[closed] hold on my heart

[pkemeter]

Who: Egon Spengler, Peter Venkman, and Ray Stantz
What: A REAL Valentine's Day date, for once
Where: Goldenrod City
When: February 14th
Warnings: None, at the moment!

[When you devise an experiment that has you sleep for only fourteen minutes a day, you end up spending most of the time awake just thinking. And Egon Spengler has done a lot of thinking for the past two weeks--mostly about Pokémon research and breeding and whatever rules govern this strange dimension, but...his partners, as well. When his thoughts overflow--and they frequently do--he ends up taking out his notebook and writing down whatever words he has in mind. Over the last few months, the notebook has become laden with loose papers and sticky notes annotating various observations, thoughts, general ramblings....

Tonight is no different as Egon scratches his pencil against the dogeared paper, occasionally pausing to look over at the sleeping Ray Stantz. Venkman has been lying between them, and although his head is turned away, Egon assumes that he's sleeping.

It's Valentine's Day today. If he wants to get this right for his partners, he'll need to rest. He closes his notebook and slips it into his bag, then places his glasses on the bedside table.

One minute, he's awake and staring at the ceiling--the next, he's rubbing his eyes open and...staring at the ceiling, yet again. The only thing to indicate that any time has passed is the numbers on the digital clock on the desk beside him--

Hm. That PokéBall wasn't there before. Egon frowns lightly, reaching for his glasses and putting them on. He glances over at Ray's side--there's another PokéBall on his bedside table, as well. A puzzled expression appears on his face as slowly sits up, stretching his limbs as he does so. He goes to pick up the PokéBall, turning it over in his hand and examining it closely.

He doesn't notice anything about Venkman, yet.]

Comments

[neverstudied]

[Venkman doesn't lie awake as often as Egon- not usually, at least. Though it's probably for the best that neither of them asked how he slept during his time in Kanto. More sleepless, lonely nights than he'd like to admit.

Since reuniting with his partners, he's slept a hell of a lot better, even with the knowledge that... Egon just straight up doesn't sleep most of the night. And instead stares at them.

Tonight, however, Venkman forces himself to keep his eyes open, and when that fails, he makes himself focus on any and all distracting sounds around him- anything that can keep him from sleeping. He's waiting for the moment to strike.

And finally, finally, it happens, and Venkman almost blows his cover out of sheer relief. Egon sets his glasses down and lies back, and Venkman waits just a little longer- long enough for Egon's breathing to slow-

And he gently extricates himself from the bed, moving as slowly as possible to minimize Ray's mumbled protests. Egon'll be out for another 13 minutes, but Ray is a problem. Ray can actually be woken up.

He's gotta move quickly.

Venkman slips out of the room and goes straight for his bag, digging into one of the lesser-used pockets for the two Pokeballs he knows are there. They've both been gift-wrapped; not very well, mind you, because it's hard to wrap up a circle and it didn't occur to Venkman to like, put them in a box first until later. As a result, it's easy to guess that they're probably Pokeballs.

it's also easy to guess which Pokeball is meant for who. One has a cartoonish ghost design, and the other one...

But just in case that's still too difficult a puzzle to solve, they both have name tags- simply saying "Ray" and "Egon", with a small heart beside them both. The heart next to Egon's name is an attempt at an anatomically correct human heart. Ray gets the normal cartoon heart.

Venkman places the Pokeballs on their bedside tables, carefully adjusting them and the surrounding objects so they won't fall off the table in the night. His task finished, all he has to do now is curl back up in bed and finally go to sleep. He manages this with only minimal protests from the still-sleeping Ray, and before long he's drifting off even as Egon wakes up.

... All things considered, he probably should've accounted for Egon immediately noticing the Pokeball on his desk upon waking up, but to be fair, Egon can be incredibly unobservant at times. He assumed this would be one of them.]

[pkemeter]

[...At least Egon's smart enough to realize when he's been given a present. And if Ray and him received a similarly wrapped gift, then it must be reasonable to assume that Venkman had placed them there.

