Heart to Heart

Rika sighed and rubbed her eyes. She'd had a rather long day at the League office... The computer used for scheduling Champion challengers had somehow ended up losing a few profiles, and she'd spent a few hours getting everything put back in properly. Then, several resumés had come in from people looking to take over the Gym in Cascarrafa.

(As if Kofu had any intention of retiring anytime soon! Even if pretty much everyone in Paldea knew he wasn't leaving the gym, Geeta expected her to get them all filed away anyway. Who knew whether or not Geeta even planned on looking at them, but she wanted Rika to get them all sorted and saved anyway.)

At any rate, it was late, and Rika was tired and annoyed. Fortunately, she'd thought ahead and brought a change of clothes just in case she had to stay late. Rika took off her glasses, pulled her hair out of its signature ponytail, and changed into her pajamas in the bathroom. Then, she sighed again and flopped down on the futon in the spare office room.

She still had a few things she needed to get done tomorrow, but they didn't have any challengers the day after that. Rika would be able to relax soon... It was with that thought that Rika finally managed to drift off to sleep.

The next morning, Rika winced as she woke up. She was grateful they even had a place to sleep at the League, but she was so stiff every time she had to crash on the futon. At least she'd gotten up early enough that she could probably grab some breakfast before getting back to work.

Rika got herself mostly dressed before sitting down in front of the mirror. Her hair took so long to comb that she may as well go ahead and start on that... She absently glanced over her reflection as she worked. All right, so she didn't look quite as pretty as usual when she was still that good old just-woke-up pale, but she'd be back to her normal self here soon.

Finally, Rika set down the comb, reached for her hair tie, and got her hair pulled back again. Then, she reached down and started buttoning up her shirt. Rika was almost finished when there was a knock on the door.

"Rika? La Primera told me you'd stayed the night and wanted me to bring you something..."

She paused; ah, it was just Hassel. And Geeta had known Rika was staying late... The Champion had been there the night before; she'd just left before Rika had finished everything up. Of course there was something else...

Rika sighed. It wasn't Hassel's fault; no need to get annoyed at him. She just shrugged and called, "Come on in."

The door opened, and Hassel continued speaking as he entered. "Another applicant for Montenevera; people seem to think Ryme is retiring, now, too... ah."

He rather hastily shut the door, though Rika noticed that Hassel was rather pointedly looking away from her. She glanced back down at herself; she still had a few buttons open on her shirt. Shrugging, she quickly finished buttoning herself up, and then Rika gestured over at the cabinet in the corner.

"Just set it over there. I'll get it put away later."

Hassel did so, though he was looking at her rather intently. Rika raised an eyebrow and grinned at him.

"What're you looking at me so hard for? Ready to admit I wasn't joking about calling myself pretty?"

"It's not that; I just..." Hassel took a deep breath. "Rika, have we been...addressing you correctly?"

Rika raised her other eyebrow. "What're you talking about, Hassel?"

He slowly sat down on the other available folding chair. "If you've been binding, I only hope you've been doing so safely. My nephew almost hurt himself doing so incorrectly, you see, and..."

Oh. Rika laughed, and Hassel blinked at her as he trailed off. Rika straightened up once she caught her breath. She was wearing a sports bra a size or two too small, and Hassel had clearly noticed that while she'd finished dressing herself.

"Oh, no, I just like keeping 'em out of the way, you know? But don't worry; I do know what I'm doing. I don't do it overnight or anything; I let myself breathe sometimes."

Hassel's brow furrowed. "Are you quite certain? I do know how it feels to not have enough support, you know. My parents were...upset that I had no intention of 'providing an heir,' so to speak. Even after I left home, they still didn't entirely realize that was one of several reasons why I did. Why, one time they sent an envoy to take me home, she found me out on a date with Brassie." He chuckled before adding, "You can imagine the scene that caused, when she demanded to know whether or not I cared that my poor mother would never have any grandchildren, even though both of my younger brothers already have children of their own."

Rika had let him finish speaking this time, at first curious to see where Hassel was going with this. It sank in as he spoke. While Hassel didn't exactly make a big deal over his orientation, everyone in the League still knew he and Brassius were together, and now he'd pretty much confessed to being gay (rather than bi or pan). And considering he'd hinted at having a trans nephew earlier... Well, Rika had a pretty good idea of what he was getting at with her.

"Nah, I'm bein' serious." Rika shrugged again. "Guess it might help if I explain a bit more, though... See, when I was a kid, I was pretty tall for my age, see? Had a bunch of growth spurts early. But some of the other kids liked to tease me 'cause I was growing up before I started growing out. Said I was 'too skinny' and 'not pretty enough' and all that. Lots of 'em said I might as well be a boy."

She laughed again before continuing. "Well, I decided I was gonna turn that around and start hittin' back without literally hittin' back. You should've seen the looks on their faces when I started saying I was just too pretty for them to get it, and it wasn't my fault they were jealous. It was great! And even when I started filling out a bit, I still never really got too big, but you know what? I kinda like how I look like this better, anyway. The ol' dashing business lady look suits me. I know how to rock what I've got, and I'm gonna rock what I've got. I'm comfortable with how I look, and that's all I care about."

Hassel stared at her for several long seconds before abruptly breaking into sobs. Rika patted him on the arm as he covered his face with one hand.

"I'b...I'b so broud ov you, Rika..."

"Ain't nothing to be proud of." Rika snorted in amusement. "It's not like I'm doing anything too bold. Just bein' myself, is all."

Hassel wiped his eyes and managed to crack a smile. "Oh, no, you have no idea how long it took me to come to terms with myself. Even if you have no need to come out, being comfortable with yourself is no small feat."

"I suppose." Rika grinned in return. "I still don't think I'm doing anything too special, but...maybe now you could at least take me seriously when I call myself pretty."

"I think I can do that," Hassel replied wryly. "But since we're speaking of taking care of yourself... Have you eaten yet? No work on an empty stomach, and all that."

"I guess I can let you go Teacher Mode on me this time." Rika stood up and stretched. "I was just about to go grab myself some coffee. Come with me?"

"But of course."

As they headed out into the lobby, Rika decided the conversation hadn't been too awkward... She knew Hassel was just trying to look out for her. He was a good guy, and Rika appreciated the gesture. It was also kind of nice to know that he was comfortable enough to divulge some of his family history to her in an attempt to make her feel relaxed, too.

So, as Rika sipped at her coffee, she decided that maybe staying late last night had led to one good thing, after all.