Author Notes: CommonerShipping is awesome!
Thunderstorms
There was something to be said about a five-star luxury hotel that cost a thousand dollars a night.
Diamond and Pearl said it was the greatest thing in the world, especially since Platina's credit card was handling the bill. On the contrary, Platina had the audacity to call the place a dump. The guys secured a luxurious resort for the princess and she was chastising them like it was Motel 6 or something.
"I told you guys to stop picking these dives," Platina said, clearly annoyed, apparently unwilling to hear any protests from the boys.
Pearl, the boy who was certainly the more vocal of the two, was the first to object, even though Platina's face suggested it was a good idea not to. "These are two most expensive rooms in the entire hotel. We gave you the larger room and took the smaller room for ourselves. What else do you want from us?"
The princess just scowled at the boys and stormed off into her room, conceivably to play games on her laptop or perhaps to take a hot shower.
"If I live a hundred years, if I live a thousand years, if I live ten thousand years, I will never understand girls," Pearl grumbled, looking over to Dia for some confirmation on the matter. We acquired the most expensive room, in the most expensive hotel, in the entire town and she still complains. It makes absolutely no sense to me.
Dia smiled, as if he suddenly figured out how to solve a difficult problem on a math final.
"Why are you grinning like the Cheshire Cat?" Pearl asked.
"Pearl, do ever remember Platina not being upset about our choice of hotel?"
"Actually, I think she complained every single time."
"Well that's not exactly true. Do you remember when we stayed in that hotel in Floaroma Town?"
Pearl looked like he was having trouble recalling the experience, as if his memory was a goldfish and he was trying to retrieve it with one of those special scoopers people sometimes used at carnival games.
"Floaroma Town," Dia elaborated in an exasperated voice, with a grin someone might mistake for a mocking smile, unless they knew Dia and understood that he was too nice to give a mocking smile.
"Oh yeah, I remember that place. There were no more luxury suites in the hotel because the Gracidea Flowers were blooming and we were all forced to share the same room."
"Exactly," Dia added, looking as smug as a certain group of meddling kids after they solved a particularly difficult mystery."
"Exactly what? Do your esoteric rambles have a point? Don't make me hit you."
"We all had to share a bed that night. Platina was seemingly mortified and told us to sleep on the floor."
"Yeah and we were about do so if I remember correctly."
We were. At least we were until Platina said, "It is an awfully big bed and I wouldn't want my bodyguards to wake up cramps and soreness. It would be best if you guys came up here with me."
"And she took over half the bed for herself and put up a barricade of pillows between us," Pearl laughed, remembering the moment and Platina's haughty face vividly.
"It was really weird sleeping so close to you." Diamond added wistfully.
"And it certainly wasn't any picnic being smashed next to you all night," Pearl countered.
The boys laughed together at the incident.
"Do you remember what happened when we woke up?" Pearl remarked.
"How could I ever forget? Platina had somehow nestled in between us, a real-life angel in a diminutive sky blue nightgown. Her face looked so peaceful, as though she could sprout wings and fly into the heaven." Dia said, as though he was savoring the memory, as a wine connoisseur might savor a rich burgundy blend.
Pearl nodded, although he didn't know if he would take it that far.
"She swore it was an accident the next day but this is the same girl who blatantly laughs at our jokes and then immediately denies it," Pearl added.
Dia agreed and went outside on the balcony, noticing that it was pouring down rain, a fierce storm brewing outside; the clouds were melancholy and covered the sky in darkness, the threat of thunderstorms obvious even to a person who wasn't a meteorologist.
"It's raining pretty heavily out there and I'm guessing there will be a thunderstorm soon. I'm just going to go to bed," Dia said.
"Sounds like a good idea. I'm going to stay up and read some material online for a new comedy skit. Since we each have our own room in this luxury suite, you probably won't even know that I am awake but if I'm being a nuisance, then let me know.
After wishing Pearl a good night's sleep, Dia retired into his own suite and sprinted into dream land. In the middle of a particularly wonderful dream about gourmet food, he heard a knock on the door."
Dia stumbled out of bed, glanced over toward Pearl's room, complete darkness, the lights turned off, which showed the boy was asleep (and probably not waking up because he was a heavy sleeper). If Dia wanted Pearl to be in a good mood in the morning, then he would take care of the doorbell himself, even if thunderstorm and the frantic knocking filled him with a little trepidation.
When Dia opened the door, he was surprised to see a very scared looking Platina.
"I'm scared of lightning," the girl cried, in a voice that was more suitable for a petrified little girl than a princess and she wrapped her arms around Dia.
Dia blushed fiercely but it was incredibly dark and the boy clung to mild hopes she wasn't able to detect his tomato red face.
"Will you let me stay in your bed until the lightning is over?" Platina asked timidly with her head down.
"Of course," Dia responded automatically, although he felt like his heart had skipped a beat or two.
Platina, much to a certain boy's disappointment, slept on the opposite side of Dia and separated them with a wall of fluffy white pillows. The duo didn't talk very much and after exhaustion chased his nervousness away, he fell asleep again.
When Dia woke up the first time, Platina was clutching his arm like it was a designer purse. Dia, needless to say, felt fantastic and stayed awake as long as possible, relishing in the feeling of a cute girl in a silky pink nightgown holding your arm like she never wants to let it go. Dia felt like his heart was trying to make a jailbreak from his chest, an amazing yet intense feeling; bliss so heavenly that Dia didn't even remember falling asleep again, although the boy stayed awake for hours, just enjoying Platina's firm and comforting grasp on his arm. When Dia woke up the second time, in the morning Platina was gone, probably back in her own room.
By this time, Pearl, the early bird, was already up and he was eating a breakfast of syrupy waffles and colorful fruit that he had ordered by calling room service. At first Pearl gave Dia a hard time about the seemingly unlikely story.
"There's no way that happened," Pearl said, chewing on a flaky waffle, tempting Dia's stomach just as the Sirens of Greece tempted hapless sailors.
"It's true," Dia insisted.
"It's not true," Pearl cavalierly said, gobbling down a large piece of waffle. It was probably just a dream.
"It wasn't a dream."
"Then you are making it up. There is no way the princess would come over to this room, climb in your bed and use your arm as her Teddiursa. What are you going to say next? Are you going to tell me gullible is no longer in the dictionary?
"She said was scared of lightning."
"I gotcha," Pearl exclaimed. "Now I know you are making the story up."
"What do you mean?" Dia asked with a nonplussed look on his face.
"Do you remember the last thunderstorm we had a few weeks ago?"
"What about it?"
"Well, the morning after that tumultuous storm, Platina and I were talking in the hotel lobby while you were still sleeping. I asked her if she was scared of thunderstorms."
Pearl paused for a little while and gave a mocking smile, as if he had figured out Dia's pretense, as if he had used foresight on an elusive ghost Pokémon, as if Dia's story was the Cinnabar Gym and he had found the Secret Key.
"Platina told me that she loves thunderstorms."
Author Notes: Thanks for the alerts, favorites, and comments. I hope everyone enjoys reading this story as much I enjoyed writing it.