“Everyone’s got to have a dream,” he muses against golden curls with an air of whimsy to his husky voice, as the pictures of a motley crew of two flash through his mind, taste testing the feel of Admiral Vestri on his tongue even if it was in jest. It sounded nice falling off Skyler’s lips, at least. One day, maybe after some strange occurrences transpire, he’d get to hear such a title on sober ears and find out just how good or humorous it sounds.

His smile splits wider at the sound of Skyler proclaiming her consciousness, his shoulders shuddering from a stifled chuckle, reminded of hearing that same excuses hundreds of times in the past. “Okay, Sunshine.” Smiling into her hair, he cracks a single eye open, the amused fondness in his drowsy expression hidden from sight. Something told him that if he had just kept quiet the pair of them would have nodded off in the grass before long, waking up cold and damp from the morning dew when the sunlight breaks through the leafy canopy.

Skyler carrying him is something else he could imagine happening. He’d seen those muscles of hers… “I believe you. How many hearts have you crushed with these?” He playfully returns, arm looped over her rising to cheekily squeeze her biceps, personal space clearly no issue. Angelo laughs under his breath as the image of her scooping him up humorous. Then it turns into her dumping him on a bed and his chuckle turns into something quietly strained instead, like some instinct to stop had just been triggered, danger lights warning him to turn back around.

There’s a jolt of cold as her nose touches his throat, his shiver in response chased away by a fleeting press of warmth, disappearing before it has a chance to settle into his bones and leaving him alone on the grass. Angelo’s gaze chases her as she gets up and calls time on their evening, lingering still on Skyler’s back as she begins to pull off her clothes, perhaps unabashed by the reveal due to the alcohol or simply just because she’s Skyler Dross. He tears his gaze away, fingers that had once twirled her curls plucking at blades of grass instead, ripping at it just the pesky stray thoughts that have sprouted in his brain.

Maybe he should have drank a little more, just until he hit the sweet spot of drunk where he’d fall asleep as soon as his head hit the theoretical pillow.

“On the way, no need to be so impatient.” Pushing himself to his feet, Angelo offers her a breezy response, walking over towards their single sleeping bag on legs that proved to be steadier than he had anticipated. He’s pulling off his shirt when Skyler helpfully chimes in that he was meant to be the big spoon, material lifted up high enough so that only his eyes peeked out over the edge and his chest exposed, pausing for a laboured second. Oh, yeah, he did say that didn’t he? There’s a pinch to his brow as Angelo realises that that probably wasn’t the smartest call he could have made. Still, this was Skyler, so there was no way that he could back down when she flashed him that wicked grin, taunting him with words that hinted at held secrets or knowledge.

“I’d never forget,” he faux-confidently tells her with a wry grin, although he’s already forgotten a million things, like his promised massage and telling her she probably won the race, among other much more important things. Focusing on his sleepiness, he pulls the rest of his shirt off and his pants, then as casually as he can muster, slips into the sleeping bag beside her. It’s cramped, since it was really made for one, making it all the more unavoidable when he does up the zip to avoid skin contact. Angelo decides that the best way to go about it was to just roll with it. Besides, he thinks as he curls around her smaller body and drapes his arm around her middle, fingertips brushing against her stomach, it feels cosy and safe like this…

“Sleep well, Sunshine…” Angelo murmurs into her hair, eyes closed, as he focuses on the way her stomach rises and falls underneath his touch. It turns out Skyler had no reason to warn him earlier, he barely registers the way her wild hair tickles at his nose, his hazy mind instead filled with the thoughts of sunrays warming his skin and moonglow whispering for him.

skyler dross

He stirs not to the sound of birdsong through the trees nor to the way the sunlight dapples through the canopy onto his face but instead to warm touches and something brushing his earlobe. To the sensation of his neck tickling into a pleasant spine chill. All things considering, it’s not a bad way to start the morning.

