You need help, I still do not own Pokémon, don't you understand? sigh This will never end...
Yep, it's longer! Joy!! YOU MUST REVIEW! Nah, but if you still think I own Pokémon, then you must be too blind to read my story...
----------------------
He fell asleep after gently stroking her face for a few minutes.
The light coming through the window was enough to wake the dead underground. Though Roark was still asleep next to her, shivering and sometimes moaning as if he was having a bad dream.
He shot up, yelling, "Ah! What time is it?"
"It's 12:23," Luna yawned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"No way! I'm late for work! Boy I bet everyone is lost." Roark sprang up and threw his black boots on.
"Work?" Luna wondered, handing him his red hard-hat.
"Yeah, I uh, run the mine? You didn't know that?" Roark raised his eyebrow cutely.
"No, actually. I know all the Pokémon in the region, but I don't know anything about the towns and gym leaders." Luna started blushing again, turning a lovely shade of pink.
"Are you strong enough to come with me? I mean, unless you'd rather stay here all day." Roark grabbed his wallet and opened the door.
"No, no, I think I can go." Luna stood up and put her knee-high periwinkle boots on. She walked over to him and stumbled.
"I think you still need to rest a little." Roark said, catching her.
"No, please, let me come with you." Luna pleaded, her hands up to her face. She didn't want to be alone, she would love to go with him, to see what his life was like--to challenge him.
"Alright, I guess, but I'm going to have to carry you," he said, crouching down, "Piggyback?"
Luna hopped on his back and wrapped her arms around his thin, yet strong, shoulders. He held on to her legs so she didn't have to work as hard to keep herself up.
"Ready?" Roark took a running stance.
"For what?" Luna asked, a little worried.
"For this!" and with that, he took off to the mine.
They arrived at the mine a few minutes later, all the workers standing outside waiting for his orders.
"Alright, everyone to their normal duty, I'm sorry I'm late," Roark said, "Get ready to excavate that fossil. I'm excited to see what it is!"
"Wow, this is your job?" Luna asked, putting her head on his shoulder and sniffing deeply. Man, his neck smelled good—impossibly good. Maybe… Luna brushed his long hair over and felt his soft neck with her cheek.
"Yep. I love my job. I've loved caves and mines and rock Pokémon since I was a kid." Roark sighed, thinking about his past.
The workers began their shift and Roark carried Luna down into the mine.
"Where are we going?" Luna asked as her eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness.
"I've always wanted someone to share this with," Roark said with admiration as he looked at the wall, putting Luna down softly.
"What are you talking about?" Luna said, looking everywhere.
Roark turned on his headlamp and it revealed a small corner of something sticking out of the wall. He grabbed a shovel and dug the wall out until the box was clear. Roark grabbed the box and yanked it out of the wall. It looked like a treasure box.
"Inside this," Roark stated raising the box up, "are things I've found while searching for fossils." He turned his back to her and put the chest down.
"It's a surprise, so please don't look." Roark opened the box and took a small colorful heart shaped piece out and cupped his hands over it.
"For you, Luna," Roark opened his hands and presented it to her.
"Oh, Roark! It's a Heart scale! They're so rare!" Luna said, her eyes sparkling. Roarks smile gleamed as he blushed very lightly.
"Well," he put his hand behind his head, "I occasionally find things like that down here."
"You're really giving this to me?" Luna inquired.
"Of course, it's yours now," He answered softly, taking her hand and delicately placing the fragile scale in her palm.
"T-thank you," Luna hesitated, blushing vividly, as he was still holding her hand.
"You're very welcome, Luna," Roark replied, picking up the chest with one arm, "I have something else to show you." He couldn't believe she was letting him hold her hand. "It's a start," he thought.
They walked, holding hands until they reached a rather large hole in the wall.
"What's that?" Luna asked, looking up at him.
"That is what I wanted to show you," said Roark.
"A hole?" Luna was amazed as she stepped in, Roark behind her.
"Not quite," Roark said, sealing the door with a huge boulder.
Luna was bemused at what she saw. She thought there wasn't a lot you could put underground, but this totally defied her imagination.
It looked like a studio apartment, everything in one room, except the bathroom, which she imagined was behind the door of the small square room in the corner.
The walls and floors were solid concrete, but covering most of the floor was a large, plush rug. On top of the rug was a huge, couch sized bean bag. In the back corner, there was a comfy looking futon with a heavy blanket and three pillows sloppily thrown onto it. The place was very simple, as the only decoration was a huge town map with four locations circled in red on the wall. A gargantuan plasma television took up almost one entire wall, and in another corner was a tiny little kitchenette equipped with a small refridgerator, microwave, several small cabinets and a tiny sink.
"Wow, you could live here," Luna said, cutting the silence of the underground.
Roark laughed, "Well, I did actually, that's why there's so much stuff here.
"Really?" Luna asked, looking around.
"Yep," Roark said, looking directly in her eyes, "I lived here for quite some time while I was earning money for my house here in Oreburgh. Money doesn't come easy, you know, especially when you lose a gym battle. I needed to train my Pokémon, but I was working overtime and I was a new gym leader."
"Guess it isn't as easy as everyone thinks, huh?" Luna agreed.
"Nope," He paused for a moment, reflecting on his progress, "It sure does get lonely, with all my family being in different cities."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Luna lamented quietly, "I'll stay with you,"
Roark sat down on the bean bag and patted the spot next to him. Luna attempted to sit next to him, but managed to fall into the bag. She expected it to be higher.
He chuckled, "Careful, it's a little lower than you think."
"Yeah, I guess so," Luna giggled.
"You really don't have to stay, I'm fine," claimed Roark.
He attempted something bold and put his arm around her, in return, she rested her head on his chest, sighing.
------------------
Aw, cuddly fluff! I bet you can't wait to review... You can? Well, I dare you! It'll make me write faster... C'mon, I triple dog dare you!
