The moment Blue pointed out the room where Bede would be staying at the apartment, which was Blue's office with a pull-out couch, Bede shut himself inside with no signs of opening the door anytime soon. Blue didn't even had a chance to give him a blanket or anything, so he left one folded next to the door. The couch had a couple small pillows, so Bede could use those.

Silver was sitting at Blue's small dining table, messing around on his Pokégear, while Blue retrieved a bottle of liquor from a cabinet. He did appreciate his alcohol, usually having a drink almost every night. No matter how little money he had, he'd always keep some aside for booze... and rent, and food as well, but those felt secondary sometimes.

"So, two more days, huh?" Silver asked.

"Yep," Blue said simply, pouring himself a glass. Maybe it was appropriate to pour himself a little extra tonight. After doing so, he sat down at the table with Silver and took a long drink before speaking again. "So whaddya think of him?" He jabbed a thumb at the closed office door.

"I like him," Silver said with a slight grin. "He has spunk and definitely doesn't seem like he'd be a pushover as a Leader."

Blue could agree with that. "You can say that again. So many Leaders nowadays seem to be ready to bend to the will of the chairmen and the League Board in general. I can't tell if they just care about the rules that much or wanna suck up to the higher-ups."

"It's probably a mixture of both. The newer Leaders are afraid to give themselves some space when they first start out, and those ones become the sticklers later on," Silver said.

He was right about that. Pryce, Olympia, and especially Kabu were all nice, but they were always ready to point out if everything stuck to the letter. "I can't imagine how awkward the Elite conferences are," Blue said. "It's all either young people or fossils. Oh, and Agatha. Just... ancient."

"She would kick your ass if she heard you say that," Silver said.

Blue took a swig from his glass, smiling wryly. "That's why I'm saying it here."

"All this is besides the point. What I'm saying is that it makes sense that Bede wouldn't have the highest opinion of the Board," Silver said. "After all, Galar's former chairman personally expelled him from the Gym Challenge after endorsing him."

"Yeah, I know that," Blue sighed. He still felt guilty for speaking so rashly earlier, and it didn't seem like Bede would take an apology.

"Apparently Rose was the closest thing Bede had to a parent," Silver pointed out. At Blue's puzzled look, Silver explained. "Bede has no family."

That was something new, and it surprised Blue. "Wait, what? That wasn't mentioned in any of the info I was given about him." Well, do you go around announcing that you and Daisy were raised by Gramps? An old pain hit him as the lack of information made more sense. "Never mind..." he muttered.

Silver nodded. "I only know because some moronic announcer brought it up during one of Bede's Gym battles. Apparently he was left at an orphanage in Circhester until Rose found and endorsed him. And then he goes and abandons him." That small grin was long gone now, replaced with a more forced blank look, broken only by the slight furrow of his brow. "Being disowned by someone you consider family... I get that."

Blue didn't know what to say to that, he never had. He'd never been too sure about Silver's past. After all, he was only looking for strength and battle competence when he hired Silver, and Silver always kept quiet about his life. All Blue had been able to glean was that Silver's father had done some horrible things and abandoned him when he was young, and then he'd run away from his mother a few years later. In that aspect, Blue could understand where Silver empathized with Bede.

"Well, circumstances or not, that Espurr-haired little kid needs to learn that actin' out isn't gonna get him anything," Blue said, the words tasting bitter as he spoke them. "I'm tryin' to be nice to him, but he keeps ignoring it."

"Except when you brought up that sore spot," Silver countered. "Otherwise good job, perfect hospitality."

"Ha ha," Blue said sarcastically. He could fully admit that he used to talk back to his grandfather and any other adult in his life when he was younger. It took until he was nearly about to leave on his journey that he straightened out some. According to his sister, "no Gym Leader will take a back-talking child seriously." And that was when Blue was eleven, Bede was fourteen.

Silver shrugged. "I'm just saying, but maybe cut him a bit more slack. You were so willing to give it before. And maybe he's acting out a bit more because he doesn't have to deal with Opal right now. I heard she's a strict Trainer, and what you've told me from previous Gym Leader conferences backs that up."

"She definitely is," Blue agreed. "She doesn't seem that way, but there's somethin' cold behind her eyes." The one time they battled was almost scary, she was so driven to win.

"But yeah, I can agree that the kid's a bit... harsher than he should be," Silver said. "You could always just put him in his place with a battle if you need to. Unless you're worried that he'll beat you, which I'm sure you wouldn't let happen."

It was like something jabbed Blue deep in his gut right then. "Now don't you start..." he growled before realizing what he'd just said. "Sorry, ignore that," he quickly apologized.

Silver's eyes widened in shock, the most emotion Blue had seen him express all day. He was hesitant to speak as Blue downed the rest of his drink. "The hell was that? I thought you said you were over losing, that a Leader has to accept losses."

"I did, and I am," Blue insisted, setting down the glass with a loud tap. He refused to think otherwise. What was wrong with being upset over a reminder of the biggest loss of his life? He'd still mellowed out. Blue held back a sigh, debating pouring himself another drink.

"What happened to that sickening positivity?" Silver then asked.

"It's still there," Blue said, tapping the side of his head. "But I know I can beat him if we did battle. After all, I'm the eighth Leader and he's a newbie. He only has a year and a half of Gym-battling experience under his belt, and I have over five years on him."

"Alright then," Silver said with a shrug. "But an Espurr? I was thinking that his hair looks more like Wooloo wool."

Blue frowned. Wait, what? He was clearly wrong about that. "It doesn't have the same curly sprigs as Espurr fur," Blue pointed out.

"But Wooloo wool is fluffier," Silver countered, seeming adamant in his opinion.

"But Espurr fur is curlier." Blue exhaled sharply, shaking his head. It was better that they shifted subjects like this, even though he now wanted to prove he was right. "I guess we can decide for sure tomorrow."

"'We'?"

Blue sucked in a hissing breath through gritted teeth. "Yeaaahh, are you willin' to work this weekend? I honestly don't know that I could handle that kid on my own." He never thought he'd see Silver look disappointed in him.

Silver's jaw dropped open in disbelief. "You interact with fourteen year-olds and younger on a daily basis..." he started. "How can you not handle one for a little longer than usual?"

Because I'm thinking he's purposefully trying to rile me up, and I can't do shit because he's a kid and my responsibility. "I'll give ya overtime and a half," Blue offered.

"It's a deal," Silver said without hesitation.

Blue sighed. "Glad to know you're willin' to stick by my side."

"Hey, for overtime and a half it seems worth it." Silver stood up, stretching. "I'll see you two tomorrow morning by the Gym?"

"Yep," Blue affirmed. "But eat beforehand. The bills today were two-thousand more PokéYen than they should've been."

Silver raised an eyebrow, dropping his arms to his sides. "How much hot chocolate did that kid order?"

Blue buried his face in his palm. "Three during breakfast, one for lunch, and two for dinner. All with extra whipped cream," he said with a slight groan.

"Oh... Oh." Silver didn't bother hiding his grin as stifled snickers leaked out. "Yeah, that's not good. You'd better tell him to stop now."

Blue looked at Silver, incredulous. "Ya don't say?"

Silver shrugged, his gaze moving elsewhere. He then grabbed his jacket and left, and Blue was alone. The clock on the wall read nine-thirty at night. Blue leaned back, letting his head hang over the back of the chair. Two more days... He just had to stay positive.