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After unpacking his bags and a flight of at least ten and a half hours, Arven was finally able to lie down for a moment in the comfort of what would be his room for the next few weeks.
He had arrived in Unova just a few hours earlier, in the afternoon, though he had a few things to take care of first. He was temporarily staying at Blueberry Academy, where he would be giving extracurricular lessons to the younger students — all about proper nutrition for adventurous trainers and hungry Pokémon.
All of that would gradually earn him credits, and if he was lucky, maybe he could graduate this school year.
While he was in the shower, enjoying a well-deserved hot bath —which had been a struggle to take, since he forgot that Celsius wasn’t the norm for measuring temperature in this region— he went over his introduction speech in his head. He wasn’t bad with the language, but nerves could definitely mess with him.
“Good morning, I’m Arven. Exchange student from Paldea.”
He repeated it to himself over and over until he started breaking it down by letters. Until even his own name started sounding strange in his mouth.
He thought arriving in the region two days early would help.
He was wrong.
Not only did he have to constantly remember the Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion, and deal with the terrifying bathroom ventilation system every time he walked in — but the nearly 12-hour time difference with Paldea made him sleepy way too early and wide awake at night.
In his pajamas and enjoying the comfort of the room, he picked up his SmartRotom and scrolled through his contacts, replying to a few messages he’d received.
Penny.
Florian.
Nemona.
Giacomo.
He had briefly spoken to him in a call when he first arrived in the region, but he needed to hear him again — he already missed that voice. It had become addictive, just listening to him ramble about anything. He opened their chat and read the last message he had received.
“Good night. How’s everything in Unova?”
“Alright, I guess. I found a very curious Pokémon that looks like Toedscool. It's called Tentacool and it lives in the water.”
It was already morning in Paldea — Arven could feel it. Sleep wouldn’t come.
“Giacomo, can you call me when you can?”
Sent.
One, two, five minutes passed...
And then, the call came.
— I thought you'd be asleep. Isn’t it nighttime over there? — Giacomo’s cheerful voice echoed through the academy room.
— I can't sleep. I napped on the plane and now I can’t doze off.
— So you’re calling me to bore you? Alright… I see how it is. — A laugh came through the other end of the line. Loud, but sweet. One Arven could never forget.
— Hey… I miss you too, you know. That’s the real reason I called. I want to know how my favorite DJ is doing.
— Pretty good. Powering through extracurriculars like a champ. Speaking of champs… Didn’t the student council president go with you?
— Yeah… Though she is in a room far from mine. She looked really tired when I talked to her. I hope she gets to sleep, unlike me.
Arven snuggled into bed, placing the device beside him.
— Do you miss me?
— A lot.
— Me too.
— When you come back, I’ll take you to that restaurant you mentioned. Don’t get discouraged, I’m not going anywhere.
— Giacomo…
— Yeah?
Silence.
— It feels weird to have so much space in bed. I used to love sharing it…
— Mabosstiff will fill in for me. Don’t worry.
— He picked the Pokéball tonight, so I’m alone.
Arven pulled the sheets up over part of his face. He didn’t bother turning off the lights.
— My love…
And that was enough to leave Arven breathless for a few seconds.
— You never call me that…
— I never have you on the other side of the world. Want me to stay on the line until you fall asleep?
— Please.
— So, how was your day?
— Alright, all things considered. This academy has a terrarium full of Pokémon I’ve never seen in my life — most aren’t in Paldea. And you can use Tera Orbs here too.
— Even Unova has TeraOrbs now? I guess I’ll get my hands on one someday.
— I’ll see if I can get one for you. Don’t forget who my parents are… — he chuckled.
— Tempting offer… But right now I’d rather not have so much homework and just visit you.
— I'm already starting to regret coming here…
— Hey, give it a few more days. You just got there. There’s so much to see and do. It was a long day, just take it easy, okay? I’m sure you’ll love teaching those classes.
— I’ll try… I’d love for you to see the terrarium. It’s really beautiful.
— Well then, you’ve got a new mission: explore it all and send me pictures. I’ll be waiting for them.
A soft yawn escaped Arven.
— What time is it over there?
— Exactly midnight… I’m never awake this late.
— Technically you’re not. You’re just awake in Paldea. But I can always keep telling you useless facts until you fall asleep.
— What are you doing?
— Homework, errands… I tried to bake a pizza and now I’m making sure the kitchen doesn’t blow up.
— You, cooking?
— Well, my five-star chef left for Unova, so I tried something more complex using your recipe book. At least it looked okay when I put it in the oven.
— Hey, Giac… If you manage to graduate this year… what would you do? I’m guessing you already have a plan or something…
— Maybe going to Unova and trying my luck with music there. But staying in Paldea is still an option. What about you?
— I was thinking about going to college. Studying culinary arts. Though… I’m not so sure.
— I think you’d be the best at it. Can I be your guinea pig for recipes?
— Of course.
Soft laughter. His eyelids were getting heavy, but he didn’t have the strength to get up and turn off the light.
— The pizza looks decent, one sec…
The next thing Arven heard was groaning. Someone had forgotten the oven mitts. He heard the faucet turn on and Giacomo muttering a string of nonsense curses.
— Yeah, it’s hot…
— I… figured as much…
He heard a crunch.
— I suck.
— Aww… Don’t say that.
— I need more practice. The good thing is, I’ve got time. The bad thing is, I miss you.
— I love you.
— ... I love you too. Are you okay?
— Maybe I relaxed a bit… maybe too much.
— I see. In that case… get some rest.
Neither of them hung up. And just a few minutes later, the only thing Giacomo could hear from Arven was his breathing.
— Goodnight, Arven. I love you.
And Arven stayed asleep — with a smile on his face.