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Mesagoza was definitely most beautiful at early morning time. The buildings glowed under the hazy hues of gold and sunlight spilled onto the cobbled paving slabs like paint. The tangerine orange of the sky was the perfect contrast to the violet purple of the majestic school that stood grand and tall to the north of the city. The heat hadn’t kicked in yet, so it was a lovely temperature to walk in.
That’s what Professor Edison Willow had thought, anyway, before passing out sometime before lunch trying to pull two heavy suitcases up the dreaded staircases that every Paldean feared.
He couldn’t actually remember getting up that set of stairs, of course. When he opened his eyes again he was laid down on a plush purple sofa in an air-conditioned room. His eyes wouldn’t focus properly and he could feel something soft on his stomach growling softly.
“Houndoom, off of Edison please.” A slightly gruff voice called out, making Willow’s head pound. A man in a purple suit jacket and white trousers leaded over him and smiled slightly. “Ah, you’re awake.” He grabbed a glass of water off of a table near him and handed it to Willow, who sat up in a daze. “Drink this.”
“C-clavell?” Willow looked up at him, brown eyes unfocussed. “Where… why…?”
“You’re in my office. You passed out on the stairs in town…” He propped up his glasses. “You should have gotten a taxi. The midday sun is deadly, you know…”
Willow’s eyes widened. First impressions were everything, and the one he had given to Clavell was not the best.
“I…I’m so sorry, Clavell… I was lost…” Clavell took off his glasses and cleaned them with a purple cloth. “Who… who found me?”
“Ah, Jacq found you. He was heading out with his fellow teachers to get lunch when they found you-”
“Jacq…? As in…?” Willow’s ears went a little pink. Jacq Zinnia? They hadn’t spoken in a while. Arceus, he was messing up everything today…
“Mhm, Señor Zinnia. I think you know him.” The director said, grabbing a notebook off of his desk. He opened it and handed Willow a piece of paper. “He wanted me to give you this, by the way. He, uh, wants to speak with you I think.” Clavell’s usually poker faced-lips began to smirk. “Don’t be too prompt though. Make him wait. He’s always late to everything himself.”
“Seems Jacq’s still the same then.” Willow murmured from behind his hand. He scanned the note, which looked like it had been written on a sandwich wrapper or something.
“Indeed he is. I remember when we worked together we would always go overtime. Cost me a fortune, it did, paying for the extra time we spent in the laboratory.” Clavell shook his head, placing the book down and sitting at his desk. “I’m sorry… I’m talking badly about someone who helped me so much…”
“No, no… Thank you though… I’ve already caused you so much trouble.”
“You haven’t. You’re more than welcome.” Clavell smiled, standing up once more and softly patting one of Willow’s shoulders. “Better you’re here than anywhere else, to be honest.”
“Thank you…” Willow sighed, watching as Clavell grabbed something else off of his desk.
“I have your hotel keys, by the way. Raifort picked them up when Jacq took you here. Your belongings are at the hotel… Saguaro may have unpacked some of your stuff already, you know what he’s like, but I don’t know if he would have set it out the way you like it, so don’t feel like you can’t move it yourself…” Willow had zoned out by now, not understanding what the director was going on about. “Sorry… I must be boring you.”
“...What? No, no… I just don’t know who you’re talking about.” He smiled awkwardly. Clavell stifled a laugh and shook his head, silky grey hair floating about as he did so.
“They’re other teachers here. Don’t worry much.” A soft ringing noise filled the otherwise silent room. “Jacq might be free now… You’re good friends, right?” Arceus damnit, he could probably see the pink on his ears.
“We were… We lost contact though a couple of years back when he became a teacher… We work in different fields now, I guess.”
“Well, you’re here now, so maybe you could be friends again?” The director said with a hint of cheek in his voice.
“Maybe… maybe…” Willow stood up, still feeling a bit shaky and sick.
“Take it easy and drink lots please, Edison.” His voice changed a bit to more of a teacher sounding tone. One that meant the orders had to be followed; strictly followed.
“I will sir- I mean Clavell! Haha…” Oh Arceus.
