Chapter Text
Ok, I’ll admit it, I really wasn’t in the right headspace to make sure that I packed everything when I moved out of my ex’s apartment. When your relationship of a few years comes crashing in on itself, you don’t really think about packing your favorite hoodie, or all of your music equipment. It’s especially hard when your ex-fiancée’s new boyfriend threatens to have his Flareon burn you to a crisp if you don’t move out. So, I might have left a few things. Okay, I left a lot of things.
It didn’t occur to me that I had left Curls, our beloved Buneary we got on our first anniversary, at her apartment until after I had already left. It was a tad too late to try and get her back at that point, and she was technically registered under the both of us, so I didn’t really have any legal grounds to try and rescue her. Of course I was furious about it, about Curls, about the sudden breakup, about all the shit I had to leave, and there really wasn’t anything I could do about it.
So, what else could I do but move forward? I got one of my friends to let me crash in his apartment all the way out in Castelia. It was fine for the first two months, I put my head to the grindstone and managed to only overstay my welcome by half a month, and I managed to grab a decent apartment close to the cafe I work at.
The third month was a lot less exciting. I mostly just saved money and replaced the equipment I left back at my ex’s. Making the swap from a regular drum kit to a digital drum kit was… interesting, but it’s not like I can soundproof the place enough to avoid getting noise complaints. Things really started going downhill from there. I’m uh, shit, I think six months into it?
I think I crashed. Hard.
I’m walking home from my shift at Cafe Sonata, a coffee shop that heralds an incoming hike in my rent. I trip over myself a bit, stumbling to a stop as I mull over the realization.
Shit… I did, didn’t I?
I guess the threat of homelessness postponed any breakup blues that I might have felt. A gust of lukewarm spring air reminds me that I’m standing in the middle of the sidewalk at night. I force my legs to carry me back to my apartment.
The walk back to my apartment building is otherwise uneventful and I’m eventually greeted with the old red brick building that hosts my apartment. I quickly check my mail at the tenant box out front, aside from the usual junk mail, there’s a white envelope addressed to me. A blink of an eye later and I’ve managed to trudge my way up to my door. I’m fidgeting with my keys swearing to myself; My mind races with possibilities as to what the letter could be, the name on the return address isn’t my landlords, and it’s not anyone I know.
My apartment is pretty modest all things considered. I’ve got a decent sized kitchen, a tiny dining area and living room, a full bath, and a bedroom. It’s not much, but it’s enough for one person.
I quickly take a seat on my loveseat, opening the letter and unfolding the paper.
Dear Jackie
Hello, my name’s Aidan, you might remember me as Emma’s boyfriend.
I let out an audible groan. What in Arceus’ name could this guy want! Was he getting engaged too?
I wanted to contact you for a few reasons, firstly, I think we seriously got off on the wrong foot. Emma never told me what she said to you, just that you moved out quickly, I had no idea she threatened you with my Flareon. I’m sorry she did that to you, considering you left some pretty expensive stuff behind. Unfortunately, she ended up selling most of it and I don’t know where it is. Sorry.
I’m pretty pissed off, but I’ve started reading the letter so I might as well finish it.
So, some context as for why I contacted you: it turns out that Emma has a nasty sleep powder addiction. I only found out after she stole my debit card and went on a three-day bender. You dodged a bullet dude.
Shit, sleep powder? I couldn’t believe it, yet it explained so much of what went on before we broke up.
I got my landlord to remove her from the lease, and I don't know where she went, but she took off in a storm. She left your Buneary behind, Curls, I think. She’s been absolutely miserable without either of you, while I’d love to take care of the absolute sweetheart, I really think it’d be best if she was returned to you.
I’m sorry this letter took so long to find you, I would have mailed it sooner, but I had no clue what your address was, and trying to contact people who actually knew where you went was a pain in the ass. Here’s my number: (555) 4879-08776, you can text me and we can try to meet up soon. Hope you’re doing well.
I’m left in complete shock, eyes fully open as I re-read the last part of the letter. A part of me had come to terms with the fact that I most likely wasn’t going to ever see Curls again. It was just a casualty to me and Emma’s breakup. I want to text the number immediately, even if it’s a bit sketchy. If there’s even a chance to get Curls back, I have to try. I quickly added Aidan as a contact.
Hey it’s Jackie, I just read your letter. When would you be free to drop Curls off?
It’s pretty late, and I know that he probably won’t see my message until the morning, but I can’t help but check my phone every few seconds.
The next morning isn’t much better, I’m constantly checking it and jumping at every noise the thing makes.
Bzzt! Bzzt! My phone vibrates twice, and a text message notification pops up.
Aidan: Hey dude! Glad I got the address right. I’m free this weekend so just text me when you’d be available. My breath hitched, and I quickly typed my response.
Jackie: Could we do today? I’ll meet you halfway if you need to.
Aidan: Nah, it’s fine, I was planning a visit to Castelia anyways.
Jackie: Oh cool, would you be fine with dropping her off? Aidan took a few seconds to respond.
Aidan: Yeah that works, I’ll head out around 1pm so I’ll hopefully be there around 3pm. I responded with a thumbs up.
It was twelve thirty by the time we stopped texting, and while I knew that I had plenty of time, I was so full of excitement and energy that I just had to do something. I decided that my first order of business was to check to see if I kept any of the poke-care stuff from when I still lived with Emma. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t, so that chore quickly turned into making a list of everything I needed for Curls’ return.
Then that task turned into a shopping spree as I grabbed her favorite foods, a brush and trimming kit, other miscellaneous poke care essentials, and an extremely cute (albeit oversized) pokebed for her. By the end of it I was scared that if I checked my wallet all I would see was two brown coins and a silver coin. I got home from my shopping spree at two-forty. I spent the remaining time putting the stuff away and neurotically checking my phone for an update from Aidan.
