Professor Samuel Oak was exhausted. Arriving to his home in Pallet Town, he just wasn't sure how long had he been awake or when was the last time he had eaten. He was so worn out he was having a hard time not falling to the floor as he walked. It was not an unfamiliar feeling for him though; sometimes he even had a hard time remembering how it felt to be refreshed and well rested. Just in that very moment he could feel years and years of tiredness crashing into him as he vent his coat in the nearest couch of his living room without a care in the world.
Funerals could do that to you… especially if you were burying the one that had been your wife for the last twenty five years.
Oak clashed into a sofa with his hands covering his face and sighed. He could feel the tears hammering in his eyes, just about to unleash the grief he had suppressed in front of his family and friends. He had tried to be strong for them but now, alone, he couldn't help but argue that it was not the time for his Rose to die. Not just yet, not when she had so much time to live, so much to enjoy. And now… now she was gone.
But what about their life together, what about their son? What about their grandson and the grandchild who was to be born in a few months? And for God's sake what about him?!
A sob crossed the air, what about him…! Robert was a grown man with his own family, there was no one else in there with him now. After years of taking care of his lovely wife, cancer had taking her away. His life had revolved around her needs for so long and now she was in a place where she no longer needed him to feel comfortable. Oh, his Rose… who would now make sure he eats properly when he was immersed in his research? Who would stay all night singing near him when he takes care of a sick Pokemon? Who would defend him from all the people who seek to diminish his work? Who would send them to hell politely and undetected? Who would keep his heart warm when the cold world hit?
Only she could do all that.
He felt hopeless.
And he was supposed to recover from all this. How? The day Rose died she made him promise he'd be okay. She made him promise he'd be happy and generous as he had always been, and she had utterly prohibited him to become bitter and cranky. "Take care of yourself, take care of Robert and the kids and keep being the man I fell in love with." Those were her final words. But as much as he hated to break a promise to her, continuing his life normally sounded absolutely crazy and illogical. Being happy without her sure was a mathematical contradiction.
And so he did the only logical thing.
He cried himself to sleep.
Thanks to Forever-Tangled for playing beta in here :D don't forget to review!