Chapter Text
Iwa is currently one of the proud owners of a daycare? He helps his parents run the place as he knows it would eventually be left for him to take charge of when they retired
- Since he practically grew up with Pokémon, Iwa is actually really good at taking care of them. His mother taught him how to properly treat their injuries, understand their needs and what was the best way to look after them.
- He has also learned how to properly make different sort of kibble for different Pokémon. According to his mother, each Pokémon has an acquired taste and it was important to understand what they liked or what was good for them for them to grow up healthy and strong.
- Hajime looks up a great deal to his parents. He aspired to have his mother's gentleness and his father's unwavering patience. He promised the both of them when he grew old enough, he’d do his best to run the daycare as well as they did.
- He loves Pokémon okay? Since he was a kid, he would always volunteer to help out wherever he could. Feeding the Pokémon or playing with them were always his favourites.
Tooru has been friends with Haji ever since they were little kids. Tooru lives nearby so be often came over to play with the Pokémon in the daycare or help out Hajime's parents too.
- Just for fun, Tooru’s mum asked Tooru what he wanted to do when he grew up, he very proudly said “Marry Iwa-chan”. Let’s just say she couldn’t stop laughing for ten minutes and Tooru was very confused.
- When she composed herself, she playfully ruffled his hair and told him “That’s great Sweetheart.”
Tooru's first Pokémon was a Piplup. It was a present from his older sister for his tenth birthday. Hajime always laughs when he sees them together cause his Piplup was literally a carbon copy of him in Pokémon form and it was amazingly funny to him.
Haji's first Pokémon on the other hand was an orphan Larvitar he found in the forest while playing with Arcanine, their family Pokémon. The two of them brought Larvitar home and Hajime made for it his very own Pokécubes with the help of his Mother.
Larvitar was a little shy at first and very timid, but eventually, he realised that Hajime meant no harm, always gentle and patient, something. Larvitar warmed up, and eventually they grew inseparable.
- When Haji tells Tooru that he finally had his own Pokémon too, the brunette is more than happy for his friend!! Turns out, Tooru had been waiting for him to get a Pokémon so they could go explore the caves and forest together.
- Haji loves his new friend and they do everything together with Tooru and Piplup.
- Though Larvitar and Piplup didn’t get along really well at first, they slowly learned to accept each other’s difference and make friends, sharing a friendly rivalry.
Tooru has a bad habit of boasting about how strong his Piplup is, and though one would expect Hajime to get angry or upset about his best friend acting so proud, he actually likes listening to Tooru rambling on about his Pokémon.
- He admires Tooru's confidence, something he didn't really have yet.
- He was only ever confident around Tooru or his parents. He was shy around others and believed that there wasn't anything great about him because he knew he didn't want to be a trainer like all the other kids. This changes when he turns older however.
Sometimes their parents would find them cuddled under a tree with Arcanine as their shared pillow. They use this opportunity to snap some photos as they fawn over how cute they were.
- If they’re lucky, sometimes they get to take Arcanine out for a ride around the lake not far from where they lived. They weren’t allowed to do it too often cause the forest was crawling with dangerous Pokémon. Even though they already had Pokémon, their parents felt that they were still vulnerable to attacks so only allowed it when they knew it was safe to do so.
One time, Hajime and Tooru had secretly explored the forest without either of their parents’ permission. They weren’t aware of where they were going and accidentally stumbled upon a beedrills’ nest.
- Tooru was freaking the fuck out but thankfully Hajime kept calm and managed to get the two of them back to the daycare safely after helping one of the beedrills’ with its injured wing.
One time they were out in the forest plucking some berries for the Pokémon at the daycare. Tooru stumbled upon some pretty flowers so he decided to make a flower crown for Hajime. When he was done, he gladly gave it to Hajime. Hajime wears it happily of course.
When they went to explore the cave, Iwa somehow managed to trip over a rock and scrape his knee. Larvitar was panicking and Oikawa had zero clue on how to treat scrapes like that. Hajime brushes it off but Tooru knows deep down, he was actually trying not to cry.
- (Tooru thinks Haji just doesn’t want to show his best friend his “weak” side, and after that, Tooru felt really bad that he couldn't do anything to help Haji.)
- When they go home, Tooru says his goodbye. Before he left, he remembers seeing Hajime clutch his mother’s skirt and crying.
