Hello readers! This was a special one-shot I'd written to help out the amazingly talented folks over at FFAnonymous from one of their epic request threads. If you haven't heard of them, I suggest you try looking them up and looking through the amazing stories they have to offer- but some of them are not for the young readers! Don't get yourself into trouble by reading material you're not supposed to... or get caught, anyways! Work is still ongoing, as usual, for "Crazy" and "Uninvited", though the two may end up with a name change before too long; as 'Crazy' isn't quite cutting it the way I'd thought.
Fic is set two years after post-game events and takes place in the Game-universe, just for references' sake!
He woke to the feeling of fingers running through his hair. Eyes snapping open, he met and held the startled blue gaze of the spirited trainer he hadn't seen for a little over two years as she removed her hand.
She had the decency to look embarrassed as she took her seat opposite of him and looked out the window. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up." White apologized immediately, fidgeting in place for a moment before looking at him out of the corner of one eye. "You, uhh, can go back to sleep if you want? I'll keep the bad dreams away."
He frowned at her. "How did you find me?" A glance down at his watch revealed he'd been asleep for almost four hours. Felt like he'd only slept for two, N thought and rubbed the grit out of his eyes. When she didn't respond, he tapped her foot with his own, enjoying the way she jumped and yelped when the basket began to sway. "White?" He inquired, trying not to let the impatience in his voice show as the younger girl squirmed in her seat.
"I had a hunch." She said quickly. A little too quickly, for his taste and she knew it too, making a face and muttering something about not getting caught next time. "Okay, fine. I come by here sometimes, and you just happened to be here." Her tone was rather defensive, like she didn't want him to know that she came to the amusement park in the first place.
The ride stopped far too soon, much to his disappointment and the door to the basket swung open. "You okay, miss? Been here for about two hours now, you want off now or should I keep 'er goin' like usual?" The operator asked, looking curiously between the two occupants of the basket with a slightly raised eyebrow. N knew the man, not by name, but had seen him around and had once or twice idly asked for information about how they kept such a magnificent machine from falling apart.
He didn't particularly care for the concerned expression when said man looked over at White's nervous face. After all, it wasn't like he was going to do anything harmful or unpleasant to the eighteen year old.
White and N exchanged looks, the tension in the car mounting higher by the moment as she finally turned to the patient man and shook her head. "Keep going, we're going to be a while longer." She said with a small smile on her lips as she moved to sit next to N, her hand reaching for his. "Haven't seen each other in a couple years, we've got a lot to catch up on, don't we?"
Holy crap, what the hell am I doing? She thought to herself, wishing she could give herself a brutal mental kick that would bring back some of her normally working brain cells. Trapped. In a stupid ferris wheel, with someone who was her once enemy and who pissed her off about as much as he concerned her.
For the next several hours, at that.
He was so damn lucky that she'd always been kind of a sucker for the lonely, dejected types. It was pretty much how she'd become friends with Cheren and Bel, and it looked like she was about to adopt another one into the group as well.
...now she just hoped he would go along with it so that operator guy or whatever his actual job title was would stop looking like he was worried N was going to shove her down and have his way with her.
N nodded, feeling his hand reflexively close over hers. They had a lot to work out and talk about, but the feeling of her hand in his was a definite start- and a good sign that she was probably ready to forgive him for just taking off like that. "Whatever the lady desires." He replied, unable to keep from teasing her just a little and shot a meaningful look to the ride operator as the door shut. Hopefully the man would take the hint and not stop the damn Ferris Wheel again until well past the sun had risen.
Her fingernails digging slightly into his hand implied she'd definitely caught the slightly mocking tone he'd used. Oh well, she'd have to get used to it, or get mad at him and explain why she didn't like it.
They sat in mutual silence for a while after the ride picked back up again, not sure where to start... or if they even should start talking, until White finally yawned, giving him a sheepish, shy look as she scooted a little closer. "Sorry," She apologized again with another jaw cracking yawn. "I haven't slept yet, d'you think we can maybe...?"
N thanked his guardian... whatever, angel, Pokemon, ancestor... whatever. Point was, she didn't wanna talk right at the moment and he'd get the added bonus of a warm body relatively close to his size to sleep with. Sure, his father had called him pathetic and weak ever since he was a child for enjoying the opportunity to cuddle, but he'd chosen not to care. ...too much, anyways.
"Later, much later." N unbuttoned the white dress shirt he usually wore over his turtleneck, shrugging out of it and neatly placing it around the smaller woman's shoulders. She'd get cold if she just kept running around without good clothes on, he thought to himself with a mental shake of his head. Honestly, with the amount of trouble the little rebel of legends had a tendency to get herself into? He was more surprised that no one else had shown up to try an appoint themselves as the lady's personal guardian and caretaker.
Then again, the young man thought with a private smile as he watched her snuggle close, perhaps it was a good thing no one else had offered. It gave him a purpose in his currently aimless wanderings, and he'd been looking for one aside from his redemption plan. He'd never been a very good King, N thought to himself as he felt his eyes close as well, comforted by the feeling of a warm weight not his own at his side, but with any luck, he'd make a better knight for a very special, temperamental little princess.