Chapter Text
It has been tough these last few years. Nothing in particular has been so, but... let's say that getting back to a “normal” life after becoming champion, going abroad to the biggest pokémon research academy in the entire world and saving Paldea TWICE is not really an easy feat. But alas, you cannot be an excellence extraordinàire – as they say in Kalos – every day. And it has been a quiet life since then. Well, quiet... Having the youngest champion in Paldea, Nemona “the prodigy”, as one of their closest friends was not easy: always claiming yet one more rematch in your spare time. Not that Kieran was any less “invasive”, but he's still studying in Unima with Carmine... the Ocean was the only thing saving Florian's team from twice the workout, and it's not as comforting as it sounds. At least Penny would share her secret hiding spots in the academy with him, or would take him to one of the “Team Star training grounds” when Nemona was too stoked to be dealt with. They both wondered how she never went there to quench her thirst for battles. Maybe she just wanted to go easy on the newbies...
And then there was Arven. He was... something. The first impression Florian got of him was not great. He was rude and bossy, just because he was taller and had a stouter frame than him. Then he actually got to know him better, to really connect with him through Miraidon and Mabostiff, fighting titans and collecting the Herba Mystyca. Until Area Zero happened, and you finally understood the truth: he was alone. He has been alone for so long. But he still wanted to right what was wrong with his dad, and decided to take you on the bottom of the crater. After coming back, Florian expected that grief would have completely consumed him, making him a husk of a boy. Yet, against his expectations, all that Arven felt after everything was over was... peace. Acceptance. As if he could finally let go and move on. Still, this wasn't enough for Florian. He wanted to really be there for Arven, after everything he went through he deserved someone he could trust on, someone to be there at his side playing video-games and having a laugh, or helping him when he wanted to cry, or just chill together waiting for his cooking to be done and then have a picnic on the sho-
«Oi! Hello! Earth calls Florian? Can you hear me!?» the snapping of Penny's fingers in front of his eyes startled him for a moment.
«Ugh, can you believe this bitch?» She said annoyed, tuning on the side.
«Penny! Language! We're still in the cafeteria!» Nemona, sitting beside her, was still the student's representative after all.
«Yeah, and it's 9pm. Nobody is here but us, and if we don't get to the bottom of this inequality you're both gonna risk failing math class. Again.»
Penny was so smart, both champions were happy she was their friend. Let's say that one thing is calculating the power output in a pokémon battle, calculus is a completely different beast.
«What can I say, you make it look so easy...» responded the boy sheepishly, scratching the side of his head.
«Because it is! Ugh I don't get you two! Nemona, how much money would you earn if you got a stock of 26 Hyper Potions for 7'038¥ at Porto Marinada's market and then sold them all at a Pokémon Market?»
«2'712¥, why?» She didn't waste a second to answer that.
«THEN HOW CAN YOU NOT DEMONSTRATE THAT 26 TIMES ‘A’ IS LESSER THAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN C AND B?! IT’S LITERALLY THE SAME CALCULATION»
«Letters confuse me... it's easier with battle supplies!»
Florian burst into laughter. The way Nemona brought out the grit hiding deep inside Penny has always been hilarious to him. Though this time, it only served to redirect her scolding towards him.
«You are not safe either sir. You've been staring outside the window since I started explaining! If I knew sooner you two would have been goofing around instead of studying, I would have continued my playthrough of “Soleana's Bridge 3”» the girl pouted as she kept writing the passages needed to factorize the sides of the inequality.
«Well can you blame us? Arven has ditched us at the last moment! He took away all our seriousness and left you alone with our whimsy~» Nemona said doing that absolutely ridiculous pose with her lips out and her big ol' eyes staring at Penny in an attempt to distract her with their sparkly innocence.
«Can you please stop that? It's embarassing.» It never works.
Nemona was right, though. That was the reason he got so caught up in his memories. The past few years at the Uva Academy have been going slow and hard but still steady, and he never saw Arven so distant like the past couple of weeks. He suddenly stopped going out with everyone for picnics, he would skip meals at the cafeteria or any kind of meet-up at all. And, the worst for last, he wouldn't allow Florian to enter his room. Last year they visited each other often after the lessons. Just two dudes, hanging alone. One lying on the other's bed talking about the peculiarity of Mousehold's reproduction while the other would prepare some fantastic dinner of fish with lemon sauce and a side of broiled veggies with paprika. Nothing out of the ordinary. Then two weeks ago he started making excuses: “Mabostiff threw a tantrum and everything is a mess!”, “Sorry, I am having troubles with the induction panel in the kitchen”, “I don't feel so good today- coff coff- and I am afraid it’s contagious”. Florian could not shake off the feeling that his friend was hiding something from him, so did the girls.
