A/N: I am so sorry. School has done a number on me; I was close fainting from exhaustion. Saturday and half of Sunday are my only salvation to just chillax. ;w; This idea has been bugging me ever since my hospital visit (the blame is completely on me for touching a stray cat) to get my rabies shot. NO WORRIES, I WILL NOT DIE. I feel bad (for once) about this kid that was suffering from a harsh attack and could barely breathe. My mom and I had a heartfelt discussion and…well, relate if you may. I can't have emotions to the perfection that goes in my head so hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Don't own pokémon or the following lyrics.
Extra note: Shota. But it's kinda a kill how I'm trying to relate this. WHATEVER. I AM DEDICATED TO THIS PAIRING. I had a problem with the genres; it's hard to really base it. YEAH. WELL. UHH. LEAVE ME ALONE ON THE POKEMON-HUMAN REFERENCE. It just somehow came to my head. I needed it down. Oh yeah. Let's assume ages, people!
Summary: They are the weakest, but despite the flaw it only takes one person to love them. And it only takes one person to make it strong. Tensaishipping.

Magikarps

︵

Maybe I'll be broken like the bones that carry me,
Living life so lifelessly
You can't stand the sound of silence
You're going to live your life alone
I can see that what we have is a problem here
and I could be something better if you love me dear
x./And Then There Were None – Action is the anecdote\.x

Life hated him. Hated his guts. An extreme sadist.

On one bitter night the electricity had been cut off in Petalburg City. A summer night felt unpleasant whereas the room felt extremely thick without a wisp of air, the discomfort soon began in his chest. Ruby's body felt temporarily immobilized, small fingers were clutching the home phone tightly for dear life. A fleeting apprehension filled his head earlier when his parents were debating whether Ruby would be safe remaining unaccompanied while they could attend the reservation in a restaurant in the next town over for their anniversary. He wanted to scream, to cling on his mother's wiry legs, but rather he shook his head and reassured them saying, "Imma big boy!" The two adults left soon after, approximately an hour and a half ago, unaware of the blackout whilst Ruby wrapped himself in a cocoon of thin sheets, trembling, and hugging his pikachu plush doll near his thin frame.

The room was suffocating him. Metaphorically and literally.

His natural breathing pattern swiftly replaced by short breaths, the sweat trickling down his body had his thin pajamas sticking to his skin; eventually he had no choice and kicked away the sheets. He only used the layers of warmth to conceal his presence if a stranger were to enter his house – a constant fear he held onto when home alone. The desperation for air was unbearable— as if he was struggling to break free from the grip of someone's hands around his neck—to the point where each cabinet has been thrown across the floor as he desperately searched for his inhaler. Instantly he reached over for the phone again, smashed the numbers of his mother's cellular phone, wheezing timely on the dialing beeps.

Finally a click.

"Yes, Ruby? What is-"

"M-Mom…can't…bre-breathe…"

White walls adorned with rusty-red striped curtains and horizontally printed chanseys. A dull ache near his torso. Cries from the other patients from rooms over. Those were always the several things he remembered throughout his childhood; anything the doctors performed on him was always a blur before he heard the faint whispers of his parents by his bedside. However, by the next morning he would weakly smile, expecting his father to give an impassive look and his mother to coo her son with love and worriment lacing her angelic voice, her soft hands large enough to hold the child's two smaller hands. The wall clock would indicate morning, his eyes would always look there first before settling to the two seats beside him were his mother would be sitting, his father would just give him a blank look and cross his arms—

if they were ever there.

The first experience he sobbed excessively, like a child who has lost sight of his parents in a mall, his small feet kicking the air while the nurses and the doctors held down the other limbs from aggressively flailing. The nurses were the first to restrain him with the blankets tied to the railings of his bed, the needles inserted into his skin that were torn off in his tantrum were reattached, and finally the nurse would narrate the the situation: parents working, on call, conference of the like. Ruby came into realization his parents were never there when he woke up from his asthma attacks, despite his yells, his protest, his begging – they never appeared. Rather if his attacks occurred and forced to stay under treatment for a couple of days, he would see a glimpse of his parents in the nighttime. There never was any form communication due to his early sleeping patterns, and by the next day he would find items near his pillow to occupy his time: coloring books, coloring posters, a handheld game system, books, magazines, at one point his father wrote him a letter—his eyes widened by the possibility Norman would consider wasting even a second of his life to write a letter—that he had three pokémon waiting for him upon arriving home.

Both Norman and Caroline were never there at the hospitals. And yet they were there to take him back home or there when he was at home…for awhile.

