#arven x pregnant!reader

[arvensimp]

your father should know, pt. 4

Arven leaves you with something more than either of you bargained for when he goes off to Kalos for an internship, and through a series of miscommunications and heartbreak, he returns a few years later to learn that he actually has a child.

arven x fem!reader, nsfw content (in pt. 1), pregnancy (pts. 1, 2, & 2.5), angst, and stupid miscommunications

[part 1][part 2][part 2.5][part 3]

I'M HERE AGAIN THANKS FOR THE WAIT. SORRY ABOUT BEING THE WAY I AM LMAO please enjoy the next installment. it's not beta'd i'm out here livin like larry

~

[Group Chat: Team Star? More Like, Time To Go To HR AmIRight???]

WalkWalkFashionBaby: hey @ ParadoxChamp is this your man?

WalkWalkFashionBaby: [sent a photo]

[Image description: A man with wavy, longish ash blond and light brown hair, accompanied by a Mabosstiff, walking down the streets of Mesagoza. His hands are in his pockets, and he seems to be smiling.]

CassiopeiaYamahaSteinway: ?????????

CassiopeiaYamahaSteinway: !!!!!!!?!

CassiopeiaYamahaSteinway: yo wtf 

CassiopeiaYamahaSteinway: first of all that deadbeat isnt her man ortega

CassiopeiaYamahaSteinway: second

CassiopeiaYamahaSteinway: yea uh

CassiopeiaYamahaSteinway: @ paradoxchamp did you know he was back in town???????

CassiopeiaYamahaSteinway: third @ giacomo4pm momo if you don't change our nicknames in this chat back to normal I will absolutely dox you (again) and then change them back myself

Giacomo4pm: Can do, will do.

Giacomo4pm: Also, yo, damn, what's he doing back? I thought he fled the country or whatever.

--

Rika: so the sperm donor's here. Just came up the hill asking for you. Want me to send him packing?

Rika: yeah u do

Rika: well... I do.

Rika: also unrelated, holy sHIT, man's genes are strong. It's like I'm looking into a time machine for Basil's future.

Rika: except, you know. Basil will be way cooler and more handsome with your genes mixed in.

Rika: ❤️

Rika: plus no shitty facial hair.

Rika: or better facial hair.

Rika: anyway, I'm gonna eviscerate him.

Rika: love you. ❤️

--

You had been in Area Zero, gathering information on moth pokemon for Jacq when the director called, his usually placid voice laced with an edge of steel.

"Basil's father just stopped by." He says without preamble.

Your heart sinks, and you nearly lose your grip on Raidon, only barely managing to stay upright and drag the pokemon to a halt.

"His what?" You splutter, changing the phone to your other ear, as if you hadn't heard correctly.

"His father." The director repeats. "I know we have not...explicitly discussed Basil's paternity, but, well," He tsks lightly. "He showed up to speak to me."

Your head is filled with tarountula webbing. You feel your hearing go fuzzy, but somehow your hands direct Raidon up and toward the closest lab station. Out, out, out. Back to the school. Back to Basil, back to--

"I'm on my way to the entrance to Area Zero now." Clavell continues when you don't reply after a few moments. "I'll meet you there with Basil."

"What did he want?" You finally ask as you enter the station.

"I didn't give him the opportunity to chitchat."

You hum. "One second, Sir." You step into the transport pad.

A moment later, and Clavell is right in front of you, Basil tucked safely in his stroller, looking just as he did when you dropped him off this morning, save for his hair looking a little...off. You disregard it.

"Thank you so much." You sigh, hanging up the phone as Clavell gives you a sad sort of smile.

"Anything for you two." He says.

You kneel and try to fluff up your son's hair, but it has dried all crunchy from whatever happened during the day. He's getting a bath later, so you don't fret over it and just smile warmly to him, trying not to let your panic show.

"Ready to go home, sweet thing?" You ask him.

Basil nods, reaching with little hands for yours in his hair. "Mhmm!" He nods. "Ahso, Mama! I saw a big buddy! A big, BIG buddy!"

Clavell clears his throat and provides some context. "Mabosstiff said hello."

You look up to the director, knowing exactly which Mabosstiff he must mean. "Oh? Mabosstiff! That's...that's so great!" If your register is maybe just a touch too high, your smile too tight, it's only to maintain face in front of the boy to whom you turn back. "Were you kind? Remember how we always wanna be nice to new pokemon, yeah?"

"Uh-huh, uh-huh! He gived me a kisses! A lotsa kisses!"

So that's the crunch in his hair.

Oh, Mabosstiff...

"That's my sweet boy." You sigh, ruffling the mess before standing again to face the director.

"Thanks again. I'm gonna..." Another long exhale. "I'm gonna get us home."

Clavell nods. "You know how to reach me if you need something. And... Well, if you want me to intercede on your behalf, I'm happy to have words." He says stoically. "At times I felt I was the closest thing..." He gestures with his head outward toward the school. "He had to a parent in his life... I..." It's his turn to sigh. "I don't understand what happened there. How he could do what his own parents did to him? I'm sorry. If it's any consolation."

Your heart squeezes, and you distract yourself from the feeling by digging your nails into the soft foam of the handles of Basil's stroller. "Don't be. He made his choice, y'know?" You try to smile, but it's shaky. "He deserves to have the life he wants."

"He deserves a kick in the pants." Clavell responds. "Not that I'm an advocate for corporal punishment..." He adjusts his glasses in that grandfatherly way.

You laugh.

"Well, if he sticks around long enough, maybe you'll get a chance."

You hope he doesn't stick around.

Or...do you?

Do you even want to see him?

Either way, you don't want to linger on it in the lab.

"I'm gonna take this little one home."

Clavell nods. "Until later."

And then you're calling a cab to get back to your place, and Clavell is on his way back to the office.

While you're in the cab, you check your messages and sigh. Seems like Ortega caught a glimpse of Arven, and Rika is...fucking with him in some way or another.

You ignore your old classmates and opt to just text Rika.

Me: Got Basil from Clavell and we're on our way home rn/

Me: Love you too ofc 💖💖

A minute or so later, your phone buzzes. Rika again.

Rika: he's gone now

Rika: I put the fear of arceus in him if i do say so myself

You roll your eyes, smiling wryly. By now the cab is slowly descending to the space just outside your home, so you pocket the device and maneuver Basil in his stroller out of the cramped space and into the house.

Once he's unbuckled from his seat, he's bouncing around and grabbing at the attached bag, the one containing Buddy's pokeball, asking in broken syllables if they can play. 

It isn't a huge deal to let the pup out of the ball to play, so you hand it over to Basil, reminding him how to behave with his friend. At the same time, you also release Skeledirge to keep a watchful eye over the pair for a moment.

In the weeks since the Raisins Incident, as you've called it, you've come to the realization that your team can be of some assistance to you when you need a moment to yourself, when you're overwhelmed. Obviously Skeledirge isn't a parent. Neither is Raidon or Tinkaton or Screamtail or anyone else, but Skeledirge is smart enough to keep them safe for the precious seconds you need to breathe.

So you let the three alone in the living room and retire to your bedroom for a moment to collapse on the bed and gather your thoughts. You only need a few seconds. Just a few seconds of Mama time...just a few.

There's a sound at your open door as Basil toddles in, two pokemon in tow.

"Mama... Hungy?" He asks, clenching his shirt in tiny balled fists.

"Oh, sweetness..." You sigh, leaning down to pick him up and seat him securely on your lap. "You're hungry?" You press your face into his head, expecting its usual downy softness and the comfort of your child's scent, only to be met with that uncomfortable crunch of dried Mabosstiff slobber. Out of Basil's line of sight, your nose crinkles. "Let's see what we've got in the kitchen, yeah?"

"Toast? Toast 'n jellies?" He asks hopefully.

"I think we could do that, my littlest..." You respond with a smile, hefting your boy onto your hip as you trudge into the kitchen.

Of course, it would be just your luck that you're entirely out of oran jelly, the only jelly that Basil will eat right now. Thank you, developing taste buds and picky eating...

Maybe he won't notice if you try to give him pinap jelly instead this once?

You prepare his plate, the toast lovingly cut into four triangles, and you give him his sippy cup as well, but Basil only stares down unhappily at the food.

"Jellies?" He asks, his tiny button nose wrinkling.

"Yeah, Baby, I made you toast and jelly." Your heart clenches, anxiety rising, but you try to keep your voice chipper.

"Nuh-uh!" He insists, pushing the plate away.

"Oh, I'm sorry. We don't have the usual jelly. Do you wanna try this instead?"

Your son looks at you with wide eyes, rapidly filling with tears. His lower lip wobbles, and his brow furrows angrily. Times like these it's almost crazy how much he looks like...

No, focus!

"It's good, I promise. Wanna see? Mama will have some." You take a bite of one of the triangles and make a show of smiling. "Mmm! So yummy! It's really tasty!"

"No!" Basils yells in response, his tiny tears now falling. Hangry isn't a good look on the little guy.

"Ahhh, we gotta get you something to eat, huh, bud."

"Jellies!" He blubbers, only barely understandable through his tantrum. Buddy the Maschiff jumps up, placing his front paws on Basil's feet, trying to get at the food, and Basil complies, shoving it down to the pup.

You sigh. "Alright."

Buddy re-enters his ball, still chewing the bread, and you take Basil from his high chair, depositing him in his stroller.

"We'll go to the market and get your good jelly, okay? Super duper fast, then we'll come home and have a feast."

Basil is still crying, but the promise of his good jelly seems to placate him somewhat.

It'll be fine anyway. The market is only a short walk from your apartment building, and you'll only be out for a few minutes. 

The journey there is easy. Basil's stroller is one of those fancy transforming models that's great for all kinds of terrain while also being pretty light. It helps that the market is all outdoors, too. Less helpful is the fact that the stalls are fairly narrowly placed beside one another. At least it feels that way with all the people around, but it isn't overly cumbersome to navigate.

"Jellies!" Basil starts to whine as you approach the stall that he's come to learn has his favorite snack. He starts making grabby hands towards the jars along the table, and you attempt to quietly stop him.

"Yup! They've got your jelly here. Once I pay, you can hold the jar, if you like. Sound good?"

"I pick, I pick!" Basil insists, arching his tiny body as best he can away from the stroller's restraining buckle.

"Hey now," You press a soft but firm hand against him, guiding him back to his seat. "I'll let you pick, but you have to be polite. Say please and thank you to the salesperson, kay?"

Your son huffs, squirming a bit more before collapsing against the seat. "I be good. I good." He grumbles, and you're finally able to unbuckle him and take him up in your arms.

"Okay now. Can you ask for what you want?" You give the salesperson a thankful smile as you speak to Basil. They seem willing to be patient with your little one.

"Jellies!!!" He cries gleefully.

"Jellies, what, bud?"

"Jellies, pease!!!"

"There you go... We're gonna get some oran berry jelly." You tell the salesperson, already reaching into your bag with the hand that isn't carrying Basil. "Remember, these are glass, so you gotta hold it gently."

Basil carefully (or as carefully as a nearly-two year old can) chooses a bright blue jar, holding it in both of his hands.

Gently, so as not to jostle Basil enough that he drops his prize, you rearrange him on your hip, freeing an arm to reach into your bag, so you can pay the shop keeper. 

That's when you hear it. Not particularly loud compared to the hum of the crowd, but clear as day anyway.

The sound of your name being called gives you pause. You look around. It's not uncommon for you to be recognized, but you're already on edge. Hopefully it's just a fan or something?

–

You heard him. From the way you stopped and looked around, hiking the kid up just a bit higher on your hip as you distractedly tried to find the source of his voice, it was obvious.

It isn't an overly crowded market, but there are definitely enough people milling around that quick travel isn't really feasible from where he stands, particularly if he wants to get closer.

He calls your name again, louder this time. Before it had almost been breathless, filled with surprise, hurt, delight, just a tumultuous storm of emotions tearing through his stomach at the sight of you, the sight of his little carbon copy in your arms. Now he's really trying to get your attention.

You pinpoint him, and Arven waves, his bulky form helping to differentiate him from the rest of the crowd.

He... He can't read your face. You look like a deerling caught in Flash. He watches as you quickly shuffle, taking your boy (his boy?) away. Are... Are you for real fleeing from him? He calls your name again, trying to move closer to your retreating form, but it's no use. He makes it to the stall where you were before. He's positive of it because you left the stroller behind, and judging by the yelling from the salesperson, you made off with some product without paying. It's a no-brainer for him to lay down the cash needed, assuaging the anger of the clerk. Arven also grabs the stroller, giving a nervous laugh about how forgetful you must be before he starts trekking with it in the direction that you fled.

Except. He quickly realizes that's not really gonna get him anywhere. He has no idea where you live. Yeah, he knows where you used to live, almost 3 years ago, but that was basically a shoebox, a place to store your supplies while out and about as a champ. No way you're there still. Not with a kid. Right?

He eventually takes a seat on a bench close to the market, keeping the stroller next to him. You've gotta come back for it soon, right? Even then though, he has no idea how long it might take you to come back. 

Once again, Arven desperately wishes you hadn't blocked him way back when. He pulls out his phone, hoping to shoot you a text, on the off-chance that maybe you unblocked him at some point maybe?

Me: Hi, Buddy!

is all he types before seeing the tell-tale red messaging, showing that the number is indeed still blocked. Ugh.

Fuck, maybe...maybe he could use a pay phone or something? Just to tell you where your stroller is. But are there even any pay phones anymore?

As it turns out, they do still exist! There's one just on the edge of the market, so Arven makes his way over, pulling out his phone to copy your number once he's in the booth.

Except.

That's not a Paldean area code he sees. It's Kalosian. Yes, it's your name as the contact, and it's your final, nasty message to him there in the texts, but....it's not your number. There's not even a call history that goes back that far for him to try and grab the number that he just can't seem to remember entirely. He used to have it memorized, once upon a time, the two of you having been the other's emergency contact for so long, so he knows he's not crazy. That number...

He realizes on a second glance that the number is affiliated with Bon Applintit. It's got the same starting numbers after the area code.

What the hell happened to--

"Arven!!!!" The cry of his name startles him out of the thought, but he tucks it away for later. There's something very, very off going on, beyond the kid and everything. Which also??? Kinda absolutely bonkers. He's not gonna lie to himself. He also can't think too hard about it.

"Arven!" Nemona pulls him from that dizzying train of thought, as well as the phone booth. "I've been sent to just, uh...grab this from you..." She tells him, awkwardly trying to work her way around him to grab at the stroller's handlebars. "Ya know... Mama and Basil need it and all." She laughs a bit uncomfortably, continuing her attempt to pry the pram from him.

"Basil?" He says out loud, the name punching him harder than any Hitmonchan. His fists clench tighter around the bars.

Nemona slaps a hand over her mouth, allowing Arven to angle the stroller away from her. "Were you not supposed to know? Ah, gosh darn it!"

"I mean--!" He starts defensively. "I guess?! I never knew about...about any of this!" He gesticulates wildly. "When was anyone gonna tell me about Basil, huh? What the hell, Nemona!?"

She gives him a strange look, her lips pursed and brows quirked. "You... You really had no idea?" She crosses her arms, studying Arven's expression. "Hold on."

Nemona takes out her phone and starts texting. Arven does his absolute best to be patient, but with every passing second he's growing more agitated. 

"Okay, listen! Someone has GOT to tell me what's going on!" He eventually bursts. "Who IS this kid? Why does she have him? Why does... I mean, why does the kid look like me? Everyone's been treating me like shit since I got here, and none of it makes any goddamn sense! If anyone cares to hear MY side of the story, she blocked ME! And to my knowledge it was just over a few missed calls! I thought she was just overreacting! I had no idea about any of this!" His anger over it all, over getting shunned by his friends years ago, over Clavell’s insults, comparing him to his father, it all bubbles over, and he’s letting it out on Nemona. 

She hushes him with a sound and a not-so-placating finger, not bothering to even look up as she texts with a single thumb. "Hold on, hold on, hold on..." The patronizing nature of it all pulls a huff from Arven, whose grip on the handles of the strollers is so strong his knuckles go white.

His friend locks the screen and looks back to him. Her gaze is steady and serious, in stark contrast to her typical jovial self.

"Okay. I believe you, amigo. You say you've got no idea what's going on? I'm sorry to hear that. I really, really wish I could just tell you everything. Or at least, what I think is everything? But this isn't really my place. Not my mankey, not my circus. I'm just the mankey's fun tia, y'know?" She tries to lighten the mood a bit, but it absolutely falls short. "But. For real, this isn't the kind of chisme I enjoy. Not when it involves any of you. I'm talking to her now." Nemona shakes the phone in her hand. "I'm gonna see if she's willing to hear you out."

"Hear me out? She was the one--"

"That isn't how anyone here knows the story, Arven. At least what she's been able to bring herself to tell of it. I don't think any of us can claim to know all the details, but do you think she'd lie to make you look bad? Really?"

That seems to give Arven pause. At least long enough for Nemona to check the latest message from you. She smiles.

"She's on her way to the Treasure Eatery and will meet with you there. Be sure to bring the stroller."

--

Arven makes it to the restaurant before you. It isn't really surprising, given your detour to the league building to drop Basil off with Nemona for a bit. He ought to thank his lucky stars for Nemona pleading his case to you, saying he seemed to be genuinely confused and distraught over the situation. Otherwise you wouldn't have bothered. This is...exhausting to think about. Facing him. Trying to figure out what he wants. Why he came.

You won't lie, your initial thoughts as you rushed home with Basil tucked tightly in your arms, shielding him from his father, were rather dark. Was Arven here to try and take him? Did he think he could use your baby as some kind of prop in his social media videos? People go crazy for dads after all.

But, no. If you're honest with yourself (like Nemona urged you to be) that's not the man you knew. You couldn't imagine him becoming someone like that either, especially if he didn't want to be a dad in the first place... Beyond that, if you think rationally for a moment, there isn't a court in the world that would order your toddler son to another country without you.

No, this...this will be safe. It will be scary. To see him again. But. There's no need to think there's danger. It will just be kind of scary. And you can deal with scary, if only for a few minutes. 

"Hey." Your voice sounds drained as you drop your bag on your side of the booth and follow behind it to sit. You want to look at him. Look him in the eye and ask him what his deal is, but you just can't summon that brand of bravery.

"Hey." His tone isn't really discernable; you can't guess what he's thinking. "I, uh...ordered your usual drink. Or...What you used to order? If that's cool?"

Sure enough, there on the tabletop is your go-to drink from the Treasure Eatery, a ring of condensation already formed at the base of the glass, dampening the flimsy cardboard of the disposable coaster.

"Oh." It surprises you, that small bit of thoughtfulness. "Thanks." You take the glass in both hands and sip, letting the frosty cold of it ground you before you finally look up to see him.

He's... He's so much like Basil, it makes a lump form in the back of your throat. The nose, the eyebrows, the bow of his lips. You've seen them all every day for almost two years now in the face of your little boy; things you noticed and adored, now mimicked before you. Beyond that, he's still Arven. Time hasn't changed him too terribly much. For an adult, it hasn't been too long, so it's not like he's suddenly grey and withered before you or something. The biggest difference is how he pulls his hair back into a low ponytail, the patchy stubble around his cheeks and chin. He's either growing it out to try something new or just hasn't bothered with a razor for a while.

"Hey." You finally say. Truth be told, if not for your drink, your throat would've gone dry just seeing him again.

"So..." He starts, leading.

"So...you're back."

"Uh. Yeah. The plan was to spend the weekend clearing out my old storage....and...head back to Lumiose..."

"'The plan was?'" You ask.

"W-Well, I mean... I. I don't think I can just go back now, can I?"

You tense. Why did that feel like an attack? "I don't see why not. You didn't seem to think it was important to, you know, come back before now. What makes you think you have to stay?" Your tone comes off colder, more callous, than your aching heart would otherwise reveal, and it does its job, egging Arven onto frustration.

"I saw Clavell with Basil." He starts, pausing when he notices your flinch at the name. "Then I saw him with you. And... I mean..."

"Oh, so you saw him and now suddenly you care?" You ask, venom dripping more than you'd care to admit.

"What are you saying?!" He grates, volume only as loud as public decorum would allow in the bustling restaurant. "You... You have to be kidding, right? Of course I care! There's... There's a whole kid! Right? Where did he come from, huh? Cuz, like... Those don't just appear! And he's yours, right? He's gotta be! Like, obviously I see my...resemblance, but I see you in him, too!" That surprises you. No one ever found your features in Basil anymore, save for your mom, who made an off-handed comment once or twice about your eye shape or something.

Arven takes your silence as reason to continue "I mean... I've seen my photos from a young age... I..." His anger fizzles out into confusion as he goes on. "I don't want to make assumptions about...about us or what we were? But...looking at that kid, it's gotta be, right? That it was me? That I'm..." He can't say it out loud. "But why? Why didn't you say something? Why did you hide something like that? Cuz, like... I mean...even...even if he were someone else's... I mean, why wouldn't you have said something?"

"Hide it?!" The accusation shocks you into a response. "I never hid anything! I tried telling you for ages, back when you actually picked up the damn phone! You forced me into having to text you about my son! Then you blocked me! I have the receipts, Arven. I don't know what kind of delusion you've got going on in that head of yours, but I never hid my boy from you until I was given reason to! Why would I go out of my way to force a child upon a man who couldn't acknowledge him? Why wouldn't I keep my son safe from someone who didn't have the decency to be there for him? For me?"

Your tone has risen to a point where a few of the surrounding tables have hushed to listen in, and Arven can tell that prying eyes and ears are now on you both. He shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath, an attempt to steady himself, keep from getting more heated in public. 

"Bud." He begins, the old nickname hitting you like a sucker punch. "I never knew. I don't know what happened there, but I promise. I promise on Mabosstiff's life that I had no clue about any of this. I think there had to have been some kinda mix up..." You watch as cogs turn in his head. "I think... I'm thinking maybe something happened with my phone." He says, pulling the device from his pocket. "Like... Lemme just try and make this clear from my end. Okay? I got this text from you..." He starts, tapping the screen. "It was kinda mean, and when I tried to respond, I was blocked." He holds up the conversation for you to read.

>Hey! Sorry we keep missing each other lately! I hope things are okay? Are you staying warm? It's getting kinda cold here.

>can we not do this?

>Not do what?

>"This" i'm getting real fuckin tired of you bailing on me all the time now that your some hot shot kalosian celebrity guy

>Whoa. Where is this even coming from??

>you kno exactly where its coming from, arven. Youve been super shitty to me since you left paldea and it really hurts my feelings.

>I'm sorry? I've been busy here. It's been a lot getting used to a whole new place and a whole new language. I thought you understood that. I really am sorry though.

>y'know what? I dont really care at this point. Ive had enough waiting around for you to call me or text me back. there are guys here who can do better by me

>[One Missed Call]

>[One Missed Call]

>[One Missed Call]

>Are you being serious right now? You can't be. This is a joke?

>[One Missed Call]

>[The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected and is no longer in service.]

Your face pales and stomach sinks as you read it. "Arven, I--"

"I just noticed earlier when I tried calling you about the stroller. That isn't even your number. It's Kalosian. It's... I think it's affiliated with my company? I can't be sure yet, but..." He locks the screen and puts his phone down. "I know now that you never sent those messages, and that somehow I lost everything related to your contact. So...whatever you might've sent...it isn't here. I couldn't have seen it."

With a nearly shaking hand, you grab his phone and open it back up, still remembering his old passcode (Mabosstiff's Pokedex number). "Hold on..." You absolutely sent a message. Whether it was deleted or not... You check his blocked numbers, knowing that on your end, you've been blocked since back when you first told him about the pregnancy. "Yup..." You show him the screen. There among several spam numbers was your own. "You blocked me."

Arven opens his mouth to argue. "Or, I guess," You continue before he has a chance to interrupt. "I was blocked... somehow? I still... I don't see how this could have happened..." You set the phone down and fish out your own from your bag. "Here." It only takes a moment to pull up your old conversations. "You can read for yourself what I tried to tell you."

>Hey! I know this isn't ideal, and I really would have rather said it in person or over a face call or even just a regular call, but I think you need to know, and I'm having a really hard time verbalizing it to you. I'm sorry to do it this way, but it's better to say it now than not at all, right?

>I'm pregnant, and it's yours.

>I'm so, so, SO sorry! I promise I didn't mean for it to happen like this, and I'm not trying to like…baby trap you or something. I swear! You're my best friend in the whole world, and I'm so happy that you can go and live your dream in Kalos right now. But I just feel like you should know? Like you should have a say in what happens here? I'd love to talk to you. Do...do you want to do this? Because....well if you're willing I'd want to try this. With you. But I also know that you're living your dream right now, and I don't want to get in the way of that! I want you to be able to really embrace this new journey you're taking and learn and grow and do wonderful things! But I just wanted you to know, you know? Please don't hate me. Just give me a call when you have a minute, and we can figure this out. Okay?

. Then after several months, you’d sent a picture. Just a simple selfie of you, looking exhausted beyond belief, hair tamped down to your head with sweat, but still smiling. In your arms is a tiny bundle with a little purple hat, face looking squished and wrinkly and perfect. Arven knows exactly what he’s looking at before he’s read your final message.

>He's here. I don't know if you care, necessarily? But... I love him so much, and I don't understand how you couldn't, so I thought I should share.

You watch as Arven tears up, holding your phone like a tiny, precious creature. "I never knew. I... I swear I didn't." He swallows. "My...my team... They all have access to my phone. Something must've... Someone, I guess..." He shudders then looks to you, resolute. "I'll figure it out. But." Arven looks at your hand on the table then flexes his own, curling and uncurling it from a fist. "I... I wanted to know. I should've known. I'm so sorry this happened..."

"Me too..." The anger and fear and sadness you had churning in your gut this whole time slowly begins to still. You don't know how to feel exactly about the misunderstanding, but you know Arven. You know he isn't lying to you, and to hear him apologize for all of this... It's like a weight off of your soul.

Arven pauses, gathering himself then stares you in the eye. "I was supposed to leave tomorrow, head back. Fuck that. I need to be here. I need to see him.”

It's another punch to the gut, and on instinct, you respond. "No."

[wyverndollface96]

Arven x Female Reader: Already A Good Daddy

You were in the middle of the third trimester in your pregnancy.

You were laying in bed, exhausted. Been pretty much of a lazy day for you, despite you being 7 months pregnant. Arven was out buying stuff for dinner as well as some calming bubble bath for you; he left his Mabosstiff with you to keep you company while he was out.

When Arven got home, you were in the bathroom doing your business. He came in once you finished up. You were washing your hands when he came up to put his arms around your waists; his hands on your belly; his chin resting on your shoulder. It felt nice for you to feel the comfort of his body against your back. You could also feel soft kisses on your neck, just behind your ear.

