The morning after the storm was calm and tranquil, the faint smell of rain lingering in the early air. The previous night's storm had kept Augustine awake for several hours at at time. Although he was somewhat tired, he had decided to go down to the beach with Blastoise in hopes that the storm may have washed up something valuable or interesting onto the sandy shore. As he walked along the beach with his turtle Pokemon, he couldn't help but think of the dream he had a while back where he was in almost the exact same scenario. He sighed and gazed out at the sea. Blastoise dug his clawed hands in the sand, enjoying their little treasure hunting excursion.

Augustine turned his attention back to the land and saw something that snapped him awake.

Lying in the sand no more than twenty or thirty feet away was a tall, red haired man unconscious and washed up onto the beach. Augustine instantly recognized the man's hair colour and rushed over to him. Blastoise looked up and followed his master out of curiosity. Augustine's suspicions were confirmed when he turned the man over onto his back and recognized his rugged, handsome face.

"Lysandre?" he whispered.

No answer.

"Lysandre?" he called again, gently pressing his fingers against the redhead's neck. There was a pulse! Good Arceus, he's alive! Augustine thought. "Blastoise, let's get him home! I fear he might be hurt." The large Water type lifted up Lysandre with his strong arms and the two set off back to their seaside cottage. Charizard and Venusaur scuttled over to see what was going on. Blastoise set Lysandre down onto the bed and stepped aside to allow his master to kneel at the king's side, gently placing a hand on his forehead.

Lysandre coughed violently as he regained consciousness, unaware of his surroundings. Shivering from the intense cold, he dared to open his eyes as he felt a blanket pulled over him. His vision was somewhat fuzzy, but he could see someone with raven hair looking down at him and felt a hand on his forehead. He blinked slowly a few times in an effort to clear his vision. "Lysandre?" a familiar voice whispered. "Are you all right?" His vision began to clear up, and he could see a pair of slate grey eyes peering into his own. "Augustine?" Lysandre whispered, not sure if he was dreaming, hallucinating, or dead. The young man moved some strands of red hair out of the king's face as he slowly regained consciousness. "What in Arceus' name happened to you?"

Lysandre searched through his foggy memories. All the could remember before he got swept away...

"A storm... Gyarados... where is Gyarados?" he whispered, finding it difficult to stay awake. "Lysandre, please, stay with me..." Augustine begged. He then turned to Blastoise. "Please, do me a favor and find another blanket."

"Blast!" The Shellfish Pokemon nodded obediently. While the Water type was gone, Lysandre dared to ask, "How did you... know I was the one... writing to you all this time?" Augustine placed a hand on the redhead's cheek and smiled slightly. "I knew from the start that is how you felt about me. Not a day has gone by without me thinking of you." Lysandre returned the smile weakly. "I felt as if I were dying a little every day we were apart," he continued. "But when you became king I was certain we would never meet again."

"Blast!" Blastoise handed his master a second blanket. Augustine placed it onto the other blanket and climbed onto the bed next to Lysandre. The two men lay close to each other, drifting off to sleep. "Feeling all right?" Augustine asked. Lysandre smiled. "I'm a lot warmer now, thank you." he whispered. Comfortable and happy to be reunited, they fell asleep together.

Augustine awoke a few hours later. Still groggy, he flopped over. There was nobody next to him. The young man snapped awake, thinking that perhaps he had another dream. He turned over and saw Lysandre seated by the fireplace with the blanket over his shoulders, sharing some food with Charizard. The lizard Pokemon looked over at his master, sensing his awakening. Lysandre gave Augustine a smile that was warm as the fire. "Sleep well?" he asked, admiring how cute Augustine looked as he awoke.

"Yes. And it seems you have recovered quite well." he climbed out of bed and joined his companion and Pokemon by the fire. "I apologize if you are not used to eating the same food as your Pokemon. I don't live a life as extravagant as yours."

Lysandre smiled again. "It's all right. As long as I'm here, I'm happy." He split a Pecha berry in half and gave some to Augustine. Charizard snorted in annoyance at that moment, causing the redhead to flinch. "Charizard! Be polite!" Augustine scolded the Fire Pokemon.
"My apologies, Pecha happens to be his favorite." he explained. Charizard stood up and went outdoors in search of more.

