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"Buneary, would you want to like… move in? Like… officially?" Ivor and I were cuddling on the couch watching one of his favorite kaiju movies, The Titanic Tyranitar, when he popped up with that question. The timing of it caught me off guard — I even bounced in a bit of shock in his lap, but the subject was something I'd been thinking about for a quite some time myself. Ivor and I have been dating for nearly seven months now, and I had spent a significant portion of that sleeping over at his apartment. I was practically living here full-time already, but with half of my belongings still at Hotel Z. I'd been hoping he'd ask for a few weeks now, but I didn't want to seem pushy asking myself. Now that I'm actually here, though… I'm scared. Not about moving in with Ivor and Gwynn, but about how my friends will react— mostly Urbain. I think Lida and Naveen will take it fine, but with Urbain and I's past, it's… complicated, to say the least.
I finally answered after what seemed like an eternity of thinking. I knew my answer instantly, but all that time in my head made my mind wander. Once snapped back into reality, I squealed, "Of course I would! I've been waiting for you to ask!" The shining smile on Ivor's face grew, cheeks pushing into his soft eyes. An arm wrapped around my waist
"I know you've basically been living with me anyways, but I thought I'd finally make it official." He squeezed at my waist. He's right. I've basically made a little life for myself out here, away from Hotel Z and Team MZ, even if it's only a 15 minute walk away. It was relaxing, in a way, living with Ivor. As unpredictable, loud, and brash as he can be, he's become my rock. After a long day of jumping through hyperspace-portals, hunting for shiny Pokémon, and brushing up on my battle skills, he's always there for me with a big smile on his face and grabby hands ready to snuggle. "Would you wanna get the rest of your stuff from Hotel Z tomorrow? Maybe we could set up a little moving-out party! I'm sure your friends would love that!" He beamed.
"Moving out tomorrow sounds a bit… scary. I don't know, I want my friends to be able to like… have some time to know before I officially move out, you know? But we could tell them tomorrow! Do you think you could come with? I'm kinda scared to do it alone…"
"Of course I'll be there, Buneary. I'm not gonna let you do that all by yourself, no way." A hand snaked it's way down to my exposed thigh, squeezing the soft flesh possessively.
"Does Gwynn know you want me to move in? I wouldn't want to like… overstep any boundaries with her."
"Please, she was practically begging me to ask you. She loves you—even if she doesn't want to say it. Plus she thinks I behave better when I'm around you, so..." He chuckled with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. It's true, he hasn't gotten in nearly as much trouble as he used to since we've started dating. Complaints from people who live by the dojo and around Lumiose as a whole have completely dried up.
"Aww, my man's been a good boy because of me!" His face flushed, staining his ivory skin a beautiful Cherubi-red. "I'll text Lida to set up a team meeting tomorrow! Aah! I can't believe this is finally happening!"
"Me neither, Buneary! It's gonna be so nice having my good little girl here all the time!" Fast hands flew to my hips, where he knows I'm most ticklish.
"Ivy!!" A cackle ripped through me like I'd just become a woman posessed. "Ivy!! Stop!! Stop it!!!"
"I can't help myself! You're just too cute for me not to play with!" His hands gradually came to a stop. "I'm just happy to have you, Buneary. I'm so happy you're moving in." Ivor's PoryPhone flew out from his sweatpants' pocket, notifying us that it was well past our usual bedtime. Even Gwynn's already gone to sleep, and she's a total night owl.
"Alright, bunbun, it's bedtime." Unceremoniously, he turned off the TV, shutting it down mid-movie. He scooped me up into his strong arms tight and safe up against his chest. Once in his bedroom, he plopped me down onto the soft mattress. With careful hands, he slowly removed my day clothing, replacing it with one of his old hoodies, my favorite pajamas. The hoodie he chose for me this time was an old favorite of his from his teenage years, a berry red bodice with black sleeves featuring a painstakingly hand embroidered Tyranitar paired with some simple cotton black OTK socks to keep my legs nice and toasty. At this point, the hoodie's way too small for him to wear himself, with his giant muscles and all, but it's adorably oversize on me. Strong hands made delicate work of the clothes, affixing them to me with utmost tenderness. The man was so scared of accidentally hurting me with his gargantuan strength, that he often took ages to do simple things like dressing me, and it couldn't be more adorable. He briefly admired his handiwork before chiming, "There we go! All ready for bed!" From the living room, our Furfrou, Dior, finally noticed our absence, and ran over from his little pet-bed into our bedroom, bouncing up onto the mattress with ease. "Aww, good pup!" Ivor gave Dior a few headpats before sinking down into the bed himself. Two muscular arms coiled around my waist, pulling me extremely tight to his warm body. "All mine…" Slumber took it's toll on us, and we finally surrendered to it's pull.
