DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon or any of its characters. They all belong to Game Freak and the Pokemon Company respectively.
Well, I'm going to be honest with you all, I was not expecting to get this out only three days after publishing my last fic, but I'm really glad that I did, because I honestly think that this is probably one of the best things that I've ever written. I poured a lot of my own thoughts and feelings into this one.
But GuzmaXCynthia is a pairing that I've been intrigued with for quite a while, and I strongly believe that this ship will turn out into something great... I wouldn't even mind writing more of these two in the near future.
But anyway, hope you all enjoy it and please be sure to R & R!
UPDATE: Went back and did a little editing, just fixed a couple things up.
I'm Here Now Chapter: 1
The scenic outlook was just as it had always been: calm, cleansing, and thoroughly breathtaking… This was his sacred spot, his safe haven from the harshness of reality; away from the judgmental wrath of his father, from his peers, and from the rest of the world… It was only him and his beloved bug type Pokemon.
The young boy was sitting in front of the lake, staring down at his reflection through the ripples of water, his partner Wimpod playfully nibbling at his ear: a messy, raven-haired boy with lively gray eyes was smiling back at him, filled with innocence and quiet determination.
Too distracted by the serenity of the clearing and his own deep thoughts to notice the light rustling coming from behind him, another pair of gray eyes met his own through the reflection in the water.
Spinning around violently and lucky enough to not have fallen in, the young trainer then quickly sprung to his feet and thoroughly examined the intruder: aside from similar eye color, this trainer was a female, with long, wavy blonde hair just barely contained in a ponytail. And standing at her feet, was a tiny, land shark-like Pokemon. Gible, right? The boy knew that there were some Gible native to the Alola region, but also knew that their true origins hailed from a region very far away from his own.
His partner Wimpod, having made itself right at home on its master's shoulder, stared down at the creature in intense curiosity, and it seemed that Gible was also curious, if not more so.
Trying and failing to come off as intimidating towards the girl, as if trying to ward her off, the boy demanded to know why she was here. "Hey, yer not s'posed to be here! This is my spot." Wimpod fidgeted for its trainer's attention, as if correcting him. "Oh, I mean, me and Wimpod's spot."
"Oh, this is your spot? Well, then I'm sorry to intrude." she politely apologized. "Got to hand it to you, though, you picked a very nice spot. It's pretty lovely out here."
The raven-haired boy felt a slight flush spread across his face, awkwardly standing there trying to find the right words. "Um, thanks… Anyway, who are ya? Haven't seen you around at my school."
"I'm Cynthia, and this is my partner, Gible." the dragon type Pokemon chirped happily after having been acknowledged by its trainer. "But you're right, I'm not exactly from around here… I live in Celestic Town, all the way in Sinnoh with my grandmother. She takes me to Alola each Summer on vacation. Anyway, what about you? What's your name?"
The other trainer hesitated, but finally gave Cynthia a name, feigning disinterested. "It's Guzma, and you already know Wimpod. I live here with my parents on Melemele Island. It's nice to meet you, I guess…"
"It's nice to meet you too, Guzma." the blonde grinned. "Anyway, guess we should probably leave you two alone now, huh? Wouldn't want to keep you guys from anything…"
Watching her turn her back on him, Guzma ended up stopping her. Surprisingly, he didn't want to see her go… "Hey, ya know, you're kind of alright in some way, so I guess you can stay… Ya know, if you want…"
Cynthia turned her back to face him again and smiled, flattered by his invitation. "I'd really like that, Guzma, thank you. May I sit with you?"
"Um, yeah, sure." the boy was taken back a bit by her sudden request, but couldn't help the small smile from tugging at his lips.
As the two sat, Cynthia's eyes trailed to the abnormal bruise on Guzma's arm. "Hey, how'd you get that? Does it hurt at all?"
Guzma gave her one of the usual responses that he'd use whenever anyone else asked him this. "It's nothing. Me and Wimpod were just out training and I forgot to see were I was going."
Judging by her wary expression, the trainer knew that she didn't buy it, but how could he tell her? He didn't have the gall to tell her how he really got it, and just the thought of it filled his young gray eyes with fear, as his chest tightened almost on instinct.
Please, Dad! Don't hit me again! I tried my best, can't you just be proud of me?!
As if being able to sense his fear, Cynthia then placed a hand on top of his, the softness of her touch cleansing Guzma of his inner distress. He loved the feeling, but was also slightly confused by it.
