XXIV

Heart Swap

Shiri flitted around the kitchen, transitioning from chopping vegetables, toasting bread, frying rice, and beating eggs. Both of the stove's burners were working quickly, the kettle was reaching a boiling point, and Shiri was already sweating.

She had woken up to Ashton's voicemail not an hour ago. She'd called him immediately, surprised that he'd answered, as she figured he'd be asleep after a late night. But answer he did.

"Simon," was all she said in place of a greeting when Ashton answered.

He laughed, that loud, high sound he often made when he was sleep-deprived. "Ooh girl, he's actually here!"

"What? Seriously? That–that was fast."

"He said he was on his way back to Viridian City since we live here. He was gonna find us one way or another."

"Can I talk to him?" Shiri's words came out hesitant.

"He's in the shower, shouldn't be a few minutes."

"No–no, it's okay. Just come over when he's dressed."

"Now? Your mom okay with that?"

"Probably not," Shiri admitted, "but I'll make breakfast."

After that call, Shiri had hopped in the shower, washed her hair, dressed in the first clean clothes she could find, and began working on breakfast, pouring all of her anxious energy into the feast. She was definitely cooking too much, wasn't she? But Ashton ate a lot, and Simon was a big guy, plus there were herself and her mother–

The doorbell chimed, and Shiri dropped her knife. She jumped back so the blade wouldn't land on her bare foot, and it clattered against the tile. Elise peeked her head into the kitchen. "I'll get that."

"No, uh, I'll go," Shiri said, picking up the knife and tossing it in the sink. "Just, um, watch this for me for a second–please," she called to Elise as she rushed to the front door. She heard her mother's sigh behind her and could see the way she shook her head in her mind.

Shiri paused in front of the door, two inches of wood separating her from him. She took in a deep breath to collect herself and with deliberately slow movements, opened the door.

Ashton swept in first, calling a "good morning" through a yawn, and Shiri let him brush past her, her eyes on Simon. He gazed back at her, his eyes clear for the first time in their acquaintance. The dark circles which seemed permanently under his eyes were lightened, his face was freshly shaved, his hair combed and tamed into a tail. He looked good. Revitalized.

"Your hair," he said, his eyebrows perked up. This was the first time he'd seen her natural hair. "It's gorgeous."

Warmth flooded Shiri's face. "Thanks," she said, and she stepped back, holding the door open. "Come in."

He walked in, then bent to take his boots off. Shiri closed the door, watching him. Simon, in her own home. She wondered if she was still asleep and dreaming.

She led the way back into the kitchen, where Elise had laid out toast as well set the breakfast table just off the kitchen. Ashton was already chatting her ear off, and his boundless energy had erased any irritation Elise may have been feeling.

Shiri called to Elise to get her attention, and her heart raced as she introduced her mother to Simon. Simon shook Elise's hand firmly, every one of his Galarian manners on display. Elise, in return, leveled him with her gaze. "I've heard quite a bit about you," she said.

"Hopefully nothing too shocking," Simon said with humor. Elise released him with one of her smiles that Shiri knew meant Elise had further questions for him but was willing to wait to ask them. It worried her.

"Breakfast is nearly done," Shiri said, returning to her station at the stove. She dropped the vegetables into the pan to start sauteing, and as she did so, she called to Ashton, "Hey, Boltund and Houndoom are outside. Could you bring them in?"

"You got it," Ashton said, crossing the space to open the back door.

The two dog pokémon ran in, tails wagging, but when Houndoom saw her trainer, she nearly tackled him to the ground. Simon, in turn, dropped to his knees and hugged her. "Dear girl, I missed you so much," he said into her fur, his voice sparkling with real joy as Houndoom's long tail whipped around him.

Shiri watched this reunion, feeling the sting of tears behind her eyes and warmth in her chest. She turned to the cooking food, wiping at her eyes. At least she could blame the onions if anyone saw her.

Simon got back up, his face bright, then turned his attention to Boltund, who was sniffing at him curiously. "Well, he looks–honestly, he looks the same to me," he said to Ashton.

Ashton chuckled. "Same to me, too, but Shiri says he doesn't have the black aura anymore. And I guess I'd say he's even more energetic, if you can believe it. Always wandering around."

"You've seen quite a few of these black aura pokémon," Elise said, glancing between them. "Shiri told me quite a bit of your adventures so far."

"Yeah, a whole lot of 'em," Ashton said, nodding to Shiri. "And you've got another one, ain't that right, Simon?"

