#they have dual citizenship in unova and kalos because their parents are divorced
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Spin the Bottle
[Arven x self-insert/OC lmao, ~1.8k words]
I can’t even remember who suggested this in the first place. Maybe it was Hilda and N, since they’ve been sitting in each other’s laps all night. Maybe it was Serena and Shauna, who’ve been sneaking kisses every chance they get. But, I mean, we’re adults, for Arceus’ sake! Who would have thought to bring this up?
Nevertheless, here we are...the nine of us creating a circle on the living room floor, a bottle in the center, spinning on its side. Yes...we’re nine adults playing spin the bottle.
“My turn!” Nemona yells, pumping her fist in the air. She had already managed to kiss Hilbert, wrinkling her nose in distaste afterwards.
She grabs the bottle, winding her wrist up and giving it a hard spin. The glass clatters against the floor, slowing down with each rotation. Finally, it comes to a stop, the neck pointing across the circle to Penny. Nemona doesn’t even hide another fist pump, scooting forward on her knees towards the middle of the circle.
“Hang on,” Penny says, holding up her hand as Nemona leans forward, lips puckered. The paler girl removed her glasses, taking a moment to fold them carefully in her lap. “I don’t want you breaking them.”
“I wouldn’t break them!” Nemona cries in defiance. “Whatever, come here already.”
Penny barely leans forward before Nemona snatches the hood of her jacket and yanks her close. Their lips smash together, and Penny frowns and grunts. But Nemona raises her hand, placing it on Penny’s cheek softly, easing their kiss. Oohs pass through the circle, and Shauna playfully taunts them.
When they finally break, their cheeks are both blazing red. Nemona sits back in her place, grinning from ear to ear. Penny clears her through, placing her glasses back on the bridge of her nose and adjusting them.
“That was alright,” the tech wizard says, averting her eyes from the rest of the group.
“I’m the best at everything I do,” Nemona brags.
A ripple of laughter fills the room. Finally, Hilda looks across the circle at me, her blue eyes gleaming mischievously. “Your turn again, Toby,” she sing-songs.
My stomach turns, the drink I had downed at the beginning of the game churning uncomfortably. The first spin had been fine--Serena and I shared a peck, like we had countless times when we played this game as teens. But each spin means risking fate.
I take a deep breath and lean forward, picking up the bottle an inch. My hands are shaking, but I try to hide it. I can feel the heat of him next to me, and it makes my nerves flare. I twist my wrist, and then send the bottle into a hard twirl.
“Good spin,” N says.
“Who are you hoping to get?” Hilda asks teasingly.
I narrow my eyes at her. I should never have told her about my crush. Why do I do it? Every time, it ends in her trying to match-make me. I respond with a shrug, trying to play it cool while I silently pray to every deity in the world.
The bottle slows. It turns slowly, the mouth pointing at me. Slowly turning. And finally it stops, pointing to the man next to me, whose one teal eye looks at me.
I’m revoking all prayers. I’m actually going to send only curses from now on. You hear that, Arceus? I absolutely curse you.
Nemona claps her hands together, laughing. “Arven finally gets picked!” she yells.
I look over at Arven, whose cheeks redden as he furrows his brows in Nemona’s direction. When he looks back at me, I almost flee. Just staring at his face--the sharp blue of his eye, the gentle slope of his jaw, the way his lips... Aah, I’m losing my mind!
Nemona pushes my back, sending me lurching forward slightly. I stiffen, holding myself back from falling face-first into Arven. She says something about hurrying up, but my ears feel like they’re full of cotton. I raise my eyes slowly, meeting Arven’s and feeling like Pawmot used spark on me.
“You okay, bud?” Arven asks.
“Yeah, I’m fine!” I stutter, my voice rising an octave. I clear my throat and nod. “We’re holding up the game, so let’s just...”
I lean forward. I feel Arven come closer to me, his face stopping inches from mine. I close my eyes, hoping that will help, but now I’m focused on the feeling of his breath tickling my nose. I swallow the lump in my throat. If I just get this over with--
His lips press against mine, warm and slightly chapped. Every nerve in my body feels like it’s exploding. Oh my Arceus, how do people kiss again?! I tilt my head slightly, angling myself to return his kiss better. I feel his lips part ever so slightly, and oh Arceus, I’m forgetting to breathe!
Arven breaks away first, and as he does so, the sounds of the room come back. Hilda and Serena are hooting loudly. Nemona grabs my shoulder and gives me a rough shake, saying something in Paldean and adding “Looked like you liked that!” in universal.
My face is burning so bad, and I sit back in my spot, trying to ignore the feeling of Arven’s eyes on me. When the cheering finally calms down, and I feel like I can breathe again, I stand up.
“I’m going to get another drink from the kitchen,” I say, smoothing my shirt idly.
“Grab me another Pika-tini, mi tesoro?” Nemona asks. I give her a wave in response, disappearing into the kitchen.