"Well, as long as you're Ok." she reassured him, staring out into the open sky. "Alola really is a wondrous place, I'll be really sad once I have to head back to Sinnoh again."
Surprisingly, Guzma's response was almost instant. "We'll keep in touch." It was really strange; Guzma had hardly known this girl, and yet he wanted to see more of her… Whether this had been a fated encounter or not, the boy couldn't deny how much he enjoyed her company.
While both Gible and Wimpod played, the two of them discussed more things about one another; Cynthia shared with Guzma her undying love of ancient Pokemon mythology and lore, while he shared with her his dreams and aspirations of becoming a powerful bug type trainer, possibly even a bug type trial captain.
It was nearly sunset, and the two of them had been so lost in each other's conversations to even notice. "Whenever you're in Alola, and ya feel all alone, you'll know where to find me. I'll always be here, waiting for you… This spot is also now yours and Gible's indefinitely."
Cynthia gave him a sweet and sincere smile, nodding in agreement, glints of sunlight radiating from her wavy blonde hair. "And I know you always will be, Guzma… Just like I'll always be here for you."
Dark-ringed eyes shot open, as Guzma jolted upright in his bed, confused as all hell but also somewhat glad that it wasn't the usual nightmare; he actually dreamed about her… The very day they had met as children. It had actually warmed the former gang leader's heart being able to relive such an innocent time from his childhood, but the dream was quickly ruined by his snarky subconscious.
You never were there for her, ya freaking bastard… If things had gone differently, she'd be sleeping here with you. Probably would never have anymore nightmares then, either.
Putting his head in his hands, Guzma tried his best to cope with this and assured himself that what he did was all for the better; how the hell was he supposed to approach Cynthia the way he was now? The current champion of Sinnoh? Even with Team Skull newly disbanded, would she still even forgive him after all the horrible shit he's done? Stealing Pokemon, terrorizing a whole bunch of people and forcing them out of their homes, working with a manipulative tyrant bent on tearing the very fabric of the universe apart all because of some silly Ultra Beasts? The list was endless…
Shaking his head to rid himself of these thoughts, Guzma decided that a shower would be his best bet to cleanse himself of these hesitant feelings.
About half an hour or so later, there was a knocking on his bedroom door.
"Whataya want?!" Clearly, the shower didn't help.
"It's Plumeria, G." the rasping voice on the other side answered, letting herself into the boss's room. She was holding an issue of the Ula'ula Times in her right hand.
"Sorry for the attitude dis morning, Plumes, I'm just not used ta dealing with this type of shit…" Guzma's eyes then trailed to the black and white paper being firmly held in Plumeria's grip. "Whatcha got there, sis?"
Without warning, the former Team Skull admin shoved the newspaper into his face, forcing him to look at it. "See for yourself."
Annoyed gray eyes glared at her, but simmered down and redirected their attention towards the article, and Guzma could've swore he felt his heart stop: plastered on the front page was the very same person he had been running away from, the same one that he had desperately tried to avoid any, if not all, confrontations with, even though the thought of not being able to see her again completely killed him… Even in black and white print, Cynthia looked just as radiant and in fine form as ever, and it reminded him of just how much he had secretly desired her in the past; she had been everything Guzma ever wanted…
She's everything that you still want, ya freaking numbskull. You were just too much of a coward ta take what was rightfully yours.
"She's really quite a looker, ain't she?" Plumeria dryly commented. "You really do know how to pick em', boss. The only real question is… Whataya gonna do about it?"
So, it's this bullshit again… Out of all the people in his life, outside of his own family, Plumeria was the only other person to know about his deal with Cynthia; when Guzma had first told her, he had honestly been expecting her to come off as her usual overprotective self, but surprisingly she had seemed to have been all for it… And the thought of it was just plain sickening. Plumes would have a freaking field day with the dream he had earlier this morning.
So, here the female admin was once again… Trying to pry Guzma off of his sorry ass and urging him to make amends with her, but Guzma would always just give her the same pitiful spiels that he always did, assuring her that it was all for "the best".
Scowling, the ex-crime boss glared from the paper, to Plumeria, angrily slamming the newspaper onto the bed; he didn't want to talk about this anymore, so tried shifting the conversation onto the renovations of the mansion for Team Reskull's new base of operations, but she just wouldn't let up.
