The Little Things When Hil's 9 years old, Vince helps him with a fateful valentine.


Timeline: ~5 years before Black (the first 2 segments); ~7 years after Black 2 (the last segment)

Setting: Unova

Notes: Fluff, child/parent relationships, hurt/comfort, implied alcoholism, marital disputes

Characters: Hilbert (Hil), Vincent (Vince), Amber, Adrian (OC)

Prerequisite Reading: Black, Black 2


Valentine's Day shouldn't have felt so awkward. After all, it had been so simple the last times he'd participated in it, right? Mom and Dad helped him scrawl words onto little notes, tuck a lollipop or something into a fold of the note, and hand it out during class, simple as that. Nothing personal attached to it, nothing strange about it. Sure, some classmates made jokes—Hil's eyes rolled as he thought about the wild, eccentric Hilda—but for the most part, it was just a fun day. Free candy! What wasn't to love about that?

Yet, as Hil was there in the living room, a Ferrothorn peering curiously over the coffee table, he felt a little flushed and anxious. There was one classmate in particular he was dead-set on impressing with this usually inconsequential little note. He had yet to drum up the courage to try and make friends with the boy directly, so part of him hoped to make something of an impression with it, and perhaps he would talk to him. Adrian being his name, of course.

It was the weekend before the fateful day, and on that quiet Saturday midafternoon, Hil had his arsenal of supplies spread before him. A crayon box, a few pieces of paper, the pre-made notes—and within a few minutes, Dad came and flopped down on the couch behind him. He scratched the back of his head, making his feathery, light brown hair flail some, giving him an amusingly unkempt look. Hil was briefly distracted by it and laughed at him, to which Vince just beamed back mischievously.

"So, Valentine's Day. How's that comin' along?" Vince asked, raising a brow, and taking a sip of a can with a spongy holder surrounding it. He seemed to carry those around a lot. Teasingly, he further asked, "You've been working on that for a while today, haven't you?"

Excitedly climbing up onto the sofa beside him, Hil proudly displayed the ten or so other little notes he had finished, like someone spreading a hand of cards out, for his dad to see. "Yeah, I have! See?" The notes were a mix of green and pink, stylized with apples and Pidove, for whatever reason. Hil's little, handwritten words on each one was deceptively neat and proper despite being just nine. Unlike most boys his age, Hil seemed to pay particular attention to detail. Yet, Hil then frowned, and put the finished notes back on the table. Huffing, he loudly proclaimed, "But I don't know what to do about the next one!"

Laughing, Vince pressed, "And why's that? Purrloin got your tongue?" Eyeing the Ferrothorn across the table, he smirked. "Ferri giving you trouble? Stagefright?" Simpering at the pokémon still, he teased, "Ferri, it's rude to stare."

The Ferrothorn, if Hil didn't know better, rolled its eyes and waved a vine at Vince as if to say, "Whatever." Hil giggled and pushed on Vince's shoulder urgently. "Da-ad! This is serious!"

"Oh, it is?" Vince took on a very serious expression and set his drink to the table, then leaned forward on his knees. Cocking his head at Hil, he said, "Now why's that?"

"'Cause this next one is for Adrian," Hil explained, as if that told him everything he needed to know. Obviously, that made it more important! Frowning at the notes on the table, he huffed. "He doesn't like Pidove, and he's allergic to apples."

"Oh," Vince seemed to stifle a laugh, "so what'd you want to do for him? This Adrian fella, I mean?"

"I don't know, that's the problem," Hil dramatically sighed, leaning against the back of the sofa and staring at the ceiling. "He really likes Druddigon! I think he just likes Dragon-types in general." Before he knew it, he was prattling off other stuff he knew about Adrian, telling Vince everything he knew about the blond boy with soft green eyes who played sports and seemed to know so much about pokémon already (unsurprising, as he was the son of an accomplished trainer). Blinking once he had realized his runaway mouth, Hil almost sheepishly smiled at his dad, "Hehe, sorry… Where was I? Right! The valentine! So, yeah, I don't know what to do!"