- Ever since that, him and Piplup promised to grow stronger so his best friend wouldn’t get hurt next time.
- (He was ten, don’t mock this pure child.)
Oikawa realises he wants to challenge the elite four and become champion. The first person he told was Hajime and in the beginning, the raven was against it because that meant they won’t see each other as much.
Tooru didn’t think of that, but that didn’t make him reconsider his decision.
They had a big argument after that and Hajime just ran home upset and angry. Tooru knows for a fact that that was the second time he made Iwa cry.
He knows. They were best friends after all.
When Hajime reached home Larvitar moved in to comfort him. All Hajime said was “Bakakawa.”
While he tries his best not to cry because to him, big boys didn’t cry. His mother saw him sitting in the front porch looking the most upset she has ever seen him.
She moves in and holds him close, telling him gently, “It’s okay for big boys to cry too Hajime.” And that’s the moment when Hajime didn’t try to hold back his tears anymore.
Tooru goes home upset over the fact his best friend didn’t understand and wasn’t supportive of his goals and dreams. When he reached his house, he was greeted by his mother who looked rather concerned about why he was so worked up.
She asked him what was wrong and he said something like, “Iwa-chan is upset with me because I told him I wanted to leave town and become the champion!”
His mother is a little confused so she asks, “Really?”
As Tooru goes on about how Iwa-chan was being unreasonable, his mother decided to tell Tooru as directly as she could, “He’s just worried you might forget him Tooru, you know Hajime-kun.”
“Imagine if he’s the one telling you all of a sudden he's leaving on a journey where he’ll rarely come back.”
Tooru goes quiet after that because he understood what his mother was driving at. He decides that the next day, he would go apologise to Hajime.
Funny thing, turns out it was Hajime who decided to apologise first. Tooru felt very guilty because he knows it wasn’t Hajime’s fault. The only thing Haji asked for was this, “Even if you become the champion, you better not forget me okay?”
Of course, Tooru promised.
A few weeks after Tooru turned the twelve, he left their little town in Johto on his new adventure.
- Their parents got them Pokégears so they could still talk to each other. And they did.
- For the first few months, Tooru would come and surprise Hajime and his family with small souvenirs and stories of his battles with trainers.
- And Hajime was envious to a certain extent, but not so much for the adventure, he was instead upset that he couldn’t spend time like they used to anymore.
- It was obvious they grew a little distant, they couldn’t really even look each other in the eye and stuff anymore.
Before Tooru left his last trip back home, he gave Hajime a HeartScale with their names written on it. The last thing he told Hajime was “Promise me you’ll wait for me okay Iwa-chan?”
Hajime didn’t really understand at that time, but nevertheless, he promised.
Truth is, Tooru hid the fact that he planned on travelling to Sinnoh and Unova first.
- He heard about the legends and mysteries going around there and he was honestly more than intrigued. Another reason was for the strong Pokémon.
By the end of his first year away from home, Tooru already had four Pokémon.
- Prinplup
- Solosis
- Electrike
- Dratini
As the time from when Tooru initially left for his journey grew from weeks to months, the visits and calls grew less.
And eventually, they just stopped.
Hajime had kinda of expected it. His best friend was probably living his dreams, it wasn’t fair if he got in the way of that. At times like these he remembers the promise, and rather than comforting him. It hurts more.
He didn’t try calling Tooru or go looking for him, he kinda tried to convince himself the brunette had forgotten about him, even if he never could do the same.
Month morphed into years, and eventually Hajime was 17.
(Yes, they lost contact for 5 years).
Business at the daycare was good, and he too had caught some Pokémon of his own.
- He had somehow managed to hatch a Shiny Eevee out of an abandoned egg, which later evolved into Umbreon.
- He got a Shinx which he trained to evolve into a larger than normal Luxray.
- His Larvitar had evolved into a Tyranitar by then. A Trapinch he caught had also evolved into a Vibrava.
- Children love Hajime's Tyranitar, and trust me, Tyranitar is the definition of a gentle giant. He lets kids climb all over him when he occupies himself with some kibble. He naps in this big-ass shelter Hajime built for Pokémon to come and go.
- He’s in charge of helping inform Hajime of the injured Pokémon that wander in. Tyranitar has grown a lot too, he’s the strongest out of all Hajime’s Pokémon so he makes sure he does his part and be the big brother to all the Pokémon that comes to the daycare.
