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“You’re really protective of your class.” The comment was said out of nowhere, disturbing the nice and peaceful quiet between the two trainers standing a bit off from said class.
Ash nearly choked on his water, missing the familiar coolness of his mug and the scent of too sweet coffee. Cursing Kukui under his breath before turning to face Ilima whose smile was a bit too real for Ash to properly decipher. “Thanks?”
Ilima tilted his head back slightly to laugh. His adam's apple bobbing slightly with the action and pulling Ash’s eyes towards it a little. “I mean that in a good way!”
“Uh-hu.” Ash ripped his eyes away. Internally blaming Alola’s stupidly humid weather for the sudden pinkish color in his cheeks.
There was a cry from where the class was swimming in the smallish lake on school grounds and Ash nearly shot up from his sitting position. Relaxing seconds later when he realized it was just Lana being Lana, giving another go of her best warrior cry or something like that before charging at Kiawe again. Trying to push the boy into the body of water but failed as Kiawe was able to use his longer reach to his gain. Placing a hand on her head and almost easily stepping to the side.
Too easily.
Ash isn’t stupid, he’s seen the same move a hundred times over. Had it happened to him and done to others as well, the class is no exception. He had actually seen Kiawe try and do the move to Sophocles during the first few weeks at the school. The boy never locked his elbow quick enough which ended with him on the floor, getting tasered by the little scientist or wanna be water specialist in a drive by. Now he was watching Kiawe do it again, this time to Sophocles as the youngest decided to try and help Lana toss the farm boy into the water.
“You’re never going to toss me in!” Kiawe boasted.
Lana didn’t give up just yet, pushing her head against the hand once more before finally receding back. “Stop thinking you're invincible! It’s annoying, Kiawe.”
It was easy for the words to slip out of Ash’s mouth. “Knock out his knees!” one hand cupping around his mouth despite not being too far away from the group.
The class as a whole froze, but that wasn’t important. What was very important was watching Ash’s instruction basically sink and absorb into Lana’s brain for quicker then Kiawe could figure out what the TA meant.
He openly laughed as Lana quickly took to steps back and dogged under the oldest arm that held itself lax and aloft in the air. Wrapping her arms tightly around the boy’s knees, she’s just the right height to get a better grip then Sophocles could, and drags not him but herself as well into the water.
Excited shrieks and whoops fill the air the moment the two hit the water. Continuing as Lana somehow belted out what sounded like her best man expression of a victory scream. Mallow, who was treading water next to where Lillie had dipped her feet in, swam over. Wrapping her arms around Lana’s shoulder and taking an exaggerated deep breath.
She didn’t give the poor younger girl a chance. “Ma- oh!” Lana squeaked before being pulled back under water. Only to break the surface after a handful of seconds. cheeks much more red then what the Alola sun and heat could do.
Mallow looked like a Persian that caught an Oricorio, like she was the one who knocked Kiawe off his knees and into the water. Lips spread wide as she cackled, swimming away from where Lana looked like she was experiencing emotions equivalent to the univers’s Big Bang.
“Oh.” Ash hummed thoughtfully. Shifting to lean into Ilima who almost greedily pressed into the touch. “That’s new.”
Ilima looked up to the TA, his own cheeks dusted pink despite his skin tone. “What's new?”
Ash sent the other a side eyed glance, it wasn’t one of his harsher ones but it still ended up dragging a gasp out of the slightly younger trainer. “It seems that Lana and Mallow are more like Mallow and Lana.”
He was being unfairly cryptic, Ash knew it by the way he could see Ilima looking at him with confusion at the edge of his sight. Turning back to watch the class before realization bloomed across his facial features.
Oh, he’s pretty.
“There it is.” Ash leaned his head to the side so he could whisper in Ilima’s ear. “You’re a smart cookie.”
The pink across the other cheek grew more rosy and a soft hand with long fingers pressed against his face. Pushing Ash away while looking towards the ground and away from the older trainer.
Ash was about to say another thing. Probably more light hearted teasing comments because it felt good watching others squirm. Ash has been on the receiving side a little too much lately for his liking, but he stopped. Catching sight of a dripping bean pole of a fire type student starts to make his way over.
“You take one more step towards me with your wet self.” Ash warned, tone playful but with a slight mean edge to his smile. “And I’m gonna toss you into the ocean from here.”
Kiawe paused, lips pressing together and eyes narrowing. A second later he was twirling around and sprinting. Jumping back into the water and instead moving to go harass Mallow who had pulled Lana over to Lillie.
“...I don’t see myself as protective.” Ash started up after a few moments of just watching. Watching the kids tussle and play in and out of the water. Watched how Lana taught Sophocles the same trick that she did and the smaller kid picking it up like breathing fresh air, doing it to the blue haired girl who squealed before the two hit the water and Kiawe and Lillie cheered.
Watched Ilima give him an are you serious look. One perfectly shaped pink eyebrow raised as he blew a soft huff from his nose, a small smile pulling at thin lips.
“Okay, so maybe I am a bit protective.” Ash conceded after half a minute of more silence. Shoulders relaxing from the tensed position he had held them a moment earlier as he felt Ilima tremble with laughter next to him.
The kids looked over and Ash waved them off with his hand that had the water bottle, taking a pointed sip along with giving a stern look when Lillie and Sophocles didn’t turn around right away.
Snoopy little stinkin’ shits, the lot of them.
He smacked his lips after another sip. “Can’t be too bad since they don’t leave me the fuck alone.” The last part was bit out in a low growl but the effects were lost as his smile didn’t dissipate.