Three o’clock hits, and time slows to a crawl while I wait for an update from Aidan. At that point I had checked my phone so many times that when I actually got a notification from him, I swiped it away thinking it was a text from someone else.
Aidan: Hey dude, I’m in the parking lot right now. Sorry I’m a bit late, got stuck in traffic for a bit.
I responded with a thumbs up emoji, eagerly waiting for Aidans arrival.
Knock-knock
I jolted up from my seat and rushed to the door. Lo and behold, standing in front of me was Aidan. He’s a sort of broad person, his presence taking up most of the door frame. He’s got a sort of dudebro look to him, wearing a blue tank top and khaki shorts.
“Hey dude, good to see ya!” We shook hands before I let him in, his Flareon trotting happily behind him.
“Nice to finally meet you.” I responded, his Flareon yipping as it sniffed around my entryway.
“Yeah no dude, I was so worried I was given, like, a fake address or something.” He reiterated, pulling out a miniaturized pokeball from his pocket, my eyes immediately focused on it as it expanded. “Welp, she’s all yours.” He tosses me the pokeball, it hits my chest before I catch it in my hands.
“Uh- thanks, dude.” Holding her pokeball is surreal on multiple levels. Emma and I barely used the thing in the first place, oftentimes forgetting she even had one until we were forced to put Curls away. Not to mention the fact that until a day ago, I had believed that I was never going to see her again.
“Well, let her out.” Aidan nods to the ball. I press the circle in the middle down, before letting it roll off of my hand onto the floor. A bright red arc of energy explodes from the ball and slowly forms into the shape of a Buneary. The ball returns to my hand while the form of my ‘mon fades in like a computer loading a texture.
“Bun…” Curls looks around sleepily, as if she just woke up from a nap. The light reflects beautifully off of her fur, highlighting its curls. She sniffs the air for a moment, her head perking up as she turns to me.
I was kneeling on the ground, a big stupid grin on my face. My arms stretched out towards her with my palms facing her. “Hey there Curls, long time no see.” She looks at me for a moment, her eyes wide in obvious disbelief.
“BUNEARY!” She shouts as loudly as she can with her tiny vocal cords before jumping full force into my arms. I catch her and pull her into a tight hug, I can hear Aidan chuckle a bit behind me. Buneary shouting into my shoulder as she tries to dig deeper into my embrace.
“Yes yes, I missed you too.” I pet her gently, standing up to face Aidan. “I can’t thank you enough, I honestly never thought I’d see her again.” Raw emotion drips from my voice.
“No problem man, I couldn’t stand how sad she looked, it made me feel horrible.” From there we hung out for a bit. We chatted while Curls soaked up as many pettings and hugs she could get from me. Turns out Aidan’s a pretty decent guy. He’s apparently studying to become a professor.
“Yeah, I remember I was studying for a test one night. I was studying Pokemon that live in cities, and I was reading up on Bunearies when I got the idea to try and return Curls. They get pretty damn attached you know.” Aidan motions to Curls, who was currently sprawled across my shoulders, her head dangling next to mine. I could spot a cute, dopey smile out of the corner of my eyes. I simply nodded along to Aidan’s explanation.
He ended up staying for only half an hour. His Flareon, who was very obviously jealous of the attention Curls was getting, was currently being carried over his shoulder.
“See ya man!” He said as I held the door open.
“Yeah dude, we’ll have to hang out again sometime.” I promised after having genuinely enjoyed the man’s company. I closed the door behind him.
“Buneary! Bun!” I turned my head to Curls, who had finally decided to explore the apartment a few minutes ago.
We cuddled, laughed, played, and just hung out. We were old friends catching up, letting time slip by as we soaked up each other's presence. At some point I realized that it had gotten dark out and that it was too late to cook anything, so I ordered some Kantonian food from a place that I know does poke-bags. It was just like the good old days, minus Emma…
Yeah. Everything’s fine now, right?
“Eary!” Curls yapped at me.
“Huh-” I looked over at Curls, who had finished her food. Looking down I noticed that I had stopped eating at some point, though not because I was done. “Here, I’ll get that for you.” I stood up, quickly taking the takeout container, she had eaten out of and throwing it away.
I quickly finished my meal, finished my nightly routine, and showed her the oversized pokebed I bought her. I gently placed her on the soft brown fabric.
“Good night Curls!”
“Bun!” She crossed her arms, pouting “Buneary!”. I chuckled at her frustrated expression.
“C’mon just give it a night! You’ll love it, I’m sure.” She used her whole body to huff at me. I’m sure she’s just overreacting; she’ll probably fall asleep in a few minutes.
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Pomph “Augh!” I curled slightly, my eyes shot open as what felt like two weights pressed into my stomach. I groaned, my bleary vision making my room nothing more than a dark blurry mess, though I could very easily make out the culprit of my sudden wakefulness.
Somehow, Curls had opened the bedroom door and jumped on top of me.
“Buneary!” She huffed, her tiny arms on her hips and her entire weight pressed into my very vulnerable stomach. I groaned, deciding right then and there that it wasn’t worth fighting with her over where she was supposed to sleep. So, I let my body fall back onto my pillow. I could feel Curls move off of my stomach, marching up from my stomach to my chest, her little mountain climb ending with her flopping on my chest with her face nuzzled right into the crook of my neck.
“Goodnight.” I mumbled to her as I tried to fall back asleep. By then Curls had already managed to fall dead asleep on my chest, and despite my midnight intrusion, I felt like I was going to follow suit.