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The sound of dress shoes slamming against the concrete in a mad dash sent what few pedestrians occupied the sidewalk scattering as a silver haired man stampeded blindly around a street corner. He weaved through the colorful crowd of business men, trainers and Pokémon with an efficiency of only the most experienced of Nimbasa’s residents. He was, after all, used to dodging pedestrians as a Subway Worker.
This particular silver eyed man tried to slow down, walk in a manner that would be appropriate for the place he was going, but his own legs carried him faster. They were listening to his heart, panicked and screaming in fear for his brother. He spotted the building and ran for it. He threw open the door and marched directly up to the counter, practically vibrating in place as the officer at the front desk looked up at him.
“Welcome to the Nimbasa City Police Station,” the officer greeted him, her smile caring as she folded her hands in front of her, “My name is Officer Jenny, how can I help you?”
“I am Emmet,” the man spoke, voice gaining a slight wobble, “I-I got a call that my brother was here? What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t divulge that information,” the officer started, her hands busy as she snatched papers from around her as she spoke, “If you want, you can request to speak to one of our custody officers. Please fill out these forms and we’ll get you back to see your brother.”
She slid a clipboard and pen to him, papers staring up at him with malice. Emmet hated paperwork, bureaucracy was boring and Ingo handled it better. He snatched up the proffered items with desperation and fled. The silver-haired man perched on a chair and began to slog through the sheets of paper, his mind wandering as he filled out the forms before him.
Emmet used to have no reason to worry for his twin, Ingo. The both of them had a decent apartment together, a stable job that they loved as Subway Workers, Pokémon to protect themselves and love wholeheartedly; ultimately, a peaceful, lovely and hectic life. For a while now, however, Emmet had been consumed with worry.
It started a few months ago, when one night after he had crashed on the couch, he had woken up to catch Ingo sneaking out of the house. At first, he simply brushed it off; his twin probably had a craving and went out to a convenient store or something. Occum’s Razor Claw, and all that.
Then, it kept happening and it hadn’t stopped yet. Ingo was still sneaking out of the house, at least three times a month. Verrrrry suspicious. And when he came back, it was in a state of exhaustion with bruises and sores- sometimes he even sported a limp during his returns. And it was terrifying.
Emmet had poured through all the possibilities of what his twin could be getting involved in. He checked their bank statements and nothing looked suspicious, so he ruled out anything illegal. He had also ruled out loan sharpedos as none had shown up to their home or workplace. Had his dear brother been getting into street fights?
No, that didn’t add up either; Emmet was the adrenaline junkie between the two of them. His dear, sweet brother Ingo had always perused softer, calmer hobbies; baking, painting, and reading being some of his current favorites. Now, Emmet would have been the type to go out and pick fights with hooligans like those Team Plasma grunts that had started popping up recently.
So, he had asked his brother what was happening, why he had been coming home so late and in such a state! Ingo had started, his usual sullen expression shifting into shock as he reeled from his twin’s words. Then, he had blushed and averted his eyes, his hands coming up to wring together in thought. His voice was unusually quiet for once as he mumbled, “I… don’t know if I should tell you that. Honestly, it’s rather… inappropriate and embarrassing to talk about, Emmet. Please, just… don’t ask again, okay? I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”
And what was Emmet to do, not head his brother’s request? To go against him when he had practically pleaded for him to not look into it?
Now, though, he wondered if maybe he should have. The wait was killing him, Emmet’s leg bouncing in anxiety. He had already turned in the forms the police requested, leaving him to sit and stew in the moment and the few that led him to this station in the first place. Like that heart-stopping phone call.
Ingo’s voice had been tired, even more than usual as he muttered into the receiver, “ Hey, Emmet… I need you to come pick me up. …I’m at the Nimbasa Police Station. …What? N-no, I’m fine! …I didn’t do anything- Just come get me!!”
Emmet had not hesitated and immediately sprinted out the door.
He huffed in disgust as he looked down at himself, the call having woken him up from a deep slumber. He had scrambled about in his pajamas to put on the first jacket and pair of shoes he could find in his rush. He was still dressed in his eelektross-themed tank top and fluffy joltik pants, Ingo’s black leather jacket and two differently colored dress shoes- one white and one black. Emmet had to stop getting dressed in the dark.
The sound of a door swinging open ensnared him and he looked up to see a gruff-looking man in the Nimbasa Police uniform, gesturing to him with a serious look, “You’re Emmet, correct?”
He threw himself out of his seat and surged forward, nodding vigorously as he proclaimed, “I am Emmet!”
“I’m the custody sergeant here at this station, Sergeant Grimes. If you’ll follow me, I’ll brief you on the way.”
