"Ambition" (Antigravityshipping)

Ambition

HI YALL! Been a hot minute since Ive posted a fic, yeah? Yeah. This is a much more recently written one, so maybe itll be at least a BIT better than the last few. I dunno. Anyways, Ive sort of always likes the concept of Ghetsis realizing his mistakes and working to rebuild with N... and thats kina the center of this fic... but i threw Colress in too :0 So lets go!
REITERATED CW: MENTIONS OF ABUSE, GLASS WOUNDS
~
"I thank you for joining us for dinner tonight, Natural."
As distressed as the boy looked, his whole body still lightly shaking and the bit of irritation still gathered in Colress' muscles, the scientist kept calm bidding the younger well. It was a bit of a chilly evening, for a Saturday at the beginning of Autumn; yet though the heat was on it felt even colder inside the house. "You did exceptional tonight, given the... unfolding of events."
"O-of course," N let the words fall from his lips, deciding against shaking Colress' hand before giving him a curt nod and turning away. Colress was reaching out to perform said action, but quickly jerked his arm back as N abruptly turned away. That made him grimace a little bit.
Oh, the poor boy.
"We'll see you next week," Colress wanted to call out as the boy with green hair practically ran down the path to the front door, but he only ended up whispering it to himself.
He stood in the doorway until N's figure obscured and disappeared down the road. He then sighed, and turned on his heel out of the doorway. It closed behind him automatically (which, Colress had always told himself automatic doors would be convenient, so he decided to put in the work to program such around the house).
He walked away from the door and across the large veranda, and sighed to himself. Before entering the dining room, he adjusted his glasses, and sure enough Ghetsis was still there. Colress crossed his arms.
The larger man looked... stressed, to say the very least. He had his hands buried in his hair and his head down on the table. His entire posture was rigid, like he'd just burst any moment.
The scientist took his eyes off of Ghetsis, and examined the rest of the room. It was.. messy. To say the very least.
There were broken plates and various pieces of broken ware scattered across the tabletop, and the floor. Multiple paintings had fallen off the walls, and Colress noticed a broken frame as well. He noted to fix that when he got the chance.
His gaze did, however, eventually end back upon his boyfriend, and he sighed.
"Ghetsis." He whispered as low as he could to still ensure the other could hear. He took a hesitant step towards the seat he was in.
"No." The other instantly responded. Colress disregarded him, keeping himself as calm as possible with the irritation Ghetsis was obviously radiating.
Colress knew it was probably the wiser idea to leave Ghetsis be, however the scientist decided against that. Given everything that had just went down, so suddenly, this seemed like the more rational decision. And that's what the scientist was all about.
He approached Ghetsis, who was still hiding his face and being defiant, and leaned down next to him.
"Let me see your hands, honey," Colress prompted, "No glass stuck in your skin or anything, right?"
"Colress, leave me alone." He growled, deepening the conservancy of his stance even more. Colress still didn't listen, fighting off the annoyance of his partner not listening to him.
"I need to make sure you're okay."
"I'm fine, no glass. Now leave me be."
The scientist stood again, putting his hands on his hips. "Hmm.. no, I don't think I will," He shrugged. "I think you should pick your head up. We can talk about this-"
"Dammit, leave me alone already!" Colress jumped back a little when Ghetsis did pick his head up, and slammed his fists on the table. The remaining diningware on the table clattered against it, and Ghetsis only put more strain in himself. Colress rose an eyebrow.
"You lied to me," He walked around to the other side of Ghetsis, "You have a piece of glass stuck in your hand."
Ghetsis didn't look at Colress, but he did look at his hand balled into a fist; only then did he actually notice the shard of glass piercing his skin. He had no other reaction than an inaudible grumble.
"Let me take care of that for you." Colress approached Ghetsis again and leaned down next to him. He managed to get a look at his fave, which was twosted i to a distressed expression.
"I'll get it later," Ghetsis growled, turning his head away from his boyfriend. Colress huffed.
"No. Now. Before it gets infected." Colress reached out gingerly, gently placing his hand on Ghetsis'. His hands were quite small compared to the other's; and the fact Ghetsis was letting him have contact made him unable to help but smile. That meant he was already calming down.