Still leaned forward on his elbows, Vince had a soft, knowing smile on his face… Or maybe even proud? Hil didn't quite catch that, nor would he have understood it at the time if he had, but Vince certainly was looking on him with pride, as if wondering what he could have done to deserve such a caring, selfless child. "You know, I could help you make something a little more personalized to this guy than those little pre-made valentines," Vince suggested in the end, ruffling Hil's messy brown hair. Hil barely took notice and immediately grinned back up at him.

"Really?" he beamed.

"Sure," Vince laughed, standing up. "I've fought a few Druddigon in my time. Get a blank piece of paper and I'll help you draw one! That sounds better, doesn't it?"

"That's perfect!" Hil exclaimed. "He'll love that!" With that, he scooted closer to the table and dug a blank piece of paper out from below the pile of pre-made valentines. Knocking his box of crayons over in his fervor, he hissed in annoyance under his breath, then snatched it up, handing it eagerly to his dad. "Here!"

Getting into the floor beside him, Vince did his best with the low-quality crayons to draw a Druddigon holding a heart. A little-known fact about Vince was that he was actually a skilled artist, but he rarely did anything with that talent, aside from a few pleasure drawings here and there. Hil was used to seeing him draw with pencils and pens, sketching and sketching before inking a final, careful outline, but there was something fun about watching him throw color directly onto the page, no sketches or anything. The finished drawing was imperfect and cartoony, but that was fine—Hil quite liked it! It was leagues better than the clipart Pidove and apples on the premade notes, anyway. Folding the page neatly so that it fit more with the shape and size of the other notes, Vince ended up pushing it at Hil. "Think that'll do?" he asked a little teasingly.

"Yes!" Hil said, immediately picking up his pencil to start scrawling onto the note. "This is perfect! Thank you!"

"Now, you gotta tell me how he reacts to it, kid," Vince snickered, ruffling his hair some more as he stood up. He stretched and grunted. "Sitting in the floor is bad for my back."

Finishing writing the note, Hil mischievously cut his eyes up at his dad. "You're getting o-o-old," Hil taunted, tensing his muscles playfully in preparation for Vince's response.

"Old? Me?" Vince brought a hand against his chest like he was completely affronted, then looked down at his Ferrothorn. "Ferri! Are you going to just let me take that? He's insulting my honor over here!"

Hopping up and rounding the table, Hil poised himself behind the Ferrothorn, and pointed at Vince. "No, Ferri, he IS old!" As if to agree, the Ferrothorn waved a vine flippantly at Vince again, circling Hil's feet jokingly. Laughing, Hil pointed at Vince, "No, don't tangle my feet up! Go Wrap him!"

Then, Hil squealed as Vince abruptly descended on him, snatching him up in one fluid motion. "If I'm so old, how do I pick you up so easy, huh?" Vince teased, dropping Hil again on the couch and wagging his eyebrows at him.

"You're still old!" Hil stubbornly clung to his earlier statement, kicking his feet playfully.

Waving him off, Vince shook his head, and snatched his drink from the table. "Psh. Anyway, is that all you were strugglin' with, with those valentines?"

"Yep!" Hil proudly announced, dropping down in front of the table to finish the rest. "Thanks, Dad!"

"No problem, son," Vince chuckled, taking a sip, and walking out the room to do something in the kitchen.


Coming home that day, Hil had felt utterly humiliated. He didn't understand why, either, and that only served to further frustrate him. Upon entering his home after being walked home by one of the trainers from Striaton, he had flopped down onto the couch of the living room and planted both hands over his face. Amber, in the kitchen, had worriedly called out, "Hil? What's wrong?"

"Today was bad!" he exclaimed, as if that was all that needed to be said.

"What do you—?"

Her question was cut short as the door flew open again, a boisterous Vince entering the household. He was on the Xtransceiver with someone, but Hil guessed he had the camera turned off, based on how he had the device pressed against his ear, his other hand holding a can with another one of those foamy grips on it. Laughing uproariously, Vince leaned against the front door after closing it. "No!" he almost barked, lips pulled into a wild grin. "No, no, Dennis, you can't be for real right now. She did?" He tried to take a step forward and seemed to somewhat stumble back, his words slurring slightly as he continued. "No way. Well, I guess Luka's a lucky Herdier tonight, huh?"

Amber immediately picked her way through the living room and got in front of him, tapping a foot.