The group tried to get back into studying, but the mood was utterly ruined. After about half an hour the three of them bid each other good night before getting back to their own room.
°°°
Florian walked through those hallowed halls, filled with the chatter of those few students finishing their homework under the favor of the stars, with such melancholy he couldn’t really pay attention to where he was walking. Just one more turn and his room would have been the 4th on the right. That wa sn’t the only thing behind the corner, though. Without realizing the boy’s face smacked against something soft and wet, yet sturdy and firm. He couldn’t do much besides falling on his rear like a sack of potato, smashing on the floor with a loud “thud”.
«Oh my- are you ok bud?»
Florian was still checking on his rear.
«Yeah yeah, I’m alright… whoa-» the strong hands of his interlocutor pulled him on his feet. Now he could finally look at his face.
«Hey Arven, didn’t see you there…»
During the last years Arven had grown pretty tall: about 1,85m, which was kind of over the norm here in Paldea. Poor Florian instead still hoped at the age of 18 to hit his growth sprout and finally join at least the 1,70m club. “Well, never say never” he thought every time he read 1,67m on the height meter. As if this wasn’t enough, hiking through the mountains of Paldea looking for exotic ingredients and fighting wild pokémon surely helped him build a sturdy and defined physique, yet not too frail given his hearty meals filled with nutrients with a little help of Herba Mystyca. And that small goatee he was growing on his chin: just a hint of a beard that complimented his long spiky hair like chocolate syrup on a Moo Moo milk Sundae. He was so hot- I mean, the girls would totally find him hot, or anybody! Who wouldn’t? Certainly not Florian!
Still recovering from the fall and now stunned by the awkwardness of his impure thoughts on his friend, he barely had any time to react before the jock put his gym bag between them, creating a certain distance. However, it snapped Florian from whatever he was going through, and he also noticed his black, overly large t-shirt with the academy’s logo that he was wearing. It was completely drenched in sweat yet it completely hid whatever was underneath.
«I-I should be the one apologizing! I was kind of running in the hallway…» sheepishly admitted the taller man.
«Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go-»
«Arven wait!» Florian cried. The cook stopped, his head looking towards the floor, he bit his lower lip revealing a hint of shame. Confrontation was unavoidable now.
«You ditched us at the last moment, without giving us any real motivation, just to go to the gym? You could have just said so! Arven what’s going on? You've been acting weird lately, I’m concerned. Did we do something bad to you?» the young man lowered his head, thinking that might have been a possibility.
«Did… did I do something bad to you?»
Arven clearly panicked at the sight of his friend’s sorrow.
«Nonono bud, you couldn’t possibly do anything wrong to me! You see, I was- I mean, there’s this- ugh how do I explain, it’s a bit embarassing…» his hands were skittering all around trying to make sense of that dedalus of words. In the end he managed to find calm again.
« B ut I didn’t want it to come to this, I swear. I’m sorry I made you feel at fault.»
Florian rose his head, his eyes pleading.
«You know you can tell me anything. We could go to my room, it’s right there!»
Arven just couldn’t say no to that pretty face.
«Alright, hope you don’t mind the stench of “sweaty dog”.»
°°°
Just like any other time they would hang out alone, Florian sat on the side of the bed, waiting for Arven to take the word. Arven’s face was flustered red, to the amusement of the room’s master.
«Alright, I’ll tell you what’s happening, but promise me you won’t laugh or mock me! And you can’t tell the others: Penny would be the end of me and Nemona would just embarrass me even more by trying to “be helpful”.»
«Fine bro, I swear I won’t make fun of you! But I’m not getting what’s messing you up this bad.»
The tall jock was now standing right in front of the petite young adult. His hand went to the sides of the t-shirt, hesitant whether he should pull up the layer of fabric or not. Florian’s cheeks just learned a new shade of red.
«Wait! What are you doing?!» It wasn’t the first time he got to see Arven taking off his shirt, but usually waterpools or the ocean were involved, sometimes even grills in the open during the extreme heat of summer. But this? Right now? With the two of them alone?
Arven felt compelled to turn away his gaze, being flustered was a contagious feeling.
«I thought… maybe it’s easier if I just show you.» In one quick sweep, the black shirt was pulled away from his torso and now rested on his right arm.
