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Please do not read if you are under 18! The following contains mature content not suited for general audiences. You have been warned.

Umbre and Flynn have a serious discussion at a time when they probably shouldn't be having said discussion.

TRIGGER WARNING! Contains: anal (mentioned), cum (mentioned), first time (mentioned), trauma, blackout, hearing fatigue, relationships, arguments, dubious consent (mentioned)

Grace, Umbre, etc. are characters made by me, based off of characters in the Pokémon universe owned by GameFreak and Nintendo. I do not claim rights to characters such as Glaceon, Umbreon, etc.

By PseudonymousUmbreon. If you wish to use or reference my work and/or my characters, please contact me first.

*****

Defrost

Coevolution Ch.9

Umbre stepped into Unovan 202 and sighed. Another semester of bullshit before they could actually get to their good classes. Briefly, they wondered if they could double this class as their foreign language credit and skip the sign language classes they were pretending not to be an expert in. Fat chance. Best case scenario: the school comes up with some independent study in USL grammar structure and literature. They shuddered to think how horribly the school's (very Hearing) teacher would butcher a class like that.

A paw waved in front of Umbre's face and they snapped to attention. A Glaceon was trying to get their attention from the third row of the lecture hall. Umbre hurried over to her and sat down beside her, happy to have a classmate they recognized.

"Nice to see you here, Umbre," Grace said, smirking faintly, apparently only having looked up from her notes to lure Umbre over. She looked out of place among the spread of laptops and e-readers, yet she sped along the page faster than most 'mon could type.

Umbre blinked. "Class hasn't even started yet--how are you already halfway down the note sheet?"

"Oh, this?" Grace pushed the top paper aside, revealing a spread of at least five full pages of meticulous scrawl. "These are notes for my other class. Reading's due right after this one."

"I thought you liked reading," Umbre said, setting up their own laptop. "Also... did you bring the textbook? I didn--"

Grace plopped the book for the class on the table between them. "I only like reading if it's something I actually want to read. And I hate to break it to you, but--" she paused to squint at the book's cover over her diamond-shaped librarian glasses-- "A Universal Guide to Unovan Rhetoric and Composition isn't exactly my idea of a good time."

"Fair enough." Umbre turned their attention to the board up front. A low-quality PNG of the textbook, accompanied by professional-looking letters that declared today was "Your Introduction to Unovan 202." Weirdly enough, the teacher didn't seem to have arrived yet, and a glance at the clock told them class would be starting in less than two minutes.

Umbre's screen flashed a notification for their messaging app. Levi was asking if they were coming back to the dorm after class. Probably, as far as they knew. They pulled up the app to respond, then paused.

Five unread messages. One was the notification from Levi, another from Ez--a random meme, apparently. The other three were from a number Umbre had removed the contact information a year ago now: Flynn.

Twelve Hours Ago:

» Thank you.

» I really just want to say I'm sorry.

» It would be nice to at least be on speaking terms again.

They had forgotten to respond. Eventually. Initially they hadn't wanted to, their mind filled with questions ranging from, Why in the world would you ever text them back, to, Why the fuck did you unblock them in the first place, to the ever-present, Why is this *still* a problem for you, just let it go already. Like it or not, Umbre had unblocked them, and now Flynn was expecting an answer, and had been for twelve hours.

Grace snapped their paw in front of Umbre's face. "Hey, he's calling roll." She gestured to the front. The professor, a Xatu, had materialized there glaring very sternly across the crowd.

"Om-brree Mor-gahn?" the teacher asked, accusatorially. "Last call for Ombrree Morgahn."

Umbre snapped up their paw. "Here," they said, not bothering to correct the professor on the pronunciation of their name. They squinted at the nametag, just barely legible from the third row: "Dr. Mahuizoh Tototl." Maybe.

As the professor finished taking roll, Umbre glanced back at the messaging app.

Just now:

» Hey, I don't wanna pressure you or anything, but I really do mean it when I say I just wanna talk. I don't know what's going on with you or what went down, but I wanna try to understand.

Shit. Opening the app registered the messages as read.

In class rn «

» K.

Well what the fuck does that mean, Flynn?

"This is. An Oonovahn class." The professor's voice cut into Umbre's train of thought, pulling them back into the lecture hall. He spoke slowly and deliberately, a quality Umbre would usually appreciate in a Hearing person's voice if not for the thick accent. They were going to have to request interpretation services for this one, sorry Dr. T.

"I grrew up. Speaking Orreano. I learned Oonovahn. After many years. Of schooling. At the University. Of Southern. Oonovah."

Umbre blinked. What? They pulled out their phone and tapped out a quick note, then slid it over to Grace.

Am I just that Deaf, or is he that hard to understand? «

Grace gave Umbre the side-eye, then tapped a note back.

» I can give you the notes after class. Is it the accent?

I keep missing words and his cadence is too atypical for me to figure out context. «

» I've got you covered.