"Oh, oh, Dennis, I gotta go," Vince immediately said. More laughter shortly followed. "Well, the missus is standing in front of me, and"—his voice dropped to a whisper—"I think she's ma-a-ad."

Hil was giggling. Okay, so today had sucked, but his dad was just so silly sometimes!

"Are you done?" Amber quietly asked, in a tone so low Hil had to strain to hear it.

Vince lazily brought a finger of his lips and shushed her, that Cheshire grin still spread across his face. "Shh, I'm all done, love," he teased. Seeming to put more effort into standing properly, he stepped past her and waved excitedly at Hil. "Hey, kid! How was today?" He took another swig of the can in his hand, and Amber rolled her eyes and marched out of the room. Hil wasn't sure what her problem was.

Reminded of the day, Hil groaned, dramatically looking up at the ceiling again. "Adrian moved!"

Perking up in surprise, Vince asked, "Huh?"

"Adrian! You know, who you helped me make the valentine for? I had it all ready today and he's moved!" Crossing his arms to pout, Hil muttered, "Apparently he's off in Castelia, now."

Seeming to frown sympathetically, Vince carefully went around the table and sat down beside Hil, nudging him. "Hey, I'm sorry, kid," he said gently, "but still, that was really sweet, what you wanted to do, you know?"

"Yeah, just…" Hil groaned again. "I don't know why I'm so mad! He wasn't even there, it wasn't like I got made fun of for it, he just wasn't there." The disappointment was etched all over his face, and apparently, Vince was the only one in the room who picked up where exactly it was coming from. He looped an arm around Hil and gave him a reassuring pat.

"It'll be alright, there's more friends to be made out there," Vince insisted, smiling warmly. Then, grinning more playfully, "I'll help you draw special valentines for them, too." He winked and withdrew his hand with a snicker.

His laugh was infectious. Hil couldn't help but giggle along with him, feeling a little more at ease after his words. "Okay," he admitted, "okay, that works."

"Now, outside of that, I'm sure you have homework to do," Vince taunted him, sticking a tongue out when Hil gave him a dismayed whine. "Gotta finish it, or Mom'll getcha."

Laughing as he scooped up his backpack from just beside the couch on the floor, Hil cried, "Not that!" and started up the stairs.

Yet, before he was out of earshot, he heard Amber and Vince talking, and for some reason, he stopped to listen, hesitating at the middle of the stairs.

"You're drunk off your ass," Amber hissed. "You just got home from work! Why—"

"I am not," Vince retorted, annoyed. "I just was having fun with—"

"Dennis? Yeah, so I heard. You were practically falling all over the floor in front of Hil!"

"So, what if I was? You're in here yelling at me for being drunk, yet I can still talk to you." He scoffed. "That's gotta mean something for my brain's functioning right now. Anyway, I still talked to him, didn't I? Still was able to understand him. I bet you don't even know who 'Adrian' is. At least I talk to him. More than you probably do about stuff that's bothering him," Vince icily replied. Hil could practically hear the dismissal in his voice. "Not talking about this right here, right now, Amber, Hil will hear. Gonna go talk to Dennis some more. If Hil needs help with his homework or something, give me a holler, otherwise, leave me alone."

Gnawing his lower lip, Hil decided to just creep up the rest of the way of the stairs.


Those memories had all come rushing back as Hil had spotted the familiar face in the Pokémon Center just within the perimeter of the Pokémon League. Considering this was nearly fifteen years since then, he was naturally much different, but something about him was unmistakable. Adrian had wispy golden hair, short and close to his head, contrasting green eyes, and a rough, almost raggedy style of clothes, all of them stained with dirt and scuffs. In his gray backpack, a baseball bat and various other sports equipment stuck out of different pockets, and at his side, a Druddigon followed dutifully. Hil felt a little silly for staring, but he couldn't shake the wave of sorrowful nostalgia. Apparently, Adrian noticed his stare, for when he was done healing his pokémon, he gave Hil a nervous smile and dipped his head respectfully.

"Um, hello, Consul Hil," Adrian murmured, swallowing hard. Hil blinked fervently, and wrenched his gaze away.

