This Is Fine

[FTR2017]

Hey! Welcome to QQ, I for one have been reading your work as a lurker in SB, and knowing you're importing your work here? I am overjoyed, that's what!

Loving your grounded perspective in spite of the 'rare' pokemon the protagonist has managed to befriend and how you gave each 'mon their own personality and quirks, I really appreciate how the man knows the pokemon better than he realizes, as most regular natives would've ended up doing a faux-pas and ruining their chances with 'mons such as Mama Swampert.

Looking forward to how he grows after he leaves the town into literally warmer pastures!

 

[BazDog25]

Serves em right for attacking a Dragon Trainer. Time for heals

 

[Zauber]

Nice, good realism on the fight! I hope we get another interlude of post-fight harvey and jess, i'd like to see how they and their bosses react to this. Still find it weird his name is Harvey instead of James though.

 

[Manfat]

"Jimmy sent some thugs to grab the Gible." Jess' words were as unwelcome as they were unsurprising. I was glad she'd come by to let me know. I was even more glad she'd waited for Jen and the girls to go out when she did so.

When we'd hit a rough patch, Jen had asked why I never married Jess with how well we'd gotten along. We'd tried dating, first date, she'd told me I was a beard because her father hated gays. I'd been her beard for three years until she fell for Mika, and Jess didn't want to hide who she was anymore.

Being there as emotional support was one of the great highlights of my life when she told her Dad to 'go fuck yourself' and walked out. Shame it didn't work out , but Jess was still my best friend. I shook my head.

I was trying to distract myself from what she'd just said.

"Fuck. Tell me it worked." I already knew it hadn't. Otherwise, Jess would have led with Jimmy got the Gible.

"No. Apparently, they got the shit beaten out of them."

"Fuck! I told him to let me handle this."

"Harvey, he gave you more than a month to do something. I know you, I know you wanted to find a way to do this without anyone getting hurt. But that ship has sailed." As usual, Jess was right; we'd worked out who had the Gible from Geddes' League Day.

Some middle-aged guy who no one seemed to know. The same damned guy who had picked it up and delivered it to the Pokémon Center. Ever since then, we'd been working on a plan to find some way to separate them.

Ah, who was I kiddin'?

I was just wasting time.

I didn't like the idea of actually taking a Pokemon off someone. Sure, I transported them, most likely anyway. Didn't take a genius to work out what our no-questions-asked cargo was. Especially after our last two failures, but I wasn't a bad guy.

I did what I had to do to keep my family afloat, and if some people or Pokemon had to suffer for that, I was sorry about that, but those were the breaks, and, as selfish as it was.

Better them than mine.

This, though, there'd be no walkin' this back. Still, if I did nothing, then Kobie would be on the hook. Which meant we'd all be on the hook, because none of us were leaving him to hang alone.

"You're right, Jess. You're right."

"I usually am, now what are we gonna do?"

"We." I pointed between the two of us.

"Are not going to do anything. I am going to get the Gible back." Her face pinched inward in that argumentative way I was more than familiar with.

"Alone?"

"Well I ain't gonna fist fight the guy."

"Probably for the best." She shivered a little, something cold dropped into my chest.

"How bad was it?" A morbid question, maybe, but I needed to know.

"Between the two of them? Bad Harvey real bad." I licked my lips, my mouth feeling a little dry. Jess had seen some shit. If she said it was bad, then it was bad.

"I didn't get the whole story from Jimmy, but I know they've both got cracked skulls, one has a ruptured testicle, and his finger was almost bitten off. The other got a broken nose and jaw out of it."

"Right, definitely not going to fist fight the guy." I let out a laugh that sounded completely fake. The look on Jess's face told me I certainly hadn't fooled her.

"I'm sure that my partner can handle a Gible. And it doesn't matter how well he can fight, he ain't beating a Pokemon." Besides, if everything went wrong and we somehow lost, then at the very least I'd be the only one getting the shit beat out of em' she took a sharp breath in. Letting it out in a hiss.

"And what are the rest of us supposed to do?"

"Rat-Face, Jimmy, whatever you wanna call him. He's moving the operation to Icirrus City. Told me that a couple of weeks ago. His boys' failure probably sped his timetable up."

"Too bad Jimmy didn't get the shit beaten out of him," Jess muttered mulishly.

"Isn't it just. More seriously start taking more jobs up that way. Stay out of Warren County where you can and make money, Jess. Make as much as you can because I have no idea when this storm is gonna be over."

