Anything young is a handful. [Hank helps out Connor's Popplio by reaching over and tapping his until it can't decide whether to go after her or go after his hand again. ] Still don't know if you're ticklish. [He wonders aloud, reminded. And he's not going to try to find out unless he can hold Connor's wrists to keep from getting decked. ] You should probably figure that out one day.
[So he doesn't find out by surprise and find the one way to murder someone in Pokemon land. ]
When Sumo was little he would chew up Cole's toys every once in a while. And Cole would get upset and it was like negotiating a stand-off. I don't think they'll be that much trouble since they're going to grow up fast, but I got pretty good at handling handfuls.
You know what, if you were, it would be important to know.
[Said in the tone of a man that is and will throw a fucking punch if someone tries. ]
I was reminded 'cause I was bugging the dog mermaid, though. [His wiggles around in the sheets, messing them up. Yup. More pokemon that are really going to need to sleep inside their balls. He can tell. ]
Alright. [Hank says, grabbing the wrist of the one hand that could most likely backhand him for doing it, and makes a scrunched, determined face as he dances his fingers up Connor's side. Infinitely less predictable than a self-poke. ]
[But highly necessary, as anyone has ever owned a small animal with tiny tickling parts has learned. Though knowing his luck, as well as having the metabolism of a rabbit Connor probably won't even be sensitive to it. The bastard's usually pretty lucky that way.]
[Connor squints as Hank grabs his wrist, and makes a strange sort of displeased noise mixed with a slight laugh when he tickles him. He shuffles away automatically, though only so far because Hank still has his wrist.]
...That was unpleasant.
[And yet it made him smile slightly, even though he didn't find it the least bit funny.]
[Hank lets go of his wrist, though, and honestly he's never heard a noise even remotely similar to that come out of Connor. The worst part is the closest he's seen to that much bewilderment was after that incident with Simon on the rooftop. ]
[Perplexing and new and horrible. ]
Just warning you, there's a very high chance of a swarm of tiny new things doing that to you. So be ready to not slap one.
[He sits back where he was, now that the question of whether or not he's ticklish has been answered.]
Is that why you held my wrist? So I wouldn't hit you?
[It was probably a wise choice, because if he'd had that hand free he probably would have slapped Hank despite having asked him to do it in the first place.]
I wasn't expecting it to feel like that.
[He didn't even know he could make those kinds of noises, though. You learn something new every day.]
[He'd never actually hit Sumo or Cole, not even once, but he'd spilled things on himself a couple of times. ]
I don't think anyone expects it even after you know what it feels like,
[He probably shouldn't be drawing any joy from Connor's misery but he is still smiling at the noises because he can't even imagine a scenario where he would have had to fake that.]
I guess that's 'One more thing Connor knows about his human body' you can cross off your list.
[He gives Hank a curious look, but despite the question he doesn't actually move to tickle him because Hank is a big man, and Connor isn't willing to test out how much it would hurt if he got punched by him. It looked bad enough when he did it to Perkins.
He might try and get him some other time, though. Probably whilst drunk.]
Oh yeah. That's how I know about small pestering things.
[That is probably the best time to get him, especially since he's not sure he can get 'numb' drunk here. It's likely all he'll manage is derpy and tipsy. He reaches out and pets the head of Connor's Popplio, rubbing his thumb up the bridge of her nose.]
I really wish you had a chance to get to know Sumo better. [He misses his good dog.]
[But he loves him. And he hopes that, if this... whatever it is ends, he'll be waiting on him healthy and happy. And if it's what he suspects, some sort of afterlife, then hopefully Fowler will take good care of him. ]
[Either way, he misses Sumo. ]
Pretty much the perfect dog. No offense Tubbs. You're a pretty good Growlithe.
[Speaking of Growlithes, the day soon comes when the eggs start to crack open, and for Connor a tiny Growlithe and Houndoom clamber out. He turns to Hank with two armfuls of puppy, the Houndoom gently licking his cheek, and smiles wide. He loves them already.]
[Hank had stepped off to do something for five seconds, just five seconds, and suddenly he hears the cracking. By the time he turns, the eggshells are starting to glow a little, and he has to go over to see what they got. He's still not used to this.]
Alright, alright. I gotta- shit.... [And he is suddenly considering that maybe he went a little fucking overboard with the puppies.]
[They're not baby babies, but they're small enough to be cute. A Houndour that rolls out and starts to immediately chew its foot. A Rockruff that gets a piece of eggshell stuck on its head and wags its tail aggressively in spite of it. In the middle of trying to gather them up, a Vulpix is already entering the world as a magnificent ball of white fluff.]
[So Hank, in an effort to free up his hands, gives the Houndour and Rockruff to Tubbs and scoops up the newly emerging foxes.]
Holy shit, I might have made a mistake.
[He remembers the horror story about the babies eating sweaters. And now he's at real risk of losing something if he doesn't keep his chewable items off the floor. But it's really hard to consider that he made a mistake when the Popplio is already snuffing at its new siblings. It gets to be the big one now, haha! Despite his previous statement, Hank's still smiling despite his 'mistake'.]