- Umbreon is probably not the most sociable Pokémon and is probably busy cuddling up with Luxray under a tree or something. She’s almost grumpy every time as long as there is daylight but she is a total sweetheart at night.
- Luxray likes grooming her, those two are really close. Luxray is more protective of her than the rest. They just like each other a lot. Umbreon would groom Luxray too, but only his face. It’s very cute.
- Luxray and Umbreon purr a lot when they are petted or stroked. Luxray has this very low growl to tell Haji he’s hungry and Umbreon is relatively quiet most of the time. The thing about Luxray was that his bark was bigger than his bite, Umbreon has zero bark, but a painful bite.
- Trapinch is a decent sized Vibrava by then, and she likes sleeping on the roof. When she gets frightened, she may accidentally whip up a sandstorm by accident, Hajime has to be the one calming her down.
- Vibrava likes peanuts. Hajime gives them to her as a treat for not accidentally whipping up a sandstorm so she tries her very best not to. (She’s trying her best!!)
- Hajime also caught and raised a Venipede all by himself, the poor thing wandered into his backyard all battered up and Hajime took it upon himself to take care of her. She’s a strong as fuck Scolipede now, and she will kick ass if necessary.
- He knew she was abandoned because they didn’t really find Venipedes in this region.
- (This girl likes to fight, Iwa has to bribe her not to with her favourite Pomeg berries. She fucking likes ramming into things.)
- Scolipede oddly does not like being surrounded by other bug type Pokémon, she’ll curl up into a ball and Hajime has to coax her out of it. He thinks maybe it was because she was bullied by other bug type Pokémon in the wild, she was quite small, so she was an easy target.
- Scolipede loves Hajime so much it’s not even funny. Sometimes she’ll get extremely upset if she can’t sense Hajime within five feet of where she was. Her closest friend besides Hajime and his other Pokémon was this little Riolu that was dropped off at the daycare often.
Also, the oh so wonderful puberty. While his Pokémon grew, he grew too. His voice got lower and his muscles started to show a little more. Hajime is really popular in his town, like, people fawn over him cause he’s so dreamy (cause same though), not just girls, but guys too.
- It’s like he’s goddamn attractive, he can cook, battle, take care of Pokémon, is probably the sweetest person to ever exist, and overall a complete man and lady killer. (I mean have you seen those biceps?)
- He’s been asked out a lot of times by different suitors, but he always kindly rejects them.
- His mother likes teasing him that he already has someone in mind, he just lets her be really cause he couldn’t really care less, besides, it wasn’t exactly something he could deny.
He had a crush on his best friend who he hadn't seen in 5 years. That wasn't something he could change so easily, no more matter how hard he tried to.
- (Hajime only found out he had a crush on Tooru after the brunette set out on his journey. You can just imagine how fucking lovesick this boy was I’ll say.)
- The daycare was famous for its handsome owner and well, superb caring of Pokémon. Hajime enjoyed what he did, and sure, battling was fun, but he knew his heart had always lied with taking care of Pokémon.
Riolu was owned by a boy slightly younger than him who had to go work to help support his grandmother, no one could take care of him besides the people at the daycare because he was too busy to let him out of his Pokéball. His name is Kentarou, Haji calls him Kenta.
- Scolipede would curl around Riolu so he wouldn’t grow cold and they were the very best of friends. Hajime knows Kenta’s situation so he doesn’t charge him anything. He even lets him play or help out at the daycare sometimes, and let’s just say Kenta looks up to Hajime.
- He teaches Kenta how to take care of the Pokémon, how to feed them and how things worked around the place. After awhile, he noticed Kenta did have a flair for doing this and convinced him to come work here instead.
- He did eventually and he became one of Hajime’s good friends.
- (This way he could spend more time with his Riolu too.)
- Hajime likes to tease the younger about how much he enjoyed doing daycare work. He would ruffle his hair playfully or pat him on the back.
Everything was actually going pretty well, and though he had never forgotten his best friend, he had learned to put it behind him and focus on the daycare business.
Life was okay until Arcanine fell ill.
They got some Doctors to check it out and apparently it was old age. There wasn’t really anything Hajime or his parents could do but to give him the best possible life before he left. They indulged him in his favourite aspear berries and kibble, letting him sleep in the house.
