#and I didn't want to let this sit in WIP purgatory

[aceghosts]

Worriedly inspecting your temperature after noticing your lack of mood and giving you a chaste kiss on the forehead. For Riley and Ingo

Thank you for this one, Biggie! It is a lot of fun to write these two!

[Prompt List]

Summary: When Riley gets sick in the Coronet Highlands, Ingo appears at the right time to help.

Words: 1,351 words.

Content Warnings: I don't think there are any content warnings that need to come with this, but let me know if I need to tag for anything.

Author's Note: Okay, I hope this makes sense as it takes place in Legends Arceus, and before these two are in a relationship. If anything sounds awkward or unclear, just let me know.

AO3

Riley finally needed to admit it: they were sick. Guess running around in the Coronet Highlands during a rainstorm yesterday was a really dumb idea. Wasn’t the first time they made a stupid decision. And it definitely wouldn’t be the last time. They cough, their Garchomp, Chompers, eying them warily. “Oh please, like you’ll catch this.” Riley winces, their already sore throat hurting from speaking.

Chompers snorts, shuffling away from them with a wary look in her eyes. Riley rolls their eyes. “Come on. We’ll head back to the Mountain Camp; we’re not far.” Getting up from the tree they were sitting under, Riley lets out a low groan of protest, their muscles sore and achy. Stepping forward, Riley stumbles, nearly crashing to the ground. Oh no, not good. Out of the corner of their eye, Riley catches Chompers, shaking her head at her human’s stubborn foolishness. They could call one Wyrdeer for a ride, but it would take Wyrdeer a while to arrive, and Riley just wanted to get back to camp to sleep. Biting back a sarcastic remark, Riley starts their slow journey back to camp, one shaky footstep at a time. The wind blows, a shiver running over them.

“RILEY!” Of all the people in this Arceus-forsaken land, it had to be him. It had to be Ingo. Riley nearly wanted to laugh in frustration. It’s not that Riley didn’t want to be around Ingo; They always wanted to be around him. Becoming friends with Ingo and Emmet had been one of the few good decisions in Riley’s life. But it was difficult when he couldn’t remember Riley the way they remember him. It hurt in the worst way possible, something Riley didn’t think could happen. They just wanted their best friend back; They just wanted the man they lov-. No, those thoughts wouldn’t help. Riley would find Arceus and make things right or die trying. They owed Ingo that much.

“Warden Ingo,” Riley turns slowly, trying to not look like they were two seconds from collapsing on the ground, “uh, how are you?”

Ingo’s smile falters, the familiar frown on his face returning. His chrome silver eyes roam over them, taking in their pathetic appearance. “You are unwell,” He notes, his frown deepening, “You should return and rest; safety should be a top priority for all of us. What station do you plan to return to?”

“I’m fine,” Riley snaps, Ingo’s eyes widening. He looks a little hurt, and guilt crashes over Riley. No! They hadn’t meant to make him feel bad; they know he is just trying to help them. “Sorry, just tired, but I’m fine.”

He shakes his head. “You are not as you suggest, fine.” Ingo moves closer to them, invading Riley’s space. Most people would have gotten a sarcastic comment from Riley, but they never minded when Ingo was in their personal space. He presses the back of his hand against their head, a soft gasp escaping from him. “You are burning up! You need to return to the nearest station, immediately.”

“I think I’ll be okay-.”

“Stop,” Ingo cuts them off in the middle of their sentence, “Please do not lie to me, especially when it concerns important matters such as your health.” Riley wants to laugh a little. Back in Unova, it was normally Riley dragging Ingo and Emmet away from their jobs to take a break. And now Ingo was trying to get them to rest. As they search his kind eyes, all Riley finds is concern and something else they can’t quite name. It’s not fair that he looks at them that way, not fair at all. All Ingo had to do was give them those eyes, and Riley could be a complete and utter push-over.

Stepping back as they try to put distance between themself and Ingo, Riley coughs into their elbow, this cough sounding worse than the last. A new wave of anxiety flickers over Ingo’s face, and Riley tries to comfort him. “Don’t worry about it,” They attempt to give him a reassuring thumbs up, “We’re heading back to camp. Chompers is keeping an eye on me.”

“Chomp?” Chompers questions, as if this is news to her.

“It would be irresponsible of me not to conduct your journey safely back to camp. Onward, we go!” Some things never change. Even if he didn’t remember who he was, Ingo was still the same, especially with his one-track mind.

Too tired to continue arguing with him, Riley, Ingo, and Chompers start their journey back to camp. Riley shivers, struggling to keep up with the slow pace set by Ingo and Chompers. They yawn, already wishing they were back in camp, asleep in their bed roll. As they walk, Riley catches Ingo, watching them closely, practically hovering over them. Every time they even stumble slightly, they see Ingo move, ready to catch them if they should fall. “Something on your mind?” Riley asks.

Ingo is silent for a second, clearly trying to choose his words carefully. “Do you feel capable of walking?”

Riley raises an eyebrow. “I thought that’s what I was doing.” Poorly, but they were upright, at least. Gotta look on the bright side.

“You seem to be struggling. Please allow me to assist you; I do not want to watch you hurt yourself.” Riley stops, Ingo stopping beside them. “Please.” He adds softly, giving Riley those eyes again.

Arceus, be damned. “How do you want to help? It might be a little hard for me to lean on you, since-.” Riley motions between the two, Ingo being significantly taller than them. It sucked being short sometimes.

Tipping the brim of his tattered cap down, Riley notices the faint blush on his cheeks that he is trying to hide. “I could carry you back.”

Riley’s cheeks heat up. “I wouldn’t want-.”

