He Wore a Yellow Cardigan [FtM!Ilima x Non-Binary!Reader]

Chapter Three

Unedited

This wasn't a house, this was a mansion! Walking into the house initially you couldn't see just how spacious it was. Ilima giggled as he closed the door behind the Pokémon, flooding in behind the two of you. You noticed the Machamp lifting an entire portion of a couch so a relatively young woman could grab something underneath it. Was that Ilima's mother? Should you introduce yourself? Ilima steppped beside you when another figure approached the five of you. You gripped the handle of your ukulele case as an old man peobanly in his late forties or early fifties with white hair and one of those ugly dad alolan shirts walked in front of you two. He looked calm and relaxed.

"Welcome home, son. Who's this? A new friend you made?"

How was his voice so deep? It was offsetting and not what you were used to. Then again, supportive and kind parents weren't what you were used to either. You reached backwards to find Slowpoke's tail to give you comfort. It's like holding someone's hand but your partner uses all four feet so you grab their tail. Once you found it, you gave Slowpoke a small squeeze. Oh yeah, you could feel yourself intimidated! Ooh boy! Good thing Ilima introduced you so you wouldn't have to introduce yourself.

"Yes! This is (name), however they also go by (Nickname), and they need a place to stay for a small while. They're Non-Binary so they use gender neutral pronouns. Do you mind if they stay here, Dad?"

Well then, right to the point! You glanced backwards to try and see Slowpoke. Wait, where's your little buddy? You notice Slowpoke was on the couch with Yungoos, Smeargle walking back to them with the television remote. Loads of other Pokémon around the house hopped on the couch as Smeargle turned on Friends. Wait, if Slowpoke was over there, what were you holding? You felt your blood go cold when you realized you were holding Ilima's hand. You were too scared to let go and too awkward to do anything about your own original awkward gesture. WHELP THAT HAPPENED...

"Any friend of my son's Is a good friend of mine. Welcome to the house, Kiddo. The guest room next to Ilima's upstairs is open. Oh, and try not to be scared of me. I'm just an old man, I can tell to much."

He let out a hearty laugh. Oh crap he knew how nervous you were. That's a bad sign and a bad first introduction. Oppose daisy. That's the horrible moment you realized you haven't said a single word to this guy and you're still holding hands with Ilima as if you'd been dating and hadn't met maybe a half hour ago. Two chapters ago is probably a half hour time difference in a fanfic with no time skips, right? Sounds appropriate. Enough side tangents you need to say something and not be a blank main character in a dating simulator game!

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry sir? Just a bit nervous and all... it's not easy being kicked out of one house and being brought into a new one in the same few days. I'm saying too much huh? Shoot, uh... thank you for the hospitality and you raised an amazing son and I'm grateful. Thank you. I'm sorry."

 Was that all in one breath? New record! Ha ha... ha... You let you're hand lip away from Ilima's and you bowed your head, waiting for someone to give you permission to head upstairs and figure out what the heck is gonna go on regarding living arrangements. You could feel the eyes of Ilima's Dad, the young lady who is probably not his mom when you think about it, and a middle aged woman in the kitchen who was most likely his mother in you. You felt a hand on your shoulder and you snapped your vision upwards. You felt Ilima's hand in yours again. You stared in his dad's eyes, more blue than gray unlike Ilima's, as he spoke.

"Listen, kid, I don't know what happened with your parents to get you kicked out of home, but you can live here with us for as long as you need. No kid deserves to be outcasted from their family. Feel free to think of me and my wife as your new parents if you want to. Ilima found you because he saw something in you, the spark of a good person regardless of your pronouns or gender. There's no reason to be scared or ashamed of yourself now. Why don't you go upstairs and let Ilima show you around the house? Maybe that would make you feel more at home."

You felt like you were going to cry. These people were so nice. You felt like Evan Hansen when meeting the Murphy's. Was this what a loving family felt like? Wow, you wouldn't know what that's felt like with your parents in Iki Town. You looked over at Ilima, who was beaming in pride because of his father. His fsce twisted into alarm when he saw the first tear stream down your face. Oh, there go the waterworks. Ilima squeezes your hand with his right and used his left to wipe the tears away, holding your face like a lover. Aww, did he care that much for you already? He must be a very compassionate, empathetic, trusting person.

"Thank you... I never had this before... thank you... I'm sorry I just, I should probably get out of your way and just put my things away."

Ilima nodded, understanding that you wanted to go the guest room you were supposedly staying in. You smiled at his father, thanking him for telling you things you've never really heard before. Ilima led you by the hand up the stairs to the guest room, one door down from his bedroom. He opened the door for you and you walked in. It was pretty barren, having a dresser, closet, and bed but nothing much else. You placed your Ukulele on the dresser's surface and turned around to realize Ilima still had you're backpack. He just set it down on your bed.Once he took it off his concerned questions began to flood your ears. Good thing he closed the door.

"Are you alright, dear? You started crying snd you grabbed my hand and... didn't your parents hate you even before you came out? I shouldn't be asking that, aapologies, but... Is eferything okay? Do you want to maybe chill out up here before we go back downstairs?"

Hanging out up here sounded nice. Yeah, let's go with that. You walked over to your bag and right next to Ilima. You took out your sleeping bag and unrolled it, placing it on the bed like a comforter. If you don't call it that in whatever country you live in real life, it's a giant floofly warm blanket. You took an uneven deep breath. Stupid emotions, calm down okay? Incense you got over yourself you grinned and turned around on your heel to face Ilima, beaming out a smile. His parents deserved a better introduction. You just need to get ahold of yourself.

"I'm fine, Ilima. No worries. I think we should go back downstairs and maybe change. If it's alright with you, I want to make a good first impression on your parents and maybe walk around outside? It's such a pretty day and I don't want to ruin it!"

That suggestion would lead to one of the greatest moments in your life.

1251 Words