“You feeling okay, sweetness?” he asks you in a soft tone. You look in the mirror at him and tiredly answer, “I’m fine, love. Just really missed you.” Arven chuckles softly in your ear and says, “It’s only been an hour I’ve been out, my sweet kisses.” He turns you around a little bit so he can see your belly and rub circles on it. You could feel the baby moving around in there; you exhaled calmly at the feeling. “Baby’s moving.” you said. Arven smiles; moving his hand to where the baby is moving and says, “I feel it.”

You were laying in bed while Arven was massaging your aching feet. The feeling of it made you relax. You usually were ticklish there, but not this time. Your feet had been aching for a little while now, so the feel of Arven’s working hands applying pressure to your feet felt so good.

Arven then goes to lay next to you, resting his chin on your shoulder, his right arm wrapping around your left arm and his left hand resting on your tummy. You turn your head to face him and you plant a kiss on his nose. He smiled at that. He positioned his head to properly kiss you on the lips. “Already such a good dad.” you say softly. Arven runs his hand through your hair. “And such a good mommy.” he says. He then looks down at your baby bump and goes to give it a kiss.

That’s when he felt the baby kick him in the face. “Ah, baby kicked me.” he laughs. You laughed, too. “It’s been doing a lot of kicking lately.” you said. “That is one active baby.” Arven chuckles. He gives your belly a few more kisses before laying back down next to you. He buries his face into your neck as he cages you in his arms. You kiss him on the head and whisper, “I love you.” Arven whispers back, “I love you, too, mama.” You chuckled. ‘Mama.’ It didn’t, yet, feel real to you having to soon be a mama. Though it was the happiest moment you were looking forward to. And you could see Arven being such a wonderful daddy.

You both couldn’t wait for the day to meet your baby.

💕💕💕

[arvensimp]

your father should know, pt. 3

Arven leaves you with something more than either of you bargained for when he goes off to Kalos for an internship, and through a series of miscommunications and heartbreak, he returns a few years later to learn that he actually has a child.

arven x fem!reader, nsfw content (in pt. 1), pregnancy (pts. 1, 2, & 2.5), angst, and stupid miscommunications

[part 1][part 2][part 2.5]

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY I'M BACK. pls be aware that this got WAY too long so it's gonna have to be another part or two before we actually get to the happy ending that i promised. yes this will still have a happy ending. i won't hurt arven or the baby like this lolol. the skeleton for the rest of the fic is already written, i just need to flesh it out, given it some muscle, organs, and maybe cute accessories.

ANYWAY I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS PART. please thank my mega awesome beta Katie for her help with this too. she's my rock.

---

The ceiling rattles.

"So. How'd you get here today?"

"I, uh... I took my cyclizar?"

Rika nods and takes note of the answer. The not-so-distant sound of muffled battling can be heard through the thick walls of the League building.

"What brings you to the Pokemon League today?" Rika goes on as if nothing is happening.

"Badda!" The little one sitting on her lap shouts. Rika pats his head without looking away from the student in front of her. "Shh. Let her answer my questions first."

Basil babbles a bit in response, some of his words making sense.

"To...become a champion?" The student replies.

"Good, good..." Rika continues on with the rest of the interview, asking different questions and going back and forth with the kid in front of her.

"Okay," She says later, now addressing Basil. "Now you can ask her a question."

"What?" The student asks.

"Not you." Rika corrects tersely. "Go on, Munchkin. Ask the champ-in-the-making whatever you want."

"Um... " Basil seems to think for a moment, but then he gets shy and hides his face against Rika's torso.

The student blanches. "I... I-I'm sorry? Did I do something wrong?"

"Pssh, nah. He just gets timid sometimes is all. But let's see..." Rika leans into Basil and speaks soft and sweet to him. "Whaddya think, Munchkin?" She gives his tummy a bit of a tickle, making him laugh and open up a bit. "Does this kid pass our test?" Rika keeps tickling him as he shrieks with laughter.

"Uh....Is...is that a yes?" The student eventually asks.

Rika pauses, then stands with all the pomp and importance of one in her station, propping the baby up in her arms.

"Yeah, I'd say so." She announces casually, in stark contrast to the serious air she feigned just a moment ago. "Congrats, Kid. You've passed your first test." She holds out a hand to shake and makes sure that Basil also gets to shake too.

Never too soon to start teaching the ins and outs of professionalism or whatever.

"Before you move on to the next step, you'll just need to wait a few minutes for his mama to finish her battle with one of your peers. Once she has him back, I can start your battle test. Sound good?"

The student nods, and sure enough within a few minutes, you arrive through the elevator and greet the room cheerily.

"We've got quite a few challengers today, it seems!" You announce as you take Basil from Rika. The boy had been making grabby hands for you the moment the elevator doors had opened, speaking in broken little syllables of his desire to be in your arms again.

You boop his little nose and smoosh your mouth to his pudgy cheeks in a kiss. "I wasn't gone that long, Sweet Boy!" You tell him. "Were you good for Auntie Rika?"

You look to the woman in question for her assessment.

"He did great. He's getting a real knack for these interviews, I tell you what. Asks some pretty insightful questions, right, Kid?" She says jokingly, turning to the student.

"What?" The kid looks between the three of you. "Oh! Um. ...What? Is this another test?"

Rika laughs. "Everything here is a test."

The student blanches a bit. "Oh... Then. Um. What was the question again?"

Rika ruffles the kid's hair. "Yeah, that's about par for the course. Don't worry about it. You're doing fine." She turns to face you. "For real though, Basil was great. He ate all his snacks and took a great long nap earlier and slept through all the noise of the battling. Super well behaved.” You smile at the comments, your heart swelling with pride as Rika goes on. “So you're headed out then?"

You nod, adjusting Basil on your hip as he starts to fiddle with a button on his overalls.

"Yup. Today's the day!"

Rika whistles. "Well good luck. Lemme know if you end up needing anything, yeah?"

You nod. "Thanks, will do. It should be fine though. Basil, say 'bye-bye!'"

"Bye-aye!" He mimics, waving at Rika.

"Say 'Good luck, Challenger!'"

"Goobuh, tsaduh!"

You laugh and ruffle his hair while the student gives him a determined thumbs up.

"Good job." You murmur into his sweet little head.

You grab the rest of yours and Basil's things and leave the Pokemon League building. You thought it'd do your team some good to get some energy out before their big event today, so you convinced Rika to let you take on some of the Champion Testing battles.

Within an hour or so, you're in the meadows out by Medali with a picnic set up.

Basil is seated in a bouncing little chair that meets the height of the picnic table, and you're finishing up the preparation of food for him and the pokemon.

You kneel down to help him handle his sippy cup.

"Are you excited, my littlest?" You ask him, as he babbles happily. "I'm excited, too."

It had taken you a decent amount of time to build up your courage to quite this stage.

Sure, all your Pokemon met Basil back when he was just a little potato of a thing, barely had his eyes open and could really only eat, sleep, cry, and sometimes pull your hair. But you knew back then that having your Pokemon out and about in the house, within the grasp of a little person who could easily get hurt or unintentionally piss them off was a recipe for trouble.

So your Pokemon were temporarily kept separate from your son for everyone's sake. Of course you still saw them and cared for them and battled with them, but never when Basil was around.

Now he's...he's more like a real person. Now he can run around and play. He's still learning words, but he has thoughts and can speak for himself and understand many things about the world around him. Sometimes so much so that it surprises you!

So. You can trust him enough and teach him how to behave around Pokemon.

You know your team as well as, if not better than, you know your son. You know they won't hurt him.

Still... Tinkaton's hammer is so heavy...and Skeledirge's flames burn so hot... And Raidon...

But no!

You can't keep your loves apart like this any longer!

It feels like it's been ages.

You look back to Basil and swipe your thumb across his cheek where some juice left him sticky.

"Oh, you sweet creature. Are you ready to meet Mama's friends?"

"Mama!" He chatots back to you.

"Okay, Basil." You lay out all six PokeBalls before him. "Take your pick for who you wanna meet first, okay?"

Your boy regards the PokeBalls with shining, eager eyes. He's seen these before. Chubby fingers grasp at a red and white ball. Your oldest.

"Oooh, that's a good one, my love." You say, rolling the ball gently along the table's surface with a single finger, though never removing it from Basil's grip.

"My very, very best friend is inside here." You lean in close and whisper dramatically, making Basil giggle. "But you won't tell the others, yea? He and I have been together for longer than anyone else. He's super excited to meet you. Wanna say hello?"

Basil nods.

"Can you hand me the PokeBall?"

He picks it up, having to hold it with both hands as he maneuvers the thing to your outstretched palm.

"Very good, Basil! Alright. Let's meet Skeledirge!"

You toss the ball into the air, with only a little more than your usual flare that you have when you battle, and the big, beautiful crocodile materializes with a thud on the ground in front of the table. It rears back on its hind legs and gives a mighty roar.

Basil, for his part, stands as best he's able in his chair, with you holding a supporting hand behind his back, to watch the spectacle, clapping his hands at the pokemon before him.

"Keledur!" He shrieks, delighted, before moving to climb down and onto the ground.

You lift him up easily enough and prop him against your hip, but Basil wants no part of being held when something so cool is nearby. "Whoa whoa whoa, wiggle wurmple." You tell him. "We gotta learn how to say hello to Skeledirge, yeah?"

"Hello, Skel'dur!" Basil mimics automatically, still squirming.

Skeledirge has the patience and wherewithal to stay planted while you wrangle the little one to stand in your lap as you sit cross legged in front of the Pokemon.

"Okay, Basil. Now, you need to be gentle with Pokemon. They're our friends, so we always need to be nice. Can you say 'nice'?" You take both of his hands in yours.

"Mm..." He corrects the sound. "Nnnnice!"

"Very nice! Good job! So when we pet Pokemon, we have to be very nice." You help him lean in toward Skeledirge, placing his hand on the Pokemon's nose, just to the side of the tiny firebird, which graciously hops out of the way. "See? Nice. Gentle..." You help him repeat the petting motion.

Basil squeals delightedly, petting Skeledirge's snout as he stomps his feet between your legs.

The Pokemon grumbles softly and shuts his eyes, relaxing into the ground a bit.

"Aw, Skel'dur go slee'?" Basil asks you, as he keeps petting the massive creature. "'Ats okay, Skel'dur. You go slee'. Shh... Shh..."

"Good job, Basil..." You tell him, whispering into the soft bits of fluffy hair behind his ears. "You're being so nice to Skeledirge! While he naps, do you wanna try and meet someone else?"

Basil turns to face you and nods excitedly, gripping the hem of his shirt in his little hands.

You stand and lead him back to the table where the other balls are.

Once again, Basil selects a red and white PokeBall. Briefly you wonder why he doesn't care for any of your specialty balls, but you decide not to question it.

He holds the thing tight in both hands.

"Okay, Bas', that's another really good one! I mean, they're all stellar, obviously, but this one is fun. This Pokemon and I also go way back. All the way back to..." Your heart clenches a bit, but you push past it quickly. "The very start of my journey! A very special person gave me this Pokemon."

Is it bad that you haven't brought up Arven to Basil yet? He isn't that old yet... Not even two yet. He hasn't asked about a papa or a daddy... So? You just kinda let it ride.

"How about you throw the PokeBall this time, huh? Give it a shot. Just throw the ball, hard as you can." You mime the motion to him.

Basil nods solemnly, looking to the ball, then he takes a deep breath and chucks it with a shout!

Or.

Well, he...

He kinda tries to chuck it.

In reality, the ball falls to the ground beneath his feet. It doesn't really matter though because the reddish glow of the releasing pokemon is still able to distance itself from the pair of you as Raidon materializes upright and gives a full body shake, making a chirring sound. 

Basil stands in awe of the dragon that towers over the pair of you.

"Big!" He shouts, and you laugh.

"Yup! It's a big pokemon! This is Raidon!" You pat the creature lovingly along its shoulder, encouraging it to return to all fours. It eyes Basil up and down curiously, tilting its head from side to side. The sight of your baby helps bring it back down to earth a bit, and once it's on all fours again, you kneel to Basil's level.

"Now Raidon is really cool because--"

Basil shrieks, and your heart jolts momentarily before you realize it's a cry of laughter as the pokemon presses its snout up against his chest, chittering happily at him.

Your gaze softens, watching Basil pet along the dragon's snout, just as he had with Skeledirge.

"Good job... We always wanna be nice to pokemon, yeah?" You eventually say, petting along Raidon's shoulder and back.

Basil nods but doesn't take his wide, shining eyes from the creature in front of him.

"So... One of the neat things about this Pokemon is that..."

-

Just like both of his parents, Basil falls in love with Pokemon quickly and whole-heartedly. He's just as eager to meet everyone else on the team as they are to meet him!

Basil makes sure to play nicely and pay keen attention, or as good attention as his developing brain can make out. When someone shuts their eyes, they've "gone to sleep," so they're done playing. If someone is bouncing around, they can still play! He especially likes trying to kick around the little ball you brought along with them.

The Pokemon are also all very gentle with him. Not that you doubted any of them, really. Well, maybe Tinkaton, a little bit... But even then! They seem to understand their strength and how to tone it down for play with a teensy human.

When the sun starts to set later that evening, and Basil's eyes start to droop as his hands lose their grip on the last few bites of his cut up sandwich, you decide it might just be time to head in.

You recall all the pokemon to their balls, pack up the picnic, tuck your boy into his stroller and get started on the trek back to your apartment.

-

You're not alone.

You're not alone.

You're not alone.

You repeat the phrase like a mantra.

You're not alone.

You know that.

Not in, like, a spiritual sense or whatever, or even in the literal sense. You're fully aware that you have your little boy with you nearly at all times.

But you're not alone in raising him.

There's Nemona and Rika who are consistently proving themselves and trying to outdo one another as Best Tía of All Time.

There's Clavell who is always happy to take Basil for an afternoon when you're busy on research business for the academy.

Even Larry has taken your boy once or twice. You recall once how he gave a small sort of half smile when he took the stroller from your hands and waved you off.

"It's fine." He'd said, "He makes good company at meals."

"He can barely talk?"

"Exactly."

So.

Yeah.

You're not alone in parenthood.

Except when you are.

And...you currently are.

It's late at night. Well past Basil's usual bedtime. Past any time you'd feel comfortable asking a friend for an extra set of hands.

You can't blame Basil. Not really.

This isn't his fault. He's a good, sweet boy. He isn't even two yet, and he's already so smart.

Sometimes you even forget how little he is because he's so smart and perceptive.

That's your fault.

So... Maybe you jumped the gun a bit.

Maybe it was too soon for Basil to have a pokemon of his own.

Maybe you didn't realize how tricky it was raising a pokemon in tandem with a toddler.

How was Basil to know that dog pokemon can't eat raisins?

How were you to know he'd figured out how to open up the pantry?

You'd only been in the other room for a few minutes, changing into your pajamas and brushing your teeth when Basil had slowly pushed open your bedroom door, shuffling from foot to foot.

"Mama... Buddy frowed up..."

So...here you are, after a tearful admission on your son’s part, rushing your sweet baby's maschiff to the closest Pokemon Center.

Basil is inconsolable in your lap as the taxi flies. Your attempts to calm him fall on entirely deaf ears, partly due to the fact that he's crying so loudly that even the Taxi Driver can barely hear anything. You’ll have to tip him really well.

Basil is a good, sweet boy. He really is, but the situation isn’t aided in the slightest when he flails about in his tantrum, bashing your nose with one of his tiny fists more than hard enough to draw blood. Beyond the pain and having to hold back your own tears for your boy’s sake, you also have to calm the rage, the fear, the panic building in your heart that makes you want to scream. You also have to stanch the blood haphazardly, pressing your tender face to your shoulder, while Basil bawls out his apologies to you.

Maybe if someone else were around, someone could have been watching Basil while you changed.

Maybe if someone else was around, they could have stayed home with him while you rushed off to the Pokemon Center.

Maybe if someone else was around, they could have talked you out of letting your baby boy have a pokemon of his own.

Maybe if someone else was around, you could allow yourself to panic a bit, too.

As it stands, you need to be the sole pillar of support here. No one is here to give you a hanky to wipe at your nose or dab at the unshed tears in your eyes. No one can rub your back soothingly and let you know it’s okay, help you calm your racing heart. No one is there to help quell the nauseous churning in your stomach.

It hits you then that you’d been so busy today that you hadn’t eaten dinner. Again. An empty belly certainly didn’t help the situation.

You try to take a breath. At least, a breath through your mouth.

Buddy the Maschiff (newly hatched as of a few weeks ago from an egg that had been sitting in your box for so long you'd had no idea what was even inside) will be fine, you tell yourself. They'll get him to keep throwing up or whatever needs to happen to get the rest of the raisins out of his system.

Basil will be fine. Maybe a little scared, but fine.

You will be fine. You'll keep the food up higher. No, the raisins were plenty high. Basil pushed a chair. You'll lock the pantry. No, that's crazy, you don't want to restrict food like that. You'll... You'll...

You'll calm down after maybe a few hours of sleep and a snack, maybe. Then you'll be able to think straight again. Maybe.

It's hard doing this alone.

--

"Okay, I think I'm set to go then!"

"Aw, babe, that's great! You sure you don't want me coming along?"

Arven sighs, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "I'm fine, really. I'm just packing up the rest of my stuff from my old storage unit in Mesagoza and coming right back here."

"Coming back to me, you mean?" His companion brazenly flirts. Arven lets it slide. He opens the door of the company car and steps out to the rush of the Lumiose City airport.

"I'll see you when I get back."

"Text me, babe!" She pushes, smiling wide, but Arven is already walking away.

He doesn't... He doesn't mean to be distant to the clingy woman. He's just...a little nervous for this trip is all. Paldea was the only home he ever knew before now, and he finally got the courage to leave for this Kalosian job. He was ready to grow from beneath the shadows of his world renowned parents and League Champion friends. He was ready to find something for himself and come into his own! And he’s done that! He’s still doing that! But it came at the cost of seemingly all of his friends back in Paldea. After your argument and subsequent blocking, everyone else dropped off like venonats not terribly long afterward. It really stung, and it still stings. Arven isn’t entirely sure what to expect when he returns to his home region. Has anyone been following his success? Will anyone even be happy to see him? Should he really just lay low, pack up his stuff, and spirit himself away like he was never even there? Somehow a Galarian goodbye feels worse than not even trying to rekindle a connection with some of his old pals.

Then again, none of this is an excuse to be rude to the woman who gave him a ride. She's been nothing but nice to him the last few years, serving as his PR rep at Bon Applintit. Maybe he should be nicer? Maybe he should finally cave and take her out on that date she's been seemingly begging for... He assumes she probably has some hand in the neat little reputation he's built online for himself as this chef-influencer guy.

Not that he really thinks it totally suits him entirely, but folks seem to really like his content, especially when he pairs human and pokemon food together, showing off how amazing Mabosstiff is.

That's really what it is at the end of the day, he figures. Mabosstiff is the real star of the show.

Not that he's bad, or something! He’s put a lot of effort the last few years into unlearning some of his old, unhelpful thought patterns. It's just... People love dogs, and Mabosstiff is the best!

So he's really lucky. He's hit a pocket of internet fame, and the company is keeping him on longer than his current contract. Kalos has been kind to him so far... It seems like a good place to plant roots, so... He may as well pack up the last bits of his life from Paldea and haul it off now.

The flight to Mesagoza barely takes any time. Boarding and disembarking truthfully take longer than total time in the air, but that's fine.

Arven steps into the streets and...

He's pleasantly surprised by how nice it feels to hear his own language again.

Kalosian isn't bad. He's gotten much better at it, really, even if he wasn't great with foreign languages back in his classes with Salvatore...

Maybe he should thank him? Or apologize? No, thanking him would probably be better.

Plus, if he stops by the school, he could see Clavell and Saguaro.

He wouldn't have to walk by his old apartment next to his storage unit yet.

The last place he hung out with you.

He won't have to think about how you weirdly got angry and shut him out after he had to cancel a few video calls.

He won't have to think about how empty his old place is. How he misses all his peers in his age group. How everyone else ended up dropping off within the year after you blocked him.

He won't have to think about his parents' old belongings that he needs to either pack up and move or toss.

...Yeah, stopping by the academy to see some of his old teachers might be nice.

Plus, Mabosstiff might like to check out the old stomping grounds again.

Arven makes the turn toward the massive set of looming stairs and releases his pokemon from his ball. The dog, for his part, takes a moment to slowly swivel his head from side to side, as if not quite believing his surroundings. He looks up at his person and tilts his head, one of his ears flopping inside out.

Arven laughs and pats his head, fixing the ear in the process. "Yeah, Bud." He says with a smile. "We're ho--...back for a bit. Wanna go stop by school? I bet Saguaro will have some treats for you."

Mabosstiff boofs loudly and gives a bounce--or, as much of a bounce as a dog of his size can really give--before bounding up the stairs. The sight makes Arven laugh even louder, taking after his pokemon, but Mabosstiff is much faster. He gets to the mezzanine landing in no time flat before pausing, his nose held high in the air. Mabosstiff clearly sniffs for several seconds before catching the smell of something and taking off like a bolthund, not bothering to wait for Arven to meet him.

"Hey! Buddy!" The man shouts after his pokemon, picking up the pace, but Mabosstiff pays him no heed and is out of sight within seconds.

The rational part of Arven's mind knows that Mesagoza's Academy is a safe place for pokemon, and that Mabosstiff knows how to handle himself, but at the same time, he can't help but worry just the tiniest bit as he rushes onward and upward along the stairway to try and catch up.

The tiny seed of worry sprouts and grows when he hears Mabosstiff's growling bark and a tiny shriek of a cry not long after.

"Mabosstiff!" He shouts, finally scaling the last of the stairs, doing his best to stave off the feeling of being winded. He isn't the teenager who used to traverse the region anymore, after all. His eyes dart along the courtyard, looking for a massive black cloud along the grass.

"Mabosstiff!" He shouts again, before another screech draws his attention to one of the benches where his dog seems to be perched on top of something.

"Mabosstiff, stop that now!" He calls over, running toward the scene. As he approaches, Arven makes out a speck of yellow and brown yampering and trying to climb up Mabosstiff's back, nipping at his ear.

Upon closer inspection, it's a little maschiff, but Mabosstiff is hardly paying it any mind, his attention entirely focused on using some kid in a stroller as a lollipop. Said kid is the one yelling up a storm.

"Bud!" Arven scolds him, grabbing Mabosstiff by the scruff of his neck. "Down! Now!"

With a pathetic sound, Mabosstiff backs off, as do the sounds of the little one in the stroller, whose squeals die into giggles and fits of laughter.

Arven breathes a sigh of relief that the kid wasn't frightened of his massive dog and that the shrieks he was hearing were probably just laughing. He returns his dog to its pokeball as the maschiff whines.

By now, Arven’s got enough wit about him to look to the kid's parent.

"Hey, uh, I'm so sorry about that. I really don't know what got into my Mabo--" Arven's words die on his tongue when he sees that the kid's accompanying adult was none other than Director Clavell, giving him a look as if he's seen a ghost.

"Oh! Director! Hi!" Arven greets him, embarrassed. "Sorry, I... I actually was stopping by to catch up and say hello to you. I'm back in town for just a few days and I wanted to, uh...catch...up... but, uh... Wow," He says with an awkward smile, gesturing to the stroller without actually looking at it. "Y'know, it's funny, I spent so much time with you as a kid, while Mom and Dad were in lab, and now–"

"Yes, well, Master Arven..." Clavell interrupts him, blithely moving to the child in the stroller who is briefly blocked from view as the director fiddles a bit, no doubt wiping away Mabosstiff's drool and adjusting their hair, something Arven remembers him doing countless times to him as a little boy.

A moment later, Clavell stands back up, an icy indifference covering his face, a perfect match to the chill that settles in Arven's veins as he actually looks at the kid in the stroller. "I'd say you bear a striking resemblance to your father now. We must be going. Good day."

Clavell turns the stroller around, and Arven watches as his old teacher walks off with a toddler that looks like a carbon copy of...himself, complete with a tiny maschiff following along at their heels.

His head swims. What? Who's that kid? How did Clavell get him? Why does he look just like Arven? And what was with that comment about him looking like his dad now?

Arven numbly lifts a hand to his chin. Sure, he'd let his facial hair grow out a bit, but... What? Clavell knows how Arven feels about his dad. That...that had to be a dig at him, right? Did...did the facial hair look dumb? It couldn't look that dumb? No, what was this about? And who is this kid?

By the time Arven has recovered enough to move his stupid legs into the building that Clavell and the boy had disappeared into, bolting to the director's office, the door is locked, and he's informed that Clavell has already left.

Fuck... He... He needs an answer here. Something is very wrong.

Did his mom or dad have some other kid he didn't know about or something? And then he had, like, a sibling or half-sibling somewhere who was unloading their spawn on the director?

No, that’s outrageous.

Maybe the kid just...just happens to look just like Arven?

This is stupid to just guess about. He just needs to be able to talk to someone.

Arven hurriedly makes his way to the Home Ec room and knocks at the door where the familiar face of Mr. Saguaro greets him with a friendly smile.

"Arven! Hello, my boy! Do come in, come in! Would you like something to eat? I just made pokemon treats, and I’m sure your Mabosstiff would love one!" His voice booms as Arven is ushered inside and enveloped in a tight hug.

The sensation nearly knocks the wind out of him, not just because of Saguaro's strength and size but because...well, he truthfully wasn't expecting such a warm welcome after getting the cold shoulder from Clavell. Or, he had been hoping for a warm welcome from his father figure only to be met with what he can only describe as paternal disdain.

Arven hugs Saguaro back. "Hello, Sir..." He says softly, forcing back the lump in his throat. "I, uh... I was just in the area..."

"Oh?" Saguaro asks, disengaging and pulling up a pair of seats for them to chat at a table. "Well, I'd love an opportunity to catch up with one of my most successful students. Please, sit and tell me what brings you by."

It's tempting. It's... It's really, really tempting to sit and chat about Kalos and Bon Applintit and all the good things lately, but Arven can't get the thought of that kid out of his mind.

"Sir..." He starts. "I saw Director Clavell on my way in..."

"Yes?" Saguaro asks, prompting him to continue.

"It, uh, it looked like he was... Maybe babysitting?"

Saguaro's eyes go distant for a second and he sighs. "Ah, so you saw..."

"Yeah." Arven interrupts before his former teacher has a chance to continue. "Who was that? The kid, I mean? And, well, why was the director taking care of--"

"Arven..." Saguaro sighs and stands back up, placing a hand on his shoulder. It's a comforting gesture, warm and heavy, but when Arven meets his gaze, hoping to find some type of answer to his confusion, he's met with sadness and what almost feels like disappointment radiating from the larger man. "Arven, I don't think I should be the one to tell you anything about that little one..." He says, his tone matching that same disappointment in his eyes. "That's a conversation you'll need to have with the child's mother."

"His mother...?" Arven asks, flabbergasted, his mind racing about who that could possibly be.

Saguaro nods. "You might find her at the Pokemon League this time of day, if you're lucky. I assume you don't have her number anymore?"

