Josh sat in the corner of the couch with a quilted blanket wrapped firmly around himself. His legs were curled up against his chest, his chin on his knees, and his arms draped uneasily around his shins. He wanted to give Ark some space, so that the poor guy could think and decide what he wanted to tell him after last night - or if he wanted to tell him anything at all. Josh readjusted his face, so his cheek on his knee. All he remembered was completely wigging out to the point where he just shut down, and then the rest he was unconscious… To tell the truth, he wanted to believe it was all a dream.

He’d be lying if he said he was calm, he couldn’t help but sweat out a little anxiety when Ark was out of his sight. But, it was routine now, he had to stretch the space that could be between them bit by bit - so that if they ever got separated, he wouldn’t freeze up and give out. He didn’t want smother Ark either, or make him feel like his entire universe had to revolve around the fact that they had to be together. He didn’t like the exercise, but it had to be done.

And he really hoped that Ark would come into the room soon.

littlemisslibby:

mesdamesgropius-white:

arktherival:

It took a bit, but Ark managed to get Josh inside shortly.  Not easily, not with trying to keep his balance when Josh seemed about ready to fall over.  Dang it, how was he going to do this?  Well, he sure wasn’t going to get Josh much further, but…

As he looked around quickly, he was able to reasses the situation.  Hilda was panicking, Libby was crying, and Natalie was—Natalie!  There was no way he’d be able to manage anything but Josh, but… right, he was needed.  And that meant it was time to step up to the plate.

“Natalie!” Ark called over as he slowly lowered himself down a bit.  “Are caring of Hilda.  Also Libby.  Are girl, are left here.  Is not sure why.  Weird guy.  Bad guy, maybe.  Are caring?  Is protect Josh!” he blabbed it out quickly, making sure the last part was loud enough Josh would hear it over his crying.  He didn’t want to leave Hilda completely in the dark but he didn’t understand much either.  The least he could do, for now, was ensure Natalie that he could handle Josh on his own.

Which he was pretty sure he could.  He’d taken care of Josh up until now, since their reunion, and wasn’t about to stop.

It wasn’t far from the front door, but he was able to settle down slowly against the wall, pulling Josh down carefully with him until he could wrap his arms around his partner properly, the two of them semi-comfortably seated.  “Are okay, Josh.  …Are okay.  …Are cry, are scream.  Are be… are be angry.  Is staying.”

He’d been gone for two years, but it wasn’t going to be for nothing, damnit.  He’d been gone for two years to learn what it meant to be strong enough for someone, and right now, he’d understood that that meant facing up to whatever Josh was about to throw at him.  Because Josh needed that right now.

Natalie’s eyes scanned over everyone as she held Hilda. This chaos that had seemingly erupted out of nowhere strained the limits of her own ability to focus. Ark, however, bless him, managed to offer enough words to set her straight.  Someone had been here; that was who she had seen in the distance, and was most likely the reason for the current state of events.

[It was him. The scowling man Hilda so despises. He was here. He left the strange girl. Made Hilda rage.] Scarlett added, with a low growl. Natalie stared at the Zoroark, her eyebrow raised.  Natalie’s brow furrowed deeply, but she could not picture anyone that matched Scarlett’s description.

“Who was it?” Natalie asked while carefully pulling Hilda inside and shutting the door behind her.

[Do not remember his name.  Something related to the West. Maybe.]  That response struck a chord with her, but still there was nothing, like the missing variable in the equation she was last fiddling with. It didn’t matter now, though. Things needed to be sorted out. Whatever had happened had triggered Josh into his current state, a flashback of some sort.  Natalie chewed on her lip, concentrating, eyes moving from the boys, now in their own space, to the young girl crying, an Audino making attempts to comfort her.  

“Nats…” Hilda finally spoke up. “I didn’t mean for… It was too much, I couldn’t…” She squeezed Natalie’s hand tightly, staring sharply into her wife’s eyes as she recomposed herself.  The sounds of crying around her, still caused the sharp sting, but now that Natalie had her inside. She could handle this.

“It’s going to be all right, love. Right now we’re needed. Joshua is very scared right now. Ark has him, but I want you to stay here with them, in case anything escalates. Be the safe, warm presence you always are.  I am going to see to caring for the girl—”

“Olivia.” Hilda interrupted, blinking like she had just been shocked. “Her name… is Olivia. She’s going to stay with us.”

“Right.” Natalie gave a nod. With that signal, Hilda seated herself in a chair near Josh and Ark.

“I’m right here, Josh… Ark… If you need anything.” She said with a firm and gentle tone.  Whether they heard, or cared to, she didn’t know, but she was there for them all the same.

Natalie, then went straight to Olivia’s side and knelt down beside her.  Her Audino, who was just as distressed, looked to her, her eyes clearly asking for help. Natalie placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder, almost as if she were trying to calm one of her scared, injured friends.

“Hello, you must be Olivia. My name is Natalie. This has to be very frightening and confusing right now, in a house full of strangers, but do not worry… we’ll sort everything out, trust me. Why don’t we step into the kitchen; you can tell me your story. Does that sound good? You are welcome too.” She smiled at the Audino as she offered an open palm to Olivia.

