a/n: saw this ship somewhere and the experiment-loving side of me decided to write a thing. also flying-types are low key my favourite (and i'm really into falkner) so i thought i could write about two flying-type leaders. (don't ask me why i didn't choose winona instead i won't be able to answer you.)
enjoy!
pairing: atmosshipping
summary: Maybe it was fate, maybe it was choice, or maybe it was the natural phenomenon that two birds of a feather tend to flock together.
His name was Falkner.
Falkner: the young and strong trainer; the proud and honourable gym leader; the boy who dedicated his life to bird pokemon.
And it was a well-known fact that Falkner loved to fly.
He'd spend hours in the air, every morning, every evening, watching the sun rise and set, feeling the wind in his face, revelling in the smell of air so crisp and clear.
His home was the sky, and his heart lay in the pokemon he was riding. Up there amidst the clouds, it was just him, his pokemon and endless blue above.
Sometimes he saw other people too - trainers rushing to another town, commuters who didn't like taking the bus or the train - but they were just flying for the sake of it, just getting from one place to another. They didn't love the wind and the sun and the sky. They weren't like him.
And that made him sad.
Because his father - the only person he might feel the way he did - was out exploring the world in Arceus-knows-where; and the other bird keepers were lukewarm at best in their affection for bird pokemon; and everyone else just thought he was crazy and obsessed and went on about how you shouldn't spend too much time in the sky, young man, that'll make you lose your sense of reality because your life is down here and-
...And he was alone.
Until he wasn't.
_._._._._.
At first he thought it was a metal bird pokemon from another region. The only one he'd known about was skarmory, but the armour bird pokemon wasn't nearly as big as the giant of a pokemon in front of his eyes.
But it wasn't a pokemon at all. He realised it was a plane, large and metal and inanimate.
He stopped mid-flight and stared at it, in wide-eyed wonder at seeing that contraption for the first time in his life. He'd seen pictures in books, but the one in front of him was larger than he'd ever imagined.
And there, sitting in the pilot's seat, was a girl. Her copper hair blew about wildly, and her flight suit was bluer the sky. He couldn't see her face because of the distance (and the flight goggles covering half her face), but he could feel her.
He could feel the sheer joy she had at flying, and he could imagine her laughter at the exhilaration in her heart and the adrenaline coursing through her veins, and he could hear her heart beating at the speed of a rushing train and jumping whenever she did those dangerous stunts.
She was a stranger, but somehow, just by watching her, he felt as though he already knew her.
For hours he stayed there, watching her in sheer admiration. Until the sun began to set and he knew he had to go.
He thought it wasn't a coincidence that he saw her first.
_._._._._.
"Hi!"
Falkner stared at the young woman in front of the gym, the one with copper hair and blue eyes.
Her wide smile faltered slightly. "I guess I should probably introduce myself, hee-hee!" She straightened herself and beamed brightly. "I'm Skyla, the Leader of Mistralton's Pokemon Gym in Unova. I use flying-type pokemon - like you! That's what I heard from people around here, anyway. I thought I'd come by and introduce myself and say hi...So, hi!"
"Hi." Falkner paused, wondering why she looked so familiar. "I'm Falkner, Leader of the Pokemon Gym here in-" He stopped himself. He found himself looking at a large metal flying contraption behind her. He pointed to it. "Is this yours?"
"Yeah! It's my plane, I flew it all the way here from Unova!"
The pilot girl flying the plane...the gym leader there in front of him...they were the same person. "You're her…" he muttered to himself. He thought back to that day he first saw her, with that joy and laughter and feeling of freedom.
"Do you want to try flying on it?" she asked. "It's completely safe, I promise. And it's such fun! Feeling the wind in your face and the sun on your skin...but I'm sure you'd know all about it, being a flying-type trainer and all." She giggled lightly, and he stared at her with astonishment.
"Yes...I know all about it." A ghost of a smile passed across his lips, and he thought for a moment that maybe he wasn't so alone after all.
"So do you want to go for a ride?" she asked again, holding her hand out.
He looked at her - at the wildness in her eyes and the eagerness in her heart and the kindness in her smile - and he reached out to accept her offer.
"Falkner!"
The pair spun round to see one of the trainers from the Violet City Pokemon Gym. Falkner pulled his hand back and stepped away from Skyla. "Yes?"
"There's a trainer looking for you. He says he's here to challenge you."
Falkner nodded. He looked at Skyla. "I have to go."
Skyla smiled, but he noticed it didn't quite reach her eyes. "No worries! I get it, it's gym leader stuff."
The words escaped his lips before he even thought about what he was saying. "Maybe some other time."
"Okay!" she replied, the cheeriness returning to her voice.
Falkner gave one last nod, before he left.