"What about Roger and Kobie?"

"Roger will do the same. Kobie had a personal meeting with Mr. Barristan yesterday. He's still alive." Jess' face almost collapsed in relief, it disappeared behind an iron mask of self control almost immediately.

"What's the damage?"

"Nine and a half." I didn't need to specify million.

"Fuck!"

"Yeah, we can work that off eventually. With prices going up somewhere between a year and two, depending on what works available. But we'll be deeper in, much deeper, more difficult to get back out again." We could still leave anytime we didn't know enough to need disappearing. We just needed to get to a place where we had enough to call it quits. It would happen soon, just a little longer.

"So the Gible then."

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do?"

"Well, first I'm gonna call Rat-Face and see what he knows about our guy. Maybe find a place he frequents with no people."

"Doubt he'll do that for a while if he's been attacked."

"Probably not, but I don't intend to go straight at him. I'll spend a bit of time learning about his habits first."

"Like you have for over a month?" A low blow, but not inaccurate.

"In any case, I'll have to let sleeping Stoutland lie for now. But a month from now? Two? I'll hit him and get the cargo back." I'd need the heat to die down a bit before I tried this that was all.

"Let me help." I really wish I could. I'd love some backup for this. But Jess, for all her abrasiveness, was the best person to take care of my family if I couldn't. I wasn't risking that, not if there was any way I could avoid it.

"No."

"Why not!?"

"Cause If I go down, I ain't bringing you with me." I kept my voice calm, but I couldn't keep the stiffness out of it completely.

"God damn it, Harvey, I'm already involved!" She snarled. I grit my teeth. She was. Because of me. Reminded of my failures yet again, the story of my life really.

"I know, and that's on me." That hurt to say, but it was no less than the truth.

"Please, Jess, I'm beggin' you let me do this. If I go down, my girls are gonna need their Godmother more than ever. You can't help if you're stuck in a cell with me!" We looked at each. She closed her eyes, and a brittle, bitter look passed over her face.

"Fine, Harvey, fine."

"Thanks, Jess."

"Just don't fuck this up, Harv." I gave her a wide grin that I definitely didn't feel and put on my best laid-back tone.

"Who me!?" I don't think I convinced her. Arceus knows I didn't convince myself. I thought about the guy who'd taken care of the Gible. He was probably just trying to get by, just like me. Just like Jess, Kobie, and Roger.

I laid a hand on my pokeball again, feeling a reassuring thrum of electricity pass through it.

But still.

Better him and his than me and mine.

Interlude 2 – END.

---

And there's the Interlude.

Manfat Patreon
Support is welcome. But never expected.
This is Fine Volume 1 - Complete.
No Strings On Me (Nikke x Gundam) - 2 chapters ahead. Biweekly, going to weekly as of 5/6 of July. (If I've got my math right)

 

[FTR2017]

Yeah, that's not gonna work out as you intend it to, man.

You better start working out how to off the mobster once you fail ... .

 

[Manfat]

Monday morning had me up bright and early, earlier than usual. My body still ached, but nowhere near what I'd expected it to be after the arsewoopin' I'd gotten. Still worse than my run here, though. There was a tap from the machine beside me.

Violet eyes stared at me.

"Vee." I sat up and popped the lid. Eevee stretched and then jumped into my lap. She was slow and stiff compared to her normal self. I let her stay a few minutes and stroked her fur. She was very fluffy. Nurse Mary, the Audino, looked in on us a few minutes after I woke up.

"Aud!" She kept her voice low, but the excitable tone was easy to pick up on. Eevee's response was quick and savage. She turned, hissing at the nurse fur standing on end. I gave her a quick pat. This brought back memories.

"Mary's good. We don't attack Mary."

"Vee." Not convinced, apparently. Now, where had I seen this before?

"I'll be here the whole time, I promise, but if you want to get better, you're going to have to listen." Eevee turned to me, looking mulish. Mary gave me a grateful look from behind her. She definitely remembered Gible's initial homicide attempt.

"Go get Ben, I'll keep her calm."

"Vee!" I gave her head a ruffle.

"You'll be fine, I promise." She turned her nose up at me, looking away, but didn't actually get out of my lap or attempt to stop me from petting her. I did indeed have another princess on my hands, it seemed.

"I'm not going to get blasted, right?" Ben's voice came from the left of the doorway. I looked down at Eevee, her hackles up again, and a low growl in her throat.

