I wasn't sure what either of us was thinking at the time, but we sure as hell didn't notice when sitting up talking in N's room turned into laying in bed whispering. My eyes were heavy and every time I brought up the desire to go downstairs and into bed, N distracted me, asking one more question that I just had to answer.
So when I woke up in his bed with him I was about ready to scream with shock. His back was turned to me, but I was all curled up against it, his hair was curled between my fingertips as if I had been running my hands through it. I bit my lip when I realized I had caused this. Now I didn't even have to excuse of blaming him. I was the one who hadn't gone down stairs. I had fallen asleep in his bed with him… how embarrassing.
The gentle rise and fall of his side proved he was still asleep, and I hesitantly twisted a lock of his tea green hair between my finger tips. I could have moved away from him, or gotten up and gone down stairs, but something held me there at his side. It was almost like I was enjoying myself.
I had never noticed before how tight and toned his muscles were. He was in good shape despite the innocent atmosphere that made him seem like a child rather than eighteen. My fingers began to part a thicker lock of his hair until I was braiding the ends loosely. My heart felt full and my chest was light, much better than yesterday.
Would he mind that I was curled up next to him? He must have noticed at some point in the night. I hadn't fallen asleep next to him after all. Last I remembered I had been at the foot of the bed on my stomach while he lounged lazily at my side. That's it… we hadn't even been lying correctly. So why were we all tucked under the blankets and why were our heads on the many fluffy pillows now?
I didn't move once again, just sighed and breathed in the clean smell of the sheets. His hair was kind of straggly and wavy looking from sleeping on it all night, but I was sure mine didn't look any better. Gently I brought my hands up to my cheek and pushed my nose further into his shoulder blade, pinching the braid gently between my fingertips.
I thought about Cheren while I was lying there… thinking about all the possible things they could have done to him… They wouldn't send him to the guillotine would they? I grew terribly afraid and pushed the thought away. No, they wouldn't kill him for nothing. Ghetsis had a big bark… not such a huge bite though.
I tried to convince myself I believed this…
And if Cheren was here, then what were the chances of escaping? He was the one I relied on most to break me out of here… and he had been stuck in this prison the whole time. Team plasma wasn't stupid… I hated to admit it, but they knew me and my friends too well.
Poor Bianca was probably so lonely without us. Unless of course they had her here too… but I highly doubted it. Bianca alone was no threat. Not in the slightest.
N stirred next to me suddenly. I released his hair and folded my hands together under my chin, just waiting, and my stomach flipping.
There was a soft, pleasant moan from him and I could tell he was just barely coming out of his slumber. He rolled over onto his back and his face fell into the crook between my neck and my cheek. I shivered and fought a whimper rising in my throat.
He made a confused noise once again, probably irritating the cut in his forehead or something, but either way his eyes cracked open for a split second then closed again. He sighed.
"Good morning." He whispered with a very faint laugh. His lips turned up at the corners. "You fell asleep in my bed."
"I noticed." I squirmed slightly.
His emerald eyes opened once again and the smile twisted in confusion. His cheeks were turning red. "You look different in the morning." He mused.
I looked propped myself up on my elbow and looked down across the length of my body. I didn't seem any different, though I was still wearing the same dress from yesterday. It was all caught up around my hips and I flushed and pulled it down quickly.
"Why do you say that?" I looked at him. He looked back at me and blinked.
"You look more like a pokemon."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not a pokemon."
He shook his head like I was the crazy one then pulled his arms up under his chin to be laying on them. I noticed a faint bruise appearing along the length of his cheek and over his nose.
"How is your nose?" I asked looking over at him. My hand caught the lock of hair I had been braiding and I pulled it up to twist more into place.
He watched me for a long moment, perhaps not hearing my question. The bliss in the air seemed to fade after some amount of time, until N just took a deep breath and let himself relax. I got the impression he had one of those nights were you wake up feeling worse than you did going to sleep. My heart went out to him.
"What are you doing there?" N whispered, eyeing my quick fingers.
I stopped and blushed slightly. I ran my fingers through the brain and smoothed it out. "I was braiding your hair… sorry." I hadn't considered him not wanting me to touch him.
He leaned over to his side and stared at me with gentle eyes. "I'm afraid, Touko." There was no denying the plea in his voice. "Ghetsis will hit me… and punish me…"
I shook my head. "No…"
"Yes." N seemed to have found a weak spot in my defenses. He was staring right through me now. In attempts to look away I pressed my face into his shoulder.
