#boiishorts

[tachibanamakotobirthdayexchange]

@/princesokka on twitter created a gift for @boiishorts on Tumblr.

You can find the gift here (ギフトはこちらへ) ->  https://twitter.com/princesokka/status/1330576232287596544

@/princesokkaさんは @boiishortsさんのギフトを作りました。

[chibistarlyte]

Four’s Company

Makoto heads off to Sunyshore City for university and makes some new friends in his first week, including his slightly enigmatic roommate, Haru. 

ohhhhhh my gosh here it is! This Free! Pokemon AU fic is a gift for @boiishorts for the @tachibanamakotobirthdayexchange that I decided to participate in this year! This is my first time taking part in a gift exchange and I had a ton of fun with it.

Maria, I saw that you had Pokemon on your list of likes, so I immediately jumped on the Pokemon AU train. I really hope you like it!

And just in case it’s a little too difficult to read on my blog, the AO3 link is here!

.

 “What do you think, Kawa?” Makoto asked his Pokémon as they both lay on the floor of his bedroom, university brochures spread out before them. He’d been poring over them for hours today, and for some time in the couple weeks prior. The time for applying for schools and their subsequent entrance exams were fast approaching, and Makoto was no closer to making a decision than he was last month.

 He had absolutely no idea what he wanted to study in school. He’d tossed around a few different fields—Pokémon medicine, Pokémon breeding, teaching trainers—but hadn’t settled on any of them as of yet. He thought looking at a bunch of different universities in a few different regions would help him narrow down his decision, but it had done nothing but make the choice that much more overwhelming.

 “Buiiiii,” his Pokémon said, pointing to a brochure of a small university in Hoenn, in Mossdeep City.

 Makoto laughed and took a cursory glance at the unfolded pamphlet. “Hm, you want to go to Hoenn?” he asked his otter Pokémon. It wasn’t a bad choice, though the university’s specialty was the field of astrophysics and the like, which he didn’t have much interest in.

 Unhelpfully, Kawa then slammed his paw down on a brochure for a completely different university, one in Violet City in Johto.

 “Well, there      is    the trainer school there I could intern at if I decide to go with teaching…” Makoto said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin a little. He grabbed the brochure for that particular school and folded it up, setting it in the ‘maybe’ pile along with brochures from Sunyshore University in Sinnoh and Hau’oli University in Alola. There was another one in Johto, in Olivine City, where he could study Pokémon medicine, that made it to the ‘maybe’ pile as well.

 An hour later, and Makoto had whittled down his choices to three: Sunyshore, Olivine, and one in Lilycove City in Hoenn that he had totally forgotten about until he came across the brochure again in his stack.

 “Bui Buizel!” Kawa cried before crawling over to his food bowl, nudging it with his nose and whining slightly.

 “Oh, is it already dinner time?” Makoto said, sneaking a quick glance at his clock. Realizing that it was, in fact, time for dinner, he headed over to his desk to grab the bag of Poké Kibble that he kept underneath. Kawa shrieked happily and jumped around Makoto’s legs as his trainer poured out the food into the bowl. When his Buizel was enthusiastically munching his meal, Makoto thought he’d better head downstairs for dinner himself.

 But before he headed down, he grabbed the three brochures from his ‘maybe’ pile so he could talk over his choices with his parents.

.

 Makoto was helping his mother dry the dishes when the subject of university was broached.

 “Have you made a decision?” his mother asked over the running water, giving her son a loving smile.

 Setting down the plate he’d just tried and picking up another from the rinsed pile, Makoto shook his head. “I think I’ve narrowed it down to a few choices, but...I’m not sure which one to go with.”

 “Which ones?”

 As they continued washing dishes Makoto explained to his mother the three schools he’d narrowed down, making sure to include his possible major for each one. Once the dishes were done, they sat back down at the dining table together and Makoto showed her the brochures. He also brought the websites for each school up on his phone, in case they needed to look anything up.

 At some point, Kawa made his way downstairs and was now curled up asleep in Makoto’s lap.

 “You’re really leaning towards Pokémon medicine, aren’t you?” his mother asked, tucking her olive green hair behind her ear. “At least, all three of these schools seem to have good programs for it.”

