Chapter Text
“Donavan.”
“Ah, Ms. Jackson-”
“ Pom . For the love of Arceus, Donny. Call me Pom,” Pom groans and wipes her face.
She hops down from the cobble wall, wrapping her arm around Donavan’s shoulder as she leans on him.
“Thought'cha left?” she nodded to the station. The last train had already left.
Donavan adjusted his coat to be tighter around itself, other hand clenched tight around his Pokegear. It kept its eyes on the tracks.
“Missed it.”
Pom snorted, “Yeah, no shit. Ya don’t plan on missing out on your folks this year, right?”
“I have to. I guess…”
She gave him a quizzical look. Where was that bubbly carefree attitude he showed off so often? He didn’t elaborate and even looked away from her, watching whatever late night stragglers wandered around the station so late at night.
Pom’s lips twitched and her hand had an involuntary itch to grab. No, no, she wouldn’t get mad just yet.
“What d’ya mean ‘have to’ ? Never heard of planes before?”
“There’s no room for me,” Donavan shrugs, “They invited too many people, my great aunt will be there, the party would be too much for me.”
Donavan snorts and shakes his head, a defeated smile on his face. It all sounded rehearsed, practiced responses being tossed Pom’s way as if it would simply placate any questions she may have had. It didn’t. Pom studied Donavan’s face closely, it was focused on something or probably someone else, kilometers away from Galar, drinking expensive wine and liquor, eating and preparing meals for the new years while their son stood in the frigid cold with no home to return to. Pom couldn’t read that, not from Donavan’s face and definitely not from its’ mind. All she was getting was this hard expression that told her her rival was more hurt than he was letting on. It sent winds on the rising waves in her mind and it made her shake Donavan out of his thoughts.
“Are ya lyin’ to me, mate?” she spat.
Was this the right approach?
Donavan stared at Pom head on, expression unreadable. He didn’t respond.
“ ‘s there a reason why your family, the ones you said’d go to bat for you n’ getcha outta trouble, ain’t buying you the next plane ticket outta here to get ya 'ome?”
Donavan looked off to the side. ‘ Thinking’ . And looked back at Pom mouth open to respond.
“Don’t kid me with the full party nonsense- Tell me the truth ,” she cut him off with another hard shake. She’d push him. That was the right thing to do right now.
“That’s the truth,” he said softly, eyes dropping somewhere else on her face.
He was quiet, Donavan was never quiet about the truth. This had to be a lie and Pom was going to yank it out of him. She shoved it back, a raging sea in her mind, determined to get to the bottom of this. A shove wasn’t enough for her, she couldn’t get her point across if Donavan was just in arms reach, he had to be closer.
So she grabbed him by the jaw, nearly choking him out and got in his face, glaring down at him with their foreheads nearly butting.
“Liar. Fess up, will ya? I don’t appreciate being led around,” she sneered.
Donavan’s jaw clenched in her hand, his lips twitched into a frown but he kept a firm stare into Pom’s eyes. The waters stirring in those fucked up little eyes, a dangerous little whirlpool forming and Pom could barely pull out of its swirl. Donavan was silent, unspeaking and unmoving, neck craned back uncomfortably to meet Pom’s glare. It swallowed hard and finally spoke.
“They don’t want me,” his tone matter-of-fact and dry, “Is that all? Is that the truth you were looking for?”
Pom would have smiled in triumph if she hadn’t heard Donavan. She figured he’d missed it on purpose to spend time with some galarian sweetheart or maybe it’d just mixed up times or maybe… Maybe something not as… Depressing? She frowned at him with a confused leer. Was that really the truth? That raging tsunami crashed to halt, those angry waves now just rolling against a concrete barrier. She pulled her head back from Donavan’s but still kept a firm hold to his face, she had to see it. If that was really the truth.
Donavan blinks a couple times and doesn't bother pulling his face from Pom’s grip. It smiles placidly with a shrug.
“It’s not a big deal. They just need their space, I’m a lot for them to handle at once. A new years party wouldn’t make it easier.”
Pom gives him an incredulous look. “‘Need their space’?! What kind of-”
“ Pom …” Donavan warns, something in his voice spoiling.
The muscles in his jaw shudder and Pom isn’t sure if it’s because of the cold or what made his voice sound so…
Pom flicks her head to the side and hangs it with a defeated swear, releasing Donavans face.
“Whatever. I’ll treat you to my folks, it’s warmer than this shithole anyway…”