Groggily, Angelo peeks through bleary eyes, his consciousness floating somewhere between drowsing and awake as the voice in his ear pleasantly rouses his senses. For a moment he lingers in a state of lethargic peace, there’s a presence behind him warm and comforting, a weight that’s not at all burdensome wound tight around his body. It’s a secure embrace and his hand instinctively raises to curl around Skyler’s forearm that she had draped over his body, lightly gripping her as if silently sharing a simple, innocent desire to steal just a few moments more. To just let the languid world stretch on, just for once…

Then he makes the mistake of letting his eyelids flutter open just the slightest bit wider. Then there’s a dull thud in his skull that ruins the blissful haze, like a rude jolt of an alarm clock, suddenly making him more aware of his surroundings than he really wanted to be. A groan of dissatisfaction, for being booted from his dreamy daze and from the tell-tale signs of a headache, tumbles past dry lips. Blue eyes are instantly sealed shut behind squeezed eyelids. He’s had worse headaches after a good night drinking, in fact this was a rather moderate hangover all things considering, it was just all the more frustrating considering the quite lovely feeling moments prior.

“G’night,” he huffs out irritably – although certainly not directed at Skyler – on rough vocals, pulling up her arm to whatever height the sleeping bag would give so he could wiggle his way into turning himself towards her, his face ending up burrowed in her collarbone. It was too bright out, he decided, as he nuzzled into her warmth and kept his eyes firmly squeezed shut so that none of the pesky morning rays could burn his retinas. There was no shame in wanting to cuddle with a friend, was there?

“If I saw where the sun was right,” he hums out, lips curling into a ghost of a smile as he exhales against her skin, his mind sluggishly clicking awake as he knowingly bullshits some stupid reason for why they should stay in the sleeping bag for a little longer. “We still have five more minutes of dawn. So, shh...”

skyler dross

“No, ’m an angel,” he rumbles low against her skin, sleepily smiling as he pulls up the nickname she so frequently likes to use for him, tainting it with his apparent bad influence.

Despite her protest, Skyler doesn’t move and he releases a soft sigh, muscles relaxing as he allows himself to steal a few minutes. It was something to make the most of. Having a lie in was a rare occurrence, his life constantly flowing, daring not to miss a beat of his borrowed time to the point that it seemed pointless to lay alone in his tent when he could be doing, or seeing, something of worth. Right now though, with drowsiness fighting off his headache and the warmth of their bodies creating a cosy yet strangely intimate bubble in the jungle, he couldn’t think of anything else he’d rather be doing.

Clinging to the edge of sleep, Angelo finds himself easily falling into the comfortable little nest they had made, his head far too filled with cotton wool clouds to pay much notice to how this serene quiet was perhaps bordering a little too comfortable for two friends. All he could piece together, as he blissfully rested in her embrace, was that it felt nice having her beside him; how easy it seemed for their limbs to be casually intertwined.

Then her fingers are dancing up his spine, creating lazy lines and toying with the strands of brunette hair on the back of his head and he’s suddenly reminded of last night, of Skyler with fire dancing in her eyes and her lips brushing against his skin. Half-asleep, yet suddenly feeling a little too warm in their snug cocoon to be comfortable any longer, he stills his fingertips as they drag an inch down her spine of their own accord, guided by the combination of taunting memories and a pleasant present. Both of them suddenly pull away at the same time. Angelo doesn’t remember the last time he was so grateful to be alone in a sleeping bag.

As Skyler gets up to hastily begin some morning workouts, clearly far more disciplined to exercise than he’d ever be, Angelo remains in the warmth of the sleeping bag, zipping it up tight until just his face was framed. It was nice and snug from the remains of their body heat, he figured there would be no harm in just chilling out for a little while longer while he fought off the remains of a headache. Then he could see if they had anything around for him to make breakfast. Besides, he had a little show going on that he couldn’t not appreciate.

“You call that a push up?” He calls out on scratchy vocals to Skyler as she starts doing her exercises in the grass, rolling onto his side so that he could observe, his sleepy grin taking on a mischievous edge as his face peered out of the sleeping bag hood. “I've seen Magikarp put in more effort.”

skyler dross

“Like a Magikarp, huh?” Ah... so that was what the song of doom sounded like.

Angelo doesn’t get to the zip of the sleeping bag fast enough, tossing himself in panic as he searches for the line of metal that may secure his freedom, the key for exit deciding that this was the right time to vanish into thin air amongst the fabric. In the end, his searching only proves to have his cocooned body flop uselessly in the grass until he’s on his back, vulnerable and easy pickings as Skyler swoops towards her prey.

“Sky! What the fuck-“ Angelo squawks, voice barking out in protest, although it doesn’t sound quite as serious when his voice is tainted with laughter. For the briefest of moments, he doesn’t think that she’d be able to lift him, after all he’s a fully grown guy with muscle of his own but as he had learned long ago, he should never underestimate the sheer wild tenacity of this woman. He'd always be proven wrong.