It doesn't matter, he always reminded himself when he woke up on a hospital bed, because there will never be just one person by his bedside. Ruby fished for the notebook underneath pillow that his mother left him but the pencil dropped out of his hand, he tsked at the thought of reaching over the railing. As he plucked the pencil from the waxed white floors he drew the pencil back near the blank sheet of paper. Realization dawned on him: there was nothing else to write, no story to tell about his mother holding his hand or showering him with love like the other children near him. And for once he was glad the hospital had its tacky curtains covering every room—he could not bear the sight of something he was lacking.

Ruby tucked his notebook and pencil under his pillow, his small frame curling in a ball, red eyes growing hazy with tears at the two gray chairs empty near his bed. The low sobs quickly escalated to loud cries, queuing the nurses to come rushing: it was their job, not their love.

Love…

How absurd.

"You can't be serious. Please tell me you're kidding, dad." And that you took this very moment to have sense of humor. Please.

Norman arched an eyebrow at his son. "I dare you to whine. You are going to school, Ruby, like it or not." Absently he forked down a thin slice of pie; patiently he waited for the whining drawl all children used when they have to attend school. Before plopping another piece of pie in his mouth he continued, "You will only have to attend for several months under the Department of Education, it is just to evaluate the reckless trainers in this world."

Ruby frowned, a pleading look written on his face. "But dad!"

Norman's eyebrow instantly twitched, forewarning Ruby to comply without question. "Focus on your studies. If I see even one bad mark on any of your exams-"

The scarlet hued crossed his arms, a cocky smirk replacing his frown. "I'm trembling." Ruby retorted, waving his hands lamely in exaggeration to his father's threat, "Besides, what can you do?"

"Steven. Don't expect to see him until you completely finish school," he smirked in turn how quickly Ruby deflated, "or even longer as I see fit."

The child pounded his fist on the table, the utensils and plates clattering from the vibration of the impact, eyes narrowing in bitterness. "You wouldn't! That…that's not even fair!"

Caroline rolled her eyes. Men, she thought dryly.

School progressed rather slowly and dolefully in contrast to the bright stage lights of pokémon contest or the fairly rare battles fueled with adrenaline and determination—the very concept of excitement died within the few moments of mechanically fastening his book bag to the back of his chair, his textbooks neatly stacked in his open desk, the cold metal surface defaced by previous students with smiles, nonsensical drawings, depressing comments, and curses. One glance towards the vacant leather chair indicated his teacher's absence, causing several students to scramble in their groups, chattering away whilst the substitute teacher leisurely looked around, sat on the seat, thoroughly concentrated on the newspaper left on the desk. Several desk clattered against his, partially startled and mildly amused by the forming smirk on Sapphire's smile. In a matter of time several other desks were pushed to join Ruby and Sapphire.

The formation began little by little until the class expanded, to which Ruby was slightly relieved the duller of his days in school was just a distant memories from the previous weeks. Ruby laughed heartily with his group until a vibration abruptly sounded from his desk, yet his smile twitched upwards when he fished his mobile phone hidden behind is textbooks. Much to his dismay Sapphire had to be absent, naturally he expected to hear from her; however the screen lit several times from the sender. Before Ruby had the chance to respond Gold shook him by the shoulder, insisting to quickly take a picture of Silver's expression—apparently Gold wrote, in his dastardly chicken-scratch, 'HAI, I'M SILVER. GOLD IZ LEIK MAI HERO. HURR HURR,' in the front page of Silver's notebook—Ruby had to clamp his mouth with his hand to contain his laughter.

With a wonderful picture added to the numerous albums in his phone, Ruby contently slid his finger on the touch screen device, pressing the messaging icon in the menu. He realized some were left unopened—presumably his mother—and yet the recent message made his stomach go through somersaults.

Steven's name…with a little heart at the end.

Sue me.

'Are holding up well?'

'Yeah, it's just getting colder lately.'

Ruby peered at the windows, "Cold" is such an understatement. It's freezing! Scanning the room, Ruby noticed the student felt comfortable with the temperature, including the substitute teacher so engrossed with the newspaper did not budge. The snowflakes attached themselves to the window, the gusty breeze fluttering through the windows, the classroom door wide open to escalate the sheer freeze running down Ruby's spine. The child brought his hand to his neck, rubbing soothing circles from the familiar dryness in his throat.

The phone vibrated again.

'Ooo who u txting wit a smile like dat?'

Ruby narrowed his eyes at the sender, his scarlet eyes then fixed on the wide smirks of Blue and Green; Red just shook his head with disappointment at them.

Another vibration.

'My luck in the other regions is becoming quite disheartening. I should be arriving back in a matter of hours, by then I could finally have you back in my arms. Ah, how I miss you.'

