Work Text:
Spending the afternoon in a quiet corner of a cafe would normally be something Emmet can appreciate, but right now he’s just completely bored and disinterested. If only it were just him and his twin, this would be counted as a pleasant break, but the young lady sitting across from him with her poised pen and notepad prevents this from being the case.
This was not what Emmet had in mind when he and his brother agreed to do an interview. Initially, he thought it would be a fun chance to discuss interesting topics like pokemon, battle strategy, or the subway network which they oversee… but so far it has been none of that. It’s just boring question after question about aspects completely unrelated to their jobs, and Emmet can only imagine why people would want to know about his and his brother’s personal life to such an extent. Is their morning routine really that interesting? Why do they need to reveal if they prefer wearing boxers or briefs? He just doesn’t get it!
Of course, the interview was something suggested by the twins’ PR team and its purpose is solely for publicity of the Battle Subway. To put things into perspective, the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four are famous throughout the Unova region with not a single person who doesn’t know who they are. All their characteristics and quirks are well-known, meanwhile the Subway Bosses of Gear Station are… kind of obscure. Currently. Which doesn’t really make sense since they’re heads of the region’s battle facility and they even work at the heart of the subway system!
The PR team pointed out that it was because the twins did not have much public reach—as in, only enthusiastic and dedicated trainers would know who they are and seek them out, whereas a casual battler typically would not. Hence, the necessity of this interview… though Emmet personally thinks they’re better off without it. At least he has Ingo to answer most if not all of the questions on his behalf while he gets to absently stare off into space with a blank smile on his face.
He isn’t the slightest bit aware of the glances their interviewer is giving him, and it’s only when his brother kicks him under the table that he’s suddenly brought back to reality.
Emmet stifles a yelp, and he shoots a look at his brother who’s sitting right next to him. “What?” he mutters.
“She just asked if you have the same tastes as I do,” Ingo promptly informs him, implying that the younger twin should be the one to respond.
Emmet lifts his eyebrow at that. His brother could easily answer that question for him since they eat, sleep and do almost everything together! But… if Ingo wants him to answer, then he supposes he must.
“I am Emmet. I don’t like sweet things.”
There’s nothing odd with what he says, yet the interviewer giggles in response. “Sorry, Mr Emmet, but by ‘tastes’ I actually mean preferences in dating partners!”
“Dating partners?” He makes a face, barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes at yet another strange question. “I don’t have tastes like that.”
“So you’ve never had a partner before?”
“Why do you need to know that?” Emmet questions with narrowing eyes. His brother bumps a knee against his in warning, but he immediately bumps back in defiance. He just doesn’t understand what point is there in disclosing irrelevant information like this, and he doesn’t like how this interviewer is looking at him as though he’s holding big secrets.
“Just answer the question, Emmet.” Ingo’s neutral frown doesn’t change one bit, but the way he side-eyes Emmet is enough to convey everything. We agreed to this interview. Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be.
Emmet would protest if he could, but he just holds it back and answers, “I don’t need date partners. I have Ingo.”
He doesn’t know what part of what he just said was so odd that it has the young interviewer dropping her pen and staring at him with wide eyes. He only spoke the truth, after all! What need does he have for dating and soul-searching when he already has his twin brother and best friend right by his side? Truly, there’s no one in the world who could share the kind of bond that they possess.
He briefly glances at Ingo, wondering if he somehow said something weird just now, but his brother doesn’t even look his way. Okay, so maybe he really did mess up with just those few words. But, technically, it’s Ingo’s fault for getting him to speak up in the first place…
The interviewer shortly regains her composure and scribbles something in her notebook before moving on. “Well, I suppose that leads perfectly into my next question! I’m sure everyone knows at a glance that you twins get along very well like a pretty pair of Plusle and Minun, but have you ever had any big arguments?”
“Occasionally we’ll have a minor disagreement, but we hardly ever argue over anything,” Ingo smoothly answers. “It’s always been like that since we were young.”