“You would not be,” He blurts out loudly, Riley slightly wincing, “In fact, I insist! We could call Sneasler if you would prefer, but our journey would proceed much quicker if you allowed me to carry you.”

Ingo is right. Even though she comes as fast as she can, it does take Sneasler some time to get to Riley. “Okay, you can carry me.”

Clearing his throat awkwardly, the red on Ingo’s cheeks grows a little brighter. “I am going to pick you up now. Please be careful,” He warns them as if Riley might startle. They simply nod, allowing Ingo to pick them up in his arms. Riley wraps their arms around his neck, a sense of security washing over them. For the first time, Riley felt safe in Hisui, here in Ingo’s arms. Leaning their head against his chest, Riley lets out a soft, content sigh. “Are you comfortable?”

“Yeah,” They yawn, “I am.”

“Excellent! Onward, we go!” Ingo starts walking, Chompers still beside the pair. As Ingo walks, Riley feels their eyelids growing heavy. Between their closeness to Ingo and the rhythm of his walking, Riley succumbs to sleep, finally feeling safe to do so.

--

Ingo glances down, unsurprised to find Riley asleep in his arms. Their body is warm against his, leaving Ingo with an almost familiar feeling of happiness. He does worry that they seem so reckless with their health. A tight flare of panic rises in his chest at the thought of losing them. Even before Riley explained that they knew each other in his previous life, Ingo found himself drawn to the other stranger who fell from the sky. Something about Riley immediately felt familiar, as if Ingo had known them his whole life. Yet, he has no memories of them, something which bothers him deeply. Perhaps, Ingo could ask them a few questions when they felt better.

“Please take care of yourself. No one, especially I, would like to see harm come to you.” Ingo presses a soft kiss against their forehead, unable to help himself. Riley snuggles closer to him, a soft satisfied sigh leaving them. Ingo is unable to help himself, the smile breaking out on his face. Now, to return safely to their destination.            

[edisacornball]

My 2022 Fics, Ranked!

I did this last year, and it was honestly a really good way to end my year, by meditating on what I most enjoyed writing, what I was most proud of, and what I thought I could improve. It really helped me to go into the next year thinking about how to be even more of the writer I want to be. So of course I'm doing it again!

At least this year should be easier than the twenty-seven fics I ranked last year.

What I find really hilarious is that this year, my ranking happens to line up perfectly with each story's number of hits. (As in, my favorite has the most hits, least favorite has the least.) Apparently, this year I agree with how much everyone else liked my work!

(Ranked from least to most favorite)

8. Yin and Yang: The First Soul Mates Continuation — I feel kind of bad for this one because it's basically just last by default. This is a fic I adopted from another author, and I'm still finishing up my first chapter for it. So it hasn't really actually gotten content yet and is sort of sitting in this half-published purgatory. Once I update it, I'm going to do a major overhaul, and I'm super excited to start working on it, so this is a ranking of potential, lol.

7. Alchemy Started in the Kitchen — I mean, I love these recipes a lot. I've been cooking them for years. But I mostly just published this so people would have a chance to actually reference these recipes without me having a really long author's note. I just don't really see myself as a cookbook author, I guess?

6. With Hands Raised to the Sky — This one's kind of an "it's fine" story to me. I liked writing it, and there's not really anything wrong with it, it's just not a fic that gets me really excited or emotional. I was just sitting in the hospital and extremely bored and didn't have access to all my WIP chapters, so I entertained myself by writing oneshots instead.

5. The Light We Let In (On the Subjectivity of Pain) — I only added one "chapter" to this collection this year, so it's almost more like ranking a oneshot. Same problem as With Hands, since I wrote it during the same time span, but baby Rory immediately makes me get much more attached to any fic and have more fun writing it.

4. Grafted — Agh, I love this one. It hasn't gotten very far into the story yet, and I needed to pause a little bit to work out a little bit more of my plotting, but I'm so looking forward to getting back to it. I'm especially looking forward to introducing Ed and Al to the Elrics, plus also getting more into Tree and her love of tattooing.

3. And Yet a Trace of the True Self Exists in the False Self — This was one of those fics that just sort of hits you all at once from nowhere, and then you look back and wonder how that even happened. Well, no, I know how it happened, I had an autistic meltdown day and coped with it by putting the experience into words. But sometimes I still just like going back and rereading this one to remind myself that it's okay to have days like that. And pretty much every comment I've gotten on this has ended up making me get choked up, because everyone is saying that they relate, that they needed to see characters going through experiences like this as a kid... This one has a special place in my heart.

2. The Lost Years — This one. I love every time I work on writing this one. There's just something so delightful about Ed's reactions to the modern world and getting a chance to work in some of my own city into a story for once. I've also been struggling a little with writing this one for now just because... Well, showing even Edward Elric getting smacked down into the mud from late-stage capitalism kinda suck and hurts like hell. This one just hits differently than my other fics, and I love it for it, even if it's painful.

1. The Other Side — Of course, this one is the winner. We're getting into the end of this one now, and it's always awesome to start tying together all these threads that you've been hanging for so long and watch the story start finalizing and becoming a complete picture. I was really hoping to get it done before the end of the year so it wouldn't be on next year's stats too (guilt about keeping it going so long, much?), but that's just the way it goes, I guess. I'm hoping to finish this one really soon, and I'm having a hard time not dancing in my seat until then!

Overall... I think that while I didn't publish as many things in terms of quantity and fic count, I still had a really productive year, especially considering how hectic it was. I was working a lot more on my long-form writing this year, and a lot of the work I did is like an iceberg and can't be seen on the surface. (Like how I wrote over 400k, but published less than 90k.) This year was really about putting the work in to deepen my work and become a better writer in the long run, and I'm proud of that.

See my rankings from last year! My 2022 AO3 Wrapped