~~~
“Whoops! Haha… Looks like that’s all we have time for today! Please make sure to do your homework; it’s nice and short this week… Heh, please don’t tell the director that I made it shorter… heh…” Jacq chuckled sheepishly before clapping his hands together. “Right, let's get packed up ready for period five please.” The young students began to pack up their belongings and soon enough they were charging into the hallway like Tauros stampeding to their prey. The biologist chuckled to himself, sitting down in front of his desk and pulling out a notebook.
There was a knock at the door before a familiar face peered out of it.
Jacq’s eyes went wide. “Oh, Edison! ¡Hola!” He stood up abruptly, nearly falling over himself. “You feeling better?”
“Hey, Jacq- Hm? Yeah, yeah, thanks…”
“Sweet Miraidon, it's been ages, hasn’t it?” He shuffled closer to the professor, a wide smile on his face. “Wow… You look so different…”
Willow chuckled. “What do you mean by that, Zinnia?” He put his hands on his hips jokingly.
“You look… Worn out, tired… aged...” He giggled to himself and patted his old friend on the shoulder. “Not a bad thing, mind! Comes with hard work!”
“Yet your skin is perfect! Or are you saying you slack off?”
“Oye! I moisturise.” Jacq shook his head. “You have reasons to look tired. You have Spark, don’t you?”
Willow smiled softly. “Yeah, but he’s grown up now. Gosh, he’s 19 in December…” Willow sighed. “I really am getting old, aren’t I?”
“You’re thirty-six, Ed, not sixty-six.” Jacq laughed.
“Yeah, but you’re younger than me, so you can’t talk.”
“Sit down, amigo. You look faint.” To be honest, he was feeling a little light headed again. He let Jacq pull one of the little plastic chairs from one of the desks at the front of the classroom over to his desk before patting it. Willow sat down, legs feeling a little wobbly as he did. “Better?”
“Much, thanks Jacq…” The purple haired man smiled softly, grey eyes looking into Willow’s as he began to talk quietly.
“How come you’re here then? It was quite the surprise seeing you unconscious in the middle of the city earlier.”
“Sorry about that. Guess I’m not as used to the heat as others are.”
“Galar doesn’t get that hot, does it? Not all year around, at least.”
“No, it doesn’t… Stays pretty miserable all year… Rainy and cold and gloomy…”
“Ah, rain… I love rain. Cools me down, heh…” Jacq shook his head, his soft lilac hair getting messier as he did so. “My question still remains; why are you here?”
“Uh, well, Clavell offered to let me borrow his equipment if I wanted to come here and study pokemon here… Our bases have been in Galar and Kalos recently and I wanted to come and work here for a while… What’re you looking at?” Jacq was frowning at him, making him start to get flustered. “Is there…?” Jacq lent over and touched a sore spot on his head.
“Does that hurt?” He pushed down on it, and it took every bit of Willow not to yelp out in pain.
“Mhm!”
“That’s a bad bruise you have there. Must have hit your head when you fell. Don’t feel dizzy, right? No signs of concussion?”
“No, I think I’m ok, thanks…”
“Sorry, sorry… I interrupted.”
“Ah, yeah, sorry. Uh, so I said yes and now I’m staying at a hotel hopefully not too far from here…”
“La Indiga? Yeah, I know where that is. A short walk.” Jacq rested his cheek on his fist, his soft, caring smile back on his face.
“Yeah, that one… Clavell’s paying for the hotel rent, I think.” Hopefully, seeing as the hotel looked quite expensive.
“He’s nice like that. Gets a bit angry with me though, probably because I’m late to important things. He knows me though, so it isn’t too bad.”
“You’re still the same then, late to everything.”
“Sure am. Tired as ever though, to be honest Ed. These kids run me ragged.”
“Really? You won’t say…” Jacq smiled again, shaking his head and sighing.
“Lucky I don’t have another class today. Just need to do some marking then do some more prep for my speech-”
“Speech? Oh, shit, the Ecological Society one… right…”
“You going?” Jacq raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah. I’m not saying anything this time, but I’ll watch.” Jacq’s cheeks went a bit pink at this, before he cleared his throat and stood up.
“Root for me, yeah? I’m nervous.”
“How come? You have nothing to worry about.”
“Hm? Sure I do. My lisp and all.”