Oh how I wished I could tell N that I would protect him… I wanted to say I wouldn't let Ghetsis hurt him, not ever… but it would have been an empty promise. Ghetsis just had it out for N… his own son.
"Don't go anywhere that wont be filled with grunts." I suggested, remembering the way everyone had stared in horror at Ghetsis yesterday. He wouldn't harm the beloved Lord N in the presence of all his followers. He wasn't that stupid.
"But I have to bring Ghetsis and the other sages paperwork today… and I have a meeting with a company that makes pokemon clothing and Ghetsis wont want the grunts—
"What about Concordia and Anthea?" I asked. "They care about you like you are there little brother… cant you have them with you? Ghetsis won't hurt you around anyone else…" I hoped I was right.
"Who will watch over you?" he mused.
"Really N, I know how to handle myself." I gave him a cross look. "You know I was on my own for almost a year before… well you know. All this happened." I had to admit it; I was sick and tired of being "taken care of", which was code for being watched like a braivary.
N didn't look very convinced. "I don't know how you did it."
"Easy. I had my pokemon with me." for the first time in what felt like a long time I just wanted to find them and get out of here. Scrafty, Unfezant, Reuniclus, Samorott, and Eelektross…
N felt the sudden despair between us and looked away, taking it the wrong way. Or maybe he was just guilty. He sighed again.
"You know… your pokemon are more stubborn than you are." N finally said. "They don't do anything they are told even though they are treated better than any other pokemon here…"
I felt a humorless laugh rise in my chest. That would be just like them… to misbehave and do everything they could just to drive everyone crazy. I couldn't quite smile though. This was confirmation for me. "I want to see them." I said.
"I can't let you…" N looked up again. "I will get punished."
I rolled my eyes. "But you say you are going to get punished from what you did yesterday… so either way you are getting punished right? What else could happen? What is the worst that the sages or Ghetsis could do to you?" I didn't realize how selfish I sounded until his hand crept up to his face and he probed the darkening bruise.
I sighed. I didn't want N to get beat because of me…
"Maybe…" He said when I least expected it. "If I can go back onto the top floor today and get them…"
My heart skipped a beat and I felt a sudden swell of happiness. I would get to see my pokemon!
"N… you don't know how much that would mean to me." I grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly.
He looked at me again now and a very soft smile lit his eyes. "How come you make me feel like this, Touko?"
"Like what?"
"Like I can get in trouble and be punished… And it won't matter because I just want to make you happy."
"We're friends." I wasn't sure what the strange, tugging feeling was between us but it was starting to really gnaw on my heart strings. He was just so… so sweet.
"I wouldn't do that for my pokemon friends though."
"Some friends are more special than others." I wasn't about to explain to him how special Bianca was to me, or how special Cheren was when he was being pleasant. And I certainly wasn't going to tell him how much Mienshao had meant to me… I would have done anything for her.
N smiled that same gently smile. It was the opposite of Tate's smile, which was always so twisted and mysterious. N was open and innocent. He had nothing to hide. I smiled back at him, wondering if even a month ago this was possible. Rivals being friends… different ideals, completely different people for sure.
Water and fire.
"You are my very special friend." N said, reaching forward and pushing a lock of hair out of my face. "No one else has ever made me feel like this."
I breathed in the pleasant smell of the sheets, mixed with the musky, boyish smell of N lying next to me. "Isn't it weird though?"
His eyebrows came down, as if to fight off any reason for this friendship to be weird.
"Fire and water." I laughed. "If we are pokemon like you said we are… then shouldn't we dislike each other?"
He may not know much about human emotions or how they work, but when it came to pokemon he knew exactly what he was talking about. He smiled a now wider smile at me, showing the perfect alignment of his white teeth. I had never noticed before, he had a very slight gap between his top front teeth. It was adorable.
"Pokemon tend to adapt when they are out of their environment. When there is a type that is weaker than another they have to adapt to live in harmony with it." N explained.
I shook my head. "Oh, ok." The sarcasm in my voice was light and teasing. He blushed slightly.
"Or maybe I'm not a water type." He suggested. "Maybe I'm a electric type, or a grass type, or maybe even an ice type."
I rolled my eyes, thinking of how Tate was the ice type. N wasn't even close. He was warmer, softer than that. Water… but water could be violent. Grass? Now there was a possibility.
"N, trust me. You are NOT an ice type." He smiled sheepishly anyways.
"I know."