“I want to go home… I want to go home…” Libby repeated over and over as she cried into Frieda’s shoulder.  Around her, things were happening, other people were upset and hurting as much as, if not more than, she was and she did her best to block it all out.  Selfish, maybe she was, but in the end, she simply didn’t know these people. They weren’t helping her… so what good was it to strain herself worrying about them, when she could barely deal with her own hurt feelings?

The longer she cried, the more alone and helpless she felt. Leo had given her the impression she would be safer here, in better company, but even after tonight’s yelling and tears, she was beginning to doubt the veracity of his statements. She didn’t feel safe here; she felt exposed and useless. It was almost… ironic that she had felt safer and more confident in herself while traveling with a man whose original intentions had been to kidnap her. 

A gentle touch on her shoulder startled her out of her private misery, however, and she jumped. Letting go of Frieda, she looked up to see the green-haired woman beside her, speaking to her, eyes full of concern. Someone did care… Libby stared at her, Natalie, before slowly taking her hand, grateful for the familiar warmth of the contact.

“I… prefer to be called Libby…” she murmured meekly, an automatic response. Her other hand clasped tight to Frieda’s paw, Libby let Natalie lead them into the kitchen, away from the confusion and hurt and away from her broken idols.

   Slumped against his boyfriend, he had chance to really let himself go and uncage these new-found demons. But  he found he wasn’t as willing as he thought he was to go into a full-on break down, and he bowed his head and buried into Ark’s frame, silently weeping. Shaking, he whimpered until the sobs caught in his throat. He craved his warmth and touch like a child, the slurred sobs and whines soon faded, and he wailed his misery into Ark’s jacket.

   Wes was right. He was a brat, a conceited little brat making a fuss over things he didn’t know how to deal with. He hurt people around him when he was like this, and he really wasn’t fit to be a pokemon trainer in this state. The one person he had tried to make happy today was crying, Hilda was heartbroken, and the person who he loved the most had to deal with him in his volatile state.

   The poor boy couldn’t help his whip-lash emotions from tearing around his head any longer, all he could feel was a terrible cocktail of terrified, furious, and utterly mortified. His heart beat hard against his ribcage, and suddenly he couldn’t remember when his heart had started race.

   Joshua let his grip loosen around Ark, but his hands remained gripped onto his blazer. His head reeled back up, and his face was a portrait of pain and confusion, glistening tears streaking down his wet cheeks. The boy sniffed and his chest continued to heave, his eyes seem to scream, he was stricken and panicked like he was about to something he didn’t want to - and then slumped over all at once.

   Josh’s body had decided that enough was enough, and decided to shut the whole thing down.

   Joshua had fainted.

littlemisslibby:

mesdamesgropius-white:

arktherival:

There was screaming now, and fighting, and several things fighting to try to steal Ark’s attention.  Not a single one of them would succeed as he wrapped his arms tighter around Josh.  He could feel the other shaking, starting to lose strength in his legs, and didn’t quite understand why.

At least not until he felt Josh starting to shake, and though he didn’t know why, he knew what was coming.  A few seconds later, he felt Josh starting to cry, clinging onto him as the strength left every other part of his body, and Ark had to stand firm to keep the both of them from going down as he now held Josh’s weight upright as well.  He didn’t know what had prompted it exactly, or not at first.  He had a suspicion, one which made his legs shake when it was confirmed.

He’d remembered.

It was ultimately selfish of Ark to not have wanted Joshua to remember.  His mistake… no, wait, was it a mistake? Would he take back those two years he’d gone travelling, that single moment of opportunity he’d been presented out to leave behind?  He doubted he would.  It wasn’t a mistake, but—no, nevermind all of that.  What did it matter?

There wasn’t really anything he could do, at the moment.  Nothing, aside from wrapping his arms around Josh to try to shield him from the cold, keeping him upright, and letting him get it all out.  This wasn’t going to be over anytime soon, he was sure; even when Josh stopped crying, they’d be needing to talk, and Ark wasn’t sure he was prepared to try to justify things to Josh.

He took a step back, then paused and spoke to Josh, finally.  “Are go inside.  Yes?  Are freeze, tears.  Is go with.  Stay with. Always.  Is promise.”  It was his responsibility to protect Josh, and right now - even if it was his own fault - Josh was hurt and distressed and it wasn’t going to be good for either of them to stand around outside.  Carefully,  he tried to lead his boyfriend back inside, and out of the cold and away from the rest of the dramatics.

Hilda was still breathing heavily when she released Wes’ arm. Her nostrils flared as he made some sort of attempt at an excuse or whatever the hell he was saying.  She was so angry, his words were barely registering in her head and it was only when he was leaving that her disappointment in his lack of reaction started bubbling up. She exhaled loudly in a weak attempt to regain her composure.  It was done, and she wouldn’t have to deal with him again. Thank gods. But… what had he said just before he…?