“It’s your accent, Jacqi.” The room went silent, making them both feel nervous.
“It’s nice to see you again, Ed.”
“It’s nice to see you too. Kinda missed our chats.”
“Same. It’s been so long.” Jacq headed towards the door. “Know where your hotel is?”
Willow stood up as well, putting the chair back. “I’m sure I’ll manage.” They headed out of the classroom and into the long hallway of the academy.
They walked in silence until they reached a large door with a sign next to it that read ‘STAFF ROOM’. Jacq turned to face the taller professor and smiled.
“You can come in if you want. I’m sure no one will mind.”
The blonde smiled anxiously before mumbling back. “I… I should go to my hotel… I’m so sorry.”
“Oye, don’t be! I know you’re pretty shy. Come stop off here though later; they want to meet you since, well, finding you on the floor, I guess… heh…” Jacq went quiet before looking up at Willow with a strange look in his eyes. “You… have the same number, right? As before, I mean…” Willow heard him gulp and look down at his feet.
“Yeah, and the same email address.”
“Text me when you get there, please, just to make sure you haven’t collapsed again, that is.”
“I will do. Uh… How do you get out of here?” Both men smiled and began to chuckle.
“Down the stairs, amigo. Don’t fall down them, por favor.”
“I won’t! See you later.”
“Hasta mañana, Ed.” Jacq waved him off before heading into the staff room.
~~~
Professor Willow laid on his pristinely white bed, looking up at the equally pristinely white ceiling. The hotel he was staying at was definitely on the posher end; it was to be expected, seeing as Clavell had been the one to book it.
His heart was beating strangely fast… Maybe it was the heatstroke or maybe a heart attack was approaching.
Seeing Jacq again after so long was… strange, really. Going from close friends and colleagues, to not speaking, to suddenly speaking again after two years wasn’t something Willow had ever done; usually if he stopped talking to someone it was because he had either fallen out with them or saw no reason to talk to them anymore.
That wasn’t the case though. He hadn’t fallen out with Jacq at all and if he was his friend, then there was obviously a reason to talk to him. Maybe it was because they didn’t see each other as much, or their schedules just didn’t allow time to speak to each other.
The professor sighed, ruffled his hair, then sighed again. He laid his head back into the soft pillows, trying to calm his heart rate at least just a little bit by closing his eyes and breathing deeply. He slowly began to fall asleep, head tilting slightly as he drifted off.
It was no surprise really, that he jumped up when his phone buzzed, seeing as he was half asleep and had forgotten his phone was in his hands. As he shot up, his head began to spin, so he laid back down and looked at his phone with squinted eyes.
Jacq Zinnia hi edison, it was really nice seeing you earlier (and, well, finding you on the floor I guess jajaja). i was wondering if you are free tomorrow, after the conference? i just want to catch up, that’s all; wanna treat you to dinner ;) i’ll pay, don’t worry! let me know!
Oh, great… Now his heart was back to racing at a million miles an hour.
He’d admit, Jacq had aged… well. His complexion was still impeccable, with no sign of a wrinkle or impurity at all, at least from what Willow could see. His olive skin was still as soft as it was and-
Gah!
What the heck was wrong with him?!
After mentally getting his shit together, he picked up his phone again and began typing a message back.
It took several attempts and a lot of internal screaming to get it right, but in the end he had a sort of acceptable message.
Edison Willow Hi Jacq. It was nice seeing you too (sorry about that…). Sounds good; I’m free after six so I can go to the conference and then I’m free all night (if that’s good for you, of course. I know you have other friends). Thank you :)
And as if Jacq was trying to give Willow a heart attack, the teacher replied in under two minutes.
Jacq Zinnia sounds great! i was just thinking we could be by ourselves at dinner tho- i hang out with those guys a lot and to be honest I want to catch up with just you amigo… (DON'T TELL THEM JAJA!)
Edison Willow Sounds good. Where should we meet tomorrow? As long as all of this is ok for you…
Jacq Zinnia i wouldn’t offer if i didn’t want it, ed… of course we can. i know a GREAT place which serves paella a couple of streets away from the conference venue, if you like paella, that is… want to meet in my classroom, at 6:30? or if it’s too public we can meet in the city centre somewhere…? whatever’s good for you
Edison Willow Never had it… But it sounds good to me. Can we meet in your classroom? I’ll get lost otherwise.
