Despite being bundled up in an excessive amount of layers, August felt the chill seeping into his bones. It didn't stop him from rambling on, voice muffled by his thick scarf. He talked about clubs he wanted to join and the latest fashion he'd seen hosts wearing. He wondered aloud if his buizel, Taga, could learn to play guitar or what his Flygon, Pilot, might look like in a bomber jacket. He thought he might be talking too much when the cold air started to burn the top of his mouth but... He couldn't help it, he was nervous.

He'd accepted Felix was never much of a talker but he was starting to wonder if his silent nods were all he was ever going to get from him. It was, after all, the anniversary of his disownment, coming out, and of Felix taking him in, but here they were. Just another walk. And despite willing himself to keep going, his ramblings sputtered to a stop.

I doubt he even thinks of today as anything special but would a hug or something be too much to ask? 

An image of the brothers hugging popped into his mind and August reflexively scrunched up his nose. Nevermind, Felix would probably spontaneously combust from the awkwardness.

The nods didn't stop. They didn't stop as the teen blabbered on about his Pokémon and the various outfits he'd put them in, or when he spoke of the array of different extracurriculars.

Even when the other began to unwind, slowing his once rapid speech, and a silence fell upon the duo...he continued to say nothing. Felix just kept his hands comfortably in his pockets and eyes set forward, unwavering both physically or emotionally to the obvious distress of the other.

That is...until he came to a sudden halt.

Turning, Felix rested a heavy hand on August's shoulder and spoke after several moments of silence. "Your shoelace. It's untied."

The hand on his shoulder briefly stopped the whirring of his mind. Was this it? Was this the moment of acknowledgement he was hoping for?

("Your shoelace. It's untied.")

August blinked slowly, face slack with disbelief. The hope that the brief moment of warmth built up withered away in his stomach. After a pause he burst out nearly hysterical laughter. His brother was simply a hopeless idiot it seemed. He brought a hand to his face, barely covering his wry smile. A bittersweet feeling raced through him. Felix, as attentive and aware as he was, could not read a room. He shouldn't have expected anything more from him.



Keeping his hand over his face, he kicked out his foot, hitting Felix in the shin and rested it there. "Tie it for me then."

August watched his brother with amusement as Felix fulfilled his ridiculous command, obviously confused but unquestioning of his outburst. Was he a robot? No feelings, just action. It had to be a strange sense of duty that had his older sibling looking after him, if not love.



He couldn't help but look on with mild awe as Felix swiftly dealt with the pokemon that had happened on their path. Felix was always efficient, to the point, a man who got things done... and August looked up to him, but he really didn't know him at all. The stoic guy never volunteered any information on himself and he didn't really seem interested in learning about August either. So why? Why did he take on his baby brother, that he'd barely known, as his responsibility? The question had been plaguing him off and on for ages now, especially when Felix would come home late from his job, working himself to the bone, just to be able to support the both of them.



The wild pokemon were now background noise compared to his swimming thoughts. He knew that if he didn't get at least some kind of answers now, the question would continue to gnaw away at him through another sleepless night.

"Hey. Why'd you take me in? I..." he tried not to sound accusatory and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, "I can't even tell if you actually like having me around."



Immediately embarrassed by his insecurity and anxious about his choice of words, he started rambling on, "Of course, I'm really extremely and eternally grateful for everything you have done for me, and regardless of your reasons, you're a good person Felix but I... I... nevermind, that was out of nowhere right? Just forget about it." He was sure his tumultuous emotions must be giving his robotic brother whiplash.

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD IGGLYBUFF APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] FRIEND GUARD
[attr="class","wildtabox"]DEFENSE CURL	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]CHARM
[attr="class","wildtabox"]COPYCAT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]POUND
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Felix Gallagher August Gallagher

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD GLOOM APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] MALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] CHLOROPHYLL
[attr="class","wildtabox"]PETAL BLIZZARD	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]PETAL DANCE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]GRASSY TERRAIN	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]SWEET SCENT
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Felix Gallagher August Gallagher

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

Felix Gallagher CAUGHT THE SEVIPER!

A heavy sigh escaped from August at his brother's predictable response. He was getting better at not taking his nonchalant silence personally but he hoped his emotional questions hadn't soured his sibling's mood.

A couple pokemon sauntered out onto their path once again and, wanting to show off a bit to his big bro, August sent out his Flygon to swiftly take care of them with it's earth power. He tossed a pokeball towards the igglybuff and shot a shy smile at Felix.

Quiet washed over the two of them while August thought of what he could say next to potentially salvage and make full use of the remainder of their walk together. If he was going to get closer to Felix, he should really stop talking only about himself, but he wasn't quite sure if Felix would respond to being questioned with more than one syllable. Still, he might as well give it a go.

"So... Felix how are? You work so hard, I worry about you. You do so much for me, is there anything I can do for you?" He glanced anxiously between his brother and the trail before them.

His brother... was smiling... at him... HELL YEAH! August felt a little ridiculous for getting so happy over such a small thing, but he couldn't help the goofy grin spreading across his face. This quiet moment made each agonizing second of awkwardness worthwhile. He was so filled with adoration for his brother in that instance that he thought he might explode.

Felix's thoughtful answer to his innocuous question hit him full force, it was the straw that broke the camel's back. Suddenly, tears pooled into his eyes and he scrunched his face up to a comical degree to keep them from spilling over. To hide his embarrassment, and his tears, he lightly punched a few times at his brother's shoulder.

"F-fuck, that's so cheesy Felix, what the fuck man," he chuckled awkwardly, lip trembling, "but... Thank you. Really. It means a lot." He wiped his eyes aggressively with his sleeve and tried to steady himself. His smiled up at his sibling. "Mom and Dad missed out on two really great sons, didn't they?"

Realizing the sobering effect of that rhetorical question, August quickly kept the ball rolling with the first thing he could think of. "That's why, you should live how you want to too Felix. Don't think I don't notice that you haven't brought anyone special home. I hope you're not stopping on my account. A handsome guy like you must be dripping with propositions." He waggled his eyebrows at the older brother.

"Seriously though, your happiness is my happiness too dude, don't forget that."

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD HOUNDOOM APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] UNNERVE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]HOWL	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]BITE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]CRUNCH	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]EMBER
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Felix Gallagher August Gallagher

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

[attr="class","wildtemp"]

[attr="class","wildbgsaf"]

[attr="class","wildtitle"]A WILD CLEFAIRY APPEARED!

[attr="class","wildshiny"]

[attr="class","wildpkmnbox"]

[attr="class","wildpkmn"]

[attr="class","wildtab"]

[attr="class","wildtabox"] FEMALE	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] CUTE CHARM
[attr="class","wildtabox"]SPOTLIGHT	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]DISARMING VOICE
[attr="class","wildtabox"]STORED POWER	[attr="class","wildtabox2"]METEOR MASH
[attr="class","wildtabox"] ---	[attr="class","wildtabox2"] ---

[attr="class","wildtag"]Felix Gallagher August Gallagher

[attr="class","wildnote"] WHAT WILL YOU DO?

August Gallagher CAUGHT THE IGGLYBUFF!