The aroma of freshly brewed tea and a warm croissant wafted through the air. Groggy, tired eyes sluggishly lifted to the sight of a dreamy man bathed in golden rays. "Aww, hey there, sleepy Buneary! Dior and I got you breakfast from Nouveau Café on our run! Don't get up, I'll get you a little tray, hold on." Ivor sprinted out of the room towards the kitchen while Dior jumped up to join me in bed. He woofed faintly, paper bag in his mouth with a pup-cup inside. I opened the little baggie for him, taking a hold of the small paper cup filled with whipped cream and topped with a homemade biscuit. The Furfrou inhaled all of the sweet cream within seconds as I held it out for him, clearly enjoying his sweet morning treat. Ivor returned with a little tray table, placing it on top of my lap before serving my meal on top of it. "Strawberry croissant, freshly baked, and your usual tea, two pumps of honey, just how you like it."
"Ivy, you didn't have to do all this." I stared up at him with stars in my eyes. The morning rays filtering in through the golden curtains made him look absolutely heavenly, his blonde bangs shining like a halo. My guardian angel.
He joined me in bed, pulling me into a soft side-hug. "Oh, but I did! Anything to brighten up wifey's morning."
"We're not even engaged, silly! But, seriously, thank you, Ivy. I love you."
His cheek nuzzled into mine. "I love you too, Buneary. Now, eat up! You got a big day today, remember?"
Right… Today's the day my MZ besties find out I'm moving out… Dear Arceus, I hope they don't freak out. "I told Lida we'd be at Hotel Z at 1. What time is it?"
"10am, babygirl. Thought I'd let you sleep in a little bit." That's barely sleeping in for me and he knows it. "We should probably shower… We didn't last night, and now I'm all sweaty… Shower with me after breakfast, babe?" I agreed before he could even finish speaking, nodding my head hastily like I had gone feral. He snickered underneath his breath, "Silly girl…"
Carefully, I broke open the strawberry croissant, cautious to not get any of it's flaky crumbs on the bed sheets. Delightfully cooked berries oozed out of the soft layers of pastry, leaving a sweet pink syrup to flavor the light and fluffy dough.
Ivor, deadset on taking a shower soon, began to strip before me— talk about breakfast and a show. First to go was his vermillion and grey obi belts, followed by his white gi pants. After removing his gloves, he peeled off the compression sleeve on his left arm, throwing it into the hamper in the corner. Lastly came off the tight black tank that always seemed vaccuum compressed onto his body. It never left much to the imagination, the outline of his pecs and abs being very prominent. Once that was off, he was left in nothing but some plaid burgundy boxers. He sunk back down onto the bed, finally noticing how my eyes were glued to him as I ate my breakfast. His face flushed an adorable pink, much like the strawberry croissant I've been eating. "I didn't realize you'd be watching so… intently, bunbun." I simply giggled at the flustered man as I took the final bite of my breakfast.
"Come on, big guy. It's shower time."
All cleaned up, I sat in Ivor's lap as I did my makeup for the day. Nothing too flashy, just some nude shadows with a subtle pink shimmer on my eyes, sharp eyeliner, rosy blush, and a glossy nude lip. Ivor sat in front of my mirror in absolute awe, watching every single action with extreme vigilance. "I'm so amazed by you, Buneary. So stinkin' cute…" His head came to rest on my shoulder.
Adoring his admiration of me, I suggested something, "Aww, thank you, Ivysaur! You know… I could do your makeup one day! You'd look so cute!"
"I'm down for that! I can never say no to quality time with my girl." A bombardment of small kisses were planted all over my face before a final big kiss met my lips, getting lipstick all over his cute face, ever the messy kisser he was.
