Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie . . . I started with Fennekin when I played X, but I love all three of them. I love Kalos in general, really.

Chapter 7

Greninja is lying down half-asleep, in the middle of a daydream when he's sent out of his Poke Ball. He grumbles a little. The carpet, which seems to follow him to every Pokemon Center, is uncomfortable as usual.

From a distance comes Calem's surprised voice. "Were you still sleeping?"

He wasn't completely, but he could've been. It's not like he can keep track of night and day when he's locked in his Poke Ball. It's been a while since he was last out – he doesn't know exactly how long. He cracks open his eyes. The dim, orange lighting of the room makes him guess it's currently late afternoon.

It's nice to see Calem again. Greninja isn't mad at him anymore. The monotony of the past several days (or however long it's been) had dissipated his anger until all that was left was the plain sadness of missing someone.

Still, it doesn't excite him to find that they're alone. There's a reason Calem is sitting on the other side of the room, as far away from his Pokemon as possible. Greninja sits up and prepares to hear a monologue, because he's certain that's what his trainer brought him out for.

Sure enough, Calem shortly begins talking: "So . . . I'm not sure if you noticed, but we're actually still in Laverre City right now."

Greninja did indeed notice.

"I didn't plan to stay so long. I told myself I was only going to rest here until I'd gotten my act together. How ridiculous of me to think it could be that easy . . . Well, anyway, I wanted to tell you that I just got a Holo Clip from Serena. She just won her eighth badge from the Snowbelle gym and is heading to the Pokemon League. I'm happy for her, of course, but I have to admit I'm envious too. So I asked her what makes her so strong, and you know what she told me? She said it's because she feels connected with her Pokemon. I ended up saying that I'm connected with mine as well. We used the same words, but only I knew we were talking about different things."

Calem started out fine, but stuttered on the word connected and only got worse from there. By the end, he was so choked by embarrassment that he could barely get out his words. He falls into mortified silence, breathing to calm himself.

Greninja is suddenly distracted by an errant thought about how warm Calem's face would feel right now, painted red by that brilliant blush. He shoves the thought out of his brain; it's superfluous.

Calem's voice is better, but still not totally steady, when he resumes. "This secret . . . it's enough to make anyone want to give up on everything. Will I ever again speak to another human without being tortured by it? Greninja, I've met with and talked to and thrown myself at so many different people in these past few weeks. Some of them were nice, others were not, but none of them . . . none of them could distract me from you. I can't stop thinking about you." He puts his head in his hands and groans like something is burning him. "I'm . . . so . . . scared. I am so afraid of what would happen if anyone found out what we did."

He pauses for a bit before sliding his hands off his face and asking, "How are you doing?"

The question, as well as Calem's abrupt change of tone, catches Greninja off-guard. A second ago, he'd figured his only job was to listen, which was why he'd thus far resisted the impulse to step forward and comfort his distressed trainer. Now he's confounded by this open-ended – and therefore impossible to answer – question. He falls into his usual habit of hanging back and waiting for Calem to start again.

Calem sighs. "You're always silent."

Greninja shrugs helplessly.

"I wish I could know what you're thinking," Calem says. "I wish I knew what you thought of it when I said I was a freak. Do you remember that? I called myself a freak because I fell in love with someone outside my species, but I've since realized that in doing so, I indirectly called you a freak as well. I don't want to think that way about you, but it's true, isn't it? We're both demented. If word ever gets out about us, I'll be shunned by humans, and you . . . well, actually, I don't know how Pokemon feel about this sort of thing. Have I made you an outcast among your kind as well?"

Again Greninja doesn't answer, but now it's for a different reason. His mind is reeling. That was the first time he heard Calem say the word "love."

Calem notices the change in him. Apparently Greninja looks just as dazed as he feels. "Are you okay?" the trainer asks, concerned. He doesn't wait for a reply – he probably wouldn't get one anyway – before he gets up, crosses the room, and then falls back onto his knees to put himself on eye level with his slumped Pokemon.

It sounds like a waterfall is crashing somewhere; Greninja's heart is pounding so much. Calem asked are you okay but he's not searching for the answer to that question. His eyes are staring into Greninja's with searing intensity. Those eyes are asking another question altogether, one that isn't asked out loud but Greninja knows it anyway. He feels the magnetic energy flowing through the tiny space between their bodies and he instinctively knows the true reason Calem brought him out. It wasn't just to make him listen to a monologue after all.

They've stared at each other for an absurdly long time before Calem lowers his gaze to the ground. He laughs nervously. "Greninja, you are . . . too much of a gentleman. D-Don't just sit there and wait for me. I don't have the nerve to act first."

Greninja frowns at this. Really, what Calem is saying is that he doesn't want to take any responsibility for what they're about to do. He wants to avoid making the first move so that he can later delude himself into thinking he was dragged into the act unwillingly by his Pokemon. As much as Greninja hates disobeying an order, there's no way he can allow his trainer to hold such a twisted mindset. If Calem really wants them to be together, he should be able to admit it, if only for a moment.

Trying to be gentle but firm, Greninja takes Calem's face in his hands and tilts it so their eyes meet again. The boy's skin really is warm – comforting, even. It almost makes Greninja forget what he's doing, but he does remember to let go. He sits back, returns his palms to the floor and continues to wait. His body is achingly impatient to begin and it's difficult for him to keep still, but the first move absolutely cannot be his.

Calem holds his gaze, though he seems tempted to break it. He's blushing and wincing and then he starts taking deep trembling breaths that make him sound like he's losing control – but he's not. He is so slow and careful when he finally wraps an arm around Greninja and pulls him close. Greninja returns the embrace and presses himself against Calem, pleased by the solidness of him. It's so much better than his intangible daydreams.

"We're going to hell for this," Calem mutters. His tone is dull and unconvincing.

In the next moment his fevered lips are brushing Greninja's face. Much like their first time at Route 14, he kisses every line and ridge of the Pokemon's head. Greninja soon tries to copy him; his kissing is sloppy as always but made up for with sheer enthusiasm. As fumbling hands roam among them, Greninja finds himself being lifted off the floor and then cradled against a body of warmth. Calem carries him over to the bed and lays him down on the mattress. After hastily undressing, Calem joins Greninja on the bed and they forget about everything else in the world.

(Segment Break)

They're tangled up in each other and in the sheets that they've made a mess of. Normally it would bother Greninja to be encased in such stifling heat, but not this time. He may never want to move again. He's so content where he is right now. For a long time, the only sound in the room is their joined breathing.

Eventually, Calem makes a barely audible whisper: "Do you love me?"

Greninja nods.

"Even after all the grief I've put you through?"

Again he nods.

"I don't understand it," Calem says softly.

Greninja doesn't fully comprehend it either, but it's clear that he cannot hold a grudge when forgiveness is so much easier.

He knows Calem could turn around tomorrow and insist what they did together was an unrepeatable mistake. The possibility saddens him, but not enough to keep him away. There is no fighting his feelings. He will endure the pain when it arrives and snatch all the moments of pleasure he can get in the meantime.

Calem closes his eyes. Thinking that they're going to sleep, Greninja does the same. But then, Calem breaks the silence one more time to whisper the words that fill Greninja with a rush of hope.

"I love you too."