“What do you mean that I need a break?”
“I meant exactly what I said.” Brawly shook his head. It was early in the morning and he had just caught Ethan as he had begun to get breakfast ready for all the Pokémon that lived there. “A break would do you good, man.”
“I…” Ethan was uncertain, that was easy to spot. “No,” Ethan sighed out as he continued, “we have a lot that needs to be done today.” Though he had not expected that his boyfriend would make it easy for him. He knew how Ethan could be.
“Ethan.” Brawly put one of his paws on his shoulder and grabbed his hands with his other, forcing him to stop. “You need a break, dude… especially after yesterday.” Brawly had not said it to his face, but he was worried about his friend and lover. Ethan had always been too kind for his own good. And such cases got to him, more than he would admit.
“I said I was fine.” Ethan shrugged him off again, a little more forceful this time though. “I don't need a break… besides, there is too much that I have to do around here.” Yet another sigh escaped past his lips. “I don't have time for a break.”
“Yes you do.” Brawly smiled as Ethan looked off to the side where Zoey, Vernus and Chii had gathered.
“What is all of this?” Ethan asked.
“We all decided that you needed a day off.” Zoey started. “I mean… just look at yourself. Did you even brush your fur this morning?” Brawly had thought to avoid that particular topic… but Ethan did indeed look like he had just been in a storm.
“I… may have skipped that today.” He admitted.
“That's just the point.” Zoey shook her head slowly. “You never skip that.”
“We are worried about you.” Chii chimed in. “You… you haven't seemed like yourself ever since we came back from Olivia.” That was a low blow, and Ethan flinched from that comment. Though, perhaps it was exactly what he needed.
“Which is why we decided to take care of everything here today.” Vernus proudly stated. He was still looking a little pale from his earlier sickness… but according to him, everything was okay. Though Brawly knew that Zoey was keeping a little extra eye on him just in case. And not just because he was still a little sick. They were all aware that there were something going on between Zoey and Vernus… but since they had not told anyone anything yet, they would give them their privacy.
“Y-you don't have to do that.” Ethan protested once again. “I'm fine, really.”
“I’m sure you are. But that does not mean that you don’t deserve some time off.” Chii had been the one who had brought everyone together the day before and talked them into this. Brawly had to give the little fluffball credit where it was due... she was amazing when it came to noticing how people really felt, even when they were trying to hide it. “You know,” Brawly said as he wrapped an arm around Ethan, “you are allowed to be a little selfish every now and again.” They looked upon all of their friends who were smiling at them. “You have done so much around here… most of which would have never happened, had it not been for you. You have helped so many others, so it's time that you helped yourself a little too.”
“...” Ethan kept quiet after that little speech, but Brawly felt that he leaned against him a little more. “Do all of you feel it like that?”
“Indeed we do, buddy.” Vernus smiled.
“We can hold down the fort just fine, you just relax.” Zoey agreed.
“Yeah, you and Brawly go out and have some fun!” Chii cheered them on.
“Me and Brawly huh?” Ethan teased as he looked up at his grinning boyfriend. “So you are taking the day off too?”
“I thought this could be a good time for us to just have some time to… well, us.” A whole day to just the two of them, with no interruptions. It seemed… nice. And it was something that they both so sorely needed, Ethan especially.
“B-but… I was going to talk to Lady about how she is doing at the school, and the Nidoran needs some following up on after-” Ethan suddenly bursted out into ranting, listing things that needed to be done, and patients whom he needed to follow up on. But once again, he was cut off.
“Ethan!” Vernus called out. He rarely raised his voice in such a manner, but he needed to get through to him. “We have talked with all of them.” They had gotten a rather large audience during the course of the conversation, and every single Pokémon that lived in the warehouse… in their home, had gathered around to listen in. “And they all agree that you should take the day off… trust us, we will be fine.” Vernus gave his best friend a comforting smile and the audience around them erupted into a choir of agreements.
“I… heh.” Ethan started laughing softly as he leaned against Brawly.
It was a special moment, it was one thing to hear it from just his friends and family. But when it came from so many… all of them trusting him, and wanting him to help himself, just like he had helped them… it was more than a little emotional, and Brawly softly stroked Ethan's back as he felt him quiver slightly, holding any tears back.
“Okay, okay, you win!” Ethan laughed as he stood back up, his grin as wide as possible. “If all of you want me to leave that badly, well, I guess I have no choice then!” And just like that, all possible doubt disappeared from the crowd and a truly pure laughter soon spread throughout their entire home.
