003 • [Video / Action]

[niepokonany]

[Feliks turns on the feed with a cheerful wave and an adjustment of his hair. From inside his coat, where she seems to have made her home, his baby Dratini gives a happy little peep of greeting.]

Hey! So like, I just wanted to let everyone know I'm totally gonna join this tournament thing, and I'm gonna rock it. My Pokémon friends and I are working on some sweet new moves this week, check us out!

[He angles the camera towards the clearing in the woods where he's set up camp. His Houndour, Emilia, is perhaps a little over-enthusiastically savaging a practice dummy, while Jadwiga the Ralts sits in a meditative stance, juggling rocks with her mind, and Krystyna the Vulpix works on her flames. He turns the camera back at himself.]

They're all pretty badass, so like, whoever's up against us should be ready!

[Something tugs at his sleeve, and when he turns to look at her, the camera gets bumped down enough to show Danuta the Mienfoo, looking unamused. Any Kindred Souls out there will hear her scolding Feliks for slacking off talking to his human friends; he doesn't speak Pokémon himself, but he laughs, scratching her ears.]

Okay, looks like I should get back to work, too! Ancient gods, you're so serious...

[He and his team are doing intensive training this week, but he'll get back to his replies when he can, or anyone passing through the woods can feel free to stumble in on them!]

Comments

[comparative_insanity]

[The fact that Fai laughs then too - albeit a little bit damply while not quite being ready to look up just yet - probably shows that he's pretty okay with laughing about it even now. He'd laughed about it pretty hard the first time he realized it too.]

It is pretty stupid. Especially considering how relieved we both were once we realized that neither of us wanted to marry the other, you know?

[And then he does look up, looking a tiny bit red around the eyes but definitely smiling.]

And really, I should be used to never doing things the way my family wants them. So I'll probably make a mess out of falling in love and getting married too.

[niepokonany]

It must've been super awkward!

But like, I don't think something that makes you happy can count as messing up there.

[comparative_insanity]

[He grins, a little bit embarrassed and suddenly aware of how very close to Feliks' face he is.]

Well, you never know, maybe I'll fall unhappily in love. Or marry the complete wrong person and wish I'd settled for the easy thing. Not that Lux is the kind of girl anyone "settles" for.

[He leans their foreheads together lightly, not sure if it's an okay thing to do or not.] But... well, I guess it's scary to suddenly have a choice, you know? Before if I felt bad, I could just blame my parents. Now if I mess up, it's my own fault.

[niepokonany]

Yeah, but now you have a shot at actually being happy with it. And like, if you mess up... Everyone messes up sometimes! I do it a ton, but I can always retrace my steps and figure it out.

[...Well, he bumps foreheads with Jadwiga, so it's cool, right?]

[comparative_insanity]

[And Fai leans against Yuui and his own pokémon all the time, so clearly it's not that strange, right.]

I guess. And if I get my heart broken, at least that means I actually was in love before it went south, so that's something. [He laughs quietly.] And if I just want to get naked with someone, I won't have to be a cheating asshole anymore, which is pretty nice too.

[niepokonany]

...um, right. That too!

[Simultaneously trying to not judge and not think about Fai naked.]

[comparative_insanity]

[Fai winces a little bit, an embarrassed laugh escaping him.]

Okay, maybe that was a bit too much information, huh? But, well... it will be nice to be able to just as much as look at someone else without feeling guilty for it.

[niepokonany]

[Looking on the bright side, trying to morally rationalize for Fai distracts him from any naked-thoughts.]

Well, like... I guess that's pretty fair, since you never had a choice about getting engaged to her, right?

[There, that makes more comfortable sense to him!]

[comparative_insanity]

[He sighs, grimacing and leaning back a bit again.]

Yes, but I could've broken it off sooner. I could've done it after I started getting interested in other people, or at the very least after I woke up next to Immy the first time.

[...

...

OhgodohgodohGODhejustsaidthathelp.]