“I see…”
Now that Emmet is actually paying attention, he senses disappointment from their interviewer, as if she were looking forward to some drama or gossip of whatever conflicts they may have had in the past. The younger twin finds that rather distasteful, and he purposely shifts closer to his brother, their shoulders brushing against each other as he states, “Ingo and I get along super well! Yup! We are a two-car train!”
This time Ingo glances at him, pleasantly surprised by what was just said. The elder twin seems happy, though no one except Emmet would be able to tell apart those inexpressive frowns. It’s why Emmet always smiles for them both, and he does exactly that right now, beaming brightly with joy.
“…If you don’t mind me asking, just how close are the two of you?” the interviewer curiously questions, looking from one twin to the other. “Denizens of the online world always like to speculate, and a good proportion of your fans seem to have a unique stance on your relationship.”
The corners of Ingo’s frown twitch. “What exactly do you mean by that?”
“I suppose it would be easier if you had a look yourself.” The interviewer pulls out a tablet from her leather bag and slides it across the table for them to look at. “This is a collation of… interesting content I found while doing some background research.”
Ingo takes the device and promptly skims through the many posts and images of them, while Emmet looks over his shoulder. At first glance there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the content and he wonders what’s so interesting about it as his brother quickly scrolls through, but then he catches a glimpse of something that has him wanting to do a double take.
“Wait. Scroll back up!” Emmet tries to take charge of the tablet, but his twin turns his back towards him, preventing him from accessing or even seeing the device.
“Hey! I can’t see it, Ingo!” he complains with slight annoyance. He just wants to confirm what he just saw, because that image definitely had much more skin than he was prepared for, and he’s sure it depicted the two of them… doing something.
But before Emmet can complain any more, Ingo turns off the tablet and quickly returns it to its owner. “An interesting collection indeed! I had no idea such things existed on the internet. What wild imaginations people have!”
“Ingo,” the younger twin whispers into his brother’s ear. “What did you see?”
“Nothing.” Is all Ingo says in reply, and he turns his attention to their interviewer. “Now, as for your earlier question, my brother and I may be rather close, but our relationship is no more than what we already are. Isn’t that right, Emmet?”
Although Emmet is still curious about that odd picture he only caught a glimpse of, he understands that his twin is trying to move things along, so he just quietly nods in agreement. Really, he doesn’t know why they need to specify their brotherly relationship. It’s only obvious to anyone who has eyes and can see.
“Thank you for clarifying.” The interviewer flashes a polite smile, though the way her thick glasses glint in the light obscures her eyes for just a moment. “Now then, I still have a few more questions to ask the two of you…”
Hearing that, Emmet internally groans. Just how long are they going to be doing this for?!
Emmet stares at the overhead monitor, showing slow progress of the battles through the Multi Line, and he leans back in his seat with a sigh of boredom. Looks like there aren’t any promising challengers who’ll be able to reach their car today. A shame. But, he’ll admit that riding the subway with his brother is nice as well… Not nearly as high in energy as an exhilarating pokemon battle, but rather a small breather from all the work they do every day.
It’s just the two of them in this subway compartment, rattling and swaying as it speeds through the tunnels. Emmet is okay with the silence since he’s not usually the one to initiate conversation, but his eyes inevitably slide over to his brother who’s rather focused on the screen of his work tablet.
“What’s that?” Emmet questions, peeking at the illuminated screen.
“Oh, just an article. It’s the result of the interview we did last week,” Ingo responds, tilting his device for the other to see, but Emmet has no interest in reading any of the actual text.
“Oh that interview,” the younger twin mutters with something resembling a scowl on his smiling face. “I hated that. Never doing that again.”
The honest dislike has Ingo chuckling with amusement. “No need to worry about that, brother, the PR team should be satisfied with this.”
“Really?” Hearing that, Emmet can’t help being curious and he peeks at the screen once more. “Is it good?”
