#shield
«At the same time, I wanna hug you
I wanna wrap my hands around your neck
You’re an asshole but I love you.»
Clark Gregg feat. P!nk
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The Rhythm of Your Heartbeat (OC x Piers)
Commissioned by @danni-dollarsign
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~~
“What’re you fidgeting so much for?” Marnie asked as she languidly sprawled on the couch, her legs dangling over the arm. “Yer as ornery as Morpeko.”
“Huh?” her brother grunted, again pacing the length of their living room. “Nothin’, nothin’…”
“Yea, ‘mkay,” she said with a roll of her eyes as she returned to brushing the Morpeko sitting on her lap.
Piers grumbled a response that was intelligible to both of them. Truthfully, he had been wearing a rut in their carpet this entire week, pacing back and forth as he racked his brain for conversation topics to have with that woman he had seen around recently. Her name was Nora, she had a Misdreavous, and she had a booth set up sometimes in Spikemuth, sometimes in Hammerlocke, and sometimes he didn’t see her for days. That was all he knew about her. The frustrating part, however, was that he wanted to know moreabout her than just those three things. Like, if she was single, for one, and for two if she would bother wanting to hang out with a bloke like him.
The Gym Leader was unfortunately getting to the point where he would keep an eye out for her whenever he left town, and even to where he would purposefully trek to Hammerlocke after the sun had set, just to see if that booth was lining any of the streets in his town or the neighboring’s.
“’m goin’ out,” Piers said as he pulled on his jacket. He was met with an ‘aye’ from his sister, and soon stepped into the smoky air of Spikemuth in the night.
Neon lights buzzed as his shoes crunched along the streets, littered with empty bottles and cans and unfortunately no occult booths with beautiful women inside. Piers huffed, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets and scolding himself for how he was acting. It wasn’t like him to take evening strolls, nor was it like him to be pining after some stranger… and yet, here he was, his eyes scanning the streets and his feet moving forward despite himself.
This was stupid… if he got to the Pokémon Center with no sight of her, then he’d turn right around and give up on all this rubbish. He offered nods of greetings to the handful of fans he passed at the local bars and tourist spots – as touristy as Spikemuth could be, at least – and soon he saw the only greenery of Spikemuth flowering beside the doors of the Pokémon Center.
Alright, time to go back home and forget all this. Piers motioned to turn, only for his gaze to catch on someone stepping into town. His heart dropped, then thundered in his chest as he stood staring at Nora walking towards him. Long legs, graceful gait, mysterious eyes – Piers was suddenly finding it challenging to swallow, and yet he kept moving forward while both his thoughts and heart skipped.
She set down the bundle she was carrying, unfurling the tent as her Misdreavous flittered around her. Piers nearly jumped when her eyes met his, as apparently he had stepped right up to her without realizing.
“Oh, hello. I’m not open yet,” she said with a light smile. “Give me just a moment to set up and I’ll be right with you.”
It was like Piers’ brain was left in the rut in his living room carpet because all he offered as a response was a blank stare.
“…sir?”
“’chu, um, help?” Piers stammered. Apparently, he left his vocabulary at home too.
“Um,” Nora said quietly. “Pardon?”
“D-D’you, uh, want some help?” Piers corrected, shaking his head into focus. “Hanging ou-, er, hanging up? Hanging that up? Hanging your tent up?”
Nora blinked a few times, as did Piers, as they both processed what the hell he just stuttered out. He wished he wasn’t so pale because he could practically feel his face burning with embarrassment. His mouth was as dry as a Cottonee so he didn’t risk saying anything after that monstrosity of a sentence.
“I usually do it myse-“
“Aye, right, right,” Piers blurted. “Sorry to be a bother, then, I’ll leave ya be.”
And with that, Piers turned on his heel and was immediately marching back home. His thoughts were whirring and thus he didn’t hear Nora finish her sentence.
“…but I wouldn’t mind some help,” she finished, her eyebrows pulling together as Piers escaped. She glanced to Misdreavous, who simply shrugged in response, and Nora went back to setting up her tent.
Before Piers knew it, he was stepping through his front door, grunting a greeting to Marnie who said ‘that was fast’, and then he flopped onto his mattress with a wumph.
So much for that.
–
Piers wasn’t too pleasant to be around the next few days according to Marnie, as all he would do was rotate between his angsty, moody, and sadboy playlists. When he finally emerged from his room to eat, Marnie cornered him.
“When was the last time ya went outside?” she huffed, hands on her hips. “Don’t you like, have to do your job?”
“’s fine,” Piers said as he brushed past her. “Challenge season ain’t here yet anyway.”
“Yer getting’ paler, Piers,” Marnie said. “Go outside today. Go train with Raihan or somethin’, your Pokémon shouldn’t suffer just ‘cuz you want to sulk.”
