A/N: This fic was made for an art trade with Koi-wo-eien. If you guys wanna see more commissions and art trades like this one, check out my deviantart page!
Castling is a move in chess where the king moves two places toward a rook and the rook takes the place of the king. This can only be done once and only if neither the king or the rook have moved. There can't be any pieces between them when this occurs. Not a very common move made by players. One might even ask why it's necessary to perform castling in the first place.
They ask me why. Why White? Why choose a lowly country boy over a king? What's so special about the nerdy sixteen year old boy with the thick rimmed glasses who lives three houses down the street across from the ocean? Why not pick the dashing young eighteen year old king who's shown much more interest in you than you'd expect from royalty? He has a castle, he has money, he has the legendary Zekrom under his command. So why? Why would you give up a life of riches and settle for a modest life with a boy whose name won't ever be mentioned in the history books?
It's quite simple, I always say.
It all started when I was about eleven years old. A sprouting life that would one day bloom into the hero of Reshiram, savior of people and pokemon, entity of truth. The three of us, my best friends and I, had learned only a few years back about a boy of our age heroically putting an end to the notorious Team Rocket in Kanto, thousands of miles away across the ocean. Our age was the standard for new coming trainers in the regions around Kanto, but Unova and its neighboring regions decided that too many incidents were occurring, so the age for a trainer license was bumped up to sixteen.
Naturally, my friends and I were a bit rebellious. It wasn't fair that kids younger than us were allowed to become trainers while we were stuck waiting for our turn just as those kids had already retired from the dream of becoming the champion. So the three of us decided to do exactly what our parents told us not to when we were little; go into the tall grass.
But as they say, curiosity killed the Purrloin.
Bianca, my ditzy friend, being the klutz she was, stumbled upon a Pidove's nest, nearly crushing the innocent eggs that lay bare in the mess of twigs. Enraged, the mother Pidove dove down from sky, mercilessly pecking at her bleach blond bangs.
We managed to fend off the Pidove, but not before it took a jab of its talons to my cheek. Thin trails of blood slithered their way down Bianca's creamy forehead, a look very unbecoming of her. I remember crying at the sight of the blood, my eleven year old mind filling with the fear of death. Looking back, I realize how silly I was to believe that the loss of that little amount of blood could kill her.
Luckily, he was there with a calm, mature gaze. He reached into his handbag, pulling out a first aid kit. In no time, Bianca was all bandaged up and perky as ever. He knelt next to me surprisingly, gently rubbing an alcohol-soaked cotton ball against my cheek. I hissed, my cheek throbbing, heating up rather quickly. He lifted his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his eyes never leaving my wound. His long, thin fingers pressed lightly to my cheek as a bandage was placed over the cut. The refreshing cold of his hands caused the throbbing to cease. It was like I'd never gotten cut in the first place.
"Thanks, Cheren."
He smiled slightly, pushing himself off the ground. He proceeded to help me up soon after. I was only eleven, but the wheels in my head were beginning to turn in a direction they'd never gone in before. There weren't too many boys in a small town like Nuvema and I hadn't really taken a liking to any of them, but there was something about Cheren that was starting to make him stand out. I didn't know if it was that air of calmness around him or the kindness that he so often shared with us. For all I knew, it was my inner girly girl working within me that sometimes wished she had a boyfriend. It was an odd feeling, as he'd always been like a brother to me all those years.
Whatever it was, that feeling never left.
He never left Bianca alone after that incident. Even in the next three years of our lives, he was paranoid for her safety. Mine, not so much. He knew I was a "tough girl." This made me a bit jealous on the occasion for some reason. Of course he was worried about his ditzy friend who always managed to get herself into some sort of trouble. It was only natural. But sometimes I wondered whether or not it was only friendship that led him to being this protective of her.