Emmet pulled his jacket around himself, on Grimes’ heels as they moved through the blue and gray halls of the station. Grimes voice was professional in delivery and deep, factually reciting the information on the papers he carried before him, “We got a call roughly three hours ago about a domestic problem in East Nimbasa. The caller was concerned it would escalate and wished for us to check in. When we arrived on scene, we found you’re brother. He was the only injury.”
Emmet felt his heart stop at the officer’s words. Injury… Injury!? Ingo said he was fine!
“I-injury?” Emmet questioned, his face white as a sheet as his trembling worsened. His brother was hurt…? W-Why was he still at the police station if he was hurt!?
“Easy there,” Grimes placated while waving his hands, seeing how badly his words had effect the usually cheerful twin, “he has a pretty bad lump and a small laceration on his head, said he got hit with an empty flower pot. We had one of our on-site paramedics take care of his injuries and is currently watching over him.”
Emmet’s shaking continued, but his emotions were shifting drastically. His fear for Ingo’s health was suddenly eclipse by blinding rage. Who- who the fuck hurt his brother!? He bit his tongue, forcing himself to remain quiet as he once more followed the custody sergeant. Grimes opened a door for him and Emmet froze for a second before he bolted forward.
He was met with the sight of his brother, dressed up in a soft pink sweater, dark jeans, and his usual black leather boots, separated from him by a set of iron bars. His head was lowered, frown etched out of stone, bandages and an ice pack held to his head with sore, red fingers. His brother’s own silver eyes were irritated and red as well, as if he had been crying. Ingo looked absolutely miserable.
Emmet’s hot rage spiked into a cold, deathly fury, but he pushed it down and away as he forced himself to calm down. His voice was soft and tender as he called out to his twin, “Ingo.”
His twin’s head shot up and fresh tears filled his eyes as his gaze locked with Emmet’s. The softer, gentle older brother began to sob as his brash, ardent younger twin gripped the bars between them with a crushing force. With no target to expunge his terrible venom on, he whipped his head to the officer he had been on good terms with and hissed, “Why is my brother in a cell?”
Grimes remained rather calm though his hands did tighten as he stood his ground under Emmet’s malice, his drawl coming out firmly, “Interviews take time, Emmet. We’ve just now found and apprehended the two other witnesses at the scene. Please, have patience while we get everything sorted.” The custody sergeant moved to a desk nearby the holding cells, quickly commandeering one of the seats there and pushing it towards Emmet.
The furious young man nodded begrudgingly, quickly snatching the chair up and moving it so he could sit as close to his brother as possible. Ingo had managed to get his breathing under control though tears still rolled down his face, dripping onto the cold, inhospitable cement floor. Emmet whispered as he leaned against the bars, “How are you doing, Ingo?”
“Been better,” his brother hoarsely replied, his nose crinkling as he looked Emmet over before croaking, “You look worse than usual.”
Emmet groaned as he buried his face in his hands, overly dramatic as he lamented, “Urgh, I know. Don’t remind me! I’m pretty sure over half of Nimbasa saw me like this.” His smile came easier as he heard Ingo’s quiet chuckle at his antics. Mission accomplished.
His twin leaned against the bars, still in that terribly quiet voice that Emmet was beginning to despise, “Thanks for being here, Em.”
He pressed his body as close to his twin as he could, fingers slipping through the bars to brush against Ingo’s. He managed to partial hold his brother’s hand as he whispered back, “No problem, In.”
The two were silent for a long while and slowly but surely the mood within the room began to turn tense, Emmet and Ingo both deep in their own thoughts. Finally, Ingo broke the silence first; depressingly, he whispered to his twin, “Aren’t you gonna ask what happened?”
Emmet rolled it over in his head, brow furrowing as he frowned slightly. Eventually, though he answered, “No. I won’t ask if you don’t want me to.”
A relieved breath left his twin, his hands clenching Emmet’s own back. Ingo’s head fell gently against the bars as he melted against his brother’s side. A quiet ‘thank you’ fell from his lips, their warmth reaching each other even through the iron that separated them.
A commotion grabbed Emmet’s attention and he quickly stood to see what was going on, releasing his brother as he strode toward the activity. A second later, a group of people came through the doors opposite Emmet; an officer restraining a middle aged woman, with Sergeant Grimes following closely behind.
Emmet overheard the woman spit as she tried to rip her hands out of the officer’s grip, hissing at the cop, “-how would you feel!? Coming home to find your boyfriend fucking some whore-“ She stopped, wild blond curls tossing about as she violently whipped around and glared at Emmet. He started at her sudden hostility, before she snarled, “You cum guzzling skank!”
