Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

With a simple vibration from your phone, you were sent sprinting through the mall. After shoving your bags violently into your friend's arms you raced to the other side of the building with a single goal in your mind.

Capture.

People whizzed by as you ran, you ignored the cries of protest from assumingly the friend you had left behind and possibly some irritated passerby. There was no way you were letting it elude you yet again.

Your heartbeat rang in your ears like a gong smashing into a cymbal, counting down the seconds until it was too late. Adrenaline flooded your veins as finally you were in range of the solitary goal you had been hunting for since you downloaded Go.

“NO WAIT!” you heard your friend cry, but it was too late. An almost predatory grin distorted your face and with a flick of your finger, the deed was done. You watched as the pokeball wobbled once, twice, three times, and with a final click you finally took in what was behind the ball.

Someones zipper. Specifically their pants zipper. Oh god.

You looked up to meet eyes with a man wearing a nametag bearing the Lush logo. Ah, so that’s where you were. Wait! That’s not what’s important right now! You scrambled to stand up straight and make eye contact with the man you had accidentally taken a peep shot of.

“I can explain!” you wheezed before averting your eyes. In the few seconds you had actually looked at well, not his dick area, you took in his confused but still cute expression, large eyes, and seemingly cat shaped smile.

“I’m so sorry, oh my god. I just-- well to put it simply, there was a sylveon in here and I uh, really wanted to catch it.. I’m so sorry! I wasn’t trying to take a picture of your di-” you were interrupted by a small giggle from him, making you the confused one.

“Hey, it’s fine! But only because it was a cutie like you.” He topped off the statement with a head tilt and smile. You blinked before looking at your friend behind him, they seemed panicked and were eagerly pointing toward the door. “I uh.. I should get going, but thank you for being so chill about this-” you glanced at his nametag then made eye contact again “totty?”

His smile widened and he nodded. “I’d let you go but I mean.. You did shove your camera at me-” he sighed softly before looking back up at you with puppy dog eyes  “and without even asking for my number first.”

Your friend was silently dragging her finger across her neck with bulging eyes, the universal sign to stop! Whatever! You’re! Doing! She had never lied to you before and usually had a keen view on a situation but.. You had also really messed up big time with ‘totty’. You guiltily smiled and looked back at him.

“So.. My number is-”

Chapter Text

“ God ! I can’t believe you did that!” your best friend cried once exiting the store. You exhaled loudly in relief as she threw her hands up in exasperation. “I don’t see the big deal Ami, you’ve been saying I should meet new people since I moved here . ” She pouted and puffed out her cheeks eliciting a laugh from you. “Yeah but not.. Him . ”

You looked over in confusion eliciting a sigh.

She scrunched her face and muttered “‘ Totty’ is not the best kind of person.” Venom dripped from his name when it left her mouth. Usually Ami was cute and cheery so seeing her upset or even angry was a drastic change that put you on edge.

“What’s wrong with him?” “What’s not?!” She rubbed her temples before continuing. “He’s a neet to begin and he’s a.. a..” Why the hell wouldn’t she just say it?! Was he a murderer or something?!

“He’s a fuckboi!”

A beat of silence filled the air before you burst into laughter. “That’s.. That’s it?” “What do you mean that’s it!! I had to cuss..” She continued to pout before shoving your bags back into your arms.

“If it’s not that big of a deal, you can carry your own bags!.. I mean seriously! We go out to shop and hangout for the first time in what? 2 months? And you can’t stop yourself from getting in trouble.. And with Todomatsu no less!” You noted his real name silently.

“I doubt you were listening to me earlier but he’s seriously bad news! He acts all cute but he’s evil! Evil I tell you!”

You zoned out until she stopped ranting which she finished with a “hmph!” and crossed arms. It was possible you were best friends with a child.

-

Once home you flopped on your bed, exhausted. The various shopping bags you had accumulated throughout the day had been abandoned the second you walked into your apartment.

Staring at the ceiling you thought about the day’s events and winced. Shoving your phone at someones dick definitely was not the smoothest thing you’d ever done… Did it really matter though if Todomatsu was as bad of a person as Ami said? You shook your head to clear your thoughts. It shouldn’t matter if some guy was gonna text you anyways. You hadn’t moved to Japan for a relationship. You’d had enough trauma from those to last a lifetime.

