You and Gold were currently heading out of the hospital. Morty had told you that he was in Olivine city over the phone - and it takes a person at least one hour and a half to get there with the train or car.

So, you and Gold did his therapy first - without Sabrina since she seemed to be pretty busy herself and you could manage it alone by now. After those two hours, you got changed into your regular clothes; which were ripped jeans and a dark hoodie today.

Proton was even kind enough to help Gold change into some comfortable dark grey sweatpants and a white t-shirt without you having to use your drastic measures.

"Morty will meet up with us at my house." You informed the raven haired male and started walking. It wasn't so late - just early in the evening - so the sky was still blue, but not the same shade it was before, when you went to Jasmine's library in that heat today.

Which reminded you... Lyra. You were so happy to hear that you were allowed to take Gold home with you that you had totally forgotten about what you saw today. You didn't want to ruin the mood - since it could have been you just jumping to conclusions - so you kept quiet.

"Do you live far from here?" Gold suddenly asked, interrupting the pleasant silence. "Not really, it's just a few minutes from the hospital. Ah did i tell you that me and Falkner are neighbors? So you'll be able to hang out more now."

"Really? That's kinda cool! You allow pets in your house, right?" Gold then asked with a grin on his face, you knew where he was getting with this; "Yeah, i can tell Falkner to take Ren with him every time he visits us."

The two of you laughed and chatted more, until a car started slowing down on the street next to you, the driver lowering their window. "Yo."

"Morty! You're already here-..? Wait, is that a girl?!" You greeted, but then saw someone sitting next to him - and that someone must have been female. You were almost sure he took Falkner on a date to Olivine city, so you were surprised to see her instead. What was more, was that you've never seen the person before.

"Don't get any weird ideas. I went to pick up my cousin at the port in Olivine city." Morty explained lazily, clearing every misunderstanding. The girl greeted you cheerfully - and Morty continued driving slowly, so that you could keep talking - since there were no cars behind him anyway.

And so, you finally reached your house. There were two parking lots next to it - that's where Morty left his car and got out of it with his cousin. Now you were able to see the girl - or well, young woman - more clearly, and she was fairly pretty too;

"Good evening! My name is Merlina, it's nice to meet you!" The young woman said cheerfully and held out her hand. You smiled at her and shook her hand; "Nice to meet you too, I'm Y/N and this is... well, my patient, Gold."

The young woman had long, blonde hair and her eyes were purple - just like Morty's. Although that was the only thing she seemed to have in common with him; Judging by personalities you would say that they were polar opposites.

"You two look really similar - you sure you're not long lost siblings?" Gold of course had to comment, causing Merlina to chuckle and Morty to groan. "Come in, let me offer you something to drink." and with that, you lead everyone inside your house, pushing Gold's wheelchair.

Gold was actually excited to finally see the place you live in, but he held that for himself, since you had company. Morty and Merlina made themselves comfortable on the couch while you placed Gold next to them - he said he'd stay in his wheelchair for now - and you went to the kitchen and pulled out cups and glasses.

Your kitchen was connected with the living room, the counter was basically the border. "I know Morty takes green tea, but what about you two? I have lemonade, Soda Pop, Coke or water and coffee of course." you said, heating up the water for Morty's tea.

"I'll take coffee if that's alright - i don't really like tea." Merlina said sheepishly - that was also something she didn't have in common with her cousin. "Is a short Nespresso alright?" You asked and were ready to turn your small Nespresso coffee machine on. You did just that when the young woman gave you the approval.

Gold said he'd take water and you took water as well. In just a few minutes all the drinks were ready and served. You joined the three and sat on the other couch across them, also turning on the TV just so that it'd be on in case one of your guests was interested.

You all chatted a bit - and you ended up knowing a bit more about Merlina; Apparently, she lived in Kanto - in Vermilion city - and would stay here a week. Just like Morty, she looked really young, but is actually 25. And after Gold's miserable attempts of flirting you also learned that she got married last year.

"So Morty, can you do me that favor now?" you asked a bit unsure after another conversation has been ended. Morty looked at you first before shaking his head; "Nuh-uh no way I'm leaving Merlina alone with this pervert."

"Come on, you promised. And it's not like he'll do anything to her in this condition." You frowned, but weren't able to convince the male. "What is it?" Merlina asked, feeling a bit involved in the situation.

"She wants me to drive her somewhere - but like i said, i'm not leaving you alone with this guy." Morty explained quickly, also avoiding to mention what exactly you were up to - which you would thank him for later.

"You really could be nicer sometimes! Don't worry Y/N, i'll drive you there." the blonde woman reassured you with a wide grin before taking your hand and leading you outside. "Just don't blame me if something happens to your car~!" she said before closing the door - Morty seemed to be worrying even more than he did at the thought of leaving his cousin alone with Gold.

"Thank you, you really didn't have to - you're my guest after all." You thanked the woman a bit sheepishly before she let you hop in onto the seat next to her. Morty had left his car keys inside the vehicle, so it made things quite easier.

"No need to thank me. Morty's like a little brother to me, so i know how stubborn and annoying he can get sometimes. Not to forget he's very lazy." Merlina laughed and started the car - which was a silver Hyundai Accent Morty got half a year ago.