Simon stammered, the humor draining from his face. "Yeah, a sylveon," he said quietly.

"Ah, yes," Elise said, "the pokémon you stole, correct?"

The question hit like a gut punch, and silence descended on everyone. Shiri quickly plated the meal–omelets over fried rice–and set them on the table. Elise had Simon pinned with her gaze, unmoving. She was waiting for his response.

"Yes, I stole it," he said at last. Ashton let out a low, impressed whistle, which Shiri glared at him for. "Of course you've seen the news," Simon continued awkwardly. "Perhaps–would you prefer if I left?"

Elise shook her head and pulled out a chair at the table. "Shiri's put a lot of faith in you, and I trust her judgment in almost everything. Why don't you explain this theft while we eat, and then I'll decide if I want to kick you out."

"Yes, right," Simon said. "Thank you."

They sat, the coffee pot was passed around, and Simon took a bite of the breakfast Shiri had made. It was an odd dish, resembling omurice, but not quite. It was more an amalgamation of Kantoan and Unovan cuisine and flavors, which reflected Shiri herself. Despite this, the flavors worked, and Simon, who could not recall the last time he had a home-cooked meal, felt like he was being anchored.

"This is amazing, Shiri," he said to her.

She smiled, her brown skin glowing beautifully in the early morning sunlight filtering in through the windows. "Thanks. It's one of four things I can make," she said with a laugh.

Simon wanted nothing more than to try those other three things, but he balked at saying this to her. Ever since they reunited, Simon sensed some hesitancy from her, some distance. He knew he should have expected this after their last meeting, but it still stung.

"Enough flirting, you owe us a story," Ashton said, to which Shiri responded with a light shove to Ashton's shoulder. Simon met Elise's expectant gaze and nodded.

"Right," he said after another bite, "about sylveon." He began with his meeting with Vance Kaliber in Saffron City, receiving his new "job" as a trainer for Verity, who he clarified was the young man in the news footage. "It was an odd request," Simon commented, taking a sip of coffee, "as there is an intake process for catchers. I suppose Kaliber simply wanted his son to skip a few steps. Either way, I don't think Verity would have been successful. He's not exactly inclined toward this sort of work."

Ashton snorted, a knowing sound, and said, "Yeah, he sure ain't."

"Do you know him?" Simon asked.

"What? No," Ashton answered. "I mean, I follow him, you know. On the internet. I've never met him in person."

"Wait, you do?" Shiri said. "Were you gonna tell me that?"

"I just started following him," Ashton told her. "Like, last night. I looked him up to see if he could be a lead or something." Shiri gave him an incredulous look, and Simon noticed he was blushing. Ashton poignantly turned to Simon. "Anyway, back to your story."

Simon took another sip of coffee, his mouth starting to feel dry. He recounted Verity showing him Sylveon, Verity's complete disinterest in training pokémon, and then the battle. "By that point, I was at my wits' end, and Verity demanded I battle that trainer. I truly wasn't thinking when I took command of Sylveon." Simon stared down at his plate, a wave of shame coming over him at the memory.

"She listened to you," Elise said after letting the moment breathe.

Simon looked at her. "Yes," he said, having realized this during his escape from Saffron City with his ill-gotten pokémon. "I didn't think of that until later."

"Think of what?" Shiri asked.

"Sylveon was Verity's pokémon," Ashton said to her. "Some pokémon will listen to people other than their trainer if they trust them, but Simon was a stranger. Most pokémon won't listen to a stranger, not in battle like that."

Shiri nodded, looking at Simon now. "Maybe she sensed she could trust you."

"I truly have no clue," Simon responded. What he really wanted to say was that her trust may have been misplaced, considering he had been the one to command her to use that cursed attack.

As if Ashton could see the trail of Simon's thoughts, he asked, "So that attack, Shadow Rush? Can't say I've heard of that one."

"You wouldn't have," Simon said. He set his cutlery down, his appetite withering even though he hadn't finished his meal. "Every developed pokémon has an attack like that, and some have multiple. But using those attacks destabilizes the pokémon quickly. It was decided some time ago to suppress knowledge of the moves. A trainer can't very well command use of a move they have no clue about. They are quite powerful, as you saw."

"Destabilize how?" Shiri asked.

"I don't quite know," Simon admitted. "I haven't read extensively from the old research, not in this area anyway."

"Perhaps that's what's been causing the pokémon to attack trainers?" Ashton suggested.