Unless there's a Valentine's Day version of Santa Claus, but he doubts that to be true.

How on Earth had he gotten that there without him noticing? He must have stayed up for half of the night, waiting for Egon to fall asleep. He looks down at the sleeping Venkman, then towards Ray, still unaware of what awaits him today.

As tempting as it is to see what, exactly, is inside the PokéBall, it would likely wake up both of his partners, and the two of them need their sleep. He gently places the present back on his bedside table and lies down, wrapping an arm around the person closest to him--which happens to be Venkman.

He's just going to wait until both of them wake up. It's fine.]

[ghoststanning]

[Five hours pass before Ray wakes up, because unlike Egon or Venkman, he knows how to sleep like a normal person.

Ray stretches his arms and yawns, not even realizing that anything's off at first. However after going to rub the sleep from his eyes, he notices something out of the corner of his eye.

Huh, that wasn't there last night.

Ray tentatively picks up the gift from him and looks over at the other two. He was almost positive this was a gift from one of them and already he couldn't help but blush at how they gave him a gift for Valentine's day.

... Dang he hopes that the guys like his presents to them.

He doesn't want to wake up Venkman yet (he's known him long enough that he gets super cranky if you wake him up), so he turns to Egon, since Ray already expected him to be up at this hour.]

Hey Spengs, where did this come from?

[pkemeter]

[Egon glances towards Ray. He's lying on his side with his glasses slightly askew, a neutral expression on his face.]

Ah. Raymond. You're finally awake.

[He sits up, careful to keep from disturbing Venkman. He adjusts his glasses and gestures to the fungus-decorated PokéBall on his table.]

I recieved one, as well. I have reason to believe that these are gifts from Peter for Valentine's Day. [He pauses, looking down at Venkman.] Though I did not see him placing them.

[It...completely escapes his mind to say "happy Valentine's Day" to Ray. He's too preoccupied with the overwhelming affection he feels towards both of his partners.]

[ghoststanning]

Oh.

[Ray is stunned silent for a few moments, and he feels himself blushing deeply at this.

He soon starts grinning widely, however, as he holds his present]

Should I make coffee? That usually wakes Peter up in a way that we don't have to worry about him being cranky.

[pkemeter]

[Egon nods, a small smile on his face.]

That sounds like a good idea. I can help with that, if you'd like.

[He slides off the bed, standing up on his feet and making his way to the other side. He offers a hand to help Ray up.]

You know, I can't help but feel slightly apprehensive about this day.

[neverstudied]

[Venkman is still dead-to-the-world asleep, arms wrapped tightly around Ray and pressed up close to Egon. At least, until Egon gets up, at which point he whines audibly and clings even harder to Ray in a passable impression of an octopus, or at least a koala. Maybe an opossum.

A very tired, unconscious opossum who doesn't want to get up or be left alone, at that.]

[ghoststanning]

It'll be okay, Egon! It will just be a nice day together like back at home, but with less paparazzi.

[Ray happily takes Egon's hand and is about to stand up before Venkman tightens his grip on him.

He's trapped.]

Uh.

S-sorry Spengs, I don't think Venkman is gonna let go of me anytime soon.

You think you could get the coffee for me?

[He feels kind of guilty for asking this out of him but he's really trapped in bed right now.]

[pkemeter]

[He blinks, then smirks slightly when he notices Venkman clinging to Ray like a cat that hasn't been fed all day. He lightly squeezes Ray's hand before letting go.]

Of course. I'll join you in a moment.

[He disappears into the kitchen. Ray can hear the clattering of dishes and cups, and soon the smell of roasted coffee wafts into the bedroom.

After a few minutes, Egon returns holding three steaming coffee cups. He doesn't really need coffee, himself, but he likes having the ritual. He places two of the cups on the nearby dresser and holds one out to Ray. Hopefully, Venkman should wake up soon.]

Valentine's Day- Early Evening

[neverstudied]

[Venkman has plans.