As they ate, Lysandre regaled his companion with tales of everything that had happened in the time that they were apart, in more detail that he could ever put into a letter. Augustine listened intently, happy that his wish had come true. By the time they were finished, the sun was setting, painting the sky with red and orange.

The young man stood up to go feed Venusaur and Blastoise, but Lysandre stopped him for a moment, grabbing his arm. "Augustine, wait!"

"What is it?" he asked, despite knowing perfectly well what was happening.

Lysandre knew it was now or never. He held the smaller man close to him, pausing for a moment. "I have something that I wish to say. Face to face." Augustine responded by gently wrapping his arms around the redhead's broad shoulders. "I love you. I really and truly love you. I have wanted to say this from the day we met, but I think you are beautiful."

Augustine felt his face turn pink. "Oh Lysandre..." he whispered. "I have been waiting so long for you to say that. I have waited just as long to say that I love you too." As they spoke, the two men drew closer to each other, until their noses were touching and they could feel each other's breath. It only took a moment for it to finally happen.

They kissed. At long last, they kissed. Lips joined in an expression of passion, a feeling both men had ached for. Nothing else in the universe existed at that moment. It was just Lysandre and Augustine, expressing their undying love.

They separated after a few moments, gazing into each other's eyes. After a few moments, they resumed kissing, this time more passionately. Lysandre opened his mouth slightly to encourage Augustine to kiss him deeper, more intimately. The younger man obliged, pressing up closer to his lover and tilting his head slightly to allow more access to his mouth. The temperature began to rise and their breathing became rapid. Lysandre moved his hands from Augustine's hips and began to remove his shirt, lips moving from the other man's mouth down to his throat. He let out a small whimper, tugging at the redhead's shirt impatiently. The larger man gently pushed him onto the bed, hands roaming his smaller lover's bare chest. Lysandre sat up for a moment to remove his own shirt before he continued kissing his lover, pressing their bodies closer together.

It was at that moment Augustine realized that his dreams had come true. He believed it was impossible for him to be together with Lysandre, but the redhead had made it obvious that he would go to any length for love. They both knew it was all worth every painful moment they were apart.

-

A tiny Rotom flitted about in the cool nighttime air as Colress sat beneath the Kyurem statue, clearly impatient. He had spent most of the afternoon and evening waiting for Augustine to arrive so they could battle. As stubborn of a man he was, he still had his limits. He stood up, wondering what could possibly have been occupying the young man for all this time. Rotom followed close behind his master as they headed towards the seaside.

Colress moved like a swift shadow in the direction of the small cottage, determined to find Augustine and demand as to why he had been left waiting. As he drew closer, he heard what someone or something crying out, but whether it be from pain or something else he did not know. The blond man looked over at Rotom, but the Plasma Pokemon was completely silent at his master's side. It could just be some wild Pokemon, he thought. As he got closer, he began to hear what sounded like another voice, and it was becoming pretty clear that they were human. Colress knelt down and peeked into a window, Rotom following suit. Colress turned bright red when he finally discovered what was going on.

He put his hand over Rotom's eyes before the Electric type could see Augustine naked, but what really caught Colress' eye was the red haired man who held the young man firmly on his lap. It was the same man he had seen Augustine with a few months ago, when he accompanied his brother, the king at the time, on a journey to Autumnfell. But now that the king is dead...

Colress looked away. So that what has been occupying Augustine, he thought. But his lover is the king? How long has he been here? It seems Ghetsis has no reason to send his army to Easteros...

Colress mulled it over for a few moments. No, I should not tell him until I know for sure that Augustine's lover is the king. After all, my suspicions could potentially be incorrect. Ghetsis would have my head if he believed I was getting too involved with Augustine. I am tasked with manipulating him, not befriending him.

He ran off soon after, Rotom following close behind. I must have a word with Augustine tomorrow. He has a lot of explaining to do...

(A/N: Did all my lovely readers have happy holidays? This one took me a while to write, mostly because I've been pretty busy the past few weeks. I was hoping I would have this fic done by the new year, but it seems we'll have to hold off just a bit longer for my other fics. Sorry! Until next time, LadyPineTree out!)