“It’s well-written and accurate to what we said during the interview, so I consider that good enough! The journalist did describe you as ‘a man of few words’, however.”
“Well, you answered most of the questions anyway.” Emmet shrugs and sits back, no longer interested in the article. If his twin says it’s good enough then that’s all he cares to know, and he has no need to waste his time reading the written product himself.
“Speaking of, I would’ve appreciated some of your input, or even your undivided attention during that interview.” Ingo gives him that look—the ‘you know what you did wrong’ glare, which is all he really needs to do to get the message across. “Your attitude wasn’t exactly professional, Emmet.”
“I knoooow…” Emmet stands up with a sigh and he grabs the circular safety handles dangling from above, rocking back and forth as if making light of the matter. It’s all in the past so it’s not like he really cares anyway. Besides, he’s plenty professional when it comes to their actual jobs, meanwhile that interview was not at all professional, nor about their actual professions!
“Ah, looks like this round had no successful challengers either,” Ingo observes as the subway begins slowing down, marking the end of the battling session. “I hoped that we’d receive more stronger challengers following the release of the article, but perhaps that was too idealistic of me.”
“Hm.” Emmet simply shrugs and he half-skips towards the subway doors just before they slide open with a hiss. But as he steps out, he glances back at Ingo, wondering if the other is really that upset by the lack of challengers. It’s why they even agreed to do the whole interview-thing in the first place, and if it isn’t even effective…
“Hey. Maybe there will be more challengers over time,” the younger twin positively remarks. “And if that doesn’t work, I guess we could always–”
But he doesn’t get to finish what he was about to say, because the next step he takes is not so much a step but more of a slip. He isn’t looking where he’s going, after all, and he doesn’t notice that the sole of his left shoe doesn’t meet solid ground. Wholly unprepared for the lack of grip, his foot slides forward and the whole world goes spinning around him.
A surprised yelp escapes Emmet’s lips, and within the split second he realises he’s about to fall, he subconsciously braces for a painful impact. There isn’t anything he can stabilise himself with and he’s pretty sure he’s on a one-way track to saying hello to the station floor, yet a pair of familiar arms come around him just in time, supporting his back and holding him tight.
“Are you okay, Emmet?!”
Dazed, all he sees is his brother’s face, framed by sharp grey hair and a high black collar that blocks out the bright artificial lights above. His brother’s frown is one of concern and his eyes stare deep and intensely, seeming to glow from under the shade of his hat. It’s hard to look away.
But right now, their faces are close. Too close. Close enough for their noses to brush against each other, close enough for their synchronised breaths to be shared, close enough for Emmet’s hat to be pushed off of his head if the distance gets any smaller.
“…Emmet? Answer me, Emmet!”
Shocked out of his momentary stupor, Emmet quickly averts his eyes and his mouth snaps into the usual smile. “Yep! I’m fine,” he chirps. “…Thanks for catching me, Ingo. That was scary.”
“That makes the two of us.” The older twin breathes out a sigh of relief, and he helps bring the other back to his feet.
Emmet immediately puts a reasonable distance between them and he takes the time to neaten his uniform and fix his hat back onto his head. The action helps to calm himself down, though he can’t quite place why there’s this strange prickling under his skin. He feels awkward, jumpy, and he can’t seem to look Ingo in the eye even though he’s never had that problem before.
“Looks like this was the perpetrator for your trip just now,” Ingo says, and in his gloved hand he holds up a banana peel. A bright yellow, unblemished, freshly discarded banana peel.
Emmet blinks. Tripping on a banana peel? Seriously? What are the chances that something like that would happen? Usually he would find this cartoon-like situation hilarious, but he glares at the peel like it personally insulted him. “Where in Reshiram did that come from?”
“My guess would be a littering passenger or a mischievous pokemon… and I suppose the peel was hard to see because it blended well with the safety line,” Ingo suggests, tapping his shoe on the perfectly straight yellow strip that runs along the platform.