"Anymore? Wait, Sir, I'm not following here... I seriously have no idea what's g--"

Then it hits him.

You.

He slept with you.

It was...well, almost three-ish years ago? So...the timing would work out for a toddler. Not that he really knows what kids look like at different ages, but...

A toddler.

His toddler.

His toddler?

Arven doesn't realize his knees buckled. All he knows is that he's sitting in a chair, presumably placed beneath him by Saguaro just in time, a mug of water in his hands, while his teacher rubs gently at his back.

"Arven? Son, are you okay?"

"Don't say 'son'..." Arven mumbles out, his hands shaking as he grips the cup with near-white knuckles. He feels bile churning in his stomach. "I... I gotta go to the League... She hasn't spoken to me since...since..." He's trying to do the math in his head, but there's a block there, and between the rush of nausea and extreme anxiety, he can't focus.

"I gotta go. Sorry. I mean, thanks." He says, standing unsteadily before rushing from the room, Saguaro's protests falling on deaf ears.

Luckily, the Pokemon League isn't terribly far from Mesagoza, and Arven can make the trip on foot fairly easily in under an hour.

The whole trip there, he's panicking internally.

Did you really have his kid? That's...that's not what he actually saw was it? Then...then who was that little boy? Whose was he?

Beyond that, why hadn't you told him? Was this why you got all bitchy and dropped off the face of the earth? Well, maybe it wasn't bitchy...maybe it was hormones? But still! You never told him! Sure, he had to cancel your video calls several times, but... But you still could have found a way to tell him! You didn't need to block him! Was this why everyone else shut him out, too?

Actually... It all kinda lined up now. You blocked him, then...some number of months later, everyone else stopped talking to him, too. Even Penny stopped sending him the occasional meme.

What the fuck. Everyone thinks he's a deadbeat dad.

He is a deadbeat dad.

Or...is he? Can he be a deadbeat dad if he didn't know? ...Maybe that makes it worse? Fuck.

Maybe you didn't want him around for any of this, and that's why you didn't tell him... You knew he'd be a shitty dad or something. After all, what kind of dad could Arven be when his own dad didn't even want him? 

No.

No, that's not right.

That's no way to think about any of this.

Something...

Something else has to be at play here.

Arven has talked himself down from the precipice by the time he's made it to the top of the hill on which the League building sits.

He's just about to open the door to enter when a smartly dressed person with long, teal hair exits, arms crossed and a stern look on their face.

"Hello. How can I help you today?" They ask formally.

"Hi, yeah. My name's Arven Sada-Turo. I'm looking for, uh..." He falters for a moment before giving your full name and title. It felt strange saying the whole thing out loud again, like lead on his tongue.

The person hums at him critically, then gestures with their chin back toward the building.

"Let's talk, Arven Sada-Turo."

He breathes a sigh of relief, following them through the doors.

"Oh, thank you so much. You know, I spent the last few years in Kalos, and I just came back today, so--"

"You've been in Kalos?" The person--Rika, according to the nameplate and pronouns on her desk--says. "Kalos is pretty nice. You must've been having a great time over there." She goes on, taking a seat and folding her hands in front of her.

"I, uh..." Arven eyes her, unsure. "I was... Um, I just came back to, um... Actually, is she gonna be here soon?" He asks, confused.

"Please." Rika gestures to the chair across from her desk. "Have a seat. We can have a chat while we wait for my dear friend, yeah?" She asks, her eyes narrowing like a Luxray.

"Um... Sure..." Arven says, sitting down uneasily. "So, she'll be down? I, uh, haha... I never bothered completing the League challenge while I was in school, so..." He looks around the lobby. "I dunno where she might...um...be..ya know, in the building..."

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Rika speaks over him glibly, leaning back, crossing her ankles up on her desk. "I just wanna talk for a second. So you just decided to come back to Paldea to see my dear, sweet friend? Just a little pleasure call, or...?"

Arven splutters. "Excuse me?"

"I'm just trying to get your angle here, Sada-Turo. I don't see why you're bothering to come back after all these years. She's built a good life for herself, y'know? Super successful Champion, one of the best field researchers for our scientists. One hell of a mom. She doesn't need you or whatever pathetic excuse of an offer you might be trying to attempt here."

"Wh...What?!" Arven stammers, his heart pounding painfully in his chest when your status as a parent was confirmed. "I didn't even come back to see her! I came back to get the rest of my stuff and move permanently back to Kalos! It was only--"

"Then why are you here? Why don't you go?" Rika asks, her eyes going dark. "We don't need you. She doesn’t need you."

Arven's heart sinks. Rika was re-affirming all his worst thoughts, and as much as he feels urged to believe them, he fights it. This isn't a conversation he needs to have with some random woman at the Pokemon League. Who was she anyway? Your girlfriend? No, she called you a dear friend, but still…

Ugh, Rika’s relationship to you doesn't matter! He needs to talk to you.

"Is she coming down or not? Is she even in the building?"

"Not anymore." Rika smirks, checking her phone.

Arven audibly sighs and stands to leave. "You're wasting my time. I need to talk to her about...whatever this is that’s going on." He says, gesturing vaguely as he leaves the building.

"Oh, now you wanna talk to her? Why? Wanna try and convince yourself you're better than your own daddy because of your follower count or some tauros-shit?" Rika calls after him. "See if she gives you the time of day, Sada-Turo! Just see!"

Her words sting. Really badly, actually, but Arven tries to just let them slide off his back best he can. That woman doesn't know him. She isn't the priority right now.

You are.

He just needs to figure out some way to find and talk to you…

His phone buzzes obnoxiously in his pocket. He spares a glance at it as he hails a taxi on the off-chance that maybe you'd reach out, then turns the screen off. He doesn't have time for his PR rep right now.

[arvensimp]

your father should know, pt. 2

Arven leaves you with something more than either of you bargained for when he goes off to Kalos for an internship, and through a series of miscommunications and heartbreak, he returns a few years later to learn that he actually has a child.

arven x reader, nsfw content, pregnancy, angst, and stupid miscommunications

[part 1]

thanks for your patience waiting for this part!! also thank you to my beautiful betas for helping me <3

~

You're very grateful to Nemona, for having her nearby back when the doctor first confirmed your pregnancy. As excitable as she is, her Type A personality proved pretty handy in the moment. Yes, she got you home safe and sound, but she was also able to get appointments scheduled for you right then and there for whatever choice you decided to make moving forward.

You were hoping to have Arven with you to help you make a choice on what to do, but... Well, he has other things to focus on, and you're not going to begrudge him that. You won't let yourself think about it any further.

So you sit at your kitchen table with two different appointment cards in front of you to see your OBGYN's office. One is for a termination, the other is to go over...whatever you'll need to do if you decide you don't want to go through with the former appointment.

You have to cancel one of them. The fridge thrums behind you, a monotonous white noise that you wish you could focus on instead of the task ahead.

You press your forehead into your fingertips.

Okay.

Can you do this?

You're a champion of Paldea. One of the most beloved figures of the Pokemon scene in the region. You're powerful, with financial security to spare to be a single mother.

Can you be a mom?

Well...you feel like your Pokemon love you well enough. You love them like babies. Obviously a human is different. Especially if it's yours and...well, yeah. You think you can be a mom.

Lastly then, the question becomes: do you want to do this? At the end of the day, no one is forcing you one way or another. That's one blessing, at least, about being abandoned. Not abandoned. That's one blessing of being independent. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do.

You think... You think you've been thinking about this for a long time, as you have all the other questions. You do want this. You want to have a baby, your own sweet little one. They'll be so cute. They have to be, given their parentage.

…You try not to dwell on that part too much, but it's a little difficult.

Is it wrong to carry his baby without him? What if he doesn't want a child out there? Well. No. He must not care. If he did, he'd have said something. You don't have to worry about this being a betrayal of trust on your part.

Moving forward, you only need to worry about betraying the trust of the tiny life growing within you.

And...well, that thought gives you pause.

You finally allow your fingers to linger featherlight over your abdomen. You're nowhere near showing, nor can you feel anything substantial or physical there, but... You feel something.

Attachment. Devotion. Loyalty.

You don't know if this little thing is even the size of an oran berry yet, but... You've got a fierce love for it already just after thinking about it a little bit.

If your mind wasn't already made up, that would have made the decision for you.

You’re a mother now.

In the morning you call your OBGYN and cancel the tentative appointment to terminate. You'll be by later in the week to go over needs and expectations.

-

The automatic doors to the league slide open with a swipe of your access card, and stark white greets you. This isn't an easy conversation, and it's one that you can't put off for much longer. Beyond the fact that you'll start showing soon, Nemona has been chomping at the bit to talk about the baby at work and with anyone who'll listen. She's just so excited to be a tía, and if you don't tell La Primera soon, then you won't have control of the news when it eventually breaks.

You sit in the chair opposite her desk, feeling entirely too nervous, your hands clasped in your lap, thumbs twiddling. "Thanks for taking the time to meet with me today, Geeta." You start.

"Absolutely." She responds with her usual, impassive smile. "How can I be of service?"

"I, uh. I need to give you an advance notice of..." You swallow. "Of some need for medical leave."

Your boss tilts her head just slightly to the side, her massive mane of hair shimmering like an oil slick in the florescent light with just the smallest movement. "Oh?" You still can't read her true emotion well, but she's projecting the idea of concern. "Is everything alright?"

You will yourself not to touch your abdomen as you had been doing absent mindedly more and more often as of late. The habit grew on you more quickly than you'd expected. "Yes. I just, uh. Well... I'll be having a baby in a few months, and I know I'll be out of commission for a while."

"I see." Geeta's eyes flick almost imperceptibly down to your hands. Truth be told it's a movement that you would have missed if you hadn't spent countless hours learning to read her for the slightest tells through her battling. You feel a flush burn through your cheeks. Should you start wearing a ring?

"Congratulations and thank you for letting me know." Geeta is smiling at you again. "I completely understand. I'll see about having HR send you all the necessary paperwork, so we can get you all sorted. If I remember correctly, we offer a few flexible plans for expectant parents. Just choose whichever suits you best, and we can go from there." She's already turned to her computer and opened up an email, likely to the HR rep.

"Thank you," You reply, breathing a small sigh of relief. This really wasn't as painful as you were expecting.

"Just... One thing." Geeta adds, not looking back at you from her computer until she continues with a sigh. "We're going to want to keep you away from participation in field research tasks, the Ace Academy Tournament, and Championship testing for a short while."

She raises a single gloved hand in time with your cry of "What?!"

"You and I both know you are more than capable of holding your own, but..." She sighs. "Battling can still be dangerous, and we both know that Paldea still isn't the most well-known for its love of Pokemon. We're still building the league up. You know I trust you, but Arceus forbid something...unpleasant were to happen while on League business..." She pauses, and you nod, already resigned.

"I understand, Geeta. Better safe than sorry. I'd hate to hold the League back in any way at all." It feels weird saying it, but it isn't a lie? Firstly, you obviously don't want to hurt your little tamato berry (that's apparently how big it is now!), but also you genuinely wouldn't want anything to be associated with the League on the off chance that the unthinkable happened. "So... What will you have me do?"

Geeta leans forward, resting her chin in her gloved hands with a frown. "We've always got more paperwork."

-

The rest of the week is spent working closely with Geeta to wrap up your current research assignments that you owe to Jacq. There's nothing terribly dangerous or strenuous in what he'd had you doing, but...

"Are you serious?!" He nearly shouts when you give him the news. Jacq adjusts his glasses and eyes your body up and down in a way that would make you feel far more uncomfortable if not for the fact that you know he's very clearly looking for a bump, examining you in that way that only scientists seem to do without shame. 

"Yup..." You tell him, shifting awkwardly under his stare.

"Well, congrats! Who's the lucky dad?" He asks, clapping your shoulder jovially. 

You swallow. This has been easier to tell your doctor. Jacq is a friend. Your old teacher. You know him.

He picks up on your silence and lets his hand drop from you, going to scratch the back of his head uncomfortably. "Ah... Sorry about that! Anyway," He moves on quickly, turning to the board with his notes. "It's no big deal! You've given me plenty to work with. I can definitely just do data analysis for a while... And maybe one of the other champions can help me with some of the Area Zero research we're looking to do..."

Your heart squeezes. You're usually the one who gets sent into Area Zero. Most other champions don't have the constitution for solo trips or are too busy with other assignments.

You sigh. "Sorry, Jacq. It won't be forever though?"

He smiles back at you warmly. "Oh definitely! Don't worry about it, really! And congratulations! I'm super excited for you. Lemme know if you need anything, okay?"

You give him a smaller smile in response, still not feeling great about it all, and head to the door.

"Definitely."

You haven't even made it back to the entrance hall before you hear another familiar voice.

"Ah! Well, if it isn't one of our most illustrious champions."

"Director." You steel yourself and greet him with a nod.

Clavell catches up with you quickly. "It's been a minute since we've had you in the halls, hasn't it? To what do we owe the pleasure?" He asks, gesturing for you to follow him as he walks.

"Um. Yeah... It has," You say, moving at a bit of a faster clip to keep up with the director. "I was just checking in with Jacq on the latest for his research." 

"Is that so?" He says in that kind way that somehow also feels like he knows more than he's letting on.

You laugh a little nervously. "Yup! Just a check in..." Does he already know? Who would have told him? Geeta? Nemona? That would have been an invasion of privacy, right? "I, uh... I won't be able to be out in the field for a minute, so..."

Clavell raises an eyebrow as he looks down at you, still walking. "Should we continue this conversation in my office?"

"Sure?"

It's strange sitting in front of Clavell's desk again, especially like this. You're not his student anymore, yet you still feel like you're in trouble or about to get a lecture.

"So you're stepping back from fieldwork?" He asks you, looking genuinely concerned. "Did something happen?"

"Well..." You wriggle uncomfortably in the plush leather seat. "I'm actually pregnant, and La Primera and I decided it'd be for the best if I--"

"Congratulations!" The director interrupts, rather uncharacteristically. "That's marvelous news. I hadn't even known you were in a relationship."

You look down. "Yeah..."

From your peripheral you can see Clavell adjust his glasses on his nose. "So the father...?"

You feel a lump forming in your throat. This wouldn't be quite as hard if not for the fact that you had just gone through it with Jacq, and you still feel pretty raw about it. "He... Um. He doesn't seem to want to be involved, I guess..."

Clavell clears his throat. "I see... Well. I hope you know you have every resource here at the academy at your disposal, should you ever need anything."

The lump sitting there just above your vocal folds get impossibly tighter, so you just nod, squeezing your hands into fists on your knees.

Clavell tsks softly, standing and moving around. When he offers his spread arms in a hug, you take him up on it.

He won't tell if you happened to cry a little bit.

He's dealt with struggling single parents in his office before, and it's never easy.

-

So you end up working office duty with the League.

It's quiet, mostly, but the offices are nice. Larry gives you the low down on everything you need to know and then leaves you alone. You go to either him or to Rika if you have any questions about certain forms or which things go where.

All in all it's not bad. Not...exciting. Definitely not your preferred way to spend the rest of your life, but... Well, you know it isn't permanent.

Plus, as you get bigger and start having to walk less and waddle more, the ease of a desk job is kind of nice. Far better than riding a dragon at least.

You're sitting at your desk one day when the most delicious smell wafts through the office, and it nearly gets you drooling.

Whatever it is... You...you have to have it. You want it so bad it almost makes you want to cry.

What the fuck...

With a sigh and a bit of a grunt you stand and peak out the door to your office, following the smell to the break room.

Larry spots you from his seat at the table almost immediately, looking up at you from beneath his massive, bushy brows.

"Good afternoon." He shuts the tupperware containing his lunch. "I apologize if the smell was a little strong. I didn't intend for it to be. I can move outside if--"

"No!" You interrupt, entirely too loudly. "It smells really, really good actually." You swallow, eyeing the container reverently. "Super good. Uh... What is it?" Can I have it, can I have it? Let me have it, I want it, I want it, I need it NOW.

"Oh." Larry opens up the tupperware once more, and you actually feel the sting of your mouth salivating anew. "Just some grilled rice balls. Remember the ones from the gym challenge? Same ones, extra lemon."

"...Oh..." Did you lick your lips? You don't know. You may have. All you know is that the food there sounds...so good.

Larry calls your name in his usual dull monotone, breaking you from your craving trance. "Would you like some?"

You're in the chair across from him faster than you care to admit, and Larry smiles a small, tired kind of smile at you.

From then on, he seems to make a habit to bring along extra food to work. He keeps a pint of ice cream for you in the freezer too, just in case you have a day where things feel bad. He says ice cream can usually help with that sort of thing.

In fact, not too long later, he imagines you might be having one of those days. Larry isn't really one to pry. He likes to come in, do work, take his 15 minute break, work some more, take his lunch, work, take another break, then go home. But...with a pregnant lady in the office, he can't help but secretly fret just a little bit. Not in a weird way or something, but he keeps an ear out, just in case.

So when he hears soft sniffling coming from your office one day after you'd come back from some appointment or other he's a little nervous. He doesn't actually want you talking to him or crying on him or something... But you're clearly upset. Not upset enough to just go home, so it can't be that bad, but...

He goes back to the break room, grabs the ice cream and a spoon, sets them both outside your door, knocks gently, then leaves.

Ice cream should help.

That said, he still bristles when you inevitably knock on his door a few minutes later, the spoon in your mouth and the pint of raspberry cheesecake ice cream in your hands.

"...Thank you..." You say miserably around the metal in your mouth, eyes cast to the floor.

"No problem. ...Is it helping?" Larry asks, trying to focus on the spreadsheet he's working on. Stupid pivot tables.

"Yeah..." You come in uninvited and sit in the seat across from him. This isn't really what he was hoping to deal with, but it's fine. He can listen.

Except you don't talk. You just sit with him, slowly spooning more of the treat into your mouth. Eventually Larry hazards a look at you. Your eyes are rimmed red, but you don't look too terrible, honestly.

He sighs but it doesn't sound agitated. "How can I help?"

Now that you've been prompted, you reach into your pocket and reveal several tiny squares of paper, lining them up on his desk.

"Look!" You tell him, the sound coming out kinda wet and sad.

They're...ultrasound photos?

"Uh... Very nice?" Larry asks you.

"Aren't they beautiful?" You hiccup around the spoon.

At that time Rika just happens to be making her afternoon rounds, when she picks up on your whimpering and storms into the office.

"Hey! Is this geezer giving you a hard time, Mama?" She asks you affectionately, rubbing your shoulders.

"Come on now," Larry says, exasperated, as you shake your head.

"I'm just being silly." You tell her, gesturing to the pictures. "They did a little photoshoot today." The sentence is punctuated with a loud sniffle.

Rika scoops up the lot and overdramatically coos over them. She doesn't seem much like one for kids herself, but she's been very nice to you since you've been put on desk duty. She asks how you're feeling regularly and offers you decaf coffee or tea whenever she goes to make some for herself. From time to time she also walks out of the building with you, just making sure you get to a cab safely.

"Yeah, I dunno entirely what I'm looking at, but I'm positive it's cute." She points to a particular splotch on a photo. "Like that? That's it, right? The little bun you got baking in there? Kinda looks like a clodsire!"

"Rika..." Larry interjects, glancing at you. Truth be told he can kinda see the clodsire-ish shape? But he's never actually been one to be able to read an ink blot test, much less something as complicated as an ultrasound.

You laugh. "Wanna keep it?" You ask her. "I had them print a ton."

Rika pockets the photo. "Hell yeah I wanna keep it. I'm betting this lil bean a'yers is basically gonna be the next Poppy, so I'm gonna be its biggest fan from before day 1."

You can't help but laugh again. "Thank you..."

Rika slides a photo over to Larry. "You're gonna be its fan, too, right?" She smiles wide and somewhat menacing, but who's to say if there's any real malice behind it.

Larry takes the picture gingerly from her. "Of course."

And for some reason that has you blubbering wetly all over again.

"Thank you both..."

"Oh, just eat your ice cream..." Larry tells you, and when he says it, it's not harsh or mean. Just kind of paternal, as if the treat will fix your hormones.

"C'mon, Mama," Rika tells you, helping you to your feet with a shocking bit of strength for her lanky frame. "I think Larry can only handle so many tears in one sitting. Let's go give a photo to La Primera, yeah?"

You nod and are led out of the office.

Only then does Larry give a sigh of relief.

He pins the little black and white photo up on his corkboard later. He can't tell anything about what's actually in it. Like what's a foot or a nose or something, but...well it makes him happy somehow. Something about the future and all that.

-

Rika's the first one who feels the baby kick. Nemona swore up and down that it would be her, but it just so happens that Rika's around when you're feeling those fluttery jumbles inside one day. You'd, of course, been feeling them for a while now, but no one else had been able to pick up on it, much to your... Well, you weren't sure if it was satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Up until now, your little potato had only been yours, but when someone else is eventually able to feel it...then it's not just yours anymore, is it? What a strange feeling.

Regardless, Rika had asked if you were down for a light match, just some training between some of your younger pokemon, parts of your teams that you were hoping to train up for the future.

"But La Primera..."

"The Boss told you not to take part in any serious battling. I saw your plan. I'm basically HR here, remember?" She shoots you a wink. "No pressure if you don't wanna, but I know I'd be itching to battle if I were you." It's true... Nemona's been taking some of your heavier hitters out for work outs from time to time, as had Dendra once, but you really miss being in the driver's seat.

You hum thoughtfully. "Lemme go through my boxes and think about it?"

"Sure thing." Rika plops down in your office chair, opposite your desk and starts playing on her rotom phone while you scroll through your boxes.

...You'd been thinking at one point about working out an all paradox team, but that's out of the question right now. You couldn't handle a crazy time-loopy volcarona if it got too wild.

There are a few water types you were thinking about training up, but that also feels unfair specifically to Rika who specializes in ground... Then something catches your eye.

An egg. You don't entirely remember when you'd put it in a box or where it came from, but the growing maternal part of you screams to let it come be part of the family, so you send for it along with a teddiursa you'd caught a few months back.

All in all, the battling itself isn't terribly exciting by your typical standards. You and Teddiursa barely know each other after all, and it isn't quite ready to lend you its full trust, but you know it has sass and spark. The two of you go up against one of Rika's younger wooper, not really battling to faint. Just to have some fun.

The shouting and excitement must do something for the baby though because it jolts inside you, knocking you off balance and kicking the air from your lungs. You stagger a bit, gripping your midsection with an unladylike grunt, and Rika dashes to you quick as a Cinderace.

"Hey hey hey, what's up?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just got sucker punched or kicked, I think? Here, wanna feel? That was pretty strong." It's such a bizarre experience you don't even think about the weirdness of asking Rika if she wants to touch you. She just takes you up on the offer, laying both hands on the roundness of your abdomen.

She stands still like that for a moment, then two, then three before you feel your baby wiggling around again, and her eyes go wide as a jigglypuff's. "Holy shit that's weird," She says with a laugh, pressing a bit against the feeling to see if she can get the baby to respond more. "Hey! You in there?" She says to them. "Seems like you might wanna battle some day. Well, don't let your Auntie Nemona know, kay? She'll never let you go a day without it."

The baby kicks solidly against one of her hands, and she laughs, pulling back.

"Kid's got fire! We like to see it!"

-

"The Kickening" as it comes to be known, kind of creates a silly sort of mock-rivalry between Rika and Nemona for who they think will make the best auntie/tía, which rises to a fever pitch between them when it comes to planning your baby shower. That said, you insist to the pair that you don't want to make any huge sort of fuss. Maybe a small party, no major gifts. You just need some essentials. Things like diapers, maybe some formula, and that's it. You feel like you've been a burden already, slowing down Jacq's research, not able to contribute to the league as you usually do, even unable to train your team as you want.

Nemona vehemently disagrees, but Rika seems to calm her down. "We should listen to the mama on this one." She throws a wink your way. "How about this, Nemona. Why don't I take our sweet girl out for a day of pampering instead?"

"Hey, what?" You and Nemona both cry at once, but Rika is already dragging you to the door, a grin evident on her features.

"C'mon... I'm sure Nems can see herself out."

And somehow it works?

Rika gets you out of the house that morning in your sweats and into one of those cute, trendy maternity stores that you'd sort of been avoiding because you were putting off buying new clothes for yourself when you knew there was still so much to buy for the baby... But then again you also hadn't been buying terribly much on that front either, having only just completed your research and created the list of which products you want.

So you get squeezed? Actually not squeezed. Actually comfortably fit! Into a nice flowy dress that makes you look and feel super cute. Your reflection smiles back at you from the mirror, and you look down to your bump which looks very comfortable and snug as a bug in the shapewear you've got on beneath the dress. You do a little swish for yourself, admiring the way the fabric flows a bit. The skirt of the dress isn't terribly over-the-top flowy, but it's got that nice amount of swing to it.

You feel pretty. Not that you have felt particularly bad lately, but... Well, you hadn't thought much about yourself. You haven't had the time.

Before you leave the shop, Rika also buys you one of those popular L&D dresses that you can wear in the hospital rather than a drab and shapeless gown. It's apparently got all the bits and bobs and holes and whatever that you'll need to...have a baby and look cute doing it? You're not totally sure, but the dress looks nice enough, and the fabric feels soft and cool on your fingers.

Next up on your little day of pampering is a pre-natal massage at a spa. You try to tell Rika that this is way too much, that you can't accept something so fancy, but she just laughs and pushes you forward, tipping your massage therapist before you even go back to undress, telling the woman that you're "a very important woman to the region."

Your therapist is incredible, working away tension that you hadn't realized you developed in your shoulders and lower back. She speaks softly and kindly, with one of those voices that you might expect to hear in an ASMR video. She doesn't even care when you accidentally moan a little bit when she worked out a particular knot in your shoulder that you hadn't realized was bugging you.

By the time you're back on your feet, you feel like you might actually have grown 2 or 3 centimeters.

You waddle back out to Rika with a blissed out smile on your face.

"That good?"

You just nod.

"Good. We're not done though."

Next thing you know you're being taken to a local birthing center where they're starting up a session of Lamaze classes.

Truth be told you've been interested in taking classes like these but were too nervous to sign up since...well, you don't have a partner.

Rika slips a companionable arm around your shoulder.

"Feel free to say no to this if you don't want to, but one of the tenents of their practice here is advocacy for the birthing person in L&D, and I thought you might like that? I can be with you every step of the way, too. If you want, 'course." She sniffs casually.

"Like...you'll take the class too?" You ask, wincing. She's really okay with that?

"Hell yeah. Only if you want though. There's absolutely no pressure. Yeah?"

And because she's Rika, ever casual, you know she means it.

You nod.

"Yeah. This...this should be good."

And it is! It's only an introductory class, and you'll be back over for the next few weeks to learn more, but it feels good to be learning something in a group setting.

You also wouldn't say this if you were prompted, but it's nice not to feel alone. Sure, Rika isn't your girlfriend or your wife, but she makes for a great partner, solid and steady as the ground, funnily enough.

