For a place so high up in the mountains, so close to a glacier, Blackthorn City was a hot, hot place. The air was arid, there was little vegetation, and temperatures hovered around thirty-five degrees Celsius during the day.
At night, even with all the windows open at his tiny house by the bridge downhill to Cherrygrove City, it was hard for him to have a restful night. The dreams that plagued him were no help, either.
Nightmares, the word jumped into his mind. They were nightmares.
"Lyra..." The name slipped past Silver's lips as jolted back from the sleeping world.
A sheen of glistering sweat under the full moon night covered the Pokémon trainer's alabaster skin as he tried to steady his breathing. Her name left a haunting air in the dark bedroom, almost as if there was another force compelling him to stay awake after that haunting nightmare.
Running a hand through his messy red cowlick, he sighed before reaching out for his Pokéballs. He released his equally sleepy Magneton.
"Use Flash." The young man commanded lazily. It was easier than to find and light the fire lamp.
As the brightness warmly lit the room, Silver set his Pokéballs back down. How long had it been since he had fallen asleep?
The analogic clock on the wall reasoned that he had slept for four hours, but if he had to be honest, the nightmare had transformed his time of rest into something rather tiring.
Insomnia.
Silver was suffering from the inability to sleep, and the nightmares were not helping him, either. It was nothing new, to be honest. Ever since he was a little boy, ever since he saw things no child should ever be allowed to see and feel, he had no peaceful nights of sleep.
It has, however, been reasonably manageable up to last year, when it picked up the pace. It has been much too long ever since he had a full night of sleep, at least whenever he happens to be alone in the bed.
He was not sure why he had been having such intense insomnia, but he knew there was someone who stood behind his fears, that frequented his terror-filled dreams and increased their frequency and severity, and it was exactly who had the power to chase the bad dreams away.
Lyra, his sweet girlfriend who endured everything by his side.
She was the centre of his happiness. She was his love and his home. The idea of losing her often crept into his mind but lately they began to plague his sleep. When he confessed this to her, she reassuringly rubbed his back and offered him a soft smile.
"You know I can protect myself, right? I'm stronger than you and I can prove it!"
"I know. I learned this lesson the hard way."
"It seems that four times weren't enough. C'mon, pussycat, I'll show you again!"
Silver knew she was right, but he still worried.
At the thought of the girl, his brows furrowed as he tried to remember what had happened four hours ago. Lyra, knowing his insomnia, had offered to stick around until he fell asleep or stay the night with him depending on her League appointments the following day.
At the moment, he was confused and could not remember what she had done when he went to sleep last night, but the sound of his door creaking open answered his question.
"You're awake?" Lyra peeked her head in, before fully slipping in and moving towards the bed.
Silver nodded, staying silent.
Her brown hues worriedly looked at him as she sat down on his bed and took his hands. He was safe once again.
"Want to talk about it?" She smiled toothlessly, in a comforting effort.
"I... can't remember." The red-haired managed to respond weakly.
I lost you again.
"That's alright."
Silver shifted the covers of his bed aside, letting her slide into her place next to him. Once she was settled, he pulled the covers up and wrapped his arms around her protectively.
Her lithe body was slightly cold from having been outside, so she was snuggling up to him, and he fully welcomed it.
"I had to stop by the Den tonight and things got out of hand, I hope I didn't worry you." Lyra whispered.
Silver shook his head. "It's fine. You're here again, that's all that matters."
"Your sleep matters too." The Champion admonishes.
"I know." The man breathed out.
Reaching over her figure, he blindly grasped for his Pokéballs once more.
"You may return, Magneton." He murmured for the Pokémon to jump back into the device, which it did happily, before setting his stuff back down.
The sound of their hearts beating, their breathing, their love filled the dark room.
Silver could feel Lyra shuffling slightly and then felt her hands gently brushing against his cheeks. In the moonlight, he could see her chocolate eyes staring into his empty and dull grey ones.
"You know, Silver, it's perfectly fine to be scared of losing me." Lyra said, calmly. "When you love someone, there's always that fear lurking around. I mean, I'm scared of losing you too. But I want you to know, no matter what happens, I'll find my way back to you, okay?"
"Okay." Silver breathed out. "And I want you to know, I'd turn the world upside down to get you back."
Lyra giggled, nodding. "I love you."
"I love you, too." He whispered.
With those words soothing him, Silver felt like he could finally get back to sleep. His nightmares were now long forgotten as he breathed in her scent. Despite his cool façade, Lyra saw right through him and it embraced him, insecurities and all.
Even if Silver did lose some sleep, it was worth it to spend time with his significant other.
Lyra was the cure to his insomnia.
As long as she did not give up on him, he knew there was hope in his future.