I was rather surprised to see him walking into the Nuvema Public Library without Bianca being dragged by his side. His face was completely devoid of any sort of worry or paranoia. He slipped through the aisles between the bookshelves, flitting his fingers through books without a care in the world. He appeared from behind a bookshelf with a book in hand. Once he'd caught sight of me, he waved enthusiastically, power walking to my table. He slid into the chair across from mine, giving a short greeting before opening his book to page one. I'd returned to my own book soon after, only to be interrupted.
"Did you know that Pidoves always listen to their trainer's commands, but don't always understand them if said command is too complex?"
Looking up from my book, I raised an eyebrow. "No. Is that really important?"
He flipped a page, simultaneously pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "We need to know everything there is to know about pokemon behavior before we go on our journeys. We don't want a repeat of that incident we had a few years ago."
I sank into the chair, my eyes averting his gaze. "Oh."
He'd still been thinking about that, just as I thought. He was still afraid for Bianca's safety. Those polycarbonate lenses hid the everlasting fear behind his eyes. I loved Bianca to death, but envy was coiling around me like a hungry Serperior.
As stupid as it sounded, sometimes I wished I was as unfortunate as Bianca.
N was a blessing. Not so much in the fact that he held a strange obsession for me, but that he seemed to bring out that jealousy in him that I'd been waiting for all these years. He was wary of N from the moment they met in Accumula Town. I loved the way his eyes fired up at the sight of the intimate touches N graced me with. A slight brush of hands here, tips of shoes touching there. Even when N decided to leave us be, a light press of his shoulder against mine. Just for an added effect, I sighed contently, just loud enough for him to hear.
"Huh...Strange guy," he mumbled to himself.
I giggled. "I thought he was nice."
I didn't have a particular fondness for N at all, but seeing that look of disbelief on his face was enough of a reward for pretending that I did.
Our journeys were never without conflict. Team Plasma was on the loose and it was up to us to stop them from the liberation of pokemon. He and I met more often than not which pleased me nonetheless. My meetings with Bianca came as a treat once and a while, but I much more appreciated the little encounters with him. I was actually happy to see them by themselves and not with each other. That was a little reassurance to me.
The meetings I had with him were mostly limited to the typical battle challenges, ones that I always won. I had to be strong enough to keep him impressed. I needed to show him that I was worthy of not only his friendship and his respect, but also that piece of his heart that was only meant for that special someone.
Together we fought off Team Plasma. We fought off the children that Alder had us battle to test our skills. He and I made the perfect tag team. We were a perfect match. I think he might have realized it too as he never spoke of his worry for Bianca ever again. I want to believe that he knew that I was the priority in his life, as selfish as that sounds. I've never asked him, but I don't think it's really necessary. I knew back then that something was changing between us. That's all I ever needed to know.
N was the leader of Team Plasma. It was absolutely perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything better. I feel bad for taking advantage of N's very existence now, but back then, all I cared about was capturing my childhood friend's heart. The look N gave me that day after his confession was one of determination, like he wanted me to understand the reasoning of his efforts. It breaks my heart now that I never listened to the truth of his words, the deeper meaning behind them. I'd taken advantage of a lonely king for my own selfish reasons.
People saw us leave the Rondez-View Ferris wheel together that day, leading them all to ask me that notorious question that would haunt me during the years to come. Why didn't you chose N? Anyone with a brain can tell that you mean something to him.
What those people didn't know was that I was important to N, but not in the way they believed. I was the other half. The other hero that completed the destiny that was bound to N from the moment he was born. Two heroes bound by destiny? You two were meant to be! That's where you're wrong. If you knew the truth, the original heroes of Zerkom and Reshiram were brothers. The closest N and I could ever get, if we wanted to, was like brother and sister. Nothing more.
He didn't know much about that, making things much easier for me. I stayed days in Nimbasa, just waiting for him to pop in at the Pokemon Center. And when he finally did, I spilled to him every detail about N's involvement with Team Plasma. He growled, hissing out curses and stating how his theory about N had been true. I'd giggled inwardly. Imagine that.
