LOCKED TO ardent

[diamondo]

[The apartment is on the third floor, with windows looking out to Goldenrod City. It isn't the biggest place, but it is far better than the base. The place is small - one bathroom, one bedroom, a kitchen, and a small sitting room that doubles as a dining room - but it hasn't taken long for them to settle in. Mondo had cleaned up the place earlier that day while Ishimaru was out with his "superior officer," Colonel Archer. Mondo still isn't fond of Archer or his friend Kimblee, but he knows better than to say anything around them. Ishimaru seems to like them at least, so they can't be that bad, right?

Well, that doesn't matter now anyway. Mondo had finished up what little work he had for the organization early and had returned home to make sure the house was tidy. He knows how Ishimaru likes things - perfect and organized, with the exception of the closet. He hasn't touched the closet at all; that's Ishimaru's space. But it's getting later in the evening and despite what Ishimaru thinks, Mondo can cook.]

Butch, c'mon. Get down from there. I just dusted!

[It doesn't particularly matter that they had only been in the apartment for a week, Mondo knows better than to leave dust lying around. Ishimaru is probably allergic to it. It seems like he's allergic to everything, including Butch, the Lillipup Mondo had hatched from an egg not too long ago. Butch reminds him a bit of Chuck, but that isn't something Mondo wants to focus on now. He scoops up the puppy and carries him into the living room, letting the dog curl up on the couch almost as soon as he's put down.]

Stay. Got it? Stay. Shit, it's been fucking years since I last tried training a dog.

[But he seems rather pleased anyway. Mondo returns to the kitchen where he sets about preparing dinner. He might have a stupidly adorable Pikachu and Pichu apron on. Just saying.]

Comments

[ardent]

[Ishimaru is in high spirits when he returns to the apartment that evening; his Espeon, Sayuri, has grown a large amount in skill in a reasonably short period of time - something Ishimaru is intensely proud of, and he had been pleased to meet with Archer earlier for the sake of reporting his progress. Archer had likewise seemed happy with Sayuri's progress; Ishimaru had left their meeting with the knowledge that perhaps they would be able to start specialized training soon.

He knows that Mondo would likely be horrified if he were to hear about what that specialized training consists of, but that isn't anything he's going to worry about now; after all, it's technically not lying if he's never asked, is it? As little as he dislikes adhering to the letter of the law and not the spirit, sometimes it was necessary. He's beginning to understand that now; isn't it good that he's relaxing a little, anyway?

At any rate, he's quick to unlock the door and let himself in; immediately upon doing so, it's very obvious that "relaxing a little" is still not something he's good at.]

Aniki, I-

[...]

Did you clean in here?

[...]

What are you wearing -

[...]

...The kitchen is surprisingly not on fire. I'm impressed!

[diamondo]

Yeah, I cleaned. Figured you'd rather come home to a clean apartment and all that shit. I had free time, so I figured why not?

[That would probably work better if he wasn't turning pink...]

Hey, I told you I can cook! You believe me now?

[That's said in a teasing tone though, and Mondo pointedly ignores the second question. Look, it was the last apron they had and like hell if he's getting anything on his clothes.]

How was your day? You seem to be in a good mood.

[ardent]

[Ishimaru just stares at Mondo for a good long moment before his brain seems to reboot itself and he can get...well, if not back up to eleven, at least up to a solid nine-and-a-half.]

Yes, today was very good! The Colonel just wanted to check my progress with training; he seemed very pleased with the results!

[...ah, there's the eleven. At any rate, he certainly seems very self-satisfied for a moment before moving on.]

I never thought you to be such a domestic sort, aniki! It's surprising. Nice, but surprising!

[diamondo]

Ah, yeah? That's good to hear.

[Admittedly, Mondo has no idea what Ishimaru is doing in regards to training, but if it's important, he's sure Ishimaru will tell him.]

Shut up! I've just had to do shit like this before, that's all!

[But even though he's yelling, it's the obvious flustered yelling that he does when he's embarrassed.]

Figured I'd just help out a bit around the house, y'know?

[He's still bright red, but at least he's trying to maintain a reasonable volume?]

