Work Text:
To most kids, a Professor's lab was a place of magic and excitement. It meant their first Pokemon, and the start of a new chapter of their lives. It meant their first steps as a trainer, into adulthood.
For Arthur Kirkland it meant none of these things, but it was exciting all the same. He'd had his own Pokemon since he was eight; his eldest brother hatched an egg of unknown parentage and hadn't exactly been thrilled with the Cleffa that resulted. But Arthur, upon seeing the fluffy little star-shaped baby, had thought she was the most wonderful Pokemon he'd ever seen, and Iain had happily gifted her to him.
Now fifteen, he was on his way to Professor Marguerite's lab in Unova to begin a job as her assistant.
He'd never imagined himself going into lab work, but if he had to stay in a house with (most of) his siblings any longer he was going to scream, and this job offered room and board far from home. And Professor Marguerite specialized in Pokemon mutations and variations, which actually interested Arthur a great deal. He loved drawing Pokemon and fancied himself pretty good, and getting to fill sketchbooks with interesting and unique Pokemon was an exciting thought.
All those thoughts were in his head as he walked up the path to the lab. It was set back from the main road enough to be private, since they weren't that far from Skyarrow Bridge and the bustling metropolis of Castelia City.
A rustle caught his attention, and he looked over to see a Teddiursa peeking out from behind a tree. Arthur blinked, intrigued. Teddiursa weren't native to this area at all, as far as he knew. One of the professor's Pokemon?
"Halt! Who goes there?!"
The youthful voice came out of no where, startling Arthur. He looked around for the source, seeing nothing until he noticed the Teddiursa looking upwards. Perched in the branches of the tree above them, arms wrapped around the trunk and bare feet swinging back and forth, was a little boy. Arthur was terrible at guessing ages, but he looked about the same as Arthur's youngest brother, Liam, who was eight. The boy had dark blond hair a few shades more golden than Arthur's, and fierce blue eyes that scrutinized Arthur from behind round, thick-framed glasses.
Arthur met his gaze without flinching, adjusting the strap of his bag over his shoulder and taking the same authoritative tone that he would with Liam. "I'm here to see Professor Marguerite."
"Duh," the boy rolled his eyes. "Everyone who comes here is here to see her. Catch, Ursa." He tossed a couple berries down to the Teddiursa, who caught them and stowed them in a nearly full basket by her feet. Apparently deeming that enough, he grabbed hold of the branch he was sitting on and swung down to hang from it, then dropped the last few feet to the ground. Ursa made a noise of distress, clearly fretting, but he laughed and patted her between the ears. "I'm fine, I swear! We do this every day! So why are you here?" And just like that, his attention switched back to Arthur.
"Ah," Arthur blinked, still catching up with how fast this boy switched topics. "I'm Arthur Kirkland, her new assistant."
"The artist?" the boy's stare got a lot more interested, and he padded closer. "Let me see!"
Arthur raised an eyebrow, bemused at the demand. But he obligingly fished his sketchbook out of his bag and handed it over. The boy flipped it open, scrutinizing the sketches with more seriousness than Arthur was expecting.
"These are really good," he said after a minute. "I don't recognize this Pokemon, though."
Arthur leaned over to see which sketch he was looking at. "That's a Snubbull, they're native to Johto. I got mine in a trade with a trainer from there."
"He's yours?" he peered at the Pokeballs on Arthur's belt curiously, as though he could tell what was in them just by looking.
"He is," Arthur confirmed, tapping the appropriate Pokeball proudly. "I also have Sugar, my Clefairy, as well as Roselia and Misdreavous."
"Those are all really rare!" the boy's eyes had gone wide, and Arthur chuckled.
"They're rare here in Unova, but can be quite common in other parts of the world. I grew up in Sinnoh."
"Alfred, do we have a guest?"
A woman, undoubtedly Professor Marguerite Jones, had come out onto the porch and was regarding them with an amused expression. She had blond hair swept back into a bun, and her clothes under her lab coat were casual and comfy-looking. Even without the reading glasses perched on top of her head, Arthur could tell at first glance that the boy, Alfred?, was her son.
"Yes mom," Alfred brightened, confirming Arthur's train of thought as he handed his sketchbook back to him. "This is the new artist!"
"New artist?" Arthur questioned, suspicious of Alfred phrasing it that way a second time.
The Professor waved a hand negligently. "As opposed to my husband, whose drawings are a little more... stylistic."
Abruptly, Arthur remembered seeing a book of Marguerite's essays on regional colour variation in the flowers of various Pokemon, prefaced with very cute but very cartoonish renderings of the subjects. "Oh."
The corner of Marguerite's mouth lifted in a slight smile. "But from what I've seen of your portfolio, Arthur, your work is far more technical and accurate while still keeping the spirit and charm of the Pokemon. Exactly what I need."