The final battle was inevitable. It came down to the outcome of the battle between N and I. Would the liberation of pokemon happen, or would people and pokemon continue living together? I'd beaten N before, and I'd beat him again. And that I did.
He came in soon after with Alder at his side. Ghetsis was ready to challenge me moments after my battle with N. He, for once cooperating with N, helped restore my team to full health. Ghetsis was much harder to defeat than N, but I'd somehow made it through okay.
I'd realized it then that it had been the combined help of those two that gave me the strength to do what I had just done. The two people who everyone would always ask me about every day after that single day.
N bid his farewell to me, turning on his heel toward the gaping hole that Zekrom had made during its entrance to N's castle.
"Wait!"
N looked back, a puzzled look adorning his innocent face. "Yes?"
I swallowed hard. I was going to tell him something that I knew he wouldn't be able to comprehend, but I had to say it.
"I'm sorry."
He blinked. "For what?"
Laughing to myself, I shook my head. "Never mind. It's nothing."
N gazed at me oddly for a moment but soon turned back around. "Goodbye. I hope to meet you again one day."
I nodded. "Bye."
I felt the coolness of a familiar hand on my shoulder. He stood next to me for what seemed like hours as we gazed into the empty sky that N had already disappeared into.
N, the king who everyone thought I'd end up with, and him, the childhood friend that everyone saw as my brother. They were almost swapping places in the reality that everyone had created for them. Almost.
The day came. At eighteen years old, the day finally came. The day I'd been waiting for since I was eleven was finally becoming a reality. It wasn't exactly how I imagined it, being as it was in a cave on Victory Road.
"How's your training going?"
He pulled his gaze away from his Haxorus, turning to me with a mischievous grin. "Never better."
I raised an eyebrow at this, but chose to let it slide for the moment. "Wanna battle?"
Surprisingly, he shook his head, his grin molding into a smirk. "Take on the Pokemon League again so I can see that you're worthy."
The nerve he had! I'd beaten him so many times before! He'd always loved challenging me before. What made him change his mind now?
"Whatever." I nudged his side playfully, earning a surprising Beartic hug from behind. He proceeded to tickle me in all of my tickle-sensitive spots that he knew all too well from years of "tickle experience." I laughed hard under his grip and he laughed along with me. It was just like old times before I started to see him as more than a brother.
"Hey White," he spoke, his voice close to my ear as he dug his chin into my shoulder.
"Yeah?" I giggled, leaning teasingly into his chest.
He sighed, loosening his grip around me. He leaned against the wall of the cave, his eyes wandering across the rocky surface overhead. "To think that you would feel that way."
"Huh?" I stepped in front of him, my heart pounding fearfully at the idea of him knowing about my feelings for him. "What do you mean?"
His smirk widened. "Cut the act, White. You know what I'm talking about. It's written all over your face."
My cheeks burned and I took a step back. "I-"
He pushed himself off the wall, taking a step toward me. He spoke slowly. "I know that you're hiding the fact that you-"
"What are you talking about!" My back hit the rocky wall.
"You're making this way too obvious." His arms crossed in front of his chest as he leaned forward, that unforgiving smirk never changing. "Just admit it."
The words were begging to spill out from my mouth. I wanted to tell him everything. All of those people were wrong when they thought N was the one for me. The simple words that I spoke at that moment proved them all wrong.
"Okay, okay." I took a few deep, staggered breaths. His sharp stare became even more intimidating by the second. "Cheren?"
He leaned in closer as if I was about to tell him a deep, dark secret. "Yeah?"
"I really like you." My eyes darted nervously around the ground, finding anything to look at that wasn't his eyes.
To my surprise, he blinked rapidly, a light blush forming on his cheeks.
"Um...wow I didn't think I was actually right."
I felt the color drain from my face. He'd known this whole time and never said anything until now? If that was true, then maybe he didn't feel the same. I mean, it wasn't him that came to visit me on Victory Road. I came to visit him. He wouldn't just wait around for me to come along so he could tell me how he felt. He just wasn't that kind of person. Maybe I'd been wrong. Maybe he really did like Bianca more than a friend.