The two of you leave class, arms linked, laughing over what the instructor told the class about stupid things that dads say in the delivery room. 

"Are you here to seduce my wife?" Rika says in a mockingly deep voice.

"Darling, the term is induce." You reply in a similarly silly voice, your tone wavering with the effort it takes not to giggle

"Well, either way, I'm not so sure I like it!"

Conversation falls back to light and easy topics from there as you make your way together back to your place.

"You really didn't have to walk me all this way home, y'know," You tell Rika as you unlock the door.

"Eh, it's fine. Gotta make sure you get home safe and all that." She replies, reaching over you to prop open the door for you to enter once your key leaves the lock.

"Yeah, yeah, precious cargo and all that. Come on in. At least have something to drink before you go."

You flip on the light to your entryway and living room space.

"SURPRISE!"

You screech (and truth be told you might even pee a little, but no one has to know that part).

In your living room is nearly everyone you care about in the damn region, decked out in pinks, blues, and yellows with super gaudy and over the top baby shower decor littering your entire apartment.

Nemona tackles you about as gently as a pregnant woman can be tackled.

"Don't be mad, don't be mad, don't be mad! We all just wanted to celebrate you and the baby, okay?!" She's biting her lip and hopping up and down excitedly.

"Are you guys for real?" You ask, and you're not totally sure what emotion you're feeling in the moment.

"Of course," Rika tells you, slinging her arm over your shoulder. "We all love you, y'know?"

"Actually," Larry speaks up from his seat on your sofa, where he's wearing a soft pink party hat with a tiny yellow puff ball. "I'd like to maintain a friendly working relationship here, but I was outvot--" 

Hassel elbows him jovially in the gut. He's already crying. "Don't worry aboud him." He sniffles, "We're all jus' so habby for you!" Brassius is on his other side, patting his knee.

And maybe it's Hassel? Maybe it's just the entire day's kindness and goodness, but the tears start flowing then and there. Big, ugly sobs wracking through your chest even though you're smiling and thanking everybody.

Nemona and Rika are of course hugging you, but a few others join in on the group hug as well, including Hassel, Salvatore, Saguaro, and Katy.

When you seem to have calmed down a bit (at least enough to form sentences again), Nemona takes your hands. "Here. Lemme show you what we did."

She guides you to the spare bedroom that you kept telling yourself would be the nursery for the baby...and inside... It's like Christmas morning for how many gifts litter the place. It's no longer your spare room for your camping equipment (you'll need to ask Nemona where she or whoever else put that). It's...it's a nursery now.

The crib that you wanted is there, assembled and everything. The car seat/stroller combo you'd been eyeing is also sitting in a corner, and there are so many other gifts, you're not quite sure what to do.

"Do... Do I open them now?" You ask, blinking back more tears. "I need to find stationary!"

"Already gotcha covered," Nemona tells you, notepad in hand. She assigns herself the task of noting down who has gifted you what for thank you note writing purposes later.

As it turns out, the crib is a gift from La Primera herself, lovingly assembled by the leaders of Team Star who leave not long after you thank them profusely. Penny also throws in a state-of-the-art baby monitor that she promises to show you how to use later. The car seat/stroller combo is Nemona's gift.

"I'm telling you, I want to find an engineer or someone who can figure out a way to create a baby side car that we can hook up to Raidon! But no one will take me up on the offer..."

"Yeah, Nems... I believe you..."

Hassel gifts you with a gorgeously refurbished, antique rocking chair with a beautiful swirling design etched into the sides of the arms and the rockers, while Brassius made a tiny mobile that hangs above the crib with little sunkerns and applins dancing in a circle.

"Special commission for a special champion." He tells you with a wink. "Not entirely Avant Garde, but we'll start the baby's art education young."

Larry goes next, opting to give you his gift, so he can politely excuse himself. "I know they're not very fun," He says with a shrug, depositing the massive box of diapers in an appropriate place. "But you'd probably have more fun shopping for fun things than I would anyway."

You give him a quick side hug and release him from his social obligation.

Saguaro's gift, a fancy pink high chair, is actually in the kitchen next to your dining table, near all the pastries that Katy brought for you and everyone. He shows you all of the different adjustments and things on it, but also makes sure that you know where he put the assembly guide which has instructions as well.

At this point, Salvatore is nearly bouncing with excitement to give you his gifts. Firstly, his wife wanted to be sure you got a little baby saucer for the baby to play in, but more importantly. "Baby sign language is the future!" Salvatore tells you, thrusting the book into your hands. "You'll be able to communicate with one another so much sooner than you could with words! Isn't that wonderful?"

Jacq also ends up giving you a ton of baby books, as well as a small bookshelf "To grow their library!" Included are some of those fabric page books that can't be torn or plastic books that can be taken in the bath, as well as some with buttons or finger puppets included. It's pretty clear that Jacq had a blast going through the children's section at the bookstore.

When you open up the gift from Tulip (which was also hastily signed as being from Dendra and Miriam as well) you're a bit confused. "Thank you so much. This is all...skincare and body care?"

"Of course," Tulip tells you in that beautiful twinkling voice of hers. "A good mother is one who takes care of herself, too. You can't pour from a cup that's empty. Remember that, okay?"

You nod and make a silent promise to take her words to heart.

Lastly, Director Clavell approaches you with two different gift bags. The first contains a few books on parenting that he claims were very useful to him "back in the day," and the other....

"'Love Clive?'" You ask with a smile. Clavell adjusts his glasses on the bridge of his nose. 

"Of course. Your good buddy Clive sends his best regards and wanted to let you know to, ahem, 'Stay cheugy.'"

That gets the younger crowd absolutely roaring with laughter, much to Clavell's confusion, but he lets it slide.

Inside the gift bag is a tiny leather jacket, perfect for a little rocker baby. You stick out your lower lip as you run your thumbs across the tidy stitching. "Oh my goodness..." You hold it tight to your chest. It's so small, and you don't want to cry again, but Hassel's loud sniffling is making it difficult.

Clavell coughs into his fist. "A-actually, you know what, Clive might want to return the jacket..." He tells you, reaching for it.

"What, why?" You ask before noticing that several faces in the room have turned red from folks holding back laughter. You look down at the little garment again and turn it over in your hands.

On the back is a massive sewn-on patch with a winking brown coil and word art that stretches above and below it reading 'Poo Monster.'

"O-Oh no!" You cry, shaking with laughter as the rest of the room bursts out with you.

Clavell, for his part, looks suitably mortified, mumbling about how he had no idea about the art on the back, but you insist it gives the jacket even more charm, not daring to let him take it back.

The rest of the party goes well enough with games and snacks. Dendra and Nemona get a little too intense when it comes to competition, but it's all in good fun.

At one point, Miriam takes you aside and starts drilling you a bit. Nothing mean, but she wants to be sure you're prepared for what's to come in L&D.

She's about to launch into another horror story when Tulip stops her. "I think you've scared our darling champion enough for today, Dearest. This is a party, after all."

Miriam looks almost appropriately apologetic. "Sorry! Was I really scaring you? You know it's totally normal if you--"

Dendra butts in, pulling her girlfriend away. "That's enough for now, ossu!"

You definitely have questions for the teacher next time you and Rika go to class, but you push (don't say push) the thought to the back of your mind for now.

The evening winds down with just you, Nemona, and Rika lounging around. You're sprawled across your sofa, trying not to fall asleep in front of company, a cookie from Katy's patisserie propped on your tummy. Rika is in an armchair, scrolling through social media, and Nemona is tidying up off and on, trying to leave you with as little mess as possible.

"Was it a good surprise, bestie?" She asks you from the kitchen where she's just finished putting away all the extra food you've been left with.

"Yeah... Thank you both. Really. I didn't think I'd want something like this, but it was really nice..." You're teetering on the edge of tears again, so you try to keep from saying anything else.

"Of course, babes," Rika tells you, not looking up from her phone. "You know you got us here every step of the way."

"Yeah!" Nemona shouts from where she'd gone into the nursery to pick up wrapping paper. "Fuck Arven! Who needs that asshole anyway!"

"Arven?" Rika asks. "So that's the sperm donor's name?" She shrugs. 

But you can't help crying at the mention of his name, not when you're already so emotional after everything that's happened.

Rika looks up to see you blubbering pathetically and stands. "Awww... C'mon now. You don't gotta do that. It's okay." She kneels by you, gathering you as best she can in her lithe arms.

"I-It's not his fault!" You whimper. "He needs to go live his life... I-I just wanted to be a part of it... I wanted him to want to be part of mine too..." You put a hand on your tummy. "Ours..."

"Hey!" Rika tells you, holding your wrists. "Fuck him! If he's too dense or too cowardly to want any part of your incredible life? That's his loss."

By now Nemona's made her way back into the living room. "What? Awww no, bestie! Don't cry! I'm sorry I even mentioned him! For real! He's absolute trash! Don't even worry about him and the stupid Kalosian floozies he's probably hanging out with!"

You sob all over again.

"Nemona!" Rika hisses.

"What?"

In the end, the pair of them end up calming you down with stupid PokeTube videos and more pastries.

They spend the night with you, just in case you need anything, but you can't bring yourself to tell either of how much you're craving a sandwich...along with the person who makes them for you best.

-

The last week or so leading up to your due date is, in a word, frustrating. You feel overly warm, overly sensitive, overly achey, and overly oval. You expected phantom contractions, and you were fine with them at first, but at this point it's almost as though you've been having light-ish menstrual cramps off and on for two weeks. That, on top of everything, else just has you nearly constantly on edge. After a day or so of the pains, you called your doctor who took you in, just in case. She assured you that things were normal, that you still had some time left to bake, and let you know to come back when the contractions became more intense and closer together or if you felt something was off.

So you waddled off and went back to life as best you could.

Key words there being "as best you could."

At this point though, you're frustrated to the point of tears, taking walks along your neighborhood, eating spicy foods, bouncing on a yoga ball, doing basically whatever you can think of to speed up your little potato's birthday.

You even drop by the League, but Rika stops you at the door, turns you around and walks you home.

"Absolutely not." She says. "Go rest. Go officially be on maternity leave or something. You're going to pop any second now, and you know it."

"Please, Rika," You plead. "I can't sleep, I can barely nap. I just need... I dunno. I don't even know what I need!" Stupid hormones get you crying again. "I just wanna be done! I don't know what to do with myself... "

"Hey, c'mon..." She tells you, pulling you in for a gentle hug. "You know better than anyone that you're almost there, right? Just... Just wait it out a bit longer. Your little bean'll know when they're done cooking."

"Yeah..." You sniffle into her shoulder. "You're right."

"I know I am," She says coolly. "But also I'm here for you to cry on and complain to any time, okay? Keep me in the loop on every little detail."

The two of you stand like that for a long moment as you try to will yourself back to calmness and go back home. Unfortunately...

"...Rika?"

"Yeah, Mama?"

"I think my water just broke."

-

As it turns out, you'd basically been in labor for the past little while and hadn't realized it, so by the time you and Rika get to the hospital, things start moving quickly.

She has the wits about her to text Nemona to grab your things from your apartment, which were thankfully already pre-packed and waiting in a bag, and within a few (okay, maybe more than just a few) hours, you have a sweetly bundled little baby boy in your arms, dozing softly.

The hospital put him in a little purple hat, but when you initially saw him, during that first moment where they brought him to your breast for that first moment of skin to skin contact, even with his tamped down hair still wet with everything, you could tell... He has two-toned hair.

The resemblances don't stop there, you think, but everyone else who sees him (at least with his hat on) thinks he's your little doppelganger. You're not sure. He looks just like Arven to you, and as much as that makes your heart ache, you're also so overwhelmingly filled with love, adoration, affection, warmth, relief, and utter devotion to this little baby.

You name him Basil. It suits him.

Even though you imagine your number is still blocked on his phone, you text Arven a picture when you and Basil have a moment alone together, just the two of you, later on that day.

He's here. I don't know if you care, necessarily? But... I love him so much, and I don't understand how you couldn't, so I thought I should share.

There's a near immediate response.

Message unable to be delivered.

[arvensimp]

your father should know pt. 1

Arven leaves you with something more than either of you bargained for when he goes off to Kalos for an internship, and through a series of miscommunications and heartbreak, he returns a few years later to learn that he actually has a child.

arven x reader, nsfw content, pregnancy, angst, and stupid miscommunications'

~

Champagne was poured freely, toasts were made, songs were sung. Everyone laughed and cried in near equal measure, and they hugged and kissed and made promises to keep in touch and talk soon and "not to be a stranger!" and "tune in every week!"

For his part, Arven blushed and drank it in almost as well as he drank in the champagne. He's never gotten used to being the center of attention. With stellar professor parents and a best friend who sits near the top of the Paldean Pokemon League, he's always been...just Arven. Just some guy. Not a nobody, but...well, if the shoe fits.

No, no! He can't think like that. He's amazing in his own ways. Hell, everyone gathered like this because of him.

An apprenticeship with one of the most famous celebrity chefs of Kalos at their marketing institution as well! He'd be gone for a year, learning from the best of the best of the best, touring the region, doing podcasts and making weekly videos. All of it would revolve around making food that would make people and pokemon happy and healthy. It was like a dream.

He wasn't totally sure at first... After all, he'd never left the region, but then again maybe an adventure was just what he needed? That's what you'd told him anyway, looking up at him with your sparkling eyes that made his stomach twist in knots.

Paldea wasn't really his home anyway. (Could he even say he ever had a home?) Go see the world! He's young and untied now, so why not? It'll be like the treasure hunt from back during school but even better.

So he agreed and got to preparing while you and all of your friends got to planning his goodbye party.

He'd be off in the morning, and at this point nearly everyone had left his flat, staggering or taking cabs home.

Everyone but you.

You and Arven.

Arven and you.

The original buddies.

Alone on the L-shaped sofa, lounging, head-to-head at the crook of it. Arven's hand is still holding a half-finished bottle of champagne that drags across the wooden floor. Both of your hands are folded across your ribcage. 

He exhales a long puff of air that blows his bangs from his eye.

"Have you had too much to drink over there?" You ask. Even without looking Arven can hear the smile on your lips.

"Nah..." He grunts a bit as he rolls over onto his side. "Barely a buzz at this point, honestly." And it's true. A man of his size usually needs a fair amount of alcohol to really get lost in it, especially when they've eaten as much as he has this evening. "Just...thinkin' I guess."

"Yeah?" You roll over as well. Neither of you are facing each other, but if you crane your necks you could see one another’s faces. "Gimmighoul coin for your thoughts?"

He chuckles. "That's a mouthful. You know you can just say 'penny' right? Like we have those."

You blow a raspberry, and Arven laughs harder.

"Now who's the one who's had too much to drink?" He asks.

"Hey!" You stop, mock-serious. "I'm your driver to the airport tomorrow. You know I won't be hungover for that, so clearly I haven't had too much tonight."

Arven snorts and lifts a hand to pat affectionately on your head, but he misses phenomenally, smushing your face instead. The two of you erupt into giggles, rolling over onto your stomachs as you do, so you can more easily sit up to look at one another from your separate legs of the sofa.

The laughter quiets naturally.

Arven knows he loves you. He has for a long time, but he's just never been able to say it. The words can't come out. He's tried to show it every other way he can, so it mostly comes out as food and snacks given to you whenever he can muster it up, and you don't seem to be any the wiser. You always just smile up at him with those same sparkling eyes. It's maddening and dizzying and infuriating and enamoring all at once.

And you're smiling at him like that now.

And then you're leaning in.

He's leaning in, too.

It takes nothing for your lips to meet. There are no fireworks, no crackles of electricity, no orchestra that plays some swelling love song in his head.

You're just kissing, and it's perfect. You only part to actually sit up, so the two of you aren't stuck in a cobra-pose on the couch forever, but in that brief moment of adjustment, you're both blushing, scooting closer to one another, each lifting one knee up to stay on the couch while the other bends down to the floor.

You won't look at each other, but your fingers find one another, interlocking tightly.

"I-I--" Arven starts, getting ready to apologize, but he isn’t sure why.

"Will you do that again?" You ask over him.

His jaw drops as he looks down at you. "Yeah... Absolutely."

He leans in, and you're kissing again, with Arven hovering over you, large and unimposing and wonderful. With the angle, it's more than easy for the two of you to just keep falling further down, down, down, until he's properly on top of you, pressing one of your legs bent at the knee against the back of the sofa while your other foot trails lightly against the floor, knocking against Arven’s discarded champagne bottle.

Arven's hand that isn't holding yours is in your hair, his nails scratching lightly at the back of your neck. When the action makes you gasp into him, he takes the initiative to deepen your kiss, grazing his tongue along your lower lip before it explores further into your mouth.

You meet him eagerly, rolling your body up to meet his as your free hand scratches lightly down his still-clothed back. 

Arven hums into you and breaks the kiss to sit up. He grips the lower hem of his shirt and gives you a questioning look, only proceeding to remove the garment when you've enthusiastically nodded, biting your lip to hold back eager giggles.

"God, you look so good..." You tell him, running your hands up and down his torso once he's bare, making him shiver and blush all at once.

"C-C'mon..." He says, not meeting your eye but still going on to continue kissing you in a way that has you happily obliging. 

Seconds, minutes, or hours could have passed like that between the two of you, just kissing, and you wouldn't have been any the wiser, but eventually one of Arven's hands grows daring, skirting just along the edge of your top, tickling at the skin of your abdomen there with its pervading warmth before moving up and behind your back. You sit up just the tiniest bit, nipping at his mouth before breaking off the kiss, so you can properly remove your top and bra for him.

"You...uh, this is what you wanted, right?" You ask with a nervous laugh, and Arven's too busy trying not to stare at your tits. He just nods kinda dumbly in the way that men often do, leaning in to kiss you again, so you don't have to watch as he paws and squeezes at you, tweaking at your nipple in a way that gets you gasping his name, which, fuck... Arven didn't think his name could sound so good.

He tears himself from your mouth to kiss and bite at your breast while one of his hands kneads the other. 

You squirm beneath his ministrations, gasping in delight at his touch.

It takes very little before you're grinding against him, purposefully pulling your leg up and over his hip for better leverage to rut against the growing hardness in his pants.

"Fuck," Arven groans, pulling his mouth off your tit in a way that has you hissing in pleasure as he dips his forehead to rest between your breasts. "Keep doing that, and I'm gonna cum in my pants, damn..."

"And what if that's what I want?" You tease him as you continue, feeding into the growing wetness between your thighs.

Arven barks a light laugh from his place at your chest, one of his hands squeezing your hip right at the apex where your body meets leg. "I'd think that wouldn't be very fun for you?" As he speaks he rolls his hips into yours, purposefully grinding against your center, making you moan just the tiniest bit.

"See?" He continues, egging you on in the best way. The hand at your hip travels inward, bit by nervous bit. "I-If you want, I mean?"

You nod almost frantically with a "Yes, please!" and Arven has to stop himself for a moment, his hand paused right at the seam where your inner thigh meets your panties, your skirt having been rolled up ages ago.

He looks at you, tries to memorize the way your hair splays out beneath you, the flush of your cheeks, the way your eyelashes fan out against them when your eyes close, your fingers grasping for purchase against the fabric of his sofa. It's all being committed to memory.

He shifts his fingers, tensing them against you just a bit before you can make any sound of impatience or discomfort at his hesitancy... Not hesitancy. No. He... He wants to savor this.

Slowly he moves, hooking his fingers beneath the elastic of your panties, maneuvering you just enough to get the article along with your skirt off and discarded somewhere on the floor. Then his hands are back on you again in an instant.

"Fuck," He whispers under his breath, half astounded as he stares down at you. "You're dripping for me..." 

You wriggle your hips a bit, and he slips a single digit between your folds. The tightly coiled arousal in your stomach rolls through you, your toes curling in anticipation at just that simple touch.

"Fuck, Arven..." It's soft the way you say it. You grasp his wrist, not stopping him, just holding him there, as if he'd ever dare to leave.

He lets his finger drag upward just a bit, just so he can find--

You keen softly, rolling your hips against his hand, silently pleading him to focus there.

"I've got you..." He says softly, leaning back in to capture your mouth again, biting gently at your lower lip while you grind against his single finger stroking small circles around your clit. 

"Fuck...fuck that's nice..." You groan against Arven's mouth, making him smile against you, renewing his efforts.

"You like that?" He asks, and it barely feels like teasing, especially when you so eagerly nod your enthusiasm to him.

"Hmm, god… More, please?"

Arven hums, continuing his pace just a bit longer before he lets his finger dip lower to press just at the edge of your entrance. When you roll your hips against him to fuck his finger into you, he lets it slip inside as you sigh, contented.

"Shit, you're so tight around just this one... Damn..." He tells you fondly as he starts to piston the digit slowly to match your pace before adding a second into the mix.

You moan lowly.

"K-keep going like that, fuck..." You tell him in a raspy, breathy voice.

"Yeah? Whatever you like," Arven tells you, adjusting his position above you just a bit, so he can lean a bit more on one of his knees, freeing up his other hand, so it can go to play with your clit.

The dual stimulation has you writhing and squirming almost instantaneously. Your moans turn high and needy real quickly from there, and within a minute or two, your vision goes white behind your eyes as your cunt pulses erratically around Arven's fingers with your orgasm washing over you.

It isn't until you pant a fucked-out "E-enough, enough...slow..." That he finally drags his fingers from your core, dripping with your essence.

He's so lost in the moment, internally congratulating himself on actually making you cum, that he jolts when he feels your hands on the button to his pants.

"Oh." You say, pulling back. "Sorry. Uh... Did... Did you not..?"

"No!" He says, too loud, then clears his throat and tries again, softer. Fuck, you're beautiful like this. 

"I-I mean. I. I do. I want to. I just." He looks bashful. "Uh... I don't have any condoms? I can-- I mean, I'll go buy some. If you want." 

You shrug. "Don't worry about it. I'm on the pill, and you can pull out to be extra safe?"

He nods. "If you're sure."

You nod.

Arven sighs, nodding again, partly to himself, then his hands go to his fly, and--

"Can I?" You ask, sweet as candy, and how can Arven do anything but nod and let his hands fall to the side as he watches you? 

Your touch is featherlight as you free his cock from his boxer briefs; all Arven needed to do was lower his pants just a bit further down his hips. When you grasp him fully, Arven hisses between his teeth, resisting the urge to fuck your fist. 

He lowers himself back down, and you purposefully and delightfully catch the tip of his cock along your clit as you lube him up before lining him to your entrance.

Arven looks at you, catching those sparkling eyes, still gleaming even in the low light of the evening. He rolls his hips forward, and you meet him halfway, the pair of you groaning in complete satisfaction at the union.

Just a moment later, after you've both adjusted, he starts to move, properly fucking you, balancing his weight on his forearm on the couch's armrest above your head. His eyes flutter closed, and he groans, cursing softly under his breath.

You match his pace as best you're able given the amount of room you have, hooking a leg over his hips to draw him into you deeper in a way that has you both moaning low, foreheads pressed together.

"F-feels so good..." You tell him breathily. Part of you considers snaking a hand down between you to toy with your clit again, but Arven must have read your mind because you feel his warm hand trailing up along your hip to squeeze in, pressing up just above where the two of you are joined. His thumb rolls your clit, applying just enough pressure that you jolt beneath him, losing your sense of rhythm, along with almost any other senses you have beyond your unwavering need for more of him and his fucking hands on you.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, Arven," You chant like a stupid prayer, tucking your head into his shoulder. "Like that, please. Don't stop. Fuck. Please."

Arven smiles and kisses your temple, riding the high of the power trip. "Wouldn't dream of it..." He can't help the jolt of arousal that goes straight to his cock when you say things like that. Fuck. And the way you squeeze around him? He has to put a real, concerted effort into his ministrations or else he'd absolutely be blowing his load inside you, especially when your walls flutter like that? He could die like this and be a happy man, he knows it.

He's so wrapped up in his thoughts that it nearly startles him when you suddenly still, a moan caught halfway out your throat as your cunt squeezes him like a vice for a long, long moment before it starts rhythmically fluttering in time with your heart. Your head is tossed back as you cum around his cock, and--

And fuck, he needs to cum. Now. His hips stutter to a halt while he’s inside you, and he exhales slowly through his nose, letting you ride out your orgasm around him while he does his absolute best to hold on. As soon as he feels you've stilled somewhat, he pulls out, and just that motion, that friction, has him cumming ribbons that paint your stomach as he jerks himself through the remainder of it, panting with the effort it took to hold on for so long.

You watch him through your lashes, still trying to steady your own breath, shivering at the sensation of his hot cum lining stripes along your abdomen.

You sigh in time with Arven as he seems to finally calm, and the two of you stay silent for what feels like an eternity until eventually he hauls himself up with a grunt.

"Lemme, uh... I'll take care of that." Arven says noncommittally as he quickly moves to the kitchen where you hear him shuffle around and turn the faucet on.

When he returns, it's with a warm, wet cloth to wipe away the mess he's made of you, which he does meticulously and methodically. You shiver at his gentle touch.

"Uh... Sorry..." He says softly.

The absolute absurdity of it makes you laugh, bright and high. "Sorry? For the best sex I've probably ever had?" You stretch out on the sofa like a persian. "Please. You've just given me..." You yawn. "So much more...to look forward to...when you get back." You look back to him. "I-I mean... Uh. If. If this is...something you want?"

Arven drops to his knees to be at your level, looking at you with wide eyes.

"It is! I-I mean definitely! Yeah! Definitely. If you want. Yeah..." He gets this goopy, lovestruck look on his face that's so beyond endearing that you can't help but lean over to kiss him again.

"Good."

-

The next day, the two of you arrive at the airport hand in hand, and before you kiss goodbye, you promise to keep in touch, message as often as you can (as roaming fees allow) and that you'll see each other soon. 

You watch Arven go through security, and when he's done, he waves from behind the glass, not taking his eyes from you until he's literally too far away.

If you cry a little bit on your way home, 'Raidon doesn't seem to tease you for it along the road.

-

With Arven gone, life basically continues as it had, albeit you're definitely feeling emptier. You continue work with the Pokémon League, performing basic research tasks for Jacq, and battling with Nemona to stay sharp. Every chance you get, you watch or listen to whatever videos get posted by the team Arven is working with, hoping for just a blip of him! Any time you see him, you comment and talk about how cute and handsome he is and how they should definitely show more of that cute guy with the two-toned hair. You giggle every time, hoping it helps some.

This particular morning, several weeks later, you and Nemona are outside Mesagoza, battling as you usually do, when a wave of nausea suddenly overtakes you.

You don't throw up or pass out, but the distraction of it keeps you from commanding your partner effectively, giving Nemona a leg up.

"Off your game today, eh?" She taunts you lightly from across the field.

You try to laugh, but you think you can literally feel the color draining from your face. You command Tinkaton to retaliate with a Gigaton Hammer, but then the world goes black around you.

Nemona's at your side in an instant (or is it longer than that?), panting with the effort it took to get to you so fast. Tinkaton and Goodra are also scurrying over with worried looks on their faces. "Hey! Hey, you okay?" She asks, holding up your head in her lap.