"It could be, but in every case those pokémon were just given to their trainers," Simon responded. "The magmar had been in that trainer's ownership for mere seconds before he turned on the poor sap. And I cannot believe Courtney had discovered her raichu had Shadow Rush in a single day."

"She probably would have mentioned it," Shiri said, recalling the young trainer.

Simon grimaced. They clearly needed more information. And he had an idea of where to get it.

"I regret having done that," Simon admitted, gazing down again. "I should have been mindful of everyone on the street that day. People are always filming. No one's meant to know that attack exists, and now it's being played on national news." He shook his head, swallowing a knot of emotion that lodged in his throat. "Who knows how many people are going to try looking into it for their own pokémon now?"

"Hey, maybe not," Ashton offered. "I mean, who's gonna use an attack they ain't never heard of?"

"You've never tried to use powerful attacks you discovered from other trainers, Sir Sixteen Badges?" Simon asked him.

Ashton deflated. "No, that's exactly what I did," he said, sighing.

"Well, Verity was quite excited about the move," Simon said. "He kept asking me about it. I was quite afraid he would make Sylveon use that move exclusively, and I couldn't bear the thought. So that's the reason I took her." He could feel Shiri's eyes on him, but he didn't want to look in her face. He met Elise's gaze, still measured and neutral. "I know it sounds like I'm trying to justify my actions, but that's all I could think about after that. I wasn't planning a heist. The moment I had a chance, I took Sylveon's ball and fled Saffron."

Elise glanced to Shiri, and whatever look they shared, Simon couldn't decipher it. "When Shiri was ten, she had a neighborhood friend her age. They played together almost every day. The girl's parents fought often, so she spent a lot of time at our home. One night, the police knocked on my door. The girl's father had reported that his partner had kidnapped the girl, and I was asked to give a statement about everything I knew of the couple. It wasn't a lot, I'd admitted. I knew their phone number and their names, and that was the extent of it.

"A few weeks later, the girl's mother called me. They had escaped to Orre. She explained her partner had been abusive. Said she couldn't bear to have her child grow up in that environment, especially since it seemed like her father's rage may turn on the child as she aged." Elise's brows were furrowed, her eyes dark as these memories passed through her mind. "This woman had taken her child away to protect her. That's not a crime, so matter what the law books say."

Simon was stunned to silence.

Elise let out a breath. "Now, this wasn't as dire a situation as that, but you listened to your instincts. I respect that." She smiled, warm and beautiful, and she reached over and squeezed Simon's hand. "I would have done the same thing."

Simon stammered, then finally managed to say, "Thank you, madam."

"Well," Elise said, glancing to Shiri and Ashton and getting up, "I'll let you three plot your next moves." She gathered her dirty dishes. "And let me know if I can help you. I'm no trainer, but I'll do what I can."

"Thanks, Mom," Shiri said, and Elise affectionately squeezed her shoulder before taking her dishes to the kitchen.

Simon found his appetite again, and the three finished their meal in thoughtful silence. Simon thought over their need for information. Marlena kept hundreds of files in her home, not just from her time with the company, but legacy files as well. He was sure if he had the chance to dig around, he'd find something about Shadow Rush. It would be a total betrayal of his sister, but Simon had drawn his line in the sand.

When they'd finished, and Shiri had begun to gather up the dirty plates, Ashton leaned close to Simon, placing a hand on Simon's shoulder like he was going to share a secret, and asked, "Hey, what did Verity smell like?"

Simon stared at him. "I couldn't tell you."

Shiri paused her actions. "Ashton, did you sleep last night?"

Ashton laughed. "Not a fucking wink," he said, running a hand through his long hair. "Is it obvious?"

Shiri shook her head and murmured something that may have been a prayer, then reached out and grabbed Ashton by the wrist. "Come on," she said to him, dragging him to his feet and down the hallway.

Simon watched them. He felt grateful to witness their easy, friendly intimacy again, even if it made him feel envious. He stood and continued Shiri's work, gathering the plates and taking them to the sink as Elise had done. Shiri returned a few minutes later, saying, "He's like a bird. He'll keep going until you put him in a dark room, then he passes right out. Oh! You didn't need to do that," she said, joining Simon at the sink.

Simon smiled at her comment about Ashton. "Of course I did. You cooked, afterall," he said, glancing to the cooled pans still on the stove.

"I don't usually put my guests to work," Shiri said, turning the sink on so the water could turn hot and steamy, "but I also won't fight you. Usually I make Ashton clean."

