Chapter 27: Again

Silver parted with me in Mossdeep and left for who knew where. I just returned to Johto to reopen my daycare, wanting so badly to take Silver back home with me.

He surprised me when he showed up with absolutely no warning a few months later, in the middle of a snowstorm of all things.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I yelled at him, yanking him inside. His eyelashes were even covered in snowflakes! He just stood there shivering, trying to look dignified regardless. He was failing miserably.

"My pokemon don't like flying in the snow," he admitted.

"Go take a hot shower," I huffed, leading him towards the bathroom.

Richest person in the twin regions my ass. I was having flashbacks to when Silver would randomly show up at my house to watch TV when we'd been younger. I just sat there at the front counter, totally stressed. He was ridiculous.

Why? How? When?

Ugh.

I finally took the chance to check his bag, sighing in dismay at the urn still in it. "Silver is never going to let you go," I noted, jumping out of my skin when Silver's voice spoke up behind me.

"Actually, I was going to bury him this spring…"

Right. Silver was a ninja in his free time, clearly even in our old age.

"You look great in that towel," I noted casually.

He just sighed, grabbing clothes from his bag so he could probably dry off and get dressed.

"So, a text would have been nice."

He just ignored me, so I ignored him back, heading to the front counter even though I knew I wasn't going to have any trainers show up in a near blizzard.

I glanced over casually at my ex when he joined me, now fully dressed in a full black ensemble. He'd had Lance's mantle on when he'd first arrived, likely to help protect himself from the snow. "How's business?" he asked dryly, and I huffed.

"It's fine," I grumbled. "There's a snowstorm going on!" I looked him over, noticing he still hadn't put on any weight. He seemed to have a bit more color in his face, though. Granted, it might have just been from the cold… Yeah, it was totally from the cold. The tip of his nose was totally bright red. I reached out and poked it, hoping he wasn't frostbitten. "So, are you here for sex?"

"I have no idea why I'm here," he admitted, honestly looking exhausted. "It was cold."

I just buried my face in my hands. What was I supposed to do with him?!

"Have you eaten anything more than a granola bar?"

He just averted his gaze and I sighed.

"Want some eggs?"

"Why eggs?"

"You like eggs!"

I headed to the kitchen, planning to make scrambled eggs. Much to many people's disbelief, I could cook! I'd helped my mom in the kitchen plenty when I'd been young. I just preferred to eat other's cooking. I smirked when Silver sat at the table, glancing around my tiny kitchen.

I'd visited the mansion a few times as it'd been renovated a few times over the years, but I wasn't sure if Silver had visited the daycare before. He'd visited Whitney's and my apartment a few times, but Lance had been fighting cancer when I'd divorced the gym leader.

I placed the eggs in front of him and he just tilted his head, curiously poking the cheese I'd sprinkled on them. "Sorry, habit, my kids loved it."

"It's okay," Silver offered, taking a bite. "How are your daughters doing?"

"Trying to ween their expensive tastes their mother taught them because they're broke," I offered.

"Dating?"

I just bowed my head and sighed. I just tried to keep my nose out of all of that and let Whitney handle it. I just did my job of glaring any boyfriends down. "Not with any real hope of lasting," I stated.

"Do they know we've dated?" Silver asked casually, taking another bite.

"Yeah, Whitney has brought it up in a few fights." Usually trying to shame my sexuality. Honestly, we'd both been pretty toxic. We both agreed we were really shitty parents. I'd wanted to show my girls what a good relationship was supposed to be like… I'd failed at that, too. If nothing else, we'd shown what a good divorce was. We'd at least done that right.

Silver hummed and didn't ask anything else. I started washing up the pan, and honestly, the daycare that was also my small home was quiet and pleasant minus the howling wind outside. I made a cup of coffee for each of us, and I took a seat across from Silver.

"You remember how I like my coffee," he noted in surprise after taking a sip.

