Morning arrived filling the world with pearly light. Rain tapped on tin roof. The rich smell of rain and water, the faint scent of loam, and of something else. Sweet flowers and an earthy richness he couldn't place filled Mewtwos nose.
He was still half asleep after what felt like the deepest rest he had ever had. Groggy, he breathed in deep, filling his nose with those scents again feeling the rest of his senses fully coming back to him. Tap tap on the roof from the rain, soft breathing, warmth beside him, soft bedding wrapped around him, wait…
Slowly he opened his eyes taking in the rustic wooden rafters, felt the warm weight against him. Like a flash it came back to him, last night, in the fog, him and her. Her touch had felt like the electricity that had danced in the sky around them. Had it really happened? He almost dared not look down in case it was all a dream. When he finally swallowed his fear he saw a white furred head resting on his chest, her arm draped over his belly.
Eyes wide and with trembling hand he gently placed a palm on her back feeling the silk soft fur. Warm, alive and very real. Real, this had happened, with her. Carefully he wrapped his arms around her and rested his muzzle to her head.
A soft rumble started in Avalon's chest having been so gently disturbed. Still mostly asleep she nudged her muzzle up under his chin and let out a soundless sigh. He kissed the base of her ear and exhaled never wanting this moment to end. Just looking at her and feeling her here made his chest warm, in utter awe that this was in fact real. Her arms tightened around him as she continued to nuzzle his chest and neck in sleepy bliss. He found himself doing the same petting along her back as he nuzzled her head.
Eventually her attentions slowed to a stop and her eyes fluttered open. Her hand traced along his arm as the very same revelations he had now raced through her own mind. Snapping her head up she met his gaze.
He smiled as he touched her cheek "Good Morning"
Avalon stared back, her mouth dropped open in shock as she reached out to touch his face "g... good morning... you.. you are real."
"And you are real. A strange world, isn't it?"
"it is..." she continued to touch him in wonder, first his face then his chest pausing to feel his heartbeat.
He watched her marvel at him placing a hand over hers on his heart "I never dreamed…"
"...it could be possible..." she closed her eyes "... to be touched by another... to want to be touched…"
"...To feel it... to experience it..." A rumbled started in his chest, deeper and louder then hers. Shifting to his side a little he tangled limbs and tail with her, foreheads touching, eyes closed.
"that.. last night was... was..."
"…a wonder" keeping her hand in place with his own, he gently pressed his other hand on her chest over her heart feeling both beat in time. Warmth flowed between them with their hands placed so. Heads bent to one another in reverence.
"Is our long loneliness finally over?" she dared to ask.
"I would say so. I see no reason to part ways now." he murmured back.
Avalon's ears perked "truly?" she could feel her heart skip a beat.
"Yes. What would be the point of separating now?"
"I... I don't know? I just... for a moment wondered if you would leave?" she bit her lip.
"why do you worry so much about this?" he lifted his head and looked down at her as he sat up to an elbow.
She stayed on her side eyes squeezed shut "mother... she said a lot of men do not stick around…"
"That is her experience... and thankfully I am not a man." he reached down and cupped her chin so he could look at her face "well not a hu-man… I am male…"
"Oh.. I know…" she grinned at him showing fangs.
He let out a soft chuckle and ran a thumb over her cheek "my point is… I am not like that.. I have no desire to be like that… humans have hurt us both enough, to ape some of their worst behavior would just be allowing them to harm us further. And while we will temporarily part ways to deal with things that we need to. I can not follow you while you impersonate a human for example. But I swear to you I will always come back to you."
Her grin faded and she pushed her cheek into his hand, he could feel tears left behind on his palm.
He nuzzled her softly. "Do not cry, Avalon. It is alright."
"I'm... not crying" She shivered and nuzzled him back pawing at him as she clung to him. Arms around one another they stayed like this letting her do what she needed. It seemed to open the floodgates as she just let go. All that hurt and solitude finally coming out. It was sadness and joy and everything in between as she sobbed into his shoulder. Confused as he was he felt a twinge from this but kept himself steady for her. After a time she finally calmed and held onto him even tighter "sorry...I just.."
