Work Text:
She knew it was a bad idea. That the storms in the wild area were unpredictable and fiercer than the rest of the region, that they stirred up the wandering Pokemon to new levels of wild. They were two beginner trainers with not quite broken in tents and a tendency to burn their curries. That setting off fireworks near already unpredictable Pokemon was an awful, awful idea. The word no is poised on her lips before Marnie can even finish pitching the idea.
And then. That pout. That accursed pout. Marnie is a lot cuter than she knows, and it’s clear in the way she’s awkwardly trying to weaponize her pout that Gloria is sure has brought her older brother extreme demise many times before. Its painfully endearing, and she feels the lump in her stomach grow heftier with each passing second. “I mean, we could find a quiet area.” Marnie’s not beaming, no, she’s trained herself out of that childish habit and into the soft smiles of grown women. But her eyes are shining and it’s enough to convince her that maybe she was being overcautious, that this brand of idiocy is what youth was made of.
One angry Dragapult chase later, and she’s not quite so sure anymore.
The first few had gone off with little fanfare. Gloria had almost expected it to be more, honestly. They’d waited until sunset, training separately and meeting up after dinner to browse the boutiques of Hammerlocke. They’d picked each other out outfits, and Gloria is certain the image of Marnie in an oversized sweater and thigh highs are burnt into her brain permanently. It was almost too easy to ignore the signs placed up around the entrance, warning against entering after dark if not prepared for high level encounters. Signs warning them to be extra careful around dens, knowing that the stronger Pokemon there were both able and willing to Dynamax to defend their territory. They’d climbed up onto some rocks around Lake Miloch and they’ve occupied themselves with the smaller firecrackers. It’s nice, honestly, and a lot less reckless and a lot more romantic than she’d expected. Even the Milotic resident in that lake had given them an unimpressed glance before vacating the area, and it’s enough of a good omen to Gloria for her to grow bold.
“It’s just nice, you know? To you, I’m just Marnie.” She’s playing with fire now, both literally and figuratively. Gloria feels the lump in her throat grow, of words she’d really like to say if it wouldn’t break the tenuous ephemeral moment they’ve built. “With my brother and Team Yell, they put me up on this dumb pedestal. I can’t make a mistake, and even if I do, they’re always trying to catch me.”
“It’s sweet but kinda stifling, yeah?”
“I appreciate their support, yeah. And I don’t wanna be ungrateful. ’Sides, I know Piers is doing the best he can. Since it’s always been us two after all. It’s nice to know I still have a family, even if my parents are gone.” Stupid, stupid, stupid. Gloria wanted to insert her foot into her mouth and throw herself into the lake. She’s looking dumber by the moment she cannot properly verbally empathize after this very important fact that Marnie had trusted to share with her. She’s in the process of saying something, goodness knows what, when she senses the attack a second before it hits. The atmosphere chills as Gloria realizes two very important things. One, that they were sitting awfully close to a den, and second of all, that there was - oh shit- a very irritated Dragapult crawling out of that den. Marnie’s frozen in fear and Gloria doesn’t think, just checks they have their Pokeballs and grabs her wrist and starts absolutely booking it to the hills. There’s Dreepy whizzing past their ears and, oh shit she’s going to die and she’s not even going to have her first kiss before she does die. Just on cue, the thunder cracks and they’re getting absolutely soaked. Gloria curses the visibility decrease, because one angry pursuant Dragapult is enough without more Pokemon being thrown into the mix. Marnie’s pulling on her wrist now, pulling them towards a cave, and she blindly follows. The attacks are decreasing in frequency now, and she’s counting her blessings now they’d run before the Pokemon had pulled them down into its den. Gloria is pulled out of her thoughts by Marnie’s small squeak, and, just their luck. There’s a Dreepy stuck in her hair.
“Come on out little guy,” Gloria is shushing the Pokemon, which is all out bawling right now, and Marnie doesn’t look that far behind. She’s turned away and her lip is quivering and as the adrenaline seeps out of her bodies, Gloria needs to fix this, fast. She’s pulling out matches and building a fire quickly, before rummaging her bag for curry ingredients. Across from her, the other two have settled down a bit, with Dreepy looking curiously at the apples and berries Gloria has procured from her bag. Gloria fans the flames and chops up the ingredients with a determined look on her face, and it’s Marnie’s turn to hide a smile behind her hand.
“Let me help,” She says, and the Dreepy floats over cautiously. “Hey little guy,” She addresses him. Marnie holds out one of the berries, and Dreepy gives it a cautious sniff before nibbling down on it carefully. “Do you want to help us make some curry?” The Pokemon trills a bit in response, and the fact it isn’t bolting into the storm to find the Dragapult is enough of an answer. Marnie takes over easily, and Gloria stirs the pot as she watches the other girl add ingredients and seasonings.
“You’re pretty good at cooking.” It’s clear in the practiced movements and adjustments of seasonings she’s doing by scent alone.
