Work Text:
It was a cool late night. The sky outside was pitch black with only the stars giving any type of light. The Brave Olivine landed in a grass field that was surrounded by a forest, hiding the airship. Most of the Rising Volt Tacklers were fast asleep. Most aside from one.
Dot.
She was in her room editing one of her Nidothing videos. It was one of many she did that night as she was pulling one of her usual all-nighters. The specific video she was working on now was about Pokemon with alternative colors or 'shinnies' as they were commonly called. She got the idea from Roy's yellow Lucario, who funnily enough was in the video itself. The aura dog Pokemon was actually pretty easy to work with and also surprisingly photogenic. Recording was always the easy part when making Nidothing videos. Dot's done it to the point where she can usually just do it on the spot without a script or anything. The hardest part of making the videos though, was usually the editing. Trying to figure where and when an edit goes and how to implement it, was the problem she always faced. Dot wanted to make every video of hers to look and feel unique, and to also grab the viewers attention. Iono taught her that editing was the easiest way to do that. If Dot couldn't successfully grab the viewers attention then the video would, more likely than not, fail. She's had multiple videos of hers bomb because of that, and nowadays she can't afford that to happen since her Nidothing videos quite literally pays for most of not all expenses the Rising Volt Tacklers need.
So the purple haired girl stared at her monitor screen tapping her nails against the keyboard in a rhythmic way. She let out a long and tired sigh. She didn't know where to start editing this video. She's been at this for hours now and honestly she was burnt out. She turned her head towards her bed. Her Pokemon, Quaxwell and Tinkaton, as well as her recently acquired Gimmighoul, were all sleeping on the bed. She was very tempted to just fall face first on her pillow and cuddle around her blanket. Alas however, she desperately needed to get this video out as soon as possible. The money from her videos funds a lot of things on the ship, so who knows when they might need it. She leaned her head all the wack back in her swivel chair. Dot let out another exasperated sigh, this one being a little more longer and louder. She didn't know where to start editing. She took one last glance at her monitor; the unedited video was still there on the screen, almost mocking her. Dot grumbled under her breath, before suddenly standing up from her chair. She let out a yawn as she stretched her arms over her head.
"Maybe I should take a break…" Dot muttered. She turned to the door and quietly exited her room. She decided to walk towards the kitchen, perhaps a nice cold bottle of water will help refresh her mind. Dot trudged her way through the halls and towards the kitchen. As she reached the entrance of the kitchen, she noticed that the lights were on. That's…weird. Who else could still be awake at this time, other than her? She peeked her head inside and scanned the area. Her purple eyes continued to look around the kitchen until she saw someone at the table. They appeared to be eating a sandwich? Dot squinted her eyes as they became adjusted to the bright light. The person she was…Ult?? More specifically, Ult and his Sableye. Why the hell was he eating at a time like this??? Dot fully stepped inside the kitchen, her footsteps catching the attention of Ult and Sableye.
The green haired boy looked to where Dot was. He stared at her for a couple of seconds before finally greeting her. "Sup." He said before resuming his lunch.
Dot looked at Ult with a slightly confused look on her face. "Hey…" she greeted back. She walked towards the fridge and got herself a bottle of water. After closing the fridge, she began to walk back towards the entrance planning to leave the kitchen and head back to her room. However, she stopped halfway through the archway of the kitchen. Dot looked back towards the room, towards Ult. She considered staying and hanging around. She did feel stuck in her room, and the human interaction would be good for her, even if it was Ult she would be interacting with.
Dot pondered for another minute or two before she made up her mind. She walked back in the room and sat down on the sofa that was a few feet away from the table where Ult sat at. Dot twisted the cap of the water bottle and took a sip of it. She let out a sigh of satisfaction, as the cool water hit her throat. Dot then stared at Ult for a couple of seconds. Watching as he and Sableye devour their sandwich. He was…quite the messy eater. He took MASSIVE and quick bites of an already huge and long sandwich. Dot didn't know how he ate so fast. It was kinda scary honestly. After gazing at Ult, Dot decided to finally speak up.
"Why are you eating at this time of night?" She asked.
Ult, who was about to take another bite from his sandwich, stopped halfway and turned to look at Dot. "Uh…because I'm hungry?" He simply said, before he resumed eating the sandwich.
Dot rolled her eyes. "Ok sure, but didn't you just eat dinner not that long ago?" She asked again.
"Yeah but I get hungry quickly." Ult replied while chewing, much to Dot's dismay and disgust. He swallowed before finishing his statement. "Besides I need ALL the energy I can get if I wanna become the mega strongest! Right Sableye!" Sableye cried out in agreement.
