Well here we are again friends, another story that involves the Subway Masters. I hope to accomplish two things: One, spread the Subway Master love (come on people, they were right behind N in the popularity poll!) and two: spread the ExpressShipping love, which is a much better pairing for White than the 90% of the "Baaaaaw! The man I knew for thirty minutes and I rode a ferris wheel with left! I have nothing to live for; my heart is aching and empty without him!" BS I see with her and N. You people know who you are.

1. Meeting

Nobori and White had met by just a stroke a luck- pure coincidence really. He had been a young man of eighteen working on the Orange Line in the passenger cars, and she was a child of nine who happened to be wondering through the car he was in. She had walked up to him, tugged on the hem of his uniform jacket and asked if he could lift her up so she could watch the Pokemon battle in the next car. Of course Nobori had asked where her parents were -who wouldn't?- and she had replied simply:

"Daddy's driving the train, and Mommy's in Nacrene City taking pictures. Now come on, I don't want to miss the battle!" And with that she grabbed his hand (an awkward position for Nobori, since she was two feet shorter than him, easily) and dragged him over to the door, holding her arms up in a silent gesture to be picked up, something Nobori complied to after a while of her pouting and staring up at him with wide, childish eyes. In the end, he did enjoy watching the battle, gently correcting the girl -who only had said her name was White after he had picked her up- whenever she said a word wrong, in return she asked him about his accent ("Why do you talk that way? Replacing your 'T' sounds with 'Z' sounds and your 'W' sounds with 'V' sounds? It's weird."), to which Nobori calmly replied that he had an accent because he was from another country. Upon hearing this White erupted into a fit of happy giggles, proclaiming that she had a "four-in" friend before turning her attention back to the battle.

It was an unconventional meeting to be sure, but one that would tie the two together from then on.

2. Follow

It took Nobori a while to get used to having White follow him around Gear Station after her classes had let out, the first time she had started doing it he kept on looking down at the small girl trailing along at his heels with a questioning look, which she only returned with a large smile. After a while it had become such a common thing that the young man didn't even mind it anymore -perhaps it was because he was used to Kudari following him around, both as children and as young adults. The only thing that could get White away from Nobori was her father Cameron, who always silently scolded his daughter for "bothering" the other Depot Agent; of course White would always protest, said that Nobori didn't mind her following him, almost always turning to the fair haired male for conformation.

"I don't mind her zhat much." Nobori would reply crisply, and with a triumphant laugh White would shove her finger in her father's face with an "Told'ya so!" before skipping back to Nobori's side, continuing to follow him until he got onto a train or went into the employee's only section of the station; and she would always be waiting for him faithfully when he returned.

3. Sibling
The instant Kudari formally met White he loved her (which was to be expected; Kudari adored children), and marveling about how small she was compared to Nobori and himself- he also found the fact that her full name -Whitelea DaSilva- rhymed to be incredibly cute. To put it simply it had taken Kudari much less time to get used to the child hovering around them, likewise White seemed to smile and laugh much more around the younger twin.

That was how it always was with Kudari and other people, it was nothing new at this point.

4. Alone

Nobori had once asked why White insisted on spending time with him of all people- surely she had other friends her age to play with. The answer he got actually shocked him, if not for the fact it was the first time he had ever seen her not being happy around him (it was almost as if Kudari shad suddenly stopped smiling-on a smaller scale of course, but still...). She didn't answer his question, only quietly excusing herself -trying so hard not to cry- and running away towards the exit. White would only answer his question when she was thirteen, three years after the fact,

"I didn't have any friends back then... still don't really. None of my classmates seemed to get why I liked sports and Pokemon and stuff," White laughed bitterly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Mom and Dad were working a lot back then, too -not that they don't now. I don't have a sibling like you do, so other than you I didn't have anyone... When you were working or with Kudari or whatever... I was alone." She gave him a rueful smile before walking out of the station, leaving behind a legitimately surprised Nobori.

5. Battle

When White was fourteen, Cameron pretty much allowed her to roam around the entire station; so long as she had her Xtransceiver with her she could go all the way to Anvil Town if she wanted to. This privilege also applied to the employee-only areas of the station -although she had earned that by just walking in so casually so many times that no one even minded anymore. Of course her favorite places to go was whatever train Nobori or Kudari were battling on, simply for the fact that she loved watching the two newly-appointed Subway Masters kick the ever-loving crap out of the few trainers who made it to them. People might call her a bit of a bitch for laughing whenever some schmuck got his ass handed to him by Nobori's Crustle (and only his Crustle), but it didn't matter to her.

After the most recent challenger got off the train and Nobori had casually sat down on one of the benches, flipping open a novel he had been reading White made her entrance striding forward to stand in front of the Subway Master, hands on her hips and a grin on her face.

"...Yes? Can I help you?" Nobori inquired after a while, not even bothering to look up from his book, the only movement he made being the quick flick of the page turning.

"Not right now no, but- oh for Arceus' sake Nobori, can you stop reading that for twelve seconds?" The girl said exasperatedly, snatching the book out of the man's hands and holding it hostage behind her back.

"Vas zhat really necessary, Ms. White?" Nobori asked, looking up at the girl now that his precious novel had been taken.

"Yes. Yes it was."

"How so?"

"Well normally when you talk to someone, you look at them. Challenging concept I know."

"Fine," a sigh, a brief pause and him un-crossing and re crossing his legs. "Vhat do you vant to talk about?"

"Weeeeeeeelllll, since I'm turning sixteen soon-"

"You're turning sixteen in two years."