 It was kinda funny how it took his mother vocalizing it for Makoto to realize that, yes, all three of his potential schools had the one thing in common.

 “I think Sunyshore sounds like a really good place,” his mother finally said after an elongated silence between the two of them. “Plus, Sinnoh would be a great place for us to come visit you,” she added with a smile.

 Green eyes trailed back down to the brochure of Sunyshore University, their owner still slightly unsure. But if his mother thought it was a good idea…

 Besides, if he didn’t like the school, he could always just transfer after a semester or two.

 Finally allowing himself to smile, Makoto looked back up at his mother.

 “Okay. I’ll apply for Sunyshore University.”

.

 The rest of Makoto’s third year of high school came and went, and before he knew it, he was graduated and packing up his most treasured belongings to bring with him to Sinnoh.

 He still couldn’t quite believe he’d gotten into Sunyshore.

 When it came time to take the entrance exam, his father had flown out with him across the continent to the Sinnoh region. They were there for a few days, and in his downtime when he wasn’t in the exam hall, Makoto urged his father to come around Sunyshore City with him and see the sights. It reminded him a bit of his home of Ambrette Town back in Kalos, both places being located along the coast—which his Buizel would like, Makoto thought as he explored the beach along the east side of the city. Of course Sunyshore was a bit more of a bustling place than the small town Makoto grew up in. But he liked it, and he was excited to hopefully begin making a life here.

 When the results of the entrance exam were posted online soon after, Makoto could have fainted with relief.

 “Oniichan, you can’t leave us!” Ran cried as she clung to her older brother, preventing him from taping up the last of his boxes. Following his sister’s example, Ren also ran up to Makoto and held onto him. Tears leaked out of his eyes, though he was much quieter about his crying than his twin.

 “You guys can always come and visit,” Makoto said with a fond smile, though he couldn’t help the sadness settling into his chest at the thought of leaving his family behind for a while. “Plus, we can video chat at least once a week.”

 “Every day!” Ran said emphatically.

 Laughing a little, Makoto said, “I probably won’t have time      every    day…”

 “Every other day?” came Ren’s shyer voice and he looked up at his older brother with huge eyes that made Makoto melt.

 “That sounds more manageable,” Makoto agreed, ruffling Ren’s hair. He tried doing the same to Ran, but she was wise to his ways and ducked out of the way just in time, sticking her tongue out at him.

 “Come on, let oniichan finish packing,” their mother chided the twins, “unless you want to help.”

 “We’ll help!” they said in unison, each grabbing a roll of packing tape to help Makoto seal his boxes for the movers.

.

 There were more tears a week later when the entire family escorted Makoto to the airport, seeing him off to his new life. Makoto gave Ren and Ran extra long hugs, with Buizel squeezed in between them all.

 “Call us as soon as you land,” his mother said, patting his cheek and bringing his head down so she could deliver a kiss to his forehead. “And be safe, okay?”

 “I will,” Makoto assured her. Kawa clambered up on his shoulder and squeaked in assurance that he’d make sure Makoto was taken care of. Smiling, his mother scratched the Buizel’s snout.

 “We’ll miss you too, Kawa.”

 After one final group hug with his parents and siblings, Makoto shouldered his duffel bag and dragged his rollerboard behind him. His adult life was ahead of him, and he was nervous and excited at the same time. Kawa nuzzled his cheek and together, they headed to the gate where their flight would be waiting.

.

 Many long and tiring hours later, Makoto was finally in Sunyshore City. It was early morning when he landed, and with the time difference, he knew it’d probably take at least a few days to get through the worst of his jet lag. And even though it was late at night back home, he still dutifully rang up his mom when he was off the plane to assure her that he made it safely.

 When he reached the Sunyshore University dorms, he was surprised to see so many students there as early as him. But, he supposed, it was best to arrive early and have ample time to get settled into the dorms. And really, considering his habitual tardiness, it was only thanks to his flight that he’d arrived so early.

 Heck, even his Buizel was still half-asleep, curled up around his neck like a scarf and yawning with a squeak in his ear.