After he and Ray calmed down from Egon's speech, the three spent most of the afternoon together in the hotel room. Even when they were occupied with different tasks- Egon examining his new Porygon, Ray introducing the Cubone to the others[Kirby the Mimikyu, predictably, was delighted to have her friend finally out of the Pokeball again], Venkman reading through his book with a fervor usually reserved for old Western novels- they still hovered around each other, none of them wanting the others out of their line of sight.

It all culminates in Venkman checking the time and sitting up, clapping his hands together.]

Alright, boys. Dinner reservation's in an hour. Probably wanna start getting ready.

[He's gonna remain sitting on the couch for now, though- before he does anything, he's gonna see just what the hell his fashion disasters decide to wear to this date. Fingers crossed that Egon and Ray actually look tolerable! If not, he has a few emergency backup plans.]

[ghoststanning]

[Ray was having such a good time introducing Cubone (whom he decided to name Annie) to everyone that time really escaped him until Venkman mentioned the dinner reservations.]

Oh right, I almost forgot!

[He just

Immediately goes for his new jumpsuit.]

[pkemeter]

[Egon idly looks up from poking and prodding the Porygon, named Q*bert. Surprisingly, it doesn't seem to bothered by the fact it's essentially being given a full diagnostic by Spengler, and even gives a few odd computer noises that probably convey some sense of contentedness. He gives it a pat on the head and it makes a small zapping noise.]

Alright, then.

[He doesn't even think about the...fancy clothes thing, he just immediately starts zipping up his jumpsuit again. Ray's doing it--that means he should do it too, right?]

[neverstudied]

Oh my f- oh my God. No. No. You've both- you're already tripping over yourselves at the first hurdle. We are not doing this.

[Venkman looks appalled.]

We are not going to a fancy restaurant in our work uniforms.

[ghoststanning]

Aww, but Pete I wanted to try out the new uniforms!

[Ray sounds genuinely disappointed in not getting to wear his work uniform at a fancy date.]

Besides, I'm pretty sure this is the nicest outfit I have right now.

[He hasn't bought a whole lot of clothes since arriving here, so currently it's just work uniforms, some pants, and sweaters.

One of which has a Pikachu design on it.

Do you want that for a date, Venkman?]

[pkemeter]

[Egon looks vaguely disappointed, but he starts peeling off the jumpsuit. Q*bert beeps quietly, tilting its head forward.]

I have to agree with Ray. I have the outfit that I arrived in, but it is more work-oriented than...formal.

[It's better than what Ray arrived in, but still. He scratches the back of his head. He was so focused on getting the thing right that actually finding fancy clothes completely slipped his mind.]

[neverstudied]

Ray, these are clothes that we wear when fighting demons and getting covered in disgusting slime. Not for our first real official public romantic date together.

So neither of you have anything to wear that can work for this date in an hour? Neither of you thought to get anything?

[His tone is critical, but he still looks faintly amused.]

[ghoststanning]

What's wrong with getting covered in slime for our date?

[Ray looks a little embarrassed as he goes to answer Venkman's question.]

... No, it never crossed my mind until now.

[ghoststanning]

[A few hours later, the boys find themselves heading to the sewers. They've since changed from their fancy outfits to the jumpsuits Ray got them both. He was thankful that they all seemed to fit them perfectly and it really made those extra work days at the Pokemon Center worth it.

As they scale down into the sewers, Ray turns back to Venkman.]

I don't think it was so bad, Pete! Our kids looked pretty apologetic after we scolded them about how to behave while they're home alone!

[neverstudied]

[Venkman is still sulking.]

They let Slimer out of his containment unit, Ray. The hotel maid service is gonna have a field day trying to deep-clean those sheets... If they don't have to just toss them in biohazard.

Not to mention what Luca did to the windows...

[pkemeter]

If it's any comfort, I estimate that we'll be able to completely pay off the repair fees by next week. At least we haven't been arrested yet.

[Egon has the same expression as he usually does. He's got two Pokéballs clipped to his belt--Q*bert and Faraday, respectively. Egon has also brought along whatever equipment he needs for the exploration--stethoscope, Go-Goggles, a fishing pole, a pair of rubber gloves....