She blinked in confusion, startled, when Olivia pushed her out of the way, stumbling forward slightly. For a solid second, she couldn’t remember who this girl was or where she came from. It came back fast enough though, as the girl said goodbye in a sort of flat way. Her eyes followed Olivia blankly as the girl went back inside and that’s when she saw them…

“J-Josh?”  He was crying… and clinging to Ark and crying… If the pain she felt when her rage kicked in hurt, it was nothing compared to what shot through her heart now seeing her sweet boy in this state. She had to… she had to fix this.  She brushed past Olivia, not even giving the girl a glance as she went to the two boys. “Josh, sweetie… Sweetie, it’s okay, I’m here, too…”

But she froze… Hilda literally couldn’t think of what to do next.  The words coming from Josh’s mouth weren’t… right?  She was at a loss. In her pause, Ark was already leading him away and Hilda could only stare after them as the pain stung sharper and deeper. How could she possibly be a good mother? How could she when she didn’t even have the confidence to… do anything for them in the thick of it all?

—-

Meanwhile, towards the back of the house, Natalie was brushing snow out of her hair and off her pants as she walked in. She left her boots at the door and was going to the laundry to find warm clothes to change into, but stopped in her tracks. Someone was crying, and quite miserably at that. Absolutely terrified that something happened to Hilda, she rushed through the house to the front door where she was greeted with an incomprehensible scene:  Ark was trying to coax Josh in, Hilda was standing unmoving with that awfully familiar broken expression on her face, behind her, a girl she did not recognize at all and in the distance… was that someone leaving?

“Hilda!” She went immediately to her wife, taking her face in her hands, praying she could get her to focus. “Hilda… what… what’s happened? Dear Arceus, you’re freezing… are you hurt? Or Joshua? Hilda, please look at me, love! What is going on?”

Relief wasn’t the word Libby felt when she let the last goodbye disappear into the cold wind, but it was the closest description she could find in the moment. A very tiny, minuscule, weight had been taken off her heart for the time being and she exhaled. That pseudo-relief was short-lived though as soon as she had turned back to the house.

Josh was… just standing there crying, in Ark’s arms, practically dependent on the other boy to support him. A task Ark performed almost admirably. Libby choked a little at the sight, but quickly rubbed her eyes fighting to maintain the distinction between fiction and reality. When had that become so difficult? Something was really, really wrong… it was the only explanation. With another step, she approached them, a hand stretched out, but she was pushed aside by Hilda.  The woman who was meant to take her in and care for her, went past without any regard for her.  

She was invisible.

Leo had left her… Hilda left her… Josh and Ark didn’t even see her… The green-haired woman who had appeared paid little attention to her… She had never felt more alone surrounded by so many people.  Pushing down another wave of tears, she ran past all of them, into the house, to her bag and grabbed the nearest poke ball. With a flash of red, Frieda, her Audino appeared, and Libby knelt down clinging to the pink pokemon.

“I want to go home now…” She cried feebly. “Nobody wants me. I just want to go home…”

     Josh was trying his best not to cry and to keep the raking sobs within his body, but the more he tried to keep it in the more his breath hitched into hiccups and collapsed into fits of hyperventilating. He knew that this sort of reaction made people sad or worried, and sometimes even angry - but he couldn’t help it. At this point, he was a spectator of his own life.

     He was placed back onto his feet and despite that he still pressed himself against Ark’s side, too afraid to be farther than an inch from him. Joshua’s whole shivered and he tried feebly to rub a hazel eye free of tears, hardly acknowledging that it was deathly cold, and only Ark and the fading adrenaline was the only thing keeping him warm.

     The brunet slowly looked up at his boyfriend, taking a ragged breath before looking into Ark’s eyes. He didn’t really know what was going on any more and it took more than a moment for it to register fully and for him to react.

     Ark was right, his tears would freeze if he kept this up, and nothing positive would come out of that. He brought a hand up to his face to stifle a sob, and nodded shakily - slow at first, but the more he found that this was hurting more than himself the faster he nodded until his breath heaved and he hid in Ark’s chest again.

    For a moment, Hilda was there, trying to comfort him the best she could. Hilda was probably the nicest person he knew, and Josh really trusted her with anything - but for no reason, he didn’t hear her words at all. And it twisted the knife stabbed in his heart to see her look so deflated and hurt, but he was being shepherded back into the house before the faint fighting part of him could try and help the desperate situation.

   Joshua didn’t know where Ark was taking him, but he was afraid of being left behind. He wasn’t ahead or behind his partner, but the powerful fear kept him tightly to his side and gripping a fistful of his jacket, his eyes tightly closed in attempt to stop his eyes from weeping.

     As they left the others behind, Josh opened up more and more, and it was difficult to keep walking and ignoring the instinctual need to drop to his knees and let it out right then and there. Every step was torture because it felt so wrong, he knew Ark was right next to him, but the movement confused him and sent his mind scrambling to figure out what was happening.

     Bitter tears continued to roll down his blotchy cheeks and he tripped over his own feet, feeling useless and scared and hoped for nothing more than a dark place away from the world - where he didn’t feel so messed up and knotted.

