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Emmet was at his parents' house in the middle of nowhere.
Part of him hated it, hated the reminders of his childhood, reminders that Ingo wasn’t here too. But, well, part of him needed it just as much. Needed those reminders.
Needed his parents.
They needed him just as much, Emmet could tell. At least one would always be near, asking him for a hand with dinner or feeding the Pokemon or just sitting in the same room as him. It was like they were making sure he didn’t disappear too.
Emmet couldn’t blame them. He was doing the same thing by coming to visit them. That, and he couldn’t stand being in his and Ingo’s apartment right now, being in Nimbasa entirely even.
So, a long trip to his parents' it was.
They all tried to prevent things from becoming too heavy, but it was clear that no one was okay. Mom was too quiet. Dad was almost always on the move. Emmet had barely said a word since he had arrived a couple days ago.
Even their Pokemon were the same. The normally sleepy Wugtrio was wide awake at their usual spot at the foot of the stairs, watching the front door, as if waiting for Ingo to just walk in. Scrafty kept bringing Emmet different items, a pillow, a blanket, a berry, his favourite PokeToy, hoping one would cheer him up. Scolipede and Orthworm took turns curling up around him, not letting him out of their sights.
Right now, it was Orthworm’s turn. The Pokemon had pressed himself between Emmet’s side and the couch cushions, his head tucked under Emmet’s chin. Emmet was laying on the couch, feet pulled up slightly so Scrafty could sleep in his usual spot, staring at the ceiling. Mom was banging around in the kitchen, stress baking something if Emmet had to guess. Dad was sitting on the chair nearby, probably ‘resting his eyes’ as he liked to put it.
Or at least that’s what Emmet thought.
Dad slapped his knees, causing a frantic chain reaction. Emmet jolted from surprise, which caused Orthworm to fall further into the couch cushions, which pushed Emmet to the floor, which woke Scrafty, who started yelling at anyone who would listen to him.
“What is happening in there?” Mom called.
“Emmet fell off the couch,” Dad called back.
“I thought you were asleep, old man,” Emmet said, glaring up at his dad. “What was that for?”
“I’ve decided it’s fishing time,” Dad said as he stood, “and you’re coming with me.”
Emmet sat up and watched Dad walk out the living room and over to the front door. He heard Dad ask if Wugtrio wanted to come, then the sound of them returning to their ball.
“I don’t fish,” Emmet said. He wasn’t the one who went fishing with Dad, that was Ingo. Emmet never had the patience. It was always Ingo and Dad go fishing, then he and Mom would prepare and cook anything they brought back.
Dad poked his head back into the living room. “Now you do. Come on.”
Emmet sighed as he stood. “Fine. Eelektross is coming.”
“Fine with me.” Dad opened the front door. “Meet me by the shed.”
Less than thirty minutes later, Emmet was sitting cross legged on the dock, loosely holding onto a fishing pole while Dad stood knee deep in the water. Eelektross floated lazily in the water while Wugtrio napped on the shore.
“Why’d you take your hat off?” Dad asked.
“I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss. Not a fisherman,” Emmet said, giving the rod a little tug. Still nothing, unsurprisingly.
“Well, you’re fishing now,” Dad countered, “and you look good in the hat.”
Emmet glared down at the floppy fisherman’s hat he had placed next to him. He did not look good in the hat.
He heard his dad chuckle. Emmet turned his glare to him. It did nothing.
“You’re the same as ever, bud,” Dad laughed.
“What I do, what I say,” Emmet sighed, looking back out towards the lake, “always the same.”
But it wasn’t. Not anymore.
What he did, what he said, it had changed. It had to. Same meant there was someone else to fill in the gaps. Same meant there was someone else to dance around first thing in the morning.
Emmet’s grip tightened on the fishing pole.
Same meant Ingo.
“Why are we out here, Dad?” Emmet asked.
“Wanted to go fishing,” Dad shrugged, “Thought you’d want to get out of the house.”
They were silent for a while, letting the sounds from the lake fill the air.
“Do you remember the first time I took you boys fishing?” Dad eventually asked.
Emmet tilted his head in thought. They were only seven or eight at the time, making the memory faded and hard to recall.
“A little bit,” he settled on, “I think we were camping? I know I got bored and ran off.”
“Yeah, you did,” Dad laughed. “We weren’t camping though. It was here. I had to send to you home with Orthworm.”
“Really?”