Arthur blushed a little at the compliment from such an accomplished professor. "Thank you."
She flicked her fingers again. "No need to thank me, that's why I hired you. Now do come in. Alfred," (Arthur was beginning to see that the family resemblance was more than just physical.) "Did you and Ursa collect those berries?"
"Yes mom," Alfred scooped up the basket and followed them inside, Ursa at his heels. "We'll go sort them now."
"Good. When you're done with that, get your brother to help you start rounding everyone up for dinner time."
"Yes mom," Alfred repeated, loitering a second longer to look up at Arthur. "Can I meet your Pokemon later? Mattie'll wanna meet them too."
"Yes, I suppose you should," Arthur smiled and reached out to ruffle his hair indulgently. "After dinner?"
Alfred squeaked at the hair ruffling, but nodded enthusiastically before running off to finish his chores.
Marguerite chuckled, watching him go. "Matthew is my other son, as I'm sure you inferred. Alfred's twin, in fact."
"You just have the two?"
"Yes, just the boys." She led Arthur through what seemed to be the public sections of the lab to a door marked 'Employees only'. Behind it was a staircase leading up to the second floor, which held the living spaces for the family. The room she gave to Arthur was a little plain, but comfortable, with a desk big enough he'd be able to organize his own work and a large window that gave good light and a nice breeze.
"There's a studio downstairs that you'll be sharing with my husband." Marguerite told him, and abruptly Arthur realized that her husband could only be Stephen Jones, a renowned cartoonist. He'd thought the style of the illustrations in her book of essays had been familiar, but hadn't bothered to look at the artist's name. "He already has quite a collection of art supplies, but if there's anything else you need please let him know." She smiled wryly. "He'd be better at getting the right things for you than I would be."
"Thank you," Arthur said sincerely. "I usually work in water colour and pencil, but I didn't bring any with me." Luggage fees from Sinnoh were expensive enough, and the suitcase with most of his clothes probably wouldn't be arriving for another few days as it was.
"Think nothing of it," she flicked her fingers dismissively and smiled. "Take a little time to unpack and wash up, I'll call when dinner's ready."
In fact, Arthur took a nap. He'd been up early this morning, unable to sleep from excitement and nerves and being so close to his destination. The bed was comfortable, and the noises of people and Pokemon moving around in the labs downstairs was soothing, he had no trouble drifting off.
He woke with the feeling of being watched, and when he blearily rolled over there were two little blond heads peering around the door frame at him. One was Alfred, and the other one must therefore be his twin. They did look alike; they were nearly the same height, had the same wide eyes and round face, though Matthew's eyes were a bit duskier in colour, his hair a little lighter and cut a little longer than his brother's. They wore different styles of glasses too, and Arthur was sleepily thankful he'd have no trouble telling them apart. He sat up with a yawn, and apparently Alfred considered that an invitation. He trotted in, Ursa at his heels, reaching out to snag Matthew's wrist and tug him along.
Matthew squeaked as he was pulled, and as he came into the room Arthur saw that he was carrying a white and blue Cubchoo in his other arm.
"Hello," Arthur swung his legs over the side of the bed, a bit bemused. "Don't you know how to knock?"
Matthew looked embarrassed and half-hid his face behind his Cubchoo, who reached up to pat him consolingly. Alfred just huffed. "Your door was open," he pointed out, letting go of Matthew now that they were both in the room.
"I suppose it was," Arthur conceded, and offered his hand to Matthew. "I'm Arthur, your mother's new assistant."
"'m Matthew," he said, smiling a little hesitantly as he reached out to shake his hand. "Sorry about Al."
"Hey!"
Both of them ignored Alfred. (They would both get plenty of practice at that, over the years.) "Apology accepted. I know how hard it can be to resist brothers." They shared a long-suffering look, and then Matthew giggled.
"This is Cubchoo," he hefted the bear in his arms, who waved lazily at Arthur. "Al said you have really rare Pokemon."
"Well, they're rare in Unova," Arthur repeated. "Though I suppose Clefairy are fairly rare everywhere."
"Wow," Matthew's eyes widened a little. "Mama has all sorts of rare Pokemon, but even she doesn't have a Clefairy."
Alfred was nodding. "We've never met one, I can't wait to meet yours!"
"After dinner," Arthur promised again, privately thinking that at least Sugar wasn't very easily flustered by anything. Hopefully Snubbull wouldn't bite anyone.
Alfred beamed, grabbing Arthur by the hand. "Let's go then!"
"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Arthur stood, then looked down in surprise as Matthew shyly took hold of his other hand. Matthew squeaked and half-hid behind Cubchoo again when he saw Arthur looking at him, but Arthur just gave his hand a slight squeeze as Alfred pulled them both toward the door.
He hadn't exactly expected two more brothers, but that was what he got.