You continued to stare at the whirly patterns above you before rolling onto your side. With a feign of acceptance you decided to wait and see… And purposely ignore the fact that you might have forgotten to get his number, so you didn’t have a choice in the matter anyway. Wonderful.

-

Sitting around his brothers, he lazily blew a bubble before drawing it back into his mouth with a soft ‘pop’. Already irritated from the summer heat he grumpily scrolled through his phone and seemingly dead convos. Nothing to do, no one to talk to, everyone on social media was being sickeningly cute with their significant others. Who needed a steady relationship when you can be single and do as you please? Dating? Marriage?! How unnecessary.

He shuddered before thinking to himself about how he had dozens of people just waiting for the word from him to hook up or go out. He was a wanted item! At least that’s what he told himself.

After texting a few people but being turned down from lack of time, he suddenly remembered the incident from the other day. He recalled how they seemed pretty cute.. Even with their phone angled at his crotch. Aaand it had been a few days since then so he wouldn’t seem desperate if he texted them.. Right?

Worst case scenario they don’t reply, best case scenario he could get a date or two and maybe even a hookup if he thought they were good enough.

Opening his messages he leisurely typed in their number.

Totty 2:47 PM

Hi! (o´ω｀o)

Easy, simple, not hard to reply to at all. It was foolproof.

But then an hour ticked by. Then another. Aaand another.. He was getting more and more fed up, who the hell did they think they were?! He was never left on delivered for hours on end! Never! He heatedly opened their contact page and scrolled down to the ‘block contact’ button when he got a notification.

xxx-xxxx 7:13 PM

Hey.. Who’s this?

-

Despite debating still blocking them, he backed off and eventually replied

Totty 7:32 PM

Totty ! From Lush.. idk if u point ur camera at people’s dicks often but i’m that guy ! ●︿●

xxx-xxxx 7:34 PM

Oh my God. I’m still so sorry for that!

He cringed on the recollection of that day but luckily enough their guilt from it served as a perfect opening.

Totty: 7:37 PM

it’s fine ! well it will be if u tell me ur name~

xxx-xxxx 7:38 PM

Oh! it’s _____ ______!

Totty 7:39 PM

ahh, that’s cute ______-chan (●´ω｀●) i’m going to call u sylv tho.. if that’s ok?

Sylv 7:40 PM

Sylv??

Totty 7:42 PM

yep ! bc that’s the pokemon that brought us together ! and plus sylveons r cute.. like u ! :3c

He rolled his eyes and clicked out to text another possible hookup. It was just too easy. They’d either get flustered but gradually warm up to him until they were alone or they’d flirt back which would speed up the process even faster. He proudly remembered being called ‘master of the human heart’ and smirked.

Sylv 7:46 PM

I’m not going to lie to you.. I didn’t answer when you first reached out because I heard you were a fuckboi and are just going to use me. If that’s what you’re planning I’d appreciate if you didn’t respond. I don’t have time for games.

His eyes widened in surprise. Well this was definitely new. ‘Of course Ami would warn them,’ he thought to himself. She was a failed hookup in the past and was butthurt about it. He shook his head and smiled. Whatever, that wouldn’t stop him. If anything, it made this game even more fun than before.

-

Clicking your phone off so you could try to sleep, your mind wandered to Totty. Ami had warned you and said he was a bad person but he had been adorably sweet and even pretty flirty. He hadn’t been a bad person, surely you would’ve picked up on it by now if he was..

You didn’t know what it was but he was incredibly easy to talk to and fun to mess around with. It had been such a short amount of time, only two weeks , but you found yourself trusting him deeply and even sharing some things you hadn’t even told Ami. You secretly hoped that didn’t make you a bad friend and brushed it off. Surely she’d be happy that you found someone you could grow so close to.

Despite being close however, you hadn’t hung out or in his view, gone on a date, since the day you’d met. He’d asked you out on various occasions but you turned him down, repeatedly making up excuses which you were sure he knew were such. He would ask why but you avoided the question just like you avoided meeting him again.