Jacq Zinnia i bet you’ll like it. it’s rice with vegetables (you can have it with fish but i know you’re veggie) with like this seasoning/sauce stuff. but yeah, course we can (meet in my room). anyway… i’m gonna go to sleep once i’ve marked these papers. chat tomorrow amigo! :)
Edison Willow Sounds good. Sleep well.
The professor whipped one of the plush pillows from behind his head and screamed into it.
~~~
Willow ended up not actually doing much work the next day, instead procrastinating about the event happening later on.
The director obviously could see that, as he began making comments about it.
“So, what work have you actually been doing?” He smirked from behind his tea mug.
“I’m writing up data reports, honestly.”
“Does data make you blush? And does data make you check your watch every five minutes?” This man… honestly…
Luckily six rolled around quite quickly and soon enough Willow was packing up his things. He felt a hand on his shoulder just as he was about to head out of the office, so he turned around and was met with Clavell’s soft gaze.
“I have almost no idea what’s going on here, but if it’s something good then good luck.” He smiled then turned to head back to his desk.
“I… uh, thanks?”
“I’ll see you later, hopefully.” All Willow could do was smile politely back and run out of the door, leaving Clavell to chuckle to himself.
The walk to Jacq’s classroom was an interesting one, with students who were studying in the hallways constantly looking at him and subsequently laughing at him (did he look that weird? Maybe they weren’t used to professors wandering around the halls…)
He was just approaching the door when a purple blur whipped out of it and hastily ran into him. Out of pure instinct, like Spark would say, Willow caught his friend as he fell backwards, one hand on Jacq’s back and the other on his wrist. The teacher smiled, a slight blush painting his tanned cheeks.
“Uh… E-edison!” He shakily laughed. “Sorry about that! I… I wanted to see if you were outside or something…! Heh… um…” Willow helped him back onto his feet, shaking his head.
“I was just coming here… Am I late?”
“No… I’m just… impatient.” Jacq’s cheeks went even darker.
“You ready?”
“I guess…”
~~~
“We’d like to thank you all for coming tonight, as we have some very important speeches to be held about various new species of pokemon that we have located. Our first speech is from Professor Burnet Kukui, from the Alola region.” The commentator began to clap as the Alolan professor walked on stage.
“She’s really good… I’ve seen some of her work, but I can’t understand it…” Jacq muttered to Willow as the clapping began to subside. “She studies that field of work you need to see you believe, I guess.”
“Mhm… It’s a weird thing to study…” Willow mumbled back.
The blonde professor didn’t really pay attention to the seminar much, especially Elm’s speech (he found it much too drab to pay attention). He knew Jacq’s speech was towards the end, but coming in halfway would probably appear rude. Then again, most of the people talking he either didn’t talk much with or in some cases didn’t even know who they were.
Jacq was chewing his fingernails too much to pay attention as well, every few seconds licking his lips and checking the time. It was to be expected; if the two scientists shared anything in common it was definitely their stage fright. During Willow’s first years of being a professor, he would become so anxious about speaking publicly that his legs would start to shake visibly- not something that looked very good in front of an audience.
The purple clad man’s hands began to shake half an hour until he needed to go backstage and prepare, his breathing audible over the random and quite frankly boring speaker who was going on about the use of berries or whatever. From the corner of his brown eyes, Willow kept an eye on his friend, trying to make sure his breathing didn’t get too erratic.
“Mr Nelson, do you think berries are actually the key to better working pokemon, or is there a more cost effective way?”
“Some berries are quite hard to source in certain regions, however…”
“Jacq…?” The teacher looked over at Willow, eyes full blown and the slightest bit glossy.
“Mhm?”
Reluctantly, not because he didn’t want to help Jacq, but merely because it could be seen as… something else, Willow offered Jacq his hand, keeping his hand quite low so the people sitting next to them and behind them didn’t get the wrong idea.
“You said my name, right?” Jacq whispered. Willow nodded and looked down at his hand for a split second, before looking back up at Jacq, who could have gone a little red (it was hard to tell; the lights were off). “You ok?”