...Okay, maybe none of this stuff is anything he'd actually use, but he doesn't have his PKE meter on him and he's got to make do with his PokéGear. Maybe it's the wine, or the excitement of being down in the sewers, or maybe both, but Egon has a lot to talk about right now.]

The newer parts of the sewer system seems remarkably clean in comparison to those under New York City--perhaps this indicates a system that actually cares about delivering clean, fresh water to its citizens. However, as we advance to the older tunnels, we can see that more filth and relative squalor has built up around the edges, and here is where we can see the largest amount of biodiversity. I'd like to get a sample of any sort of rare fungus or lichen that has developed to fulfill such an specific ecological niche. Or perhaps search for Trubbish in their natural habitats, see if they are either social creatures or solitary scavengers--

[For the love of God, please stop him.]

[ghoststanning]

Oh speaking of! Pete you should have brought Jr along; I bet he would have felt right at home here.

[Venkman can never win.

Ray looks over at Egon's Pokegear, grinning as he listens to him ramble on about fungi.]

I would love to see Trubbish myself! I want to figure out if they're the result of a ghost possessing garbage or if there's another factor that makes them sentient.

[neverstudied]

Yeah, you're right. Maybe I could've released him here with his own kind- sewer sludge.

[Venkman brought Luca, Bond, and Roach with him, though they're all in their Pokeballs for the time being. He shakes his head in mild bemusement at Egon's ramblings.]

If you bring home petri dishes full of filth, you better at least keep them separate from the actual food in the fridge. Then again- Ray, you still wanna go to that contest thing, right? I feel like bringing home samples is a hell of a lot more complicated if we gotta take them on the road with us.

Probably not a ghost, or it'd be a Ghost-type. That's how this place works, right?

[pkemeter]

If we eventually purchase a home of our own, we can be sure to have two different refrigerators--one for fungi, and another for consumables. [A pause.] Though, I doubt that our refrigerator was used for much except molding takeout leftovers in the first place. And eggs. Ray, maybe you should teach one of your Pokémon how to cook.

[Though...the question is whether Egon will remember which one is for which. He pauses for a moment to kneel down and inspect a small patch of what appears to be sewer moss.]

If I read correctly, Trubbish were created from a chemical reaction in combination with organic and inorganic waste, which somehow thus gained sentience and can now be categorized as Pokémon. As they were born through human factors, much like Grimer or Porygon, I would like to compare their behavior to other "artificial" Pokémon. Though...it does perplex me how these Pokémon are able to breed.

[Egon peels off a tiny chunk of moss and squishes it between his gloved fingers. He then puts it in a petri dish and gets back up on his feet, stumbling slightly.]

[ghoststanning]

Good point, but it's not entirely true that a Pokemon has to be Ghost-type to be considered a ghost! Take Rotom for example- sure, in their base form they're Ghost-type, but the moment they possess something they lose the typing in favor for an elemental type that mirrors the object they're possessing! It makes them no less of a ghost when they do that.

While the idea that Trubbish being born via chemical reactions has some weight to it, it's possible that it could be a similar situation to Rotom where another Pokemon is possessing the garbage, making it a poison type!

... Speaking of, I do have to wonder how most ghosts breed in this dimension too.

[Oh god now Ray's babbling too.

Ray goes to keep Egon steady as he muses over the comment of buying a home.]

You know, I wonder when we should start thinking about settling down. I can't decide if I like the idea of exploring all the towns for new Pokemon more than I like the idea of finding a nice place to set up our new location.

[neverstudied]

Fair enough, Ray. And I'm pretty sure there's some dragon-looking Pokemon that aren't Dragon types, plant-based Pokemon that aren't Grass...

God, it's still so weird that some Ghost-types are supposed to be dead people but you can still breed 'em.

[Aw. Whatever residual anger Venkman had over the hotel trashing incident is gone, replaced with warm affection.]

We'd have to save up a lot of money first, if we're thinking about settling. Probably should sort out how the whole breeding business works... Establish ourselves as 'busters again, if we can.