"What...?"

"You just dropped like a corviknight outta the sky, bestie. You've got me worried."

You shut your eyes tight and breathe through another wave of nausea.

"Yeah, I don't like whatever's happening." Nemona tells you. "Can you stand? I'll take you to the doctor."

More realistically, 'Raidon takes you to the doctor, and Nemona hangs around for moral support. She knows you've been kinda poorly since Arven left anyway, so she correctly guesses that you don't really want to be alone if you're about to go through a health crisis or something.

The two of you chat together while you wait for the results of your blood work and urinalysis to come back. The folks at the clinic had given you some fluids and told you to stay off your feet for a now for fear of another fainting spell, so you were basically stuck for a minute.

When the doctor returns, she asks if you'd like Nemona to stay while she gives you your results. The doctor doesn't seem terribly morbid or worried about anything, so you figure it can't be that bad, right?

You look to Nemona and smile, taking her hand.

"If that's okay?" You ask her.

Nemona smiles and nods, squeezing back.

The doctor returns your grins. "Since that's the case, let me go ahead and confirm your pregnancy, Miss."

Your brow furrows, and the edges of your vision go blurry like you're going to pass out all over again, and suddenly the only thing you can hear is the sound of your own blood pumping in your ears.

Everything looks so far away. Distantly, you know you're still holding Nemona's hand, but somehow it's as if your arm has stretched across the room and she's floating further and further from you. You can't even register what she looks like. What sort of face she must be making at you.

Whatever else happens at the clinic from there, you cannot recall. Obviously you must have said something or reacted in some way. You just know that Nemona brings you home with vitamins and appointment cards for follow up visits with different doctors for whatever route you decide to take.

She spends the night with you, curled up in a cuddle puddle with you and all of your pokemon, petting your hair softly as she sings something terribly out of tune but still soothing. She doesn't force anything out of you, knowing you'll tell her when you're ready.

That's how Nemona becomes the first person you tell about Arven and what you did. You spill everything to her the next morning as you cry into a bowl of sugary cereal, and she just rubs your back lovingly, spooning cornflakes into her mouth.

"So... What's the next step?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like... Are you going to tell him? Do you wanna keep it in the first place?"

"Geez, Nemona! That's a little direct."

"What?!" She puts her hands up placatingly.

"Of course I'm gonna tell him. Can you imagine if I didn't? I feel like that'd break his heart... He deserves to know. And I mean..." You look down. Of course you're not showing yet it's way too early. In some other world this would be where you put a hand on your lower abdomen and fantasize for a moment about it all, building a family, a bouncing baby and a husband and a white picket fence. But for some reason, you can't bring yourself to do it. That would make things a little bit too real for what you're willing to handle right now. But even then. "I-I wanna talk to him first. I...think I want to do this... But... He should have a say too, right?"

Nemona puts a hand on your shoulder. "Your word is most important, if you ask me."

You take a moment to breathe. "Yeah. I'm gonna tell him. I gotta talk to him first before deciding anything else."

And then you don't.

Or. Well. You try. You really do!

Thing is, it's really difficult to get a hold of Arven since he's been abroad. Your texts are sporadic at best.

Part of you just considers waiting. After all, he's off doing something really wonderful for himself. He's living his dream! Becoming an amazing man and making things happen for himself! He spent his entire life until now doing things for other people, waiting on his parents to come home, acting as an errand boy before finding out what had happened, then caring for Mabosstiff... 

How could you call him to come home over something like this? That would be horrible of you. He needs to be able to do something for himself, and living his dream in Kalos is it!

But...he definitely deserves to know. He would want to know, wouldn't he?

You have to tell him.

So eventually you shoot Arven a message.

-hey! wanna video chat tonight?

-What time? I've got some stuff going on this evening, plus a pretty packed schedule in the morning, but I'd love to see you!

-oh! well maybe some other time then

-Ok ❤️

....And then a few days go by...

Fuck!!!!! Why are you like this???

You send him a picture of Tinkaton on top of 'Raidon another time which Arven laugh-reacts at, making your heart go all fluttery.

-wanna call tonight? i miss you

-I miss you too, buddy! Let's plan for it.

But then the time of your call comes and goes, and you end up falling asleep waiting for the phone to ring, your ??? texts having gone unanswered.

Finally a few days later you just call him one evening. You're getting too antsy and nervous, and you have to get this thing off your chest and/or uterus.

The phone rings several times, and when he finally picks up, you hear the sound of shuffling, then Arven whispering.

"What's going on?" He asks, soft but harsh. "I'm kinda in the middle of a thing. Is everything okay?"

"Uh..." I missed you. I'm so sorry. I'm kinda carrying your baby right now, and I'm so sorry but I think I'm going to crush your dreams by asking if you want to come home to be with me to raise it together? Is that even a thing that you want? Your mouth goes dry, and your stomach twists in knots. Now absolutely isn't the time for nausea, but when is?

"You there?" Arven asks, sounding a bit more annoyed.

"Y-Yeah. Sorry..." You finally respond after swallowing back a lump in your throat. "I just... I..."

You hear more shuffling on the other end and Arven's voice calling out to whoever else must be around him. "Hey, give me a minute, I need to take this!" Then some more sounds of what you imagine must be him going somewhere more secluded. "What's going on? Did something happen?"

"Uh..." Fuck fuck fuck. You have to tell him. "I-I just... I miss you."

You hear him exhale a sigh over the phone, but you can't tell if it's fond or exasperated. "Miss you, too. Is something going on?"

"Everything's okay, no one's dying or anything," Quite the opposite in fact. "I just... I wish I could see you..." Not what you wanted to talk about. Come on. Spit it out! "Uh... Will you maybe be able to take a weekend off or something soon? Maybe come and visit?"

Arven chuckles a bit. "I wish I could see you, too! But no, they're keeping me pretty busy here, but it's in the best way! I can't tell you how much I'm learning! The stuff I'm working on, it's beyond anything I've ever even imagined! Plus they're talking about maybe starting a new program, and they're going to need talent." 

Your heart contorts in your chest. He's having such a nice time...

"I'm...I'm so happy for you." You finally squeak out.

"Yeah!" Arven ends up going on a mini-rant about a bunch of new techniques he's learning, and your heart melts. You don't even realize tears are silently streaming down your cheeks until Arven interrupts himself with a "Shit! Sorry. I totally forgot about filming. I gotta go. Talk to you later!"

He hangs up before you can even say bye.

In the end, you force yourself to text him. You clearly can't break the news out loud, and he has to know. 

You wait until just after the work day ends, figuring that would be the ideal time to tell him, so he isn't at work, and he won't have to worry about it during a work day, and also you're not interrupting him in the middle of a nap or something, and he can call you to talk, since.....yeah he's probably going to want to talk.

Hey! I know this isn't ideal, and I really would have rather said it in person or over a face call or even just a regular call, but I think you need to know, and I'm having a really hard time verbalizing it to you. I'm sorry to do it this way, but it's better to say it now than not at all, right?

I'm pregnant, and it's yours.

I'm so, so, SO sorry! I promise I didn't mean for it to happen like this, and I'm not trying to like…baby trap you or something. I swear! You're my best friend in the whole world, and I'm so happy that you can go and live your dream in Kalos right now. But I just feel like you should know? Like you should have a say in what happens here? I'd love to talk to you. Do...do you want to do this? Because....well if you're willing I'd want to try this. With you. But I also know that you're living your dream right now, and I don't want to get in the way of that! I want you to be able to really embrace this new journey you're taking and learn and grow and do wonderful things! But I just wanted you to know, you know? Please don't hate me. Just give me a call when you have a minute, and we can figure this out. Okay?

You hit send and then wait.

It took nearly all of your bodily strength not to add "I love you" to the end of the message. You'd never said it out loud to each other before. Sure... You wanted to tons of times before now, but it just never happened, so it just didn't feel right to put it in a text first.

Yeah, telling someone you're pregnant with their kid via text also isn't really kosher, but you can only break so many rules at once.

You check your phone.

Nothing.

He may just be busy.

It's fine. You just need to be patient.

So you make yourself some food, play a bit with your pokemon. You think they can pick up on the change in you. Even Tinkaton seems a little less feral around you lately, which is kinda wild.

You cozy up to Skeledirge, running your fingers across his bony nose.

Still no reply. 

You turn your phone off and on again just to see if maybe that does something? Like it'll reboot your messages?

Nothing.

"Fuuuuuuck!" You groan, kicking your legs petulantly, startling Skeledirge off the sofa with you.

TV isn't much of a distraction, and neither is social media, really, but you try to watch a few videos, read a few articles. Hell, you even answer some work emails in an attempt to distract yourself from the silence of your phone.

You check it before you shower, and there's no response.

The warm water doesn't do anything to quell your nerves, and you're about ready to have a panic attack by the time you dash back to the phone, still in your towel, your hair dripping all over the floor, and there are no notifications waiting for you.

You try to calm yourself with some steadying breaths.

Who knows what might be happening? His phone might have died during the day! He may have accidentally left it at home! Maybe your message didn't even go through fully!

You sneak another peak at your messaging app to be sure, but...

Well, it... It actually looks like your message has been read.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

He's seen it.

Cool.

Just.

Just give him a minute to process it. He'll probably call or message you back as soon as he can.

Except he doesn't.

You fall asleep on the sofa that night, clutching your phone in one hand, waiting for any kind of acknowledgement from Arven.

Wakefulness takes you with a jolt, and you actually drop the device with the rotom inside narrowly preventing it from shattering on the floor.

It floats back up to you, and you open your messages again.

Except, now it's saying your message from last night is unread? But that couldn't be... You saw the read notification and even made a note of the time.

You try to call Arven. It's early enough that he shouldn't be at work yet.

The phone doesn't even ring before you hear an automated "We're sorry. The number you're trying to reach is no longer in service."

Did...did he block you? No. He wouldn't do that, would he?

That's...that's not like him at all, and you know it.

Right?

You restart your phone and try again, but it's the same thing.

Maybe...maybe he did block you.

You curl up a bit.

Something has to be wrong, right?

You'll give it a minute.

Eventually you give in and decide that the best way to contact Arven is going to have to be through the agency he's working with. Someone there can get you in touch, right? Like, at least get you some closure?

You wait until the Kalosian work day has started before you call, and when the line picks up, the voice on the other end is some peppy sounding woman. You introduce yourself and tell her you're trying to get in touch with Arven, that you're a friend from home.

She repeats your name back to you then says "...And you wanna talk to Arven..." She pauses on the other line. "Y'know, I don't think he's in yet this morning. Truth be told, and honestly, I probably shouldn't tell you this, but you said you're a friend? Yeah… He seemed like he got some really bad news yesterday." Your heart clenches, but she keeps going like a stereotypical gossip. "Yeah. Real rough day for him, honestly. Don't know why. Seemed pretty frustrated."

"Frustrated?"

"Yeah, I dunno... I don't really get it either. He just accepted this great full time role in our upcoming program."

"Oh..." You think you remember him mentioning something about a program when you'd spoken last. So he got offered a full job? And took it without even talking to you?

"But anyway, you didn't hear that from me. So did you want me to take a message for you?"

"Uh...no thanks. Sorry. Thanks."

You hang up before she can say anything else, your hands shaking.

He... He really must have blocked you.

-

On the other side, the PR representative for Bonne Applintite hears the call end and smiles. Not too long later, Arven enters the building, hiking his bag a bit higher up onto his shoulder.

"Good morning," He greets cheerily. "Do you have my phone ready and updated with the latest apps and everything for the agency?"

"I sure do!" The woman replies with a saccharine grin, sliding his rotom phone over from across the desk. "Thanks for leaving it with me overnight. Everything should be all set to go. Did you...?" She drifts off, her manicured nails creeping forward along the marble surface, her tone leading.

"Think about the offer?" Arven finishes. "Uh... Yeah. I did. I just wanna check in with someone back home first, y'know? It just seems like kind of a big leap. Like... I'm honored really, and I'm so happy people like my content... I just wanna talk about it first."

The woman shrugs. "Whatever you say, Arvie. I just think this'd be a great opportunity for you."

"It is, but..." He smiles fondly, totally disregarding the nickname. "We'll see what happens I guess. By the way, did I happen to get any messages last night? There’s a girl back home, and–"

“You know what? I didn’t see anything.” She interrupts him, smiling too big and speaking too loudly through teeth that are just a little too white. “Seems like she may have forgotten to text you.”

“Weird.” He replies, already walking off, his eyes glued to the device as he searches it for your contact.

Hm. Looks like some of his data got deleted, your previous text chains included... No biggie though. Your name is still there in his contacts, and that's really all he cares about. He can't wait to tell you about this new opportunity! Sure, he's kinda nervous about it. He's only been here for barely 2 months, if that, but apparently he's got some major skill, and people really like him! It's...it's actually really reassuring and affirming to him.

Growing up, Paldea had just been a place where he lived. In Kalos, with all these people around him showing him all this love and stuff... It feels like a home. It feels kinda like how he feels with you. It's not the same of course, but... He just feels like he's blossoming or something. It's wonderful.

Maybe you'd like it here, too...

Except you don't.

The conversation goes horribly. Arven doesn't get it. You don't sound like you. You were dismissive of him in the most bizarre way, basically telling him that he can fuck off and do as he likes--that you're not interested in maintaining contact anymore. It hurts. Did you find someone else or something? Hell, he hadn't been gone that long, and isn't absence supposed to make the heart grow fonder or something? You won't even video chat or pick up the phone, even though you'd been the one who had just asked him to call not long ago. 

That evening he slumps against the foot of his bed, Mabosstiff at his side, snuffling his pockets.

Arven sighs. "Well, Bud... Guess it's just you and me again for a bit..." He takes out his phone and looks over the PDF of the contract that had been sent to him.

Two and a half years total, including his current apprenticeship...

Fuck it. He's enjoyed his time here so far. What's a bit more time?

Not like anyone's gonna miss him in Paldea anyway. He spent his life, basically until now, waiting for people there to love him. At least here he's got a fresh start with a leg up.

He sends over his eSignature on the document and texts the PR rep.

-hey! Just signed the thing. Looks like I'll be here for a bit after all.

Her response is almost instant.

-yayyyyy!!!! let's go grab drinks to celebrate!!!!!!

[arvensimp]

your father should know, pt 2.5

Arven leaves you with something more than either of you bargained for when he goes off to Kalos for an internship, and through a series of miscommunications and heartbreak, he returns a few years later to learn that he actually has a child.

arven x reader, nsfw content, pregnancy, angst, and stupid miscommunications

[part 1] [part 2]

thanks for your patience waiting for this part!! also thank you to my beautiful betas for helping me <3

SO. This is basically just an alternative ending to the fic that I thought of and couldn't get out of my brain. i hope y'all like it. again. this is just an alt. ending, branching off of part 2. there will still be a part 3 to the main fic wherein arven has been gone for a year+ and comes back having had no idea about anything. i just wanted to feed everyone while also feeding my own fantasies lololol

Rika lost count of how many hours had passed since she rushed you into L&D. Adrenaline kicked in, and beyond timing contractions, she hadn't thought to check the actual time on her phone or watch or anything. 

She knows Nemona arrived not long after, bringing your go-bag and your cute labor dress, so you could change out of that horrible, assless hospital gown, but...again... No clue about the time.

All Rika knows is you've been crying and yelling for so, so long. Yeah, labor isn't like a walk through the Artazon gardens or something, but... You're so miserable, your hair tamped down to your forehead with sweat as you groan through every contraction.

The nurses say you shouldn't push yet, you're not far enough along or something? But with contractions like that? Fuck, they're the medical professionals, and if you're not feeling the urge to push, either? Who's Rika to say you should push?

But you keep crying... Hiccuping sobs that are only interrupted when you're forced to groan through a contraction that seizes your body. 

Rika has no problem holding your hand, wiping the sweat and tears from your face, pulling back your hair, any of that. But... Even then. She can tell she isn't the best person for this situation.

You don't want her here. Well. You do, but you don't want her here as much as you'd want someone else.

The attending nurse has left the two of you alone for a bit after checking yours and the baby's vitals. She says everything's fine. You're just progressing really slowly. It's apparently normal for a mother's first time.

Rika takes your hand again, using the one you've been squeezing just a bit less. She's been trying to swap them out a bit just for stamina sake.

"Hey, Mama..."

"Hey..."

"What can I do here?"

Your lip wobbles, and you shrug.

"No, none of that. I mean, yes, you keep crying." She squeezes your hand gently. "You cry as much and as loud as you need. But what can I do to help?"

"...More ice chips?"

Rika gives you a half smile and with her other hand produces the already filled cup. "You know I got you."

You take them and munch for a bit until another contraction starts up, and you pass it back, your eyes closing in concentration.

Rika almost reminds you of your breathing from class, but she knows better. Even if it doesn't get her a swift smack up the head, it'd kind of be an asshole move.

You groan lowly through it, breathing technique either lost or forgotten, and when the feeling passes, your voice breaks into another sob.

"Hey now... You got it. That's another one down..." Rika pets your head softly and watches as another nurse walks in to check on you.

She roots around for a bit under the modesty sheet or whatever, and you wince but otherwise make no comment, only sitting up and looking hopefully at her when she stands. The nurse smiles at you. "The baby is still doing fine! Just taking their sweet time is all."

As soon as she leaves the room, your face drops along with your upper half as you fall against the raised bed back with another frustrated cry that devolves into more sobs. You hide your face in your hands.

"Hey..." Rika's heart breaks. She follows your movement, taking one of your hands in both of hers. "I don't wanna make you mad here. Just a suggestion... Do you wanna talk to that Arven guy? I'll call him myself. Give him hell if you need to."

You freeze, your breath hitching and then hiccuping. "H-...He doesn't wanna talk to me..."

"I didn't ask that. Do you wanna talk to him? Do you think it'll help you get through this?"

Your hand that isn't in Rika's goes to the top of your tummy, rubbing little circles into the soft fabric of your dress. "...Yeah..." It comes out soft and wet as you sniffle.

"On it. Be right back. You just call if you need anything, okay?" Rika gets up, grabs your phone, and leaves the room.

It takes her no time to find Arven's contact and to copy the number to her own phone. She dials, and the call goes to voicemail.

"Motherfucker…" Under normal circumstances, she might understand, but...eh, now's not the time. So she calls again.

It rings once...twice...

"Hello?" A masculine voice answers.

"Hey, is this Arven?"

"Uh, may I ask who's calling?"

"This is Rika of the Paldean Pokemon League." She says, putting on her most official-sounding voice. The kind she does for interviewees at the League that piss her off during their first impressions. "Is this Arven Sada-Turo?"

"...Yes..?" Good. He at least sounds a little nervous. "Can I…help you?"

"Yeah, I have a champion here who wants to talk to you."

Arven guesses your name, sounding half incredulous, and Rika wonders if he's maybe an idiot. Who else would call him nine months after telling him she's pregnant?

"Ding ding ding. She's here in the delivery room, and for some godforsaken reason, she said she wanted to talk to you. Be nice, okay? I'll know if you say something rude, and if you make her cry again, I'm swearing to Arceus right now that I'll fuck you up."

"What?!"

"What?!" Rika mocks back at him, maybe a little meanly, but he obviously deserves it. "Just be nice. She's in a lot of pain and has been for hours now." She walks back into your room, changing her tone entirely. "Hey, Mama. Guess who I got on the phone here..." She says sweetly as she passes it to you.

"Arven...?" You ask.

-

Your voice is ragged, and you sound near the edge of tears, if you aren't already crying.

"Yeah, Buddy?" Arven asks. "I'm here." He's holding the phone to his ear in both hands, cradling it like a...

Oh God, he's gonna throw up. No. No.

He swallows back nervous bile. The delivery room? What the fuck? Since when were you pregnant? Around the time you told him to fuck off? How long ago was that again? Fuck. He can't think. He wants to be mad, but...

"Arven." You say again, unsure, like you think it's not him, maybe? He hears your voice, and his heart melts.

"Yeah, Bud. It's me. It's been a while... Are you okay?" Stupid question.

"N-not really..." Oh no, you really are crying. "I-I'm having a b-baby..."

"Hey. Hey, don't cry." Fuck, what should he say? "What can I do?"

"I miss you..." You sound miserable.

"I... I miss you, too, Bud..." This is crazy. This is crazy. What is happening? Arven's vision is going in and out of focus, but he can't seem to actually see anything. All that's buzzing around his head is that fact that you're having a baby?! "Sh...should I... Do you want me there?" 

On the other end, you cry out loudly, the phone shuffling out of your hands. He hears another voice, softer, but he can't make out what it's saying. Arven yells your name into the receiver, but there's no response. All he can hear is you moaning in agony for what feels like an eternity.

Then there's more shuffling. "A-Arven?" It's your voice again, panting.

His keys are in his hands, and he's already out of his apartment, standing in the streets of Lumiose City.

"I'm on my way right now. Which hospital are you in?"

"Wh-wh...?"

"Do you... Do you want me to come? I'll be there as soon as I can. Just tell me where to find you." He's already sprinting to the closest train station.

Unfortunately, he can't understand your blubbering as you're overtaken by more sobs.

"Buddy? Bud. Bud, listen to me, okay? Can you hand the phone back to Rika? Just for a minute."

There's a quick rustling sound then the sound of Rika's contralto voice. "Listen buster, I can't tell if you're on thin ice or not, but she's still upset."

"Rika, I don't understand what's happening, but I'm trying to get to you, if she wants me there. Can you tell me where you are?" He's breathless from sprinting and adrenaline.

He hears Rika speak softly to you on the other line. "Ya want the sperm donor hanging around?"

Sperm donor? What the fuck? Who's the sperm donor? Arven doesn't have time for this. He's already looking at the time tables for the different trains headed into Paldea. Which city should he be looking for though? Would a flying taxi be faster? He'll ask at the desk.

"Levincia Memorial. I'll be sure they let you in."

Levincia. At least that's close to the Kalosian border.

Arven nods before realizing Rika can't hear. "Thanks. Uh... Sh-should I stay on the line?" He pulls the phone away for just a moment to speak to the representative, but he keeps his ear focused for the sound of your voice.

"...He's gonna come, kay?"

"O-Okay..." And then suddenly it sounds like you're groaning or crying again? He can't make out much by way of words from you, but you sound so broken... Fuck, what happened while he was gone? Had some loser really knocked you up?

"Hi, yeah, I need to get to Levincia City as quickly as possible. When does the next train arrive? Or do you know if there's a flying taxi service that works between Kalos and Paldea?" Is he talking too fast with his Paldean accent? His Kalosian isn't phenomenal, but it's passable, especially after being here for the past…however long. A year? Is hasn't been a year yet, surely. It should be fine.

The guy behind the glass narrows his eyes and starts typing into his computer. "Uh…yeah… We got trains into Levincia. Next one leaves in…40 minutes. Taxis though… they'll cost ya."

Arven can hear you yelling on the other end of the phone.

"Doesn't matter. How fast can I get there?"

"We can call you a cab to be here in a few minutes, get you there, as the Talonflame flies… Maybe an hour or two?"

"Done. Thank you, sir." He slams (maybe a little too forcefully) one of his cards down on the counter, then goes back to his phone where he speaks your name softly into the receiver. "You there?"

You pant heavily from the other end. "I'm in hell… This is hell…" 

"Well, call me Orpheus because I'm on my way to hell to come be with you, okay?"

"...Really?"

"Really, Bud." Arven takes his card back from the clerk and nods his thanks. "I just bought my taxi ticket. I'm gonna be there as soon as I can."

"A-Arven…" You sound all choked up again.

"Hey. Don't cry okay. Or. Wait. Maybe do cry? Is crying good? Are you supposed to cry?"

You sound like you might have laughed at that. "I dunno…but I'm still scared…" You tell him.

"Th-that's okay, Bud." He breathes. "You can be scared. It sounds scary. I'm scared for you." He hears you sob miserably on the other end. Fuck, that was probably a bad thing to say? "But! Listen to me! But… I mean, I'm sure you know this…" Arven's eyes go back to the clerk who is directing him toward a platform to wait for his taxi. "You gotta keep being strong, okay?" He nods in thanks to the other man and goes to wait. "You've got…a…a-a baby…" Holy shit, a baby. "To be strong for. They need you. So…uh… I guess? Um… Just push?" 

"I-I can't…"

"What do you mean you can't? You're like the strongest person in Paldea. Of course you can."

"No I mean…" You take a breath. Good. That's good. Breathing is good. You being calm is good. "It's not time yet. I'm not ready. Or…like, the baby isn't ready."

"What, like it's too soon?" Like a premature baby or something? He wants to add, but that would probably freak you out again. Best not to do that.

"Yeah… just gotta keep…" You groan into the earpiece, and Arven hears more shuffling. It stays like that for a long while, with you groaning or breathing heavily, until his taxi arrives, and he steps in. You seem to come back as he closes the door.

"Just gotta keep breathing. And waiting." You finish. 

Arven nods, not entirely sure what to say, then adds. "Can they give you meds or something?" He asks.

"Believe it or not, they already have," You reply about as dryly as one can when they've been sobbing off and on for the past however long.

"Holy shit. Well, let me reiterate what I said about you being strong then."

That seems to get an honest little chuckle out of you, and Arven feels a genuine weight lift from his shoulders. He wants to make you laugh again. It's been so long, and he misses the sound of it, even this tinny version of it, distorted through bad cell service."I-I, uh… I'm in the taxi now. I'll be there as soon as I can be, okay?"

"...Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"No really. Thank you. I know you probably didn't want to spend your day doing this."

Arven shrugs. "Eh… I don't know if it's what I was expecting, but I promise not to hold it against you." His tone is light and teasing as he hopes to get another laugh, but it doesn't come.

"You really don't need to bother," You tell him softly after a moment. "If that's how you feel about the whole situation."

"What? No! It's just a joke, Bud!" But it seems you'd already hung up on him or something because the line cuts out.

He spends the next several minutes fretting over whether or not he should call back. Maybe something happened in the room at that exact time? And him calling would make it worse? Hell, Rika's phone might've died.

However, by the time he's worked up the courage to call the number again, it seems as though he's too high up, and the cell service is shot, so he's stuck stewing in the stratosphere, marinating in a miasma of apprehension. He shoots off a text to the number.

>Hey, I think the line went dead, but I'm still on my way! I hope everything is okay! Please stay strong! You're really amazing, alright? You've got this!!!

The little dot in the corner stays unfilled, showing the message as unsent but trying.

Arven sighs and sits back, his leg bouncing nervously.

What the fuck happened while he was gone? When did you get knocked up anyway? And how long had he been gone? The two of you had done it, after all… so if he left back in…

But no, you said that the baby was early or something, right? You did, right? So it couldn't be his. He's definitely been away 10 months, and that would be too long. Pregnancies don't last 40 weeks. They last 9 months, so that would be 36 weeks. Not 40. And your baby is early anyway. Apparently?

Arven sighs.