You told him many things, but why you were evading him seemed a bit too personal even then. At least you thought so until he exploded in frustration and demanded an answer. It made you uncomfortable that he was forcing it out of you but he countered your refusal by saying how he deserved that much considering how you had been adamantly steering clear of him. You were flooded with guilt and uneasiness but… Maybe he was right . Maybe you should tell him.

You opened your phone and clicked into totty’s convo but froze. The blinking line and empty textbox glared brightly in your eyes, screaming to say something, anything, but also taunting you. Would you confess? Could you confess?

What would you even say? Where would you begin?

It all started with my first relationship--

No. No no no. That was all wrong.

Their name was--

No.. That wasn’t right either.

When I was younger, I struggled a lot with trusting people too easily and being too forgiving. I was naive and dumb. People loved to take advantage of that… Of me. One day someone who I thought ‘loved’ me made a move even though I said no at first.. I kept saying it over and over and over and ove r

You choked back a sob on the memory and wiped the tears from your eyes to ease the blurriness of your phone screen. Never again. You just wanted to forget. But you had to relive it. You had to tell him.. He deserved that much. And so you continued.

They thought I was just being shy or playing hard to get but once they started actually getting annoyed or even angry and telling me I was being a bad person, even threatening to dump me! I.. I gave up. I let them do what they wanted. It hurt so badly… I felt broken and when I went home I found I hated the skin I was in. I hated myself. I was heartbroken.

They texted me that night saying ‘I love you.’ but it didn’t feel right. It felt cold. I felt.. empty. They used me time and time again and I let them. Im worhtlses used uo garbag e im a scferwu p a mes--

You stopped, drawing your knees to your chest before letting out a wail of pain. You were wounded and broken and ruined. What would anyone ever see in that?

-

Sylv 12:16 AM

I’m just being dumb, haha… Sorry.

Totty 12:18 AM

ur not dumb at all.. do u wanna tell me what’s really wrong tho?

Todomatsu had watched as the bubble with three dots appeared then disappeared repeatedly until they sent that short text. It was obviously more than what they wanted to let on. Sure, he was doing this for fun, but he had to admit his curiosity was piqued. “I mean.. Why else would I want to know?”

Their speech bubble continued to waver before eventually being replaced with

Sylv 12:20 AM

Bad relationships in the past, don’t really wanna talk about it. I guess I’m just happy you’re different from the rest. I have a lot of faith in you... In us.

He felt himself blush at their last statement. They were being so honest and they seemed to care so.. Deeply for him.

Why?

Why was he even still talking to them? If anyone else had led him on this long, he would’ve stopped talking to them long ago. What was he doing?! He was letting himself get attached when he knew full well that letting people in just ends in heartbreak! And they seemed to know from past experience as well.. So why? What were either of them doing?!

He cursed at himself and his mistakes. It was too late now however, he had spent much too long on them to not get any reward. It didn’t matter what it took, he would get something from them in the end. And if they thought the two of them were ‘close’? That was their own fault.

Totty 12:22 AM

ofc .. i’d never hurt u sylv-chan -w-

With that, he clicked off his phone and rolled onto his back to peer into the darkness above him. Their lack of a reply told him they had fallen asleep already but weirdly enough?

He found he couldn’t sleep that night.

Chapter Text

After getting off work you paused at a bustling intersection. Going straight would bring you to your apartment.. Going left would lead to the mall. One would be the golden brick road to a solitary sanctuary where you didn’t have to worry about your appearance or people or well.. Anything.

The other would lead to social anxiety and probably awkward flirting with a man you’d only met once.

You sighed on the recollection of how that went.

Huffing in resignation you muttered  “... He’s waited this long, he can wait another day.”

You’d just go home and text him, apologizing for avoiding him yet again. Surely he’ll understand… You knew you were self-justifying as a coping mechanism but you couldn’t help yourself.

Forcing one foot in front of the other you stared at the cracks that riddled the sidewalk and felt a wave of guilt pass over you. Were you really going to stand him up after agreeing to finally meet him again?

Your feet began to move faster, sending you into a slight trot. Shouldn’t you be heading in the other direction? Faced with anxiety or guilt, what would you choose? Scratch that. Anxiety or your friendship with totty?

