Chapter Text
Ivor had only been here once before. The Rust syndicate office was not pleasant to look at or be in when in debt to them. He’d been waiting outside for a while for Philipe to bring him inside.
When the bodyguard came outside, a shiver ran down Ivor’s spine.
He followed quietly. Ivor was quite nervous. The last time he’d been here he'd only met with Philipe. The boss was sick, so he couldn’t make it to the meeting.
“The boss gets a little stern,” Philipe started. He stopped at the door and turned back to Ivor. “Don’t let it get to your head.”
“That doesn’t help at all,” Ivor complained.
Philipe shrugged. He opened the door and motioned for Ivor to enter.
The boss was sitting at his desk, papers in his hands. He set them down and looked up to Ivor as he walked into the room. “Good afternoon, Mr. Fist of Justice.
“Afternoon,” Ivor greeted nervously.
The boss stood up with the papers and motioned to the couches on his right. “Please, let's sit down.”
Ivor followed him quietly. He sat down across from Philipe and the boss.
“Your debt isn’t actually that bad,” The boss stated. “You won’t have to do too much to pay it off.”
“How bad is my debt, boss?” Ivor asked. He twiddled his thumbs in his lap.
“Only a few thousand. One favor per 500 should be good enough, I think,” the boss suggested. “And please, call me Corbeau.”
“Okay, Corbeau,” Ivor echoed. “Could I just pay up front and not do the favors?”
“You could, but I doubt you have the money, given you’re in debt,” Corbeau argued, leaning back on the couch.
“I’m alright with doing favors. What’s my first job?” Ivor asked.
Corbeau waved Philipe out of the room. Once he left, he continued to speak. “Your first favor will be tonight. Be ready for dinner by 6.
Ivor blinked. “What?”
“That’s your favor. You have to hang out with me when I ask,” Corbeau explained.
“A-Alright,” Ivor stuttered. He was then dismissed.
Ivor walked home in silence. When he opened his apartment door, it was quiet. Gwynn was probably in her room. Ivor dropped his keys on the table and slumped down onto the couch. He let out a deep, troubled sigh.
Corbeau was probably trying to flirt with him. Ivor was dense, so he had to be wildly straightforward with his advances. Ivor knew people who had been interested in him. The relationships never lasted. He was always too rough and they got hurt, or he’d be battling so frequently that he’d never make time for them.
The door to Gwynn’s room creaked open. She walked out and stood behind the couch, leaning over Ivor. “How’d the meeting go?”
“Corbeau is scary,” Ivor mumbled.
“No duh,” Gwynn stated. “Did you manage to pay off the debt, or..?”
“I have dinner with him at 6. Dunno what I’m gonna wear though,” Ivor said. His tone told Gwynn that he thought this was the most unimportant thing in the world.
A thousand thoughts raced through Gwynn’s head. Her brother never managed to keep a suit nice. He always stretched the seams or just straight busted it open in the back. Despite his hair being beautifully maintained, he didn’t know how to style it. Ivor was a lost cause for fashion.
“I’m calling Jacinthe,” Gwynn stated.
Ivor shot up and turned around, offended. “Why her?!”
“Because she’s the only one who can help you not make a fool of yourself!” Gwynn returned. She pulled out her phone and started to walk toward her room. A couple minutes later, she came back out.
“Come on, we're going to see Jacinthe,” Gwynn insisted.
Ivor stood up from the couch and dragged his feet out the door. He dragged his feet all the way there, in fact. Jacinthe greeted them at the door when they reached the SBC.
“Hello, my dear friends!” She exclaimed.
Ivor gave her a half hearted wave.
“What seems to be the problem, Ivor?” Jacinthe asked, clasping her hands together.
“He isn’t excited for his date tonight,” Gwynn teased.
Jacinthe squealed. “A date! Ah, I know just what you need.”
She ushered both of them inside. Jacinthe practically dragged Ivor to an ornate dressing room and pushed him onto a platform in the middle of it. “What type of date is this?”
Ivor rolled his eyes. “It’s not-”
“It’s a dinner date. Knowing the person, It’s going to be fancy,” Gwynn explained.
Jacinthe thought for a moment. “So, suit?”
“Probably,” Gwynn shrugged.
It took Jacinthe an hour and a half to work her magic on Ivor. Because he was so tall, most of it was her ordering people around to tailor clothes specifically for him. Ivor ended up in a black suit with orange accents. His hair was pinned back and braided.
Ivor and Gwynn were kicked out once Jacinthe was done.
