Oh my stars and garters, it's been a day.
Ray and Rio have had a day shift, a weapon-of-mass-destruction scare, Matsumoto drama, some hurt feelings, a gala full of world-ending legendaries, some more hurt feelings, some more Matsumoto drama, a night shift, and another weapon-of-mass-destruction scare in the form of Reshiram, who's infamously known to change the atmosphere for the sole purpose of setting the air on fire.
With all of that behind them, they welcome the bed sheets with no decorum. They're so exhausted that making themselves comfortable is too much effort.
"Hey." Ray.
"What?" Rio.
"Lullaby me to sleep with Zekrom facts."
|| Previous Post | Pinned Post ||
|| Beta Reader / Editing Credit to @lustrous-dawn ||
"Do I look like a chippy chipper chatot to you? You need a lullaby after all that?"
"Indulge me. I promise I'll share Reshiram facts later."
Well now... That's too good of a deal to pass up. Rio takes a moment to think.
"... Everybody loved him. He was quiet and outgoing at the same time. He never made a big deal whenever he was in a room, but you could definitely notice it when he left. But every time he socialized, he needed a week to re-charge."
"He sounds very relatable right now," Ray groggily said, having not moved from the divot he made in the mattress when he was unceremoniously dropped into it.
"If I wasn't busy killing all of your assassins, maybe I would've returned his feelings.”
Ray considers sitting up to shoot her a glance but thinks better of it.
“You uh... rejected a founding dragon of Unova?"
“More like I didn't pick up any of the hints he dropped until I thought about it a couple hundred years ago," Rio mutters, "And he dropped a lot of hints."
"What kind of hints?"
"..."
"Don't leave me in suspense like that, this is supposed to be a lullaby," Ray complains, nudging Rio with a foot and getting a groan and a string of Unovan curses in return.
"It's embarrassing and I'm sleeping. G'night."
"So... when you say hints, you mean to say that it was a subtle confession."
"Uh huh."
"And in hindsight, it actually wasn't subtle at all."
"GOODNIGHT, RAY," Rio says out loud. Ray’s smile curves upwards in a smile, giggling until his laugh drifts into silence.
Today was filled with so much unpredictability that a tiny part of Rio expected the bed to spontaneously combust. She made friends with a Reshiram in human form. Anything can happen, at this point. The moon could collide into the earth and she’d greet it with an unenthusiastic “sure, why not?”
But even when every molecule in her body is begging her to please go to sleep, Rio's mind starts to buzz with the razor sharp instinct whenever she barely dodged danger. That moment of Ray almost losing his shit kept coming back to the forefront of her mind--a memory that's left on loop.
In that moment, she watched him turn back into the Ray she's known for over a millennia. She saw the Ray she's known her entire life, the Ray who wore his anger like a sword attached at the hip, hand always on the hilt.
While he’s been disguising himself as a Greninja, she was starting to believe that he let that part of him go. Hell, Ray’s always been too good at putting on a mask, maybe he was starting to believe it, too.
But that flare of anger showed that this core part of his being, the foundation of who he is as a person, that fury, is still there. He is, in fact, the very same Latios she’s known all her life.
This realization makes Rio feel…
… Relieved.
She’s been unnerved by how he's never showed that part of himself on the time she’s known him in his Greninja disguise. Maybe because the last couple times she’s seen him hide it, he used it as a weapon against an adversary. She's been waiting for the facade to finally fade away so he can start acting like the Ray she’s always known:
The bitter and brooding Ray--a rival, a peer, a counterpart, and a partner at different points of their history together. At least she knew how to be around these versions of him because she shares that same bitterness that constantly burns at the pit of their stomachs.
This newer Ray is unpredictable. He’s unfamiliar with this new mask.
But… what if it isn't a mask? What if those tears of his were genuine when he started crying earlier that day? When he was bare for her and the world to see--what if this is the actual truth?
At that moment, Rio finally realizes that it’s not just nerves. It’s not simple uneasiness that rudely crept into her subconscious during her time at the stand.
It's terror.
It’s fear that she was witnessing him at his wits end. It's dread at how easy it was to hurt the usually stoic, infallible counterpart of hers. It’s the icy hand gripping her heart as her memories flood her mind with the images of Zekrom pleading with her to end it with tears in his eyes.
So... when she thinks about Ray and his little spiel about promised violence, she feels relieved that she’s not the only one with unresolved issues. She’s not the only one with baggage that can be neatly tucked away. Watching his ugly-side boil to the surface felt reassuring. It felt familiar.
But Ray has been acting overly soft and kind because he wants to be. A large majority of her likes him this way, but Rio hates that she's been feeling uncomfortable around him because of it. He shouldn't terrify her when he's like this, but he does and that comes with so many unpacked questions...
How come she’s rarely seen this side of him over the course of their time together? Was it because she’s been holding him back from letting him express himself? Is she afraid of being left behind while Ray changes for the better? Is this all because she's scared that he's not as broken as she is?
What kind of shitty counterpart is she if she’s celebrating at the idea that he still has emotional issues? God, it’s no wonder their relationship was unhealthy, despite the amicable breakup.
But in spite of the maelstrom of new and feelings, even a demi-god’s brain had its limits. Her eyes involuntarily droop once more and she feels sleep wrap its tendrils around her consciousness. It never helps anyone to go to bed with these kinds of feelings, so she tries to remember something that gives her some actual relief.
"Arceus above, I hope it helps me too."
And with that final thought, Rio falls asleep…
…and shortly afterwards, so does Ray.
((The second night is over. Rio has become a full-time employee of the Ramen Stand.))