 After speaking with the dorm advisor and collecting a booklet of dorm rules and regulations, Makoto was able to retrieve the keys to his room and he made his way to his assigned room. He was ready to collapse into bed and sleep for a good few hours before he even thought of doing anything else. If Kawa’s continued yawns were anything to go by, his Pokémon felt much the same.

 Makoto stuck the key into the lock and turned the knob, announcing himself before entering the dorm room proper. He didn’t make it even two steps in the door before he was greeted by a Vaporeon at his feet.

 The Vaporeon tilted its head, staring up at him with curious violet eyes.

 “Uh...hello…” Makoto greeted the Pokémon, smiling tiredly and raising his hand in a friendly wave so as not to appear threatening.

 “Saba, let him in,” came a voice from the other side of the room.

 “Vay!” The Vaporeon, apparently named Saba, did as its trainer bade and trotted away from the doorway, giving Makoto space to enter. Looked like his roommate was already here and had chosen the bed along the far wall.

 Shrugging, Makoto made his way to the unclaimed bed and dropped his duffel atop it. He parked his suitcase at the foot of the bed and turned to look at his roommate.

 The other boy was turned away from him, crouching in front of his own bag and setting his clothing on the bed. He had raven black hair and seemed a little quiet.

 “You must be my roommate, then?” Makoto asked in a friendly manner, aware that he was stating the obvious but a tad too tired to care all that much.

 The boy finally turned and Makoto caught sight of the bluest eyes he’d ever seen in his life. Giving a nod, the boy said, “Nanase Haruka. You can call me Haru.” His voice was soft and smooth, like an Eevee’s fur.

 Makoto smiled. “Tachibana Makoto. You can just call me Makoto,” he echoed back in a similar fashion. “And this is Kawa,” he introduced, reaching up to his own shoulder to pet his dozing Buizel. “He’s still sleepy from the flight.”

 His roommate—Haru—finally stood and turned to face him fully, and Makoto felt his mouth go a little dry. Good gravy, his roommate was. Um.

 Beautiful? He couldn’t think of a word that was better suited than that.

 “You met Saba,” Haru said, nodding toward his Vaporeon. “She can be a little too friendly sometimes; sorry if she ends up sleeping in your bed with you.”

 Giggling, Makoto said, “She’d have to fight Kawa for the space.”

 Haru gave him a small smile and set to putting his clothes in the dresser by his bed.

 Well, they seemed to be off to a good start, at least.

.

 In the week before classes started, Makoto learned a few things about Haru in their cohabitation.

He was a swimmer.

 Not professionally, though. When Makoto had asked him that, he got a scowl from the other boy and a curt, “I only swim free.”

He was from Alola.

 If Makoto would have known this first, he wouldn’t have been surprised in the least that Haru loved swimming.

He was quiet, but extremely straightforward.

 Haru didn’t talk a whole lot, which didn’t bother Makoto at all because his roommate was friendly enough. But if he had a particularly strong opinion or thought on something, he wouldn’t hold back and would just say what was on his mind. The bluntess caught Makoto off-guard the first few days, but he got used to it after a little.

 The bluntness wasn’t just reserved to speaking his opinions, either. Haru was also the kind of person, Makoto was learning, to kind of just...do what he wanted. Sometimes he would up and leave the room without much of a word, but not in a rude way. It was something Makoto would have to get used to.

 One day, Haru even asked Makoto if he wanted to accompany him to the beach and swim a little.

 “You can bring Kawa, too, if you want, since he’s a water-type and all,” Haru added when Makoto hadn’t answered him yet, only staring at the raven-haired boy in slight shock.

 “M-Maybe another time. Thank you, though, for the invite,” Makoto said with a genuine smile. He wasn’t sure he was ready to tackle swimming in the sea just yet. Though he did reason he’d have to go sometime soon, because yeah, Kawa would love it.

 Haru just shrugged, not seeming bothered at all with Makoto’s rejection to his invite. “Alright then. Saba and I will be back later.” Then, shouldering his bag with his swim gear, Haru left with his Vaporeon in tow.

 Makoto stared at the closed door for a few heavy seconds before returning to unpack the boxes that had arrived yesterday.

