A/N: Thank you for your support and sorry for the late chapter! I've been busy and distracted, but here is a new chapter! And I'll try to have the next chapter up in two days or so. I hope you enjoy this one!

To Guest: Yeah, it's sometimes a long wait. But I'm happy to hear you enjoyed this, thank you very much! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).

Days

The day Cilan is late again

Cilan

Saturday, January 11th

Yamask landed with a thud on the ground, and Cilan flinched along with Mr. Parrish. The disobedient Salamence Cilan was meant to be helping his client with let out a victorious roar, flying above the other side of the outside field.

"Oh no!" Mr. Parrish hurried to his fallen Yamask, pulling her to his chest and cradling her. "Oh poor thing, I'm so sorry, this is just not our thing... Don't worry, I'll get you all patched up..."

The businessman recalled the fainted Pokémon back into her Poké Ball, while Salamence let out another challenging roar, circling the field. Cilan felt some relief that the Pokémon wasn't taking the chance to flee, that was at least some improvement.

Mr. Parrish frowned to the sky and took out another 'Ball, and after taking careful aim he recalled Salamence. He gestured for Cilan to follow him back inside, and Cilan did so, leaving the roughened-up battlefield behind him.

The Pokémon area in Mr. Parrish's house was – just like all the other rooms in the house – well-furnished and with the best technologies available. So while Cilan doubted his client battled much, it was no surprise to him to see that he owned a Pokémon healing machine not unlike the one in the Pokémon Centers.

"I'm sorry," Cilan said as Mr. Parrish put the Poké Ball in the machine. While it was hardly his fault that Yamask was entirely unsuited for battle, it had been his reluctantly offered idea. "I had really hoped that the outcome would be different..."

Since being friendly and patient had not had the desired result, Cilan had carefully brought up the idea to teach the rebellious Salamence respect by showing off the strength of his other Pokémon. Sadly none of Mr. Parrish's Pokémon were trained in battle, and Yamask had been the only one without a type disadvantage.

"It's hardly your fault, boy," Mr. Parrish said. "I agreed with it, and we both knew that it was a long shot anyway. Yamask hardly ever battles, poor, poor thing..." He took the Poké Ball out of the machine and patted it. "And Salamence is probably too strong, anyway."

"Even for any of my Gym-trained Pokémon she would have been a tough nut to crack," Cilan admitted. "But she is untrained and young, so a well-trained Pokémon would have a fair chance."

Mr. Parrish nodded, staring at the Poké Ball in his hands, though it wasn't clear if he was really listening or not.

"I just don't know... What are we going to do now?" The older man looked at him pleadingly.

"Using another's Pokémon won't have the same effect, I fear," Cilan said, considering lending his client one of his Pokémon but just as quickly dismissing the idea. "No, I don't think that's the solution."

Cilan racked his brain, but he couldn't tell the man that Salamence simply needed a stronger, more assertive trainer. After all, it's never the client's fault, as his boss liked to tell him.

He bit back a sigh and did his best to sound cheerful. "A roundabout way would be training Yamask until she's strong enough to face Salamence, but otherwise..." It was not a technique he liked to use, not at all, but he knew it was an effective one. Still, with a rebellious, strong and straight out disobedient Pokémon like this Salamence... "You could punish Salamence by not giving her food, or keeping her locked up in her Poké Ball. It's harsh, but it would at least make her realize that she has to obey you." Cilan shook his head. "She will respect and obey you then, but her trust will be harder won after that, if at all."

Seeing the clear hesitance on Mr. Parrish's face, Cilan said, "She didn't leave when we released her on the battlefield. That shows that she at least feels some connection here, even if she's simply fearful of being out in the open on her own."

Mr. Parrish nodded slowly. "I think I'd prefer waiting a bit. Maybe train Yamask... Or maybe I just need to try harder with being nice... Or both, to cover all our options."

Cilan was relieved that Mr. Parrish had chosen to be patient. While the method mentioned was still widely used, it was hardly considered Pokémon-friendly by most Pokémon experts.

"I think that's a good choice," Cilan said. "I'll help you set up a training plan for Yamask, and perhaps we can try to figure out what kind of treats Salamence likes best, to make sure we really put the most power behind our reward system…"

The next half hour was spent in Mr. Parrish's study as Cilan outlined a plan for Yamask and they discussed how to best soften Salamence.

Or at least, it had meant to be half an hour, but it was closer to an hour before Cilan was finally leaving Mr. Parrish's big estate. He kept a polite smile on his face all the way to his car and out of the driveway, before letting his frustration take over.

He should've been at the restaurant about fifteen minutes ago.

Cilan's hands tightened on the steering wheel as he drove towards Striaton City. He wasn't sure how he was going to keep this up. The restaurant, the Gym, his Connoisseur job, keeping watch on Shauntal, looking into those strange deaths… At least that was mostly the Elite Four's job, that lessened his work load a little.

And then there was the stress with Iris.

Well, no, no, he wasn't stressed. He had closed that chapter, put an end to it, or paused it at least. They would be civil to each other, tentative friendly, connected by the baby, but for anything more Cilan felt far from ready. It hurt too much. They had been best friends for years, but now the shards of broken trust pricked his heart whenever he even thought of her.