Alone, I feel like I can finally breathe. I grip the fabric at my chest, inhaling sharply. My stomach drops to my feet, and I feel like I’m about to collapse. The feeling of his lips on mine still lingers. This is bad...I need to forget about this, for my own sake.
I reach into the fridge, pulling out a cold fizz, cracking the can open and taking a large swig from it. The carbonation burns across my tongue and down my throat. I press the cold aluminum against my lips, trying to erase the feeling in them.
“Sure you’re okay?” a voice suddenly asks. I jump, slamming the can down on the counter loudly.
“You scared me!” I shout, looking back at the blond-brunette man now standing in the kitchen doorway.
Arven laughs lightly. “You’re too easy to scare,” he says. He walks closer to me, leaning against the counter next to where I stand.
“Isn’t it your turn to go?” I ask, glancing over at his shoulder.
“I already went,” he answers. “You’ve been in here for a couple minutes already.”
I look up at the clock, squinting my eyes. “I literally just walked in here, how did the time pass that quick?”
“Are you doing alright?” Arven asks, a little more firmly than before.
I sigh. “Yeah, I’m just not very good with this game.”
“A little embarrassing, huh?” he says.
Embarrassing...A lump forms in my throat and I nod. Yeah, it’s embarrassing. I mean, why would someone as handsome as him want to kiss me? Talk about humiliating. I can’t believe I’ve spent so many hours thinking that he might...
“Toby,” his voice calls. I look up to see him staring down at me, his arms crossed over his chest. “What’s bothering you?”
I laugh nervously and raise my hands. “Nothing, really,” I say. “Seriously, it’s nothing.”
“It’s not nothing,” he says, frowning. He reaches forward, grabbing one of my hands, folding it in his large palm. “You know you can trust me, right? You’ve helped me so much, I want to help you too.”
Aah, Arceus, he’s too good for me. I swallow against the lump in my throat, hoping in the dim light of the kitchen that he can’t see my eyes starting to water. I open my mouth to try and assuage him, but nothing comes out. His hard stare softens, and he places his other hand on my cheek.
“Toby--”
I turn away, facing the counter and hanging my head. “It’s just hard, when everyone else seems to be coupled up, and you know that no one is ever going to like you that way,” I blurt out. “I mean, I’m happy for them of course, and I’m happy being alone too, but sometimes it really hurts.”
“Woah!” Arven says, squeezing my hand tighter. “Hang on--”
“Like, no one I like has ever liked me back, you know?” I continue blabbering. “Which, yeah, I get it, I mean look at me, I’m not the kind of person that other people would like. And sometimes I’ve accepted that--”
“Listen, I--”
“--but sometimes I sit up at night and I get sucked into these thoughts where I think maybe, just maybe, I could have a shot with someone. But there’s no way, and I just need to learn to live with that and not make everything such a big dela, because--”
Suddenly I’m silenced by Arven grabbing my face and pressing his lips to mine. My eyes widen, my voice catches in my throat, and my stomach drops again. He pulls back just enough to tilt his head and kiss me again, one of his hands slipping around to hold the back of my head.
This can’t be real...but I give in, closing my eyes and kissing him back. I grab the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer, and he responds by wrapping his arm around my back. My entire body tingles, feeling his lips slowly move against mine, and I feel like exploding when I heard the faintest hum in his throat.
When he pulls his lips away this time, it’s only an inch, and his fingers grip me tighter. “Who says nobody likes you?” he whispers, his breath warming my face.
“I...uh...” I’m at a complete loss of words. My mind is still swimming in this dream, and I’m waiting for it all to break. I feel Arven’s hand petting my hair, as he presses my head against his chest.
“I’ve always liked you, Toby,” he mutters. “Ever since the Path of Legends...but you were my greatest treasure, and I didn’t want to risk losing you if you didn’t...like me back...”
I can’t help but laugh. It starts as a scoff, but slowly grows until I’m burying my face in his shirt to cover the sound. “Arceus, we’re so stupid,” I laugh. “All these years?”
Arven hugs me tighter, and I can hear the smile in his voice when he responds, “All these years.”
I stand there, letting the feeling of his arms around me sink in until it finally feels real. But I don’t know if it ever will. I lean back and look up at him, repressing the urge to just kiss him again for the rest of eternity.
“We should probably get back to the game,” I say. “They’re going to wonder what we’re up to.”
“Are you okay now?” he asks, wrinkling his brows again.
I smile and nod, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. “I am...thank you.”
He smiles back and, keeping my hand in his, leads me back to the living room.
#i didn't expect this to look so...long#i'm not tagging it lol you will all suffer#featuring some other random ships lol#in my mind my scarvio character is not from galar#they have dual citizenship in unova and kalos because their parents are divorced#so they spent some time in unova and some time in kalos and that's why all these characters are here
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