Dad nodded. “Yup. I thought maybe fishing would slow you boys down a little. Did not work with you. You’re like your mom like that. She doesn’t have the patience for fishing either.”
“Why are you bringing this up?”
“I’m old, remember? I like remembering when you boys were small. Before your mom’s genes made you shoot up like a couple of weeds. Now you tower over me, and everyone keeps putting things up too high for me to reach.”
“What’s the real reason?” Emmet asked.
Dad sighed. “Did me or Ingo ever tell you what happened after you ran off?”
Emmet shook his head. “I don’t think so. You just came back with a Basculin.” He couldn’t help the small smile that crept up. “Ingo was verrrry excited.”
“He sure was,” Dad said softly. “But before that, while we were fishing, he was quiet. A calm quiet, not his upset quiet. I’m sure you know how much of a feat that is, especially at that age. But I think he just gets stuck over his words in a different way than you do. He’s not sure if others understand what he wants to express, so he just keeps talking.”
“I know that,” Emmet said, “We’ve talked about it. There are too many words in his head and he needs to get them out.”
“That’s what he said then too,” Dad continued, “but he said that the lake helped to quiet them. Other than when he was asleep, I don’t think I had even seen him as relaxed as I did that day. So, I kept taking him out fishing. I hoped bringing you out today would help.”
There was the reeling of a fishing pole and the splashing of water for a moment, then Dad was sitting next to Emmet, feet dangling in the water.
“You know I’m not that good with words or feelings or words about feelings,” Dad started, “But I know this is hard for you. And I know that I can never understand how hard this is for you. You know I’m not all that close with any of my siblings. But I’m still here for you. Your mom too, if you feel more comfortable going to her. She might understand what you’re going through a bit better.”
“I- I know,” Emmet choked out, eyes staring to burn.
“And I know you know,” Dad said. He hovered an arm around Emmet’s shoulders, silently asking permission. Emmet nodded and was tucked into his dad’s side. “But I also know that it helps to hear it aloud sometimes.”
“But I’m an adult,” Emmet whispered.
“That doesn’t make you any less my kid.”
Emmet couldn’t hold back the tears anymore.
“I miss him,” he sobbed, voice cracking, “I- I mi- I- I-”
“It’s okay, buddy,” Dad whispered, holding him closer, “Just try to breathe. I'm here.”
So there Emmet sat, crying and hiccupping while leaning against his dad, white knuckling a fishing rod he barely knew how to work like it was the last lifeline he had.
And Dad let him, running a hand up and down Emmet’s arm and holding him close.
Emmet’s tears suddenly were cut short by surprise when Eelektross flopped his head and hands on the dock in front of them.
“Hel-” Emmet cleared his throat. “Hello?”
Eelektross nudged the pole Emmet still had in a death grip.
The pole gave a pull.
“You got a bite!” Dad yelped, shooting to his feet. “Come on! Reel ’er in!”
“Oh!” Emmet shot up too, reeling in the fish.
After a frantic few minutes of Emmet wrestling the fish on the other end of the line and Dad trying to give tips, Emmet had managed to reel in a shockingly large Basculin.
“Bravo! She’s a beauty!” Dad praised. “I think we got a side for dinner if you want.”
“Really?” Emmet asked, voice still rough.
“Yeah! I bet it’s big enough for at least a taste for everyone.” Dad bent as he looked at the fish from different angles. When he stood, he slapped the fisherman hat that Emmet didn’t see him pick up on Emmet’s head. “I’d say that makes you a fisherman.”
The smile that Emmet gave was the biggest he’d had in a while, tearstained face and all.
Eelektross whined as he hovered closer.
“Yes, you too, you overgrown Wiglett,” Dad chuckled, rubbing Eelektross’s head.
“You are lucky that no one else on the team likes fish,” Emmet said. “You don’t have to share.”
“Alright, let’s head home,” Dad said, taking the rod still with the Basculin attached. “I’ll be taking this. Just in case. Unless you got your fishing license and didn’t tell me.”
Emmet hadn’t. He shouldn’t have been touching the fishing pole at all to be honest. “Why did you give me a pole then?”
“No one was gonna see us out here,” Dad said, walking off. “And if someone did, no one’s gonna care either. But I’d rather not take any risks of an Officer Jenny seeing us walking down the road.”
Emmet still wasn’t the biggest fan of fishing, but he supposed he could see why Ingo liked going with Dad.
Maybe the next time Ingo and Dad went out, Emmet would tag along.