What the fuck happened while he was gone?

Maybe whatever asshole you were with was also the one who blocked his number on your phone, so he couldn't text you anymore.

Or… he guesses you weren't or aren't with them anymore? Because otherwise they'd be with you, right? And you wouldn't need to come crying to him. Not that he minds, of course! As utterly bizarre and anxiety inducing as this whole thing is, he's still glad to hear from you again. But really, what kinda jerk wouldn't be with you if they knocked you up? Especially someone as great as you?

Arven fumes at the thought of you having spent the last 9 months alone without anyone at your side. Why didn't you call him if you needed help? Hell, he may not be this kid's biological dad, but… Fuck, he knows how much it sucks not to have parents around. Maybe he could've… if you wanted him to… if he stayed?

Then again if he'd stayed, maybe you wouldn't be in this mess. The two of you would just be together.

Or. Well, he hopes you would be? That's what it sorta seemed like when you'd dropped him off at the airport all those months ago.

Ugh, he can't think about that now. How stupid! You're about to be a mother! You've got a whole human to worry about (and potentially push out of your body–oh God he can't think too hard about that one he might get sick). You've got bigger frillish to fry than some shoulda-coulda-woulda romance with him!

So Arven spends the rest of the ride restlessly bouncing his knees until the cabbie stomps on the roof, yelling at him to stop with the twitching because it fucks up the birds' control of the basket. After that he can only nervously bite at his thumbnail until he's eventually dropped in front of the hospital.

Arven nearly jumps from the stupid cab in an attempt to get out faster but thinks better of it. He's no good to you with a broken ankle.

Once he's properly out of the cab though, he at least (but barely) has the graces about him to yell out a thanks to the driver as he makes a mad dash toward the entrance.

From there, it's like a blur as he's guided to your room by hospital staff. He hears you first, from down the hall, that same, low groaning he'd heard over the phone. It reverberates down the hall, and he starts running to it, calling your name loudly as he opens the door.

"Sir, you can't just–" Someone from the nurses' station yells to him, but he doesn't pay them any mind.

The sight of you there burns in his mind like a brand. You're in a bed with the back propped up halfway, and your legs are hitched into stirrups.

You.

It's been nearly a year, and you.

You…you look wrecked. Your hair is a mess of knots, and sweat has dampened it down, making it stick to your neck and forehead where it hasn't been swept away into a nest that he can't tell is either a ponytail or a bun or something.

You've been crying, your cheeks and eyes red, and he can see even at a glance where the tear tracks have dried across your cheekbones.

You're still so beautiful to him, even like this.

"Looks like Dad finally made it." One of the doctors between your legs says, and Arven is about to correct her when he's interrupted. "Go ahead and get on her other side."

It's then that Arven sees someone else holding one of your hands. A person with long bluish-green hair.

Part of him almost wonders if this is the sperm donor Rika was talking about, but then he remembers that these doctors think he's the father. There's no dad here.

"Arven…" Your voice breaks him from his thoughts, you're reaching a hand for his from across the room. "You really came."

He's at your side in an instant, clasping your single hand in both of his. "A-absolutely! I told you I'd be here fast as I could."

You nod, seemingly tearing up again, and the person on your other side snaps their fingers in your face.

"Hey! Hey hey," They tell you. "No more tears right now, 'kay? We gotta keep you breathing properly, so you can push. You ready, Mama?"

Mama? Oof what a weird thing to call you… But the person has a point, you probably can't be getting all weepy if you're about to–

"Holy fuck!" Arven cries out loud as you squeeze his hands in time with your groan. (A stupider man might compare the sound to a miltank lowing, but no one has to know that Arven maybe had that thought...)

"That was great." The doctors address you, completing ignoring Arven's distress and potentially broken metacarpals. 

The person at your side looks to him with a wicked grin.

"Got here just in time for the fun, Dad."

"Don't tease him like that, Rika," You say between pants, your eyes closed in concentration. So that's Rika… 

You gently tap a finger against one of Arven's hands without letting go or looking at him quite yet. "Sorry…"

"S'fine." Arven lies, ignoring the pain in his hand as he taps his thumb against yours. "Just…let me know what else I can do to help." He wiggles his less-squeezed hand free and uses it to push a stray bit of your hair back behind your ear with a soft smile.

"Just don't go, okay?" You say, small and tired.

Arven tilts his head to the side and quirks an eyebrow, still keeping that same soft grin on you. "I wouldn't dream of it."

He doesn't mind if a few of his fingers are broken along the way. He has you back. …Kinda? Not that you're his, obviously, but you're near him, and he's near you, and he can help you, and isn't that something?

And isn't it something else entirely when your screaming just a few minutes later is joined by another voice, smaller, raspier, and entirely brand new?

The baby boy (a boy!) is brought to your breast, still wet and red and screeching at the novelty and cold and change of his entire existence so far. Arven doesn't know anything about babies. Not really, but he doesn't look too small at all. Not like he's premature at least.

Really, he looks perfect. Is it weird that he thinks that?

He watches as the doctors take the baby from you, though he's still attached by the umbilical cord, and then someone is handing Arven clamps or scissors or something.

"Does Dad want to do the honors?" One of the nurses asks him.

"Wh-wha…?" Arven hesitates and looks to you nervously. "I-Is that okay? I don't know if I'm qualified."

But the nurse is already placing the cord between the clamps and telling him to just snip.

So he does?

It all happens so fast, and then he looks down at you, and you're smiling up at him, looking so, so tired. Which, yeah, that makes sense.

"Hey!" Rika pseudo-shouts from your other side, having been distracted by something else. "I wanted to be the one to do that."

"Oh, uh. My bad?" Arven says, and he dumbly almost goes to hand her the clamps before a nurse takes them.

"Yeah, whatever. Can I take this loser out back and teach him a lesson, Mama? I'll do it." She asks you, grinning all the while.

"Loser?! C'mon that's a little harsh." Arven says, incredulous, but you place a sleepy hand on each of their forearms.

"I'm not gonna have any fighting right now. Please? There's a whole new person that just got here. I kinda wanna focus on that before we get to the fighting or whatever?"

Rika calms down with an exaggerated, "Yeah yeah yeah, whatever you say." It's also at that time that her phone buzzes. "Son of a…again?" She takes the device from the bedside table, looks at it, and groans. "I really hate to do this, but now that you've expelled your darling potato, do you mind if I take this real fast?" Rika asks you, pointing to the door. "I'll just be out there for a moment."

You nod, and before Rika goes, she takes a moment to look Arven up and down, giving him the stink eye with one of those 'I'm watching you' type gestures where she points two fingers to her eyes then to him threateningly.

Only once she's gone does he finally breathe a sigh of relief and collapse into the chair next to you, scooting it closer, so he can sit by your head.

It's around that time that the nurse also brings your baby back, now tightly swaddled up in a blanket and wearing a little orange cap.

"Congratulations again," She says, handing him off to you. "We'll continue monitoring you from here, and you've still got the placenta to deliver, but you're through the worst of it."

You thank the nurse and hold the little boy tightly to you, adjusting his blanket just a bit to better see his smooshed little face.

"What's his name?" Arven asks. He can't stop staring at this tiny little thing. He looks so much like you. Because, duh. That's how babies work. But…wow. He loves you, obviously. He never stopped loving you, even when he was mad at you all those months ago, so in a sense he gets that he would love your kid, too, even if he only just met him… but holy shit the sheer amount of love he feels for this itty bitty little buddy you're holding is kinda scaring him.

"Basil." You say softly, as if you just decided.

"...I like it. Good choice." Arven tells you. He gingerly reaches out a hand toward the baby, delicately stroking his cheek.

"Hi Basil. Nice to meetcha, Bud. I'm Arven."

He notices that you tense at his side as he speaks. Must be some kinda protective mother instinct thing, maybe? So Arven withdraws his hand.

"He's beautiful."

"Isn't he though?" You agree dreamily, moving similarly to stroke Basil's cheek with your index finger. "Hello, my sweet boy…"

Basil seems to recognize the sound of your voice because he opens his eyes, blinking wide and owlishly, looking all over for the source of the sound as you coo softly at him. Eventually his gaze settles in on you, and you pull him in closer for kisses all over his tiny face. His cap gets jostled askew in the process.

Beside you, Arven's heart drops into the pit of his stomach.

Not only does Basil have teal eyes to match his own; his hair is two-toned, an achingly familiar blond and mousy brown.

That sick feeling Arven had felt in the cab comes roaring back to him with a vengeance.

"E-Excuse me." He says suddenly, standing. He thinks he hears you say something sharp, punctuated with a pang of panic or worry, but the sound of blood pulsing in his ears drowns it out.

There's a bathroom in your hospital suite, but even at that short distance he barely makes it in time before he's emptied the contents of his stomach.

What the fuck.

This kid has to be his. Right?

Why didn't you tell him?

He stays there, clinging to the cold tile of the hospital floor for what feels like a very long, long time, as he thinks he hears shuffling outside the door. He's not entirely sure since the rushing sound in his ears won't go away.

Eventually what pulls him back is the sound of Basil crying, small and scared and so, so new.

Basil.

That…that could be his boy. Has to be his boy, right? His boy.

If you wanted him to be? Or…well, even if you didn't want him to be? Did Arven have rights here? If you wanted him around though, couldn't Basil be his boy? Wouldn't he want that? To be a…a dad to a little baby boy who looks just like him? To give him the dad that he never got to have?

Fuck, could he even be a dad?

Arven suddenly feels sick all over again.

No.

No, breathe. Breathe.

Okay…

Maybe…maybe you don't want him to be a dad? That could make sense, right? How could some guy whose own dad didn't want him ever be a good father?

No. That's not like you. You don't think like that. Right?

Fuck. He can't have all these thoughts in a hospital bathroom.

He needs to get off the tile. He needs to stand. He needs to…to…

He needs to talk to you.

Basil isn't crying anymore.

Arven stands on shaking legs. He splashes his face with icy water. He rinses his mouth. Splashes his face again.

When he opens the door back out to your suite, Basil is tucked snuggly against your breast nursing, so he tries to politely look away.

The doctors or nurses or whoever are also all talking to you, so Arven just kinda stands at the door while you listen to them.

From the bits he picks up, Basil sounds healthy? Good test scores and whatnot for whatever baby tests they made him take, he imagines.

Arven really doesn't want to stare, but he can't help that his eye keeps going back to the baby. To…

"--And you and the father will need to go ahead and complete the birth certificate." One of the nurses says, making Arven's ears perk up.

"O-Oh. Uh, yeah." You say, taking the slip of paper from her with your free hand. "Thanks."

They seem to disperse soon after, leaving you alone with Basil while Arven continues to stand awkwardly at the door to the bathroom, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Your attention is still on the baby, the paper face down on the bedside table.

Arven clears his throat, and you startle, which makes Basil unlatch and fuss. You shoot Arven a glare, and he quickly apologizes.

"I was just getting the hang of it. I think." You say tersely.

He politely looks away while you try to reposition the baby and calm him again.

He only shuffles over to sit by you once he hears Basil suckling. "Is this okay?" He asks vaguely, not really looking at you or the baby, even though he really wants to.

"Uh…sure…" You say. The hesitancy makes you sound nervous, but Arven can't totally tell without looking at your face.

…

"How are you feeling?" You both ask each other at the same time, then back off with an uneasy chuckle.

"Me?" Arven eventually asks with a snort. "I just got a little sick. I'm more worried about you." It's genuine. Even with his whole panic episode and the fact that he's probably on the brink of another twelve or so…at least he didn't have to shove a person out of his loins.

You hum, and Arven hears fabric shift. "Fine, I guess. The doctors are monitoring me for now, but other than…ya know," He doesn't know, but sure? "I'm still here."

You both stay silent after that for a long moment, the only sound filling the space being Basil's tiny eating noises. Arven's heart squeezes tight.

Why didn't you tell me? Is he mine? He has to be mine. He's mine, right? Why didn't you tell me? How could you keep this from me? Why would you hurt me like this? Don't you know how much I love you? Don't you know how much I would have loved you? Don't you know how much I love him already? Isn't he mine? Can I hold him? Can I hold him?

Can I hold him?

"Where's Rika?" Arven asks. 

"Geeta called. Something at the League. Couldn't wait, I guess? Plus now that the littlest one is here, and I'm not in critical or something, I told her it was fine." You say, and Arven can see you shrug from his peripheral. "She, uh. She works for the League, too. She helped take care of me. Ya know…during."

"I know." Arven says. "I-I mean. About the League thing. She told me over the phone… Are you two, uh, y'know…?" He doesn't know how to finish the question. Maybe you didn't want Basil to have a dad at all. A family doesn't have to have a dad anyway… You don't need him.

"What? Oh, no!" You laugh the tiniest bit, just an airy, tired thing. "Rika's just a good friend. A wonderful advocate…" You sigh. "It was her idea to call you, y'know." 

Arven hears and sees you shifting. It also sounds like Basil isn't eating anymore, so he hazards a look over. True enough, the baby is sound asleep.

"Sorry again about that." You say.

"Hm?" Arven asks, lost in the sight of bundle in your arms. Can I hold him?

"Sorry she, uh… She called you. I know you've got your whole life ahead of you in Kalos right now… I know this isn't what you wanted. I told myself I wouldn't make this your problem."

"Not my… Buddy, what are you talking about?" Arven feels like he's been punched in the gut, and he doesn't want to get mad about it, but it's hard to keep the frustration from seeping into his tone. You kept this from him because you thought it wasn't his problem?

"Well, yeah. I didn't want to get in the way of your dreams, you know? I just… I felt so bad."

"You felt bad, so you sent me all those horrible messages and told me to stop talking to you?" Arven interrupts, doing his damnedest to keep his voice soft. "You… You can't just block me only to call me back at the drop of the hat. Except it's not really the drop of a hat, is it? It's the drop of my fucking baby, right? Right? He's mine, isn't he? H-he has to be, right? You haven't said it out loud, b-but… God, I can see it in him. How…how could you do this to me? How could you possibly? In what world?" Arven doesn't realize he's crying until breathing becomes harder and harder. His voice is still hushed though. He won't risk Basil waking up. "In what world could it possibly be okay for you to push me away like this? Me! I-I know I'm not the nicest guy… I-I know I didn't have the best examples of parents, but…but shouldn't that tell you that I would want to know all the more? I don't care about Kalos! I don't care about any of it! I-I cared about us! About you! I care about him! I care about being a present parent to my child more than any kind of career I could ever build. E-even if his mother doesn't think I deserved to know he even existed! H-how could you do this to me…?" His head falls into his hands.

Your fingers are on him. Gently laying on his head, feather light.

"Arven."

He tenses beneath you, hiccuping back a silent sob.

"Arven. Look at me."

He lifts his head, his teary eyes finding yours to be just as red as his own, your brows knit together in confusion and hurt. "I don't… I don't understand." The hand on his head goes to cup his cheek, one of your thumbs wiping away a tear, or more accurately, pressing it into his skin. "Of course Basil is yours. I told you… Whose else could he possibly be?" You laugh wetly and without humor. "You're the one… You're the one who never responded to me. I just didn't push you on it because I thought you had better things on your plate. I told you about all this months ago, and you blocked me. Do you not remember this?"

Arven sits up, pushing your hand away.

"Better things on my plate? Are you kidding me? It's a job. And I never blocked you? You were the one to block me!"

You sigh and take your phone from the bedside table where it sits next to the overturned and unfilled birth certificate. You open it up and hand it over to him.

It's the text conversation between yours and his number. The most recent message on his end is an error, but on your end…

>Hey! I know this isn't ideal, and I really would have rather said it in person or over a face call or even just a regular call, but I think you need to know, and I'm having a really hard time verbalizing it to you. I'm sorry to do it this way, but it's better to say it now than not at all, right?

I'm pregnant, and it's yours.

I'm so, so, SO sorry! I promise I didn't mean for it to happen like this, and I'm not trying to like…baby trap you or something. I swear! You're my best friend in the whole world, and I'm so happy that you can go and live your dream in Kalos right now. But I just feel like you should know? Like you should have a say in what happens here? I'd love to talk to you. Do...do you want to do this? Because....well if you're willing I'd want to try this. With you. But I also know that you're living your dream right now, and I don't want to get in the way of that! I want you to be able to really embrace this new journey you're taking and learn and grow and do wonderful things! But I just wanted you to know, you know? Please don't hate me. Just give me a call when you have a minute, and we can figure this out. Okay?

Arven's hand shakes as he reads. His eyes scan the screen. No. No? When was this sent? It has to be fake. The number has to be wrong. No… It…It's all there, plain as day. 

"But…" He opens his own phone. "I never got this from you. We… We had a whole different conversation."

He hands the device to you, and you shift the baby in your arms a bit before you take it. Arven's text opens the most recent conversation.

>Hey! Sorry we keep missing each other lately! I hope things are okay? Are you staying warm? It's getting kinda cold here.

>can we not do this?

>Not do what?

>"This" i'm getting real fuckin tired of you bailing on me all the time now that your some hot shot kalosian celebrity guy

>Whoa. Where is this even coming from??

>you kno exactly where its coming from, arven. Youve been super shitty to me since you left paldea and it really hurts my feelings.

>I'm sorry? I've been busy here. It's been a lot getting used to a whole new place and a whole new language. I thought you understood that. I really am sorry though.

>y'know what? I dont really care at this point. Ive had enough waiting around for you to call me or text me back. there are guys here who can do better by me

>[One Missed Call]

>[One Missed Call]

>[One Missed Call]

>Are you being serious right now? You can't be. This is a joke?

>[One Missed Call]

>[The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected and is no longer in service.]

Arven watches as your face scrunches in confusion as you read through it, your thumb moving bit by bit across the screen.

You hum softly, confused, and tilt your head to the side. "...Arven? This…this isn't me…"

"What?" He looks at the phone over your shoulder.

You point at your contact name on the top of the screen and click it open.

"That's my name, but that's…that's definitely not my number."

"What?"

He snatches the device back out of your hand.

Sure enough…the number associated with your name there…is Kalosian.

"My number…" You say, starting to type it into the dial pad. "Is this…" and lo and behold, there's no associated contact. In fact, the number pops up in red once it's fully typed out, indicating that it had been blocked.

"Wh… I… I didn't. I would never." Arven starts, going to defend himself. "You know, I wouldn't!"

"Not even after getting scared at the prospect of suddenly becoming a father?" You ask, maybe a little meanly. "Listen. I… I don't get what's going on here? I'm sorry. I don't… I don't want to get upset. I'm tired. It's been a long day." You gently bounce Basil in your arm. "I… I've prepared myself mentally to do all of this without you. I'm…" You close your eyes and swallow. "I'm sorry I called you here today. It was a moment of weakness, and if you want to go now, I won't blame you, okay? You don't… You don't need to stick around out of…I dunno, pity or some sense of obligation if it's just going to make you upset in the long run, okay? It really does seem like you had no idea until now that I'd been pregnant. So. I can't just ask you to leave your position all of the sudden. You probably have duties and responsibilities you're missing out on right now. Not to mention the fact that you haven't had a chance to mentally process any of this yet. I'm really sorry for whatever happened on your end. Whatever it was…" You sigh. "I'll be fine with Basil on my own. Like I said, that's been the plan on my end from basically the start when y–…or whoever it was, blocked my number. You can go back to Kalos and keep doing whatever cooking show and podcast and content creation whatever… it's okay. Okay?"

"No!" Arven replies, more loudly than he intended. "No… How? How could you expect me to go back to Kalos after this? No. I… I can't. I'll figure something out. Figure out what happened with everything, but…" Arven leans in and takes one of your hands. "I need you to understand. This is the absolute most important thing. You. Basil. Both of you. Even…even if you won't have me," He swallows solemnly. "I want to do everything in my power to be here and present for my son. If…if you'll let me call him that?"

Arven searches your eyes as they fill afresh with tears. You wordlessly nod, and he drops his head at your side, his own shoulders shaking a bit.

"Thank you… I'm sorry I missed so much already."

"Well, you got here in time to cut the cord, so…I think that counts for something?"

Arven sniffles through a small laugh, and you stifle back a yawn. It's then that he notices your eyes drooping.

"Oh! That's right." He tells you, sitting back up a bit. "You said you were tired. I mean, obviously. That makes sense. Do you want to take a nap? I can… I can look after Basil for you. Well, not for you like I'm babysitting or something. Like." Can I hold him? "I mean obviously," Can I hold him? "I don't wanna just be a babysitter or something." Can I hold him? "I can keep him safe though." Keep him safe?!

"It's fine…" You say, yawning again and pulling the clear, rolling bassinet on your other side closer for you to set the baby down. "I'll take a nap, and he can sleep here by me. You don't need to do anything. If you like, you might be able to get some food down in the cafeteria if you're hungry?" You wince, hissing just slightly as you adjust your body to lay down more fully.

"That's okay! I'm not hungry." Arven insists. "I'd really rather stay close by. O-or I can get you some food? If you're hungry?"

You shake your head, your eyes already closed as if half asleep. "Nah…later. Tired now."

"Okay… You go to sleep. If Basil wakes up, can I…?"

Arven doesn't finish his sentence because you're already snoring softly.

He sits quietly watching you and the baby. Your baby…his baby. It makes his chest squeeze in a hideously wonderful way.

He should be terrified. On some level, he is. This is a lot, and he's definitely going to need more than a half hour throwing up in a hospital bathroom to get used to the fact that his life has been irreversibly changed. The two of you have a whole lot to talk about, and he'll have a hell of a lot to discuss with the folks at the company he's partnering with right now to figure out how he can move back to Paldea effective immediately, not to mention what happened with his phone. He doesn't understand what could have gone on there, but no one touches his phone but him and the folks at the company who make posts on his behalf from time to time.

But…for now he just wants to watch over you and Basil. An anxious part of his brain keeps an eye on both of your chests, making sure they're rising and falling with each breath.

At some point a nurse comes in to check on everyone's vitals, and he dutifully stays out of the way as best he can.

You don't stir in the slightest through the poking and prodding or whatever the nurse does, but Basil comes back to wakefulness and starts fussing, not really crying yet but making unhappy little noises in that register that only brand new babies make.

The nurse coos him some, and Arven doesn't even realize that he stood, hovering right beside her the moment his son started fretting, until she turns and smiles at him.

"He's okay, don't worry." She reassures Arven with a softly whispered chuckle. "Just isn't too happy about being moved. I'm all done now though and'll get out of your hair."

She gently hands Basil over, putting him in Arven's arms with a kind reminder to support his head, and she's gone.

Arven doesn't even have the wherewithal in him to comment or ask if this is okay or if it's alright with you or if he's allowed to do this or–or–or…

He slowly goes to sit back down in the cushy armchair at your bedside.

Basil has mostly quieted down now, having been spoken to in soft, sweet tones and bounced gently. He's still a little sleepy and blinks blearily up at Arven.

He stares down at those eyes that match his own, and the rest of the world seems to fade away.

"Can… Can I try again? I think I messed up a little bit ago." He asks Basil under his breath, leaning in to kiss his pudgy cheek. "Hi Basil… Nice to meetcha, Bud. I'm… I'm your Dad."

[arvensimp]

I’m not sure how to ask this, but could you write something about Arven wanting to start a family with the reader?? Or just how he’d do with kids in general.. I’m sorry if this goes against any personal rules on this account..? Or makes you uncomfortable. ☹️Thank you!!

LISTEN. I am in a season in my life where I want a baby so very badly. I'm not uncomfortable at all with stuff like this. You're fine. 💖💖

Oops!!!

Arven x fem!reader, wanting to start a family, NSFW actual super duper breeding kink not just theoretical like "oh there's a creampie so I'm tagging this as breeding kink" like this is probably a lot...so forgive me father Turo for I have sinned

-

It's a strange thing to watch you sometimes.

You're a champion, one of the most powerful trainers in the region, and well-known for it. You've tamed literal monsters, not just sweet little smolivs and fidoughs, but nasty dragons and beasts of terrifying places.

Yet there you are, squatted in front of a group of five or six grade school children, one hand on your astoundingly well-behaved Slither Wing (one of the aforementioned literal monsters), as you teach them about its needs as a paradox pokemon.

The children ooh and ahh at it and reach out their hands to touch.

Arven listens as you very sternly but kindly tell them that Slither Wing can be a very, very dangerous creature. That while your one is friendly, they should always do their best to stay safe out in the world. Be respectful of wild pokemon and steer clear.

Then you let them have a pet at its soft fluff.

They marvel and giggle, and Slither Wing chitters softly. You coo at it, praising both the pokemon and children for their good behavior. Arven's heart melts.

He doesn't really know a practical thing about kids. He didn't really get to be one himself, and he didn't spend time with them even when he was one... But he really loves them. He feels kind of awkward about it in a lot of ways, especially as a man. Like, he doesn't want to be seen as a creep or something like that. He just really loves the thought of getting to be a dad someday and getting to take care of a kid and do things that he missed out on when he was little, like little league sports and birthday parties and holidays and stuff like that. Obviously it would be different doing them as a dad than as a kid, and he wouldn't live vicariously through his child... But he could give someone a whole world that he didn't get to have...

And he really wants to be able to do that with you.

You stand from your squat after having signed autographs for the kids and return Slither Wing to its ball, then jog back to Arven. His hand immediately goes to the small of your back as the two of you keep walking along side by side.

"Sorry about that," You tell him with a chuckle. "You know I can't say no to fans."

"No worries, I get it," He replies easily enough, scratching lightly at your back through your jersey top. "You, uh... You have a soft spot for kids...?" He asks it softly, almost as if he were embarrassed, but you're the one who blushes a bit, looking to your feet.

"Haha, I guess I do. Yeah... They're cute, y'know?"

Arven nods, and his fingers twitch just the tiniest bit against you, but other than that, the two of you are mostly quiet on your way back home.

-

Eventually as your relationship progresses, the subject of family planning is broached.

Arven notices that your PokéBook reel feed has been filled with videos of babies lately, from newborns to toddlers to videos of little kids playing with young and old pokemon, to pregnant influencers talking about...pregnancy trends? He's not spying on you or something, but when you cohabitate, it's an easy enough thing to hear if you're not constantly wearing headphones, which you generally don't. A good trainer needs to protect their hearing after all if they want to have an extra leg up out in the wild areas, and he gets that.

So one day as you're scrolling through your videos, and he hears a cooing sound of what is most likely a human baby, he asks. "Whatcha watching?"

You blush and turn the volume down. "S-sorry. I think I destroyed my algorithm... I keep getting these baby videos... They're really cute..."

Arven leans over. "Can I see?" He hopes he sounds nonchalant, but sweat is prickling at the back of his neck.

"Oh! Yeah, sure." You lean in, too, basically meeting him halfway, and restart the video. It's a cute little baby, definitely not even a year old, dressed as a mareep in a little onesie and hat. "Cute, right?" You bite your lip and press a palm to your cheek as you fawn over the sweetness of it.

Arven smiles; you look so adorable like that. "Y-yeah... Um. Would you wanna, y'know, dress your kid up like that? One day?"

