[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie had been sleeping deeply and dreamlessly when Jack had fired off his series of tipsy texts to her a little before midnight. It'd been a long day of rushing to finish a commission whose deadline moved up at the last minute. She'd crashed hard afterward, falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

So, at first, when she heard the faint hints of odd noise coming from outside her window, she made a face in her sleep and rolled over. But the noise persisted, pulling her out of her blissful slumber with a grumpy grumble. At last, the pounding on the side door and enthusiastic "Hellllooooo!" brought her awake with a sudden, unwelcome jolt.

"C'est quoi, ce bordel," she muttered, still only half-awake. Tugging off her sleep mask, she twitched aside the curtain next to her bed and peered outside.

The street outside was softly lit with a few streetlights glowing under a velvety black, star-studded sky. Two indistinct figures were moseying aimlessly by her side door. When one of them raised his voice to yell again, Aurelie's eyebrows rose in startled disbelief when she realized she knew it.

"What...the...hell?" she gasped, slipping out of bed and tossing on the fluffy bathrobe draped over a chair. "I thought he was in Slateport! Why is he here...and at this hour?"

For, though thick with alcohol and hoarse from singing and talking, it was unmistakably the voice of her long-time fling...no, her casual lover...no, her boyfriend, Jack. She couldn't believe he was showing up at her place like this, though, sounding and acting completely plastered and ridiculous. Not to mention waking her up and making her have to get out of bed past midnight like this.

And had he even brought a friend? What was he thinking?

Aurelie stomped down the stairs, gritting her teeth in annoyance as she prepared to give Jack and his drinking buddy a talking-to and then drag Jack inside. She'd at least had the presence of mind to grab her eyepatch and slip it on before heading downstairs, though it was currently askew and only partly covering her scarred right eye.

She yanked open the door with a sharp, abrupt jerk. Yes, it was Jack all right, hanging onto the arm of his companion and grinning with intoxicated cheer. Aurelie's brows drew together and her mouth firmed in an exasperated glare.

"Jack Wainwright, you idiot," she sighed, making a grab for his hand. "I can't believe you came here like this! I guess you can come in, so stop making a spectacle of yourself and singing loud enough to wake the dead.

"And I guess you..." She turned toward the person beside Jack. A sudden chill ran down the length of her spine as the light shone full on his face, as if she'd just swallowed an ice cube. "...can...ummm..."

Her voice petered away into a disbelieving whisper as the blood drained from her face. It couldn't be him, she thought frantically. It can't be, it surely isn't... "...Isaac?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","topimage"]

[attr="class","textbox"]It was a blur of linked arms, merry song, and flashed abs as the two of them made their way to the mysterious Mrs. Wainwright's. "Not bad," Isaac said, an impressed grin on his face as he gave Jack a teasing elbow. "But hey, c'mon. I know there's someone you're gonna be way happier showing 'em off to than me!" As far as he was concerned, the rest of the day was going to pass much the same; content, unfocused, and with not a single dramatic surprise.[break][break]

All that changed when he saw just who came to the door.[break][break]

". . . Aurie?"[break][break]

There were a lot of things Isaac expected to see on the other side. An old friend- no, a cherished sister that he hadn't seen in ages - was not one of them. Passing glances on the battlefield here and there, sure. But when was the last time they'd truly spoken? That same battle on the Resurface Isle, where they effectively parted ways for good?[break][break]

The hug he gave her, spurred on by drunken courage, was as warm and protective as it was dearly overdue.[break][break]

"I missed you," he said, his tone as clear as the heart he wore on his sleeve. At the very least, it wasn't the "I miss you" of an ex-lover or a former fling. It was a far different type, more intimate and yet far less threatening. There was clearly history of a sort, but in the sense that made it clear Isaac was the younger of their present company. "But . . . I gotta wonder."[break][break]

"What're you doing at this guy's girlfriend's house?"

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie barely had time to metaphorically pick her jaw up off the floor, before Isaac had swept her into an enthusiastic, effusive bearhug. She hadn't expected it, but she probably should have. It was in his nature, after all, to forgive, to empathize, to remember, and to love.

In his arms, she froze, caught between competing emotions. One part of her wanted nothing more than to melt into his embrace, hug him back, and tell him how much she'd missed him and thought of him since their last meeting on the resurfaced island. Because she had. Oh, she really had.

But the colder, more rational, and more selfish part of Aurelie—the part that belonged to Rocket—knew she should push him away. She should glare at him, tell him off in no uncertain terms, and maybe throw a punch or two. In short, she should treat Isaac like an enemy—like how a Rocket defector should be treated.

It was the safe course, especially when Rocket was always watching. Although Aurelie rather doubted they'd be watching a random grunt living in a peaceful city at 2:00 AM. Right now, she found herself far more aware of Jack's eyes watching her: innocent, inebriated, unsure...yet still a Ranger. Definitely not someone she could openly mention Rocket in front of, even when he was three sheets to the wind.

Especially when he leaned in and hugged both of them. The redhead swallowed and shook her head in resignation. No, she wouldn't push Isaac or Jack away, so she did the next best thing.