Ash likes them, truly he does, but he doesn’t love them. Which in perspective puts the class in a weird place in his mind. He loves Max and Bonnie, those are his little siblings as much as they are May and Clemonts, but his relationship was different with the class. He wasn’t a person of authority over Max, that was given to Brock during the dinner from the boy's parents which was a really good choice as May had a tendency of flouncing off every now and then. Leaving Max behind in the presence of the two older boys.
Bonnie was a bit different. She was younger, and it caused Ash enough gray hairs when even a lick of trouble was within her grubby little fingers when Clemont wasn’t keeping a close enough eye on her, but sharp. She knew that she could get away with things when it was Clemont but it took one soft glare from Ash and Bonnie knew she was done for the day. Even Clemont and Serena seemed to defer to his knowledge and general authority that leaked out during their travels.
Now Ash was a Teacher’s Assistant, this is his job. There’s supposed to be a wall between him and the class since he isn’t a Student -Teacher Assistant. It was an awkward rodeo for the first month, trying to figure out where he could settle into the entire dynamic while also not stepping on any toes. He figured it out, some-fucking-how, but now it seems like the class got to comfortable with Ash.
It was awkward, waking up still drunk on a saturday morning on Kukui’s couch for the first time, to see Mallow in the professor’s kitchen. Working on some kind of food related project while Kukui seemed to have brought a laptop up from his basement office. Both situated in the kitchen with Mallow mumbling something under her breath while working what seemed to be a ball of dough and Kukui with all his paperwork spread out on the other side.
It was really unprofessional of Ash. especially since all he had was a pair of tight fighting boxers and a large t-shirt Kukui let him borrow for the night. He had to wrap his lower half with the blanket that was somewhat tossed over him when Ash woke up, praying that Mallow hadn’t seen anything that would have scarred her for life.
After that it seemed like she never left him alone. Almost everyday after class she would saddle right up to Ash and ask about what he’s going to do after school. It was hard to make something up on the spot since he couldn’t tell that he was going to out-smoke her Teacher because Kukui called him a wimp after learning that Ash preferred edibles over the bud.
Max had laughed at Ash’s misfortune after the older had called him for advice. The kids were around his age, just a bit older than Kiawe at the ripe age of sweet sixteen, and Max was useless because he just continued to laugh. Bonnie was no help either as all she demanded was Ash flying her out to Alola to meet his class.
She’s spoiled, that one is.
In the end Ash decided to cut his losses. Hoping that his gruff and natural don’t mess with me exterior would keep them at bay. It did, for a while. Sometimes he feels like a Houndoom covered in newborn baby Meowth’s.
Mallow soon turned to Mallow and Lana then Mallow, Lana and Lillie. It stayed like that for another month and Ash was fine with the dynamic. Sophocles was too busy burying his face in science and technology, he wouldn’t like all the walking and shopping the girls dragged Ash through almost every damn weekend, and Kiawe was still a little pouty Charmander that had farm obligations that took him from his friends most days.
Soon enough it somehow turned to Ash basically living at Kukui’s despite having his own house that had a proper cooling system and the entire class claiming Ash as their guard dog almost every day after school.
Kukui found it funny when Ash complains about not having any free time to himself anymore. Listening to him while the younger adult worked about making a presentable fuck around and find out outfit to go shopping with the girls again. Leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee in hand as lazy brown eyes traced the Kantonian as Ash paced back and forth down the hall.
To be honest the dinky little shack is its own problem. Ever since Ash started to help Kukui not just at school but at the actual labs filled with other scientists the two never had any real time to clean up. This meant there were piles of clean clothes shoved into corners and always plates in the sink despite the dishwasher running next to the right of it, sometimes dirty clothes would accidentally mix with clean and in the end they all get rewashed again. Only to be left on the floor.
Sometimes they get chances to clean. Doing it on hands and knees to make the floor almost sparkle despite being wood and folding and putting away laundry… only for the shack to end up in the same messy state not three days later when their swamped with responsibilities again.
Alola was supposed to be a vacation, dammit!
He was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Butterfree light touches dance across his thigh. He kept his face towards the kids but his eyes looked down to see sun kissed golden skin and nails covered in pink nail polish traced the outside of his thigh again. The fingers soon became a little bold as they inch closer and closer to the seam running on the inside of Ash’s thighs.
“Such a bold Sylveon.” Ash tipped his head to the side like before. Feeling Ilima jolted and tried to take his hand back, most likely he started to do it while deep in his own thoughts, but was stopped as Ash’s own fingers caught Ilima’s wrist. “I didn’t tell you to stop.”
There was a cut of whine and a mutter of Kalosian that was not comprehensible due to the fact of how thick of an Alolan accent Ilima suddenly gained. Spurred by Ash’s words the fingers returned.
Ash did nothing after that. Kept himself pressed against the slimmer body of Ilima’s while coaching Lana, Soph, and Kiawe as they all started to wrestle again out of the water. One trying to push the two others into said water without falling in themselves.
Lillie and Mallow were too preoccupied to notice what was going on behind them. Cheering on Lana as the boys started to naturally team up against her. Ash’s coaching reflected the same, preferring to give the blue haired student more proper instructions on how to knock Kiawe’s lanky knee’s out from under him with her own foot or how to successfully use Sophocles slow reaction time against the poor kid.
Despite the heat, Ash didn’t mind when Ilima settled in closer. Humming in content while his fingers continued to brush lightly against Ash’s thigh. If it was literally anyone else in this moment he would have sent them into the pool of water, not kindly either since his Students were around.
The kids liked Ilima and had talked about the graduated student before in passing to Ash over malasadas and smoothies. They seemed to enjoy every minute the Trainer had spared them so far today and how could Ash ruin that for them.
The touch wasn’t so bad either.