"Guzma, she has the right to know!"
"No she doesn't, cuz it ain't any of 'er damn business!"
"LISTEN TO YOURSELF!" Plumeria screamed. "You're not making any sense, G! I just worry about you!"
"Since when have I ever made any sort of sense, Plumes?" Guzma retorted, although his voice much softer now. "I'm sorry, it's just… How can I possibly face her, even after everything?"
Plumeria's gaze softens as the delinquent's gray eyes become full of fear, his voice now a harshly low whisper. "I'd only risk losing 'er again in the end, Plumes, and the thought… Frightens me. But, I… Miss her."
Her face relaxing some more, the former Team Skull admin sighed, before bringing her boss into a touching embrace. Breaking away, Plumeria then advised him. "Just don't beat yourself up too much over this, G. Like I mentioned before, I do worry about you, and I just want you to be happy. Cynthia is clearly someone very important to you, and you might not ever get a chance like this one ever again… I'm sure if you just explain things to her, it'll all work out, because you're worth something to her. But, that's it. I won't bring this up anymore. Let me know how things go, though, kay?"
With quiet resolve from Plumeria, Guzma watched as she gently shut the door behind her. Once she was gone, Guzma let out a deep sigh, before his eyes flew back to the newspaper.
Battle Tree, eh?
While not too keen on the idea of making a scene of himself there, the ex-gang leader knew it was probably his only best bet at rekindling his relationship with Cynthia, so he settled on gathering up Golisopod and the rest of his mons before heading out to Poni Island.
Much to his dismay, Cynthia hadn't been at the Battle Tree as expected, further souring the delinquent's already foul mood; he had gotten some great battles out of it, at least, although some of them being an absolute cakewalk for him and his team of Pokemon.
But what was he supposed to do now? He didn't have anymore leads as to where in Alola she could possibly be, and all of the anxiety eating away at Guzma was really starting to take a toll on him.
Setting his mind on the idea that he wouldn't run into her here, the ex-con decided to venture to his childhood stomping grounds on Melemele Island before heading back to Ula'ula.
On the way to the usual spot, Guzma visited with his family, and as he left he could've swore that his mother was giving him a seemingly knowing look, grinning at him softly.
What the heck was that about?!
Nightfall had snuck up on him just as he had arrived at the clearing, really growing to appreciate the beauty of it at night, but then Guzma practically felt the wind being knocked out of him once he realized that he wasn't alone: basking in glow of the moon, in front of the calming ripples of water, was Cynthia, the comforting light of the evening sky bringing out her radiant form, and it was absolutely breathtaking…
All of Guzma's instincts were telling him to run, but he was instead entranced by her fleeting presence, closing in on her and filling the void in-between them so he could join her in the light.
Once in her tranquil proximity, the delinquent flinched as she turned around to face him, both of them freezing on the spot; shit, was she going to run? Guzma needed to know.
Instead, she didn't, mouthing some words that he couldn't hear but definitely could make out from her lips.
"Guzma… Is that really…?"
Guzma gave Cynthia a solemn look, gazing at her through sad gray eyes. "The one and only… It's me, all of me, it's your boy Guzma." He then gave her a forlorn, yet apologetic smile, shrugging as if to emphasize his point.
Cynthia let this explanation sink in for a little bit, before her angelic gray eyes broke into tears, spontaneously bringing Guzma into a tight embrace, fresh tears steaming through his shirt. "I'm so glad to see you're safe! I worried so much about you once your parents told me that you ran away from home! And all of those things that your father just told me… Guzma, why didn't you just tell me?!"
The former crime leader, rather ashamed of how much he had hurt her due to his careless actions, only held the Sinnoh champion tighter in his arms as he continued. "Sorry for lying to ya and for not keeping my promise, I guess I was just too afraid ta see that, only ta have my silence hurt ya in the end… We probably could've avoided all of this."
Cynthia looked up at him, her reddened cheeks now covered in dry tears, while Guzma just smiled. "But ain't none of that even matters now, I'm here now… And I ain't ever leaving ya again, Cynthia. I'm real awful glad that I forced myself to come out here tonight, because you're worth it ta me, babe."
Gray eyes seamlessly locked into his, as the delinquent then reached out and softly touched her cheek, mollified by her calming presence; the two of them just stood there holding each other like this for awhile, basking in the warm glow of the moonlight, before closing the gap in-between their lips.