"It is alright. We've both been through so much..." He pet on her back trying to help calm her. "...I can not fault you for it."
She took a deep breath and pulled back just enough to look into his eyes "thank you…"
"Thank you as well."
Her gaze stayed trained on him as he fussed with her tear stained fur for a few more moments before she lurched forward and kissed him. He jumped, frozen in surprise a heartbeat before he kissed her back. Everything about this moment, the pair of them together like this, in a warm bed, in this hidden cabin away from everyone, it was safe, comfortable, like nothing they ever knew. She held the kiss like her life depended on it till they both ran out of air.
Catching her breath she smiled "Life will never be the same will it?"
"It will never be as we knew it, no."
"I... cant see that as bad..."
"Neither can I. A lonely life turned on it's head is a good thing." He smiled back.
There was a rumble and Avalon blinked glancing down before she let out a raspy silent laugh.
"When was the last time you ate Avalon?"
"Sometime yesterday…"
"Then you should eat something." he smirked "I suppose there is not a lot here?"
"Not really but... I can find something." Reluctantly she pulled away from him and made her way down to the kitchen to rummage around.
Mewtwo stayed in place watching her go before he flopped to his back. There was a strange light feeling in him that was new to go along with everything else. And there was SO MUCH of everything else it all bounced around in his thoughts like so much dust in a tornado. He meant what he said to her and it surprised him in a way. Always prided himself on his independence and yet he was finding he was alright with this. This wasn't like his previous 'partnership' there was already give and take and he trusted her, she was kind and open in a way he had never expected, and that was of course ignoring the new aspect of their relationship. Something he never dreamed would happen.
There was a loud thud from downstairs and he rolled from the bed. Moving over to the stairs he peered through the railing into the kitchen. Avalon was crouched on the floor her upper body devoured by deep cabinets. "Are... you alright?"
At the sound of his voice she jerked and there was an even louder thud. "Ow!" Her tail flailed as she hastily backed out holding a large canister, a fat jolly looking chansey on the label. "Yes…" her free hand came up to her head closing an eye.
He grimaced "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's just a bump I'm fine… are you okay?" She shifted and sat on the floor holding the canister in both hands.
"Yes.. I just was wondering what you were doing" Stepping over he offered a hand up which she took. Pulling herself to her feet she bounced into him.
They locked eyes for a heartbeat before she looked away drumming her fingers on the canister "Dehydrated eggs"
He blinked "what?"
She held up the canister "eggs.. dried out.. they can be cooked with a little water and its not awful… its not exactly great either"
"Dried eggs sound.. dubious at best. Why are they dried out?"
"It preserves them. Makes them shelf stable. So you can store them longer? These should still be good I think?" She peered down at the canister turning it over in her hands.
"And you know how to cook these?"
She nodded "I know a little…" moving over to the stove he followed peering at her as she worked. A pan levitated off its hook and landed on the burner. A bowl floated from a shelf and hovered under the water faucet for a moment as she continued to read the canister. That too floated from her hands and opened dumping its contents into the bowl things mixing with unseen hands. "Mother taught me… and I was glad to learn I've eaten too many things raw in my life…"
He scrunched up his face. "I do not blame you. Despite my reservations of humans, their cooking is good."
"Humans are not all bad... most maybe... the bad ones really are terrible in ways we have both seen first hand… yet the good ones are so good..." dumping the egg goo in the pan she gave them a cursory stir before she let the heat do its thing. "mother says cooking food for psychic types helps us be better at it... bigger brains need ready energy that cooking unlocks or something like that."
Nodding he kept his attention glued on what she was doing "That makes sense." he glanced at her "...And I do know not all humans are awful. I have met at least one… one that I eventually trusted to know I still live."
Avalon returned the glance. "The Boy?"
Mewtwo nodded "the Boy…"
She turned off the heat and floated a pair of bowls down for them transferring the egg slop to them. "Do you keep in touch with him?"
