[attr="class","gideon-words"]





With ollie morales's consenting touch, relief and desire intertwined in a heady mixture not unlike the intoxication brought on by their numerous drinks.[break][break]

The alcohol eased inhibitions, as did his friend's reciprocation. It made Gideon bold. Made him want even more. Months of pain and worry and exhaustion melted away with each successive kiss, making room for needs he'd long been suppressing.[break][break]

When there was a moment of reprieve, he felt his glasses being taken off and hands pulling on his hips, beckoning him closer. Then suddenly GIDEON GRAVES found himself straddling his friend, legs braced on either side of him. A small sound of surprise escaped as he clutched at Ollie's shoulders, but he soon found his balance on the man's lap.[break][break]

The stool beneath them groaned with the added weight, but somehow held.[break][break]

Hearing his nickname, Gideon leaned down and smiled into Ollie's lips. "You're a surprisingly good kisser." He confessed, a teasing lilt to his drunken words.[break][break]

As they spoke, the professor was finding it harder and harder to stay focused. In this position, he couldn't help but press his hips against Ollie's, feeling a mutual arousal between the two of them.[break][break]

Still leaning above the ranger, Gideon's hand wandered down in between where their thighs met, stroking the bulging fabric there.[break][break]

"...have you ever been with a man before?"

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The few passersby that they encountered in the halls within the interior of the museum answered mint frost's question without Gideon having to verbalize, but he does regardless, replying, "No, sir. We still have staff on hand. Even if we don't have many visitors, there are many researchers and the like working behind the scenes."[break][break]

Such was the case for a museum of this scale and scope. There was always something that needed to be done outside of educating the public.[break][break]

In the time it took Gideon to explain this, the two men and one Paradox Pokémon arrived at the entrance to the archives.[break][break]

"Please return your Pokémon before we step inside." And to head off any complaints, the director added, "For the safety and integrity of the documents, artifacts, etc."[break][break]

Once Mint complied, he'd scan his ID badge and enter into a huge, warehouse-like space, filled with endless rows of specialized storage racks.[break][break]

"Volcarona, you said?" Gideon asked, already walking toward the section dedicated to that specific Pokémon and its lore.[break][break]

"Right..." His eyes scanned to numbered plates on the outside of the metal storage shelves. "...here. This should be it."[break][break]

Handing Mint a pair of nitrile gloves, Gideon donned his own before instructing the other man on the procedure for handling anything within the archives.[break][break]

"The shelves slide out toward you. Everything, save prepared specimens, are protected within a glass case. If you'd like to inspect something more closely you're free to use the table over there." He gestured to a broad work space a short ways away from the rows of storage racks.

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[break]

Gideon's brows scrunched in momentary confusion. [break][break]

[break]

In this moment of weakness, and despite all the bitterness and trauma surrounding his time in Granite Cave, all the professor wanted now was comfort.[break][break]

He wanted to feel cared for by the woman who'd touched his heart. He wanted concern. He wanted worry, compassion, understanding.[break][break]

He wanted love.[break][break]

"Ah—" A moment's hesitation could speak volumes. He saw, in the way her eyes averted from his, that his estimation of their relationship may have been off base.[break][break]

The ache in his chest was more than just broken ribs now.[break][break]

"...Yes, he has." Gunner Graves had been one of the first to visit Gideon. However, it... hadn't ended well after the revelation surrounding his brother's employment. Their relationship was still on the rocks.[break][break]

Another reason he'd sought Elisabeth Fiorelli's company tonight.[break][break]

"I do, but my doctors have me on a cocktail of medications to mitigate most of it. Still," Gideon slid his hand from Elisa's and placed it on the table, using the leverage to stand. "It'll take a few months before I'm healed."[break][break]

The professor was avoiding eye contact now, having read the writing on the wall. Instead of facing it, however, he simply grabbed his plate and walked over to the sink.

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With Kaname's assent, Gideon led the pair away from this wing of the gallery and toward their new destination, conversing all the while.[break][break]

"Not photography, but birdwatching, yes, actually." The professor remarked in pleasant surprise before elaborating, "It's one of my first passions that steered me toward a career in the biological sciences."[break][break]

He still remembered when he'd found Poppy, his PIDGEOT (then PIDGEY), injured and knocked from her nest. How jealous Gunner Graves had been that his older brother had gotten a Pokémon first.[break][break]

"I'm glad you approve." The words almost hummed inside his throat, pleased as he was to hear his date enjoyed their outing so far. He hoped to continue the trend.[break][break]

Rounding a corner, the two men were soon greeted by dappled sunlight streaming through paneled glass above. The transition between gallery and garden was nearly seamless; through double doors, one of which Gideon held open for Kaname Fujihara, an entirely new world awaited them.[break][break]

As opposed to all the pieces they'd just left behind, now it was time for the pair to appreciate a more organic type of artwork, crafted by nature itself. Myriad plant species lined curated, gravel pathways, most of which culminated at the center of the atrium where a sizable bridge spanned a small stream.[break][break]

"I'm the same way, for better or worse. I've killed my fair share of house plants before." Gideon's object permanence wasn't the best. He'd get wrapped up in some project or another and forget that there were other living things depending on his care. [break][break]

It was a bad habit that, unconsciously, extended to more than just plant life.[break][break]

"But I enjoy going to places like this."

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"Griddle? That one might be a bit much." Still, it was hard to resist Ollie's infectious positivity.[break][break]

I said what I said.[break][break]

Gideon's smile persisted, perhaps even widening enough to crease the skin around his eyes. Still slight, but more than he showed most people.[break][break]

"You'd make a pretty good subject for a photo, you know." With that roguish grin of his.[break][break]

"Would you like to try?"[break][break]

The bug pile grew as Gideon's VIVILLON continued to flutter around the clearing, this time putting a GRUBBIN to sleep.