((ok I started writing a v day thing and iTS A LOT LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED))

littlemisslibby:

westhesnagger:

mesdamesgropius-white:

arktherival:

It took Ark a bit to find words to answer Josh, longer than he’d thought he’d need.  He shifted back and forth a little on his feet, mostly to keep moving, trying to get his brain working again that way.  He was still so nervous - what if Josh was going to remember?  Maybe… maybe he shouldn’t do anything, maybe he should let Josh remember, maybe he deserved that much, and whatever would come of it.

“Is…”

He tried to at least start speaking, in the quiet aftermath of Libby’s shout and Josh’s question, but couldn’t follow it up.  So he tried again, looking Josh in the eye, and when he saw the shake running through his companion’s body, Ark found his strength again.

“…Is fine.”

Right.  He was needed, and things were as simple as that.  Things could come later; right now Josh was expecting him.  He hurried forward to the others, closing the distance between them.  That, at least, could help.  He reached out and took Josh’s hand again, knowing it’d help steady him.

That took care of that.  Libby, though… Ark had no idea where to even begin.  She’d gone from super sad to super mad and frankly it scared him a bit - what if Josh went like that at some point, too?  That idea really scared him, and he went swiftly from just holding onto Josh’s hand to mentally fighting Hilda for the right to hold onto him.  His arms wrapped around Josh’s shoulders, holding onto him more for his own selfish worries than he wanted to admit.

He looked up to Hilda and then to Libby, and then back to Josh.  He was guilty, or that was sure how he felt, and for that reason stayed quiet.

Oh hell no!  Hilda’s reaction to Wes’ actions was complete and instantaneous. She was suddenly hyper-aware of all three children by her. She gave Josh’s shoulders a squeeze both as a protective reflex to Wes disgusting threat and in response to the emotional turmoil she swore she could feel radiating out of the boy.  Olivia was there too suddenly, and soon enough she felt Ark slip into the group.  Letting go of Josh, she stepped around the three kids to put herself between them and Wes.  She paused only to put a hand to Josh’s cheek, and in turn Ark’s, trying to let them know it would be okay, before she turned back to Wes and let her anger, a kind of rage she hadn’t felt since she was a teen, consume her.

It was bad enough he showed up unannounced on her doorstep, bad enough he was evasive in their conversation, bad enough he was abandoning a little girl for whatever stupid reason, bad enough he was simply the most untrustworthy scum she’d ever have the honor of being thrown together with… but this? How dare he… How dare he come into her house and threaten her children… Her lips curled down as a snarl escaped her throat.  Wes was already leaving, but she didn’t even care, she wasn’t about to let him escape so easily.  Not like this… 

Hilda stormed after Wes as he reached the door, Fitz was right back at her feet once again, growling loudly, and Scarlett, who had taken Bertie away, took her place beside the furious young woman sensing just what was about to take place.  Hilda reached Wes and grabbed his arm, pulling hard to force him around. Faster than a blink and with a full swing of her arm, her open palm connected with the side of his face with a sickening loud slap.

“GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE, YOU  BASTARD!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “Get out and don’t you FUCKING DARE ever show your face around here ever again, don’t you ever come near me or any of my family or I will FUCKING END YOUR SORRY PATHETIC ASS! GET OUT NOW!!!”

“…” He was struck, though he hardly flinched.  It had been a while since someone had slapped and yelled at him; the last one was Rui, someone he was all too glad to be rid of now.  The familiarity kickstarted his mind into overdrive.

“I’d have been gone a minute ago, if you’d stopped interrupting me.”  He didn’t even raise his voice anymore, and after how loud Hilda had been his low volume sounded more like an irritated whisper than anything else.  “Now let go of me, or—”

There was a flash in his head, and a grimace of pain crossed his face.  There.  There, for just a goddamn minute, ther was something.  He thought he’d remembered something.  It was gone again, though, just like that; and he’d been so close… but why?

“…Why do we know each other?” So quietly spoken, that he doubt even Hilda would hear it.

It was going to drive him nuts.  That, and the hundred other things nagging at the back of his head.  He shouldn’t be here.  He had more important things to do; there was still someone who needed to be tracked down, and he still owed Cail an explanation, and—…he shouldn’t be here?  Why the hell did those words just repeat in his head.  Was there meaning he was missing; something he’d forgotten?

First, though, he had to get away from these people.  This environment was over for him, all things considered.  Two people whose very existence pissed him off; two shouting they hated him as though their opinion of him actually mattered to him.

So without another word, he left, determining he’d slug one of them if any of them seriously tried to stop him again, because he was getting of it.

This wasn’t right… This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.  Libby stood still as she held Josh, clinging to her hero as everything seemingly fell out from under her.  She could feel him shaking and it only made things worse. This wasn’t right at all.  Josh was Nate, he was supposed to team up with Hugh, no Ark, no… No, this wasn’t a movie, how silly and needlessly dramatic of a thought  When did she start thinking that in the first place? 