“It's going to be alright.” Brawly told Ethan once again as the crowd dissipated. “Vernus and Zoey knows what they are doing… and they have Chii to keep them in line too.” There was no doubt that the little Skitty would carry her own weight, and most likely cause a little trouble along the way.
“I know… I know.” Ethan let out a soft breath that he had been holding. “So… a whole day, to just the two of us, huh?” The two of them smiled at eachother.
“That was the plan yeah, so you ready to head out?”
“Oh goodness no, not even close.” A nervous laughter came from Ethan as he looked down at his body, and his messed up fur. “I'm going to have to take care of this first, I look like a wreck.” Brawly was going to say that he really did not mind, but Ethan cared more than enough for the both of them, no doubt. “I’ll try to be quick.” Ethan quickly apologized.
“Hey, this is your day,” Brawly reassured him and stole a quick kiss from his boyfriend before he could run off to the bathroom, “just take your time.”
“Did you have something planned for today?” Ethan asked as he walked besides Brawly. They were finally on their way to town, after Ethan had spent… most of the morning getting ready.
“This is your day, so I figured we could just do what you felt like.” Brawly replied. “Though, I did think that we could grab breakfast together to start the day off.” And Ethan liked the sound of that, especially with how noisy and hectic their usual breakfasts were back home. “Though… I guess it would be lunch now, with how long you decided to take in the bathroom.”
“H-hey!” It was just a playful poke, but Ethan could not help but blush a little in embarrassment. “This takes work, you know.” He said as he gestured to his entire body. “I know that you don't care too much… but I do.”
“Who says that I don't care?” Ethan looked over to Brawly who had raised an eyebrow at him. “Besides, I can't deny how good you look after putting that much work into it.” That only made Ethan's blush deepen as Brawly laughed. But Ethan's eyes narrowed, two could play it that game.
“So, you like this fluffy little butt, do you?” And as he said it, Ethan put a little extra sway into his walk. Giving Brawly a rather nice view as he walked up in front of him.
And it had just the intended effect. Brawly's laughter died in his throat.
“Oh you know that I do.” Though the pause was swift. “Who would not love a cute butt such as yours.” And just like that it was Ethan's turn to pause as Brawly had played him right back. “Though, that's not the only thing that's cute.” He said as he slowly trailed a hand down the side of Ethan's face.
He liked to try, but Brawly just knew exactly what of his buttons that he needed to press. And unlike Ethan, he simply did not get embarrassed. It was a game he had lost before it even began.
“Right back at you, handsome.” He smirked as he leaned up and kissed his boyfriend who wrapped his arms around him and lifted him up to his height.
Then again, it was not like he minded losing. Because he had already gotten his price.
“So, how about that lunch?” Ethan smirked when they finally parted and Brawly let him down.
“Come along, I have just the place in mind.” But there was still a little something that was troubling him.
“Wait… how can we afford going out, I mean… it's not like we had anything left over.” Most… if not all of the income they got from the mayor went to food, medicine, and other things for the Pokémon that were living at their home. The ones that needed help and a place to stay.
“Don't worry about that.” Brawly smiled. “I have been earning some money here and there on the side, just for something like this.” That was… unexpected. Brawly was always helping out at the warehouse with whatever he could… to think that he had gone out of his way to do additional things. “As I said, this is your day. Don’t worry ‘bout a thing.” Even though Brawly told him that, it was impossible for Ethan to not worry at all. But, it did make it possible for him to relax just a little bit more.
“...Thank you...” It felt… nice. And it was something that he was definitely not used to.
“Come along now, let's go find a sweet place to sit.” And with that, Brawly led them into town. None of them noticed a certain pegasus that was hovering a little ways above where the two of them has just stood.
“Fluffy butt… Oh yeah, definitely repressing all that.” Zephyr shook his head and tried very much to not think about what he had just overheard. And seen. Which only made it that much harder to remove those images from his mind. He was going to have a few very confusing days ahead of him. Filled with thoughts of a certain Lopunny.
Brawly had been correct in that they were a little late for breakfast. But that also meant that there were less ponies out when they finally reached the restaurant. There were not that many tourists in the town for the moment, and they pretty much had the place entirely to themselves. Which in a way, made it feel a little bit more special to Ethan.
What was even more surprising to him was the place that Brawly took him too. Now, Neighagra Falls Sanctuary was not a very big town, not the smallest but certainly not the biggest either. But it did have its share of luxuries. And the place that Brawly took Ethan too, was the most expensive place in the town.
Needless to say, Ethan had argued and tried to convince Brawly to take him somewhere else… anywhere else in fact. In his mind, it was simply too much, and unnecessary. But Brawly would hear none of it, and since Ethan did not want to make a scene… he reluctantly agreed.