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Hearing his name pass through those lips was invitation enough for GIDEON GRAVES. [break][break]

It sparked a drunken, burning need in him that he'd never felt around ollie morales before. Their friendship faded into the background of his mind, overtaken by only one, more primal thought: [break][break]

[break]

Their kiss was not the stumbling interlock of two ginger virgins. It was not gentle nor hesitant nor romantic.[break][break]

It was fervent and breathy, with Gideon threading his own fingers through the hair above Ollie's neck, pulling him closer.[break][break]

It was tinged by the scent of whiskey and the feeling of letting go. [break][break]

When Gideon pressed his tongue deeper, savoring the taste, his glasses bumped higher off the bridge of his nose. Not that they were of any use; they'd long fogged up by now. In the same movement, the stool he'd sat on also fell backwards, clattering to the floor.[break][break]

The sound made him pause, but not retreat.[break][break]

"Fuck, Ollie..." There was a longing in the way he called his friend's name.

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This 'Welcome to the Moon' committee did not give off the chill vibes that Gideon was expecting, considering the moon angels and all they'd made on their last trip. [break][break]

In fact, their entire expedition this time around had been much more treacherous. Case in point, the Megalopolan plant zombie shuffling toward their group — and Gideon in particular — right this moment. They were fast than he'd first suspected at a distance.[break][break]

A hand went to his belt for another Poké Ball, but the professor found it to be unnecessary. Alongside angelo vestri's CHARIZARD, the professor's PIDGEOT had an aerial advantage and was able to dive bomb those that got too close. An AIR SLASH or two was more than enough to cut through vines and crumbling flesh.[break][break]

Numbers were not on their side, however. More zombies kept appearing, seemingly out of no where. Where were they coming from? In the distance, Gideon thought he saw a metallic gleam at the center of the crater.[break][break]

[break]

Hearing Gunner's call, the elder Graves brother rushed to the CELESTEELA limb that was in the other man's arms. He'd help lift it as best he could. But really, a makeshift flamethrower?[break][break]

"You've got to be kidding me!" The logistics made sense, but that didn't make their current predicament feel less like a scene from a B-list action movie.

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Gideon could commiserate with the notion of going mad if left to a singular topic for too long — it was a large reason why his career and areas of study were so diverse. [break][break]

"Let me know if you'd ever like to join one of our digs. I'm scheduled to check in on one soon, actually." With @remiel, another prospective contractor. [break][break]

When @albrecht probed about what was of interest, Gideon set back in his chair and mused on the question, sipping his tea idly. He spent a moment or two watching his VIVILLON flutter above the grasses ahead of them.[break][break]

What might interest someone like Hazel?[break][break]

"We've had donations from the Ultra Wilds recently. Volumes of what appear to be an instruction manual, but it's hard to tell. We're still working on repairing them."

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"Mmmm." Right now. [break][break]

Gideon was done waiting for others to banish the loneliness in his heart. He wanted to enjoy his life in the moment, unburdened by guilt or similar dragging emotions.[break][break]

Where fingers aimlessly intertwined, the professor purposefully gripped a little tighter. Gideon felt the brush of a limb against his thigh, too, and leaned into that touch as well.[break][break]

This could only mean one thing, right?[break][break]

Arceus, ollie morales had the most dazzling smile. As he gazed across the bar top now, all Gideon could think of was how beautiful the other man's lips looked spread across such an honest, endearing face.[break][break]

It was too much. All at once, GIDEON GRAVES realized what he wanted to do.[break][break]

He leaned closer still, closing the gap between friendly proximity and intimate closeness.[break][break]

"Can I kiss you...?"

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"Doesn't it?" Blissfully, he laughed.[break][break]

The sound came from deep within his chest, as if it'd been saved there for a long, long time. GIDEON GRAVES couldn't remember the last time the sound of his own laughter had filled his apartment.[break][break]

It was a cathartic release.[break][break]

The feeling of a hand squeezing his own drew the professor back to the conversation. He quieted, letting Ollie speak, and subtly squeezed back.[break][break]

Had the ranger's voice ever been so calming before? With one word, the other man was able to cast away Gideon's woes. Somehow, he found himself unconsciously leaning closer across the table.[break][break]

"I do." He agreed, suddenly resolute, while meeting his friend's eye. Eyes? It was hard to tell. Everything was a little blurry.[break][break]

"You're right. I want to have fun right now. I'm tired of being like this."

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The liquor made his tongue loose. [break][break]

"The kind that leaves me alone a lot of the time." He confided with a shallow sigh. Gideon could feel that, on some level, he'd allowed his guard to fall around ollie morales. Strangely, however, he didn't seem to care.[break][break]

"I'm used to it, though. I just keep focusing on my work. That's what's important, you know?" Despite saying this, the professor didn't sound so convinced.[break][break]

On his shoulders GIDEON GRAVES held the responsibilities of several men. It was a daily tightrope walk, juggling everything that needed to be done.[break][break]

Perhaps that was also why he'd continuously found himself at the bar as of late.

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GIDEON GRAVES was preparing all the necessary materials for his appointment today, his assistant Proteus the SLOWKING by his side, when he heard the door to his lab slide open.[break][break]

"Gunner," He greeted warmly, turning to see both his brother and a familiar TYPHLOSION at the other man's heel. "You're just on time. Glad you could make it."[break][break]

With most others the professor would have dived right in to his work, but it'd been awhile since he'd seen Gunner Graves. [break][break]

"How are things with you?"[break][break]

It seemed like only yesterday Gunner was confessing to his true career in a random Slateport bar.

[attr="class","gideon-notes"]