“I’m making sure you are. You’re shaking.” Hand still empty, Willow kept it where it was, just in case.
“This always happens, amigo. Don’t worry.”
“You’re shaking. How am I not supposed to worry?” There was a moment of silence between them as another young lady walked onto the stage and as the crowd began to clap. Jacq clapped, but as soon as the noise died down, Willow could feel something soft and warm grasping his now quite achy hand. It was shaking like a Snorunt, but definitely warmer than one. Thin, bony fingers slid between the gaps of his, naturally making the professor want to clasp his fingers around them.
Shyly, he looked over at Jacq, who unfortunately was looking at him at the same time, causing the Butterfree in his stomach to go absolutely apeshit. Jacq smiled warmly at him, before shuffling a little closer to Willow in his seat.
“Sorry if this is weird.” He whispered, the professor feeling the other man’s thumb begin to rub up and down the side of his index finger.
“You need to calm down, Jacq… That’s all.” It really wasn’t.
“Is it though?”
“Mhm.”
Jacq paused for a moment, before smirking. “Still alright for dinner, right?”
“Course I am.”
“You can let go if you want to…”
“I’m fine, Jacq, seriously.”
“Mmm… ok…” Jacq’s hand eventually stopped shaking, instead he would squeeze Willow’s hand every so often just to check he was still awake (this woman’s voice couldn’t get any more melancholy).
About five minutes until Jacq’s speech, the teacher squeezed his friend’s hand a little harder than usual and let go of it. Willow’s hand was sticky from sweat (had he been sweating?!).
“After the seminar, meet behind the curtains, just there.” Jacq pointed towards backstage. Willow gave a short nod before his friend stood up and headed out of the main hall.
He returned a few minutes later, a microphone in hand and a couple of pieces of slightly tea-coloured paper. He cleared his throat and began his speech.
“Good evening, Levincia. I am Jacq Zinnia, a pokemon biologist from Mesagoza. Recently we have sighted an increase in a few invasive species of pokemon which can cause famine across groups of other more vulnerable pokemon and in some cases mass extinction of a species- this is what I would like to discuss with you today, so we, the World Pokemon Ecological Society and the general public, know whag to do during these outbreaks…”
For the first time throughout the whole seminar, Willow listened to everything Jacq said, even the parts which were totally just made to be fillers. At the end of it all, he clapped harder than he had for everyone else combined, smiling at his friend as he clumsily bowed and waved as he exited.
~~~
“You were amazing tonight.” Willow said between sips of his wine.
“Heh… Thanks Ed…” Jacq smiled momentarily before looking up at his friend inquisitively. “How are things with you then? How’s Spark getting on? Last time I actually saw him in person he was just starting middle school…”
“He’s way bigger now. He lives with a couple of his roommates at uni now…”
“Sweet Miraidon… How time flies by, ey…”
“Indeed. He’s very bright though. Studying biology, actually.” Willow smiled as Jacq perked up dramatically.
“Really!? Just generally or something specific?”
“He’s interested in breeding and eggs. How different pokemon with different natures breed and whether that changes how a pokemon acts.” Willow chuckled. “He probably would be better at explaining it than me to be fair.”
“He sounds so intelligent… The leppa berry obviously doesn’t fall far from the tree…” The teacher muttered, running his finger over his lemonade glass. On the opposite side of the table, Willow’s cheeks went bright red, making him grow warm all across his body. “I would love to chat to him at some point.”
“Hm? Yeah, I can ask if he’s free at some point.” Willow forced a smile, trying to calm the blush on his cheeks. “How about you? How’s home life with you?”
“I live on my own and work’s been consuming me recently, so I haven’t had chance to chat with any of my family. I mean, I stay in contact with my cousins, of course, but I haven’t had chance to fly over to them at all…”
“They still live in Galar?”
“Yeah. Apparently Hop’s bright too! He’s working with Professor Sonia, actually.” He sipped his drink. “You’ve met Hop once, haven't you? When Hoppy was a baby.”
“Yeah, I’ve met him. He must be so grown up now…”
“Turning 15 next October.” Jacq laughed as Willow’s eyes grew wide. “Heh… What?”
“He’s still the size of my forearm to me! I must be so old.”