"She doesn't know Echoed Voice yet. But I can't rule out a mauling." It was a poor excuse for a joke, and even my tone made it fall flat. I rubbed Eevee's coat again and pitched my voice low.

"Ben's a friend you can trust him, I'll be here the whole time." She calmed a little at that.

"You're good to come in, treat her like Gible. Tell her exactly what you're going to do and why."

"Right." Ben stepped around the door. Eevee's eyes locked onto the pokeball on his belt, and she hissed. Ben stepped back around the door.

"Pokeball down, I think," I called back.

"Vee!"

"Yeah, got it, and to think I told my mother that nursing was a less dangerous profession than Ranger." He was only kinda whining, and really, given the last time this had happened, I really couldn't blame him. Ben stepped back into the room. Mary's pokeball missing from his belt. Either in a pocket or on the table in the hallway. Eevee calmed after giving Ben a very thorough once-over.

"Better?" I ran a hand through her fur again.

"Vee."

"Right, let's go through the tests." There were a lot of tests. Including one that needed to draw blood. I actually needed to stop Eevee from attempting a mauling on that one. Overall, with the exception of the blood test, which we'd need to wait a week for, she was slightly underweight, a little malnourished, but all of that was easily fixable.

"I'll get you a meal plan by tonight, and I'll have Dustin hold onto it." I looked down at Eevee. Not that I was unappreciative of the save or anything, but...

"You sticking with me?" She looked me up and down.

"Vee." And nodded, I took that to mean 'for now' rather than 'new party member get.'

"Thanks, Ben, alright, well, I gotta have a quick shower and head to work." I stood stiffly, and Eevee followed me from the room. I also learned that, unlike Gible, she wasn't content waiting in the hallway for me to wash.

After her very unsubtle threat to break down the door if I shut it in her face, seriously charging a Double Kick was a bit much, I let her in.

"You can wait in the room. Not in the stall." She gave me a very flat look that communicated 'who'd wanna see your fat arse naked anyway' before jumping onto a bench and curling up. I shut the stall door. Eevee's check-up meant I was running behind schedule for getting to work. I was gonna be cutting it close under the best-case scenario. Willow would be understanding, but I actually liked her and would prefer to be on time if possible.

Gible had just woken up when I swung by the room. Like the rest of us, she ate a berry on the go as we headed out to Park Recycling. A sweet Mago berry for Gible and me, a spicy Cheri berry for Eevee. I had to carry the four legged Pokemon so she could eat while we walked; we were running too late to stop.

I'd grabbed nine additional berries from Ben before I left. A mixture of sweet and spicy. While the Geddes Pokémon Center was too small to have a dedicated Pokemart integrated. It did stock basic necessities like Berries, Potions, and the like.

By the time she was done eating, Eevee decided to stay on my shoulder rather than walking. At least while within the limits of the town. Once Geddes was behind us, she jumped down and walked next to Gible out in front.

They were both trying to pretend they're weren't in pain.

They weren't very good at it.

Being more familiar with the fastest route, we made good time. Willow was waiting at the front gate. The expression on her face was carefully neutral as she looked at Eevee. I was late after all. Really should have called from the Pokémon Center.

"So that's where that one got too." She looked at me and took in the stiffness of my body and grimaced.
/
"Alright, what happened? You're not the kind to be late for no reason. I was gonna give you half an hour before I called the Pokémon Center to see if you'd gotten hurt."

I gave Willow the full rundown. Lunch, getting jumped outside the Geddes Tavern, what I remembered clearly from the fight, my police interview, and Eevee's morning check-up. Her face didn't change that much, but the general atmosphere around her said she wasn't pleased.

"Damn it, kid." Willow shook her head. "You should have called me from the center, I'd have given you the day off after that."

"Can't," I admitted, shaking my head. "Need the money too much." She sighed and rubbed her face.

"Damned stubborn bastard." I think I heard shades of approval in her tone.

"Alright, but you're on light duties today and buy a damn phone!" Well, I'd already been planning on that, even if I'd be saying goodbye to more of my dwindling savings account. Deputy Yates had told me to pick one up a while back. I kept putting it off. Recent events changed my priorities.

Even if I didn't have anyone except emergency services to call.

Mr. and Mrs. Aggron looked over me as I walked into the yard. It had taken a while, but I'd learned to read their expressions over the last month and a bit. Usually, Dad-ggron had an almost cartoonish grin, while Mum-ggron usually was a little sterner. Her mouth occasionally curled up into a small, warm smile.