"Of course."

Why wouldn't I remember that? I loved him. I remembered way more than I should have after nearly 30 years apart. I just leaned my face against my propped-up fist. Honestly, that had been my main issue with Whitney. We'd both settled. We'd never really loved each other. We'd both known that but used each other to meet the goals we'd had in mind. It'd been a good thing until we both grew a bit resentful. We deserved someone who loved us, and I hoped her new husband would do that for her.

"You know I still love you, right?" I asked softly.

Silver just peered at me, his eyes wide. He looked completely caught off guard. "No, I didn't," he uttered simply.

"Well, spoiler. Oops," I sighed, trying to do damage control. I'd expected him to gaze at me and casually state he knew. "Sorry. I know your heart belongs to Lance."

"I… Lance is gone. He isn't exactly coming back…" Silver whispered. I barely heard him. "But… no, I can't exactly return your feelings, Gold…"

I just nodded. I knew there was no hope he'd ever love me again.

"I can try though," he continued, and I froze.

"What?"

"We can try dating again," Silver replied, clearly not as amazed about this as I was.

"But you… I just… Really?"

I was in total shock.

"Why do you think I hate you?" he uttered in dismay.

"Because I'm a jackass," I returned without hesitation.

"You've always been a jackass, Gold. It didn't stop me from loving you for seven years. I've told you over and over I don't hate you, that I enjoyed our years together."

"You said you didn't think we were meant to be," I accused, not sure why I was trying to argue against dating when it was what I wanted.

"I don't think we were. I had an amazing life with Lance, and you have two amazing daughters. But now Lance is gone, and I don't think you're really planning on any more kids… I mean, I'm probably not as submissive as you might like, but that's why it's just dating…"

I was dreaming. I just leaned across the table and kissed him, not even caring he tasted like egg. "As long as that means we have sex, like, all the time."

Silver just gazed at me warily. "Gold, I liked that earing you got."

"Really?" I uttered in surprise, touching the piercing I didn't bother to use anymore. "Whitney said I looked like a weird grandpa when I started to gray. Also… incredibly gay, but I guess that wouldn't exactly be an issue given how much I'd love to touch your dick right now."

I religiously dyed my hair, half losing my mind if I saw a single gray hair. I refused to age gracefully dammit. I was considering Botox.

"Alright, well then come touch it," Silver challenged, smirking. "Try not to come before you even manage, though."

"You!" I huffed. "It'd been years! You were so damn tight! I couldn't help it!"

I pointed towards my bedroom and Silver actually followed. I proudly managed to put his cocky behavior in check in the bedroom this time.

xxxxxxx

I was amazed that Silver basically started living with me. He slept with me, ate with me, helped around the shop, and basically became my live-in boyfriend.

I had to casually introduce him to my kids when Hazel randomly dropped by without warning. They'd both met Silver several times and both of them had even gone to Lance's funeral. However, Hazel seeing him at the front counter threw her for a loop. I think anyone walking in was a bit shocked by the powerful redhead curled up at the front desk watching tv typically. I'd originally tried to keep him in the back helping with the pokemon, but his pokemon terrified the babies.

"Silver," she uttered in surprise, gazing at one of the most elusive pokedex holders. He didn't have any kids, and it was harder forcing him to socialize with us parents. But of course, she knew his husband had passed, he'd vanished off the face of earth, and that he'd won the world championship. She however did not know I was dating him.

"Hey, Hazel," he greeted simply.

"When did you get back? How are you doing?"

"About a month ago, and I'm okay. How's school?"

"I hate it," she admitted with a sighed, "but I'm almost done. I already have a job lined up with Goldenrod City."

"That's great news," Silver praised her, and she smiled faintly.

"So, you're helping out Dad with the daycare?"

"Something like that," Silver offered, glancing towards me. Damn. He knew I was lurking.

I cleared my throat and stepped out of the back. "Hey sweetie."

