So, despite what's on my profile, I decided to write a lil something. If you're never read FirebirdXoX's Living in the Moment, this will make little to no sense to you. It's fan fiction of fan fiction. I enjoy working with her characters. :) She knows full well that I have borrowed her characters, and doesn't mind at all. Shadow/Claire belong to her, all Pokemon belong to Nintendo, etc. R&R, and enjoy. But go read Living in the Moment, it's really good.

Stubborn

"Darn it! Darn it all!" I howled to the sky. We were taking a break from training, stopped in some clearing in some Mew-forsaken forest somewhere. Leah, Julie and everyone else were asleep, so I had raced out a few miles away from the campsite to shout my grievances to the air. I still hadn't avenged Kelly's death, after so long. And I couldn't get strong fast enough to tear through their ranks like a Charizard through as many Snorunt.

I let out a long, low, mournful howl, sending the denizens of the forest running. I didn't bother to try to reassure them I wasn't hunting them, because I was. Not to attack, but to stalk. To do to them what I couldn't do to Team Rocket. I snarled at an overly brave Pikachu who thought it would stare me down instead of running, sending it scampering off squealing. Tonight, I was the king of the forest, screw Celebi.

"You know, Daniel, you shouldn't think about a Legendary Pokemon like that," a familiar voice mentally chastised me. With a low growl, I spun my head around the pitch-black forest, searching for her tiny green form.

"What do you want, Celebi? Haven't you already tortured me enough?"

With a sigh, Celebi appeared before me with a small flash, dilating my pupils and causing me to lose what little night vision I possessed. "You know I'm not just screwing with you, Daniel," she said, verbally this time. "But nothing is going how it's supposed to. Something is playing with the strings of fate, and I don't know what it is."

"How can you not know?" I snarled, regaining my sight. "You're the stupid goddess of time!"

"I'm not a goddess, Daniel. Just stronger than most, and able to see what happens," Celebi replied, her voice tinted with sadness. With a whine, I turned a circle and sat, staring at the tiny green fairy. "Daniel, something... happened. I don't know how, but your path is on a spiral downward, with no way back up. However, I have a... solution."

Shock, horror, fright. All these washed over of me, and then some. I didn't even know what I felt, but none of it was good. As tears welled up in my eyes, I stared into Celebi's giant soft blue eyes, begging for some comfort. Something. Anything. "What... what's your solution, Celebi?"

"If I go back in time, if I twist fate... you will be reborn in a different egg. You will never see Kelly again, and you will never meet anyone you have met while with Kelly and Leah."

"But Kelly will be safe, and this spiral will have reversed...?"

"I can't guarantee that it'll be reversed, Daniel," she replied softly, almost regretfully. "You're going to need to make your own choices again, and you won't remember this life. But at least you won't go down the path you're going down now."

I stood there, letting the sounds of the slowly-settling nightlife wash over me, calming me as I pondered what was probably the biggest decision of my reborn life. But I didn't get far before Celebi let out a scream, caught unaware by a powerful Flamethrower attack. Startled, I spun around and let out a loud growl, trying to find the owner of the attack as Celebi used Recover, wary of another torching.

"You. Keep away from Shadow, you prissy little fairy. He's mine, and you will not take him away from me! I haven't even told him!"

With a roar, Claire charged out of the undergrowth, leaping at Celebi, a blue aura cloaking her outstretched claws as she attempted to use the Dragon type move on her floating target. With a snarl, she fell short and landed heavily on the ground. Claire stood and was about to shoot another Flamethrower at Celebi when I tackled her, throwing off her aim and bringing her back down to the ground.

"What are you doing?" I growled at her, walking a few steps back and letting Claire pick herself up again. "Don't you know who you're attacking?"

"Yes, yes I do," she spat in reply, staring venomously at the confused legendary. "That's Celebi, manipulator of time, guardian of the forest, and the scummy little lettuce head who was about to take you away from me forever without even a memory to help heal my broken heart."

"You wouldn't have known him to begin with, so no broken heart," Celebi quipped, earning adeath glare from yours truly.

"Wait, Celebi," I thought, trying for the moment to ignore what Claire's reaction implied. "What about when you showed me what would happen if I hadn't..."

"Time is a very sensitive thing, Daniel," Celebi said, cutting me off. "Everything changes, all the time. What will happen, and even the realm of what would have happened. I showed you what would have happened, but that was the what would have happened then. The what would have happened now is different. Now, it would result in an entirely different path."

"I don't care what it would result in, you are not taking Shadow away from me," Claire choked, her eyes brimming with tears that threatened to cascade down her face. "I love him!"

I blinked in shock as Claire wrapped her arms around my neck, holding me tight; when she finally broke away, I could feel that my fur was wet where her face had been. I glanced at Celebi, but she was staring into space, her eyes glowing with psychic power as she presumably used a Future Sight that actually lived up to its name.

"Shadow...?" Claire whispered, staring at her feet. "Please say something..."

"Um... well..." I stuttered, an invisible blush rapidly spreading across my face- thank Mew for fur. "I've... I've never thought of you as more than a friend before, Claire..."

She turned at my words, and a pit opened up in my stomach as I saw her shoulders shake gently. Why was it so hard to say what I hadn't said myself before? Guilt coursed through my body, as well as the love I felt for Claire. I loved Kelly, though. I would give anything to give her life again, wouldn't I? So why was making this decision so hard?

"Daniel, a new path has opened up." My gaze shot towards Celebi again as she mentally spoke to me again. "I can't tell you the details, the future would change if I did, and possibly not for the better. But I can tell you that if you choose to take Claire as your mate, everything will turn out better than if you chose the option I presented to you before."

I was hesitant; how could everything be better? But Celebi, sensing my reluctance, said what I needed to hear.

"Daniel, take my advice: let your feelings for Claire grow. Kelly will always have that place in your heart, but you didn't just leave Kelly for Claire. One day, you will meet with Kelly again, I guarantee it. But you don't need to feel any guilt for loving Claire."

Smiling, I sent Celebi a mental thank you, then walked over to Claire's side and rubbed up against her. She unburied her face from her claws and looked up at me, confused. I licked her on the cheek, and then rose to my hind paws and used my forelegs to wrap her in a clumsy hug. She embraced back, and we just stood there for a while. It would take a while for my feelings for Kelly to fade, and they never would. But for now, I was going to live in the moment; I was going to live with Claire.