He shook his head as he followed her into the main room where she set down the food "I do not no… as much as he helped me there was nothing in the young man's life that would have been aided by my presence."
"Because of what happened?" she settled on the couch with the bowl in her lap.
He settled beside her doing the same staring at the food "Yes… we killed him.. or so it seemed. To this day I still do not understand how he survived.. tears…" he shook his head and stabbed into his food.
Avalon watched him and put a gentle hand on his leg. "Your actions are what hurt him. Not you simply existing. You are not cursed. I… please do not think you have to run away and stay away to protect others. It's not like that."
He slid his gaze her way "I will not hurt you by proxy?"
She chuckled and turned to her food "No… even if somehow you did I'm maybe just a little more stalwart then a human child." turning a morsel on her fork she mused "there was a time I ate these raw..."
He blanched "I do not think I could do that… Which is why I have taken to pilfering food from humans when the opportunity strikes."
Avalon let out a snort and continued to eat.
His ear flicked "do you do that too? Steal food from humans?"
"I do... often..." she smiled "unless I'm pretending to be human… well even then I tend to take things, but then I'm usually with my maker…"
"Your creator... You said she takes care of you? Does she truly care?" He wrapped his tail around his knees as he leaned back.
"she... She nursed me back to health after she took me in and taught me things.. how to speak.. read... and other basics… she risked everything to make sure I wasn't going to be harmed any more. To bring me here for recovery. So I'm fairly certain she cares. She considers me he daughter." Avalon idly poked her eggs thinking it over.
"I'm honestly surprised. You are fortunate to have had that. It gave you guidance. At least you were not lost to the world for too long." he looked over at her, watching her, still shocked this was happening.
"I was more or less a very intelligent animal for five years… she changed that." She set her empty bowl down and sat back resting her head on the back of the couch.
"And thanks to her, you are learned, cared for, and you were kept safe and hidden." he finished as well setting his down as he leaned back with her an elbow on the back of the couch.
"yes... it would seem so... I still have a lot to learn... but.. in time..." she looked over at him.
"In time, yes. But now I can help too." He smiled at her softly.
"That.. will be interesting…"
"I hope so. I have much I could show you, if you wished."
"I think I would like that yes.. provided we can do any teaching without getting distracted." She laughed softly, but then suddenly stiffened. A tendril of psychic power touched her mind.
Mewtwo perked and tried his best to dull his aura. As impossible of a task as that might be. "what is that?"
Avalons eyes glowed as she stared off into empty space. "Merlin… mothers Alakazam… hes asking after me. Mother wants me down in the city. I told them to give me a little bit, but I have to go soon." she frowned and looked down her ears wilting a bit.
His hand found hers and squeezed "Do not worry. I will still be around. And if you can remember this feeling, of our minds touching, you can always reach out to me anywhere in the world. In fact I don't think I could ever lose track of you now."
"No?"
He looked down "No" taking her by the hands he stood and pulled her with him till they were both standing chest to chest. She blinked up at him, but surrendered to the hug wrapping her arms around him. After a moment of this he floated them up in the middle of the main room holding her close as he looked down at her "You said it yourself. Our lives are forever changed. You are part of my life now and I do not intend to change that back to the way things were. What we experienced last night was.. indescribable… wonderful.. I still feel amazing. So do not be sad. We will come together again when we can."
"I hope so... I.. don't want a world without you in it now that I know I can have it..." she nuzzled his neck softly "Come find me soon…"
He nodded cupping her chin so he could kiss her. "I will. Now that I know where to find you, I will be back as soon as I can."
They hung in the air in their embrace, tails coiling, before he finally let her go. "Go ahead. You don't want to keep her waiting and draw suspicion."
She looked at him pain clear on her face "of course... soon" after some hesitation she turned and flew out the door her form shimmering as she vanished from view.
Once he was certain she had gone he focused on the island and with a high pitched pop he vanished, teleporting back to the island and what was likely going to be a million questions.