Dot took another sip from her water bottle, before she titled her head all the way back on the sofa. She began to ponder about what Ult said. 'Being the mega strongest…' She flipped her head forward towards the table. "What does that even mean?" Dot questioned. Ult had always gone on and on about being the mega strongest or whatever, and Dot was always a little curious as to what that meant. She just never had the chance to ask him as they never really talked one on one…until now.
Ult looked back at Dot with a bit of a confused look. He never really explained what being the mega strongest really meant to anyone. "Uh…it means I want to be the strongest there is." Ult stated.
"Ok…but why? Is there a reason you want to become so strong or is it just a personal goal of yours?" Dot pushed. She was very curious about Ult's thought process here.
Ult put his sandwich down on the table. His gaze fell onto his lap. He had a very pensive look on his face, almost like he was debating on whether or not he should say something. It was very unlike Ult, as he usually didn't think about speaking or anything really. So seeing the usual brazen boy so deep in thought was a bit surprising and…worrisome. Just as Dot was about to say if anything was wrong, Ult then suddenly spoke up.
"I want to be the strongest so I can help everyone…and protect the people I care about." Ult spoke with a soft and almost vulnerable tone. Again, VERY unlike the guy.
"Oh." Dot uttered. She was pretty taken back by the admission. Dot knew Ult wasn't completely selfish or anything he did care about others in his own way, he just had the habit of thinking mainly about himself before others. So the reasoning for him wanting to be strong being completely selfless and downright altruistic was surprising. "That's…kinda nice actually." Dot said. "Who knew you could be such a softie." She then added.
Ult sputtered, a slight blush creeping on his face. "W-what that's-not-" Ult stammered out. "That's not what I meant!!" He cried out in pure embarrassment.
"I mean there's nothing wrong with being a bit soft and a little vulnerable-" Dot tried to say before getting cut off.
"SHUT UP!! I WASN'T BEING ANYTHING!!!" Ult shrieked out his face turning even more red.
Dot covered her ears at his shrieking. Sheesh just when she was beginning to think he was more than just loud and obnoxious. "All right all right whatever just stop!" She exclaimed with frustration.
Ult closed his mouth and turned away. His face was still red due to embarrassment though now it was mainly at himself for shrieking so loud. He went to eat his sandwich only to find it gone. He looked everywhere sporadically. Ult looked under the table and found Sableye…with the rest of his sandwich.
"Sableye!!" Ult cried out as his partner Pokemon ate the rest of his sandwich. He let out a tired sigh, before standing up straight. He took his gaze back towards Dot, who was just drinking her bottle of water. "So uh why are you awake?" Ult said while putting his hands behind the back of his head, his blush also dying down.
Dot twisted the cap on her water bottle as she put it to the side. Was Ult just gonna act like nothing had happened beforehand?? What's with this guy and his random mood swings? Eh, whatever. She honestly doesn't care at this point.
"I was up, editing some of my videos. I got stuck on one and decided to come drink some water to help refresh my mind a little. " She explained.
Ult tilted his head a little. "Really? You're staying up late because you're editing those silly videos of yours?" He spoke with a slightly bewildered tone.
"They're not silly!" Dot said with a frustrated tone. "Besides, editing is hard and takes way longer than you would think."
Ult shrugged his shoulders as he walked and sat on the sofa. He left a couple of inches of space between them. "I guess so. I'm not really good with any of that techno mumbo whatever." He said.
Dot was a little surprised that Ult had sat sorta close to her, but she didn't really think much else of it. "I've been doing it for hours now, and I just really needed a break." She voiced with a tired tone.
Ult hummed. "Yeah, breaks are important." He said while leaning the back of his head on his hands staring straight up at the ceiling. "Still. I don't really get why you dress up in a costume in the videos. It's kinda weird."
Dot rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. "Ok first of all, it's not a weird, or silly, or dumb costume so don't call it that." She spoke with a stern tone. "Second of all I dress up because A. it helps me be more comfortable in front of the camera and B. it's a part of the character. People will be more interested in someone wearing a costume than just a regular person. It's not like I'm visually an interesting person."
Ult turned his head to fully face Dot. "Well I don't know about that. You're kinda cute." He said absentmindedly.
Dead silence filled the room, as the two teens stared at each other.
"Uhh…" Dot uttered. Her eyes winded, as her face began to go red. Did Ult just call her cute???
Ult, now realizing what he just admitted to, stammered out. "I-thats not what-i didn't mean to-" Blush began to spread around his cheeks with each passing moment. "I gotta go!" He suddenly declared as he tried to stand up. However as he tried to do so, Dot lunged forward and caught his wrist.