.

 The day before classes started, their dorm building was hosting a dinner-slash-get-together for all the students as a way for them to get to know their neighbors and make friends. Makoto was glad for the opportunity to get to know some of the other people in their building, but Haru seemed a little reluctant to go.

 “I don’t like a lot of noise,” Haru said from where he was lounging on his bed, one headphone in and his phone lying on his abdomen.

 Makoto frowned. “But it would be good to meet some of the other students, right? You might find someone also studying what you’re studying.”

 A shrug was all Makoto got from his roommate.

 Sighing, Makoto held out his arm for his Buizel to crawl up and onto his shoulder. “Do you at least want me to bring you some food?” he offered.

 Haru’s face turned thoughtful for a moment, then he shrugged again. “Only if you want to,” was his passive answer.

 “Alright...I’ll be back later,” Makoto said, remembering to grab his keys from the nightstand before heading out of their shared dorm room. He took the stairs down a few floors to the student lounge, where this gathering was to be held. The second he stepped out of the stairwell, he was greeted with noise of chatter and several Pokémon coming from the lounge area.

 Wow, there were...a lot of people.

 Makoto immediately made a beeline for the refreshments table, which was usually a safe place to go when he was feeling a little socially overwhelmed. He was a really friendly guy, yeah, but large crowds still made him a little nervous. He grabbed a small plate and piled it with snacks, also grabbing a couple Poké Puffs for Kawa.

 He heard a slight whining noise in his ear, coming from Buizel. “Hey, Kawa, what’s the matter?” he asked his Pokémon, following the otter’s line of sight. At the end of the food table, there was a small blue tail poking out from under the white tablecloth.

 Was it a Pokémon?

 Kawa leapt off Makoto’s shoulder to go investigate.

 “Iwatobi-chan! Where are you?!” Makoto heard someone yell from the crowd.

 Putting two and two together, Makoto took a few steps to where his Buizel was poking his head under the table and squeaking. Kneeling down, he lifted the tablecloth to reveal a Piplup hiding under there, flapping its little flappers and chirping excitedly.

 “Are you Iwatobi-chan?” Makoto asked the Pokémon.

 “Piplup!” the little penguin responded, though it remained under the table.

 “Bui?” Kawa said, trying to talk to Piplup.

 Makoto picked up a Poké Puff from his plate and held it out, wiggling it a little to entice the hiding Piplup. “You want this? You have to come out first.”

 Piplup leaned forward a bit, its beak moving up in down in what Makoto assumed was a sniff. Slowly, the little blue penguin waddled closer to Makoto and reached for the Poké Puff. When it was happily munching on the treat, Makoto set his plate on the table above him and grabbed the Pokémon with both hands and pulled it out from its hiding spot.

 “Um...did anyone lose a Piplup?” he called out to the people near him, drawing a few glances his way but not much else.

 A few moments later, though, a short blond boy came barreling toward him.

 “Iwatobi-chan, there you are!” the boy exclaimed.

 The Piplup paused in its eating and looked at the boy, eyes widening in what must have been recognition because it then began squirming to get free from Makoto’s arms.

 “Here,” Makoto said with a smile, holding the flailing Pokémon out to its supposed trainer.

 “Thank you so much for finding him!” the blond said, taking his Piplup and hugging him close. “Iwatobi-chan likes running off, the mischievous little guy!”

 Makoto laughed, squatting down again to let Kawa onto his shoulder. “He seems like a handful.”

 “Oh, he totally is!” The boy pouted at the little Piplup, lips pursed all the way out. But then he changed gears and flashed a sunny smile at Makoto. “I’m Nagisa, by the way. What’s your name?”

 “Makoto,” he introduced himself, holding his hand out for a shake. “Good to meet you!”

 Nagisa took his hand and squeezed really tightly, shaking it vigorously. He was a tiny ball of energy, it seemed. “Nice to meet you too, Mako-chan!”

 “Mako-chan?” Makoto asked, not opposed to the nickname but a little surprised at its usage since they just only met.