“I think I’m just gonna walk to the Syndicate,” Ivor stated. “I should get there when he wants me to be ready.”
“Alright. Don’t get in too much trouble,” Gwynn said. She waved goodbye then started to head in the direction of their apartment.
Ivor rubbed his hand over his face. He let out a breath then started walking. A sleek, black car pulled up beside him. He ignored it. It matched the speed at which he was walking.
The window rolled down and revealed Corbeau on the other side. “Are you ready?”
Ivor jumped. “Yeah. Yeah, I am.”
“So get in the car,” Corbeau ordered.
Ivor did as he was told. He sat down carefully, not wanting to damage the suit. Once he was situated, Philipe kept driving.
“You clean up nice,”Corbeau remarked, looking over Ivor.
“Huh?” Ivor questioned.
“You look handsome,” Corbeau said, pushing his glasses up his nose.
“Oh, thanks,” Ivor mumbled. He looked down at his lap. “The suit is borrowed.”
“Oh, really?” Just renting it for the night?” Corbeau asked. Arceus, conversation was easy for him.
“Yeah. I don’t have one so Jacinthe is lending it to me,” Ivor explained.
Corbeau huffed out a laugh. “My sincerest apologies to her, then.”
“Why apologize?” Ivor asked.
“You’re going to keep that suit. Knowing Jacinthe, Her price will be high. I’ll cover it. It’ll be added to the total of your debt, though,” Corbeau stated.
“I’ll destroy it if I keep it,” Ivor deflected.
“You’ll be careful with it if you don’t want your debt to go up,” Corbeau demanded.
“Yes, sir,” Ivor replied.
The car was silent for a few minutes. Ivor was too nervous to start a conversation. Corbeau didn’t have anything to say. The car crossed the threshold of Lumiose and Ivor’s nerves got worse.
“Hwere are we going or dinner?” Ivor asked. He glanced over at Corbeau, who was staring out the window.
“A place in Shalour that I haven’t been to in a while. It has good food, so don’t worry,” Corbeau explained.
Ivor nodded. He hadn’t been out of the city in a long time. The roads were shrouded with wildlife. Pokemon were scarce around the city, but got more concentrated as the car got further and further away.
Dinner ended up being better than Ivor thought. He ordered a steak that was almost as big as his head. Corbeau ordered a salad. The time they spent there was mostly silence, save for Ivor being dragged to apologize for breaking a fork and knife. Corbeau paid for dinner and the damages. Ivor knew that the dinner bill wouldn’t go into his debt but the other bill would.
The shooter man looked a lot more relaxed when they got back in the car. Both had a few drinks, but not enough to be truly tipsy. Mostly just sipping from the complimentary wine.
Corbeau’s jacket was draped over his lap. Ivor’s was unbuttoned, but still on his person.
“Do you go on dates often?” Corbeau asked. He took off his glasses and set them in his lap.
“No, don’t really like them,” Ivor answered.
“Would you rather just have your way with a partner at home?” Corbeau questioned.
Ivor choked on air. He leaned down so his elbows touched his knees and took a second to collect himself. “Like, in bed?”
“Mhm. Sounds like something a straightforward guy like you would do,” Corbeau shrugged.
From the front, Philiipe reached back and closed a divider to the back. He did not want to hear this conversation if he didn’t have to. Corbeau laughed quietly.
“I’m not that active actually,” Ivor said, sounding a little exasperated.
Corbeau hummed. Ivor’s lack of experience was something he could work with. “When was the last time you took someone home?”
“That’s an awfully invasive question, sir,” Ivor deflected.
“Forgive me. I don’t go out with people often. Small talk does not come easy to me,” Corbeau apologized. His tone wasn’t quite sincere.
“You just take people back to bed after a date?” Ivor asked. If Corbeau was going to ask him things like that, he’d return the favor.
“Only if I really like them,” Corbeau deadpanned. He glanced over at Ivor and noticed how fidgety and flushed he was.
“I don’t think you like me enough to take me home,” Ivor laughed awkwardly.
“Why not? You’re attractive and have a good personality,” Corbeau inquired.
“I told you I’m not that experienced,” Ivor stated.
Corbeau unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed his glasses and jacket to the floor of the car. He shifted over to Ivor and slowly sat down in his lap. “It’s not that hard to learn.”
Slowly, Ivor’s hands landed on Corbeau’s waist. “I’m not usually gentle. Have a hard time being that way.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Corbeau deflected. He rested his arms on top of Corbeau’s shoulders. “Let me ask you a question.”
“Yeah?” Ivor replied.
“Do you want me?”