"Dad," she greeted simply, an eyebrow raised. "Harboring the world champion?"

"Dating," I stated carefully, knowing she was too sharp for me to avoid dancing around the subject. "Again."

She looked at Silver, silently asking him with her eyes if he was sure he wanted to put up with me. Silver just snorted in soft amusement. "That's cool," she offered with a shrug.

I loved my kid sometimes.

"Why did you break up anyway?"

I loved her slightly less.

"Lance," Silver stated simply, and I was amazed he could summarize such a story so easily without even putting the blame on me. He could have told her I hadn't even come to the hospital on time after Silver had nearly died. Silver had softly admitted to me that that wasn't why, though. He told me that, yes, he'd been going through a lot of trauma, and that he'd needed some time apart from me. However, he'd admitted his feelings for Lance had been the reason we likely hadn't gotten back together. It'd hurt hearing him admit it, but it'd helped to. It actually helped me a lot knowing I hadn't committed such an unforgivable heinous act.

Hazel grinned, looking a bit amused. "I can't fault anyone for that," she stated, obviously trying not to laugh. That damn magazine cover had withstood the test of time, the two gorgeous redheads shirtless and intimate. I was certain even my pure, innocent daughters had laid their eyes on that image at some point. There was also another particular lewd image of Silver shirtless and sprawled out on the back of his red gyarados, his arm tossed across his face and his wedding band clearly showing. That one he swore was not planned. He stated he'd just been training at the Lake of Rage one day not long after he'd married Lance.

Fortunately, the two had never been big on PDA like I had been with Silver. There were photos in old magazines of me kissing him and hugging him often enough. That'd been back when he'd first become a gym leader and they'd still been interested in his love life. They'd near lost their minds when Lance and Silver had married though, trying to get any romantic photo they could. Most were maybe a shot of them sharing a chaste kiss, Lance's cape protecting them from prying eyes. That had started a weird romantic fashion trend for a few years not unlike the kabedon phase, except it'd been guys in capes…

"Why are you here?" I asked my child casually.

"I was legitimately just visiting. I will ask for money if you have any to offer, but that was not my intention."

I sighed and handed her some cash, as was tradition. They were spoiled. Her sister would likely be by soon to collect her share.

"So should I tell Sepia?"

"You… can…" I stated, unsure. "Yeah, you can. I don't really care. Silver might get sick of me next week. We'll see."

"I'm just happy you're actually dating."

I just shrugged. And just like that, my kids didn't seem to care I was dating Silver for all people.

xxxxxxx

Silver's and Yellow's friendship had always surprised me a bit. The gentle blond knew just how to interact with him, though. They'd been hanging around each other a lot lately, because Silver planned to bury Lance in the Viridian Forest, but he didn't want to disturb the forest either.

"You and Lance are both from Viridian, so I think that's a great idea."

And so, the plans had come into fruition.

"It is weird building your own grave, too?" I asked curiously.

"Eh," he responded with indifference.

The grave was something though, more of a monument. It was beautiful, too. Yellow and Silver had picked out a place deep in the forest, away from the typical paths traveled by trainers. There were two dragonite statues crafted, one studded in amber, the other in emeralds. They were beyond works of art, something that belonged more so in a museum.

It wasn't uncommon for trainers to be buried with their pokemon's ashes, and there was apparently room for just that if any of their pokemon still living decided they'd like to return to lay at rest with their trainers. For Weavile, Silver had already arranged for his ashes to be entombed with his and Lance's.

I was surprised how quickly everything came together until I discovered Silver had ordered the creation of the dragonite statues over a year ago.

I was so incredibly jealous, though.

I wanted to be beside Silver for eternity, too.

I didn't know how to voice the question, so I did it the only way I knew how: being blunt.

"I want a spot, too," I huffed.

Silver stared at me, probably trying to process the statement before he responded. "Lance is my husband, Gold," he stated simply after a few moments.