"C'mon, get up." He prompted, using his other hand to tuck a loose strand of hair behind the bigger man's ear. "Let's get this treated, and we'll go from there."
Ghetsis sat still and silent for another few seconds, Colress waiting patiently for him; before he slowly stood from his chair. Colress smiled. "There we are."
Once Ghetsis was to his full height, still hiding his face in his collar, Colress gently lead him across their large house and back to the veranda, where he sat him down on the couch again. The room was dimly lit, and Colress took a moment to turn up the lights before briskly making his way to the bathroom to find the supplies he's need.
Ghetsis waited patiently without a spoken word as the scientist acquired antiseptic wipes, ointment, bandage, and a set of tweezers.
He made his way back with the supplies bundled in his arms, then set it all down on the arm of the couch. He kneeled in front of the ex villain, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"The bleeding's stopped?" He questioned, looking up at Ghetsis and grabbing the tweezers.
A low "Mmh." Is all he got, and Colress knew by this point that was an affirming noise.
"Alright." The scientist continued to examine Ghetsis' hand. "Then I'm assuming it's alright for me to get this glass out now?"
No response.
Colress waited another few seconds. Still nothing.
"... Okay," He sighed. "I'm going to try to get a piece out. Stay still."
With that, Colress gribbed a piece of glass between the tweezers and pulled, ever so gently. The shard budged, and Ghetsis flinched.
"Be careful." He grumbled, and Colress huffed.
"I'm being as careful as I can. Try to relax," upon the final syllable, Colress was able to get the glass out. With prompted the bleeding again, so he quickly made work of that with the antiseptic.
As he worked, they were silent at first, until Ghetsis spoke.
"Honestly. Why do we even do this."
The question caught Colress' attention, and he looked up over his glasses for a moment. "By that you mean?"
"...Natural." Ghetsis almost hesitated before saying the name, then forced it out.
In his mind, Colress froze. However on the outside he kept carefully tending to Ghetsis. "Yes. What about N, dear?"
The tension was getting a bit thicker. The scientist could feel that. Ghetsis definitely had something he wanted to say.
"Why do we still have him over?" Ghetsis, again, forced the question. To which Colress sighed.
"Because this was his idea. And we're in no place to deny it." A little bit of edge made it's way into his voice.
"I don't... I cannot understand it, though." Ghetsis growled as Colress rmoved the lass piece of glass from his hand. "I know he's familiar with the monster that raised him. He knows just what he was put through. What would make him want to be anywhere near that?"
Colress had to consider the question as he wrapped Ghetsis' hand carefully in gauze.
He knew Natural had always been an empathetic person. For the love of Arceus, the kid even set his Pokemon free after catching them. He was understanding. Emotional.
And Colress didn't need to be a scientist to understand he lives by those feelings.
The blonde man gathered up the medical supplies once he was done with them and brought them back to the bathroom. When he came back to the living room, he spoke.
"Perhaps, Ghetsis, he's trying to understand you better."
The answer made Ghetsis' eye widen. He blinked a few times, and turned his head to meet Colress' eyes. His lips were pulled up in a snarl.
"Why?" He growled again, "There's nothing here for him to understand! He already knows what I am. Who I am. I'm Ghetsis Harmonia Gropius."
"Except he doesn't know who you are."
"He grew up attached to my name, he knows me better than anyone."
"You were not a man while N was being raised." Colress moved around to the other side of the couch, and sat himself in Ghetsis' lap. The older did not protest as Colress brought a hand up to gently trace his jawline.
"You acted as if you were a machine." The scientist whispered his words, as if Ghetsis wasn't to mention to another living soul what he was saying. "Incapable of emotion. Incapable of love. You had a single goal and you put it above your own life."
Ghetsis blinked.
"You observed every little flaw- and pushed it out of the way as soon as possible. You generated technology, you generated orders, and you generated a plan. You gained a following. And guess what?"
Colress flicked Ghetsis' nose. "That was all gone. Just as quickly as it became. And you know why?"
