25. Relief

He knew this was a bad idea...

His fingers impatiently drummed on his sides. He swallowed—a bit nervous as the brunette dragged him across the small, windy town of New Bark. His body felt like it was getting tenser and tenser with each passing step. 'Oh, Arceus.'

The brunette, on the other hand, skipped her way over to her average sized house, a wide, sunny smile plastered across her face. Her small hand held onto his tense, gloved hand tightly as she hummed along to a nostalgic tune. She giggled about once they reached at the front of her porch.

Silver's heart was beating a bit quicker than usual. He was not in the best mood, either—not that he always is in a good mood, but somehow, he still managed to glare over at his girlfriend as they stopped at her house. He squared his jaw, his silver irises peering into her warm hazels the moment they landed onto him. "Do we really have to do this?" he hissed gently, yanking his hand away roughly.

"Of course, silly!" she sang in her peppy voice. Despite his threatening growls, Lyra leaned in, and pecked his cheek. She smiled when he relaxed at her chaste action, and pulled back. "It's gonna happen sooner or later."

"I know, but..." he trailed off, crossing his arms. His eyes averted from her to the house behind her, pursing his lips a bit. "It's too... early...?" He sweatdropped; he made it sound like a question rather than a statement.

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Either way, it's gonna happen sooner or later."

"Hmph. I just don't think this is a good idea," he simply stated, trying to build up his courage. She had managed to drag him over to New Bark, not telling him why at first, but when they were half way there on her Dragonite, she mentioned her mother, and he immediately protested about it. There was no way in hell he was about to meet her mom... at least not yet. What exactly does she know about him? Does she know who he really was—son to Team Rocket's leader? Does she know that he's not the kindest person towards Lyra? Does she know that he happened to strip her in the Radio—

"GAH!" he blurted loudly, resulting in a few Pidgey flying away from a nearby tree. His face felt warm at the thought of her almost naked body—

The brunette snapped him back to reality, and dragged him to the front door. She knocked at the door, and Silver reacted with a heavy snarl. "Silver, stop being such a wuss."

"Shut the fuck up, dammit. You're paying for this," he threatened, scowling at her deeply.

Turning to the redhead, she pouted, hands on her hips. "Stop being such a dick and suck it up already!"

Silver leaned in closer to her face, growling. She did the same, glaring back at him. Their faces were mere inches apart. As their mouths were about to brush—

The doorknob jingled, and turned. Both pairs of silver and hazel eyes diverted to the door, widening. Both quickly pulled away, and straightened up as the door finally opened, revealing a woman with brown hair and dark, chocolate brown eyes. She looked strikingly familiar to Lyra herself. Her mouth spread into a wide smile. "Hi, sweetie!"

"Hi, mom!" Lyra cheerfully greeted. The two reached out for a loving, mother-daughter embrace. Silver watched this, and twitched his lips up into a small smile. At least she still had her mom to give her love and compassion like that, unlike himself. His eyes, for once, softened at the sight.

The woman landed her eyes on Silver, who quickly snapped back to reality, straightening himself up. He cleared his throat, and tried to stay casual—

"And who is this?" she asked, a smile spread across her lips.

"Mom," Lyra staggered on back neck to Silver, and grabbed his hand. "This is Silver, my boyfriend—"

Lyra's mother arched an eyebrow at her statement, and eyed the redheaded male. Silver sweatdropped at her suspicious motherly gaze set upon him. He gulped, regaining his cool as he nodded. "Hello."

"Well, hiya! Lyra's told me a lot about you! It's good to finally meet you, Silver!"

He instantly relaxed at her warm welcome, exhaling sharply. He nodded at her, forcing a smile. "Likewise." He received a small nudge from Lyra's arm, and he stretched his arm out to shake her hand. Her hand grabbed his own, and they shook. Silver smiled a bit wider; this wasn't as hard as he thought it would be, and she seemed really nice... He could do this...! Yeah! Silver could feel his courage rising with each passing minute.

...

That courage shattered the moment she tightened her hold on his gloved hand and said, "So, you're the one that stripped my daughter at the Radio Tower."

"...Um—"

A fascinating way to introduce someone to their parent.

A/N: /hopes that update is acceptable/ sry guys im really busy these days ; u ;