Without even thinking about it, like it was second nature, I rummaged through my drawer to find a makeup wipe for Ivor to clean himself off with. "Here, Ivysaur. I just gotta fix my lips and we're ready to go!" With a dumb smile on his face, he wiped himself off as I reapplied my lipgloss.
"How did I end up with such a pretty girl in my lap?" His cheek nuzzled up against mine. "I mean, seriously, you're a beautiful little angel."
"Ivysaur!! So flirty today!"
"Can't help itttt. My Buneary's just too adorable." With a final touch, my makeup was done for the day. "You ready to go, bunbun?"
"Yup!" Peering over my shoulder, I called to Dior, who was taking an early siesta on our bed. "Dior! C'mere, boy! C'mere! Good boy!"
"You ready for a walk, little dude?" The Furfrou's eyes sparkled at the thought, letting out multiple excited woofs. Ivor reached for the leash hung up on the wall, attaching it to Dior's pretty pink collar. With one hand on the leash, his other reached for mine, beginning our trek to Hotel Z.
"Ugh, looks like Urbain's gonna be late. Something with Quasartico." Lida complained. The tall wooden walls of the meeting room enclosed around us, with not even a window to let in some natural light. I never used to feel like this before, but right now, it feels more claustrophobic than ever. "So, girlie, why did you call us here for a team meeting?" questioned Lida, who was sitting across the table from Ivor and I. Naveen stuck by Lida's side. Even though Ivor and I have been dating for a while, Naveen has found it difficult to open up and connect with him, probably because of how loud he tends to be.
"Well… I kinda wanted to wait until Urb—"
"Sorry! Sorry! I'm here now!" Urbain rushed through the hotel's entrance and into the meeting room, setting down a Quasartico branded backpack onto the table. He pulled up a chair close to Ivor and I, settling in comfortably. "What's up, you two? It's been a bit."
"I guess it has, huh? Um…" Ivor sensed my unease, and softly squished my thigh to hopefully recenter my thoughs. "Right… so um… I called for this meeting because…"
Garnet eyes peered into mine. "You got this, Buneary." Whispered Ivor. His big hand wrapped itself around mine.
"Please don't hate me… I—I want to move in and live with Ivor, like, full time. So like, I think it's time for me to like… move out?" I managed to stutter through.
"That's it?" Naveen snickered to himself. "I mean, you two have basically been living together anyways."
"Yeah, plus, it's not like you're moving out of Lumiose! You're just gonna be like a 15 minute walk away. If you wanna do it, we're all for it!" Thank Arceus that Naveen and Lida are taking it well. Urbain remained quiet though, his fingers danced nervously around each other as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Lida broke the awkward silence. "Was that everything, girlie? I mean, we could help you pack your things like… right now. I don't have anything else going on today." Naveen nodded, showing he was down to help out too.
"Ooh, that'd be nice, Li!" My gaze remained on Urbain, who still hasn't said anything, only the occasional glance up to me sitting in Ivor's lap. His face looked… cloudy, lost in thought. I wanted to ask how he's doing but… it doesn't feel like the right time. I just hope he's not upset at me…
The five of us began to clean up my old hotel room, putting all of my belongings left there into big boxes. Everyone handled their own sections of the room, Lida and I reorganized my makeup, Naveen stored the fashion dolls we made together, Ivor handled my clothing and sensitive items, and Urbain took down the vinyl records I'd collected over the past few years. Everything seemed fine until Urbain called out my name.
"What's up? Did you need me for something?"
"Can we talk? Like… just the two of us?" Ominous question…
"Uh… yea, sure?" The two of us stepped out of the room and into the main hallway. "So… what did you want to talk about?"
His piercing blue eyes bore into mine. "Are you sure about this?"
"Sure about… what, exactly?"
"Moving out. I mean, do you really even know this guy? I just don't want you to rush into anything that you'd regret."
"Urbain…" I sighed. "I appreciate your concern, I really do, but I'm pretty dead set on this. Ivor and I have been dating for seven months, which like, I know isn't like a super long amount of time, but, I mean… I'd like to think I know him pretty well… I really love him like… a lot."
His eyes watered ever so slightly, almost as if in defeat or denial. "But what if he hurts you? Breaks your heart? Makes you cry? Who's gonna protect you then?"