"I guess he's more than a guest," Simon said, rinsing off the plates.

"He is," Shiri said as she carefully loaded the small dishwasher. "He's like my best friend, my brother, and my platonic partner all rolled into one. I don't know where I'd be without him."

"But you two aren't involved romantically?"

Shiri shook her head. "He's gay, and I'm, well, definitely not a man." She scoffed. "Looks like he's developed a crush on that Verity guy."

"I was wondering about that," Simon said as he rinsed out the coffee mugs. "Verity and his father are, ostensibly, our enemy. I hope this won't be an issue."

"I doubt it," Shiri said, gathering up the pans as Simon put the mugs into the dishwasher. She plugged the sink and added soap to the water. "His crushes are like smoke in the wind. It'll probably be over once he wakes up." She placed the pans into the water and closed the dishwasher.

Simon watched her as she looked around the kitchen. Even in the harsher fluorescent lighting of the kitchen, she looked gorgeous, skin dewy and glowing, curls bouncing around her face. "Man, where'd the gloves go?" she asked herself, peering into drawers.

Simon glanced to the sink of hot water. "Allow me," he said, picking up the sponge and reaching in. The water was hot, but nothing he wasn't accustomed to. It reminded him of the scalding shower he'd been craving for the last few days. The showers at Ashton's apartments–shared between the whole floor–didn't get very hot at all, and Simon surmised hot water was a precious commodity in the old building, so he settled for a tepid-bordering-on-cold shower that morning.

"Oh man, that doesn't hurt?" Shiri's concern made Simon smile.

"This is basically chilly compared to the baths in Circhester," he said, allowing a playful boast. "Natural springs heated by underground volcanic veins. Can't get any better than that."

"You sure? Your hands are turning pretty red there," she said as he scrubbed a pan.

"Looks worse than it feels," he said, and this made her smile.

"Hot springs in Circhester, huh? That sounds wonderful."

They continued like that for some time, bantering back and forth about nothing important at all. It refreshed Simon in ways he didn't think possible, as if his soul was being cleansed. When the pans were washed, the counters and stove wiped down, and the table cleaned off, Shiri led Simon into the backyard with Boltund and Houndoom so that they could play with each other. They sat on an outdoor couch which was set under the awning that came off the house, Simon on one end and Shiri on the other. That distance Simon had felt from her came back, and he watched her as she gazed at the pokémon.

Perhaps he had no right to expect that easy affection she showed everyone, but she had shown it to him several times already before that morning. He didn't realize how much he had been looking forward to a hug from her. "Shiri, is everything okay?" he ventured.

She looked at him, her eyes so dark he could see himself reflected in them. She nodded, although it was a bit halfhearted, and she seemed to rethink that answer. "Um, I'm just glad you're back," she said quickly.

Simon considered this, recalling their last meeting in Celadon City. "Did I give you reason to think I wouldn't?"

"No," she said, looking away now. "Of course you didn't." She was quiet a moment, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "I guess I wasn't expecting not to be able to contact you."

Thinking back, Simon had acted quickly after he had stolen Sylveon and boarded that train. He'd downloaded all the files on his phone to the SD card, removed it, and turned his phone off. He'd been certain Marlena would be able to track him through the phone's GPS, so he'd left it behind at the station in Lavender Town.

But he hadn't thought to send a message to Shiri or Ashton. It'd slipped his mind entirely.

"I know I'm being ridiculous," Shiri said, shaking her head. "I mean, you entrusted me with Houndoom. Of course I'd see you again. I don't know why I've been so hung up on this."

Simon turned his body so he faced her entirely and caught her gaze. "You're not being ridiculous. I haven't exactly given you many reasons to think I'm at all trustworthy. And I should have told you what was happening, where I was going."

Shiri seemed to consider this, then shrugged. "You didn't owe me–us anything."

"I owe you everything," Simon said, surprising both her and himself with his words. He pressed on with this line of thought. "I'm not going to pretend like I didn't know what was going on in that company. I could defend it all day long, but somewhere I knew none of it was right. But I was afraid to leave. I've been afraid for a long time. But you showed me that there's something to be done, something I can do. If I hadn't met you, I'd be running through Saffron neighborhoods with Verity day and night right now."

That drew a small chuckle from her. She relaxed a little. "I don't feel like I've done anything inspiring."

"You're just you," Simon said. "You inspire me."

Her eyes widened at this. Whatever distance between them crumbled away. Before Simon could react, Shiri had thrown her arms around him in a hug which felt like home.