"Come on, N, it's not that hard. You haven't let go of the sides of the rink since we got here!"
"'It's not that hard.' Easy for you to say, you've practically been conditioned to skate well."
As N spoke, his pale fingers wrapped around the rails, but he still nearly lost his balance as kids and parents alike glided past him. His legs threatened to collapse beneath him from his unsteady distribution of weight; clearly, he was inexperienced, but I found it to be somewhat charming. Usually, N was the one teaching me things, so I took irrational pride in the fact that it was my turn to be an educator. I made my way across the ice skating rink to him, just in time to catch him before he fell. He seemed shocked at first - he'd fallen at least eight times before, so he probably expected to hit the ice again - but he laughed upon realization that he was indeed safe in my arms.
I love N's laugh. I had rarely heard it during our travels of the Unova region, in fact, I don't think I heard it at all. N had always been so immersed in his truths and ideals, I don't think he ever took the time to laugh at jokes, or even understand the structures of jokes at all. I haven't yet convinced myself that Ghetsis hadn't been part of the problem, sheltering him from construing his own opinions, his own personality. Used to, I would look in N's eyes and see Ghetsis' ghost, gripping my boyfriend, strangling him, but that is no longer the case. All I see is N, and he is shining, like a star. That's why I love N's laugh. It's boisterous, it's animated, and intrusive. Every time he laughs it's like he's never laughed before, and always, I can't help but smile hearing it.
After a minute or two, N calmed down, and he stared at me, a half smile still present on his lips. "Black, the closest I've come to doing anything like this was skateboarding. I'm incapable of ice skating." When he finished his sentence, his grin became wider.
N always talks a little too fast, but to me, it's endearing. Sometimes people can't understand him, but I always can. But what he said triggered the memory of my traipse through his bedroom almost a year ago; I remember the basketballs, the darts, and the skateboard ramp with Rare Candies behind it. It made me chuckle. "I'm sure your athletic prowess extends past just skateboarding, N." I told him. He laughed again and shook his head, but before he could speak, I planted a kiss on his mouth, and he shut up. A faint shade of rose painted his cheeks, and I helped him to his feet.
We skated, or at least we attempted to, until it was dark and cold, but N didn't want to go home. He doesn't like going home, because the only time he ever saw Unova was when traveling. I never denied him, in fact, I love the child-like look in his eyes when he sees something new. So, atop his Reshiram, we flew into Nimbasa City. We got hot cocoa from one of the vendors, which pleased N, he hadn't been allowed cocoa when with Ghetsis. Everytime he sipped his cocoa, though, he stained his upper lip with chocolate, and each time he did, I'd kiss it away. It always induced a giggle, and I'd smile. We did this until we reached a toy store, and N pressed his face against the glass. I rose a brow and sipped my cocoa.
"You wanna go in?" I asked. N didn't answer me for a minute or two, as his eyes seemed to be fixated on a toy plane that zoomed through the air. Then he turned to me, and shook his head.
"I'm fine." He told me, and he stuck his hand out, awaiting for me to interlace my fingers with his. So I did, but instead of walking forward, I veered sharply into the toy store. I didn't get to hold his hand for much longer, because soon he pried away from me to look at all of the toys.
N looked so gleeful, but one thing I noticed was that he avoided plush toys. In fact, he avoided a lot of things. I would try to catch his attention with legos, or toys that made funny sounds, but N wouldn't even glance in my direction - although I did get the attention of other kids and even the man at the register several times. I felt bad for trying to bother him, he just looked so happy and intrigued, but I couldn't help but be interested in what he examined. He would look at puzzles and read the descriptions, he would mess up the Rubix cubes only to solve them again, and whenever he found moving toys, he'd watch them, as if he'd never seen the laws of motion taking action before. I soon figured out motion toys were his favorite, but I didn't say a word. I just followed him around until he exhausted himself of most of the toys; even then though, he'd sit and watch the plane.