"Those are what ifs, Urbain. Look… I know he didn't have the best reputation around Lumiose before I got here, but we've worked on that together! Really, he's a super nice and chill guy who's done nothing but love and protect me. You don't have to keep worrying about me. I'll be fine."
"I guess you're right… but I don't know, maybe it's just jealousy talking, but I don't know if he's... you know, the right one for you." His hand reached out for mine. "… I… I really like you, like, a lot, and… I don't want you to move out. I… I don't want to lose you, I don't want to lose what we had." Echoes of some of the first nights I spent in Lumiose flashed into my mind. The nights we spent staring at Prism Tower, people watching, confessing secrets we've never told before. The nights we spent drunk off his favorite wine… The chaste pecks on the lips that turned into full-on makeout sessions… and the night it went further than that…
I couldn't bear to look him in the eye. "I… I enjoyed those nights together too. But…" I remembered why I left him in the first place. His inability to commit. The implication that we would never be anything more than just friends with benefits… but now he wants me all to himself? "…we were just… having fun? I mean, that's what you told me. You're a really nice guy, Urbain… but I realized that— even though we worked as a team, as friends… we weren't right for each other romantically. And I told you that, you told me you understood." An uneasy breath flowed into my lungs, like a knife was floating in between them, ready to puncture at any moment. "We're not good for each other, Urbain. Not in that way at least. I moved on… you should too."
"Right… I'm really sorry… I don't know why this came over me again. For some reason, I thought that if I just… tried really hard, I could have you again. Thank you, for everything, really. For all the nights we spent together, for saving Lumiose with me… and most importantly, for being my friend. I haven't had a lot of those before."
"You're a really good guy, Urbain. I hope you can find someone who makes you happy, you really do deserve it."
"Thanks... and uh… if you ever need it, you always have a home here at Hotel Z, okay?"
"Thank you, Urbie, it really means a lot. I'm so glad that fate brought us together."
"So am I."
Just then, the doorknob twisted slightly before opening up to reveal Ivor. "Hey, you two. We just finished packing up everything, should I just take them to our apartment now, Buneary?"
Caught a bit off guard from the tender moment with Urbain, I stumbled through my words "Oh! Uh… Yea!… That'd be— that'd be amazing, Ivy. T-thank you…"
He smiled brightly, not catching any of the remaining tension in the room. He swiftly gestured to Lida and Naveen, who filled his arms with two large cardboard boxes, each with a smaller box on top of them. "Are you sure you don't need any help?" Urbain questioned. "I mean, I could carry that for you—"
"Nah, I'm good! Besides, it'll be a great workout!" His gaze shifted to me just as the elevator dinged to our floor. "I'll text you when I'm on my way back, babygirl! Byeeeee! I love youuuu!!!!!!!" He purposefully drew out as the elevator's door closed.
A few seconds of silence passed before Urbain broke it with "You know, maybe he is right for you…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I giggled.
Naveen cut in. "He's stupid."
"Navy!!"
He kept going. "Bro has a room temperature IQ. Just completely unencumbered by the thought process. A total meathead." Ever since knowing Naveen, I've realized he only reads someone this hard if he truly likes someone… I think he's finally warmed up to Ivor! Wait…
"Wait… Is that supposed to mean—" A smug grin grew on Naveen's face as laughter began to bubble from Urbain and Lida. "Dear Arceus, Y'all are so mean to me!!" I falsely whined in protest.
Naveen's arm came up to rest around my shoulder in a side-hug. "It's cause we love you, nerd."
Lida jumped into the embrace, signaling for Urbain to join us. "Yea!! We love you, girlie! Group hug! Come on, Urbain!" Naveen groaned at the thought of it before letting out a defeated sigh. Urbain slowly stepped forward, his arms wrapping carefully around all three of us.
He chuckled softly, "Man, I love you guys so much… Team MZ forever?"
"Forever!" Lida beamed.
"…Forever." Naveen sarcastically grumbled.
I took in my friends around me. All amazing people who shaped me into the person I am today. I'm so proud of all of us and what we've done and what we'll do in the future. With a deep breath, I professed, "Yeah… forever. I love you guys, and moving out'll won't change that. You are all in my heart, forever."