Umbre smiled at Grace. After carrying them through STAT102, Grace would be coming in clutch for the second semester in a row. It was nice to have her by their side.

Now free to tune out, Umbre turned their attention back to their laptop.

Never mind, this guy doesn't have a voice I can understand, apparently «

We can talk «

I don't really know what to say though. «

» I guess I can say I don't blame you for passing out.

» Hell, it's kinda flattering, my load's so big that it knocked you unconscious.

Umbre huffed.

Not the time or place, Flynn. «

» Sorry.

Look, I don't blame you for making me pass out, I blame you for not sticking around to make sure I was okay. «

I feel like if someone faints while your dick is inside them you're kinda responsible for their well-being «

» You right

» But if you weren't ready for penetration you shoulda said so.

I'd literally never done it before how was I supposed to know «

Look we can't keep blaming each other like this «

» I asked you a buncha times if you were cool

We aren't gonna get anywhere «

» You had every opportunity to gtfo

I tried something new and apparently really didn't like it can you stop acting like this is my fault «

Take some responsibility for once «

» Fuckin hell Umbre

» I came here to apologize not get yelled at

Do you even know what you're apologizing for? «

» Honestly? No

» I just miss having you as a friend

» I thought I wanted that back

» Now I'm not sure

Umbre stared at the screen, unsure of what to say next.

» I really liked the time we spent together. That's what I'm missing. I know I hurt you, but I sure as hell don't deserve to be fucking yelled at for trying to understand what the fuck is going on.

» I'm just saying you're just as right to be mad at me as I am to be mad at you.

They exhaled, preparing to type back a scathing reply, when Grace tapped them on the shoulder and slid a piece of paper in front of them. Grace's small block letters looked up at them.

I know I shouldn't have (sorry!), but I may have read over your shoulder. You were breathing very audibly and people were turning to look at you. You seriously need to chill. Both of you.

Another note materialized beneath it.

Regardless of what they did to you, maybe the way you responded wasn't very admirable either.

And then a third.

P.S. No judgment from me at all. Can we talk after class?

Umbre stared at the series of notes, then glanced at Grace, who was so entrenched in the lecture that Umbre almost started questioning if the notes had actually come from her. Still, the pawwriting matched.

Maybe she was right.

» Basically I cum in your ass, you pass out, I freak out and run, and then next thing I know you have me blocked on everything and you and your boyfriend throw me scathing glares every time I see you in public.

» Only other time we've interacted since is when you came to me and Jo's apartment to yell at me in a language I don't know

» Can you please just stop being actively mad at me cause it feels like what I did didn't warrant this much anger

Umbre steeled themself, and started typing a response.

Honestly, I'm mad because I grew to trust you. I thought I knew you well enough to have you be my first, and then when it didn't go as planned, you left. Without saying goodbye. While you don't have a right to tell me how angry I'm allowed to be about that, you have a point. I did probably overreact to an extent and I'm having a hard time letting things go. «

Our relationship isn't going to magically heal with one conversation «

But I'll try to move on. «

Umbre stared at the messages they sent. It didn't even really sound like them, and honestly, it was hard to believe the words they were saying. But deep down, they knew they were right. For both of their sakes, they really should move on.

» Okay.

» I hope you work through whatever it is you're working through

» I'm gonna go now

» I'm sorry I freaked out

» I hope you can forgive me

» Eventually.

Me too. «

Umbre snapped the lid shut, glanced at the clock, then at the professor. They attempted to surreptitiously reopen it and pretended to type something in a notes sheet.

Two more hours of whatever the hell this guy was saying.

*****

By the time the professor had finished, Umbre's ears were tired beyond belief. Words had started to slur together, and even their eyes had begun to take in too much light to compensate for their ears slacking off. They shoved their laptop into their bookbag, eager to head back to their dorm and cuddle with Levi.

"You okay?" Grace was looking at them, face twisted with concern.

Umbre sighed. "Not really. That was one hell of a lecture." The two walked out of the lecture hall and out the side door of the building.

"That's not what I'm referring to and you know it," Grace said. "I've never seen you that upset."

They shrugged. "I'll be alright. How much of that did you read? Without my consent?" They raised their eyebrows in a falsely accusatory manner.

"Enough to get the context. I have a question for you, actually," Grace said, stopping and turning to face them.

Umbre turned on one heel and crossed their arms. "Knock yourself out. You already know more about my sex life than I wanted you to know."

"Again, sorry. I just wanted to know if you consider yourself asexual or not."

"You--what?"

Grace raised an eyebrow. "Asexual. Not sexual. It's the A in LGBTQIA."

Umbre squinted at her. Was she serious? If their relationship with Levi was any indication, they were practically the opposite of asexual. "Uh, no?"

Grace studied their face for a moment, then relaxed. "If you say so. I gotta get to Art History. Catch you later!" She turned and walked off in the direction of the art building, leaving Umbre to stare after her.

Clearly Grace had no clue what she was talking about.