Conversations

"Don't you guys ever get sad sometimes?" Nate questioned, biting his lip on the answer that he knows will come.

Bianca looked down at her clipboard, pretending to mark off something with her pen. Cheren cleared his throat, pushing his non-existent glasses to his bridge. (He still wasn't used to not having glasses. Contacts were quite a pain.) "If you're referring to Hilda and Hilbert, Nate... then yes. Bianca and I do get sad."

The blonde girl, at this point, looked like she was on the verge of tears. She composed herself, shaking her head. "Of course we get sad about those two," she said in a hushed voice. "But sometimes, it's better to not think about it, you know?" She ended with a bitter smile.

There was one part in Nate's brain that knew not to ask any more questions. However... there was another part that was just so intrigued, so curious of the answers that lie in the minds of the two sitting across from him. They were some of the closest people to the Lost Heroes of Unova; childhood friends that did go off on their separate ways. Pain was written all over their faces, but Nate figured those two felt better talking about Hilda and Hilbert. (It's just like his mother once told him: "Nate, honey, it's a lot better to talk about your feelings rather than letting it boil up inside of you. You feel so much better afterwards.")

Cheren and Bianca rarely talked about Hilda and Hilbert, but it was nice to see them open up about their missing friends. After all, he too would be absolutely devastated if Hugh and Rosa disappeared without a trace.

There was a long pause filled with the sounds of Bianca scribbling on her clipboard and Cheren turning the pages in his book.

"Do you think they'll ever come back?" Nate choked.

The scribbling and turning of pages stopped abruptly. "Eventually," Cheren sighed, resuming his reading.

"They have to come back eventually... They can't just leave and never come back, you know? I think it's better to treat it as a long vacation." Bianca again had the fake smile on her face.

Cheren, not taking his eyes off of his book, calmly stated: "Their mothers are devastated, of course. They've practically become empty voids. I can't blame them, though. It's hard to lose people close to you."

Nate then felt a hard lump in his throat. He held back the tears that were probably going to stream down his face anytime soon.

"Nate, there's no need to be sad about it. I'm sure those two will waltz right back to Nuvema with the big egos they've always had." Cheren wasn't one to allay in the first place, but he learned how to deal with emotions over the years.

Bianca stood up suddenly. "I should probably get back to the lab. The other lab assistants are probably wondering where I ran off too again..."

"Alright, Bianca, see you another time." Cheren waved and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Bye, you two!" She chirped.

When the door of the Aspertia Trainer's School was shut, Nate shifted his position so that he would lay prostrate on the ground. "Maybe I should visit their mothers," he mumbled to himself.

Cheren looked up from his book. "Hilda's mother is probably not at her house, though. She spends a lot of her time outside of her home. Don't know what she does or where she goes. But you can try talking to Hilbert's mother. She rarely leaves the house; only for groceries, it seems. Her house is smack in the middle of the place."

Nate pondered for a moment on what he would do. He stood up, brushing the dirt off of his shorts. Cheren raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to talk to her now?"

"I suppose," Nate shrugged. "I could probably get Professor Juniper to check my Pokédex again while I'm at it." Saying his salutations, he left the Trainer's School with hands in his pockets. Nate sent out his Unfezant, telling her to fly to Nuvema. Unfezant looked at her trainer oddly, wondering what Nate could ever need in that small town; he had his Pokédex checked a week ago, and that was the only reason he went into that town. Obeying her trainer's orders, Unfezant took Nate on her back and flew quickly to Nuvema Town.

Cheren sighed deeply. Nate sometimes did things without thinking. (That thought along reminded him of certain people, but he didn't dwell on the thought too long.)

The town was peaceful. It didn't change, it never has. Although Nate's trips to Nuvema were scarce, he always feels like Nuvema could be his second home. It was quiet, with leaves floating in the air. Nate took in a deep breath, standing in front of the house that was right where Cheren said it was—smack in the middle. He put up a fist to knock on the door, although rather hesitantly.

Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of knuckle meeting wood echoed in the air. Nate stood there for five minutes; no one was coming to the door. He decided to try again.

Knock, knock, knock.

Again, there was still no answer, but the door creaked slightly ajar. He wondered if he should still even enter the place—wouldn't it be a little rude to just barge in?

"Might as well..." Nate sighed, shrugging his shoulders before pushing the door open. A woman near the window sat up with her back still facing towards Nate, simultaneously whispering: "Well, did you find your friend? N, was it?"

She turned around with tears streaming down her face; immediately, she noticed that the boy standing in the doorway was indeed not Hilbert, but a boy that looked so similar. She said sorry and wiped away the tears.

Nate was heartbroken by the scene. This woman had obviously been waiting for so long, only to be met with disappointment when she turned around. She told Nate to come in.

Amongst the sniffles of the woman, she said, "You're Nate, aren't you? I recognize you because your mother used to heal my Pokémon, aha. Would you like some tea?"

When Nate nodded, she propped herself up from the chair and headed towards the kitchen.

'This was a bad idea...' Nate told himself.

She entered the living room again with a cup of tea, and sat back down at her previous spot. Motioning for Nate to sit next to her, she introduced herself.

"What brings you to this household, Nate?" The woman asked, almost with a longing tone.

'Well, I talked to Cheren about Hilda and Hilbert and he mentioned that you were quite lonely, so I came to chat,' was what he wanted to say. But Nate knew better.

"No reason, I guess."

"Ah, I see. If you're ever in the town again, don't be afraid to stop by and say hello. I'll even heal your Pokémon for you!"

The two continued to talk for about an hour before Nate looked at the clock.

"I should really be going... Thank you for the tea!" Nate waved and set the cup in the sink.

"No problem; come back anytime." She smiled.

Before he opened the door, the woman called out, "You know, you look a lot like my son, Hilbert. Sometimes I think about leaving this house to go and find him, but... it would be really sad if he came while I was gone. There wouldn't be a mother to greet him."

Nate stopped. His eyes widened. He turned around and saw the same sight when he walked into the house—a woman looking outside of a window, completely motionless. Not knowing what to say, he rushed out of the building and shut the door behind him.

Nate looked behind himself, seeing the house of a brokenhearted mother who longs for her son.

"Poor woman," he muttered as he sent out his Unfezant again, hopping on to fly to a destination unknown.

A/N: If you haven't read my story Waiting, then you really should, because this is the counterpart, I guess you could say. This part in the BW2 games was really heartbreaking, ah;;;

I've been a roll with fanfiction lately. I guess my writer's block faded away...

(I don't own Pokémon.)