"Then come inside, both of you," Aurelie sighed, shuffling backward and dragging both of them through the open door. "It's nice and warm in here, and we can talk in peace."

Reaching out, she firmly shut the door behind them while Jack and Isaac piled into the stairwell that led to her workshop downstairs and the apartment upstairs.

"I live here," she replied to Isaac, her lips curving into a wry smirk. "You should remember this place. There's no one else here but me. Well, and a few of my Pokemon, I guess."

On cue, her Flareon Ignace paused at the top of the stairs and let out a huge, luxurious yawn, its breath faintly tinged with traces of fiery golden-red flame.

Closing her eye briefly, as if to shutter herself against the world, Aurelie squeezed Isaac's hand. "I missed you too."

Then she turned to Jack, her tone turning acerbic while remaining affectionate and amused. "As for you... What are you doing here? And how much have you been drinking? For the matter, why have you been drinking so much? And how did you end up with Isaac?"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","topimage"]

[attr="class","textbox"]It was a nice, warm hug on a nice, cool day. Isaac smiled a little as he was comfortably sandwiched between his dearly missed sister and his new friend. However, it was clear not everyone was as comfortable as he was. Poor Jack was already complaining about the cold.[break][break]

"Oh, shit. I gotchu." Sometimes, inebriation made people more skilled rather than less skilled. This was because without one's inhibitions, it was easy to do things before your brain told you "whoa, slow down, buddy." In this case, Isaac was able to flawlessly whip his shirt off in a single sweeping motion of his arm just to offer it to Jack. "I don't get cold anymore, so it's all yours."[break][break]

Between that little gun show, and him forgetting where Aurelie lived, it appeared drunk Isaac was officially a himbo.[break][break]

Once he was in the stairwell, Isaac let out a sigh of relief. Yep. This was definitely familiar territory. "Oh yeah! You showed me how to make the thingies here," he oh so helpfully specified. "That was fun. You gotta make him a thingie next. He'll love it. But maybe not right now." He looked around, conspiratorially, then leaned in to whisper to Aurelie and Jack.[break][break]

"Don't tell anyone, but we might be a little drunk."[break][break]

His uproarious laughter melted into a soft, supportive hand squeeze. A million and one brain cells screamed out a million and one different answers to her agreement, but in his drunken haze all he did was smile. Perhaps it was for the best. Even the most innocuous of words could have lead to truths getting out that Jack simply wasn't ready for.[break][break]

"I brought him here!" Isaac said, smiling proudly. "Guy needed a change of pace. So I decided to take him to the best tiki bar I know. And since I can do this now-!" Wind up the stairs. Wind down the stairs. How he didn't trip and explode was another one of those little Isaac miracles. "I was all, woosh, you're in Lilycove now. Pretty cool, eh sis?"[break][break]

Somehow, in all those words, he managed to not answer a single one of Aurelie's questions. Incredible.

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie stared, dumbstruck, as Isaac whipped off his shirt, offered it to Jack, and then used his Suicune-given powers to whoosh up and down the stairs, while Jack put on the shirt and made weird, wheezing noises with his mouth. None of it made sense, and yet honestly, it all made far too much sense.

Of course, the two of them would somehow find each other. Of course, they'd become friends and drinking buddies. And of course, they'd all end up together on her doorstep.

"Blessed Arceus," she finally muttered when she found her voice again. "I'm not awake enough for this."

Wearily, the redhead rubbed a hand across her forehead. "I didn't even know you could get drunk anymore, Isaac. You two ought to go into comedy together, you know. You'd be a huge hit in college frat houses everywh..."

She cut herself off as Jack abruptly charged up the stairs. What on earth is he looking for? Aurelie wondered in alarm. Shooting Isaac a look of profound disappointment, she hurried upstairs after Jack as a worrying flurry of banging noises began emanating from the depths of her apartment.

"Jack, please stop," she pleaded as he opened and slammed closed one door after another. "Do you need water? Coffee? Some fruit, maybe? I have some leftovers in the fridge, if you're hungry..."

Aurelie's brow creased as she suddenly remembered the texts from Jack that she'd half-skimmed while rushing downstairs earlier. "Wait a minute. Jack Bartholomew Wainwright, didn't you say you were bringing snacks? Hmmmm?"

Privately, she wasn't actually sure if she had his middle name right. He'd told her once, but at two in the morning, she couldn't clearly remember what it was. Still, she narrowed her eye sternly and pushed past Jack into the kitchen, only looking up when she caught a glimpse of Isaac stumbling through the door out of the corner of her eye.

"Here, I'll get you both some water," the redhead grumbled, taking out two tall glasses and filling them both to the brim with cold, filtered water. "That way, you can clear your heads and not wake up with pounding headaches tomorrow morning.

"Now, will one of you please fill me in on why both of you decided to drink yourselves silly at a tiki bar today?" For all their excited blabber, Aurelie still wasn't sure they'd explained why. Had some tragic Ranger incident happened? Had someone bullied them both and made them cry? Though I can't imagine anyone would be fool enough to do that to the avatar of Suicune, she thought wryly.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT