what he's expecting on the other side of the door is not this.

[break][break] jayden is a person who is - at baseline - a logical person. he spends time calculating events before they transpire, the eventuality of those events, and the conditions that they must meet. when he plans on visiting eris, he considers many different possibilities. perhaps, someone would not open the door. perhaps, someone would but it would not be eris. perhaps it would be eris, but she would - for some reason - deny him entry.

[break][break] what he did not expect was Chu-e Choi.

[break][break] their underboss. eris' father. leon's boyfriend.

[break][break] his —

[break][break] "chu-e?"

[break][break] the world falls beneath him.

[break][break] what? what is he doing here? didn't Calem Pollet say he was dead? didn't Cillian Quinn confirm it? the records certainly did. jayden's mind whirls between reality and fiction — what is real and what isn't.

[break][break] before he had grasp it, the underboss is leaving and retreating into his home. jayden swallows, following him, stumbling through the wooden frame and slipping off his shoes in the meantime.

[break][break] "i - am i allowed to come in?" he starts, but his voice falters. he looks around briefly, wondering if chu-e's boyfriend or daughter is about to come around the corner and say "kidding!"

[break][break] briefly, he pinches himself. it hurts. he's not dreaming, then.

[break][break] he swallows thickly, feeling deeply confused still, and finds the other curled in a blanket. jayden flushes, standing in front of him, and offering his box of cupcakes. "i bought these for eris' but... for you too, i guess, if you want them. they're sweet - though - so i don't know if you'll like them."

[break][break] inside, Chu-e Choi will find shinx-line themed cupcakes, after Eris Halla own pokemon.

[attr="class","notes"]Chu-e Choi

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

it shouldn't effect him the way it does, not after this many months. yet, when Chu-e Choi takes the cup delicately and brings it to his lips, jayden can't help but watch, heart in his throat.

[break][break] the sight of a child showing off a piece of artwork for the very first time. that's how he feels.

[break][break] he'd have felt the same way even if he'd watched anyone else that was his superior reach for something that was - for all matters - his hobby. something precious, hidden away, from all the nightmares that surrounded their work.

[break][break] it reminds him of the time he baked cookies for Cillian Quinn on his birthday over a year ago.

[break][break] it's the same reaction he would've had —

[break][break] but it's made worse when the beaming smile is sent towards him.

[break][break] jayden swallows. numbly, he finds himself sitting on the couch next to the other. jayden is a victim to this plight, as he always is whenever Chu-e Choi is involved. like pulled on by a string.

[break][break] a million questions run around in his mind — what was chu-e doing here? how long had he been here? was he hiding from rocket? from gavin? is that why no one knew he was alive? was this a dream? had he somehow been transported into a portal, and this was an alternate reality? was this the work of those unknown sleeper agents again —

[break][break] "do you... like it?" he says instead, choking his thoughts back. if this is a dream, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he didn't wake up. not yet. "it's the first time i've tried decorating..." his fingers fumble in the soft pink fabric of the blanket.

[attr="class","notes"]Chu-e Choi

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

the silence that fills the room feels even more palpable than it did before, if all possibly. it seems like such a difference experience from the last time that he was here — with chu-e passed out on the floor while carmeldansen plays on the floor in the background.

[break][break] he's lost in his thoughts that he nearly doesn't notice until his fingers touch his own.

[break][break] jayden glances up, startled.

[break][break] "i —"

[break][break] he twists himself around, looking to see if perhaps the underboss' daughter or boyfriend is coming to save him, but no such hero exists. instead, nearly the opposite happens. he leans towards jayden, cuddling under the soft pink blanket. the warmth that presses against his side feels almost wrong. almost illegal. as if this isn't something he's allowed to have.

[break][break] hair tickles his cheek, and jayden finds himself frozen to the spot.

[break][break] chained, by nothing but warmth and fluffy pink blankets and feelings he didn't know he had.

[break][break] "i — chu-e, are you okay? are you feeling sick?"

[break][break] he presses the back of his hand against the other's forehead.

[attr="class","notes"]Chu-e Choi

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

it's been a while since jayden had felt anything akin to affection for the other. the last year had been filled of the traumatic events of the hoenn star tournament, the shame, the guilt, the regret. the sootopolis raid had made him feel protective and desperate. returning to kanto had given him the space and time needed to grieve, and grieve he did — not just for his broken heart, but for the death of an underboss that everyone knew and loved.

[break][break] the crater in his heart had slowly been patched together, mended together with paper and nails.

[break][break] and it was all falling apart again, the moment he stared into Chu-e Choi's hazy gaze.

[break][break] "chu-e —" he chokes.

[break][break] the fingers that touch his cheek are warm, but they burn against his own. his chest aches.

[break][break] was this torture? he'd been tortured before, by his father, by his brother, by countless others. but this was different. this was worse.

[break][break] he didn't think it could get any worse — and then Chu-e Choi kissed him.

[break][break] at first - it's soft and sweet and affectionate. everything that he buried deep within him for months and months come flaring to life. the memory of their lakeside date, the exchange of luvdiscs, the umbreon charm that he kept buried deep away in his study under a pile of books.

[break][break] and then? then it's wet.

[break][break] startled, jayden makes an ungodly sound as the other licks him and it is only then - in that moment - that jayden realizes what is happening. this isn't chu-e. chu-e is dead.

[break][break] he wipes a hand against his face, and it feels almost sticky.

[break][break] "you're not chu-e, are you?"

[break][break] he tries to keep the disappointment out of his voice. the shame.

[attr="class","notes"]Chu-e Choi

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