And yet… And yet he wanted nothing more than for everything to go back to normal.

But that would be far off. It was too fresh, too raw, too complicated, and Cilan wondered if it was even possible for them to return to how they used to be.

He shouldn't be thinking about this. That was one of the few advantages of having three jobs – he was usually too busy to think about what happened with Iris. During the day, at least, for his nights were still spent thinking around in circles.

And with those sleepless nights, it was even more difficult to keep up with his three jobs. A ball was going to drop, and it was going to drop soon.

If one looked at it from a completely practical point of view, it would be his Connoisseur job that made him the most money, and the Gym that provided a home for him and his Pokémon, while the restaurant was a job with impractical working hours and hardly a fitting recompense.

Cilan parked the car and then hurried through the backdoor. He could already hear people speaking in the restaurant, and foregoing his own dinner, he quickly dressed in his restaurant attire and joined his brothers in cooking and serving.

Saturday evening was one of their top evenings and despite that it meant it kept him constantly running around, he couldn't deny that it was very satisfying when the guests smiled and thanked him or when he could see how much they were enjoying their food. And with the busyness, it was only when it was nearing eleven o'clock that Cilan was slowing down enough to notice his own hunger again.

He quickly ate a sandwich and then returned to serving the last desserts and cleaning up the kitchen. Chili joined him a bit later, and Cilan guessed that Cress was quietly cleaning the restaurant without disturbing the remaining guests.

Exhaustion was muddling his brain and so it took him some time to realize that Chili was working in silence. During the biggest rush it wasn't unusual for them to not talk much, but now Chili's silence was odd and suddenly felt cold.

Further contemplation was interrupted by Cress entering the kitchen, declaring that the last guests had left.

"Wonderful," Chili bit out, and stopped with cleaning the floor the cross his arms. Cilan watched in confusion when Cress joined the redhead, neither of them looking very happy, though Cress looked more relaxed than Chili.

It took him a moment to realize they were looking at him and a moment longer to realize why.

Cilan stopped with doing the dishes and dried off his hands.

"I'm sorry I was late," he said, turning fully to his brothers. Cress raised an eyebrow while Chili's frown intensified. "Again," Cilan added, scratching his head in embarrassment and looking down. Guilt turned in his stomach and he had the feeling that a normal apology was not going to be enough.

"Cilan, really-!" Chili burst out, but quietened when Cress put a calming hand on his forearm.

"Cilan," Cress took over the conversation. "I know we've let you have some leeway with everything that has happened, but this last week you've only been on time once."

Despite Chili's obvious anger, Cress's cold disappointment was perhaps even worse. Cilan cringed at the truth, but nodded apologetically. "I know. I'm sorry." He couldn't offer much more than that.

"And we know that," Cress said seriously. "But it can't go on like this."

Chili nodded strongly. "We know you're busy, but we can't count on you like this."

That hurt, even if it was true, and it must have shown on his face, because Chili added in a softer tone, "Can't you cut back on the Connoisseur hours a bit? Then you'd have more time for the restaurant."

He could. He could do that. It was how he had made everything work before. But that was before he was going to be a father, before he needed to make money for more than just for himself.

He looked his brothers in the eye. Chili, still angry, but questioning, and Cress, calm and frowning. They were right, they couldn't go on like this. They couldn't trust him to do his job, painful as that thought was, and Cilan knew that that this was the ball he was going to drop.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I understand your problems." He forced the words from his lips, shoving down his guilt to not make his voice waver. "I'll find a suitable replacement for my job here."

A beat of silence, then-

"What?!" Chili burst out, and Cress looked similarly shocked. "You can't resign from the restaurant! You're meant to stop as a Connoisseur, not stop with the restaurant!"

Cress gathered himself and said, "What Chili means is that, well, surely there's another solution than quitting the restaurant?"

It almost sounded like pleading and Cilan's heart was heavy with guilt, but he steeled his resolve. He shook his head slowly. "I won't quit the restaurant completely." Not right away, anyway. "I'll find you a good, reliable coworker before I leave. But I'm sorry, I'm not going to stop with being a Connoisseur."

He straightened his spine, showing them that he wasn't going to relent on this.

Chili looked angry and ready to continue arguing, but Cress quietened him with firm hand on his shoulder. The blue-haired brother had a sort of sad understanding look on his face.

"It's late and we're all tired," Cress said decisively. "We're going to finish cleaning and then we're going to bed so we can all properly think about this. We shouldn't make any rushed decisions."

Cilan nodded right away, though he knew he wasn't going to change his mind on this. This was the most practical solution and he would stick to it, even if he knew that he would miss the restaurant terribly.

After some moments, Chili also gave a sharp nod. "Fine."

Cress's smile looked forced when he said, "Alright, then let's get back to work!"

And so they did, though the silence between the brothers had never seemed louder.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Cilan is going to have to make some difficult decisions… I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'd love to hear what you thought about it.

Thank you!

Recommendation:

Harry Potter: Three by trollnexus. FFN. A beautiful one-shot about Narcissa and her sisters through the years. Very nicely written and with a semi-happy ending, for those interested in that.

Recommendations are welcome!