“Fine,” he said, deciding that his little sister was more than right about how he shouldn’t ignore his Pokémon. “I’ll text ‘im.”
It didn’t take long for the sun to set and for Piers to be on his way out again, this time passing the Pokémon Center, the Route 9 tunnel, and the gates of Hammerlocke. He forced himself to keep his gaze forward, and not drift along the roadside for sight of that familiar tent. All was going according to plan as he stepped into the city, past the Pokémon Center, and past the train station. It wasn’t until he reached the bottom of the staircase beside the station that he paused.
A whimsical noise was wafting through the air, almost ethereal in how it made the hair on his neck stand on end. Piers’ focus immediately rerouted from his upcoming training with Raihan to whatever that noise was, because he was certain it was coming from up the steps. He took them two at a time, now mesmerized by the ghostly music. He arrived at what looked to be a church – it was certainly a building he had never been in before – and his heart started pounding harder the closer he got, as the music was spilling out of the stained-glass windows. It was haunting, operatic, and one of the most beautiful things Piers had ever heard. He pulled open the doors to the church, craving for the song to be closer, closer, close enough to dwell in his bones. Who did that voice belong to? The building was dark, uninhabited, and when the doors rattled opened, the music stopped.
“Hello?” Piers called after a moment, his voice resounding off the domed ceilings. He waited a moment, then a moment more, before turning again to the doors. He suddenly heard the faint sound of shuffling, then the echo of a door closing. When he glanced up, he caught a brief glimpse of a purple figure wisping away.
No other sounds echoed, no other music played, so when the only noise in the church was his own breathing, Piers turned and left through the heavy double doors. When he was greeted by the night air again, a shuffling to his right caught his attention. It was that same wispy, purple figure, but beside that was the outline of a woman.
“Hey, wait!” Piers called suddenly, rushing up to her. “Was that you singing?”
The woman turned, her dark hair cascading over her shoulder. Yet again Piers’ breath caught, as those were the same mysterious eyes that had been occupying his mind for so long.
“Yes,” Nora said quietly. Piers had never noticed how her voice was almost a melody in itself. “I didn’t realize how much my voice was carrying, I apologize.”
“You’re amazing,” Piers breathed out. When Nora made no response, it was as if Piers’ entire consciousness finally caught up to him and he quickly shifted from an awe-struck gaze into one that was a bit like a Deerling in headlights “I-I mean, you, you uh, you gotta nice set of pipes. Not bad, I mean. Not that you’d be bad, I just, I-I didn’t realize you sang too. I sing, y’know. I’m in a band. Would you wanna duet sometime?”
“…pardon?” Nora asked, gray eyes quizzical.
“O-or ‘sthat weird? Sorry, I’ll jus-“
“Wait!” Nora blurted, reaching out to Piers. Her fingers curled around his wrist for only a second before she yanked her hand back again, but the touch still seemed to linger. “Yes, I would like to. That sounds nice.”
“Foreal?” Piers asked, blinking in surprise. “I-I mean great, that’s great. I’m Piers, by the way.”
“I know,” Nora said, her gaze bashfully flicking downward. The sight drew a bashful smile from Piers as well. “I’m Nora.”
“I know,” Piers repeated, his cheeks again staining pink. “I’ve noticed you in Spikemuth sometimes.”
A sweet anticipation filled the space between them, at least until Piers’ phone started vibrating madly in his pocket. Ah, shit, that’s right… Raihan.
“How about tomorrow? You can come to my place in Spikemuth?” Piers started. “I’d say let’s go now but I’m late for training and he won’t let me hear the end of it if I don’t show.”
“Tomorrow sounds good,” Nora said, offering Piers a soft smile. “Can I get your number in case I get lost?”
Piers nodded quick enough for his ponytail to threaten to come undone, and the two eagerly traded numbers. With a bashful goodbye from them both, Piers made his way to Raihan’s gym with a subtle spring in his step, humming a sweet song to himself.
–
Piers and Nora’s first song session went well, as did their second, third, fourth, and all of the rest until they lost count. Although they were no longer strangers to one another, Piers’ heart still seemed to rattle in his chest whenever Nora was close. She snuggled next to him, tucking her head under his chin in the exact way that made him melt. Marnie was off with some of her new friends, so it was just Piers and Nora left in the house, and even though they had plenty of space, they seemed to want to occupy as little as possible as they curled around each other.
“Piers?” Nora whispered, her breath warming his neck and yet sending shivers down his spine.
“Yeah?”
“I’m glad you came into the church that day.”
“Me too.”
Nothing else needed to be said, as their bodies both spoke volumes as they lay under the covers together. She was his song, he was her melody, and the rhythm of their hearts beat in tandem as they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
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#12 : Reinhardt
Everybody needs a good shield, held by a giant old badass german knight in shiny armor.
HQ version : http://imgur.com/hjSPVax
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