“This is ridiculous!” It’s a compliment of awe as much as it’s a vocalisation of objection, Angelo’s brain suddenly short fusing, as the blonde deadlifts him into her arms, unable to think of anything remotely intelligent to say. He can feel Skyler straining a little under his weight as she waddles forward a few steps and Angelo is again stunned, this time his body freezing along with his mind, as he is forced to stare up at her smug-ass grin from his cage, at the excited fire in her eyes. All of a sudden, he feels very confused over whether he should be annoyed or amused or… Something else.

It’s when his destination becames apparent that his body starts to react, her warning sending a chill through him before he even had the chance to hit the surface, his brow knitting into a frown as her threatening words rang with ominous play. “Sky, I swear to fucking… Don’t you dar-“ He thrashes angrily. She drops him. Then he’s plunged right into the pond, water rushing past his ears and his yell cut short from his throat as he holds his breath, submerged under freezing water and sleeping bag soaked through. If any traces of sleep had lingered, then it was long gone now, his senses shocked awake as the pretty crystal blue swallows him in his improvised straightjacket.

Thankfully Skyler isn’t cruel enough to let him lay on the pond floor, Angelo feeling her grasp the sleeping bag and haul him until he breaks through the surface of the water, leaving him to sit at her feet as she announces her victory with an air of self-satisfaction. Angelo drags his gaze up towards her, brow pinched and blue eyes glaring up at her from behind dark strands, his hair pulled down over his face from the weight of the soaking.

“A-Asshole.” Frustration crackles like fire within even though his growl trips over a shiver. Yet, even though he is pissed about his unsolicited dunking, Angelo finds himself more frustrated at himself than anything, he should be seething at the sight of her wicked grin and that the sleeping bag would take forever to dry but instead… His mind flashes back to moon coloured eyes bathed in campfire light, taunting kisses urging him to give chase and a beautifully wicked grin filled with mischief.

Suddenly the desire to grab hold of her, to pull her into the water with him for revenge, seemed like it would be a bad idea. Dangerous, even.

“Ugh, this is so gross...” With a sigh he pulls at the zip, he wrestles his way out of the sleeping bag as it sticks to his bare skin, tugging at it until he’s standing free, holding the soaked through fabric in one hand. As a bead drips off the tip of his nose, he gives his head a single shake, hair flicking out a spray of water droplets towards Skyler before he takes a free hand to it, pushing it back out of his face while shooting her a sharp, burning look out of the corner of his eye. “You’re going to pay for this, Sunshine. Just you wait.” Her nickname tumbles out of his mouth, laced with intention of the revenge variety, low and suggestive of payback.

With a small smirk he thrusts the sleeping bag at Skyler with a satisfying, heavy squelch. Acting like this, taunting and prodding, is easier to deal with than the pull of her gravity. “Congratulations, you’ve just elected yourself for pack mule duty. I’m not carrying that shit until it’s dry.”

skyler dross

“Don’t worry, I will. Just have a little patience.” They square off in front of one another as they stand knee deep in the pond, that brief moment stretching on for longer than he thought possible, air thick enough with tension that he can taste it. It’s an electric concoction, a cocktail of her challenge curling fire in his gut and a million frustrations mixing together into something confusing yet undeniably captivating. Angelo knew he’d be unable to resist rising to the bait of her provocation every time.

Thankfully, they break away, tearing themselves out of the moment before the tension begins to smother; although Skyler can’t help but try and get the last shot in by bumping their shoulders as she strolls past. Angelo rolls his eyes as he watches her retreating back and promptly bends down to splash a spray of water towards her, barely missing as she retreats onto dry land. Shame, she could really irritate the hell out of him sometimes. “Dick,” he mumbles under his breath with as much affection as there was scorn. “Then you better start prepping your stomach, ‘cus I’m not cooking for you.”

As Skyler returns to her workout, Angelo decides to busy himself and get ready for the day ahead, finding that he didn’t quite have the energy to watch her this time. Although the dunking in the cold water had awoken his senses, chasing away the blurry vision and the fog of drowsiness, he could still feel the remnants of memories and strange feelings clinging to him stubbornly. Watching Skyler as her skin glistened in the sunlight, exposed as she bounced around their makeshift camp in her exercises, would do little to chase all that messy stuff out of his brain. It would be in both of their best interests if he kept himself busy, if he distracted himself, as he was so good at doing.