While she drove, she was skipping songs mumbling 'Morty has such a horrible taste in music', trying to find something she liked until she decided to just put her music - which she had on an USB-stick.

She didn't put the music that loud, since she seemed to be wanting to talk with you. "Where are we headed?" she asked and you took your phone out of your pocket and searched for the note you made some time ago.

"Here." you said, pointing on a certain address. Merlina glanced at it before nodding. Your destination was Gold's house; You just wanted to take some of his most important things and bring them over at your house, since Gold will be staying there from now on.

You knew that it wasn't that right - you entering his house without his permission and rummaging through his stuff, but you didn't want to wear Gold out, since he was quite tired from the therapy.

Silence was accompanying you - well, it wasn't completely silent since music was playing, but you weren't able to understand everything. You were sure they said something like 'No, not today' at the start, but after it you were sure they spoke another language.

"I didn't want to ask before, but since we're alone now... Morty told me a little about Gold, he said he got into a pretty bad accident." Merlina started, her eyes didn't leave the street.

"Yeah, it's true. He can't walk at the moment..." you said. Merlina placed her one hand on your shoulder, reassuring you; "Don't worry, i'm sure he'll manage. I know from experience, even though it's not quite the same."

"What do you mean?" You asked a bit curious on what the woman grinned sheepishly. "You see, my husband broke both his legs once, so he couldn't walk either. Of course, i know that it's way different than Paralysis, but everything works out somehow."

"Just never leave his side. Always support him - that's what he needs the most in these situations." Merlina added and removed her hand from your shoulder. Merlina was very kind, well Morty was too, just in another way.

You ended up talking all the way to Gold's house; You told Merlina about things here and even a bit more about yourself while she told you things about herself and her husband Alessandro - who was half italian.

"I just need to get some things, i'll be right back." You said and got out of the car. Merlina got out as well, probably just to catch some fresh air, since she said she would be waiting outside. "By the way, there should be some empty boxes in the carrier, right?"

"Yeah, Morty put them there - i was wondering what they were for." Merlina said while you opened the carrier and took two empty carton boxes and carried them to the entrance door of Gold's house. That's when you remembered that you didn't ask Gold for his keys.

But luckily, Gold was one of those cliché people who put their keys beneath the carpet at the door, so it wasn't impossible for you to enter. You placed the two boxes on the floor next to the door - inside of course - and closed the door again.

The inside of Gold's house seemed pretty similar to yours; the small corridor, in which you were currently in, connected the entrance to the living room - which like at your home, was connected with the kitchen. Farther behind were three more doors; you guessed that one lead to the bathroom, one to the bedroom and one to Gold's personal room or something like that.

You turned the lights on - since it already got dark outside - and proceeded to take a look around. His house was way more cleaned up than you'd expected it to be.

You also checked those three other rooms and like you had guessed, one was the bathroom and two were bedrooms; One was probably Gold's bedroom, the other one a guest room. You were currently inside the one you assumed was Gold's, since there were all kinds of things in here;

There was a normal bed with yellow bedsheets. There seemed to be some sort of yellow mouse printed on them, and something that read 'Pichu!'. There was a desk near the window and the rest of the room was basically shelves filled with Manga's or posters with several Anime girls printed on them at the wall.

There was a body-sized pillow on his bed as well, it had a female Anime character printed on it; One with long, blonde, curly hair and cat ears - her eyes were golden. The short crop top she had on was black and the sweatpants were white with big holes where her thighs were.

You looked around but the curiosity was stronger than you. You were sure Gold had some indecent magazines as well - probably hidden under his bed. You didn't care that much, since he was a perv and flirt, so it was logic he'd have them somewhere, you just wanted to see it for yourself anyway.

So you got down and looked under the bed, only to see a box. You pulled it out and had to think of letting it be, since this was actually none of your business, but then again, you could tease him for it for the rest of his days if you found it.

So you opened the box and were surprised to find photos. Not indecent ones, but photos of him - probably when he was younger. It won't hurt anyone if you take a quick peek at them...

You took the first one on the small pile; It showed an a little younger Gold hugging two elderly people - you were guessing those must be his grandparents.

The next one was a photo of Gold again, but this time, he held a hamster in his palm - which sniffled his cheek, and that made it look like a kiss. The picture looked like it was taken as a selfie.

The next one was one of his parents together when they were younger - and another one showed little Gold and his mother helping him walk. Those pictures must mean a lot to him if he was keeping them under his bed - honestly, you didn't expect that from him.

And so, you ended up spending a bit more than necessary finding Gold's things...

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A/N: Who is your favourite character in the story so far? Excluding Gold ^3^ Mine is the one who's been introduced in this chapter -> Merlina ^-^

Merlina:

One more thing about Merlina; Her last name is "Salvatore" (which you will also find out later in the story, but I'm gonna mention this now or else i might forget) -> I am fully aware that "Salvatore" is actually an Italian FIRSTname not LASTname, but i used it anyways (due to reasons you'll find out later~), so yeah, all misunderstandings cleared in advance ^-^

Thx 4 Reading!