~Falkner~

So maybe I misjudged Morty a little bit. He wasn't as angry as he was frustrated and—dare I say—horny. Something inside me, a small nonchalant voice, said that his anger was fueled by his dick, which was fueled by me, which meant I was screwed. Not literally, but… you get the point.

"Sweetheart." Morty pressed his forehead against mine after moments of sucking each other's faces off. "What the hell?"

I couldn't give him what he wanted tonight though; I was too worried about what Lance had said back at the league meeting. One of us could lose our gym…

My father was the previous gym leader of Violet city, and he was a man of many things, pride and honor being the most important. He would never let something happen to his gym and I knew that if I did he would never forgive me—dead or not. That gym was our home; my father built it from the ground up with the help of his love for birds. I didn't know any other way of life… i didn't know how to be any more independent than I was at the moment.

I pushed my face into Morty's chest, curling forward and playing with the ripped, burned ends of his scarf that he put around my neck. He pulled me in tight with a sigh, leaning into the leather couch pillows and pulling me with him. We sat together quietly.

"You're not cheating on me are you?" Morty asked.

"What? No… I—I mean… who said we're even together?" that wasn't the topic I had on my mind, but I figured I deserved an answer at least.

"Me obviously." He rubbed my hip strongly, his narrowed lavender eyes piercing me for objection.

I blinked at him, watching the way his pitch black pupils seemed to trap emotion and ring I of life. "Morty… I'm scared."

"Of what?" He murmured quietly to me. "I'll chase it away."

"Everything…" I had to look away now, hating myself for confiding in Morty like this. My father would have told me to suck it up and use actions to cope rather than words. "I—I can't even sleep at night in my own home. I have nightmares… or not really bad dreams, but I have memories of my childhood. Its making me exhausted. And that's not even all of it. I—I miss Pride, he's nowhere to be seen. I don't have transportation now and things at the gym are falling apart. And now… this thing with Kanto. What am I going to do if I lose my gym?"

Morty pulled me in closer, holding me tightly and nuzzling my neck gently. "Shit happens, Falkner. But I promise you won't lose your gym…"

"You don't know that."

"You're so stubborn." He told me, pulling back and looking me in the eyes. "I'll help you as much as I can… And maybe I can find you a new bird? Come on… now don't cry… Sweetheart."

I bit my lip, squeezing my eyes shut and wiping away the tears. This was completely different than the way I was brought up. My father would have smacked me for daring to cry in a situation like this. He would have told me to suck it up, and I would have. That's what I wanted to do now, but Morty made it all too easy to be comforted.

I muffled my tears into his chest quietly, knowing that any good gym leader would be home with their pokemon right now. If we were going to survive this we would have to work together and be together… and yet Morty's arms were just so strong and reassuring.

"The off season is always hard… this is the first winter you have been alone running the gym right?"

I shook my head. "My father died in the summer last year…"

"But you weren't managing a gym." He brushed my hair back. "It's going to be fine… alright?"

I wasn't convinced but nodded anyways. There may be a serious lack of trust for Morty when it came to things like… our physical relationship, but at times like this I knew I could believe in him to be there for me. And it felt so good to know someone was there…

"Let's talk about something else." He suggested, pointing across the room to where Litwick was blowing an ember across the granite countertop in Morty's kitchen. His living area was completely open, one huge flat with no dividing walls except for a long hallway leading to the spare room, a bathroom, and his master bedroom.

"I'm thinking about donating that little blob over there to an orphanage for Christmas…" Morty murmured. "I… I grew up in an orphanage and I know it was always harder for me when there wasn't pokemon around. Specifically ghost types."

I sniffed. "That's… so kind of you."

"Are you surprised?" He smirked down at me. "Besides… I'm not really training it."

"You have a soft spot." I cuddled into him, laughing sadly. "Maybe that's why you like me? Because I became an orphan?"

"Falkner, I like you because you are stubborn and frustrating and adorable. Not because you were an orphan for a very short period of time."

I flushed a soft shade of pink as he played with the feathery ends of my hair.

"I love you…" He told me. "Do you believe that?"

For a long time now I had been thinking that Morty only thought he loved me, and that once we had sex he wouldn't anymore. At first my reluctance was because I didn't want to be used as a sex toy, but now I realized that it was because I didn't want to lose Morty.

"Falkner you're killing me here."

I sighed. "Alright yes… I believe you…"

"Look at me."

I stared up into those hazy violet eyes, blinking softly the remaining moisture from my eyes as the fiery glow from the candles blinked out. Litwick blowing them out now to set the mood in low light. Morty kissed my forehead gently—softer than he ever had before.

"I love you." He murmured. "I know I'm an asshole most of the time… But that doesn't change anything."

I sniffed, feeling utterly safe in his arms, shivering as he trailed his nose up my jaw.

"Morty…"

"Mmmn?"

"I—I love you too."

My mistake apparently. He pulled back, shifting upright and smiling deviously at me as if he was receiving a medal. I was sheepish, not meeting his eyes and unprepared for his sudden attack. He grabbed me, wrapping his arms and legs in a death grip so tight I had the wind knocked out of me.

"You can't take it back this time." He pecked me on the lips. "I won't let you."

I sighed. "I didn't plan to…"

"I love you Sweetheart."

"Yeah I know… I love you too."