It’s some time later when Angelo returns back to camp, fresh clothes on his back and hair almost dry from the morning sun, his arm cradling some recognisable fruit that he had gathered, having left Skyler to it in favour of checking out the jungle beyond their pondside resting place. His Rockruff, Orion, is bouncing by his ankles and energetically chomping at a stick she had collected on their walk like it was the greatest toy in the world, her paws dancing as she joyfully skipped.

Stepping over a low tangle of thorny vines, Angelo’s gaze lands on Skyler’s back as he walks into camp from behind her, his mouth filled with the pink flesh of fruit and his fingertips sticky from the juice. It looks like she’s still in the midst of her routine, having called out her Mienshao to train with her, the pair of them still moving about with graceful, practiced strikes. His greeting dies in his throat. Even from here he could see the pale lines crisscrossing over her body and he finds his chewing would slow, attention pulled in, darkening ocean eyes dragging over each one that he could see. Angelo watches in silence for a heavy heartbeat or two longer.

“Hey,” he casually calls out to grab her attention as Skyler's routine slows, waiting until she’s turned around to throw one of the round fruit he had picked towards her and then another to the Mienshao. He captures a drop of fruit juice that trickles down his thumb with his mouth, sweetness tingling on his tongue. “It’s no eggs on toast,” there’s a small smile as he references yesterday’s breakfast attempt à la Skyler. “But come have some breakfast.”

So much for not providing food for her…

skyler dross

Angelo’s smile naturally softens as she turns to greet him with a seemingly delighted expression, like he had just strolled in with something gourmet presented on a silver platter for her, rather than a piece of fruit he had happened across. “Reception desk. They had a fruit basket. You didn’t know there was a tourist centre out here?” He responds quickly, tone casual despite the smart-ass nature of it. Stupid stuff like that would make his siblings eyes light up; gullible and innocent as they clung to his words. When uttered to Skyler though, it wasn’t for gasps and curious questions but for amused smirks and barbed retaliations, more satisfying than any fruit.

Still, he doesn’t push on as she begins to bite into the piece that he had thrown her, happy to instead bask in the calm of the moment as the sounds of their chewing intermingle with the chirps within the jungle and the rustling of leaves in the morning breeze. It’s nice, he thinks, in a different way than sharing a sleeping bag. Comfortable and content. Angelo diverts his attention purposefully as Skyler starts chasing drips of juice off her chin, sticking a finger in his mouth to soak up the last remnants of his own segment while his free hand reaches down to pry the stick from Orion’s mouth, throwing the branch towards the bushes for her to chase.

High energy puppies made for a good distraction, one that he needed, when his attractive friend was standing about licking at fruit juice in her underwear. And this was only the start of day two...

She can’t keep him looking away forever though and, inevitably, Angelo’s gaze flicks back to her to catch a playful sparkle in her moon bright eyes. He let’s out a chuckle, warmed from her gratitude and the playful jab that had to accompany any attempt at saying something nice. “Following. Stumbling blindly. Who says I’m not going in that direction anyway?” There’s an edge of humour to his vocals, smirking although he can taste something a little heavier there that even he didn’t fully understand yet. Bending down to pick up the stick that Orion had brought back to him, his expression softens as he looks instead at a wagging cream tail, his thoughts adrift elsewhere.

“Though take any longer and I might have to take the lead of the expedition today. You almost done?” He throws the stick away again, Orion giving chase to the temptation too strong to ignore, her eyes as blue as the sky.

---

There’s an ache in his leg muscles from their constant walking and his arm still stings under a makeshift bandage from 'The Beedrill Incident', along with some other cuts and bruises; but there’s an excited, bright look in Angelo’s eyes. It had been a challenging, thrilling and sometimes frustrating few days travelling around the island. So many memories would forever be stuck in his head, ones that he knew he’d treasure, even if some of them would be better once time had passed.

Yet here they were, their grand finale… Angelo was as excited to see what the end had in store for them as he was disappointed it was almost over. He turns to his adventure friend, smiling at her with the type of fondness and anticipation that had only grown as the days had rolled by. It was difficult not to form a stronger bond with someone when they’d had to drag each other’s asses out of sinking mud and slept side by side every night; even if some were more frustrating than others. “Well Sky, you ready?”

skyler dross