Now though?

Their faces were very carefully blank, eyes narrowed. Mum-ggron gave me a reassuring pat on the back on my way past. It did not escape my notice that for the rest of the day, one of them was always nearby.

I imagined that if anyone came by Park Recycling to take a shot at me. They'd be hit by a half-ton of pissed-off metal-rock Godzilla. At which point the other one would probably jump in, and the poor bastard would be part of the world's worst two-on-one cage match. That was before whatever the Trubbish and Grimer added in.

Considering Gible and Eevee had been enough to see two arseholes off, I didn't imagine anyone coming by would fare much better. Partially because there were a lot of Pokémon at Park Recycling, and numbers certainly counted for a lot. Even if none of the Pokémon here were primarily battlers. More importantly, because either Aggron could stomp Gible flat without a problem if they ever felt like it.

Not that I'd ever say it out loud.

My girl was a delicate soul after all.

But it did mean that any threat that turned up would have a very short time to regret their actions. After which, they'd probably have reached their arranged meeting with God or maybe just the emergency room.

Willow had told me to take a light day. Every time I tried pushing the pace, one of the Aggron just so happened to have a job that required me to slow down.

Took me longer than I want to admit to work out that it was the Aron tipping them off.

Gible was too taken with Eevee to distract the Aron.

The two spoke, I didn't really understand most of it. I could probably parse out one word in every ten if I were fully dedicated to the task. Willow called me into her office at the end of the day; her face looked like it was carved from stone.

I felt a squirming of disquiet in my guts.

Was I about to be fired?

I could feel my heart rate begin to increase.

No.

No.

Not now.

I couldn't afford this to happen now!

The Bike wasn't ready.

I wouldn't be able to afford repairs. The motel room I'd paid for? Money down the drain. Worse, without the bike, I wouldn't be able to get anywhere fast enough to find extra well-paying work. My financial situation was about to go down the crapper, and that meant Gible was going to be taken.

No.

No.

There had to be a way out of this. My eyes darted around, flicking up and left, then down and right. Ideas were considered and thrown out. Too many problems. Not enough solutions. I could feel panic beginning to well up, and rage followed. Boiling up from my stomach like acid, pouring into my veins, my teeth grit and I felt a growl build in my chest.

Really now?

This had to happen now!?

Of all the fucking times!?

"I'm sorry." Willow's voice cut my thoughts before internal could become external.

"I've been looking at my incoming stock and the prices of moving more in, but I can't justify it with everything being the way it is. I can't keep you on past your original three-month contract date. I'm sorry, Nash, you've picked up the work quickly, and I like having you around, but financially speaking, I'll be losing money if I keep you on past your contract date."

I blinked several times rapidly. Fear and rage turned to confusion. Which turned into relief, anger drained down as though pulled by gravity to my feet. Relief flighty and warm took its place, my arms and legs shook slightly as the primed adrenaline dump from my fight or flight reflex drained away with the anger.

I tried to nonchalantly place a hand on a chair to steady myself. I doubt I managed to conceal it, my hand shook as I grabbed the chair back and let out a breath I didn't realise I'd been holding.

"Come again?" My voice sounded odd even to my own ears.

"I'm sorry I can't keep you on." Willow sounded confused. I couldn't help but laugh; I'd never had a particularly nice laugh. It always sounded more like a bark, unless I was laughing so much I could barely breathe, then I sounded like a hyena.

The laugh that left me sounded like a sob playing dress up.

My ribs ached with phantom pain. Willow looked a little shocked as I shook my head and gave a smile that was more teeth than truth.

"That's fine, Willow. You told me a bit ago you probably couldn't extend the contract. I'm glad for the heads up." I took a deep breath. Besides, I wasn't sure I'd stay even if she could extend it out. Geddes was a nice enough town, but the punch-up I'd been in made me think somewhere else could be a little safer overall for Gible and me both.

Maybe somewhere like Nimbasa City.

I was an Australian after all. Going north into the cold didn't really agree with me. I did it because one road had seemed as good as another. Just living day to day had been... enough. It hadn't been a good life, just enough.

Now though? Now I actually had things I was looking forward to. But that didn't change the fact that I hated being cold. I'd seen snow exactly once in my life. So far, once had been enough.

Five stars.

Vacations only.