Hajime spent every last few nights Arcanine had right by his side. He gave him massages and brushed his fur as much as he could because he knows that if Arcanine left he wouldn’t be able to do that anymore.
All of his Pokémon could tell that he was really troubled by this and they were too, it was sad having to see their trainer who was seemingly so strong, just as emotional as any other person.
Hajime would always whisper quiet words of reassurances like “It’s okay.”, “You’re doing great bud”, “It’ll be okay.” And so on.
Arcanine was soothed by Hajime’s presence and would often try his best to snuggle himself closer to Hajime.
He could tell Iwa was sad and he would often whimper or lick Hajime in attempt to comfort him.
Arcanine passed away in his sleep, Hajime was so broken about it.
For a few weeks, his parents offered to run the daycare to let Hajime clear his head a little.
He knew Arcanine since he was an infant, they were really close, so when Arcanine left, Hajime cried again for the first time in a long, long while. Even the company of his own Pokémon didn’t seem to cheer him up.
Kentarou was upset that Hajime was upset too, he knew how much Arcanine meant to his friend. Luxray, Vibrava, Scolipede, Umbreon and Tyranitar tried pulling off their silly antics that usually make Hajime laugh or at the very least smile.
Now, all he could muster was a faint curve of the lip that didn’t even seem genuine. All of them were sad they couldn’t do anything to help their trainer.
Seeing Tooru on television as one of the top trainers in the region kinda made things worse. It struck him that maybe he did forget about him, maybe he did forget about their promise 7 years ago.
His parents noticed how hurt he was by this, and they couldn’t help but hurt for him too. Because of how much he was bothered by it, he had a lost of appetite and stopped seeing his health as a priority. He fell sick shortly after, passing out while tending to the Pokémon.
His Pokémon were terrified, Umbreon was the only small enough to fit into the house to ask for Hajime’s parents. When Tooru heard of the news, he decided to go back after 5 years, the only thing he could think about was Hajime leaving before he could tell him he liked him [Or Loved, he wasn't too sure himself.]
Of course Empoleon headbutted him and in his language, asked him to “Shut the fuck up”.
Haji wasn’t dying, he had simply over-exhausted himself?
(Both their parents might have over-exaggerated a bit because they wanted to see their kids reunited and for Tooru to come back. They said that he better bring his puny ass back home or it might be too late.)
He reached home in the late evening, and immediately rushed over to the Iwaizumis’. Along the way he bumped into Tyranitar who looked pissed as fuck. Hajime was asleep and both his parents and Haji’s parents were already there in the living room.
Of course he’s frantic and asks if Hajime was alright and that he wanted to see him, but Iwa’s mother kindly asked him to calm down. When he was told Iwa was alright and had merely exhausted himself, he was more than relieved.
Though that didn’t spare him from a two hour lecture by his mum on how he had hurt all of them by just vanishing. She said the hurt Iwa felt was the worst because though he still kept in contact with his parents, he had never once called Hajime himself.
“You can see the sadness in the eyes when someone brings you up Tooru.” Is what his mother said. He apologized to both his own parents and Hajime’s parents. While Haji’s parents assured him it was alright, Tooru's mum was clearly disappointed.
“You’re so caught up in your dreams you forget those important to you.” Tooru couldn’t retaliate because his mother was right. Meanwhile, Iwa was asleep in his room with Umbreon all curled up by his feet.
She’s the sweetest thing and just like all his Pokémon, she is extremely protective over Iwa. Every time Iwa twitches or makes a sound in his sleep, Umbreon would wake up to see if he is okay. When she is sure her trainer is perfectly fine, she’d doze off again.
Hajime wakes up from the ruckus and goes downstairs to see what the commotion is about. When he sees Oikawa, the brunette expected Hajime to lash out at him, but the raven didn’t
Rather, he hugged the fuck outta him. Tooru felt really, really guilty, and he decided he was going to stay in town for a little while.
They make use of the time they have together by doing things they did as a child, exploring, battling, watching the stars on the hill with their Pokémon etc.
Hajime embraced the nostalgia, savouring every moment they shared together.
Empoleon was more than happy to see Hajime, the now fully grown water-boy was seen allowing Hajime to pet his head.
All of Tooru’s Pokémon seemed to fall in love with Hajime immediately and tried their best to get as much attention as they could from him.