"Ult wait!" She cried out. Ult turned around to face her. Her purple eyes piercing through her bangs, gazing at him. He could see the blush on her face. Dot pulled Ult back down on the sofa. "Did you mean that? Calling me cute?" She softly asked. Dot was just curious to see if Ult really meant that or if he just said it by mistake. Though honestly for some reason, a small tiny part of her was hoping he did mean it.
"I-" Ult started but stopped. He considered deflecting and making up some random excuse about it just slipped out by accident but then he saw Dot's face. Her purple eyes gazed into his emerald green ones. It lit something in him, a feeling he harbored for a while now. "Yeah…yeah I did mean it" He confessed quietly, still caring that vulnerable tone.
Dot's eyes lit up. Her blush grew more and more on her face. She had never been called that before. Ever. It made her feel all warm and funny inside. Ult also had a warm feeling overtake his being as he and Dot continued to stare into each other's souls. Both of the teens' hearts began to beat abnormally fast. Neither had felt like this before, so warm, so vulnerable, so…full of feeling. Feeling that drove the two to see each other in ways that they hadn't before. Dot noticed Ult's shining green eyes and his cute little fang that protrudes from the corner of his mouth. In return Ult noticed Dot's sparkling pale skin and her purple bangs that covered most of her face.
'What is going on?? Why do I feel like this??' Dot internally panicked. She didn't know she was noticing all things about Ult. She never thought or had feelings like this before about anyone! Hell she didn't even THINK about boys in general, so why all the sudden was she acting like this!! So lovesick! It was embarrassing!
Even so she never tore her eyes away from him.
Ult was also internally panicking. 'AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!' He has never been so close to a girl EVER in his life. The closest he ever was, like being 3 feet away from one. Now here he is sitting merely 3 inches away from Dot gazing into her eyes and holding hands?! He felt like he was about seconds away from his brain exploding from how much he was blushing. Ult could practically hear his heart pounding in his ear.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity. The silence was broken by Sableye. The cry from the gem Pokemon caused both Dot and Ult to snap out of their daze. The two then turned away from each other, now being shoulder to shoulder. Ult looked at his Sableye, while Dot returned to drinking, eventually finishing her water bottle. Both of them sat in awkward silence for a long while.
Eventually though Ult spoke up. "That was…weird." He quietly uttered.
Dot eyes were still glued to the floor. "Yeah it was. Sorry about that. I've never been called cute before so it kinda…made me feel all warm inside." She muttered.
Ult glanced at Dot with a surprised look on his face. "Really?? But you're mega pretty and stuff! You deserve to be called that everyday!" Ult declared, before realizing what he just said and reeling back in embarrassment and also slight cringe.
Dot let out a small flustered chuckle. "Y'know…I wouldn't mind that." She said softly, turning her head to look at Ult again. "I also wouldn't mind if you were the one to say it." She flirted, which even took her by surprise. Who knew she had the capabilities to do that.
With his embarrassment dying down, Ult flashed a confident and cocky grin. "Heh! You can count on me!" He stated, pointing his thumb at himself. Ult tried to hold that prideful pose but Dot's soft gaze and even softer smile made a blush return to his face. She was just too cute, he could barely stand it.
Dot gazed at the boy beside her. Her purple eyes sparkled with new found attraction. Is this what it felt like to be in love? Because it was awesome! With the mix of her newly formed feelings and her heavy emotions, Dot began to shift closer and closer to Ult. Her face inched towards his.
Ult eyes widened his eyes a little and sat straight up. "Uh what are you-" He was cut off. Dot planted her lips onto his right cheek. It didn't really last long and honestly it was a little clumsy, but nonetheless Dot had kissed Ult. Sableye stood there shocked.
Dot pulled away, still remaining pretty close to Ult, and just stared at him for a bit. That was…extremely bold of her, and yet she doesn't regret it. Ult on the other hand was in total stun lock. It made Dot worried a little at first but for the most part it made heart swell. He was just so…so adorable.
Ult hadn't expected this at all. He barely held hands with a girl before and now he just got kissed by one?! Usually his mind would explode with embarrassment and his entire face would bleed red. But honestly? He was in internal bliss. He still felt her lips on his cheek.
Suddenly Dot got up and stretched her arms out. "Alright. I should probably go back to my room and finish editing that video. See you in the morning." She said as she walked out of the kitchen. Halfway through the exit however, she turned over her shoulder. "Hey Ult?" She called out.
Ult snapped out of his daze and looked up towards the purple haired girl.
"Make sure to be the mega strongest for me, k?" Dot said with a slight wink, before finally leaving.
Ult watched as she left, his heart pounding very hard. It was pounding at the kiss, at her words, and at just overall everything. Ult buried his very red face into his hands. "Sableye." He called out to his Pokemon. The little gem goblin looked up at its trainer.
"I think I'm mega in love.”