What Florian saw left him completely speechless. The beautifully sculpted abs he has been cultivating since they left Area Zero were almost gone: a hearty layer of flabby flesh had grown over them, only the two top abdominals remained barely visible at this point; on his sides two tall yet thin lovehandles began to take form, and just an inch of his brand new potbelly would overflow over the purple and yellow shorts, picturing what could only be described as the first stage of a muffin top. His pectorals were protruding just a bit more outward than usual, still pretty defined but growing plumpier and drooping just a little, even his nipple areolas looked bigger ever so slightly.
«Is it that bad?» Arven’s turquoise eyes were fixated on his friend’s face, trying to analyze his reaction.
«No no, I wouldn’t call it “bad”…» It’s true, Florian wouldn’t call it bad.
«Don’t sugar-coat it, I’ve let myself go! Just look at this!» He grabbed the lower side of his new potbelly and he jiggled it, trying to make a point. Well it surely got Florian’s attention, his chestnut eyes couldn’t move away from that hypnotic ripple.
«It probably began around the second month of the semester. Homeworks started to add up and besides our little get-aways on the weekend with Penny and Nemona I didn’t really manage to make any time for hiking. Plus I have been testing new recipes with Herba Mystyca, and you know how nutrient those are! And before I realized my appetite grew! It all hit me two weekends ago. Remember my jamòn-Veluza-tomato-egg-mayo sandwich?»
Florian’s mouth was quick to water.
«How could I forget? It was so damn delicious!»
«Yeah… it was also pretty calorie dense, and I was helping myself prepare another one. Then Nemona giggled and told me: ‘woa there, are you trying to beat your Greedent?’ and then laughed as if it was nothing much.»
That caught Florian off guard. Sometimes her mouth gets the best of her, without realizing people might not take certain comments as cheerful as she thinks they are.
Arven sighed.
«I know she didn’t mean any ill, but that made me extremely self-conscious, you know? I’m sorry I have been avoiding you, I wanted to lose it all before hanging out with you guys again.»
Florian didn’t really know what to say. Arven has always been harsh on himself, and he always had this way of avoiding triggering situations or sheltering behind this “rude and mysterious” facade to push people away…
«I wouldn’t mind that.» Florian said.
«Huh? What exactly?» Arven asked while pulling his shirt back down.
«I mean, Nemona says a lot of things all the time, right? You shouldn’t let her get in your head! She probably doesn’t even remember telling you that stuff! And who’s her to judge you anyway? Just because she’s been Student Representative all those years in a row does that mean she’s got the right to impose her view on other students? Arceus no! What if you actually WERE trying to eat more than your Greedent? I mean you are so tall and hot- I MEAN NOT everyone is sated after just a tiny sandwich, someone needs more fuel! And you know what they say! Never trust a skinny cook! So what would be the matter with you gaining a little weight? Hahaha…»
The silence reigned after that nervous laugh. It probably lasted just thirty seconds, but to these two blushing disasters they seemed thirty minutes. The only sound that they could hear was the ringing of their own ears as the heart kept pumping and pumping.
«Would you like it, then?» Arven broke the silence.
«Uhm what?» Florian was still trying to recall what in Terapagos’ shell he blubbered just a moment ago.
«If I tried to eat more than a Greedent. To look like a better cook. Would you still find me… hot ?»
Florian’s brain was short-circuiting. One could have smelled the fried neurons multiplying by the second.
«I mean… yeaaaaaaaah?»
Arven smiled happily.
«Well thanks Flo, I’ll remember that. If I ever feel insecure again, I mean.» He quickly turned his head away again, he couldn’t sustain Florian’s curious and demanding glance.
«Pssh, of course! I’m sure Penny and Nemona won’t even notice.!»
«Yeah, you’re probably right.»
The silence has fallen once again in that small cubicle. It was ringing too loud with the choir of their heart beating at unison like a stampede of Mudsdale.
«Well, I think I’ll be going now. I really need a shower.» Arven broke the silence again. He took a good sniff at his shirt to verify his alibi. Unfortunately, it was rock solid.
«Oh, right. Don’t worry, I’ll see you tomorrow then?» Florian’s pleading tone was another trap Arven could never escape.
«Sure thing! Do you want to study in my room? Maybe I can fetch us something nice as a snack.»
«Sure! That would be awesome!»
«Great! Then… I’ll see you for breakfast with the others, Flo. Goodnight!»
«Goodnight Arven!»
Neither of them could sleep that night. Something awakened in our boys. Something that would draw them much closer to each other.