"I might as well ask, then." He took a few steps closer to me. "What's so special about me that you decided not to go for that king you used to be so smitten with?"
I laughed inwardly. I never did like N like that. But he didn't need to know that. After all, it had been my plan from the start to make it seem like I liked N better.
"You've been there for me more than he ever will."
He took a moment to process what I had said. The blank look on his face made him unreadable. It wasn't until he held his arms out that I knew what he was thinking. I couldn't believe it. Was this for real?
Without thinking, I threw myself against him, nuzzling into his chest affectionately. I didn't care if I was wrong or not. I was going to take advantage of any moment I got. He held me tightly, pressing his cheek against my head. I was right, wasn't I?
"We don't really have to date, do we?" He breathed into my hair.
I looked up at him, shocked to hear those words after he'd so obviously shown that he had mutual feelings for me. "What?"
He looked down at me, his forehead pressing against mine. His lips curled into a smile. "I want you to challenge the Pokemon League sometime."
I was puzzled. At a time like this? He had to be joking.
"I have a surprise waiting for you there." His lips covered mine quietly. I froze in his embrace, feeling the warmth that contrasted the coolness of his hands. I clutched his shirt with my tiny hands, pulling him closer to me. I couldn't wait for the surprise he had in store for me at the Pokemon League. But it could wait for now. I let him kiss me silently in the comforting darkness of the cave.
"It feels like only yesterday, huh?" Cheren's cold fingers weave through my hair as we sit across from each other at the table.
"Yeah," I murmur wistfully, lost in thought.
This is our third day of being a married couple and we're already starting to feel the effects of nostalgia. But it really does feel like it was only yesterday that I'd found out what Cheren had meant when he said he had a 'surprise' waiting for me at the League.
Everyone had been wrong. Cheren's name would appear in the history books for sure. Not so much in the section about the battle of Reshiram vs Zekrom, but rather in a newly revised list of Unovan Champions. That's right. Cheren was able to live the dream he'd had ever since he was a child. To think a simple country boy from Nuvema Town would rise to become Champion of the Unova League.
He was a lot tougher than I'd expected him to be. This was no longer the easily defeated rival that I'd shared silent kisses with on Victory Road. No. This was the most powerful trainer in all of Unova. I ended up losing for the first time. But for some reason, I wasn't angry about it. In fact, I was proud that the boy I'd been in love with for years had become this powerful. I cheered along with the crowds that cried wildly from the stands. The chanting of Cheren's name must've been heard for miles.
I was about to thank him for a great battle, but something happened that I never expected to happen. Right in front of the crowd of onlookers and the cameramen, Cheren grasped both of my hands in his, staring me straight in the eye.
"I've won this battle...so please tell me that I've won your heart along with it."
Gosh, it seemed so un-Cheren-like for him to say something like that. It makes me wonder if it was actually scripted.
The crowd fell so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Were their thoughts as blank as mine had been?
"White, will you marry me?"
I was speechless. The crowd cooed loudly. I even heard a few clusters of people chanting "Say yes!"
Needless to say, my answer wouldn't come to Cheren as much of a surprise. "Yes."
"You sure I was the right choice?" he jokes, referring to his belief that I was 'smitten' with N.
"Don't even joke about it!" I giggle playfully.
I admit, I was selfish. I acknowledge that. I was cruel to Bianca and N even though they never realized it. I feel ashamed for it.
But it doesn't really matter at this point anymore. That's all in the past now. What's done is done.
But still, they ask me, why? A king is more powerful than a Champion. Still, my answer is always the same.
A friend always makes the better soul mate.
N never did come back. It never really bothered me. He never came to be as close as a brother to me, just as king doesn't take the place of the rook when castling. Cheren became the true king of my world, just as the rook does when it takes the place of the king.