~*Throw It All Away*~

You see a light wherever you go—you have to face her again and again.

Snowpoint City was beautiful.

He guessed.

It was covered in snow, turning everything white and featureless. Like a sheet of paper before the poem. Silhouettes were indistinct shapes on the horizons; even those that were just a foot away were smudged and blurred thanks to the constant ivory mantle of sleet. Quite obviously the reason for its intensely cold temperatures and environment—there was a mountain, Mt. Coronet, towering over the whole place. Most of the buildings had red roofs that attempted to defy the elements, but they were soon covered up and blanketed too.

Even the spires of a church couldn't escape the frost. It was laughable, really, mankind's stubborn perseverance in even the most hostile of locations.

But, it could be worse. It wasn't hailing, or even snowing, but instead it was…diamond dusting? Diamond dust was the name given to a special weather condition that the civilians marveled at every time it occurred. Tiny glimmers of ice, too small to be harmful, glittered and shone like starlight as they spiraled down from pure white clouds, seemingly of their own accord. Silver extended his hand and watched the particles sprinkle across his skin, tiny, sparkling frozen fire that was so cold it burned.

However, that was normal. Much of Sinnoh was chilly, and Snowpoint City wasn't exactly the warmest location in the region. Even he was clad in winter gear, black scarf flapping in the wind as he watched his Leafeon prance about, leap and twirl as she endeavored to catch the elusive diamond dust. She seemed intent on swallowing as much as she could.

"It's just ice," he informed her, not unkindly, as he reclined on the steps of an abandoned store. The alley was in a prime location since it afforded him both a view of the streets and some privacy. He had that powerful don't come near me if you value your life aura that kept anything potentially annoying a safe distance away.

He was rather content, really.

Leafeon cocked her long ears at him, deep brown eyes staring into his in acknowledgment of his words and nothing more. She continued regardless.

Silver didn't really care. His gaze drifted to the horizon, the darkness on its edges as dull as the red dusk, and he found himself wondering how Lyra was doing. He had ended their relationship almost two years ago now, because…

For two reasons, really. One, and he knew it was pathetic, but he fancied that she deserved better. No matter what she said otherwise. Two…he didn't quite trust himself. Even if they had dated for a good while, he didn't believe that he knew enough about love to keep her happy. No, she was better off elsewhere.

He still had her Pokégear number. She had bullied him—imagine that—into getting one, and hers was the first name on the small contact list. More than once the cursor had hovered over the select button, and he thought that if only he had the courage to press it, he could hear her voice again.

His weakness disgusted him.

And that was another thing. Didn't love make one weak? Silver, of course, hated anything weak with a passion. His fingers—ungloved, for the cold didn't bother him that much—found their way to his chin and he stroked it thoughtfully. (It was in a matter very similar to his father, but he didn't know that.)

Leafeon came back to his side and plopped herself on his lap, making a purring sound deep in her creamy throat, and he patted her head absently.

He had a team of powerful Pokémon and was destroying the Sinnoh Gyms. That alone should make him smile a little, but…His heart remembered happier times. With Lyra. But at the same time he felt relieved, all of the relationship stress off of his shoulders. It reminded him why he had to let her go—if you love something, set it free. It was stressful to him because he didn't know what to do. He had done the right thing, he reassured himself.

Then why did it feel so…

The powerful Grass-type Pokémon currently nestling into his jacket suddenly sprang to the ground and swished her tail agitatedly. Her lip trembled as she fought back a snarl.

"What?" Silver asked, his voice low but rough as always. "Leafeon, what is it?" He followed her intense stare to its source, and his muscles locked in shock.

Lyra.

The girl was grinning—of course—her nimble fingers knocking snow off of her friend's head.

No, not friend. They were standing too close for that.

They were on the main road still, but visible from his position in the dead-end alleyway with its ancient store bending under the touch of time. Her friend was a boy in yellow and black, a Marill at his side, cheerily pointing out anything he found interesting to her. Which was everything, apparently. Lyra just giggled, hiding her smile with one hand, her Togekiss a benevolent spirit guarding her back from any potential dangers.

She hadn't changed a bit. Hair was a little longer, a little taller, that was all. Red and blue winter clothes were splashed with bits of clinging frost and diamond dust, and Silver found his eyes were unable to leave her vibrant form, as if she was the sun and he had been blind until that moment.

Light, for the first time in a long while.

Their eyes met, and he saw the surprise that flitted through her gaze—delicate and soft like dove feathers—coloring her pale blue eyes a lighter shade. Silver made no attempt to conceal the fact he was watching her, and he smiled slightly. Just a quirk of his lips.

He was abruptly consumed with the desire to talk to her, hear her again, because the two had once been closer than either had imagined possible. So he beckoned her forward with a lazy twitch of his fingers.

Now she was stunned. She glanced at her friend before pushing the back of his shirt and sending him forward, her lips spilling a half-truth about checking on something, and she'd be right back. He glanced at her, puzzled, but shrugged and went on down the street without her, Marill following.

