare and slacked-jawed expression right before Violet would have to give them a sucker punch to knock them out...if they didn't pass out, that was.

Maybe that was another thing he could learn from Violet: some sort of martial arts. Or at least how to knock someone out quickly and effectively. In this world, it would probably come in handy. As Bryce finished installing the door handle, he made a mental note to see if there was anything Violet wanted to learn, something she didn't need to know about this universe for her 'work'. Taking the key, Bryce locked the door, giving the handle a test.

"Perfect."

One down, one to go. Quickly starting on the guest room door, Bryce realized something. Making sure this door could be locked would give him a chance to work on the room without interruption. It could be an actual surprise. Unless telepathy could see his mental pictures...but maybe Violet could respect that he was trying to keep it a secret. Especially because seeing her reaction would make the wait worth...it…

Yep, spending too much time around her. That settled it, while she was doing her research, he'd be locking himself inside the guest room and working on getting it set up. Nothing like the guise of doing something nice for someone else to keep them away from you.

Being the house caretaker had given Bryce a general sense of how to do things on his own, particularly when it came to fixing or changing smaller things. Combining that sense with his practice on the first door, Bryce was done installing the second doorknob in little more than a minute or two. Now came the fun part, trying to find a paint tray, a roller, and masking tape in the cluttered mess that was the garage. He sighed, turning around.

Only to find a Pokemon not a foot away from him.

Bryce nearly swore, taking in a sharp breath. Violet seemed to not even notice, her eyes having a soft shine to them. For the moment he'd looked right at them, Bryce noticed they seemed...fuller, somehow. Maybe that meditation really did work, when done right.

"Hi." She greeted, in a light, airy tone.

After making a mental note to consider putting a bell on her so he couldn't be snuck up on like that again, Bryce looked at Violet for a moment. She still seemed to be in a bit of a trance, staring off into space, even as he responded.

"Hey." No way was he planning on asking if she'd slept well, that would just give her a chance to tease him. "Hungry?"

That question seemed to snap her out of her trance. Her smile seemed more attached as she smiled and nodded.

"Alright, I just need to grab a few things from the garage and then I'll make you something."

Violet playfully stuck out her tongue. "What, think I'll eat everything before you get a chance to?"

Loaded question, abort. Abort now.

"I don't eat first thing in the morning. If I did, I'd just feel ill for the next few hours." Which was true; as bad as skipping the 'most important meal of the day' was, it would absolutely make him feel nauseated until lunch, if not longer.

"Oh."

A simple response, but Bryce knew what she was thinking with that look. If she had gone through his mind, even that hadn't been enough to know everything about him. That realization should have brought him more comfort than it did, he thought. One of these days, he'd just have to ask how much she'd found out about him.

...screw it, she was in a good mood right now.

"I figured you knew that already, if you'd...y'know." He said, tapping the side of his head twice.

Violet appeared confused for a few moments, before it finally clicked in her head. "Oh...I…" She paused, looking down for a second, then back up at him. "You know I wouldn't do that, right?"

He didn't, not entirely.

"Everyone gives off their own aura. I don't have to 'read' anything to see it. It's just there naturally. That's why I know you're not a bad person."

Her muzzle twitched, as if she wanted to say more, but she stopped there. Yeah, he wasn't a bad person, but he wouldn't consider himself a good person either. One word came to mind to describe him, and one word alone, yet Bryce decided to answer with a simple nod as he led the way to the kitchen.

Until he felt a paw grab his arm. "Mm?"

Bryce turned his head to see Violet giving him a knowing look. It took all of one moment to realize she was being truthful. Violet wasn't using her telepathy to learn every last thing about him, but she was one of those rare few that just knew. She was someone that knew what to say or what to do. She was also aware of when to use that power, too. Her digits squeezed his arm softly.

With a reluctant sigh, his free arm covered Violet's paw. "Alright."