1/ icon spam idk

[niepokonany]

Whoa!

[niepokonany]

I, um.

[niepokonany]

...

[niepokonany]

Um!

[niepokonany]

S-so that's like, a thing, huh?

...

...

...

OK DONE

[niepokonany]

....

[Face in hands, blushing stooooooooop!]

[comparative_insanity]

[Fai most definitely wants to sink through the ground right about now. Why wasn't he born a Ground type? Then he could've just dug his way out of there. Admittedly he could teleport away if he felt like it, but... well, that wouldn't take the problem away.]

Well, we- we're friends. And... she's attractive. And we- we are- [Savior, what is he even supposed to say?] We sleep with each other occasionally. As friends. Which makes me very lucky and also a huge bastard, and her... well, Imogen.

[niepokonany]

[What do you mean, Fai? That was a masterful use of Dig... Yourself Deeper.]

[Smiiiiiile, damn it! Why would he even not feel like smiling? Because it's embarrassing, right? Just totally embarrassing to think about, that's all!]

I mean, it's like, no big! I know how that goes with her and stuff, I just, you just like surprised me!

[Any weird, confusing, sad feelings are getting buried now! Who even invited them, do they even go here??]

[comparative_insanity]

[He's not sure why he's suddenly feeling more intensely guilty right now than he ever did about actually cheating on Lux, but he's pretty damn sure he shouldn't. It's just that suddenly everything feels all wrong, the tension between them is absolutely unbearable, and he doesn't know how to fix it.]

Well, we're- I guess we can both be pretty casual about that sort of thing. And until I find someone that I- I mean, someone that I want a proper relationship with, it's just... a thing.

[Another beat, and then he adds anxiously, without really knowing why:] Does it bother you?

[niepokonany]

Nnnno?

I mean like, since when's it my job to get bothered about what you do naked?

[STOP THINKING ABOUT FAI NAKED oh savior why is this his life right now????]

[comparative_insanity]

Well, I mean- I- Well, she's you're friend, and I'm your friend, and I just thought that it might feel a bit... awkward?

[He doesn't really know the proper words to convey the mixture of apprehension and strange hope that Felik is bothered in some way.]

I just don't want you to think that I'm... [...Taken.]

[niepokonany]

[Oh gods oh gods, please shut up, why is he so stupid and confused around Fai??]

Well--well like, I should be happy, right, I mean like you're both my friends soyou'retwiceasradputtogether?

[comparative_insanity]

Well, I mean, we are rad together. But we're not together. As in, not a couple. At all. Not even a little bit. We're just good friends who... [He flails a hand around expressively.] ...who sometimes get very friendly with each other? [Yes, that's a great explanation.]

[niepokonany]

[What are you saying, Fai, and why on Earth does it make him confused and kinda upset? Like, what is that even about? He doesn't get it!]

Yeah, no, I get it--I mean, if you were together-together I'd totally have heard it from her? And anyway, like I said, I know how she is about that kind of stuff--It's like... It's your business, right?

[No, why did saying that make him feel worse? Being oblivious to feelings besides awareness of one's own fabness is unexpectedly hard.]

[comparative_insanity]

Look, it's- it's been a secret all this time because I was... well, cheating on my fiancée, and I don't ever want Lux to find out I did something like that.

[He sighs, feeling a little bit like his heart is fraying coming undone thread by thread. And even worse, he's starting to figure out why.]

I don't usually keep secrets from my friends like that. And you... I know we haven't known each other for that long, but you're still one of the best friends I've ever had. So I want to be honest with you now. [He squeezes Felik's hand gently.]

[niepokonany]

I--um... That's like, nice and stuff?

I mean yeah, you're totally one of my best friends, too! Like, you and Immy and Jadwiga, you know? So--so it's cool!

[Ugh, Fai's hand is ALSO confusing and upsetting (and warm and nice), and can he just die of weird embarrassment yet? He flops his head down against the grass, conflicted and totally unsure why.]