"Shhhhh. Shush, Nobori, shush. Anyway since I'm turning sixteen soon and will be able to get my Pokemon license then, I decided that when I beat the gyms and the league I'm gonna come here and challenge you and Kudari."

"Really now?" For the first time in the conversation his interest seemed to be peaked.

"Yeah! So you better watch yourself~" With that she put the novel back in Nobori's lap, took a step to her left, spun on her heel and fell onto the cushion next to him.

A battle with the young lady White, hmm?

6. Wrong

He did everything by the books, every precaution was taken, every regulation memorized to the point he could recite them all at the drop of a hat. That was how Nobori's life had been for as long as he could remember (his teachers loved him for it); he had even managed to keep the eternally optimistic and free-spirited Kudari straight. Nobori hadn't ever stepped over the lines he had drawn for his life, but then again nothing that he wanted was beyond that line. At least... that's how it used to be. Everything was simpler when White was just a child, a bright eyed, naive and innocent child who knew nothing of the world outside Nimbasa City, and even Nobori could admit that she was a cute girl. In a completely platonic way, of course.

Then White started to grow up.

Nobori watched her grow from a chubby-faced little girl into a maturing young woman, and was horrified to discover one day that it was getting harder and harder to ignore her body's development -those damned shorts she had taken to wearing were not helping. It wasn't just her body that had changed, White had matured by leaps and bounds from when she was a child, and she could actually hold an intelligent conversation with him; be it about Pokemon battling or just the way their world was in general.

What he felt wasn't the sibling love like Kudari had with her, it was something else; something stronger. He knew that siblings didn't think how perfectly she would fit in his embrace, or what it would be like to kiss her. It was those feelings that made him want to cross over the metaphorical line, but something held him back: disgust. Pure, unadulterated disgust with himself for thinking such things -she was only sixteen for Arceus' sake!

There were a variety of words for people like him: disgusting, freak, abomination, pedophile. Feeling everything he did for White was wrong. WrongwrongwrongwrongWRONG. The worst part was that, for everything he learned to do in his twenty-five years of life, he had no idea how to make these feelings stop.

7. Missing

White had been gone for a little over a week, and already Nobori was missing her company. After seven years of her near-constant companionship it was... odd to not have her around; to look over his shoulder and not find her behind him. Sure, she called Kudari and himself whenever she had some time off from training and traveling but somehow what wasn't enough- it was just a face on a screen, not the real girl. Naturally Kudari talked to her the most, eager to learn about all the places his work didn't allow him to see, leaving Nobori only a few minutes to talk before they had to leave for work or something came up on her end. Not that he minded, Nobori wasn't much of a telephone person anyway -he wasn't much of a talking person, period- but it was nice to hear her voice.

"Okay, so I'll just let you go now. I've got a long way to Castelia City to go. So, yeah..." an intake of breath, a nervous shift of the eyes, and a light blush on her cheeks. "I miss you. Okay, bye." With that the line went dead and Nobori was left with the droning sound of the dial tone.

"...I miss you, too..." Nobori admitted just barely above a whisper. It was slightly out of character for him, he could admit, but White seemed to bring out that tiny little part of him.

8. Complication

It was only a matter of time before Kudari figured out that his twin had more-than-platonic feelings for their young friend -of course he would figure out something Nobori had kept so much to himself.

"It vas pretty obvious, really." Kudari confirmed with a nod of his head. "Zuh vay you act around her, I'm surprised she didn't get it!" He laughed lightly -a light, jovial sound- swinging his arms at his sides carelessly. "So, vhen do you plan on telling her?"

"I don't." Nobori replied coolly, "If I ignore zhese feelings, zhey will go avay eventually." That was a flat-out lie and he knew it. He wasn't some sort of master of love by any stretch of the imagination, but even he knew the term "absence makes the heart grow fonder" and how well it applied to him. It was a lie that Kudari saw right through,

"So you say. Here's anozer question: Vhat is so wrong with loving Vhite?"

"She's sixteen, I'm twenty-five. She's nine years younger zhan I am, zhat is vhat's wrong with it."

"Zhat's a dumb reason. Mama and Papa vere twelve years apart, and zhey vere perfectly happy togezer."

"... Zhat was Mother and Father; you can't compare zhem to Vhite and I." Without another word the older twin walked around his brother and out the door, rubbing at his chest in an attempt to make the pain in his heart stop.

9. Home

It was dreary afternoon in early Winter, several would-be passengers sipping at hot coco and bundled up in coats and scarves. It was on this cold Winter day that White came home, taking two steps at a time as she descends underground into the station, hair and shoulders dusted with the snow that had started falling outside. She rubbed her gloved hands together and took a deep breath, letting the warm air fill her lungs before calling out,

"I'm hoooooooooome~~!" it didn't even take Kudari a minute before he sought the young Trainer out and hugged her, the girl squealing and laughing in delight as she was spun around. She looked over the Subway Master's shoulder to see Nobori, shaking his head as he stood next to the entrance to the Multi-Line. "Nobori, we're having a reunion, get your ass over here!" Nobori didn't make any sort of movement. "Okay fine, I'll go to you. Geez." She mumbled, wiggling out of Kudari's embrace and running over to the other Subway Master and throwing her arms around his midsection.

"Don't run in zuh station," Nobori said stiffly, looking down at the top of the girl's head. White looked up at him, with a frown

"Thanks for the warm welcome." She said sarcastically and huffing, not letting go of the taller man. "Any other safety tips you wanna tell me?" Nobori sighed lightly and, fighting back the urge to return White's hug, patted her head lightly,

"Velcome home."