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Clemont exhaled as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He wasn't sure just how long he'd been toggling with his latest ambition, but golden light leaking in through the windows told him that it'd been far too long. His jumpsuit stuck to his skin from the sweat he'd accumulated, fiddling with blowtorches and enduring smoky explosions indoors. Bonnie always told him it was bad for his lungs; a warning that he knew she repeated from their father. So, that was his cue for a break.
He walked up the stairwell connected to his shop, making his way to the balcony atop Prism Tower. After the Eve of the Red Skies, he'd taken initiative to build guardrails all around the top levels. (After Ash and Serena's battle with Alain and Lysandre, it'd been torn, scorched, and battered into disrepair. This was as good an excuse to renovate for safety measures as any.)
The fresh air brushed his skin like the soothing touch of a loved one. He sighed pleasantly, and walked out to appreciate the skyline; the sun was starting to dip behind Lumiose's many buildings; some still caved out, gored, and halfway demolished from that awful night.
But, the city was busy and bustling; a sign things were returning to normal. The Gym Leader smiled, leaning his arms on the railing to appreciate his fair city. He could just enjoy the quiet—
"Hey, Clem! Bout time you came out of your cave."
He startled, gripping the railing. Ash was a short distance away, leaning back against the diagonal slope running up towards the true top of the tower. He sat, cross-legged, soaking in the sunset. "I know you've got your hands full and busy, but it's a nice time of day, y'know?"
Something was off about Ash, however. Not his clumsy typical extravert's clumsy attempts to playfully goad an introvert into the world of the living, no. (That was normal for him.) It was the giant orange and grey bird leaning into him, and picking at his wild black tresses.
Ash's hat laid upside-down at his side.
"...Um. Ash." Clemont uncomfortably cleared his throat.
"...Yeah?" Ash looked up, blinking. It was like he wasn't even acknowledging Artemis's behavior. "Sorry. You don't like it when I make those 'cave' jokes, right? I promised I'd lay off it."
"No, no! That's— I've resigned to that. I know you mean well." The blonde shook his head in dismissal. "I'm talking about Artemis." He pointed his index finger at Ash's Talonflame.
"...Yeah? What about her?" Ash absently ran a hand along her feathered back.
"She's… preening you." Clemont cleared his throat again, feeling his complexion turn from a pale shade of tan to a ruddy red. "Surely you've noticed?"
Ash blinked once, twice, and thrice. "...I know."
He didn't know.
"Ash." Clemont walked over from the railing, sitting on the opposite side of Ash. He carefully picked up Ash's cap and set it beside him to make room for himself. His hand, still smeared with ashes and oil, came down on Ash's shoulder. "In the Talonflame line, preening one another is a behavior exclusively expressed between mates."
Clemont had the privilege as a witness to the gears turning in Ash's mind spelled out on his face. His dark chocolate eyes dilated several orders, and his sclera widened proportionately; said eyes flicking over to the bird who was reorganizing his bangs several times over. His mouth was agape; not enough to speak, but enough to show he was essentially blue-screening.
"I hate to deliver the news so suddenly," the engineer continued, pulling his hand back from Ash's shoulder. He felt mildly uncomfortable doing so, anyway; he tended to view Pokémon through an analytical lens, ordinarily; like subjects of study. Even if they weren't animals — far from it, they were exponentially smarter in most cases, and more self-aware in all — they boasted many properties he didn't and couldn't, so they were worthy subjects of analysis.
But, that plexiglass barrier between himself and them seemed almost absent, when one he knew personally looked him right in the eyes while attending to his friend as a partner would.
"But I think it's only the responsible thing for me to inform you when your own Pokémon is engaging with you in a way that you may not be awa— do you have to keep grooming him while I'm sitting right beside you!?" He snapped, hissing through his teeth. His glasses started to fog over, with the steam pouring out of his ears accompanying his embarrassment.
(It was a mercy, really, that it made the Fire-type little more than an orange-ish smear.)
"Do something about it," she squawked.
In actuality, Clemont couldn't understand her; he knew for a fact that Ash could, but he didn't need to ask. The shrill, smug fucking upward inflection told him everything he needed to know.
"I— fucking Arceus. Alright." Clemont exhaled, resigning himself to the fact that he wouldn't win an argument with a Pokémon who he'd essentially be playing telephone with, had talons that could tear out his throat, and could heat her body to hundreds of degrees celsius in an instant.
Artemis wouldn't do these things to him, of course, but she could taunt him, anyway.
"You see, as Fire-types who shed in any significant fashion, Talonflame have to pluck any dead tissue before igniting their bodies again as Fire-types do, lest they burn when they lose their inherent Pokémon properties. For the most part, they can handle this duty themselves, but much like humans would… well…" He coughed into his hand. "...share a bath, for instance. Talonflame preen one another as a show of intimacy. They value the patterns of their plumage — all of which are slightly different and unique between individuals — very much, so the right to groom one's feathers is only extended to a paired partner. It's a show of trust and intimacy."
Artemis still hadn't stopped, during his monologue. She occasionally looked Clemont in the eye, even, as she plucked a split end that Ash hadn't bothered attending to. The nerve of this bird!