Lyra waited until he had disappeared into the crowds before slipping in the cobbled corridor that he was taking shelter in. As Leafeon growled at the Togekiss—he didn't get why she didn't like her Pokémon—he stroked her back and murmured that it was okay, it was okay.

She stopped two feet away from him, eyes faintly narrowed, and he saw that same awful pain that had been in her eyes when they had broken up in Rustboro City, back in Hoenn. He looked back at her unflinchingly, even though it tore him apart inside to see that back on her face.

"Hi," she whispered at last, and her tone was higher than he was used to. The corners of her mouth were turned up a little.

"Hey," he replied evenly. Leafeon blinked up at him inquisitively, and then switched her gaze to Lyra.

"Been a while." She wrapped her arms around herself and lifted her gaze to the sky. The diamond dust settled across her entire body and he blinked at the shimmering particles she now wore like a second skin.

"It has." Might as well get past the awkward silence bit, if that was even possible. "How are you?"

Lyra still refused to look at him. "It's fine. Ethan and I are doing really well."

Translation: I'm better than I had been with you.

That was okay, it was what he wanted. Even if his heart convulsed terribly in his chest.

"I'm…that's good." Silver stood up slowly and took a hesitant step closer to her, Leafeon staying behind on the frozen store stairs.

Togekiss's wings beat as he stayed aloft as his master's side, kicking up a small cloud of snow. The general atmosphere of love, peace, happiness he projected certainly wasn't helping the redhead at that moment. It made it that much harder to not stay away from her.

"Did you want something, Silver?"

And the way she said his name—with miraculous care in her soft, lilted voice—made him remember why he loved her still. "I just wanted to talk to you. I wanted to see how you were, after…"

"After you broke up with me. You might as well say it; you know that's what happened." Lyra finally met his black eyes, and he was astonished at the lack of accusation he found there. Just fading warmth and dying embers, all that was left of the fire he had thought extinguished.

"Hmph," he grunted, unhappy with her guessing ability. "That's the truth…I guess."

"How are you? I called you a week ago, you know. You didn't pick up."

He was honestly perplexed. "You did?"

"Last Wednesday."

"…Around noon?"

"Yeah…so…?" She blinked at him questioningly.

Silver shrugged, and even his Leafeon knew what they had been doing then. "I was at a Gym last Wednesday around noon. I had my Pokégear off so I wouldn't be distracted."

She rested a hand on her Togekiss's head. "Oh. Still fighting Gyms, huh? Me too, but I must say…I'm a bit disappointed in you."

"Huh? Why?" Oh no, what had he done now?

Lyra playfully grinned at him, and then her finger flicked his nose and he felt his cheeks color involuntarily. "I'm disappointed because you haven't challenged me to a match yet! When we first met, you intended to scare the bejeezus out of me before each and every battle, or I think so, anyway. Then you'd give me some threatening comeback that you'd train your 'weak Pokémon' to become stronger and then—"

"I haven't done that in ages," Silver disagreed with a huff.

"Ah, true, but I think you were a little more amusing back then. No matter." She appeared to catch herself then, and her smile disappeared.

"What's wrong?"

"…It's so easy sometimes. I forget we broke up." She sighed, rubbed her forehead, and then muttered, "I'm really sorry, but Ethan will get worried if I don't show up at our hotel soon."

"Different rooms, I hope," he remarked dryly. He earned another teasingly indignant shove from her, and he barely stepped back from the "force" of it.

"Don't be so stupid! Hehe, anyway, I'm off. But Silver…call me, okay? We'll fight and talk like we used to, we can still be friends. I miss you."

I miss you. Those three words hurt like hell. It was the same mantra he had been chanting in his head sometimes.

"I miss you too," he agreed quietly, but she heard and nodded. "And I will."

Lyra studied him briefly before turning on her heel with a wave and walking out of the alley, her Togekiss hovering over her.

He…didn't want to just let her walk away.

Impulsively, he dashed after her and came to a halt right in front of the startled girl. He offered her his hand, his face set in his usual serious scowl. "Until we meet again. Good bye."

She stared at him for a moment before rushing into his arms and embracing him so tightly that almost all of his breath left his lungs. He staggered back momentarily before he cautiously hugged her back.

"Miss you, Silver. Don't be a stranger, alright? We're best friends, just like I said—"

"Back in Johto. I know."

Lyra pulled away just enough to kiss his cheek—a warm touch that was both familiar and not—before she promptly melted back into the crowds.

Diamond dust continued to fall.

It was his favorite kind of weather, actually.

Leafeon mewled curiously as Silver crossed his arms and leaned against the side of the nearest wall. His eyes closed and he reassessed everything that had just happened.

He had never seen her happier than with that Ethan character, but at the same time…she had a different kind of smile when she was with him. But no, he reminded himself, he'd be strong and firm when it came to his previous decision. She was better off with Ethan.

But still, Silver doubted he would ever find another girl like Lyra Kotone.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

"Silver!"

Written as a sequel of sorts to See Me Shattered, but easily understandable regardless. I think. Title is a shout out to Sonic the Hedgehog—or more like his counterpart, Shadow.

Reviews are appreciated.