 “You wanna come sit at my table? I’ve met a few other people and they’re really nice!” Makoto didn’t really have time to answer before being dragged by Nagisa to a table where two other guys sat—one with maroon-colored hair and matching eyes, and the other with jet black hair and piercing teal eyes.

 “Rin-chan, Sou-chan, I found another friend!” Nagisa announced as they approached, waving enthusiastically. The both of them looked up and the redhead chuckled, showing off his sharp teeth.

 “Jeez, Nagisa, at this rate, you’ll make friends with the whole building by the end of the night.” Despite the slightly chastising words, sharp-tooth guy fixed his red gaze on Makoto and pulled out the chair next to him. “C’mon, have a seat.”

 “Ah, thank you,” Makoto said a little shyly as he sat down in the proffered chair.

 “This is Mako-chan!” Nagisa introduced, waving his hand at Makoto. “Mako-chan, this is Rin-chan and Sou-chan!”

 The raven-haired guy scoffed. “Would you cut it out with the Sou-chan? We’ve barely just met.”

 Nagisa sat down in his own chair with a slight pout, settling Iwatobi-chan in his lap. “But Rin-chan is my roommate, and you already know Rin-chan...so that means we’ve already been friends by association! So      that     means I get to call you Sou-chan!”

 “You little shit, it doesn’t work that way!” Rin said, flicking Nagisa on the nose.

 Makoto shrugged, the action on one shoulder much more subdued than the other due to Kawa perching himself there. “I don’t mind,” he admitted with a friendly smile.

 “See, Mako-chan gets it,” Nagisa said a bit smugly, stealing a piece of taiyaki from Rin’s snack plate and stuffing it in his mouth.

 “Oi, get your own!” Rin yelled.

 Smiling, Makoto was about to slide his own plate of snacks over to the hungry blond, but belatedly realized he must have left it on the refreshment table after retrieving Iwatobi-chan.

 “So, what is your actual name? I’m Sousuke,” the dark-haired guy said, offering a small grin to Makoto that made him look much less intimidating.

 “I’m Makoto, and this is Kawa.”

 His Buizel squeaked in greeting to the table, holding his paw up in a mock wave.

 “So, where are you from, Makoto?” Rin asked, leaning his elbow on the table.

 “I’m from Ambrette Town, in Kalos.”

 Rin gave a low whistle. “That’s pretty far from here.”

 Chuckling Makoto nodded. “Yeah. The plane ride was super long. I had jet lag for three days afterwards.”

 Rin laughed and flashed his sharp teeth. “Jet lag and I are best friends. I’m originally from Alola, but I went to middle school and part of high school in Unova.”

 Makoto’s eyes widened. “Wow, that’s impressive!” And Makoto really was impressed. That had to take a lot of guts to study so far away from home at such a young age.

 Nagisa lit up at Rin’s words. “Unova is where my boyfriend is studying!” he exclaimed, pulling out his phone and thumbing the screen really quickly. Letting out a gasp, he held out his phone to the table. On the screen was Nagisa with another boy, who had purplish-blue hair and red, thick-framed glasses. Nagisa was holding his Piplup and there was a Beautifly behind the other boy. “This is Rei-chan!”

 “You two look happy,” Makoto commented with a soft smile. “It must be hard being so far away from him.”

 Nodding, Nagisa’s smile turned a bit sad. “Mhm, I miss him a lot. But we video chat every day, even with the time difference. It makes it better.”

 “You never video chatted with me while you were in Unova,” Sousuke said to Rin with a light shove to his shoulder.

 “Shut up, you big lump,” Rin said, shoving him back.

 “Can I join you?”

 The four of them looked up to the source of the new voice and Makoto was surprised to see Haru standing behind him with Vaporeon in tow.

 “Haru! I thought you didn’t want to come?” Makoto asked as his roommate pulled out a chair and sat down without waiting for an answer from anyone present.

 “Ooh, who’s this?!” Nagisa yelled, his sunny smile returning.

 “Oi, Haru! Who said you could sit with us?” Rin said, his words sounding harsh but there was a smile on his face that said otherwise.

 “Makoto said it was okay, right?” Haru responded coolly, fixing his blue gaze on Makoto.

