Lost in Reality [pokémon Ranger Fanfiction]

Chapter 4

Cotton sheets twisted around Kate as she snuggled further into the covers. The early sun had begun drooling in, striking the walls with a cold blue morning. She groaned at the light before smooshing her face under a pillow.

"You have to get up at some point, Sweetie," Edging his way closer, Keith sat beside the cocooned woman.

"No I don't," Kate grunted as she curled in on herself. "I'm still tired."

Keith rubbed Kate's shoulder, "don't you have your therapy today?"

"I'll cancel."

The smile on Keith's lips sunk, "Hun, it's the first meeting." There was no reply. "Look, the therapist specializes in rangers and operates out of the ranger union, right? I'll give you a ride there since I have to stop by and drop off my mission report."

Kate scoffed, finally rolling over to face Keith, "Mission reports? You barely turned in your homework at the Academy." A ghost of a smile echoed over her face for a moment.

At the comment, Keith's chest puffed out. His black and white uniform stretching as he pulled his red jacket with a spark of confidence, "I'll have you I'm a very responsible ranger! School was boring, writing about stuff that happened over 50 whole years ago." Keith flared his arms out with a scrunched expression as if he bit into something bitter. It melted away into a soft warmth as he looked back to Kate, "Now I get to write about cool shit, like diving to the bottom of the ocean to battle a frickin' legend so to stop raging tsunamis. Writing reports are like leaving evidence for whichever lucky soul gets to write my epic, life-changing, biography."

The man continued to flail his arms around dramatically as each word came with a wind of life. Kate nodded along as Keith narrated his aquatic saga. Her eyebrows relaxed as she watched the love of her life ramble on with passion hanging on each word. He would turn to look at Kate frequently, and each time their eyes met, his smile spread further into his cheeks.

It was like the first time Keith breathed in his entire story. His shoulders settled as he rubbed Kate's shoulder and said, "I am gonna go get our ride ready, I'll meet you outside in a few."

"Kay," Kate whispered as Keith rose to leave the room.

She twisted and turned in bed for a few minutes. Finally, she loosed a sigh of defeat as she rolled out of bed. Rubbing her eyes, she began to get ready. She went with the first thing she grabbed as she meandered around the bedroom softly. Kate paused at the full body mirror tiredly as she tied up her hair into two ponytails. They were quickly wrapped up at the base of her skull, dropping to skim her shoulder blades.

She wondered how long it had been since she had trimmed her hair. Or even showered for that fact. Grease stuck to her fingers as she pulled her hands away. Kate attempted to clean them off by wiping them off against her dark sweatpants.

Giving a last look over to her reflection, Kate pulled her red bomber jacket further in. She hoped no one would notice her bra through the white tank top. "Maybe I should just change the shirt..." She mumbled, blue eyes scrunching up. But she wasn't going to. These were ranger colors.

These were her colors.

When Kate stepped out of her apartment door, she had no need to look for Keith. There he stood, grooming a feathered beast beside him. "Raptoooor," The creature cawed the moment it saw Kate. Her little Starly sat upon the Staraptor's head, the size of the two pokémon towering over the rangers.