"Because I didn't-"
"Because humans can only do so much." Colress held a steady eye contact with Ghetsis. "And that can be said for both sides of the story."
"What does this have to do with my son?" Ghetsis growled, roughly gripping Colress' hip as if to prompt him. He reactively grunted.
"...Your downfall as a machine was your uprise as a man." He continued. "If you hadn't learned emotion, events like tonight would not happen. Of you hadn't learned love..." Colress' hand slid away from Ghetsis' face to his chest. "Would I be here right now?"
The older man was silent. Colress smiled, just a bit.
"And N understands that." He tilted his head. "He understand what he was raised by wasn't his father. Just like you- he set a goal. And saw the flaws and did what he could to understand them. But he didn't try to push them away. Tis, why tonight happened. Again- humans can only do so much. Are you seeing my point?"
Ghetsis didn't answer.
"He's trying to understand the Ghetsis that cares." Colress laughed. "Because he already knows it isn't too late to have a family."
Ghetsis still didn't answer; Colress could tell he was thinking.
"But I... But I neglected him his entire life." Ghetsis layed down the point as solidly as he could. He was a bit distracted by Colress' touch and words at the moment.
"Notice how you, the abuser, fully acknowledge the abuse." Colress blinked. "N realizes that too. He knows you know what you did. And you both know that's the first step to a solution."
Ghetsis just stared at Colress for a solid few seconds. The scientist blinked at him. Yeah, he was familiar with what this meant. He had won.
In his known defeat, Ghetsis wrapped his arms around Colress' torso and pulled him in. The scientist yelped, but immediately smiled wider, his hands relocating to the older's hair.
"Okay. You make a solid point and yes, I might be convinced." Ghetsis admitted, in a half-light-hearted tone, "However I am NOT convinced he'll be back next week."
"Yes he will, babe." Colress rested his chin against Ghetsis' shoulder and spoke to him softly. "Wanna know why?"
"Go on, state your reasoning."
"Because he has a goal and he's determined." Colress picked his head up a little bit to kiss Ghetsis' cheek. "He got that from you."
"C'mon, he's not even my biological son." Ghetsis laughed. Oh, it was so good to hear that laughter. Nowadays it was almost rare.
"Maybe not. But you act as if even foster or adopted children can't pick up on behaviors their parents project."
"Well, if your science is applicable to N let's hope he doesn't end up remotely like me."
Colress wasn't about to let the conversation go back downhill. "Must I reiterate my entire point?"
Ghetsis instantly whined. "Nooo, Arceus, please do not."
Colress laughed.
"Mhm, what I thought." Colress picked his head up to meet Ghetsis' stare, and then planted a small kiss on his lips. "Here, idea. How about we set a goal right now. You and me."
Ghetsis tilted his head, but nodded. "Okay. Go on..."
"You and me are going to work together and with N," he began, "And we're going to give him the family he's always desired and deserved. Can we do that?"
Colress let go of Ghetsis to hold out his hands. Like a deal. They'd shake on it.
Ghetsis didn't even hesitate. He took Colress' hands and brought them up to his lips, kissing both of them on the knuckles. "I suppose it's nothing we can't do."
"That's the spirit." The pair laughed.
Colress relaxed his body against Ghetsis' again, sighing. "It's been a long night."
"Mhm."
"When do you plan to head to bed?"
Just like Colress could read Ghetsis, Ghetsis could read Colress just as well. And he knew that was just a different way of saying 'I'm tired, let's go to bed.'
"Aaalright," Ghetsis shimmied his arms Colress' body, and stood. The scientist yipped, but just further tightened the grip his arms had around his boyfriend.
"Let's get you tucked in."
As soon as Ghetsis, started up the stairs, Colress hummed.
"You know I love you, right?"
"Yes, however the reminder is quite refreshing."
They laughed.
"I love you too, Colress."
Ghetsis would proceed to get Colress in bed, and then get halfway ready for bed before remembering.
There was a dining room downstairs that still needed cleaning.
~
I'm actually sorta thinking about writing a short p2 to this. Like... when N returns the next week ;) I just might! Depends on how this does. Thanks for checking it out!

~Aspenfire
word count: 2450