It’s about time you faced your fears and met him again. “Like a bandaid..” you whispered with determination before whipping back around.

Breathe in…

Breathe out…

Doing your best not to seem awkward, you slowly made your way to Lush. You remembered with a sigh how much easier it is to be in public when you had Ami to use as a security blanket..

Alone you had no one but yourself. But with a big personality like hers, it was easy to lose yourself in the fun of her company! and.. Hide yourself from the scrutinizing stares of strangers.

Only getting lost once, you stepped over the threshold of the pungent store and lifted your eyes to make contact with a pair across the room.

His features contorted from a forced smiled for customers to a bright and cheery one at the sight of you.

You gulped and gave yourself a mental slap on the wrist for presuming such a thing. Don’t get ahead of yourself, _____.

“Sylv! I didn’t think you’d come! I’m so happy!” he cheered before swiftly drawing you into a hug. You flinched at the sudden contact but grinned.

You couldn't help but feel a bead of pride erupt in your chest for finally facing your fears and meeting him again.

“Yeah well.. I figured I couldn’t hide from you forever .” Teasing with only a twinge of awkwardness… Your specialty.

He paused before giggling a bit loudly at your joke, making you sigh in relief. How you managed to pull that off, you had no idea.

Stepping back he seemed to drink in the sight of you, causing your body to tense slightly. Was being under such intense scrutiny a good or bad thing? On second thought, here you were in jeans, some old hoodie, and a pair of sneakers. Not exactly your Sunday best.

And then there was him.. Sure he was in a uniform but hell, he managed to make it look good. His eyes twinkled when he laughed and his expression was never short of being sweet and endearing. What had you been so afraid of?

Your eyes wondered vaguely to his lips, they moved fluidly before he tilted his head to the side with a slight eyebrow scrunch. Oh god… he’s like a puppy.

A faint buzz echoed in the background, interrupting your thoughts. What was that? Why did it have to come in now ? Listening closer you hazily zeroed back in.

“Sylv..? Sylv-chan.. Are you even listening to me? Hello?”

Oh God.

“Wha? Oh yeah! Yeah I’m here, it’s cool. I’m cool. Yeah.” smooth. If you were alone you would’ve facepalmed into the next dimension by now.

He giggled and leaned back onto the balls of his feet. “Welllll.. If you wanna wait here, I can change and then we can finally go on that date I’ve waited so long for?”

Wait. Date?

You opened your mouth to protest but he was already happily strolling into the back of the store. Ah, well… Surely that’d work itself out later.

You closed your eyes and inhaled the seemingly hundreds of concocted smells that both tickled your nose and calmed your nerves.

Eyes flitting aimlessly you grinned at the tiny robot bathbombs and macaroon soaps. You couldn't help but think the store fit Totty well.

A tap on your shoulder brought your attention to him standing behind you, smiling sweetly.

His neck was adorned with a thick pastel pink scarf that rested snuggly atop a stylish beige trenchcoat that ended just at his mid thigh. His jeans remained folded at the bottom, drawing your attention to sneakers of his own. It made you feel a little bit better about your own appearance but your mind didn’t fail to note how clean his were compared to yours.

“Ready to go? I have so much planned!!” “Oh, well actually I- WOAH!” Whatever you were about to say completely fled your mind as suddenly you were being tugged through the mall. Once again people rushed by and stores became a blur. Was life always so fast when Totty was around?

With a blink, time seemed to fall into slow motion like someone had flipped a switch.Struggling to maintain balance while running you looked down to see his hand tightly clasped around yours. His hands felt soft and warm and.. Comforting.  Your trail of sight travelled up his arm to his face making your eyes widen in surprise. He looked happy .

To be with me?..

Sunlight splashed across his features, illuminating his sideways smile and closed eyes. A soft gasp left your slightly parted lips at the scene before time sped up to return to it's normal state.

Everything was exciting and bright and felt new . Someone felt happy to be with you.

All remembrance of Ami’s distinct cautionary warning left with a fleeting glance that moment. A soft grin that hid malicious intention plagued your mind and unbeknownst to you, everything was going according to plan.