"O-oh, hello," Hil replied, standing awkwardly at the Poké Mart counter. He had come with the intents of buying some more Hyper Potions for the Elite Four and Nathan to use, but had gotten distracted by the boy and his Druddigon some time ago. "Sorry. I did not mean to stare, but…" Sadly smiling to himself, Hil rapped his fingers against the counter in front of him. "That's a nice Druddigon," was what he ended up saying. Trying to make small talk, he asked, still without looking at him, "Where did you get it?"

"Oh, this guy?" Adrian laughed. "Well, funny story. I was supposed to get an Oshawott, but when I went back to the school in Striaton I was at to pick up some stuff I had forgotten, I found this little note in with my stuff… It was kinda beat up, because it seemed kinda old, but it had this pretty picture of a Druddigon on it. And it was addressed to me! I think it was supposed to be a valentine… Wished I could have known who it was from, but that part got ripped off at some point, I guess. I always thought Druddigon were cool, and I thought that little note was awesome, so I showed my dad, and he decided to give me a Druddigon he'd bred a long time ago." Adrian gave another soft, intoxicating little laugh. "It was like fate, or something."

Hil's knuckles went white as he clung to the counter, as if for support. He felt like a cartoon character whose jaw might have hit the floor. He had thrown that valentine on the floor in his frustration all those years ago! Like, right next to the trash can! There was no way! How had it ended up in with Adrian's old stuff he needed to come back and pick up, Arceus could have known how long later?

"Uh, you okay?" Adrian asked when an awkward silence started to stretch on.

Turning to look at him again at last, Hil waved dismissively. "Oh, I'm fine, haha!" He couldn't help the big grin on his face. It felt nice to see old friends again, no matter how old, and he had to admit, he didn't know how Adrian had gotten that note, but he was so glad he had. "That's an awesome story, though, man." Fleetingly, he thought about telling Adrian the note had come from him, but then… he wondered if he should just let that little memory be, enshrined in bittersweet nostalgia. At least he had the closure of knowing that Adrian had actually gotten it despite everything. "Maybe it was fate," Hil ended up saying, shrugging in a way that was all-too reminiscent of the way he had seen Vince do so much back then, "but it's a cool pokémon, anyways. You going to give Nathan a run for his money?"

Adrian chuckled, and nudged the Druddigon with his foot. Hil swore the pokémon smiled. "Me and Valentine are gonna give it our best!"

He named it Valentine… Hil couldn't stop smiling. Thanks again, Dad, for helping me with that… "Haha, well, I'll be sure to come watch," Hil teased.

Adrian then cocked his head. "You know, it's crazy to think we grew up together… and everything you did…"

Surprised, Hil blinked. Oh, he remembers! I thought he wouldn't have… We barely spoke. "I-is it really?"

"Yeah!" Adrian laughed, putting his hands on his hips. "Like, we went from Hilda messing with you every chance she got and, er…" He seemed to falter, and Hil was sure he was thinking about Vince. "Well, all of that petty stuff, you know? To you being a leader of the country!" Sheepishly, Adrian looked down at his shoes. "You know, some people from back in Striaton, were wanting to do some sort of reunion thing, but didn't want to even bother trying to ask… Worried you were too busy, or something…"

Giving an easygoing smile, Hil waved a hand at him. "Don't be like that. I'd love that, actually…" Hil looked away. He could not wipe that stupid smile off his face. "I'd love to arrange for something like that. Maybe you can give me their Xtransceiver numbers and I'll call them?"

Adrian lit up, beaming. "That'd be awesome! Thanks so much!" Leaning down to playfully grab his Druddigon's arm and wave it for her, he then joked, "Say, 'Thanks,' Valentine!"

Laughing and waving back, Hil dipped his head respectfully. "My pleasure, Valentine," he teased.

"Uh, I'll go write some of those down! Will you be here in about ten minutes?" Adrian asked, jumping back to his full height.

"Sure," Hil nodded. "I will."

"Great!" With that, Adrian scurried up the stairs of the Pokémon Center, likely to the hostel room he'd been staying at.

It's not often good memories of my dad crop up like that… Hil thought longingly, watching him go. A friend that reminds me of that doesn't sound so bad. Briefly looking up at nothing in particular, Hil sighed contentedly, still smiling. Thank you, again, Dad. I know it seemed so small back then, but that little valentine meant so much to me… And you inspired someone else so much…

I wish you could have gotten to do that more. You were so good at it.