"Huh, no kidding?" Ash was more attentive to Artemis's preening, now, but naturally, he didn't stop her, either. "Now that you mention it, it reminds me of how Braixen handle their fur."
"Rather similar, actually!" Clemont expanded, raising a finger excitedly; his passion for knowledge had beaten his discomfort down with a tire iron. "Although I'd make a distinction that the Fennekin line groom far more often, and require more assistance from their peers — peers, I specify, as their demand affects their supply."
Ash looked like he was dead between the ears, then.
"...But, enough econ drivel." Clemont cleared his throat. "That is to say, Fennekin, Braixen, and Delphox, by their biology, need more help grooming, and groom more regularly. Therefore, it's less like a partner tending to another, and more like Serena brushing Bonnie's hair."
"Oh! Alright, that makes sense." Ash smiled; eyes glistening with curiosity. Clemont was proud of himself when he managed to puncture Ash's experience-oriented learning style to instill him with any intellectual curiosity that persisted for more than a couple of sentences.
But, that curiosity flickered as it came, when he turned to Artemis, forcing the Talonflame to release his hair, lest she pluck it out painfully. Ash squinted. "So, when were you gonna tell me?"
"I assumed you already knew." Artemis shrugged her wings. "You kept entertaining me. I figured I was already in."
Ash squinted, his lower lip pulling into a pout. "I'm not a Talonflame, y'know."
"You're a Pokémon Master, aren't cha?" Her squawk came out sudden and shrill, like a laugh. "You should know these things. Get good."
Ash's pout soured. "She told me to 'get good.' I get no respect from these guys." He barked, waving a hand about in feigned outrage. "No respect!"
Artemis only laughed more.
"This is why I had to tell you." Clemont shook his head. "Nevermind that. When did this start?"
"Y'know, I'm wondering the same thing." Ash cut the jokes, turning to the Fire-type with wide-eyed curiosity. "I know I'm not the best at catching cues, but I've got nothin'."
"Well, first I saved you from being burned alive, because you're a swell guy, and it'd be bad if you were well-done like a filet mignon," she explained to Ash, gesturing with her wings in a way that told Clemont she was giving a serious answer. Probably. "But, that second time? On Mt. Molteau? You, Beefcake. You jumped into a fucking volcano to catch me in your arms!" She hugged her wings in, as if cradling something. Ah. This was about Mt. Molteau, wasn't it.
"Now, I don't really give a shit about romance, or anything like that. Bottom of my bucketlist of things-to-do. But, that stunt of yours? That made even me do a little 'ba-dump.'"
"...Ooooooooh." Ash drew out his note of realization. The gears were all clicking into place, for him! "It was Mt.—"
"It was Mt. Molteau," Clemont finished dryly. "A life-risking stunt does make sense. Pokémon are keen to danger, and they know how fragile humans are, compared to them. One of them throwing themselves towards a certain doom for them has to have a lot of emotional weight!"
"Nerd's right. I already liked ya, but after that? I loved ya." Artemis clicked her beak with an uncharacteristic cute little swoon. "But, I'm also not stupid. You'd have to be blind to not see what was going on with Serena — let alone Dawn. "
"...Shit. Another one." Ash frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "You knew I was available, right?"
"Easy, Casanova! I told you. I was fine. I didn't know you were the team bicycle back then, so I shrugged it off; I get to stay by your side, either way. You can smooch me on the beak or whatever it is you humans do, or not. Like, preferably—" Artemis stopped herself. "Point is, I gave up. But, it's been proven you were easy pickings."
"Are you calling me easy!?"
Clemont choked on his spit.
"Check your scorecard, and get back to me."
"You're a jackass," Ash fired back. "My jackass, but still."
His. Clemont was tired. "I didn't think you were aiming to be a Pokémon Dating Master."
Ash shrugged, and reached to pet behind Artemis's head, leaning in to nuzzle her. "It's all the same to me, ain't it? My goal is to understand Pokémon! And, apparently, part of that is understanding that to some Pokémon — not naming names — I'm a 'cut of filet mignon.'"
"Hold the ketchup, before Pikachu ruins that filet."
"Oh, fuck off." Ash's protests were feeble; he grinned and nuzzled her, more.
"You're not very good at catching onto that, by the by."
"Well, then I'll just have to keep getting to know you guys, won't I?" Ash's smile widened.
"You two are… exasperating," Clemont huffed. "Absolutely exasperating. But, also inspiring."
"Inspiring?" Ash echoed, eyes widening. "Like, including all this?" He gestured around.
"Your penchant for adaptability has always been one of your strong suits — something I've struggled to match, even with my best efforts." Clemont smiled, looking off into the sunset. "If you can keep up with lovesick Performers, conceited Coordinators, egotistical fairies, prideful ninjas and luchadors, spoiled foxes… lovesick sauropods…" This list was getting far too long.
"Proud snakes, mythical muses," Ash added.
"Those, yes!" Clemont acknowledged, exasperated. "...obnoxious birds." He pointedly eyed Artemis. She looked proud.
The inventor smiled, and shook his head. "I guess the possibilities for the rest of us are endless, aren't they?"