He couldn't help but think that he was being pulled by strings of fate.
_._._._._.
He waited for her.
He didn't know why. There was a part of him that thought she'd never return.
But she did.
He thought he might have to pinch himself when he saw her. He thought maybe someone had showered him with dream mist and that the young woman standing in front of him was just a figment of his imagination.
But no. She was real.
He reached out to take her hand. He sat behind her, strapped into the spare seat and wearing a pair of ridiculous-looking flying goggles.
"Ready?"
He wasn't, really, but he found himself nodding anyway. Besides, it was too late to change his mind.
The engine started up with a whirr. Skyla pulled on a few levers, slammed down on a few buttons and yanked hard on the control wheel.
"Here we go!"
It felt so familiar, soaring through the sky in the way that they were, piercing through the clouds with the wind about their face. The speed, the exhilaration, the feeling of being free.
Yet, it felt so different. They were going so much faster than he ever could on a pokemon. There was metal beneath him instead of the usual feathers. And then the fact that he was with another person. He'd always flown alone, until he flew with her.
He stared at the back of her head, feeling her heart beating in line with his.
She was laughing, and when he heard another voice join her, he realised that he was laughing too.
_._._._._.
She came back.
He hadn't asked her to, and she hadn't offered either. But one day she appeared in front of his gym with her plane and a spare pair of flying goggles, and he strapped himself into the seat behind her; no questions asked.
They flew together, high above everyone else below them. Two of them, without a care in the world, soaring through the sky, as if the rest of the world would disappear and they wouldn't even notice.
"I wasn't sure I'd see you again," Falkner commented, after they'd landed back in front of his gym.
Skyla grinned at him. "I figured I hadn't visited in a while, and I wanted to go out for a ride. Besides, I like flying with you! You're the only other person in the whole world who loves it just as much as I do." She giggled lightly, trying to hide the pain from the truth of that statement.
Falkner nodded, stoic as always, but Skyla noticed the edges of his mouth curling upwards ever-so-slightly. He remained silent for a moment, before saying, "I like flying with you too."
Her smile was as bright as the sun, and she was beaming widely at him. And she didn't care about the what the others had to say, telling her about how she was weird and unhinged and going on about how you should spend less time on that plane of yours, young lady, you're starting to lose sense of the important things in life and-
...And she didn't care. Not anymore.
Falkner cleared his throat, and gestured to his house down the road. "Would you like some tea?"
She nodded her head enthusiastically. "I'd love some tea!"
They began to walk, and Falkner realised that his hand was clasped firmly in hers.
He couldn't hide his smile.
_._._._._.
He expected her to come again.
She'd promised that she would, and he trusted her to keep that promise.
So he wasn't surprised to see that familiar plane along with her familiar face, but he was still pleased.
He made a move to slip into the passenger seat of the plane. But she stopped him.
"Let's do something different today!" she chirped, eyes glinting and voice filled with so much enthusiasm that Falkner couldn't bear to refuse even if he wanted to.
The next thing he knew, she'd thrown out her pokeball, her swanna emerged, and she was sitting on the back of the white-feathered bird.
Falkner smiled, and in an instant he was riding his own pidgeotto.
A smile and a nod. Then they were off, flying into the endless expanse of blue.
She was just as talented flying on her swanna as she was flying on her plane, and Falkner hovered in the air, stationary, as she performed trick after trick - just the first time he'd seen her. He watched her, laughing without a care a world, hair blowing in a million directions, wildness and thirst for adventure burning in her eyes. And he thought that was the most beautiful woman he'd ever known.
"What'd you think?" she asked breathlessly, appearing by his side.
Falkner hadn't realised he was smiling, but he made no attempt to force it away. "Amazing." It was simple, said passively, but his hands were shaking and his eyes dilating, because it was more than amazing. It was wonderful and phenomenal and it thrilled his heart so much that he was beginning to get emotional.
Suddenly, she was in front of him, her face mere centimetres from his.
Then she kissed him.
He shut his eyes, feeling the wind blow about their faces and the sun on their skin and her lips on his. And it was all so perfect.
They pulled apart, and he stared at her in wonder and admiration. His eyes were locked on her as she laughed the most melodious laugh he'd ever heard, and flew away, calling out a cheeky, "Come on, slowpoke!"
He stared at her, a smile on his face. And he was happy.
He was happy, because he had Skyla in his life - wild, wonderful Skyla; because she was so like him and she loved to fly just as much as he did; because it didn't matter if they called him crazy and told him that he needed to get his head out of the clouds and warned him that he needed to have a firmer grip on reality and-
And he didn't care.
All he knew was that, for the first time, he wasn't alone.
a/n: eh, told you it was experimental. i'd love to hear some feedback! so, review? (please?) thanks for reading!
x dbt