“I have to admit, this is… nice.” Ethan smiled when he and Brawly were finally seated. “Been planning this for long?” He knew how Brawly was, and while it was sweet of his to do something like that. It did not really seem like something that he would do on his own volition.
“Not really. I have had something like this in mind for a while… this was just a nice opportunity for that something.” That seemed more like him yeah.
“Well, I like it, thanks.” They had had some nice moments between the two of them since they had gotten together. But an honest to god date? That had been a while… years even.
Ethan felt his inner girl squee at the notion.
“Though, Zoey might have given me the idea in the first place.” And there all the pieces fell into place. “She said that this was something that normal couples would do… this whole relationship thing is still a little weird to me.” He looked away as he said that, and a small blush could be seen through his fur. It made him look cute.
Though it also reminded Ethan that Brawly really was not used to the idea of having a relationship. Ethan had always been aware that Brawly had been switching out lovers like they were a pair of socks when they were younger. And while he had been a little jealous, he had never given it any more thought than that. But he truly did not know what was normal to do in a relationship, and he had seen him fumble on things that would seem normal to anyone else more than a few times. He was aware that there might be something else to it, an underlying reason. But he did not want to think anymore about it than that though. Brawly was his friend and lover, one of the persons that he cared the most about. It seemed rude of him to begin to analyze him and his behaviour.
“Well, I think that this is really sweet.” Ethan gave him a kind smile. “Thanks, handsome.” But whatever it was, they would get through it, together. “And you look really cute when you are blushing like that.” It was just a playful poke like before, but it made Brawly relax a bit more. It was something that he was more used to.
“Glad you like it, dude.” And seeing how he smiled like that, how easily his happiness spread to him. It just reminded him of how much he truly loved that Mienshao.
“Are you two ready to order?” The waiter asked. She was a light brown earth pony who was wearing an adorable white vest.
“Oh, um…” Ethan looked over to Brawly who just smiled at him. Then again, such a smile told him more than a thousand words. And it filled him with confidence. “Would you mind if we took a bit more time to think it over?” Ethan asked. With everything else that had been going on in his mind, he had not had any time to think about the menu at all.
“Not at all, sir.” The mare smiled. “Just give me a call when you are ready.” She gave them a small bow before she trotted away.
“Not sure yet?” Brawly asked, then again, it was not like he had looked at the menu at all either.
“Something like that, yeah.”
It was not like they were in a hurry. They had a whole day to just the two of them. A whole day to just relax and appreciate each other. Nothing else to worry about. Taking a little more time to just sit there and do nothing seemed nice. And it was the perfect company to do absolutely nothing with. It was a moment that Ethan would not trade for any other.
Eventually though, the two of them had to order something. And Ethan truly found that he was enjoying himself. The emptiness of the place meant that he and Brawly had some privacy, which only made the whole event even better. And while he still thought that the prices were outrageous… he had to admit that the food was fantastic.
Eventually though, his mind had begun to wander. He had just been silently watching Brawly as he finished his own meal, and as he did so, he just blurted out the thought that he currently had, without really thinking it through.
“Have you ever thought about having kids?” Something that, in hindsight, he realized that he probably should have.
A sharp clang rang through the establishment as Brawly had bitten down on his fork. His whole body had gone stiff, and Ethan was sure that he had never seen the color drain from someone's face that fast before.
Unbeknownst to Ethan, Brawly's mind had completely shut down in that moment. It was just one endless black void while it tried to reboot and process the question that had caused it to initiate its failsafe.
Ethan could not help but to feel a little bad for Brawly in that moment. It was not like he had meant to put him on the stop like that, he had just sort of blurted it out. But then again… he was a little curious to what Brawly would say on that subject.
“W-what?” It took a little while, but Brawly eventually managed to compose himself enough to speak a single word.
“Kids.” Ethan repeated, watching as Brawly swallowed, hard. “Ever thought about having them? N-not right now of course… or anytime in the near future for that matter.” Ethan corrected himself and Brawly visibly relaxed.
“Sorry, you just… kinda surprised me there, man.” Brawly leaned back in his seat as he spoke. He reached up and ran a paw through his hair, the long fur from his wrists tied up around his arms. “Don’t scare me like that, dude. That… that's a heavy question.” And it really was, at least for someone like Brawly. Ethan had originally thought that it would have been an easy question for his boyfriend, especially with how much he loved children. He used to help out at schools back on Earth, and he did the same here in Equestria. But having your own child… that was different. “Do you honestly think that I would be fit to have a kid?” That question really stumped Ethan. W-what was he saying?