[ardent]

[He just laughs at that.]

No, no, it's appreciated! But surely you can't fault me too much for not expecting it.

[diamondo]

Well... well, yeah...

[That doesn't really help with the embarrassment factor though.]

Oh yeah, Butch is on the couch, so you might wanna watch out for him. I'll have the food done in a bit.

[ardent]

[...Is that so.]

Should we really be allowing the animals on the furniture like that?

[He supposes the more pressing question is "where was the dog before he was on the couch?", but he decides for the time being that he probably doesn't want to know...]

[diamondo]

Yeah? There's never been any problem with 'em before.

[...Was there?]

[ardent]

[.............]

How long have you been putting the dog on the couch to begin with?!

[...siiiiiiiiiiigh.]

I suppose it's better than just giving him free reign over the entire apartment, but still, I'm not sure how good a disciplinary precedent it's setting.

[Some things never change, really.]

[diamondo]

[...hahaha, funny story about that, actually...]

Disciplinary precedent? Fuck, aniki, this isn't like fucking school. These guys'll listen to you no matter what.

[But he's not in the mood to fight with Ishimaru about this. He knows when to pick his battles, and this isn't one worth fighting.]

If it pisses you off that badly, I'll return him, alright?

[ardent]

[Just. Let him glance at the dog for a moment, okay; it...is being incredibly cute...and as little as he like to admit it, Mondo does have a point. If it were an issue of potential disciplinary problems, then he would insist on the thing being recalled immediately; if it becomes a problem, surely retraining it won't be too much of a problem...]

No, you can leave him for now. Just for now.

[...hmph.

He's...just going to sit on the other side of the couch, as far away from the dog as possible, and hope this doesn't end badly.]

I'm guessing they aren't giving you too much trouble in the organization?

[diamondo]

[Mondo laughs at that; Ishimaru's being agreeable today at least.]

Yeah, yeah, alright, aniki.

[Butch obviously is curious about Ishimaru - he doesn't get nearly enough time to study this one! So obviously he'll just be coming over to bark at Ishimaru!]

Butch, knock it off!

[The dog whimpers and backs off, still staring at Ishimaru curiously.

Mondo returns from the kitchen, carrying two plates of an actually nice looking chicken dish. He hands one to Ishimaru and then nudges Butch to move over so he can sit as well.]

Nah, not too much. They still have me on laundry duty for "smart-mouthing" our superiors.

[ardent]

[It's not that Ishimaru is necessarily bothered by the barking, but it's clear that he's not sure what to...do with it, either. He's reluctant to reach out and touch because he still isn't sure how well certain Pokémon will play nice with his allergies (though the puppy hasn't been looking too promising on that front), and the last thing he needs is to cause some sort of flareup tonight; the result is that by the time Mondo manages to silence the dog and returns to the room, Ishimaru and Butch have taken to just kind of staring at each other, headtilting awkwardly and, at least on Ishimaru's end, clearly having no idea what do.

However, he relaxes quickly once Mondo returns to the room, accepting the plate of...surprisingly edible-looking food before returning his attention to Mondo himself.]

You really need to not do things like that, aniki. They're professionals, not school officials, and angering them is a bad idea - especially considering the field that they're professionals in.

[...once that bit of chiding is out of the way, however, he's surprisingly content to leave it be - or at the very least, he's not going to continue harping.]

Do you want me to try talking to the Colonel about it?

[diamondo]

[Mondo merely shrugs at Ishimaru's words. Yes, he's fully aware that they're criminals with highly powerful Pokémon, but that sure as hell won't stop him from mouthing off. He has to be a rebellious little shit somehow, you know!]

Nah, it's fine. Laundry duty fucking sucks, but it could be worse.

[Besides, his pride won't let Ishimaru step in to assist him. At least Ishimaru seems pretty content to not bitch at him about it for very long.]

'Sides, if they figure out what I got into Hope's Peak for, they might decide I'd be better off fighting or some shit.

[...]

Not like I have any issues fighting or anything! I just want it to be on my terms, not someone else's! And I like fighting with my fists, not using Pokémon to do it for me!