You gush a bit and squirm. "Oh, I don't know! I mean yes, but I don't know about mareep specifically. Maybe? But a maschiff could be cute too! Don't you think?"

Arven has to resist the urge to grasp at his chest. That would be too fucking much. "So...you want...a, uh..." He clears his throat. "A...kid?"

You pop cherubi red right away. "O-oh! Uh... I mean. I-I think so? Yes... Would you?"

Arven worries his bottom lip with his teeth and nods. "Yeah... some day."

You smile, small and giddy, and scoot a bit closer to him. "Would...would you want to...together?"

Arven chokes on his answer, but you can guess what it is.

-

He wonders if there's something wrong with him... Or if maybe this is a thing with getting older, or a part of his "biological clock." Is that even a thing? He knows women are constantly put under pressure regarding theirs, but do men have one as well? Is it even a thing at all?

Regardless, he still feels like something is wrong. With him, of course, not you. Never you.

Every time the two of you are intimate lately, he can't help thinking about...certain things. It's probably harmless? But at the same time he still wonders if he's a creep.

He's got you on your back; he's pressed against your side, two fingers deep in your cunt. Your legs are splayed wide, one thrown over his hips as you grind erratically against his hand, just coming down from an orgasm. The aftershocks still occasionally jolt you, making your breasts bounce deliciously. Arven takes the nearest nipple into his mouth, worrying it into a stuff peak with his tongue. Fuck... He can just imagine your tits getting bigger and heavier...ready to burst with milk for your baby. They'd bounce so much more.

Shit, he feels his cock twitch needily against your thigh, and he grinds against you without thinking. "You ready?" He asks, husky and low.

You nod and give a breathy reply of "Y-Yes please..."

Arven sits up and moves between your spread thighs. He parts your folds and pauses a moment, just looking at you, your dripping center, still visibly pulsing from cumming around his fingers just moments ago.

You grind against nothingness. "A-Arven, please!" You squirm under his gaze. "I need you inside me..."

"Don't worry, Sweetness," He replies, taking that moment to rub the tip of his exposed cock over your clit. You jump at first then try to match his movement and get more of him, more friction. "I'll take good care of you, kay?"

You nod, and he continues grinding between your folds, properly lubing himself up before spearing you through in one swift motion.

You choke on a moan, and he watches with rapt attention as your tits bounce for him again. God, he needs more of that.

Arven moves a bit, adjusting his angle and your legs such that your knees are around his shoulders. Now when he fucks into you, the angle is deeper and rougher, and it nearly makes you cry from how good it feels.

When he leans down, effectively folding you in half, he almost wants to cum deep in you at that moment. Your tits are right there in his face, and your tummy looks deliciously pudgy. Sure it's not like a real pregnant belly, but he knows he could make it one. Your body would be his, and he'd watch you get fat with his baby, and your tits would get fucking massive, and he'd help relieve you when they got too heavy and full of milk and sore, and fuck he's gonna cum thinking like this, and isn't that just fucked?

He bites down gently on one of your breasts because it's right there, and with shaky hands, you hold his head in place, your pussy fluttering around him in a tell-tale sign of your mounting orgasm.

"A-Arven, god, it's good... I-I'm...gonna..."

Arven releases your nipple with an audible pop and noses against your breast. "Gonna cum for me, Sweetness? Fuck, do it. Please, do it." He begs. "C-cum on my cock... And let me cum inside... I'll be good. I'll be so good." He kisses around your nipple lovingly and teasingly all at once. "Let me knock you up. Make you a m-mommy, yeah? You'll be so pretty." One of his hands goes to stroke your side, and he feels you tighten around him all at once as you cum hard. Your mouth is open, but nothing comes out but the glottal stops of the starts of moans that keep getting choked up.

Arven talks you through it, his hips losing their rhythm and fucking against you erratically while his own pleasure mounts. "Y-you like that? You want me to make you a pretty little mommy? Knock you up with my kid? Fuck," He almost cums but barely holds back. "It'd be so good. I'll treat you so n-nice..." He bites down on your other nipple and finally lets his load go deep within you, all while he can still feel your heartbeat pulsing around his cock, heavy and hot and wet and tight.

He holds you there, folded in half like that for as long as he can, panting against your breast, until eventually his cock softens to the point that you actually tighten and squeeze him out of your cunt in the aftershocks of your orgasm.

He chuckles as it happens then lets himself fall off to the side of you.

"I-I...uh..." He starts, still breathing hard. "S-sorry..."

"Sorry?" You ask with a breathy and cum-drunk tone. Your eyes look like they're swimming in the afterglow. "Fuck, don't be... That...that was something else..."

You're quiet for a moment, and Arven isn't sure what to say. You're the one who ends up breaking the silence. "Did you maybe wanna...see if we can make that happen...for real? Like, for real-real?"

[arvensimp]

Hello! Do you think you could tag your pregnancy/kidfic stuff when you post it? Makes it easier to filter out. Thank you if you do! Genuinely love your work, but I'm trying my best to avoid things like that dgwjbejd Thank you again!!

Absolutely! I totally get how this kind of content could be really upsetting to folks.

For the folks at large and not just this anon necessarily, is there a preferred tag that folks use? I'm not used to writing much fic. I can use "#Arven x pregnant!reader" or "#Arven x reader kidfic" ? Or something else entirely. I can also go back and tag the previous fic that has a pregnancy in it if that makes folks more comfortable. Should breeding kink stuff also use a pregnancy tag?

Just lmk what common fandom courtesy is!

[arvensimp]

Hi uhh your story with the breeding kink really got to me lol. Would you be willing to write a fic where Arven finds out his s/o is pregnant? It can be fluffy or whatever you think would work best. Thank you!! 😊

Hello!!! I'm a MAJOR sucker for baby fics and pregnancy fics. Im a sap and I live a life of sin I'm very sorry. I hope you enjoy this!

-

Positive

Arven x pregnant!reader, no gendered pronouns are used to describe reader

--

You've spent the last several days with a cloying ache coming and going from your lower abdomen. It's nothing terribly unusual, as you're expecting your period and some early cramps aren't an out-of-the-ordinary symptom for you.

So you let it go and keep living life.

It isn't until a few weeks later that you realize you never actually started bleeding.

Well...maybe you spotted a little bit? But that hardly counts as a period.

But you cramped up?

Ugh... It wouldn't be the most convenient timing in the world if you were pregnant, but...well, you've always been told that there's never a perfect time anyway.

So with nervous hands you take one of the pregnancy tests you keep in the guest bathroom at yours and Arven's place. Scares have happened before, after all, and it doesn't hurt to have them around.

Two minutes later and a little pink plus is staring back at you.

Your heart sinks.

You take every other test you have in the cupboard.

They all pop positive.

Oof, okay. Well. Maybe you and Arven shouldn't have tempted fate quite so much with all of that dirty talk about him knocking you up...

Before you worry Arven with any of this, you go ahead and set up an appointment with your GP just to get blood work done to confirm it. No need to overcomplicate things too soon, after all.

Still...as the day of your appointment approaches you find yourself getting more and more nervous. What if it really is real? How will Arven really react? Sure you'd talked about kids before...but now? Hell, you were both so busy with your careers. Would you want to pause that now?

Worst of all was keeping it from him for the few days it took.

It wasn't really lying, you don't think. Just...sparing him from needless worry for a few days.

You're a bit lucky that he at least seems none the wiser to any changes in your behavior or in the pokemons' behavior around you. Certainly 'Raidon is less...excitable and less willing to curl up entirely on your lap the moment you sit down on the sofa.

You wonder if maybe pokemon just...have a sense about them?

Mabosstiff certainly seems more protective of you, making sure to perch himself at your feet or by your side the moment you sit down, only to dutifully follow you wherever you go when you get up.

That's actually probably the closest Arven gets to noticing anything strange. He'd been going back and forth to the kitchen a few times that night, while Mabosstiff stayed glued to you, and then as soon as you got up to use the restroom, the dog trailed you all the way down the hall, waiting patiently outside the door for you.

Arven scratches him behind the ears when you both get back to the living room.

"Are you picking a new favorite, buddy?" He asks, light heartedly.

Mabosstiff makes that silly grimacy kinda face at him before boofing loudly.

Arven laughs. "Really, I dunno what's gotten into him lately. He isn't even following me around for scraps."

You shrug. "Maybe it's just a phase..." You offer, scritching Mabosstiff where his tail meets his spine, making him go all limp on you.

Arven lets it go from there, and that's that.

Your trip to the doctor the next day confirms what the tests had told you earlier.

You're pregnant with Arven's baby.

Now you need to figure out what to do. How to tell him.

Luckily, an idea comes to you easily enough.

That week you're picnicking along Socarrat Trail. Some of your pokemon had recently taken to sneaking goodies into your picnic basket. Sometimes it was stones or pretty feathers. You even got a lovely string of pearls at one point from your tinkaton, though you don't want to think too hard about where she may have found them.

Your pokemon will also put their eggs in the basket after breeding, on the rare chance that it happens.

So...that seems like a good place to hide the results.

After the two of you set up the site for lunch and Arven gets started on cooking, you quietly slip the surprise into the basket and quickly set yourself to the task of giving all of your pokemon a bath, as is typically your duty while Arven prepares your meal.

You're sudsing up Slither Wing when you call out to him. "Hey, Arven?"

"Yeah?" He's putting picks in sandwiches as you speak.

"When you're done with that, could you check the basket?" You hope you sound casual as you ask it.

"Uh...yeah. Why?" He looks around the group of pokemon, likely trying to remember if there are any of compatible egg groups. "Are we expecting something?"

"Uh... I just like to check, is all. Never hurts to be sure?"

Arven shrugs. "No problem then. I'm telling you though, we probably shouldn't keep trying for that shiny maschiff pup. I don't think it's good for the environment. Ya know?"

You snort. "I've always found the puppies good homes. Haven't I? Besides, Mabosstiff makes a really good dad!" Inwardly your stomach is tying itself in knots. You finish rinsing Slither Wing and start towel drying it and yourself as Arven goes to the basket. You try to keep an inconspicuous eye on him as he goes.

Arven quickly lifts the lid, glances inside, then closes it.

"Nah, nothing there."

You panic. What? You're sure you put the results there. Was he just not paying attention?

"Uh...you sure?" You say, trying to quell the mounting nerves in your voice.

"Yeah, sweetness. I know what eggs look like."

You sigh as you continue rubbing the towel through Slither Wing's fuzzy body.

"I didn't ask about eggs. Sometimes the pokemon slip other things into the baskets. Like pearls or stones."

"Oh. Uh..." He looks sheepish for a moment. "I'll check again then." Arven goes back and opens the lid.

"Huh. Looks like they brought us a piece of paper..." He takes it out an unfolds it, eyes scanning the page.

"Uh...sweetness?" You watch as the color drains from his face.

"Yes?" You answer, approaching him slowly, not entirely sure how he'll react.

"How, uh..." He looks up at you from the page. "How are you feeling?"

"How are you feeling?" You ask, not entirely cheekily as you slip your hands around his waist.

Fuck, you hope this is okay.

"Uh...Yeah. Good. You, uh. You put this in the basket?" He sounds numb.

You lean into him and nod against his chest, starting to get a little choked up.

He doesn't return your hug immediately, and that has your heart sinking like a stone.

"It's real?" He asks.

You nod again, squeezing him a bit tighter.

"You're...?"

You nod.

"So," He swallows audibly, "We're...?"

You nod again, trying to force back tears that threaten to fall.

"Please don't be mad." It comes out much smaller and weaker than you'd imagined. Your brain knows he shouldn't be mad. At the very least this isn't just your fault even if he were to be mad, but he shouldn't be mad anyway. But you're still suddenly scared now as you cling to him.

You feel Arven rest a warm and gentle hand on your lower back.

"Hey. I'm not mad." He pulls you away just a bit with his other to get you to look in his eye.

"Promise?"

Arven kisses your forehead. "Promise. I love you."

And the dam bursts. All your fear and anxiety from the past week and however long come flooding to the forefront and out of your face in an absolute mess.

You apologize for keeping it from him for the past few days, for not telling him sooner, and he shushes you with kisses at your cheeks, nose, and forehead.

"What're we gonna do?" You finally allow yourself to ask.

"Well..." Arven starts, guiding the two of you to the picnic table to sit. "We've talked about..." He clears his throat. "About babies before. We can do this... Parenting. If you want! I don't want to force you. I'm here no matter what you choose, but... I'm ready to try my hand at being a...a dad, if you'll let me?" He squeezes your hands reassuringly.

You sniffle miserably.

"I... I want that." You admit.

"Then that's settled!" He says, pulling you into a massive (though not too tight) hug. He speaks into your hair as he lovingly strokes at your lower back. "We don't have to have all the answers right now. I think. We can figure more out later. Yeah?"

You nod against him.

"Thank you."

"Me?" He snorts. "What're you thanking me for? I should be thanking you!" One of his hands slips over, warmly covering your lower abdomen in a way that has your tummy doing somersaults.

"You're doing one of the most incredible things in the world...and you're letting me be a part of it."

Arven kisses you softly. "C'mon. Let's eat and then go home. I, uh..." He laughs a bit. "I suddenly don't feel great about dragging you out to the corner of the region where some of the strongest wild pokemon are?"

You laugh back. "Please. I can at least handle myself for a bit longer. Besides, we have two champion level teams with us. I think we're safe."

Arven looks back at your combined pokemon and between the massive dragon, your fire crocodile, a tiny fairy with a massive hammer, and a living bug dinosaur he suddenly feels like he's the one who needs to keep from panicking for a minute.

[arvensimp]

Masterpost

Hey! Thanks for checking out my writing here! I'm creating this masterpost so folks have an easier time finding my current works as well as seeing what has already been written or requested before submitting something new.

As always, I'm happy to answer any questions that folks have. :) Since this is a side blog, I can't reply to replies on my posts, so feel free to message or send me an ask if you just want to speak directly to me and get an answer.

Before you submit a request for a new fic, please read the list of rules here, as well as the list of current requests here. If you're using the app and those two links aren't working, they go to arvensimp.tumblr.com/rules and arvensimp.tumblr.com/requests respectively. Please just review them first. Then please check out the list of current works! As an example, I already have lots of stuff with a jealous arven, as well as an applin exchange.

Current Works

Chronologically posted, * depicts NSFW content, if fem or male isn't specified, then third person singular pronouns are not used to describe the reader, so reader can be fem, masc, or nb. As in, the reader is not described as he, she, or they.

After Graduation - Arven x fem!reader confessing their feelings

Rain and Ruined Sandwiches - Arven x reader, includes an applin gifting

2 + 1 - Arven x reader, Arven tries asking out the reader twice, then they end up doing some cooking together. Includes a bit of jealous Arven

*Kisses - Arven x reader, just a lot of kissing.

*First Time(s) - Arven x fem!reader, breakdown of first times with a fem reader

Starving - Arven x touch starved!reader, bit of angst over the fact that the pokemon start to flock more to Arven now the he starts cooking for everyone. Also includes the "only one bed at the hotel" trope

Arven as a student - just a list of headcanons, not an actual fic

Green Eyed Tera-Type, Part 2 , Part 3 - jealous!Arven x reader, ft. N

*Midnight Messquerade , Part 2, Part 3 - horny!Arven x reader, bit of a shame kink

Poor Flirt - Arven x reader, Arven just being flustered and bad at flirting lmao

*Dirty Talk - Arven x reader, focus on how Arven speaks in the bedroom

Burning Love - Arven x reader, reader trying to cook for Arven and getting hurt in the process

*Different Kinda Jelly, Part 2, Part 3 - jealous!Arven x fem!reader, ft. Leon and a very slight bit o breeding kink

Birthday! - Arven x reader, just a tiny birthday ficlet

*Vocal Lover - Arven x reader, focus on getting Arven to talk during the act

Passing - Arven x reader, comfort during the time of a pokemon's passing

Beach Episode - Arven x reader, what is says on the tin! Beach date!

Sickness - Arven x reader, dealing with the reader being seriously ill

*Little Talks - Arven x fem!reader, discussion of Arven's kinks

*Good Boy - Arven x fem!reader, touch starved Arven with a praise kink tries doggy style w the reader

That Funny Feeling - Arven x singer!reader, comfort

You Can Plan on Me - Arven x reader during the holidays

*The Earth and The Glorious Sun - Arven x reader, face sitting/squirting. No gendered pronouns are used here but fem genitalia is mentioned colloquially

Gotta Gotta Be Down - Arven x reader, Arven is jealous of the time you're spending with some of the former Team Star bosses and rushes a confession

Positive - Arven x Pregnant!reader, just finding out reader is pregnant

*Love Like You - Arven x male!reader, realizing feelings, confessions, and a first time

*I Really Want It - Arven x fem!reader, food play

Purple Puppy - Arven x reader with a Mabosstiff on their team.

A Wish Your Heart Makes - Arven x reader, pure fluff about reader saying Arven's name while sleeping

Baby Mine - Arven x reader (no gendered pronouns are used to describe the reader), discovering a pokemon egg!!

*Masturbation headcanon

*Oops!!! - Arven x fem!reader, wanting to start a family, NSFW actual super duper breeding kink

Wisdom Teeth Removal - Arven x reader, what it says on the tin, Arven helping you recover after minor surgery

Pocket Things - Arven x reader with a cofagrigus. This one has a hint of horror to it.

*Minty Herba Mystica - Arven x reader, pure smut wherein Arven accidentally eats an herba mystica that maybe isn't meant for human consumption

Disobedient - Arven x reader with a Hisuian Zoroark that very much does not like him. Another one with aspects of horror.

*your father should know [part 2] [part 2.5] - Arven x fem!reader, kid!fic wherein arven unknowingly leaves the reader pregnant in paldea and through a series of miscommunications has no idea about the pregnancy/child

Thoughtless Murmuring - Arven x reader, arven pissed you off and he's gonna try to do something about it.

*The Type To Break It - Leon x fem!reader, leon and reader go at it while hop is asleep the next room over. v nsfw.

[wyverndollface96]

Didn’t let my arthritis get in the way. Was worried I’d mess this up. But here’s Arven with his baby boy. 💕

your father should know, pt 2.5

Arven leaves you with something more than either of you bargained for when he goes off to Kalos for an internship, and through a series of miscommunications and heartbreak, he returns a few years later to learn that he actually has a child.

arven x reader, nsfw content, pregnancy, angst, and stupid miscommunications

[part 1] [part 2]

thanks for your patience waiting for this part!! also thank you to my beautiful betas for helping me <3

SO. This is basically just an alternative ending to the fic that I thought of and couldn't get out of my brain. i hope y'all like it. again. this is just an alt. ending, branching off of part 2. there will still be a part 3 to the main fic wherein arven has been gone for a year+ and comes back having had no idea about anything. i just wanted to feed everyone while also feeding my own fantasies lololol

Rika lost count of how many hours had passed since she rushed you into L&D. Adrenaline kicked in, and beyond timing contractions, she hadn't thought to check the actual time on her phone or watch or anything. 

She knows Nemona arrived not long after, bringing your go-bag and your cute labor dress, so you could change out of that horrible, assless hospital gown, but...again... No clue about the time.

All Rika knows is you've been crying and yelling for so, so long. Yeah, labor isn't like a walk through the Artazon gardens or something, but... You're so miserable, your hair tamped down to your forehead with sweat as you groan through every contraction.

The nurses say you shouldn't push yet, you're not far enough along or something? But with contractions like that? Fuck, they're the medical professionals, and if you're not feeling the urge to push, either? Who's Rika to say you should push?

But you keep crying... Hiccuping sobs that are only interrupted when you're forced to groan through a contraction that seizes your body. 

Rika has no problem holding your hand, wiping the sweat and tears from your face, pulling back your hair, any of that. But... Even then. She can tell she isn't the best person for this situation.

You don't want her here. Well. You do, but you don't want her here as much as you'd want someone else.

The attending nurse has left the two of you alone for a bit after checking yours and the baby's vitals. She says everything's fine. You're just progressing really slowly. It's apparently normal for a mother's first time.

Rika takes your hand again, using the one you've been squeezing just a bit less. She's been trying to swap them out a bit just for stamina sake.

"Hey, Mama..."

"Hey..."

"What can I do here?"

Your lip wobbles, and you shrug.

"No, none of that. I mean, yes, you keep crying." She squeezes your hand gently. "You cry as much and as loud as you need. But what can I do to help?"

"...More ice chips?"

Rika gives you a half smile and with her other hand produces the already filled cup. "You know I got you."

You take them and munch for a bit until another contraction starts up, and you pass it back, your eyes closing in concentration.

Rika almost reminds you of your breathing from class, but she knows better. Even if it doesn't get her a swift smack up the head, it'd kind of be an asshole move.

You groan lowly through it, breathing technique either lost or forgotten, and when the feeling passes, your voice breaks into another sob.

"Hey now... You got it. That's another one down..." Rika pets your head softly and watches as another nurse walks in to check on you.

She roots around for a bit under the modesty sheet or whatever, and you wince but otherwise make no comment, only sitting up and looking hopefully at her when she stands. The nurse smiles at you. "The baby is still doing fine! Just taking their sweet time is all."

As soon as she leaves the room, your face drops along with your upper half as you fall against the raised bed back with another frustrated cry that devolves into more sobs. You hide your face in your hands.

"Hey..." Rika's heart breaks. She follows your movement, taking one of your hands in both of hers. "I don't wanna make you mad here. Just a suggestion... Do you wanna talk to that Arven guy? I'll call him myself. Give him hell if you need to."

You freeze, your breath hitching and then hiccuping. "H-...He doesn't wanna talk to me..."

"I didn't ask that. Do you wanna talk to him? Do you think it'll help you get through this?"

Your hand that isn't in Rika's goes to the top of your tummy, rubbing little circles into the soft fabric of your dress. "...Yeah..." It comes out soft and wet as you sniffle.

"On it. Be right back. You just call if you need anything, okay?" Rika gets up, grabs your phone, and leaves the room.

It takes her no time to find Arven's contact and to copy the number to her own phone. She dials, and the call goes to voicemail.

"Motherfucker…" Under normal circumstances, she might understand, but...eh, now's not the time. So she calls again.

It rings once...twice...

"Hello?" A masculine voice answers.

"Hey, is this Arven?"

"Uh, may I ask who's calling?"

"This is Rika of the Paldean Pokemon League." She says, putting on her most official-sounding voice. The kind she does for interviewees at the League that piss her off during their first impressions. "Is this Arven Sada-Turo?"

"...Yes..?" Good. He at least sounds a little nervous. "Can I…help you?"

"Yeah, I have a champion here who wants to talk to you."

Arven guesses your name, sounding half incredulous, and Rika wonders if he's maybe an idiot. Who else would call him nine months after telling him she's pregnant?

"Ding ding ding. She's here in the delivery room, and for some godforsaken reason, she said she wanted to talk to you. Be nice, okay? I'll know if you say something rude, and if you make her cry again, I'm swearing to Arceus right now that I'll fuck you up."

"What?!"

"What?!" Rika mocks back at him, maybe a little meanly, but he obviously deserves it. "Just be nice. She's in a lot of pain and has been for hours now." She walks back into your room, changing her tone entirely. "Hey, Mama. Guess who I got on the phone here..." She says sweetly as she passes it to you.

"Arven...?" You ask.

-

Your voice is ragged, and you sound near the edge of tears, if you aren't already crying.

"Yeah, Buddy?" Arven asks. "I'm here." He's holding the phone to his ear in both hands, cradling it like a...

Oh God, he's gonna throw up. No. No.

He swallows back nervous bile. The delivery room? What the fuck? Since when were you pregnant? Around the time you told him to fuck off? How long ago was that again? Fuck. He can't think. He wants to be mad, but...

"Arven." You say again, unsure, like you think it's not him, maybe? He hears your voice, and his heart melts.

"Yeah, Bud. It's me. It's been a while... Are you okay?" Stupid question.

"N-not really..." Oh no, you really are crying. "I-I'm having a b-baby..."

"Hey. Hey, don't cry." Fuck, what should he say? "What can I do?"

"I miss you..." You sound miserable.

"I... I miss you, too, Bud..." This is crazy. This is crazy. What is happening? Arven's vision is going in and out of focus, but he can't seem to actually see anything. All that's buzzing around his head is that fact that you're having a baby?! "Sh...should I... Do you want me there?" 

On the other end, you cry out loudly, the phone shuffling out of your hands. He hears another voice, softer, but he can't make out what it's saying. Arven yells your name into the receiver, but there's no response. All he can hear is you moaning in agony for what feels like an eternity.

Then there's more shuffling. "A-Arven?" It's your voice again, panting.

His keys are in his hands, and he's already out of his apartment, standing in the streets of Lumiose City.

"I'm on my way right now. Which hospital are you in?"

"Wh-wh...?"

"Do you... Do you want me to come? I'll be there as soon as I can. Just tell me where to find you." He's already sprinting to the closest train station.

Unfortunately, he can't understand your blubbering as you're overtaken by more sobs.

"Buddy? Bud. Bud, listen to me, okay? Can you hand the phone back to Rika? Just for a minute."

There's a quick rustling sound then the sound of Rika's contralto voice. "Listen buster, I can't tell if you're on thin ice or not, but she's still upset."

"Rika, I don't understand what's happening, but I'm trying to get to you, if she wants me there. Can you tell me where you are?" He's breathless from sprinting and adrenaline.

He hears Rika speak softly to you on the other line. "Ya want the sperm donor hanging around?"

Sperm donor? What the fuck? Who's the sperm donor? Arven doesn't have time for this. He's already looking at the time tables for the different trains headed into Paldea. Which city should he be looking for though? Would a flying taxi be faster? He'll ask at the desk.

"Levincia Memorial. I'll be sure they let you in."

Levincia. At least that's close to the Kalosian border.

Arven nods before realizing Rika can't hear. "Thanks. Uh... Sh-should I stay on the line?" He pulls the phone away for just a moment to speak to the representative, but he keeps his ear focused for the sound of your voice.

"...He's gonna come, kay?"

"O-Okay..." And then suddenly it sounds like you're groaning or crying again? He can't make out much by way of words from you, but you sound so broken... Fuck, what happened while he was gone? Had some loser really knocked you up?

"Hi, yeah, I need to get to Levincia City as quickly as possible. When does the next train arrive? Or do you know if there's a flying taxi service that works between Kalos and Paldea?" Is he talking too fast with his Paldean accent? His Kalosian isn't phenomenal, but it's passable, especially after being here for the past…however long. A year? Is hasn't been a year yet, surely. It should be fine.

The guy behind the glass narrows his eyes and starts typing into his computer. "Uh…yeah… We got trains into Levincia. Next one leaves in…40 minutes. Taxis though… they'll cost ya."

Arven can hear you yelling on the other end of the phone.

"Doesn't matter. How fast can I get there?"

"We can call you a cab to be here in a few minutes, get you there, as the Talonflame flies… Maybe an hour or two?"