There were many awkward situations. Tooru nearly fucking combusted at the realisation of how much Hajime had changed, he found himself secretly staring at him every now and then, and for fuck’s sake, the desire to just run his fucking fingers through Hajime’s floofy hair.
He was so goddamn beautiful, the distance and time between them really emphasised that.
Hajime’s Pokémon weren’t pleased at all that this brunette who hurt their trainer was staring at him all the goddamn the time. Luxray may have sent a very subtle shockwaves directed towards Tooru several times when he and the rest caught him staring for too long.
It was very amusing to them to see him get lightly thunder-shocked.
He hadn’t realised how much the both of them had grew until Hajime’s mum showed him their photos as a kid. “He’s such a sweet boy. Always putting others before himself.”
Tooru is quiet as Hajime’s mum makes occasional comments about the two of them. “I’ve never seen him this happy in a long, long time.” The only thing Tooru could bring himself to say was “I’m sorry Auntie.” Of course Iwaizumi-san is like, “Silly child.”
She pats his head and assures him all he had to do was to promise not to vanish like that again.
Surprisingly, their Pokémon get along really well. Tyranitar and Empoleon are still best buds, Umbreon is tolerant of Sylveon and Manectric. Scolipede is in love with Reuniclus, and Luxray is just chill with anything to be very honest.
Tooru got to see Hajime in action plenty of times in the past, but there was just something different that made the brunette so much more intrigued. Especially when he was brushing Luxray’s fur, Hajime asked if he wanted to try and he was nervous as hell.
He did manage to do it, but Hajime wouldn’t stop laughing. “You’ve lost your touch huh?” And Tooru is just like, “Oh, don’t mock me.”
But the truth was he missed it, all that, just being with his best friend, laughing over silly things like this.
He missed Hajime so much but he knew he didn't deserve to tell him that when it was he who left.
Luxray is a little grumpy that this man is brushing his fur, but since he made Haji laugh, he tries to tolerate it just this once.
Oikawa’s sister would not stop chasing him about confessing to Hajime ever since he got back. She would say things that would get Tooru very embarrassed.
He decided okay and that he would do it on one the night before he left again.
With the help of Empoleon’s constant headbutting, he finally decided to confess. (He had intended to actually, he was just nervous.)
Tooru finally fucking confessed on the hill under the stars. He gave Hajime a necklace with a single crystal, also, a cheesy forehead kiss.
Iwa didn’t say anything but his face said enough. Tooru and all their Pokémon swear they have never seen Hajime this embarrassed and red.
(Tooru tells him he got the crystal from a cave in Unova.)
There was slightly awkward hand-holding on the way back, but the two of them were too nervous to say anything really. Also, Tooru was really tense because Hajime’s Pokémon just didn’t seem to want to let things go.
They head back to Hajime’s place and well, made the most out of their last night together. From soft kissings to cuddling together on the bed, they were more than happy to be surrounded in each other’s warmth.
Tooru would very lovingly run his fingers through Hajime’s hair and kiss his cheek now and then. He gave Hajime a nice back massage too and in return, Hajime gave him a quick kiss on the lip.
Let’s just say Hajime’s Pokémon weren’t pleased about Tooru hogging the raven all to himself.
As the both of them grew more exhausted by the second, Hajime very quietly asks, “… When are you leaving again?”
The brunette very reluctantly replies, “… Tomorrow.”
Hajime lets out a quiet “Oh.”
Tooru would love to stay here with Haji too, but his goal was so close he couldn’t stop now, he promised that once he achieved his goal, he’ll come back home to Hajime.
He pulls Hajime close and they eventually fall asleep with Hajime pressed against Tooru’s chest.
The next day, Hajime wakes up to an empty bed, this time though, he isn’t as upset as last time. Instead, looking forward to the next time they see each other? He finds a letter Tooru wrote for him about his promises and how he was sorry for leaving without saying goodbye.
He told Hajime he knew how hard it’d be for the both of them if Haji had woken up. Hajime smiles at the little note at the end that wrote “I love you.”
He wouldn’t stop gushing like an idiot and his Pokémon were mildly terrified as to what their trainer had become.
He was in an unusually good mood and even his parents found it disturbing. But he was happy, so they were happy too.
“Soon.” He tells himself.
Just a little while more before Tooru could come back for sure.
Hajime wears the necklace 24/7, only taking it out when he bathes, does dangerous chores etc :D