“I… I’m… I don’t know…” She said quietly in response to Josh’s question. Ark was with them now, his arms circled around Josh, vying for space against her own arms. She felt sad again, there was no anger left, like she had been quickly drained of it and it left her confused as to why she had lashed out. She loosened her grip on Josh, but did not let go, suddenly feeling out of place next to the two boys, especially when Hilda acknowledged them (and not her) before—

Libby stared in horror at the older woman’s actions. No, no, no, this isn’t right at all! Hilda was screaming and Leo barely did anything and then he was leaving, for real and… and she had just said she hated him! No! No that wasn’t true, was it? It wasn’t, it couldn’t be, she was certain… Why oh why had she said that? She let go of Josh then and ran to the door, pushing her way past Hilda outside into the cold. Mind racing through everything, she hesitated. Leo wasn’t who she thought he was, not in the slightest, but… but he was still… he was… something to her.

“Goodbye! …Leo.” She called after him, her voice catching thanks to a gust of wind. She didn’t wait for him to respond, immediately turning back inside, clutching herself to block out the cold. She felt certain she didn’t want him to respond, and after the things she had seen tonight, she knew he wouldn’t anyways, but… but she had to say goodbye proper.  It had to be done.

Josh couldn’t help but lapse into his own little world, and no matter how much his heart wanted to care for Libby his mind had other plans. He felt Ark grab his hand and he gripped it back, holding it up between their hearts until he was completely and tightly wrapped up in his embrace. 

He couldn’t do much else but hug him back and bury his eyes into the dirty collar of his jacket as his vision was stolen by what he could only assume was a memory. It was scary, really scary. It was like abandoning your body and slipping into something that he didn’t know, it could be a panic-enduced flashback or a genuine memory flooding his senses, but he wouldn’t know anything until he rode it out. 

A smaller, brown-haired boy pushed the hospital doors open with all of his tiny might, his heels digging into the neat concrete to budge the heavy front door open. The receptionist seemed heartbroken to see the little boy, and the point of view hazed into a cocked head, and he was swiftly carrying himself down a hallway.

It was like a dream, a confusing one where he could sense things he couldn’t see, but didn’t physically feel in reality. He knew he was carrying something, but he still felt his arms wrapped around Ark. The boy turned the corner, with a skip still in his step, and saw the crystalline white walls and sheets, and the tiny muddy paw prints. Following them, he saw the dishevelled bed and open window, the drapes flowing softly in the breeze.

He felt his heart drop, and the onset feeling of crying bloomed from a place unknown, but all he could think of was Ark. The next thing he knew he was looking out over the landscape, his legs hurting from standing too long and his arms raw from the cold metal, but he just gazed placidly over the world with a miserable feeling in his heart. He got a quick flash of fighting arms much bigger than his own, trying to get free and run away down route 1.

And then he was older, in his room, studying. Looking out of the window with a startlingly similar feeling in his chest. Not so much wanting to run away, but wanting… something. Again, his mind was infiltrated with images of Ark, the feeling of being by him and the innate wonder he held.

And then it was over, and he was gripping Ark’s jacket like it was the last thing on earth, simply crying. Not sobbing, or weeping, just a full-on bodily reaction and Josh didn’t want to stop it. They were tears pent-up over years and years of questions and confusion over the answer he never got.

Ark left. He left without saying goodbye, like Leo left Libby. 

Josh couldn’t hug Ark tight enough, he felt a million miles away even if he was as close as a person could get. He didn’t want to believe what his mind just spat in his face, he really didn’t want to think it was possible and he didn’t want to see anything else his mind wanted to show him about the subject. As faithfully as ever, his chest heaved and he let out a quiet sob into Ark’s shoulder. Of all the things he could have relearned he had to learn the most painful and frightening thing imaginable.

His legs just gave out from under him, and he was almost completely leaning on Ark. Josh was too stricken to do anything about it - the denial and shock and overall emanating heartbreak had hit him hard and he couldn’t do anything, it was like he wasn’t even in his body at this point.

All he could do was cry and hold on, and it was pitiful at best but his mind had violated him and he didn’t know what to do.

The best he could do was whisper into Ark’s neck a single sentence.

“You left… You left.”

A small, glimmering part of him wanted to break away from him and just pound on his chest, and scream and just be a big wrecking ball of hurt - but he didn’t have the energy for it. At best it was a whisper that he dutifully ignored. It was something his memories wanted to do, but… he felt the need to draw a line between who he was and who he is.

“Don’t leave” he heaved between sobs, “Please don’t leave, ever again.” 

littlemisslibby:

westhesnagger:

mesdamesgropius-white:

arktherival:

Ark didn’t get it at all.  At first, Wes’ actions didn’t bother him - not nearly the way it did Libby, to be sure, but it didn’t even make him flinch.  While he was still trying to figure it out, though, Josh seemed to have done so already, and before Ark could stop him he’d gotten involved directly.

Ark’s instincts starting moving him to chase after Josh, screaming that this was a bad idea.  But why?  Why was Josh getting so worked up, it wasn’t like this dangerous guy was leaving him, now, was—

oh.

Ark only moved a couple steps before slowing to a stop by the third.  Something had just struck him, and now he got it.  Afterall… he’d done this before.  To Josh.  Walked out without a goodbye.  He didn’t think Josh remembered, but… what if he did?  It wasn’t quite the same, of course - one morning, Ark just wasn’t in his hospital bed anymore… or anywhere, for that matter.  Had Josh reacted like Libby was doing now, when he’d found out?