The boy flushed, tugging his collared uniform shirt in an attempt to hide his face from the curious looks his friends gave him. Another message made his phone vibrate, his shaky heart eased when it was only his mother informing about her regular absence with Norman under work related purposes. Typical, Ruby thought negatively.

The weather app flashed on the screen by an accidental touch, several of the weather rates caused eyes to widen considerably. Ruby pried open his book bag by the zipper, rummaging through papers, discarded staples, highlighters, pens…

Arceus no. I-I need it! No, calm down, Ruby, just calm down.

Nobody noticed the irregularity in the boy's movement as he weakly opened a folder, flipping through the pages of his old reports to distract himself from his condition overwhelming his lungs. The tolerance of crying and whimpering gradually became a lost habit: school nurses will help him none, Steven had yet to return from his voyage, his parents gone—

Magikarps are regionally known as the most useless pokémon with several tactics that fail to defend their well-being. It is not unnatural that magikarp are found washed ashore from the water, weakly flopping in desperation to return. Trainers could mean life or death for such fragile fishes, perhaps even the presence of salvation is enough for magikarps to continue thriving despite their weak appearance.

Before air became hard to intake, Ruby rushed through the text message to Steven.

'I might not see you.'

His eyes slowly fluttered opened, the sight of the curtains far too familiar. Glaring at the chanseys made him feel entirely better to distract the thought of having numerous needles inserted in his skin, penetrating several layers of the epidermis to allow some revolting IV fluid to run through his vein. Ruby took one deep inhalation from the mask on his mouth before pushing it aside with his bony wrist. The numb metronome of the EKG had slowly, through his incomplete consciousness, made him count the ticking moments of the span of time one of the nurses would push aside the tawdry curtains to recite her monologue of the sadness of being alone, parents have to be gone for a valid reason, and the like.

Surprisingly it took longer than he anticipated. The curtains did open but revealed the last person Ruby would have expected in his room.

Steven crinkled his nose in disgust sniffing the pudding cup, "So this is why people complain about hospital food: the smell is absolutely rancid." Blue eyes looked beyond his pudding cup, genuinely surprised at the pools of red plainly confused.

"Put that mask back on, I can't have anything happening to you now." Steven said sternly, his hand lightly smacked away from touching the mask.

Ruby, unfazed by the slight look of hurt on Steven's face, responded blandly, "Don't touch it." The child softened his voice; he showed a small resentment towards his parents, not to Steven. With a sigh he asked, "How did you get here? Why are you here?"

Steven shrugged with a content smile; he raised his hand to tenderly brush against the silky strands of jet-black hair. "Improvisations make everything possible for me to be here. Your friends were very helpful informing me the hospital you were sent to. Getting in this room, however, took a little longer." The blue haired man gave the room a quick examination, brows knitting to the chilly atmosphere in a single containment. "And why else? It's lonely being here by oneself. Far from that, I came because someone my love was sent to a hospital."

The doctor came in soon after Steven told his part of his story, pleasingly Ruby perked informed of having a higher chance of "growing out" of his asthma. The doctor left the pair; Ruby ceased the opportunity to examine his room: old drawings taped to the wall, several pages of uncolored pictures cluttered in the cabinet cramped with markers and crayons, the generally empty seat beside his bed finally occupied with someone that loves him dearly…
Could possibly be one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Steven panicked; Ruby was shaking, crying…laughing.

Thin arms wrapped around the man's broad shoulders. It was still a weak attempt to embrace his lover from the restraint of the various needles in his skin.

"Th-Thank y-y-you," Ruby sniffed.

But one magikarp in the hands of a trainer can be guaranteed happiness from the elements nature provides until eventually the time will come for it to evolve into a gyarados: the once "weak" shell transformed by the love and commitment that it probably would have never obtained in the lonely depths of the ocean.
All it really takes is just one person.

A/N: Not exactly as I planned, it sounded more strongly in my head. I swear. Err. I hope you enjoyed? I just had the need to get something out no matter how it turns out. Errors will be found I bet. I STILL NEED A BETA for Arceus' sake. xD (Btw, Beyond Expectations got a crazy amount of 'added to favorites.' You people :'D) Happy belated turkey genocide day.
(& I decided to look up magikarp on google images and totally el-oh-el'ed when it said various things about being nice to them because by evolution/lvl 20 they will totally kill everyone. XD My favorite? "I SWEAR TO GOD, WHEN I EVOLVE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL.")

Guess what? Expect this: Bulbapedia enlightened me with the Black/Touya's personality. As soon as I grasp both N's and Black's concept of thinking/traits, I WILL MAKE A FIC OF THEM. Hopefully it won't phail. (Srsly, the summary has been sitting in my document for months now.)