At least Nimbasa had the decency to be next to a desert and thus hopefully much warmer when winter fully took hold. I was used to arid environments. Hell, when I'd vacationed in the USA, the Nevada desert had been the only place in the country that the sun had felt right.

Nimbasa's desert had felt similar last time I passed through.

"So about a month and a half left then?" I looked at Willow, and my teeth were still on display.

"A month and a half." Willow agreed, she opened her mouth, but didn't say anything.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Willow."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Nash." I closed the door to the office, Gible and Eevee were playing with the Aron. I called out to Gible and headed towards the gate. The land shark tottered over surprisingly quickly. Even managing to outpace Eevee, not easily, she needed to push herself, but Gible did out-run her. Her little arms came up, and I swept down, ignoring stiff muscles, and picking her up.

"Gib!" She called out happily. I shifted her into one arm and knelt. Eevee had slowed to a walk after being passed.

"Coming with?" The fox-like Pokémon looked around the Recycling plant and then nodded.

"Vee." I held an arm out, Eevee ran up it, and took position on my right shoulder. Apparently, I would need to act as a chauffeur today. At least until my arms got tired. Then they'd need to walk on their own for a bit.

I ignored the flashes of pain through my body.

The return trip was slow.

I had to let Gible down eventually. Eevee joined her. The two of them mostly stayed on the path, though Eevee began to slow down as we reached the outskirts of Geddes. I kneeled in front of her.

She was watching the town like it was enemy territory, then again, maybe to her it was. I reached out slowly and brushed her ears lightly. Her muscles were tense, and the fur around her neck was starting to rise.

"Listen, I have to grab something in town. When I'm done, I'll head to the Pokémon Center for a check-up with Gible. Then we'll take the road next to the center heading west to get to our motel." I pointed in its general direction.

"You have some choices. I know you wanted to come along. But if you're not up for this, then you can meet us by the Pokemon Center or the motel later. If neither of those works for you, you can head back to Willow's."

Eevee didn't say anything. Gible wandered up and gave a few low rumbling growls and chirps. Eevee answered with her own. I couldn't puzzle out what they were saying. My knees were starting to ache. After a moment, the fox bit my sleeve and pulled down. I let her lead my arm towards the ground before she ran up it to settle on my shoulder.

"Vee."

"Gib."

"Alright then." I stood again; thankfully, Gible didn't want another lift. She was wonderful, but sooner or later, twenty kilos hanging off an arm got hard to hold up. Gible knew where we were going. The local grocery store sold prepaid phones; the Pokemon managed to wrangle another few berries out of me into the bargain.

Though I did need to, subtly, warn off a few parents from sending kids over to look at Eevee. I could feel how stressed she was, and while I didn't think she'd maul a child. I wasn't entirely sure about that either.

We must have looked a sight to the cashier.

A land shark jumping around my legs, letting out a series of 'Gib' as though it were some kind of song.

A neurotic fox ready to throw down with anything and everyone in the store.

And a stressed homeless man who moved like he'd just gone a few rounds with a professional boxer.

Oh, what a trio we made.

If it wasn't for the fact that I shopped there fairly often, I was fairly sure that the police would have been called. The phone itself wasn't much, basic calls, and internet access. Still took a chunk out of my savings.

It was going to be the internet access that did me in, I was sure of it. Just one more gig, I'd tell myself, before paying for extra.

Gible's check-up went well, I got in contact with Jobe and arranged for a training session for Wednesday afternoon, out the back of the Pokemon Center. Which meant I'd be able to keep my appointment for the Cherry Grove Middle School Battle Club on Thursday.

Gible was still adamant about participating in League Day, and we needed all the practice we could get.

When I lay down for bed, Gible took up most of the bed on my left. Eevee curled up in a ball next to my pillow. I realised something, something that very much hurt to realise. If Eevee was going to stay around, which was looking more and more certain.

"I'm going to need a bigger tent."

My wallet howled in pain.

Chapter Seventeen – END.

---

That's all she wrote for today.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

Manfat Patreon - If you'd like to support the work I do.
Support is welcome. Never expected.
This is Fine Volume 1 - Complete
No Strings On Me (Nikke x Gundam) - 2 Chapters Ahead. Currently Bi-weekly. Soon to be weekly.

 

[FTR2017]

Yeah, being a poor trainer while inside a country suffering economic depression sure makes things challenging to make it through.

More-so when said country also has very cold winters.