Looking between the offending banana and the safety yellow line, Emmet is sure some kind of joke can be made here, but he’s not Elesa. Well, in the first place, this is no laughing matter since someone almost got hurt—given that it was himself, but if anyone else were just as unfortunate… “Verrry dangerous! Someone has been slacking on their safety checks!” Emmet exclaims, snatching the banana peel from his brother’s hand, and he promptly heads off towards the staff area with quite the displeased smile on his face.
“Don’t be too harsh on the staff, Emmet!” Ingo calls out as he follows closely behind, though he spares a brief glance at the surrounding bystanders. It isn’t peak hour so there aren’t nearly as many people around, but for those who were possibly watching, they seem to grin and giggle behind their phones…
The very next day starts off a little different than usual as Ingo and Emmet slumber peacefully, blissfully unaware of what (figurative) fires have spread overnight. Their morning alarm has yet to signal the beginning of the day, thus making room for the incessant ringing of someone’s Xtransceiver which rudely disrupts the peace.
Emmet merely grumbles and pulls the covers over his head, leaving Ingo to be the one to actually deal with the ringing device. Fumbling with half-open eyes, the older twin accidentally accepts the incoming call and the face of a certain supermodel immediately appears on the screen.
“Good evening, internet sensations! Or is it morning over there?”
“What is it, Elesa?” Ingo responds while rubbing his tired eyes, adjusting to the brightness.
“Hey, is your brother with you right now?” Elesa leans closer to the camera, peeking as if she could see the additional Emmet-sized lump on the bed.
“Yes, Emmet is next to me,” the older twin simply responds, nudging the lump on his very right. “What of it?”
“Oh nothing~” Elesa lightly laughs and a rather mischievous grin stretches across her face. “I’m guessing neither of you have seen it!”
Ingo’s frown deepens. “Seen what?”
“Shut up. Too loud…” Emmet complains as he weakly kicks his twin from under the sheets, but it’s hardly effective for getting any of the unwelcome noises to stop.
“Ohh am I glad I get to be the one to show you this!”
“Please get to the point, Elesa. What’s going on?”
“Well! The two of you should see this for yourselves! I’ll send the link~”
Ingo shakes Emmet’s shoulder, demanding his attention, and with a yawn the younger twin reluctantly pulls his head out from under the covers. As his eyes open, the first thing he sees is the odd look on his brother’s face, reacting to whatever is on the Xtrans, and so he also turns his attention towards the screen.
He cringes at the brightness, but it’s not hard to tell that it’s an image of him being supported by Ingo, though only the back of their signature coats can be seen. It’s a candid photo taken from afar, but clearly this is depicting yesterday’s incident where he slipped on a banana peel, except from an external perspective. How embarrassing…
“Oh. That…” Emmet flatly mutters, sounding rather detached from the situation.
“Is that really all you have to say? Or has it not dawned on you that the world just caught the two of you kissing?” Elesa questions while raising an eyebrow.
“What?” Emmet blinks twice, verrry taken aback by what his friend is saying. “Kissing? We did not kiss,” he firmly states and he looks to his twin for support.
“Indeed, we did not,” Ingo honestly agrees. “And yet… the following image seems to suggest exactly that.”
Following his brother’s words, Emmet looks at the picture again with clearer eyes and he notices how easily the scene can be misunderstood. Their faces can’t be seen with the way their hats cover them, and the position of their bodies is similar to that of a romantic gesture—one brother holding the other tightly, dipping down to bring their faces so close together as if they really are kiss–
“But we did not kiss!” Emmet strongly denies, “It was a banana!”
“A banana made you guys kiss?” Elesa chuckles with disbelief.
“Well, to clarify,” Ingo helpfully explains, “Emmet slipped on a banana peel and I was fortunately able to catch him before he fell.”
“Yup! That’s the truth!”
“I see… You have amazing luck as always, Emmet.” The model just sighs with amusement, resting her pretty head in her hands. “So is that going to be your explanation when people ask you about this photo? Because they are definitely going to have a hard time believing that.”