"Done. Thank you, sir." He slams (maybe a little too forcefully) one of his cards down on the counter, then goes back to his phone where he speaks your name softly into the receiver. "You there?"

You pant heavily from the other end. "I'm in hell… This is hell…" 

"Well, call me Orpheus because I'm on my way to hell to come be with you, okay?"

"...Really?"

"Really, Bud." Arven takes his card back from the clerk and nods his thanks. "I just bought my taxi ticket. I'm gonna be there as soon as I can."

"A-Arven…" You sound all choked up again.

"Hey. Don't cry okay. Or. Wait. Maybe do cry? Is crying good? Are you supposed to cry?"

You sound like you might have laughed at that. "I dunno…but I'm still scared…" You tell him.

"Th-that's okay, Bud." He breathes. "You can be scared. It sounds scary. I'm scared for you." He hears you sob miserably on the other end. Fuck, that was probably a bad thing to say? "But! Listen to me! But… I mean, I'm sure you know this…" Arven's eyes go back to the clerk who is directing him toward a platform to wait for his taxi. "You gotta keep being strong, okay?" He nods in thanks to the other man and goes to wait. "You've got…a…a-a baby…" Holy shit, a baby. "To be strong for. They need you. So…uh… I guess? Um… Just push?" 

"I-I can't…"

"What do you mean you can't? You're like the strongest person in Paldea. Of course you can."

"No I mean…" You take a breath. Good. That's good. Breathing is good. You being calm is good. "It's not time yet. I'm not ready. Or…like, the baby isn't ready."

"What, like it's too soon?" Like a premature baby or something? He wants to add, but that would probably freak you out again. Best not to do that.

"Yeah… just gotta keep…" You groan into the earpiece, and Arven hears more shuffling. It stays like that for a long while, with you groaning or breathing heavily, until his taxi arrives, and he steps in. You seem to come back as he closes the door.

"Just gotta keep breathing. And waiting." You finish. 

Arven nods, not entirely sure what to say, then adds. "Can they give you meds or something?" He asks.

"Believe it or not, they already have," You reply about as dryly as one can when they've been sobbing off and on for the past however long.

"Holy shit. Well, let me reiterate what I said about you being strong then."

That seems to get an honest little chuckle out of you, and Arven feels a genuine weight lift from his shoulders. He wants to make you laugh again. It's been so long, and he misses the sound of it, even this tinny version of it, distorted through bad cell service."I-I, uh… I'm in the taxi now. I'll be there as soon as I can be, okay?"

"...Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

"No really. Thank you. I know you probably didn't want to spend your day doing this."

Arven shrugs. "Eh… I don't know if it's what I was expecting, but I promise not to hold it against you." His tone is light and teasing as he hopes to get another laugh, but it doesn't come.

"You really don't need to bother," You tell him softly after a moment. "If that's how you feel about the whole situation."

"What? No! It's just a joke, Bud!" But it seems you'd already hung up on him or something because the line cuts out.

He spends the next several minutes fretting over whether or not he should call back. Maybe something happened in the room at that exact time? And him calling would make it worse? Hell, Rika's phone might've died.

However, by the time he's worked up the courage to call the number again, it seems as though he's too high up, and the cell service is shot, so he's stuck stewing in the stratosphere, marinating in a miasma of apprehension. He shoots off a text to the number.

>Hey, I think the line went dead, but I'm still on my way! I hope everything is okay! Please stay strong! You're really amazing, alright? You've got this!!!

The little dot in the corner stays unfilled, showing the message as unsent but trying.

Arven sighs and sits back, his leg bouncing nervously.

What the fuck happened while he was gone? When did you get knocked up anyway? And how long had he been gone? The two of you had done it, after all… so if he left back in…

But no, you said that the baby was early or something, right? You did, right? So it couldn't be his. He's definitely been away 10 months, and that would be too long. Pregnancies don't last 40 weeks. They last 9 months, so that would be 36 weeks. Not 40. And your baby is early anyway. Apparently?

Arven sighs.

What the fuck happened while he was gone?

Maybe whatever asshole you were with was also the one who blocked his number on your phone, so he couldn't text you anymore.

Or… he guesses you weren't or aren't with them anymore? Because otherwise they'd be with you, right? And you wouldn't need to come crying to him. Not that he minds, of course! As utterly bizarre and anxiety inducing as this whole thing is, he's still glad to hear from you again. But really, what kinda jerk wouldn't be with you if they knocked you up? Especially someone as great as you?

Arven fumes at the thought of you having spent the last 9 months alone without anyone at your side. Why didn't you call him if you needed help? Hell, he may not be this kid's biological dad, but… Fuck, he knows how much it sucks not to have parents around. Maybe he could've… if you wanted him to… if he stayed?

Then again if he'd stayed, maybe you wouldn't be in this mess. The two of you would just be together.

Or. Well, he hopes you would be? That's what it sorta seemed like when you'd dropped him off at the airport all those months ago.

Ugh, he can't think about that now. How stupid! You're about to be a mother! You've got a whole human to worry about (and potentially push out of your body–oh God he can't think too hard about that one he might get sick). You've got bigger frillish to fry than some shoulda-coulda-woulda romance with him!

So Arven spends the rest of the ride restlessly bouncing his knees until the cabbie stomps on the roof, yelling at him to stop with the twitching because it fucks up the birds' control of the basket. After that he can only nervously bite at his thumbnail until he's eventually dropped in front of the hospital.

Arven nearly jumps from the stupid cab in an attempt to get out faster but thinks better of it. He's no good to you with a broken ankle.

Once he's properly out of the cab though, he at least (but barely) has the graces about him to yell out a thanks to the driver as he makes a mad dash toward the entrance.

From there, it's like a blur as he's guided to your room by hospital staff. He hears you first, from down the hall, that same, low groaning he'd heard over the phone. It reverberates down the hall, and he starts running to it, calling your name loudly as he opens the door.

"Sir, you can't just–" Someone from the nurses' station yells to him, but he doesn't pay them any mind.

The sight of you there burns in his mind like a brand. You're in a bed with the back propped up halfway, and your legs are hitched into stirrups.

You.

It's been nearly a year, and you.

You…you look wrecked. Your hair is a mess of knots, and sweat has dampened it down, making it stick to your neck and forehead where it hasn't been swept away into a nest that he can't tell is either a ponytail or a bun or something.

You've been crying, your cheeks and eyes red, and he can see even at a glance where the tear tracks have dried across your cheekbones.

You're still so beautiful to him, even like this.

"Looks like Dad finally made it." One of the doctors between your legs says, and Arven is about to correct her when he's interrupted. "Go ahead and get on her other side."

It's then that Arven sees someone else holding one of your hands. A person with long bluish-green hair.

Part of him almost wonders if this is the sperm donor Rika was talking about, but then he remembers that these doctors think he's the father. There's no dad here.

"Arven…" Your voice breaks him from his thoughts, you're reaching a hand for his from across the room. "You really came."

He's at your side in an instant, clasping your single hand in both of his. "A-absolutely! I told you I'd be here fast as I could."

You nod, seemingly tearing up again, and the person on your other side snaps their fingers in your face.

"Hey! Hey hey," They tell you. "No more tears right now, 'kay? We gotta keep you breathing properly, so you can push. You ready, Mama?"

Mama? Oof what a weird thing to call you… But the person has a point, you probably can't be getting all weepy if you're about to–

"Holy fuck!" Arven cries out loud as you squeeze his hands in time with your groan. (A stupider man might compare the sound to a miltank lowing, but no one has to know that Arven maybe had that thought...)

"That was great." The doctors address you, completing ignoring Arven's distress and potentially broken metacarpals. 

The person at your side looks to him with a wicked grin.

"Got here just in time for the fun, Dad."

"Don't tease him like that, Rika," You say between pants, your eyes closed in concentration. So that's Rika… 

You gently tap a finger against one of Arven's hands without letting go or looking at him quite yet. "Sorry…"

"S'fine." Arven lies, ignoring the pain in his hand as he taps his thumb against yours. "Just…let me know what else I can do to help." He wiggles his less-squeezed hand free and uses it to push a stray bit of your hair back behind your ear with a soft smile.

"Just don't go, okay?" You say, small and tired.

Arven tilts his head to the side and quirks an eyebrow, still keeping that same soft grin on you. "I wouldn't dream of it."

He doesn't mind if a few of his fingers are broken along the way. He has you back. …Kinda? Not that you're his, obviously, but you're near him, and he's near you, and he can help you, and isn't that something?

And isn't it something else entirely when your screaming just a few minutes later is joined by another voice, smaller, raspier, and entirely brand new?

The baby boy (a boy!) is brought to your breast, still wet and red and screeching at the novelty and cold and change of his entire existence so far. Arven doesn't know anything about babies. Not really, but he doesn't look too small at all. Not like he's premature at least.

Really, he looks perfect. Is it weird that he thinks that?

He watches as the doctors take the baby from you, though he's still attached by the umbilical cord, and then someone is handing Arven clamps or scissors or something.

"Does Dad want to do the honors?" One of the nurses asks him.

"Wh-wha…?" Arven hesitates and looks to you nervously. "I-Is that okay? I don't know if I'm qualified."

But the nurse is already placing the cord between the clamps and telling him to just snip.

So he does?

It all happens so fast, and then he looks down at you, and you're smiling up at him, looking so, so tired. Which, yeah, that makes sense.

"Hey!" Rika pseudo-shouts from your other side, having been distracted by something else. "I wanted to be the one to do that."

"Oh, uh. My bad?" Arven says, and he dumbly almost goes to hand her the clamps before a nurse takes them.

"Yeah, whatever. Can I take this loser out back and teach him a lesson, Mama? I'll do it." She asks you, grinning all the while.

"Loser?! C'mon that's a little harsh." Arven says, incredulous, but you place a sleepy hand on each of their forearms.

"I'm not gonna have any fighting right now. Please? There's a whole new person that just got here. I kinda wanna focus on that before we get to the fighting or whatever?"

Rika calms down with an exaggerated, "Yeah yeah yeah, whatever you say." It's also at that time that her phone buzzes. "Son of a…again?" She takes the device from the bedside table, looks at it, and groans. "I really hate to do this, but now that you've expelled your darling potato, do you mind if I take this real fast?" Rika asks you, pointing to the door. "I'll just be out there for a moment."

You nod, and before Rika goes, she takes a moment to look Arven up and down, giving him the stink eye with one of those 'I'm watching you' type gestures where she points two fingers to her eyes then to him threateningly.

Only once she's gone does he finally breathe a sigh of relief and collapse into the chair next to you, scooting it closer, so he can sit by your head.

It's around that time that the nurse also brings your baby back, now tightly swaddled up in a blanket and wearing a little orange cap.

"Congratulations again," She says, handing him off to you. "We'll continue monitoring you from here, and you've still got the placenta to deliver, but you're through the worst of it."

You thank the nurse and hold the little boy tightly to you, adjusting his blanket just a bit to better see his smooshed little face.

"What's his name?" Arven asks. He can't stop staring at this tiny little thing. He looks so much like you. Because, duh. That's how babies work. But…wow. He loves you, obviously. He never stopped loving you, even when he was mad at you all those months ago, so in a sense he gets that he would love your kid, too, even if he only just met him… but holy shit the sheer amount of love he feels for this itty bitty little buddy you're holding is kinda scaring him.

"Basil." You say softly, as if you just decided.

"...I like it. Good choice." Arven tells you. He gingerly reaches out a hand toward the baby, delicately stroking his cheek.

"Hi Basil. Nice to meetcha, Bud. I'm Arven."

He notices that you tense at his side as he speaks. Must be some kinda protective mother instinct thing, maybe? So Arven withdraws his hand.

"He's beautiful."

"Isn't he though?" You agree dreamily, moving similarly to stroke Basil's cheek with your index finger. "Hello, my sweet boy…"

Basil seems to recognize the sound of your voice because he opens his eyes, blinking wide and owlishly, looking all over for the source of the sound as you coo softly at him. Eventually his gaze settles in on you, and you pull him in closer for kisses all over his tiny face. His cap gets jostled askew in the process.

Beside you, Arven's heart drops into the pit of his stomach.

Not only does Basil have teal eyes to match his own; his hair is two-toned, an achingly familiar blond and mousy brown.

That sick feeling Arven had felt in the cab comes roaring back to him with a vengeance.

"E-Excuse me." He says suddenly, standing. He thinks he hears you say something sharp, punctuated with a pang of panic or worry, but the sound of blood pulsing in his ears drowns it out.

There's a bathroom in your hospital suite, but even at that short distance he barely makes it in time before he's emptied the contents of his stomach.

What the fuck.

This kid has to be his. Right?

Why didn't you tell him?

He stays there, clinging to the cold tile of the hospital floor for what feels like a very long, long time, as he thinks he hears shuffling outside the door. He's not entirely sure since the rushing sound in his ears won't go away.

Eventually what pulls him back is the sound of Basil crying, small and scared and so, so new.

Basil.

That…that could be his boy. Has to be his boy, right? His boy.

If you wanted him to be? Or…well, even if you didn't want him to be? Did Arven have rights here? If you wanted him around though, couldn't Basil be his boy? Wouldn't he want that? To be a…a dad to a little baby boy who looks just like him? To give him the dad that he never got to have?

Fuck, could he even be a dad?

Arven suddenly feels sick all over again.

No.

No, breathe. Breathe.

Okay…

Maybe…maybe you don't want him to be a dad? That could make sense, right? How could some guy whose own dad didn't want him ever be a good father?

No. That's not like you. You don't think like that. Right?

Fuck. He can't have all these thoughts in a hospital bathroom.

He needs to get off the tile. He needs to stand. He needs to…to…

He needs to talk to you.

Basil isn't crying anymore.

Arven stands on shaking legs. He splashes his face with icy water. He rinses his mouth. Splashes his face again.

When he opens the door back out to your suite, Basil is tucked snuggly against your breast nursing, so he tries to politely look away.

The doctors or nurses or whoever are also all talking to you, so Arven just kinda stands at the door while you listen to them.

From the bits he picks up, Basil sounds healthy? Good test scores and whatnot for whatever baby tests they made him take, he imagines.

Arven really doesn't want to stare, but he can't help that his eye keeps going back to the baby. To…

"--And you and the father will need to go ahead and complete the birth certificate." One of the nurses says, making Arven's ears perk up.

"O-Oh. Uh, yeah." You say, taking the slip of paper from her with your free hand. "Thanks."

They seem to disperse soon after, leaving you alone with Basil while Arven continues to stand awkwardly at the door to the bathroom, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Your attention is still on the baby, the paper face down on the bedside table.

Arven clears his throat, and you startle, which makes Basil unlatch and fuss. You shoot Arven a glare, and he quickly apologizes.

"I was just getting the hang of it. I think." You say tersely.

He politely looks away while you try to reposition the baby and calm him again.

He only shuffles over to sit by you once he hears Basil suckling. "Is this okay?" He asks vaguely, not really looking at you or the baby, even though he really wants to.

"Uh…sure…" You say. The hesitancy makes you sound nervous, but Arven can't totally tell without looking at your face.

…

"How are you feeling?" You both ask each other at the same time, then back off with an uneasy chuckle.

"Me?" Arven eventually asks with a snort. "I just got a little sick. I'm more worried about you." It's genuine. Even with his whole panic episode and the fact that he's probably on the brink of another twelve or so…at least he didn't have to shove a person out of his loins.

You hum, and Arven hears fabric shift. "Fine, I guess. The doctors are monitoring me for now, but other than…ya know," He doesn't know, but sure? "I'm still here."

You both stay silent after that for a long moment, the only sound filling the space being Basil's tiny eating noises. Arven's heart squeezes tight.

Why didn't you tell me? Is he mine? He has to be mine. He's mine, right? Why didn't you tell me? How could you keep this from me? Why would you hurt me like this? Don't you know how much I love you? Don't you know how much I would have loved you? Don't you know how much I love him already? Isn't he mine? Can I hold him? Can I hold him?

Can I hold him?

"Where's Rika?" Arven asks. 

"Geeta called. Something at the League. Couldn't wait, I guess? Plus now that the littlest one is here, and I'm not in critical or something, I told her it was fine." You say, and Arven can see you shrug from his peripheral. "She, uh. She works for the League, too. She helped take care of me. Ya know…during."

"I know." Arven says. "I-I mean. About the League thing. She told me over the phone… Are you two, uh, y'know…?" He doesn't know how to finish the question. Maybe you didn't want Basil to have a dad at all. A family doesn't have to have a dad anyway… You don't need him.

"What? Oh, no!" You laugh the tiniest bit, just an airy, tired thing. "Rika's just a good friend. A wonderful advocate…" You sigh. "It was her idea to call you, y'know." 

Arven hears and sees you shifting. It also sounds like Basil isn't eating anymore, so he hazards a look over. True enough, the baby is sound asleep.

"Sorry again about that." You say.

"Hm?" Arven asks, lost in the sight of bundle in your arms. Can I hold him?

"Sorry she, uh… She called you. I know you've got your whole life ahead of you in Kalos right now… I know this isn't what you wanted. I told myself I wouldn't make this your problem."

"Not my… Buddy, what are you talking about?" Arven feels like he's been punched in the gut, and he doesn't want to get mad about it, but it's hard to keep the frustration from seeping into his tone. You kept this from him because you thought it wasn't his problem?

"Well, yeah. I didn't want to get in the way of your dreams, you know? I just… I felt so bad."

"You felt bad, so you sent me all those horrible messages and told me to stop talking to you?" Arven interrupts, doing his damnedest to keep his voice soft. "You… You can't just block me only to call me back at the drop of the hat. Except it's not really the drop of a hat, is it? It's the drop of my fucking baby, right? Right? He's mine, isn't he? H-he has to be, right? You haven't said it out loud, b-but… God, I can see it in him. How…how could you do this to me? How could you possibly? In what world?" Arven doesn't realize he's crying until breathing becomes harder and harder. His voice is still hushed though. He won't risk Basil waking up. "In what world could it possibly be okay for you to push me away like this? Me! I-I know I'm not the nicest guy… I-I know I didn't have the best examples of parents, but…but shouldn't that tell you that I would want to know all the more? I don't care about Kalos! I don't care about any of it! I-I cared about us! About you! I care about him! I care about being a present parent to my child more than any kind of career I could ever build. E-even if his mother doesn't think I deserved to know he even existed! H-how could you do this to me…?" His head falls into his hands.

Your fingers are on him. Gently laying on his head, feather light.

"Arven."

He tenses beneath you, hiccuping back a silent sob.

"Arven. Look at me."

He lifts his head, his teary eyes finding yours to be just as red as his own, your brows knit together in confusion and hurt. "I don't… I don't understand." The hand on his head goes to cup his cheek, one of your thumbs wiping away a tear, or more accurately, pressing it into his skin. "Of course Basil is yours. I told you… Whose else could he possibly be?" You laugh wetly and without humor. "You're the one… You're the one who never responded to me. I just didn't push you on it because I thought you had better things on your plate. I told you about all this months ago, and you blocked me. Do you not remember this?"

Arven sits up, pushing your hand away.

"Better things on my plate? Are you kidding me? It's a job. And I never blocked you? You were the one to block me!"

You sigh and take your phone from the bedside table where it sits next to the overturned and unfilled birth certificate. You open it up and hand it over to him.

It's the text conversation between yours and his number. The most recent message on his end is an error, but on your end…

>Hey! I know this isn't ideal, and I really would have rather said it in person or over a face call or even just a regular call, but I think you need to know, and I'm having a really hard time verbalizing it to you. I'm sorry to do it this way, but it's better to say it now than not at all, right?

I'm pregnant, and it's yours.

I'm so, so, SO sorry! I promise I didn't mean for it to happen like this, and I'm not trying to like…baby trap you or something. I swear! You're my best friend in the whole world, and I'm so happy that you can go and live your dream in Kalos right now. But I just feel like you should know? Like you should have a say in what happens here? I'd love to talk to you. Do...do you want to do this? Because....well if you're willing I'd want to try this. With you. But I also know that you're living your dream right now, and I don't want to get in the way of that! I want you to be able to really embrace this new journey you're taking and learn and grow and do wonderful things! But I just wanted you to know, you know? Please don't hate me. Just give me a call when you have a minute, and we can figure this out. Okay?

Arven's hand shakes as he reads. His eyes scan the screen. No. No? When was this sent? It has to be fake. The number has to be wrong. No… It…It's all there, plain as day. 

"But…" He opens his own phone. "I never got this from you. We… We had a whole different conversation."

He hands the device to you, and you shift the baby in your arms a bit before you take it. Arven's text opens the most recent conversation.

>Hey! Sorry we keep missing each other lately! I hope things are okay? Are you staying warm? It's getting kinda cold here.

>can we not do this?

>Not do what?

>"This" i'm getting real fuckin tired of you bailing on me all the time now that your some hot shot kalosian celebrity guy

>Whoa. Where is this even coming from??

>you kno exactly where its coming from, arven. Youve been super shitty to me since you left paldea and it really hurts my feelings.

>I'm sorry? I've been busy here. It's been a lot getting used to a whole new place and a whole new language. I thought you understood that. I really am sorry though.

>y'know what? I dont really care at this point. Ive had enough waiting around for you to call me or text me back. there are guys here who can do better by me

>[One Missed Call]

>[One Missed Call]

>[One Missed Call]

>Are you being serious right now? You can't be. This is a joke?

>[One Missed Call]

>[The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected and is no longer in service.]

Arven watches as your face scrunches in confusion as you read through it, your thumb moving bit by bit across the screen.

You hum softly, confused, and tilt your head to the side. "...Arven? This…this isn't me…"

"What?" He looks at the phone over your shoulder.

You point at your contact name on the top of the screen and click it open.

"That's my name, but that's…that's definitely not my number."

"What?"

He snatches the device back out of your hand.

Sure enough…the number associated with your name there…is Kalosian.

"My number…" You say, starting to type it into the dial pad. "Is this…" and lo and behold, there's no associated contact. In fact, the number pops up in red once it's fully typed out, indicating that it had been blocked.

"Wh… I… I didn't. I would never." Arven starts, going to defend himself. "You know, I wouldn't!"

"Not even after getting scared at the prospect of suddenly becoming a father?" You ask, maybe a little meanly. "Listen. I… I don't get what's going on here? I'm sorry. I don't… I don't want to get upset. I'm tired. It's been a long day." You gently bounce Basil in your arm. "I… I've prepared myself mentally to do all of this without you. I'm…" You close your eyes and swallow. "I'm sorry I called you here today. It was a moment of weakness, and if you want to go now, I won't blame you, okay? You don't… You don't need to stick around out of…I dunno, pity or some sense of obligation if it's just going to make you upset in the long run, okay? It really does seem like you had no idea until now that I'd been pregnant. So. I can't just ask you to leave your position all of the sudden. You probably have duties and responsibilities you're missing out on right now. Not to mention the fact that you haven't had a chance to mentally process any of this yet. I'm really sorry for whatever happened on your end. Whatever it was…" You sigh. "I'll be fine with Basil on my own. Like I said, that's been the plan on my end from basically the start when y–…or whoever it was, blocked my number. You can go back to Kalos and keep doing whatever cooking show and podcast and content creation whatever… it's okay. Okay?"

"No!" Arven replies, more loudly than he intended. "No… How? How could you expect me to go back to Kalos after this? No. I… I can't. I'll figure something out. Figure out what happened with everything, but…" Arven leans in and takes one of your hands. "I need you to understand. This is the absolute most important thing. You. Basil. Both of you. Even…even if you won't have me," He swallows solemnly. "I want to do everything in my power to be here and present for my son. If…if you'll let me call him that?"

Arven searches your eyes as they fill afresh with tears. You wordlessly nod, and he drops his head at your side, his own shoulders shaking a bit.

"Thank you… I'm sorry I missed so much already."

"Well, you got here in time to cut the cord, so…I think that counts for something?"

Arven sniffles through a small laugh, and you stifle back a yawn. It's then that he notices your eyes drooping.

"Oh! That's right." He tells you, sitting back up a bit. "You said you were tired. I mean, obviously. That makes sense. Do you want to take a nap? I can… I can look after Basil for you. Well, not for you like I'm babysitting or something. Like." Can I hold him? "I mean obviously," Can I hold him? "I don't wanna just be a babysitter or something." Can I hold him? "I can keep him safe though." Keep him safe?!

"It's fine…" You say, yawning again and pulling the clear, rolling bassinet on your other side closer for you to set the baby down. "I'll take a nap, and he can sleep here by me. You don't need to do anything. If you like, you might be able to get some food down in the cafeteria if you're hungry?" You wince, hissing just slightly as you adjust your body to lay down more fully.

"That's okay! I'm not hungry." Arven insists. "I'd really rather stay close by. O-or I can get you some food? If you're hungry?"

You shake your head, your eyes already closed as if half asleep. "Nah…later. Tired now."

"Okay… You go to sleep. If Basil wakes up, can I…?"

Arven doesn't finish his sentence because you're already snoring softly.

He sits quietly watching you and the baby. Your baby…his baby. It makes his chest squeeze in a hideously wonderful way.

He should be terrified. On some level, he is. This is a lot, and he's definitely going to need more than a half hour throwing up in a hospital bathroom to get used to the fact that his life has been irreversibly changed. The two of you have a whole lot to talk about, and he'll have a hell of a lot to discuss with the folks at the company he's partnering with right now to figure out how he can move back to Paldea effective immediately, not to mention what happened with his phone. He doesn't understand what could have gone on there, but no one touches his phone but him and the folks at the company who make posts on his behalf from time to time.

But…for now he just wants to watch over you and Basil. An anxious part of his brain keeps an eye on both of your chests, making sure they're rising and falling with each breath.

At some point a nurse comes in to check on everyone's vitals, and he dutifully stays out of the way as best he can.

You don't stir in the slightest through the poking and prodding or whatever the nurse does, but Basil comes back to wakefulness and starts fussing, not really crying yet but making unhappy little noises in that register that only brand new babies make.

The nurse coos him some, and Arven doesn't even realize that he stood, hovering right beside her the moment his son started fretting, until she turns and smiles at him.

"He's okay, don't worry." She reassures Arven with a softly whispered chuckle. "Just isn't too happy about being moved. I'm all done now though and'll get out of your hair."

She gently hands Basil over, putting him in Arven's arms with a kind reminder to support his head, and she's gone.

Arven doesn't even have the wherewithal in him to comment or ask if this is okay or if it's alright with you or if he's allowed to do this or–or–or…

He slowly goes to sit back down in the cushy armchair at your bedside.

Basil has mostly quieted down now, having been spoken to in soft, sweet tones and bounced gently. He's still a little sleepy and blinks blearily up at Arven.

He stares down at those eyes that match his own, and the rest of the world seems to fade away.

"Can… Can I try again? I think I messed up a little bit ago." He asks Basil under his breath, leaning in to kiss his pudgy cheek. "Hi Basil… Nice to meetcha, Bud. I'm… I'm your Dad."