“Again, Edison, you are only thirty-six. You just had Spark young, that’s all.” Jacq shrugged. “Thinking about it, you were only seventeen, so really there isn’t much of a time difference.”
“How old’s Leon?”
“A few years younger than me… Must be… twenty-nine now? Yeah…”
“You’re 32, right?”
“I wish. Thirty-five in February.” Jacq laughed. “I’m not getting any younger either.”
“You look much better than I do though.”
Jacq stuttered for a couple of minutes before clearing his throat. “Thanks Ed. Not looking too bad yourself.” There was a pause before Jacq began to speak again. “So, is there someone special in your life? I mean, since Spark moved out have you been seeing anyone? A special lady or something?”
With a shake of his head, Willow said, “No… Heh, no ladies, ever.” Jacq’s grey eyes grew wide.
“Oh, I’m so sorry I assumed.”
“No, no. Seriously. I just… I’ve tried, of course, but every time I get to know someone and we start going out they ditch me. Maybe I just repel everyone after a few weeks.”
“Ay, ay, I’m sure that’s not true. I think it’s their problem, Ed. You’re a genuine, sweet guy. I’m not sure why anyone would leave you, unless you treated them badly, which I highly doubt ever happened.” Jacq reached over the table to run his fingers over Willow’s knuckles.
“That’s the thing. I treat them so well… Lots of them even start the relationship and then are the ones to end it. Like this one time things were going really well with this guy I met in Unova and I got so comfortable with him we decided to take the next step… And, um, I forgot to tell him something really important; I thought he would be fine with it… But as soon as I was naked and he saw me… The chest scars were one thing, but when I was completely vulnerable… He said I wasn’t a real man; said I wasn’t the body he was looking for and left me right there…” Willow stopped, realising he hadn’t looked at Jacq since he had started talking. “Shit, sorry-”
“No, no.” Jacq was looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face. “Don’t be afraid to talk my ears off. It must have been horrible…” He shuffled a bit. “That guy didn’t deserve you, honestly. It didn’t matter if you had told him before, it shouldn’t have mattered to him. If he loved you then he wouldn’t have cared.” He gripped Willow’s hand, their fingers intertwining. “Don’t let him think you’re not worthy of someone, ok? Because one day you will find someone who treasures you for who you are.” Willow looked down at their hands and squeezed the smaller hand gently.
“Thank you, Jacq. It means everything to me to hear that.” Jacq let go of his friend’s hand, resting his chin on it. “How about you?”
“Don’t laugh, but the last date I had was over 15 years ago.”
Willow blinked. “Sorry? You’ve seriously not seen anyone for that long?”
“Nope. Guess I’ve been waiting for the right person to come along. I’ve had crushes, sure, but not since I’ve been a teacher.”
“Lady crushes or men?”
“I like both… But my last proper crush was a guy. I liked him for ages and ages and then suddenly I didn’t see him any more. But, that’s life, I guess.”
Willow raised an eyebrow. “Why did you stop seeing each other? Why didn’t you chase him if you liked him?”
“He wanted to do his own thing whereas I wanted something different in life, I guess… Nevermind, Ed, it’s getting late.” Jacq looked at his watch. “I’m kinda sad our dinner together has gone by so quick…” He looked almost sullen as he spoke. “Mesagoza’s a bit of a distance from here and taxi bills can rack up horribly fast… Hey, how about I drive you back to your place? We could talk in the car and stuff…” He quirked one eyebrow.
“Hmmm… depends.” Willow smirked.
“On?” His cheeky expression melted into worry.
“What sort of car do you have?” Quickly, the fear on his friend’s face vanished as he realised Willow was joking.
“Heh… A Volkswagen.”
“What type?”
“A… Volkswagen.” Now it was Willow’s turn to laugh. “What?”
“You remind me of someone, that’s all.”
“Who…?”
“Myself.”
There was a brief silence before Jacq spoke again.
“You wanna go in my car, right?”
“Course I do. I was only playing.”
~~~
The rain battered against the windscreen as Jacq drove down the highway, the two men in the car silent. Every so often the teacher would lick his lips as he tried to see properly out of the window.