“But it’s the truth!” Emmet exclaims, his smile twisting with confusion.
“I’m not doubting you, Emmet. It’s just that everyone who has already seen this picture is not going to be so easily convinced that it was ‘just a banana’…” Elesa reasons with a rather serious look on her face. “Plus the internet has already gone wild with this image and it’s not like you can simply erase its existence.”
The brothers share a glance, the magnitude of this issue just starting to dawn on them. Even though this stems from a mere misunderstanding, for Elesa to contact them about it like this must mean the photo is very widespread throughout the online sphere, enough to be rather problematic.
Emmet’s expression wavers but he instinctively looks to his twin, waiting for the next steps, and so Ingo naturally takes the lead, “Elesa. What do you think we should do? You have the most experience with matters such as these, so do you have any advice?”
Indeed, as a supermodel and Gym Leader, Elesa would have the most experience dealing with the whims of the online realm. She manages her own social media and she’s perfectly accustomed with playing the system in ways that benefit her… unlike the twins who don’t find much interest in having an online presence in the first place.
Yet, despite all her expertise, Elesa simply shrugs and replies, “Just ignore it!”
Even so, just ignoring the problem is easier said than done.
To think only a single photo would have such an impact is baffling to Emmet. He isn’t fully aware of the online responses to such an image (and perhaps it’s best for his mental wellbeing to stay away from it) but it’s enough to affect daily interactions with those around them. Everyone just seems to look at the two of them differently, and there’s certainly been some awkward moments now and again.
Strangely enough, their PR team has no issues with the sudden online attention, finding it better to just leave it be instead of attempting any damage control. In fact, it’s actually bringing in more people to the Battle Subway than ever before for some reason. The positive outcome cannot be denied, and so the twins had agreed to just ignore the extra attention and carry on as usual.
The only thing is, Emmet finds that quite hard to do. Unlike his brother, he doesn’t consider himself a master of keeping a straight face at all. Rather, his expressions are verrry obvious, and his discomfort and embarrassment are easily made apparent, much to the amusement of his and his brother’s supposed ‘fans’. Being called ‘cute’ by strangers is one thing, but all the intrusive questions about his relationships are just plain rude!
If only he were more like Ingo he would have the right demeanour to get all these people to back off, but it really is difficult for him to remain calm and in control. He isn’t used to this much attention, thus he’s getting overly aware of other people, feeling like there are way too many eyes on him all the time… some of which don’t exactly have the purest thoughts behind them…
It’s why he’s felt the need to put some distance between him and his twin. No more casual touches, close conversations, or prolonged eye contact. All just so that those intense fiery stares would decrease. He definitely doesn’t feel happy with doing that, especially since Ingo is the only support he has, but it really does worry him that something else might happen while he’s in his brother’s company. What if he slips on a banana peel again? Or brushes shoulders too closely with his twin? Then the public has yet another excuse to go wild with more misinformation, and that’s the last thing Emmet wants! It’s already suffocating enough that he can’t shout out the truth for all to hear!
“There’s no need to worry so much about it, Emmet,” his brother insists, a hand on his shoulder in comfort, and Emmet is just glad that they're in the privacy of their own home right now. Apparently, this is now the only place where he can relax and stop feeling so… on edge.
He’s free to interact with Ingo as he wishes, and he doesn’t stop himself from hugging the other’s arm and rubbing his face against a shoulder. “But I don’t like the attention,” he pitifully grumbles, “It feels itchy.”
Ingo removes both of their hats to hang on the coat rack, and he takes off his work gloves just so he can pat the younger twin on the head. “We just need to endure it. I’m sure it’ll pass as soon as more interesting news comes out.”
Emmet understands their objective. He really does, but even then he doesn’t like how long this has gone on for. He nuzzles into his brother’s shoulder again, hiding the frown that tugs at the corners of his mouth. “…Does it not bother you?”
