As August rolled into September and the leaves began to change, Black had begun to regain the strength in his legs. 2 years of immobility had turned his once wiry body into an atrophied husk, pale and sallow-cheeked. Being in the Light Stone hadn't stopped the growth of his body or the march of time at all - which was odd, considering the fact that he hadn't exactly had a corporeal form.
Even so, he found himself a head taller than White, when they had been almost the same height last he'd seen her. His hair had also grown to the nearly the same length as hers, also he'd had it cut yesterday. Now it was back to his usually shaggy mane. His body was almost back to 100%. Things were returning back to normal.
Normal. Heh. As if his life could ever be considered normal again.
"Black, White, come down! I made breakfast," His mother called from downstairs, rousing a sleeping White from Black's chest.
So, yeah. This - whatever was going on between the two of them - was this normal?
"Hey," White said sleepily, opening her lovely blue eyes. Rather than getting up, she held wrapped her arms around him tighter.
Black smiled and brushed a rogue lock of hair from her face. "Hey. You slept well," he murmured. "No nightmares this time?"
She shakes her head and buries her face in his chest. "How about yours?"
"None," he replies.
White's nightmares had started coming a few months ago, a little after Black had been freed,. They varied in structure but always ended the same way - The Light Stone disappearing, or destroyed, with Black still inside.
The first one Black had witnessed had happened when White was staying over at his house for a couple of weeks as a vacation, after his escape...
A scream from the next room sends Black shooting bolt upright in bed. It is bloodcurdling. As he sits, panting, he can hear something else, faintly - gentle sobbing. The sound shortly becomes too painful for him to bear.
He exits his room into the hallway, and creeps over to White's door. As he reaches for the handle, his mother comes out of her room, sees him, and looks questioningly. Black holds up a hand to her, signalling "It's okay, I got it." His mother's eyes narrow, almost saying "No funny business, young man," but then she sighs, dismissing the idea. She comes over and kisses him on the forehead. "She needs you. Don't do anything dumb," she whispers, and retreats back to her room.
Black scratches his head and shrugs, turning back to the door. Ever so slowly, he reaches for the handle and opens the door.
There lies White, wrapped up tight in her blankets. She doesn't react as he enters, and he thinks she might have gone back to sleep before a muffled sob escapes from the ball of sheets.
"Prez?" he whispers, sitting on the edge of the bed. There's a pause, and then she lifts her head to look at him. Even in the dark, he can see the red ringing around her eyes.
"M'okay," she mumbles, clearly not okay.
"What happened?" Black asks dumbly.
"Just...a stupid dream," she answers, trying to smile reassuringly and failing. "I'm fine…" She trails off.
"Do you need some water or anything?"
White wipes her eyes with the blanket. "No, thank you…"
Black is unsure of what else to say to comfort the girl. After a moment's pause, he starts to stand, but White catches his arm. "Black…" she whispers, not looking at him. "Could you...stay? Just for a while. Until i fall asleep."
Black finds himself unable to move. White moves for him, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into the bed. Heat rises in his cheeks.
"Let's stay like this, just for a little while…" she pleads. The tears begin to flow again and she cries silently into his chest. Black finds the strength to move again, and shifts so he can wrap his arms around her. "Shh, you're okay. It's okay, White,"
White sniffles and saying something into his chest.
"Pardon?"
"You called me White," she says looking up at him.
"...I don't think it's appropriate to call you "boss" or "prez" right now, do you?" White shakes her head. "For now, we'll just be Black and White, okay? Just for now…"
"Yeah. for now," White mumbles. After a few more minutes, Black feels her grasp loosen around his shoulders as she falls asleep in his arms.
Black never makes his way back to his bed that night, soon falling asleep right beside her…
The very next night, Black had been woken, yelling and screaming, by a nightmare of his own. White had been there in an instant, returning the favor from the night before. She held him all night, whispering sweet comforting nothings into his ear until he fell asleep. When White's next nightmare came two nights later, Black hadn't even hesitated, rushing to White's room to comfort her.
Eventually, after a week or so of this, his mother had said "You two may as well sleep in the same room, you know, rather than waking me up every night."
Black had turned red from cheek to ear at this. "Mom…"
"What? I know you won't get up to anything, and it's not like you aren't ending up in the same bed anyways. If it keeps the nightmares away, I'm all for it."
White had taken this suggestion graciously, and that night had been in his bed before him. They stayed up late, talking about everything and nothing, happy as could be in each other's company. And that was how it had been for the remainder of White's vacation.
Black had gotten used to her in his bed pretty quickly, and once she was gone back to Castelia City, the nightmares came back, worse than ever. The loneliness and fear was so great that he stayed up all night, head in his knees, to stave off the horrid dreams.
Musha wouldn't go near him. The poor dream eater was as sad and confused as his trainer, wondering where the delicious dreams which once filled his head had gone.