 Swallowing, Makoto let out a slightly nervous laugh. “Yeah, sure. I’m just glad you decided to come.”

 “Wait, how do you know each other?” Nagisa said, having caught Rin calling Haru by his name.

 “We knew each other as kids,” Rin supplied, reclining in his own chair and slinging his arm over the back. “Used to be on a swim team together.”

 Haru nodded to confirm Rin’s words. He pulled another chair out and Saba

 “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Haru-chan! I’m Nagisa!”

 Haru scowled. “Cut it out with the -chan.”

.

 When Makoto and Haru returned to their dorm room, it was a lot later than either of them anticipated. Makoto didn’t expect to make such fast friends at this shindig, and he      really    didn’t expect Haru to show up after the disdain for the event his displayed earlier.

 Kawa leapt off Makoto’s shoulder and onto his bed, where he was already curling up for sleep before Makoto even had his jacket off.

 “That was really fun,” Makoto said, sitting down on the bed and slipping his shoes off. “I’m so glad you decided to come down, Haru-chan.”

 Haru stopped in removing his own hoodie, raising a dark brow at Makoto.

 The brunet, realizing his misstep, giggled and clapped a hand over his mouth. “Sorry. I think Nagisa rubbed off on me a little.”

 A hum was all he got from Haru before a comfortable silence descended between them as they got ready for bed. Haru took the bathroom first, since he had class earlier than Makoto the next day and thus needed to go to bed earlier. Makoto took the time he spent waiting for his turn to text his mother, letting her know about the good time he had this evening and the new friends he had made. He liked to keep her updated on the daily so she wouldn’t worry too much about him.

 “Bathroom’s yours,” Haru said as he emerged in his pajamas, which was really just an oversized t-shirt and shorts. He flopped down on his bed and grabbed his phone off the nightstand, presumably setting his alarm for the morning.

 Muttering a small thanks, Makoto gathered his own belongings and made his way to the bathroom. He took a quick shower and brushed his teeth, and almost left the bathroom before he remembered he still needed to take out his contacts. He stowed them in their little case and squeezed some contact solution into each compartment to keep them from drying out. Then he settled his glasses on his nose and left the bathroom.

 He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw not one but two Pokémon taking up the space on his bed, Saba curled up close to Kawa and both sound asleep.

 “Um…”

 “I warned you,” Haru said. When Makoto turned to look at him, his roommate was smirking. “You can wake her up and move her.”

 “But she looks so comfortable…” Makoto said, a slight whine to his voice. It was practically illegal to move a sleeping Pokémon, especially when they looked so cute.

 To Makoto’s surprise, Haru scooted over and fixed him with a serious stare. “Alright, then sleep in my bed tonight.”

 “What…?  No! I can’t do that!” Makoto exclaimed, already feeling himself go red in the face.

 Haru shrugged, though he was still staring intently at Makoto’s face.

 Makoto could have sworn there was a slight tinge of pink to the other’s cheeks.

 Sighing, Haru got up from his bed and picked his Vaporeon up from Makoto’s bed. “C’mon, Saba, don’t hog Makoto’s bed.”

 Stunned, Makoto watched Haru carry his Pokémon over to his own bed with little to no effort. Which was shocking, since most Vaporeon usually weighed around sixty pounds.

 Must be the swimmer muscles, Makoto reasoned with himself.

 “Are you just going to stand there all night?” Haru asked after he’d already laid both Saba and himself back into bed.

 Blinking rapidly to regain some sense of himself, Makoto let out a sheepish laugh. “Ahh...no, I...I’m going to bed,” he said and he padded over to his now vacated bed, throwing his clothes on the floor to be picked up later. He crawled under the blanket, careful not to kick Kawa with his long legs.

 “I’m turning off the light now,” Haru said before the entire room was plunged into darkness.

 “Good night, Haru. Good luck with classes tomorrow,” Makoto said.

 “You too,” Haru said mid-yawn. Makoto heard shuffling as Haru rolled onto his side, facing away from Makoto.

 Makoto just laid there for a little bit, staring up at the ceiling through the darkness with a small smile on his face.

 University was going to be fun.