“With how the online world is, I personally find this to be more amusing than irritating,” Ingo admits, and as he walks into their apartment Emmet inevitably follows, sticking to him like a clingy Joltik. “Just put it into perspective. It’s certainly better than being cancelled for more serious matters, since we might even find ourselves without a job if that were the case! And I can’t complain about the increased level of engagement the Battle Subway has been experiencing.”
“But… I don’t like the misunderstanding,” Emmet mutters, aware that he sounds petulant, but he’s finding it difficult to express that murky feeling inside him. “It’s just not right. We can’t even state the truth!”
Ingo’s gaze is sympathetic and he carefully leads the younger twin to the couch, only so they can sit comfortably and see each other’s faces properly. “Look, Emmet… Sometimes people just don’t believe the truth, no matter how much you throw it in their faces. I know you don’t appreciate the assumptions being made about you, but in the end they’re all just conjectures made by random strangers. Instead of being distracted by that, focus on the people around you.” With those words, he softly caresses Emmet’s cheek, ensuring those wandering eyes are on him only. “Don’t think I don’t notice how you’re purposely avoiding me.”
“I… Sorry, Ingo.” Emmet drops his head in shame, realising the negative effect his actions must’ve had on his twin. They’ve never liked being apart from one another, and creating distance between them would naturally cause them both the same amount of pain. He somehow didn’t realise that basic fact, perhaps because his brother is so good at seeming like he’s perfectly fine, but that’s certainly no excuse for being ignorant. “I wasn’t thinking. I am sorry. I won’t do it again. It’s just… this whole thing makes me feel… icky.”
Ingo’s frown twitches. “…Do you hate the thought of being kissed by me that much?”
“Huh?” Confused, Emmet’s eyes snap up and he notices an undefinable expression on his brother’s face. A type of frown that he doesn’t have a category for.
“Would you hate being kissed by me?” Ingo firmly repeats, leaning closer as if he’s pursuing something. “Because… I personally think that if I were to kiss anyone right now, I wouldn’t mind if it were you.”
“W-What?” Emmet stutters, eyes going wide. “But we’re twins!”
“And it’s just a simple peck on the lips.” Ingo catches Emmet’s chin before he can back away, putting them face to face. “You’ve never had your first kiss before, have you?”
“No…” Emmet utters with a small voice, truly confused by this odd turn in conversation.
The older twin’s eyes briefly glance down at smiling lips, and he hesitates a moment before asking, “Then how would you feel if your very first kiss was stolen by some stranger?”
Emmet doesn’t need to ponder that for even a second, immediately cringing both internally and externally. “Ew. Nope. I wouldn’t like that.”
“Precisely! I knew you would feel the same.” Ingo seems to light up, sounding more confident than before. “So, comparatively, wouldn’t it be better if we shared our first kiss? You can only have one ‘first’ after all!”
“I guess so…?” While Emmet isn’t entirely sure what his brother is getting up to by saying all this, he isn’t one to reject the other’s ideas. He’d be happy to do anything for Ingo, truly. Though it seems he doesn’t know where to draw the line, and it’s already too late once Ingo crosses it.
Emmet is frozen still as his lips are stolen, claimed for just a brief few seconds, but it’s like his brain short circuits. That weird feeling is back again. His skin is prickling, his hair is standing on end, and his heart is strangely aflutter. His warm cheeks feel even warmer when he sees the look on Ingo’s face, so verrry satisfied with that Purrloin-like smirk. And indeed did he purloin something…
“Don’t go saying it was a banana, Emmet. We both know that isn’t true~!” Ingo sing-songs, and he brings affectionate arms around the younger twin, ensuring he can’t easily escape.
It seems what was once a misunderstanding now has a lot more truth to it, and Emmet groans as he covers his face with his hands in embarrassment. Newly realised feelings cause a bright blush to spread to the tips of his ears, and he only gets even redder as his brother showers him with sweet little kisses.