“The rain’s getting really bad…” Jacq muttered. “It’s getting hard to see. Stupid rain.”
“I thought you liked the rain…” Both men smirked.
“I do, but I like not crashing the car more, especially with you in it.”
“Why does having me in the car change the amount of distaste you have for crashing the car?”
“I don’t want to kill you…? If I killed you I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” The car was plunged into another silence.
“Pull over.”
“Hm?”
“Pull over. I literally can’t see a thing.” The windscreen wipers were doing their best to get rid of the rain on the window, but their efforts weren’t enough. The only thing they could see was the headlights of the cars on the other side of the road. Jacq indicated that he was turning off and slowly pulled into a small wooded road off of the highway. He drove until the wood was deep enough that they couldn’t see the main road anymore. He turned his engine off and turned his head towards the professor.
“Sorry… This might delay us getting home.”
“I would rather stay here than die on the road trying to get to Mesagoza, to be fair.” Willow’s voice went lower, his eyes softening. “I don’t need to get back for anything anyway.”
“Neither do I. You might want to sleep though. You can go to sleep.” His hand slowly crept over to Willow’s side of the car, resting on his thigh. Willow scooped it up carefully.
“Can I ask you something, Jacq?”
“Go ahead.”
“Are your hands always cold or something? You like holding hands, that’s all. Or is it something here in Paldea that people do naturally?”
Jacq went silent.
“Jacq?”
“I’m not cold. I’m just wondering if I’m doing a bad job.”
Willow shook his head, his eyes wandering along every corner of Jacq’s face. “Can I ask you something else then?” His voice was merely a whisper.
“Mhm…”
“The guy you liked and then left… I had something similar, except I was the one who left. Can I ask who it was you liked?”
“Like, actually. I still like him now. Right now I’m thinking about him, thinking about what I could say to get him to like me back.” Jacq moved a little closer, his warm breath tickling Willow’s stubbled on his chin.
“You haven’t answered my question, Jacq.”
“Do I have to?”
“Only because I want to be the one who says I like you first.”
Jacq laughed softly, undoing his seatbelt and moving closer to the professor. “Maldito… I wanted to be the one who said it.”
“Say it then. Go on…” Jacq put his hand behind Willow’s head, the messy locks soft in between his fingers, so when he shuffled off of his seat and practically onto Willow’s the professor didn’t hit his head.
“I… I really like you, Eddie. I have for a long time. I hope you have too…”
“Course I have. Did you think the only reason I offered you my hand earlier was because I saw you shaking?”
“Not for a second.”
Both of them smiled, Jacq leaning in to peck Willow on the cheek. The professor blushed, heart pounding.
“You can do it on my lips, if you want.” So he did. The teacher licked his soft lips before pressing them against the other man’s, letting himself relax for a moment before pulling away. He brushed Willow’s hair away from his face before smiling.
“Thank you.”
“Why… are you thanking me?” Jacq kissed his cheek.
“For kissing me.”
“No, thank you for letting me.” He muttered into Willow’s ear. “You liked me as well, then?”
“Yeah… I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, though, but I feared I’d already done that by leaving.”
“Hey, we did what we needed to do. It didn’t ruin anything. If anything it made me like you even more, because when I started missing you that’s when I knew I liked you.” Willow gulped, reaching up to play with Jacq’s unruly hair. The teacher smiled warmly.
“I can’t believe you like me like this though.”
“I do, yeah. What isn’t there to like? You’re handsome, intelligent, funny, kind and honestly, Edison… I couldn’t ask for more in someone than you. You’re so goddamn amazing that you felt out of my league, though.”
“Are you serious? Jacq, you’re the smartest guy I know. Hell, you practically MADE the Pokedex!”
“Heh, not quite…”
“Oh, be quiet. You underestimate yourself.” Willow leaned towards Jacq’s face and kissed his cheek, feeling the prickly stubble on his lips.
“You, uh, wanna…?” Jacq gulped. “Do you want to be my…?”
“Hm?”
“Mi novio?” Jacq blurted out. “Sorry… my boyfriend.”
“Can we take it slow?”
“Of course, of course! Ed, we can do this however you want to.”
“Can I kiss you?”
Jacq nodded. “Por supuesto, amor.”
~~~