He needed to protect Josh from what was probably coming, he knew - but he couldn’t move.  The realisation was that he knew what was going on so much more than anyone else here - and yet, also, so much less.

“Oh… Oh oh oh, sweetie, come here.” Hilda was immediately at Olivia’s side, pulling her back, when the girl started to cry hoping she could provide some comfort. She figured Wes would pull something like this in the end, but to not even offer a ‘goodbye’ to this little girl he himself decided to help out, that was a bit ridiculous. “It’s gonna be okay, Olivia. Just let him go, okay? Not everyone who does good is always nice all the time… I’m sorry… Just…”

Hilda went quiet, she really didn’t know what to say to Olivia in this moment. Glaring daggers at Wes’ retreating figure she opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted yet again by the children surrounding her, this time it was Josh.  Time seemed to stall in those seconds; her eyes going wide as Josh directly confronted Wes. Ark stood behind, frozen in place, looking incredibly troubled. If things weren’t tense before….

“Josh wait! It’s…” She left Olivia’s side to stand behind the brunette, taking him by the shoulders ready to pull him back if necessary. “It’s fine… Don’t…”

There was a whole lot of shouting going on behind him.  And crying.  He hated it when people cried, and this was just another thing getting on his nerves.  Right now… right now, for all he cared, she could cry ‘till the miltank came home, it wasn’t going to change a thing.

Too bad someone had decided to do more than just stand there and cry.  When he turned to see Josh, there was none of the emptiness that had been on his face a moment ago.  Instead, it was disgust - the look of a cruel king who’d just watched a dirty peasant dare break rank.

He shook his hand free from Josh’s grip with ease.  “Don’t lay a finger on me, you useless fucking brat.  This is your only warning.”  It didn’t even quite sound like him; none of the hesitation was there, just a cold, unfeeling threat that promised it would follow through.

He didn’t wait to bother checking the expression on Joshua’s face; he just turned back ahead and started walking again.

It made sense, she supposed, what Hilda said, if she thought long about it. She didn’t want to think about it though. It was Leo she wanted the hug from… Childish, useless, desires now.  Yet, It felt nice, having the older woman hold her in her arms, comforting her like Mama would. Libby finally looked Hilda in the eye and nodded, with a sniffle.

The moment was broken by Josh running past, going after Leo. Libby stared in awe as Josh grabbed Leo and confronted him. Her eyes grew wider when Hilda rushed to him and her heart stopped when Leo completely changed faces and spat out those cruel words… her blood chilled. It was like the movie: The drama, the intensity… Only she was in it and it was real and… it was terrifying. 

And if this was a movie, it was her turn now… It must be, because her feet were carrying her to Josh, and her arms were wrapping themselves around him protectively, and scripted lines were coming from her mouth… Stupid words falling on unhearing ears, perhaps, but unstoppable all the same. 

“Just hurry and leave already! No one wants you here… and… and neither do I! …I hate you!”  The last words more whispered than spoken.

His insides were stiff with apprehension, but the words that lingered in the air stabbed at him. Useless. That was the single-most prominent gut-rot he had, but the only sign that the word truly stung was a slight shake in his knees, a shifting of his weight, and an adjusted stance. He had accepted that, yeah, he could be bratty and all sorts of bad things, but… he never wanted to be useless.

Josh pulled his lips back in a strange sort of angry frown, his eyes darting from the doorframe, not saying anything to combat Leo’s words. He could care less about any ‘warning’ Leo had to give, because he found arms around him that were a little too slender to be Ark’s, and hands on his shoulders that kept him from crumbling.

His knees gave another shake, but they didn’t give. Windie had stopped his snarling - that Josh himself didn’t realize. Right now he felt numbed, almost comfortably so.

It was the faint whisper of words that plucked a cord he didn’t know he had, another set of three little words that triggered something in his mind that got him so fired up. But, why? why was this setting him off like this, he couldnt really even control himself. Was this something to do with what happened before? He knew that feelings came before memories but what would have happened to make him feel so… angry? And… why did he feel so lonely?

Joshua turned around some, his expression dulled and whatever he was thinking about before suppressed - for now.There were other things to worry about, like Ark. Josh didn’t like to put himself in danger, but it wasn’t like Ark to freeze like that, and that was more than a little worrying in its own right… Did he do something wrong?

“Ark?” He asked with a genuine and gut-wrenching worry, looking directly into Ark’s eyes despite the distance. “Are you okay? —Libby, ‘you okay…?” he continued, looking around completely confused on if he should be running to Ark or helping Libby. His heart really wanted to sprint over to Ark just to be close but… he wasn’t sure if Ark wanted that right now or not.

littlemisslibby:

westhesnagger:

mesdamesgropius-white:

arktherival:

Ark’s awkwardness about the whole thing had been increasing steadily.  Praise was something he wasn’t really used to.  By the time he was starting to form a response, the conversation had already moved on.  Literally, this time - Libby had left them swiftly and suddenly to go running back to Wes.