[ardent]

[He doesn't say anything to interrupt any of that, focusing on the chicken instead for a little while; it's...actually not bad, Mondo, good lord.

...yes, yes, he knows, you've told him before that you can cook. It's just that the proof is far better than he'd figured it would be.

However, he looks up once that's all out there, tipping his head a bit in acknowledgement but still not seeming entirely pleased by it.]

You know I would find it best if we didn't fight at all here, don't you?

[diamondo]

[Mondo tips his head a bit at that, fixing Ishimaru with a rather confused look.]

Fighting's what I'm fucking best at.

[Despite the words, that's said in a careful tone, like he's not sure if it's really the right thing to say.]

I guess I can get where you're coming from; all that shit that happened in the school was fucked up. I'm not gonna kill anyone, if that's what you're worried about.

[ardent]

[That last sentence gets a rather abrupt physical jerk out of him, as though startled; his words come out far more explosively than he'd intended.]

Of course I'm not worried about that! I know you better than to think I have to worry about that!!

[That's about the point at which he seems to realize that he's...probably getting intense again, and he at least makes half an effort to tone it down.]

At the same time, fighting like that isn't necessary here!

[diamondo]

[Butch retreats behind the couch at Ishimaru's yelling. Mondo glances at the dog for a moment before returning his attention to Ishimaru.]

Yeah, 'course you don't have to worry about that.

[But for some reason he can't quite figure out, there's a note of relief in his voice he can't quite hide.]

We're part of this fucking organization, aniki. If we're gonna take it down from within, we're gonna have to do some shit that we don't like. Look, I can handle the fighting, alright?

[ardent]

[Ishimaru notices the relief behind Mondo's words, but he has no idea what to do with it and for a moment his expression flickers, obviously unsure of whether he should say something or not. Surely his aniki knows that Ishimaru trusts him; why would he be relieved at something like that?

Thankfully, he's spared from having to make a decision on what to do one way or another by Mondo moving on; he focuses his attention there instead.]

There has to be some way to do this without harming people, organization or not.

[diamondo]

There's no way. I know how shit like this goes, aniki. Organizations like this always fight, no matter what.

[He knows that all too well. Mondo shrugs again and sets his plate on the coffee table, kicking his feet up beside it.]

If you can find a way to avoid harming people then by all means, go for it. But I don't think it's possible. Like I said, I'll handle that; you've gotten in with the higher-ups, so you should be able to avoid shit like that.

[ardent]

I...I'll see what can be done, then.

[Honestly, if he talks to Archer about anything after this, it will be making sure you are on laundry duty forever. :|

But that is neither here nor there for the time being, is it; he isn't in the mood to keep arguing, though he's definitely still displeased with the notion.]

Well, until then, if you keep cooking like that I'm not going to complain about you working shorter hours.

[diamondo]

[That gets Mondo to brighten up almost immediately and he grins in response.]

See, told you I could cook! You pick up a lot of skills living on your own, you know!

[Of course, he hadn't always been on his own, but Daiya was a horrible cook.]

[ardent]

Well, again, you can't really fault me for having been skeptical!

[As usual, his tone doesn't shift very much from the usual loudness and vivacity, but his expression is more than enough to imply that he's amused.]

Maybe I'll let you do it more often, though!

[diamondo]

You'll "let" me? C'mon, you can't boss me around if you're not here!

[But Mondo sounds amused as well. He reaches out to mess with Ishimaru's hair.]

Speaking of, what is it you're always doing with the Colonel?

[ardent]

[Ishimaru leans into that touch immediately; it's more comfortable than he'd thought it would be when Mondo had first started doing it, and having his hair played with like that is relaxing. However, he glances over at Mondo's question, his own gaze somewhat curious.]

Ah...sometimes he evaluates the progress I've made with my Pokémon, like he was doing today. He's a very powerful trainer, so his input is valuable. Sometimes Kimblee-san is there as well, but that isn't very often.

Other times we just talk; he...well, he seems very interested in what's happening in Hope's Peak.

[Though he's obviously trying to keep himself under control as he says it, it's clear that that last part is distressing him, at least to some extent; he tries to shake it off, however.]

Why do you ask?