Chapter Text
The two Subway Master's waited patiently for their next opponent inside of the final subway train cart, having wiped the floor with their previous one. Despite his unwavering patience, Emmet's eyes often wandered.
Emmet's eyes flickered over to Ingo's newly fixed coat; Despite its improved state via Elesa's help, Emmet couldn't help but notice that Ingo didn't wash it. His face scrunched up. That was unprofessional.
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Ingo raised an eyebrow when he caught Emmet taking his coat off of their coat hanger shortly after the arrived back home from the Subway station.
“Emmet. What are you doing?”
Emmet jolted and yelped, gripping the coat tightly, not expecting Ingo to find him in the midst of the act of stealing his coat. He narrowed and averted his eyes, before puffing out his chest,
“I am washing your coat. It is filthy.”
Emmet said bluntly with conviction. Ingo shook his head, approaching Emmet and gently trying to take the coat from Emmet's hands with a small tug, expecting Emmet to surrender it to him. It belonged to him, afterall.
“That won't be necessary, Emmet.”
Ingo argued calmly. Emmet, however, held onto the coat with stubborn resolve, not budging when Ingo tugged on it harder for a second time,
“Of course it is. It is part of the safety checks.”
Ingo usual frown deepened, and he huffed before rolling his eyes, finally letting go of his coat and surrendering it to Emmet.
“Fine.”
Emmet's smile widened, and his eyes sparkled with pride. He knew for a fact that Ingo would thank him later for this. He hummed happily as he threw the coat in the washer, his happy expression contorting into disgust as he watched all of the filth come off of Ingo’s coat and contaminate the water. Oh well.
Later, when Ingo and Emmet were preparing for bed, Emmet perked up as he heard the sound of the dryer coming to a halt. He jumped up and off of his bed, nearly running out of the room that he and Ingo shared. Ingo raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side, wondering what Emmet could possibly be so excited about, only to become even more bewildered when Emmet returned a moment later, carrying Ingo’s coat.
Without a word, Emmet held it out towards Ingo for his twin to take, which Ingo did, hesitantly.
Emmet smiled proudly, “Looks and smells better, right?” He asked as he motioned for Ingo to examine his newly washed coat.
Ingo followed his twins gaze and did just that. Emmet had a point. The coat almost looked brighter with all the filth having been washed away, and it definitely smelled nicer. Ingo’s frown twitched into a smile for a moment, before he slid out of bed and left the room silently. Emmet followed curiously, watching as Ingo hung the coat up on the coat hanger, next to Emmet’s outfit.
“I suppose they do match better, now that both are brighter.”
Emmet nodded in agreement.
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Emmet couldn't help but notice that Ingo appeared a bit more excited than usual as they both got ready for work the next morning, rushing to try on his refreshed outfit. He nearly bounced in place with excitement once he had put it on. Emmet chuckled with amusement. Helping Ingo readjust to the modern world certainly could be a pain in his side at times, but it could also be quite fun, and was always verrry rewarding.
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The longer Emmet stared at Ingo's unkempt coat whilst waiting for their next Pokémon battle, the more he noticed Ingo's horrible posture. The way he always slouched. He narrowed his eyes. Not only was that also unprofessional, there's no way that was healthy.
Ingo's eyes widened and he stiffened as he felt his brother gently place his hand on Ingo's back where it curled the most,
“Fix your posture, brother.”
Emmet said insistently as he softly pushed on Ingo's back, trying to force him to stand up straight. Unsurprisingly, that didn't work. Ingo remained hunched over no matter how hard Emmet tried to fix his posture for him.
After a while of entertaining Emmet's fruitless struggling, Ingo slowly removed Emmet’s hand from his back, cocking his head to the side in confusion and certainly unamusement at Emmet's bothersome antics.
“What’s wrong with my posture?”
Ingo questioned his brother, sounding quite genuine with the confusion his voice. Emmet's expression contorted into that of concern, as if Ingo had just said the dumbest thing straight to his face. Well, he kind of did.
Emmet motioned towards him as he spoke, “You are slouching. That is not healthy, nor is it how a Subway Boss should present themselves. Straighten your back.” Emmet nearly demanded.
Ingo, sensing his brothers serious tone, sighed before begrudgingly straightening his posture, Emmet’s face lighting up as he did so.
Emmet clapped with approval, “Verrry good! Now, you must do that all of the time.” Emmet said bluntly.
Ingo felt his chest tighten with anxiety. “All of the time?” He repeated back to his brother. Emmet nodded in confirmation. Ingo huffed, already feeling his back starting to hurt from the strain that he was putting on it by forcing it to remain straight for an extended period of time. His expression echoed this sentiment.
Seemingly noticing this, Emmet's expression softened, and he chuckled awkwardly, “Okay, maybe not all of the time. We can work our way up. Gradually.” He said softly,
Ingo let out a sigh of relief, immediately stopping any attempts at fixing his posture and returning to his resting position; slouching.
Emmet squinted at his twin, before playfully hitting his back,
“I did not say you could stop now.”
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For a while after his initial return from Hisui to Unova, Ingo had a bit of difficulty readjusting to modern life. However, his past memories of this way of life made it easier to catch up than other fallers.
Although Emmet had to offer his assistance occasionally, Ingo made big strides in little time regardless.
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