[There are so many puppies, and Connor is delighted. Both Popplio are borfing at their new playmates, and the puppies are yapping back. Connor puts his pokemon down so that they can all sniff at each other, watching them with adoring eyes.]
No, the mistake will happen if you leave your shoes in the floor. They'll mutilate them like a little furry school of piranha. And yeah, I wrote down some names to think about.
[And Hank starts picking up whatever important chewable items they have and starts piling them into the bathroom so he can close the door and keep them locked away.]
[Meanwhile Tubbs gets bossy, huffing and growling whenever they start romping too hard. Nudging them with his big snout. But wagging his tail the whole time, standing over them and letting them play under him. He's delighted by it.]
[Once Hank is done baby-proofing, he comes over and puts an arm around Connor's shoulders.] Look, we're parents. [He says wryly, and points at a Houndour.] That one has your eyes.
[And the moment attention is drawn to it, the Rockruff does that happy dog thing of panting and 'smiling' broadly, and dopily. It's not a particularly attractive grin, even if it is pretty cute by default.]
[Hank looks at Connor and shrugs.] Could be worse. [And he gives his partner a little squeeze. He should really pull out this list of names. But there are a bunch of cute playful things in front of him and he's got Connor here, so... he'll just enjoy it for a moment.]
[Also he's gotta make sure that Popplio doesn't squirt the Rockruff or someone's going to be whining.]
[Honestly, Popplio shouldn’t squirt most of the dogs. The type disadvantages could mean they’d be left uncomfortable.]
We’re going to lose track of whose pokemon is whose.
[Because there newborn Growlithes and Houndours just clambering all over each other and Connor lost track of which was his ages ago. Not that it really matters. Maybe only his pokemon will return to the ball when he calls them back?]
[Hank is a paranoid dad, though, concerned for playful accidents.]
That one is mine. [Hank says confidently, pointing at a Houndour with a mouthful of Growlithe ear, bottom half up in the air because it was in the middle of trying to climb over the Rockruff when it got distracted.]
I think it'd be better for you to do most of the training so... I guess they might as well be both of ours.
[He's never going to remember all of this shit. He blew his load on being able to absorb things years ago, having spent most of it in the Academy and then losing a ton of it thanks to years of goal-directed alcoholism.] Unless you have a problem with that.
Yeah, yeah. And I'll try to do some of my own. Seems like if I want to do some of the stuff I need to get access by-
[He waves his free hand dismissively rather than still talking, because why bother. Connor probably gets it. But then he realizes he's been holding onto the slighter man for a while, and as nice as this scene is, he probably should stop. So he leaves a cooling spot against Connor's side where he'd been pressed, and goes to get his notebook. He opens up to the page of names.]
Alright. Help me pick and I'll cross them out as I get to them. [Hank holds the book so Connor can look at it. There's a little post-it note of a few added names, as well.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[So he doesn't find out by surprise and find the one way to murder someone in Pokemon land. ]
When Sumo was little he would chew up Cole's toys every once in a while. And Cole would get upset and it was like negotiating a stand-off. I don't think they'll be that much trouble since they're going to grow up fast, but I got pretty good at handling handfuls.
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[He pokes himself in the side, but doesn't react to it. Probably because he's expecting it.]
It might be a good thing they'll grow up fast. They are cute like this, though.
[He says it as he watches his Popplio borf and pat at the other.]
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[Said in the tone of a man that is and will throw a fucking punch if someone tries. ]
I was reminded 'cause I was bugging the dog mermaid, though. [His wiggles around in the sheets, messing them up. Yup. More pokemon that are really going to need to sleep inside their balls. He can tell. ]
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[Of course, a man who had been tickled before would absolutely not be offering himself up so willingly.]
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[But highly necessary, as anyone has ever owned a small animal with tiny tickling parts has learned. Though knowing his luck, as well as having the metabolism of a rabbit Connor probably won't even be sensitive to it. The bastard's usually pretty lucky that way.]
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...That was unpleasant.
[And yet it made him smile slightly, even though he didn't find it the least bit funny.]
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[Perplexing and new and horrible. ]
Just warning you, there's a very high chance of a swarm of tiny new things doing that to you. So be ready to not slap one.
...That was a hell of a sound you just made.
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Is that why you held my wrist? So I wouldn't hit you?
[It was probably a wise choice, because if he'd had that hand free he probably would have slapped Hank despite having asked him to do it in the first place.]
I wasn't expecting it to feel like that.
[He didn't even know he could make those kinds of noises, though. You learn something new every day.]
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[He'd never actually hit Sumo or Cole, not even once, but he'd spilled things on himself a couple of times. ]
I don't think anyone expects it even after you know what it feels like,
[He probably shouldn't be drawing any joy from Connor's misery but he is still smiling at the noises because he can't even imagine a scenario where he would have had to fake that.]
I guess that's 'One more thing Connor knows about his human body' you can cross off your list.