White was back before three days had passed. Evidently, her nightmares were back as well. When Black had answered the door, she had tackled him with a bone-shattering hug.
Fast forward to today. White spent more time at his house than her own these days, sharing his bed every single night. They had never done anything beyond simply holding each other, other than a few chaste kisses to the forehead or cheek after particularly bad nightmares.
During the daytime, they were rarely out of each other's sight. They went hiking, fishing, had friendly battles, played Smash Bros. and Mario Kart, and watched sad, sweet movies long into the night. The activity didn't matter - what mattered was that they were doing it together.
Were they dating? Not really. But they were much more than just friends. Their bond had been forged in the fires of adversity, and now they were making up for the last two years. Black couldn't deny his feelings for her, nor could he miss her attraction to him, but neither wanted to force the next step. For now, just being with each other was enough.
White clambered over him out of the bed. "C'mon, Black. I'm hungry!" she said cheerfully, extending her hand to him. Smiling graciously, he took it without hesitation.
Black's house had a flat roof, perfect for sitting on, and that's where he found himself that evening, looking at the sky. The moon was full and bright, and reminded him of the Light Stone.
The roof had been a favorite spot of his, before he'd left home almost three years ago now. 14 year old Black would spend hours up here, daydreaming, shouting his life goals down at passersby. Now almost 17 and far removed from that obnoxious child, he rarely came up here anymore.
"Hey. What are you doing up here?" a voice said from behind him. He turned in time to see White sliding out the open window.
"Oh, just...thinking 'bout stuff," he replied, turning back to the stars as White came over to sit beside him. "Like…?" she said, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I dunno. Old dreams. New dreams. N. Cheren and Bianca. The Light Stone," he said dismissively. After a moment, he says, more quietly, "You."
White giggles as he turns pink. "What about me?"
"Just, how amazing you are. How you manage to make me smile every day," he started, not sure where these words were coming from. His throat felt extremely dry. "Your smile. Your laugh. How determined and strong you are. How I couldn't ask for anyone better as my best friend. You mean the world to me, White," he said, softer than he knew he could speak.
Now it was White's turn to blush. "You're so sweet, Black. Really," she whispered. "Honestly, these last few months have been the best of my life." She took a deep breath. "Black."
"Mm?"
"Do you...like me?"
Black looked at her, incredulously. "Do you really have to ask?"
She waved her hand at him, in mock offense. "I guess not...but I want to hear it from you. Do you like me, Black?"
"...Yeah. I like you, White. More than I can say with words."
White said nothing, but Black could see her smile in the moonlight. "...That's all I needed to know."
"What about you? Do you like me?" He asked, knowing the answer.
White opened her mouth to answer, and then shut it again. Standing up, she offers a hand. "Come on inside. I want to tell you there," she said.
Heart beating out of his chest, he took her hand.
Black climbed through the window back into his room first, and held out his arm to pull White through. She took it, and leapt through the window, pulling him into a tight hug as her feet hit the ground. Putting her lips to his ear, she spoke.
"I like you. I like you a lot. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Staying here with you has been...magical." she drew back slightly to look at his face. "Honestly, I was planning on confessing to you...the day that you disappeared. Now here we are, two years late.
"I want to be with you. I want to be by your side forever. It's just... I'm scared. All these nightmares, where you disappear again… I'm scared of them coming true. What if I lose you? What if something dreadful happens, and I never see you again? What if-"
Black stopped her lips with a kiss. It was a sweet kiss, short and chaste, but to Black it was the best feeling in the world.
"I swear on everything I have left. I. Will. Not. Leave," he said firmly. "I am with you. No matter what."
White smiled, tears in her eyes. "Oh, Black," she whispered, and reaches up for another kiss. This one is longer, but still pure and innocent. They were inexperienced, but there was no awkwardness in it. They kissed for a few minutes, hearts calling out to each other.
Finally, they were interrupted by a gentle *ahem* and jumped back from one another. Black's mother stood in the doorway, basket of laundry in her hands.
"White, may I speak to you for a moment?" she said, softly.
"O-of course!" White yelped. She and Black were both comically red. She stepped away from him, her fingertips trailing on his palm, and followed Black's mother down the hallway away from his ears.
She looked at White sternly, saying nothing for the longest time. Finally, four words escaped her lips.
"Do you love him?"
White was taken aback. She was expecting worse.
"I...yes. I do. With all my heart."
Black's mother searched her eyes, and sighed, satisfied. "Alright. I know he loves you. I want you to take care of him, okay? And if he doesn't take care of you...tell me. You two need each other." And with that, she was gone.
White stood still for a few moments, and then shook her head with a smile. "You know I'll take care of him," she said to no one. "Forever."
…
Black called Musha out from his PokeBall, with a smile on his face. "Hey, Musha. Come here. I have a new dream for you to try…"