“O-of course you would!” It was the first and most obvious thing that came to mind. “You would make a wonderful father… why would you even say something like that?” But his words did nothing to appease Brawly, who still had that sullen look on his face.
“Dude…” He watched as Brawly reached up and ran both of his hands through his scruffy hair. “I could not even properly take care of my own team. How would I handle a child?”
“W-what do you mean?” To say that Ethan was a little confused would be a severe understatement. But more importantly, he could see how deep this hit Brawly. “You were a Gym Leader, and a good one at that. Of course you took good care of your team.” This was obviously something that was a touchy subject, but Ethan was determined to help Brawly through it.
“...” The pause stretched out into a painful silence. Brawly had never been too good with talking about his problems. Always preferred to solve them himself, or just struggle with them. So Ethan would give him the time that he needed to gather his thoughts.
Ethan reached out and grabbed Brawly's paw with his own. A gentle nod following it as his boyfriend looked up at him. He would make sure that it was obvious that he was there for him. No matter what it was about, he would always have his back and support him.
“...” He watched as the nervous Mienshao on the other end of the table took a deep breath and slowly let it back out, calming himself a little. “You know that I already met two of my… team members, right?” The Hariyama and the Breloom, Pierce. Of course Ethan remembered that, and he nodded accordingly while still gently holding onto Brawly's paw.
“Well, then you also know where this wave is heading… and where it crashed.” It was strange seeing Brawly like this, and it hurt. He was the type of guy that was always so laid back and kinda upbeat. So it was painfully obvious that something was wrong… “I always knew that what we had was not the same thing that normal trainers did. And while I was a Gym Leader, I was fine with that, I really was…”
“...But?” Ethan spoke, leading him on. He wanted to help, he truly did. But he could not do that unless he knew what was troubling the man that he loved.
“Then they left.” And just like that, a small part of Brawly broke. Or at least it looked like it did, like some of the color in his eyes just faded away. “My old buddy, Hariyama, was the first.” Ethan felt that Brawly was now gripping back, holding his paw tight. “Then Pierce, after I had tracked him down and we talked about what had happened. About the future for both of us. And… ah hell.” Brawly looked up and around. “Mind if we take this someplace else? This place is starting to get a little too crowded for my taste.” And he was right, more and more ponies and other customers had started to show up as the day went on. And it was easy to understand why Brawly was a little uneasy talking about such a topic when so many others were nearby. He did not want to be overheard.
“Yeah, let's head someplace quieter.”
After Brawly had paid and they thanked the waiter who had provided excellent service and left her a little tip, they left the restaurant behind. Brawly was visibly uncomfortable, the talk they had started still affecting him. Luckily, Ethan had just the place in mind where they would be able to talk in peace.
The park was a place where Ethan had spent a lot of his time. The park itself was fairly popular, but he had found a small place at the edge of it where he usually was left alone, and that's where he had taken Brawly. A huge willow tree was stationed in the middle of the little clearing, its long, vine-like branches hanging down, creating the perfect cover if you traversed past them.
Ethan held the vines off to the side, creating an opening for Brawly who walked past. The sun shone through from the outside, showering the little clearing with hundreds of small rays of light. Ethan had never understood why the ponies usually avoided that little part of the park, especially with how lovely it was. Maybe it was because of how close it was to the edge of the forest, it was the only possible reason he could think of at least.
The two of them sat down, resting their backs against the huge trunk of the willow. It was a massive tree. Not reaching especially high, but rather spreading outwards, covering a large area with its branches, creating the perfect little resting spot underneath where Brawly and Ethan were currently sitting in silence.
“You know,” Ethan started. “You don't have to tell me if you don't want to.” With how uncomfortable Brawly had been, Ethan would have felt bad if he did not give him a chance to back out. “I was the one who sprung this on you with the question about children after all.” He had practically forced the situation on him. “You don't have to explain anything… it's fine.”
His words seemed to ease his companion a little, but it was not enough.
“You deserve to know, man… and I need to say it.” He had held it inside for too long to just let it go. “I mean, I trust each member of my team, or maybe it should be former team by now. In any case, I know that they can take care of themselves, and will do fine out there in this new world. I… I just thought that… wished, I guess, that some of them would have stuck around.” It truly hurt Ethan to see the state that his friend was in. “Heh, this is sounding pretty pathetic, I guess.”
“What? No!” Came the immediate reply from Ethan. “Of course not… No… Please don't say something like that.” He shuffled a little closer to Brawly who put his arm around him in return. “Never say something like that.” There had been multiple times when Ethan had felt down, and Brawly had always been his rock, always been there for him, no matter what it was about. And now, the situation was reversed. It was not a question of whether or not he had the strength to help him. He needed to have the strength to help him, to be his rock for once.