It wasn't as if he was ready to just dive right out of his comfort zone, but he could at least give the idea some thought. He was living with a Lucario for a year. Normally, he couldn't even stand the concept of having a housemate. He could barely deal with his parents for any extended period of time. Bryce could accept the two of them being friends, and spending time with her for a good amount of time each day.

But to actually say that he wasn't doing things alone, to be a team with someone else? The thought made his stomach turn, as if he were diving into an ocean without bothering to even take a deep breath first. Bryce took her paw off his arm, holding it for just a moment before letting each of their arms drop to their sides. The more he thought about it, Violet was more and more complex that he'd given her credit for. His expectation that she would only see the good in him, maybe it had been all he'd seen of the Pokemon world, what he'd seen of his world and how others were put into one singular box. Violet had seen past all the apathy, all the boredom with life, but still accepted it as a part of him.

Whatever she was doing, it was working. While he'd never admit it to her, Bryce was okay with seeing exactly where it was going to lead. As for Violet, she didn't need him, but finding a situation like or better than this one was going to be just about impossible. Bryce had to tell his head to stop thinking as he gently grabbed her paw, leading her into the kitchen. Even from behind him, he could still practically feel the gooey smile plastered on Violet's face.

"Don't push your luck too much." He smirked.

But he gave her paw a soft squeeze anyway.

The pair headed to the garage, opening the door to see an array of junk that was scattered everywhere. There wasn't even enough room to park a car in there.

"It's where my dad spends his time when he's not on the couch." Bryce explained before she could ask. "I've tried cleaning it up, trust me. It'll look like this in a few days' time after I do." An eternal struggle that came with anyone had forgotten their kindergarten etiquette: if you make a mess, you clean it up.

With the potential risk of grazing one of the many sharp, rusty metal objects that were scattered around, Bryce left Violet at the entrance of the garage to hunt for the tray for the paint roller and masking tape. Admittedly, it was a bit uncomfortable to feel like he was being watched, but what else was Violet going to do? Now that Bryce thought about it, there was one thing she could do while he searched. As he grabbed the paint roller tray, he turned back to her, voice echoing slightly from the garage.

"By the way, is there anything you wanted to learn while you were here, just for you? Maybe we could do something after you're done researching today."

The soft, enthused squeal of delight he got in return made him realize Violet already had something in mind. If only he'd realized exactly what he'd gotten himself into for being nice. Soon enough, he'd find out that no good deed goes unpunished.

Author's Notes: I spent a bit of time wondering why I never really wrote a scene about something that Lucario are often portrayed to do in the original story of this, but even more time thinking about why I DID write that scene the way that I did. I definitely got my answer, too. At risk of giving away too much of the psychological lens, having Bryce watch Violet and having a clear view through a door is very much along the lines of 'they're physically close to each other, but something is still blocking them from being truly close'. Combine that with the perception of meditation potentially taking its user to another mental state, so Bryce might think that she's 'in another zone', but also he can't be certain that it's true. A lot to unpack there.

I've been thinking about seeing if I could get a proper psychologist to unpack this story when the whole thing is finished. Fantasy's Reality has been the story that keeps on giving to me. Even with my writing capability being much higher than it ever was in the original story, these characters and this story has given me far more than I've ever given them...and I've been giving it quite a bit. It's barely begun, and it's such a wonderful journey.

A few chapters from now, we'll start making time jumps. Nothing drastic, we're not just moving from summer to winter or anything like that. While I'm excited for all the ideas that I want to write in future chapters-and this is some good advice for people just starting out with writing-while it's great to have some strong scenes and wanting to put a lot of effort into those scenes, taking the time to make the connections between those scenes can open up possibilities that you'd never thought possible until you created the door to open your work up to wonderful possibilities.

Comments are always appreciated, and remember that with friendship comes acceptance of all parts of someone, the good, the bad, and the parts that go underappreciated by the friend. We can always see something in our friends that makes us know how to give them what they need, and they can see in us what we often do not so we are capable of receiving what we thought not possible. -Delta