"When I heard you came back I couldn't believe it!" White exclaimed as they walked side by side. "I was in Kanto at the time, so it took a long time to get back here. I heard that your fath..." At the flash of pain on his face she corrected herself. "Ghetsis was at it again with Plasma, and another hero saved you guys this time."

"Yes..." N muttered. "She reminded me of you, a lot. Every time I looked at her, it felt like I was looking at you." He turned to her and her heart went aflutter as he brushed back one of her bangs. "She had the same ideals as you, and a powerful dream for her and her pokemon. She didn't see me as a monster, just like you were the only one who didn't."

He saw her soft smile of affection seemed to be changing a little, and N got worried. He thought that would make her happy. Why did her expression change? Thinking back, he remembered seeing the same type of expression on his pokemon's face if he pet one more than the other. "O-oh, but...she could never replace you as the true hero."

He may have done something right as she sighed, smiled waywardly and squeezed his shoulders. He took that to be a gesture of affection and playfulness. The two entered another room, and White felt her breath hitch as he shyly gripped her hand.

"I spend a lot of time in here," N said. "I like just sitting down and thinking about things."

White hadn't been in this room before. Actually, she probably had in the past, but N had done enough renovations to make the place look extremely different, and livable. Looking at it closer she remembered it to be one of the rooms she found the Plasma Grunts in, and where she had met N's caretakers. It had a large table in the middle, a worn out cabinet, and a cot in the corner of the room.

"This is where you live?" White was baffled. He had crammed a bedroom and a kitchen into one. Of course, N was always different, and there were reasons for that. "It seems so cramped."

"It's fine for me," N said quietly. "I'm not picky about where to stay. As long as my pokemon are happy."

So typical of N. His concern for his pokemon over his own well-being was both admirable, concerning, and something she had missed about him. Despite this, she was worried about him. It seemed even after two years he was still a social recluse. Of course, she needed to think about his former reputation. Not many people knew who he was, but the ones that did, well...they didn't think too fondly of him.

"Well, I think there's some friends of mine that missed you." White smiled and gestured over to her pokemon. A few of which N remembered, and a few that were new, but still eager to meet a new friend.

N chuckled as White's pokemon climbed all over him—the small ones. The big ones tried, but White shoved them away and told them that crushing him wasn't the best idea. N had his arms full of nuzzling, cuddling pokemon anyway.

From over the armful of fluff, scales, and feathers, N glanced up at the blinking and curious eyes of an Altaria and a Scrafty. "Oh, you have new ones. You always told me the team you had then was the team you'd keep until the day you die."

"Yes, I know," White sighed, "but things change. During one of our escapades, I noticed Sprinkles was becoming depressed and had no desire to fight. I realized she wanted to be with her own kind, so I let her go." She shut her eyes, and N was alarmed to see tears brimming at her lids. "Phan-Phan...grew sick. We were far from a Pokemon Center and lost in a forest. The potions I had sufficed for a while, but by the time we reached the Center it was too late for him."

N could feel his heart throb. The death of any pokemon cut him deep. The death of a pokemon he knew well cut even deeper. All of White's pokemon seemed slightly suspicious of him when he and White were rivals, but young little Phan-Phan was the one that just loved everyone. He remembered the little Emolga clinging itself to his chest every time he met up with it.

"I'm sorry..." N murmured. His voice cracked slightly in emotion, but he bit back his own tears. "I know you took great care of your pokemon. My heart always warmed when I saw the way you treated them, and how they loved you. Seeing you and your pokemon together always gave me hope that other trainers were like that."

White smiled gently at him. "And I hope you know that there are many others."

"I do..." It was now that White was able to clearly see the change in N, just by looking at his face. Those eyes that were once locked of all emotion but pain were now luminous, warm, and sparkling. She could see how cleansed his heart was now. She could tell he was happy.

N turned to White's new pokemon and smiled warmly. They seemed nervous of him up until he began gently petting their backs and scratching behind their ears. "Hello, my friends," N greeted warmly. "Thank you for looking after White and helping her in her journey." He blinked in confusion as he listened to the Scrafty's response, and then turned to White. "Scrafty says he likes his funny name? What did you name him?"

"Trousers." She blinked as he started to laugh. "What? It's a lizard with pants!" That was half the reason she wanted to catch him in the first place. How many pokemon came with their own clothes?

"Nicknaming pokemon is always a unique way to bond with them, I've always thought," N said. "Ghetsis always told me that nicknaming pokemon was what trainers did to try and trick their pokemon and make them feel secure, even though they'd make them their slaves." He shook his head, remembering his old mindset. "I've never nicknamed my pokemon."

White always felt uncomfortable when N mentioned anything about how his life used to be. She could tell he was haunted a lot from the past and remembering it brought back a lot of pain. Of course, as a friend, White would listen whenever he wanted to get something off his chest.

To her relief, he changed the subject. "Where are you headed now?" White could see even though his expression was nonchalant, his eyes were sad at the notion she'd leave soon. She was the only human that cared about him...

The brunette smiled gently and decided to surprise him. "Honestly N, I don't have a set place in mind right now. I mean, my pokemon and I have been traveling straight for almost two years; most of the time spent trying to find you. We've seen all we want to see right now, and we're looking to settle somewhere for a bit."

N perked up there. He turned to the girl, and White could see the eager sparkle in his eyes. "Why not stay here?" She whipped around to stare at him. "I think there's an extra bed still here, and there's food for you and your pokemon. You don't have to stay very long..." He didn't want to admit to himself or her that he didn't want her to go.

White hesitated. Two years ago, had he asked this it would probably be a no. The fact was the two of them were rivals and enemies for a while, however much they wished they could have a friendship. But in these years, although White traveled everywhere to see the world, the secret that only she and close friends knew was that it was mostly to find N. Now that she had found him, she didn't want to leave either.

"Living in a castle?" White grinned. "Why, it's every girl's dream!" Despite how run down and damaged it was, it was an ideal place since it was close to Victory Road, where White could train her pokemon, and with the League just next door for medical supplies.

"You'll stay?" N rushed out excitedly.

White grinned, her sparkling eyes sharing his happiness. "Yeah. I'll stay."


(So much for this being a two shot... It is now a collection of drabbles that will vary in length depending on how much material I have for it. The fic's name and description will be changed too, once this is updating. So read and review. c: The next drabble is "pajamas"

By the way, those pokemon are all MY pokemon, and if any of you read my fic "Of Peace And Tranquility" you will recognize a few.)