“...” Brawly did not say anything, but he had begun to softly stroke Ethan's ears. “My point still stands though.” When they finally came, his words were quiet. “If I can't even take care of my own team, you can't expect me to be able to handle a kid. Especially not a kid…”
That was it, it was time to take a different approach.
Ethan sat up, breaking the hold that Brawly had on him and positioned himself in front of him. “Look at me!” His voice came out hard. “Look. At. Me!” He repeated when Brawly did not move, and this time, the Mienshao in front of him moved his head so they looked directly at each other. And just like that, Ethan's features softened. “Please don't be so hard on yourself. You are not like other trainers, or Gym Leaders. But if you had the chance to do it all again, would you have done things any differently?” A series of emotions flashed across Brawly's features. In the end, he just settled on a small smile.
“No, I guess not.”
“I knew that you would say that.” Ethan smiled right back. “You did things differently, but why does that have to be a bad thing? I know how much you loved your team, and I know that each and every one of them cared for you too.” One had to be blind to not notice that. “You respected each other, and it's because of this that I think you let Pierce and Hariyama leave.” Not all trainers would do that. “Besides, it's not like you won't see them again. And you have only met those two so far, who knows what the others will decide to do.” If he had been in the same situation, Ethan was sure that he would have done pretty much the same… though, he would most likely have been just as distraught as Brawly was. “Though… if they want to leave to do their own thing too… will you try to stop them?”
“Of course not… heh, I guess I do see your point.” But even though he had a smile on his face, Brawly's eyes still showed a certain amount of sadness behind them. “You know… I was always kind of jealous of you in that regard. You, Vernus, Zoey, Sax, and even Chii now. You guys called yourselves a family… and you never pretended that you were anything else.”
“Brawly…”
“I knew that what I had with my team was different, and that it was never going to be the same. We were a close group of friends, comrades, you got that right. We had one reason for sticking together, sure we were close… but in a different way. Now, that reason is gone, most of the members of my team had their own dream, and at the time, it coincided with mine. Now, they walk their own path, they ride their own wave to victory.” And in that moment, it was like a light shone through Brawly's eyes. And his smile was genuine.
“Sounds like you just solved your own problem.” Ethan teased a little as he leaned against Brawly once more. “Besides, you are part of our family now too.” He said as he gently nuzzled against his boyfriend's shoulder.
“Yeah… I guess I am.” Brawly stared up through the vines of the willow tree that surrounded them, his whole body seemed to relax a little more, like a burden was lifted off his shoulders. And his smile grew a little more. “So, being part of your crazy little family, eh? Yeah, I guess it won't be too bad. C'mere you!” Brawly grinned before he leaned over to Ethan and pressed his lips against his.
They stayed like that for a few moments, it had come a little sudden, but Ethan did not mind. He would never mind something like that. Their were close enough that their heartbeats could be clearly heard, or in Brawly's case, felt, as Ethan's heart was pounding against his chest. Luckily, the vines of the tree also hid them from any ponies that were in the other parts of the park.
“I think I could learn to like this.” Brawly teased when they finally parted.
“Me too.” Ethan simply purred as the joy was still surging through his system.
“I… this was supposed to be your day.” Brawly sighed. “Sorry if I kinda ruined it with... you know.”
“Of course you didn't. I think it made the day a little better, since we were able to clear up this issue of yours.” Ethan smiled as he leaned against Brawly once more. “Though, you never did answer my question.”
He knew that maybe it was a little cruel to bring it up again after all that. But he knew from experience that it would be better to just get it out rather than letting it fester.
“...” Brawly looked down at Ethan who were resting his head against his shoulder. “I guess I would be lying if I said that I had never thought about it… You really think I could be a decent father?”
“Don't be silly.” Ethan grinned. “I know that you would be a great father.” Brawly had always been great with kids, back on Earth, and there in Equestria too.
“That's a talk for another day though.” Brawly added, and Ethan had to agree. They had not been together that long, not to mention that they were not ready for a kid of any sort in their home. They had a full house as it was, and their economic state was not the greatest either.
“Yeah, later sounds good.” If it ever came to that at all.
“So, what do you want to do with the rest of your day.”
“Oh, you know.” Ethan grinned before he moved so that he sat down on Brawly's lap. He stretched and threw his long ears back. He took a few extra moments to just sit there as his ears fell down across Brawly's legs before looking down with a playful glint in his eye. “I have a few ideas in mind…”