He had no idea what to think of all of this.  There were too many conversations going on, both of which seemed to warrant his full attention up to this point, and it had left him with only bits and pieces that made very little sense.  At the very least, though, there was one conversation he was having in quiet with Josh that he could follow - the way that their hands would meet to reassure one another.  At least he wasn’t the only one feeling lost and adrift about what was going on… or was Josh just trying to comfort him through that, and he was fine?

“Is… is aid, yes?” it really was a question.  He was a step behind in this conversation, but Josh seemed to think it was a good idea and seemed on top of things.

Hilda almost let out a sigh of relief when Wes said he would be going. Yet, there was that itch at the back of her skull again when he too acknowledged the oddness in their acquaintanceship. Did he feel that same… fuzzy… blankness she did? Was it worth asking him now before he left or would that only open a whole new can of Wurmple she didn’t want? She opened her mouth to say… anything really; Wes didn’t even look angry anymore and for whatever godsforsaken reason that made her want him to stay, even if just another hour…

She was interrupted though, by Olivia jumping in between them. Hilda had to smile. The girl seemed painfully naive, but she had some kind of spunk, and maybe that’s what brought her and Wes together in the first place… maybe. Either way, with Josh and Ark attempting to encourage Olivia and the girl herself holding Wes in a tight embrace, it was well… heartwarming on some level.

“Seems you managed to do something all right, Wes.” She teased, but the sentiment was sincere. She placed a hand on her hip and let the other rest atop her swollen belly, giving him a searching look as if she was looking for some kind of confirmation that he was worth the kindness. “Can’t be so awful if you’re inspirin’ young trainers to get better. …You uh… you take care of yourself, Wes… whatever that may entail.  I’ll tell Nats you stopped by.”

He had no real way to respond to Libby’s sudden clinginess except to stifle down an instinctive urge to shove her away.  He wasn’t sure where it came from, but when he stopped to think about it for just a second something inside him felt sick, and everything was pieced together.  More for his own good than hers, he pried Libby from him carefully, unable to meet her eyes.

He didn’t need this right now.  He really didn’t.  She sounded way, way too much like someone else and it was going to make him scream.  Maybe hurt something.  Everyone was expecting a goodbye, but all he wanted to do was walk away.  There was way too much weight if he actually said those words; too much guilt.

“…Er, yeah.  You’ll do fine.”

He didn’t really want any of them seeing him like this.  He took a step away from Libby, nodded once to Hilda, then turned his back and started walking away without another word.

Libby didn’t have any real expectations in regards to how Leo would react to her sudden display of affection, but his complete lack of any true response threw her off entirely.  When he pulled away from her, her eyes began to itch. When he turned away with only empty words and not even a glance in her direction, the tears started to fall. How could he be so cold? If he really didn’t care, why did he help her get this far?  Why had he even bothered!?

“…Pourquoi?” The word fell from her lips, feeble and uncertain, as she watched him walk away.“P-Pourquoi?”

The tears were streaming down her face now; Libby didn’t care if Josh and Ark saw, or even Hilda. Never had she felt so… so hurt and confused and… and angry  before. She took a shaky step after him, hands curled into such tight fists, her knuckles turned white.

“…Why? If I was so unworthy of your time, why did you even bother with me, Leo!!? Why did you…?” She cried out after him, voice trailing off into nothing.

Josh’s jaws hung slightly open, shocked. Did… did he get this all wrong? He was right back to being confused again, what happened to this guy that made… well, that happen? He positioned himself a little farther from the scene.

He grit his teeth to stop himself from saying anything stupid or rude to Wes. “Why” was a very good question. His heart twisted to the point where he feared it would just fall off, he felt his heart tug in his chest, as if it were urging him to do something. He looked down to deny anything his eyes had to offer - Just the tone of Libby’s voice was enough to break his heart, gods forbid the sight of her face.

He squeezed Ark’s hand, just as confused as him but now he felt angrier than he’d ever been at one person. Did this guy really just… run away from every little thing that he didn’t like? Josh never had that option. He couldn’t run away from things that didn’t exist. 

That was it. Josh’s head snapped up, that was why he was angry, but he felt compelled to do something that even he - bone-head extraordinare - would call the stupidest decision of the century. He leaned over to Ark and whispered “He’s not going to like this, but…”

“Leo!” Josh called “Leo, wait!” But instead of waiting himself, he scrambled up to the trench-coated man and grabbed him by the wrist.

“Why are you —” he started, but his breath caught in his lungs. ”Why are you… running?” he finished softly.

((OH MY gOD LIBBY YOU ARE WAY TOO CUTE FKDKCSUCRJVSJGJCT))

littlemisslibby:

westhesnagger:

mesdamesgropius-white:

arktherival:

“Is… is not strange?” Well, yes, yes it was, but he didn’t like having it called out; it brought up bad memories.  Her leaning towards him was met with him leaning backwards to match, nervously gripping Josh’s hand and glad to have it met.  Libby’s sudden attention around him was making him nervous, and then there was Wes.  Ark had gotten a shiver down the spine when he last looked at the stranger out of the corner of his eye.  It was time to get out of view.

