"Hey, look at that Yuuki!"

I said as my partner and we finally reached the peak of Dark Hill. Yuuki was already close by my side. We'd been keeping close. The dark future had us both on edge, but having Yuuki by my side made this all easier.

"The future really is a world of darkness… And those lights… That must be the stockade."

Yuuki joined me in looking out over the world. There was a cluster of lights a fair distance away from us, and the Riolu nodded resolutely.

"Strangely pretty..." He said with a small laugh. It was, but… I was afraid. "How are you feeling?" He went on, turning to me.

"I'm… fine." I began. He looked at me with concern. "I just…" I paused, wanting to keep my composure. "Dusknoir… I mean, I really came to respect him, and…" My voice quivered. Yuuki suddenly took my hand. He always knew when I was upset…

"Me too. I'm… Not sure what's going on either, but we've got to keep moving." He said, his voice calm. I nodded. He was right, but…

"How are we going to get home though? I mean… Wigglytuff, the guild, and everyone in town…" My throat tightened. "I miss them… I want to go home…" Yuuki turned to face me, his face serious, but gentle. Kind.

"Tycho… We'll get home. I promise. We'll find Grovyle, okay? He got to our world once, he'll know how to do it again!" I stopped to think. That was true, but… "I promise I'm not going to let him hurt you." Yuuki went on. I was blushing. I knew I was. Yuuki was always so sweet, and so caring towards me. I didn't trust Grovyle, but I'd trust Yuuki with anything. If Yuuki thought it would be okay, then it would be.

"Okay. That's worth a try." I said, trying to sound hopeful. Yuuki gave me a small smile, no easy feat in this world, and extended his arms out.

"Come here." He said gently. He could tell I was still down, and we hugged quite often when that happened. Maybe not what you'd expect from two guys, but… I didn't mind. Not one bit. I happily walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his chest. I sighed happily as I felt him hold me, losing myself for a moment. His fur was so soft… "It'll be okay." He whispered in my ear. That just made me hold him tighter. It would be, thanks to him.

We stayed in that blissful embrace for a while, until finally we parted.

"I… guess we'd better get going then." Yuuki said, still smiling at me. I smiled back, a real smile, the type that felt so far away just a few minutes earlier. "There's your smile…" He said, grinning now, actually making me laugh a little. He started walking off, but I… Needed to say something.

"Yuuki…" He turned to look at me, that smile still on his face. "Thank you for cheering me up about all this. Thanks for reminding me that I'm not alone. Just… Thank you for supporting me, and… Being my friend and… Everything. Thank you Yuuki." He was blushing now.

"Tycho, I…" He started, then stopped, taking my hand again. "You're my best friend, of course I'm going to be there for you. You… Really matter to me, Tycho." We were both blushing like crazy now, but it was clear on Yuuki's face, he meant everything he just said.

And I loved him for it.

'Why didn't I tell him then…" I thought to myself. It was early. We'd gotten back to our world, just like Yuuki said we would, and a lot had happened since that conversation, but he was the main thing on my mind. That was kind of silly really. We had a lot to do, but for right now, Yuuki was all I could think about. His gentle smile, his kind words, his soft fur… He was amazing. I was in love with him. I'd known that for a long time by that point, but now… I wanted to tell him. That would have been a good time. Just the two of us, a tender moment…

I suppose there was never a perfect moment to do this. Especially considering I'd have to tell him I like guys before I can tell him I like him… I wasn't even really sure what I was worried about when it came to the first part. He wouldn't stop being my friend over something like that. He cared about me, and we'd even met one or two gay couples while doing missions. But despite all that, there was still a tiny bit of doubt that held me back, and I wished I could just… Tell him. At least that I'm gay, how I feel about him could wait, I just… He deserved to know.

I'd been awake for almost half an hour, when I noticed the ripples of colour on the horizon. The sun was rising. Figuring I wasn't going to get to sleep with so much on my mind, I figured I may as well step outside and watch.

Authors Note:

Just to clarify: Yuuki (a Riolu) is the Hero and Tycho (a Treecko) is the Partner.

Now, I'm aware that I'm posting fanfic for Mystery Dungeon Explorers in 2019, but this idea has been in my head for a long time, so here it is. On Valentine's Day no less!

I've been crazy about this game for a long time, and I must say, I have no idea how much attention this is gonna get. Although, having been crazy about it for a while, please excuse the weeb name I gave Yuuki. I chose that name when I was kind of in my weeb phase, and by the time I got out of it, the name had grown on me, so it stays. :P

Anywho, I'm hoping I can keep writing this and update quickly, but if you're reading this in 2022 or something and there's only two chapters, then I guess that didn't happen. Sorry!