In Your Head; A Pokemon Sword and Shield Tale

(2)

It had been three hours, yet you lie awake, staring at the ceiling. The light had long since faded in the window, and now the only light in the room was coming from the telly. The way the light either dimmed or brightened and flashed on the walls was enough to distract your eyes as your mind wandered. You hadn't even tried to sleep, as you knew you wouldn't be able to. Some tugging anxiety even got you along the way, convincing you that even if you did sleep, you might be plagued with nightmares, just as Zoroark had been. 

Dr. Andrews had come in earlier and given you a rundown. Your arm had looked kind of nasty, but they stitched you up and reassembled you as best they could. He warned that there would be some permanent scarring, but otherwise it should be healed up okay in about six to eight weeks. In the meantime you'd have to come back every now and again to get looked at and x-rayed. Zoroark had managed to completely dislocate your arm at the elbow and fracture the ulna, as well as tear a couple tendons as a result of the dislocation. He gave you a packet that instructed you on how to keep your cast clean and how to manage pain in the coming weeks. 

In part, he seemed surprised that you'd been attacked at all like this, as pokemon in the wild tended to just want you away from them rather than taking the time to maul you like whatever had. And that was IF they were any shape or form of hostile at all. You neglected to mention that it was your own pokemon that caused this, as you didn't want to make this case any stranger than it already seemed to be. Pokemon attacking people like this hadn't happened in a looong time, and you weren't exactly thrilled to be a part of it. You just took the packet and were told you'd be discharged in the morning, as they wanted to make sure you hadn't gotten any underlying issues from the attack.

Bede was still with you. He was still sitting back in the chair next to you, but now facing the telly. He'd flipped channels to something at least bearable and watched it with you for a while before starting to nod off. Every now and again he'd lift his head to look around a little, but otherwise he was still. He was either mindlessly watching the telly, or trying desperately not to fall asleep. 

"You should go home..." You whispered to him, trying not to startle him when breaking the silence. 

"Huh..?" he drawled softly, his eyes flicking open just a little. You found yourself smiling slightly as he turned his face to you. His expression always seemed to have this scowl on it. You found it incredibly enduring, especially now. He looked cranky for being stirred, but you knew he wasn't. 

"Go home," you repeated. "It's getting kind of late. Don't you have work tomorrow?" You watched him stretch his arms a little, flexing his wrists so they'd crackle and pop.

"Mmh, technically yes," he strained mid-stretch, then letting himself relax back into the chair. "But also no. I don't think Opal would mind it if I took a few days off."

"You don't have to." 

"I know. I would just rather." he stated. Your voices had gone from a whisper to silent chatter, though you found yourself taking note of how nice Bede's voice sounded when it was this low and quiet. It sounded almost like a hushed growl in the otherwise silent room. It was the kind of voice that could lull you to sleep. His voice broke you out of your thoughts again.

"Speaking of home, what were your plans after this?"

"I didn't really have any. Just going home and resting my arm for the most part."

"Would you wanna stay at my place for a while?"

You blinked.

"Why?"

"So somebody can keep an eye on you. Someone like me." he answered, something like a smirk tugging at his lips. "That way I know you won't go running off to find Zoroark on your own." You audibly huffed at him.