“Is, um… nice to meeting, yes.  Are leave hall?  Are chilly, breeze.”  It was the best way he could think to try to get away from Wes.  He was worried about Hilda, because this person seemed dangerous; but he was more worried for himself and, more than that, worried for Joshua.  The sooner they got moving, the better.

There was no way Hilda missed that suppressed growl and she bristled. It frightened her on some level, but more or less it was just beginning to piss her off. Wes wasn’t telling her everything, she knew it and it was beyond frustrating. Torn between wanting Wes to spill every minute detail about his and Olivia’s situation and just wanting him out of her house (and out of her life), she furrowed her brow and let out a loud huff.

“A runaway you so conveniently ran into? How kind of you to help her out, Wes.” She really didn’t know why she was suddenly trying to get a reaction out of him. Honestly, the sooner he was gone the better. A quick glance over her shoulder informed her that Josh and Ark seemed uncomfortable with the situation, but the girl looked completely oblivious. Brow furrowed deeper, she continued. “Yeah, okay, sure. I get it. You’ve gotta go play hero again. I don’t need to know any more about that. I was just concerned for Olivia. You never seemed like the ‘guardian’ type.”

“Seems pretty convenient that we do know each other, doesn’t it. Like some kind of…” She trailed off, before shaking her head and pursing her lips. “Well whatever. Nats and I’ll take care of Olivia. She’ll be just fine here with us; don’t worry your pretty little head about it. If you’ve got nothin’ else to share…”

Wes bit his lip while listening to Hilda’s return chatter, pulling his eyes away from the kids present.  This was pissing him off, and she didn’t know the half of it.  She knew some of it, apparently - had she been digging around about him?  Hero ‘again’, was it?  Yeah, she knew something… but there was no way she understood the reason her words stung.  Frankly, though, compared to how empty his next words came out, he would’ve preferred sounding angry.

“…Yeah.  I’m not cut out to play guardian.  For anyone.”

“It is strange, isn’t it?  …That I know you.”  The words hung a little, and it was clear something was troubling him, but he wasn’t quite giving it form, not just yet.  He wasn’t sure, honestly, if it was worth voicing it to her.  Would she even understand?  Probably not…

“…Anyway, no.  That’s all.  I know you don’t particularly want to deal with me… so I’ll take my leave.”

“Ah! No, really you are far better than you say. I’m… I’m just a dancer, I don’t think I could create what you two did!” Libby said slightly shocked that Josh would suggest that she could be a better actor than him or Ark. She winced a little inside when Ark leaned away from her. “Oh… er… well, it’s a lovely kind of strange. What did my tutor used to say?… ‘Beauty in its simplicity.’ Yes! I didn’t mean to…” She cut herself off before she could ramble on and took Josh’s hand, shaking it firmly, just like her father taught her. Was she squeezing too tight? She didn’t know; she was just too excited.

“My visor? Ah…” She looked down at her hand and let out an embarrassed giggle, but perked up at the boys’ suggestion to leave the room. They were inviting her to join them! What a chance! She opened her mouth to thank them a million times over, when Leo’s voice caught her ears. She heard him say it and her heart fell; he was leaving. He hadn’t even said anything to her and he was just going to go. Leaving Josh and Ark without a response, she twirled around and dashed past Hilda back to Leo, taking a fistful of his coat in her hand.

“You… you were going to say goodbye, weren’t you? Because that’s what friends do…” She mumbled timidly, looking down unable to make eye contact. Traveling with Leo as long as she had, she was aware she was perhaps more of a severe annoyance to him than any sort of meaningful companion or friend, but that didn’t make him any less important to her. If anything, she was more determined than ever to be a good trainer going forward. She looked up at him then, a spark in her eye and a wry smile on her lips. “I suppose this is where I thank you for letting me travel with you and for keeping me safe. I’m going to get stronger… You’ll see.”  With that she let go of his coat and wrapped him in a big hug, not caring what the others thought.

Josh shook her hand firmly, suddenly a little conscious about how lightly he shook hands with people. He bumped shoulders with Ark affectionately, and he wished he could just up and ask if he was ok or not. For now, this was just about all he could do.

Josh stiffened some when Hilda let loose on Wes, it wasn’t a scared reaction but more or less a readiness to run. He was sure Hilda could hold her own, but the way she was ripping him somehow made his heart twist. Maybe it was because Wes didn’t seem angry at all after words - almost like he… well, ‘deserved it’ or something. He moved to go down the hallway, but Libby bolted over and hugged him.

Joshua was a little wide-eyed at that, he thought this was a live-wire situation. After the initial shock had worn off that the girl that he thought was terrified of this man was actually good friends with him, and was surprised he found that he could relate. After all, he got so attached to Ark not long after meeting him that it became a physical problem. And somehow, he found himself smiling a bit.

Josh looked over and twined his fingers with Ark’s, maybe he had never said it, but ever since he woke up in that hospital he made a promise like that. To get better, and stronger, and to be able to stand up on your own. In his opinion, it was the coolest promise someone could make.

“And we’ll help you. I doubt you’ll need it - you look pretty tough already.”