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[He gives Hank a curious look, but despite the question he doesn't actually move to tickle him because Hank is a big man, and Connor isn't willing to test out how much it would hurt if he got punched by him. It looked bad enough when he did it to Perkins.
He might try and get him some other time, though. Probably whilst drunk.]
gonna edit since I can
[That is probably the best time to get him, especially since he's not sure he can get 'numb' drunk here. It's likely all he'll manage is derpy and tipsy. He reaches out and pets the head of Connor's Popplio, rubbing his thumb up the bridge of her nose.]
I really wish you had a chance to get to know Sumo better. [He misses his good dog.]
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[Of course, although Hank was there, he wouldn't know anything about it.]
He's not a very good guard dog, though.
[And for that, Connor is grateful.]
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[But he loves him. And he hopes that, if this... whatever it is ends, he'll be waiting on him healthy and happy. And if it's what he suspects, some sort of afterlife, then hopefully Fowler will take good care of him. ]
[Either way, he misses Sumo. ]
Pretty much the perfect dog. No offense Tubbs. You're a pretty good Growlithe.
27/08
Hank, your puppies are hatching!
[Wow, that sure is a sentence.]
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Alright, alright. I gotta- shit.... [And he is suddenly considering that maybe he went a little fucking overboard with the puppies.]
[They're not baby babies, but they're small enough to be cute. A Houndour that rolls out and starts to immediately chew its foot. A Rockruff that gets a piece of eggshell stuck on its head and wags its tail aggressively in spite of it. In the middle of trying to gather them up, a Vulpix is already entering the world as a magnificent ball of white fluff.]
[So Hank, in an effort to free up his hands, gives the Houndour and Rockruff to Tubbs and scoops up the newly emerging foxes.]
Holy shit, I might have made a mistake.
[He remembers the horror story about the babies eating sweaters. And now he's at real risk of losing something if he doesn't keep his chewable items off the floor. But it's really hard to consider that he made a mistake when the Popplio is already snuffing at its new siblings. It gets to be the big one now, haha! Despite his previous statement, Hank's still smiling despite his 'mistake'.]
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[There are so many puppies, and Connor is delighted. Both Popplio are borfing at their new playmates, and the puppies are yapping back. Connor puts his pokemon down so that they can all sniff at each other, watching them with adoring eyes.]
We need to name them all.
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[And Hank starts picking up whatever important chewable items they have and starts piling them into the bathroom so he can close the door and keep them locked away.]
[Meanwhile Tubbs gets bossy, huffing and growling whenever they start romping too hard. Nudging them with his big snout. But wagging his tail the whole time, standing over them and letting them play under him. He's delighted by it.]
[Once Hank is done baby-proofing, he comes over and puts an arm around Connor's shoulders.] Look, we're parents. [He says wryly, and points at a Houndour.] That one has your eyes.
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We are.
[He sounds like a proud parent, at least.]
That one has your smile.
[He points to the Rockruff and looks up at Hank with a cheeky smile of his own.]
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[And the moment attention is drawn to it, the Rockruff does that happy dog thing of panting and 'smiling' broadly, and dopily. It's not a particularly attractive grin, even if it is pretty cute by default.]
[Hank looks at Connor and shrugs.] Could be worse. [And he gives his partner a little squeeze. He should really pull out this list of names. But there are a bunch of cute playful things in front of him and he's got Connor here, so... he'll just enjoy it for a moment.]
[Also he's gotta make sure that Popplio doesn't squirt the Rockruff or someone's going to be whining.]
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We’re going to lose track of whose pokemon is whose.
[Because there newborn Growlithes and Houndours just clambering all over each other and Connor lost track of which was his ages ago. Not that it really matters. Maybe only his pokemon will return to the ball when he calls them back?]
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That one is mine. [Hank says confidently, pointing at a Houndour with a mouthful of Growlithe ear, bottom half up in the air because it was in the middle of trying to climb over the Rockruff when it got distracted.]
I think it'd be better for you to do most of the training so... I guess they might as well be both of ours.
[He's never going to remember all of this shit. He blew his load on being able to absorb things years ago, having spent most of it in the Academy and then losing a ton of it thanks to years of goal-directed alcoholism.] Unless you have a problem with that.
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[He sounds quite pleased about it, actually. It means these are all technically his as well as Hank’s.]
I’ll try to focus on our pokemon equally, but since mine will have to battle more they’ll be the priority. Is that okay with you?
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[He waves his free hand dismissively rather than still talking, because why bother. Connor probably gets it. But then he realizes he's been holding onto the slighter man for a while, and as nice as this scene is, he probably should stop. So he leaves a cooling spot against Connor's side where he'd been pressed, and goes to get his notebook. He opens up to the page of names.]
Alright. Help me pick and I'll cross them out as I get to them. [Hank holds the book so Connor can look at it. There's a little post-it note of a few added names, as well.]
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I like Lacey.
[He looks out at the pack of pokemon.]
Maybe for my Growlithe? It seems like it would suit her.