She yanked on the cuffs, still held tightly by the officer as she roared, “How dare you! Fucking my man, in my house! If I ever see you again-!” The silver-eyed man stared in abject horror at the woman, puzzle pieces suddenly slamming together. He quickly looked back to Ingo and blinked at the wrecked look on his face, their eyes locked onto each other.
Emmet’s rage was back in full swing. He whirled back around to see the awful woman being placed into the cell across from Ingo’s, her eyes darting back and forth between the two twins- as if she suddenly realized there were two of them in the room. The younger brother waited until the law left the room, before fixing the woman with a deathly glare and a malicious tint in his smile as he exclaimed giddily, “Sorry, I am Emmet and it sounds like you can’t keep a man to save your life!”
The woman hissed at his taunt, but he didn’t pay any attention to it or her next words. He stormed back over to the seat he had claimed beside his brother, sitting down as he casted another glare at her. His vision shifted to Ingo, finding his twin staring at him with an unreadable expression.
“What?” Emmet asked as he stared at Ingo right back.
His brother blinked rapidly, emotion choking him as his eyes began to water. Ingo was obviously overwhelmed as he whined out, “I- I was- She wasn’t lying- A-And-“
“Did you know?” Emmet interrupted his brother, holding eye contact as he waited for him to calm down.
“What?” Ingo asked back, his thoughts restarting as they focused back onto Emmet instead of the downward spiral that had threatened to consume him whole.
“Did you know he was cheating or..?”
“No!” Ingo exclaimed as he faced Emmet head on, eyes wide as he spoke, “I had no idea! I wouldn’t have gone home with him if I had known!”
The two silver-eyed twins locked eyes, both silent for a while. Emmet broke the silence this time, nodding with a gentle smile as he reassured his brother, “Then, it’s alright.”
“You’re… okay with this?” Ingo questioned, mystified. His eyes traced over Emmet as if he was seeing him for the first time in their lives.
“Okay with what, you having a sex life?” Emmet asked, incredulous as he shook his head with a small chuckle, “Dragons, Ingo, you’re a grown ass man! You can do whatever you want as far as I’m concerned. I don’t have any right to judge or tell you what to do.”
Emmet continued on though, fixing his brother with a serious look, “However, I do want one change; from here on out, if you’re going out to meet somebody, please tell me beforehand. Just in case something happens. I want you to stay safe, alright?”
Ingo chuckled as he brushed a few freshly-sprung tears out of his eyes, “You and your safety checks. …Okay, I can do that.”
The two had just began to relax when Sergeant Grimes approached them both once more, his posture remained as tense as ever. He nodded to them both, softly rumbling, “Alright, you both are free to go. Officer Jenny will check you out.”
The custody sergeant easily slid a large iron key into the lock of Ingo’s cell and the door was swiftly unlocked and swung open. As his brother exited his cell, Emmet slid in and wrapped his arms around Ingo briefly before he let him loose. The two silver twins were silently relieved as they were led back the way the younger twin had came. Officer Jenny swiftly ran through the necessary paperwork before returning Ingo his X-Transciever, wallet, keys, and the Pokéballs that held his team.
As they began to leave, Sergeant Grimes stopped them one last time. His tough expression melted away and he smiled for the first time in front of Emmet as he mumbled sheepishly, “Sorry about that, Ingo. It was nice to see you again, though I wish the circumstances were better. See ya later, yeah?”
“See you later, Vincent. Have a good night,” Ingo had replied, the edges of his lips curling upward in a cat-like grin. Emmet felt his jaw drop as he looked back and forth between the two men. Wait, his brother… Did that mean… What?
Ingo had already began to walk away by the time Emmet processed what happened. He rushed to catch up, falling into step with his brother as they strolled through the streets of Nimbasa City. Emmet humming as he leaned toward his twin, a suggestive smile on his face, “So, you and Sergeant Grimes…? Verrrrrry interesting.”
A pair of equally silver eyes met his own and a blush began to spread across his cheeks as he shyly mumbled, “…Yeah, we’ve, uh… Coupled together before.”
“Ooooh,” Emmet teased as he wrapped an arm around Ingo’s shoulders, his antics continuing as he gasped, “Spill the tea! I want deets, Ingo!”
“As if,” his twin answered easily, shaking his head as he returned the half hug his brother gave him. Ingo’s blush remained as he gave a playful ‘tsk, tsk, tsk!’ before tacking on, “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell, Emmet!”
“Yawn, boring!” Emmet exclaimed, in reponse. His smile became more genuine as his more dower-faced twin erupted into loud, unimpeded laughter. The two silver brothers continued merrily on their journey home, slipping into the crowded streets of Nimbasa once more.