"Okay. Then, you should be my husband, too."

He just sighed in dismay. "Gold…"

"We can share you," I complained. "Silver, marry me," I insisted, even though he still hadn't said he loved me the past three months.

His hesitation before he denied me gave me hope, and just like that I acquired another life goal to pursue. I'd put my own ring on Silver's finger…

It was a difficult and arduous goal, too. Silver returned to Viridian after Lance was officially buried, and it was difficult visiting him from Johto. I'd basically had to ask if it was okay if I closed my daycare and relied on Silver for a roof over my head, and to do that I'd had to establish my relationship with him further.

He surprised me when he agreed without any hesitation.

It was horribly confusing. I knew Silver loved to sleep with me, but then there were moments he'd vanish in the night and be found curled at Lance's cold grave the next morning. I didn't truly know if there was enough room in his heart for me, but I didn't want to settle like I had with Whitney. I wanted Silver, and I wanted him to want me, too.

But I tried to take it a day at a time, cherishing each day we spent together. We read books, played video games, traveled, gardened, baked, anything we could think of. Even if he didn't love me, I still cherished him as a friend, and the sex wasn't bad, either.

It took me five years before he finally whispered that he loved me one evening, and I cried like a baby for almost an hour after. Silver had panicked a bit, but I'd just yanked him into my arms and made him say it again. It was somehow even sweeter than the first time I'd coaxed the words out of him when we'd been teens. Truthfully, I'd almost given up hope entirely he'd ever truly love me again.

But he was at my side as my mother passed, and we were at each other's sides when our starters passed. Somehow, loss was just something we'd had to grow to accept at this point. But we also got to enjoy life, too. He got to be with me when I first held my first grandchild. It was almost as amazing as the first time I'd held Sepia herself.

I asked Silver every summer at the festival in Violet City if he'd marry me, and when we were 65, he surprised me by softly accepting. We didn't have much of a wedding truthfully, we just quietly exchanged vows and rings in a quiet city hall where we signed our legal marriage license.

It was honestly the happiest day of my life slipping the golden ring on Silver's finger, and that was saying lot. I'd had so many happy days. I tried to be mad at myself, telling myself I should have done this practically half a century before when we'd first dated, but, truthfully, I couldn't. I felt like the steps we'd taken had all been steps we'd needed to take.

I acquired my last life goal then, to take care of Silver, and above all else outlive him. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving him alone. The idea of him curled at both mine and Lance's graves was too much. I also wanted my golden ring to stay firmly on his left hand, so I could at least tease Lance about that.

Silver made that really damn hard though. He was damn near immortal and did not act like someone our ages should. Watching him chase the great grands around near gave me the heart attack that would finish me off. Even his dragonites were exhausted by that point, Lance's dragonite being over 100 years old. Dragonite and Twister mostly just lounged around in the yard being over glorified jungle gyms.

It certainly made life fun, though. The crazy thing was, Silver was still beyond gorgeous with beautiful long snow white locks he wore pulled back, and clear gleaming silver eyes.

I loved holding him in my arms through it all. It was depressing watching our friends pass over the years, but we still had each other. I was so thankful, and so happy I'd managed to have such an amazing life, with such an amazing end.

Silver quietly passed in his sleep at the age of 95, and I didn't have to be without him long before I followed him, pursuing him even in death. I wasn't scared at all as I waded into the fog, amazed how easy it was to move around in death without my back or knees killing me. Then I saw him, brilliant red restored to his locks, rolling storm clouds in his eyes, and skin as radiant as moonlight, not a wrinkle in sight. He was nuzzled into Lance's embrace, and the joy in his eyes when he saw me made delight shiver up my spine.

Lance just had to smirk, sigh, and roll his eyes as I happily took Silver's other hand, breaking up their alone time. Silver's eyes just shone with a happiness I wish he could have experienced every single day of his life. It was bliss.


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