I put my cocoa down and wrapped my arms around his waist while he reached out and touched the plane, keeping his fingers on it while it spun round and round. I decided I'd buy him the toy plane sometime since Christmas was only a few weeks away, although I'd have to do it when he wasn't around. I snuggled him for a moment or two, but N broke from my embrace, walking to the corner of the shop. His eyes practically glowed with wonder, and he pointed at the tree in the corner, voice soft. "What is that?" He asked, turning to look at me. I stepped over a few stray toys, before standing in front of the tree itself.
"It's a Christmas tree. We celebrate it every December 25th here." I had become accustomed to N not knowing much about culture, but the fact that he hadn't seen a Christmas tree before stunned me. "Looks like all it has is lights. Oh! Usually we decorate them more than this to celebrate the season. Then we slide presents under the tree." I itched the back of my neck, sweatdropping. "I probably should have gotten one for us but-"
"Can we decorate it?" N asked eagerly, catching me off guard. I blinked, trying to come up with an explanation as to why we couldn't, but technically, we wouldn't be defacing public property or anything. So, I shrugged, smiling at N.
"Well, I don't see why not." I said, and he grinned. Before I could stop him, he darted off, and grabbed an armful of discarded Pokéballs. I blinked again, but he seemed proud of them, so I stepped out of the way to watch as N decorated the tree. When he saw I was only watching, he turned to me.
"Come on, Black. Celebrate with me." He said warmly. I swear N is the only one who can bring a smile to my face like he does. So, I ran off too, looking for some decorations, and soon, we're both going back and forth, laughing and talking about Christmas.
We ended up using the things we could find; candy canes, glass snowflakes, and little Pokémon crafts that we can put in the tree, and eventually, the tree looks a lot better than before. N and I laid facing each other beneath and behind the tree when we finished, and I could tell, he'd exhausted himself. But still, he beamed at me. His stormy gray eyes looked gorgeous under the Christmas lights, and he took his hat off . "You know Black, I wouldn't want to spend Christmas with anyone but you." he told me, curling into my body.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." I assured him, and I stared into his eyes. I stared into his eyes, and then his hair. Tea green, long, and tied back into a ponytail, as usual. I suddenly had the most mischievous idea. "N, will you sit up for me?"
N looked skeptical for a moment, but his curiosity overwhelmed him. He managed to get himself upright by elbow, and he looked at me, head tilted slightly. "I'm up. What are you doing?"
I smirked, although I couldn't tell myself if it was that of a malicious one or a manipulative one. I grabbed a candy cane from our pile of spare "ornaments," and I scooted closer to N. He did nothing as I started hanging candy canes in his hair.
N was absolutely silent. He allowed for me to even hang other ornaments in his hair. He just stared at me, dead in the face, until I finished my work. "There. Done."
N just looked at me.
"A true Christmas tree is you."
Still nothing.
"...Rockin' around the Christmas tree-"
Before I finished belting out a Christmas song, he giggled. Then, he was chuckling. And soon after he was laughing, and loud. I tried not to laugh and instead pout, but N's laugh was contagious, and soon, we were rolling on the floor laughing. The cashier yelled at us to calm down, but we didn't stop, not for a good three minutes or so. When we were done, we laid there again, panting, trying to stop ourselves - each time one of us giggled, we just set the other off again. Finally, we somehow got quiet, and we were gazing into each other's eyes again.
"Wait," I said suddenly, and sat up. I felt N's eyes on my back as I got to my feet, grabbing the star off of the top of the Christmas tree. Then, I laid back down, and I placed the star on N's head. He looked confused for a moment, but I grabbed his hands and placed them over my heart, and I smiled.
"Get it? Because you're my star." I explained, and I kissed the tip of his nose. His cheeks flared red, and then I placed my head on his chest, listening to the sound of his heart beating fast; N smells like pine and caramel, like home. "Merry Christmas, N." I tell him.
I didn't know that it was the last time I'd see him.