Everything was quiet. My eyes remained shut, and I had to think for a moment. What had happened? We'd… That's right, we'd caught up to Grovyle. He hadn't gotten Crystal Lake's Time Gear. We'd… We'd fought him to stop that. That had gone fine for a while, but he'd gotten through us. I hadn't been able to move… And Tycho…

Tycho!

My eyes opened wide. What happened? Was Tycho okay? I looked around, confused. This wasn't Crystal Lake…

"It's alright." A voice to my side suddenly said. I looked over there quickly and spotted Chimecho. "You're in the Guild. Everything's okay." I breathed a sigh of relief. We were back in our room.

"What happened? Is Tycho okay? Where's Grovyle?" I asked. Chimecho smiled, but it was a tried smile. Like she was concerned…

"Well, Grovyle got away, but Dusknoir's chasing him, so that'll be okay." She said. That was something at least. "Tycho…" She began. I followed her gaze to the bed next to me to see my partner, still passed out.

"Tycho?" I murmured, crawling over to him.

"He'll be okay!" Chimecho said in a gentle voice. "He just needs a bit more time to rest. The fight at the lake really exhausted him." I nodded, my eyes still focussed on the sleeping Treecko. It wasn't that I was surprised, he'd really stood up to Grovyle. Part of me was really proud of him, but most of me was just worried. Even hearing that he'd be okay… It hurt to see him like this.

"You're… Sure he'll be alright?" I asked. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. He's still quite hurt, but he'll be okay." She said, trying to comfort me.

"Thanks, Chimecho." I said. I was grateful, but scared. What if he was more hurt than anyone realised? When was he going to wake up?

"You're welcome." She said, then slowly hovered over to me. "Yuuki… Take some time to relax, okay? I know this must be difficult for you. I'll let the Guildmaster know." I looked over to her.

"Thank you." I didn't know what else to say. I couldn't think of much else. She smiled at me again, and floated over to the door.

"If you need anything, we're all here to help, okay?" She said as she left. I nodded, grateful for the support, and she left, shutting the door behind her.

My eyes immediately shot back to Tycho, and I went over for him, kneeling at his side.

"Tycho?" I called out to him. Nothing. His entire body, save for the steady rise and fall of his chest, remained still. My gaze stayed focussed on his face. His expression was neutral, and I didn't know what to expect from that. He didn't seem to be in pain, but… I missed his smile already. That beautiful smile… I'd get to see him smile quite a lot when we explored together, and that happy look on his face, combined with the excited glimmer so often in his eyes… Things like that were why I fell in love with him…

Well, not just that. He was… A wonderful person, and he made me a better person too. His optimism, his cheerfulness, all wrapped up in that adorable smile… He just spread joy everywhere he went…

And I hadn't been there to protect him when he needed me.

I thought about what had happened. Grovyle had overpowered us, and I'd collapsed. Tycho hadn't though. He'd stayed strong, and he'd stood up for what was right. Why couldn't I have done the same? Why couldn't I have put myself between them? Why couldn't I have been the one who got hurt, instead of him…

I suddenly noticed I was tearing up, and wiped my face hastily, still looking down at my partner. I looked away for a second, as if hoping that he'd be awake when I looked back down. That's when I noticed some flowers in the corner of the room. I walked over to them and read the card attached to them.

'To Yuuki and Tycho, hoping you get well soon, from Marill and Azurill.' I smiled. That was really sweet of them… I looked at the flowers. I wasn't sure what type they were, but they were nice. Tycho would know what they were called… His mum grew all sorts of flowers and plants, and he knew them all pretty well. I looked back to him. Still asleep. I walked back over and sat down by his side, taking his hand into my own. He gave a small mumble, and my heart soared for a second, but then nothing. I was disappointed, but I still blushed at the thought that he noticed when I held his hand…

I looked down at our intertwined hands, blue fur brushing against green scales. We held hands a fair bit, usually when one of us needed support. Tycho had done it just before we'd fought the Groudon illusion at Fogbound Lake, and it was always so sweet. He'd always been pretty affectionate with me. Even on the first day we met, he'd hugged me when we got his Relic Fragment back. It had surprised me, but I hadn't minded. The warmth, the closeness… I'd actually really liked it. And I didn't even know how I felt about him then!