“Piers is better. But I still had to eat, even when Spikemuth had a lot more challengers.” There’s a faraway look in her eyes, and Gloria can almost picture it. A younger Marnie on her tip toes at the stovetop, the same little thoughtful frown on her face as she adjusted the spices to her taste. The Dreepy bumps against her hand and Gloria pets it absentmindedly. “It should be done now though. Let’s test it.” It’s delicious, and Gloria tells her as much. Dreepy seems to agree too, taking a few bites before settling atop Gloria’s head in her beanie.
“It’s getting late.” A quick look at her phone reveals it’s far past midnight. “Do you want to camp here for tonight? I don’t want to get too far from that den. As scared as I am of that Dragapult, Dreepy has to get home tomorrow.” Marnie’s nodding along with her suggestion.
“Not looking forward to it either. But you’re right, let’s get some rest.” Marnie’s pulling out her sleeping bag, and Gloria just realizes what she’s suggested. They’ve shared rooms in a Pokemon center, sure, but something about this seems a lot more intimate. Maybe because there’s no overbearing brothers next door ready to bust in to interrupt any kissing… It’s a thought she has to cut herself off of before she makes herself blush. They both turn around to get changed into sweatshirts and sleep clothes, and Gloria has to blush, again, at the thought of them getting changed together without a bathroom door to separate them. Gloria puts out the fire and they both say their goodnights, but Gloria’s heart is still shuddering in her chest. She’s doing her best not to toss and turn, but she can’t get comfortable.
“Hey, you having trouble sleeping too?” Gloria’s hit with a wave of guilt. Her restless sleeping must have kept Marnie up as well.
“Yeah, just too much adrenaline from today I guess.” She rolls over to face the other girl, and hears Marnie shifting around to do the same.
“Sorry for this mess. It was my idea to do the dumb fireworks and then the Dragapult was upset and I just started feeling so lonely and like such an idiot-“ And the tears are coming again, but this time, it’s not just the adrenaline and fear hitting her. It’s the underlying feelings she’d been pushing down bubbling to the surface, and Gloria feels her heart break in her chest. She doesn’t think, just rolls over and envelopes the other girl in a hug, pulling her head to rest on her shoulder and rubbing her back with the other hand.
“Hey,” She tries, but Marnie shakes her head no. “Hey,” She tries again, because she needs to hear this. “You’re not an idiot, I should have checked to make sure we weren’t so close to that den. And the Dreepy is fine and we’re gonna make sure he gets back tomorrow morning. And the most important thing,” Gloria stops, waits for Marnie to huff so she knows that she’s listening, “is that you aren’t alone. I’m not Team Yell. I’m your friend Marnie, and I’m not putting you up on some pedestal or whatever when I say that I may not get it and might be a bit of an idiot but I’m here for you.”
“You’re right,” Marnie says. Gloria is almost shocked by the admittance.
“Wait, what?”
“You are an idiot.” Then Marnie is curling up next to her, and the fight immediately leaves her body. And just to land a killing blow, Marnie whispers, “thank you,” and presses a kiss to her cheek before she buries her flaming face into Gloria’s shoulder.
Needless to say, Gloria sleeps very little that night.
In the light of day, it’s easy to find the Dragapult den. It’s also easy to see how intimidating it is, and how eerily the Dynamax energy glows around it even in the daylight. Dreepy perks up from his spot on Gloria’s hat and zooms over to the den, making the choice before Gloria and Marnie can of how they’re going to awake the sleeping dragon. It trills excitedly, and in a terrifying sense of deja vu they watch red claws skim the edge of the den, before the Dragapult appears. The Dreepy trills a bit, and the Dragapult sizes them up. It’s not the aggressive look it was before, but appraising, and Gloria feels like they’re being tested somehow. They’re clearly having a conversation, and Gloria knows better than to interrupt. She’s kept her Pokemon tucked away because there’s no use to them getting hurt unnecessarily in a fight they can’t win, and clearly Marnie has come to the same conclusion. After a couple comical moments of back and forth (oh god, was this going to be funny when she knew she wasn’t going to get mauled), the Dragapult sniffed at Marnie before floating up to Gloria. She forced herself to look the Pokemon in the eyes as fearlessly as she could manage, before she felt a familiar weight atop her head. The Dragapult huffed a bit, but in a way that sounded close to exasperation, before touching its nose against the Dreepy on top of Gloria’s head and crawling back into the den. The girls stood in shock for a couple of seconds, their eyes daring each other to confirm that had actually happened, before Gloria broke the silence.
“What the fuck?”
That, unfortunately, was one of the many questions Piers has for them after they meet him in a cafe an hour later. Gloria privately fears the day she has to fight the Spikemuth gym. Piers is not happy with either of them and she’s well aware of the fact they were lucky to make it out of there alive, but she’s still getting over the fact her crush slept in her arms last night. She’s distracted by Marnie, and from the side eye Piers gives her, she knows she’s not exactly subtle. Last night had been a shot of adrenaline to her system that she’s loathe to get over, and the morning’s encounter only furthered that jolt of energy. The Dreepy atop her head nuzzles into her beanie, and she’s sure the baby had sensed her spikes in emotion. Piers shoots her another glare, and she absolutely know his righteous big brother energy is going to be taken out on her if she ever challenges his gym.
“Hey, when’s your Spikemuth challenge coming up? You beat Melony yet?”