He was always so kind as well… The flowers in the corner were proof of that. Whenever someone needed help, he stepped up to do it. Even if he was afraid. I'd told him before, doing something even though you're afraid… That's bravery. He'd had the cutest blush when I told him that!

And his cheerfulness too! Whenever I was in a bad mood, or if I'd had a nightmare, he'd be right there to remind me that everything was okay, that he was there for me, and that things will get better. As I looked down at him, I figured I needed to remember that. Things were going to get better. He'd wake up, and he'd smile at me, and I'd give him the biggest hug ever…

The thought made me feel warm for a moment, and I smiled as I looked at Tycho's gorgeous face… But still, nothing. I hoped he'd wake up soon. I hoped he wouldn't be angry with me, and I hoped he wasn't… In pain. Please…

I started to tear up again. "Tycho…" I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I'm sorry. I'm… so, so sorry… Please… Please be okay…" I whispered to him, getting more and more upset as I spoke. I kept holding his hand, not wanting to lose that contact just yet…

I kept thinking about him, keeping his hand in my own, and my tears gradually stopped. I sat quietly for a few minutes, when I heard a knock on the door. I got up to answer it. It was the Guildmaster.

"Hi Yuuki." He said, noticeably lacking his usual enthusiasm.

"Hi, Guildmaster." I said, probably sounding as tired as I felt as I stepped aside to let him come in. He sat down close to Tycho, and I sat down next to him.

"Are you okay, Yuuki?" He asked, and I sighed.

"I'm… Not sure." I answered. I hadn't really been thinking about myself, I was too focussed on Tycho. "I mean…" I started, wanting to explain what I meant. "I'm… Worried about Tycho. But… He always says that things will turn out okay, so… I'm going to believe that." Wigglytuff smiled at me.

"That sounds like good advice to me!" He said. Then he put a hand on my shoulder. "But I've been thinking, Yuuki… It's really good that you're there for your friend, but you're my friend too."

"What do you mean?" I asked, not sure what he was saying.

"You need to take care of yourself too, Yuuki. Maybe you could go for a walk or something?" He suggested.

"Well, yeah…" I began. "But… I want to be here when Tycho wakes up." I said. The thought of him waking up alone… I didn't like that.

"I'll stay here." Wigglytuff said, smiling again. "If he wakes up, I'll send someone to find you!" I sighed again. That was something, but…

"I'm… Not sure." I said, not wanting to leave Tycho's side. Not now.

"He wouldn't want you to beat yourself up about this. He'll understand if you just go out for a while." Wigglytuff responded. I thought about that. That was true. Tycho would worry about me if he woke up and found out I'd stayed in our room the entire time. I nodded.

"Okay." I said. Going out probably would be good for me.

"Great!" Wigglytuff said, smiling happily. "It'll be alright, Yuuki. He'll be up in just a little while!" I nodded at him, the thought making me smile as well, and headed out the door.

A walk through town sounded nice right about now.

Authors Note:

Here's another PMD story then, and it's another sweet little romantic Hero x Partner one! Hope you like that, because in regards to PMD, I looove this ship!

This one's a bit more angsty than The Sun's Coming Out, but I still figured I could get some sweet moments in there, so there we go. I'm thinking it should end up being about three chapters long.

Regarding Yuuki (the hero) waking up before Tycho (the partner), I know that in-game they wake up at the same time, but I figured that, given that the Partner stands up to Grovyle for longer than the Hero, and that (depending on how you like to imagine the future) the Hero probably had more experience with dangerous situations like that, I thought it would make sense for the Hero to wake up a bit before the Partner. Gives an opportunity for a cute shipping story as well, so that's helpful!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and leave a review if you want!