Hello, lovely readers! This is my first story, and I'm so excited to share it with you folks. I'm currently in the process of writing a multi-chapter DualRivalShipping fic, and the idea for this story came to me... I'm definitely sympathizing with Touya. Think about it: two of your best friends find love, and then the girl that you've been crazy about for years meets another boy. He has every reason to be upset, so I figured I'd show him some love and write this charming little fic about friendship, forgiveness and love. Enjoy, and please review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.
He had been my best friend.
There were four of us. But he had always been my best friend.
He shared my excitement. He shared my love of battles. He shared my ambition, my eagerness to see as much of the world as I possibly could.
And then I met N.
I was immediately enamored with the green-haired boy. From the day that I met him in Accumula Town, I was drawn to him. He was an enigma, he appeared and then disappeared again without so much as a warning. And then there was the day on the Ferris Wheel – the day that I learned the truth about who N really was. I couldn't tell you whether or not I was already in love with him when he came clean, but the ache that I had endured made me believe that it was a very good possibility.
But then, there was my best friend – and he had always been my best friend. He didn't have Bianca's endless happiness or Cheren's thirst for knowledge, but that never bothered me.
I think that, perhaps, I was in love with him, too – before I met N, that was. But I forgot how much he meant to me when I met the emerald-eyed man.
He had always been my best friend. I had done him wrong. I had hurt him. I hurt my best friend. I hurt Touya. It was never my intention.
N disappeared. Team Plasma disbanded and their leader, now a pariah, had vanished. I came home. I had been greeted by a supportive Bianca and a weary and exasperated Cheren. And, of course, there had been Touya. He was a constant. He was always a constant. He showed no signs of anger, but I could tell by the look in his chocolate-colored eyes that I had hurt him. That look – so earnest, so wounded, so heartbroken – had been enough to make me feel regret for ever leaving his side.
I knew that he had loved me, too. In fact, I don't think that he ever stopped. He just stood by my side throughout our respective journeys and listened to me as I tried to reason away my fascination with the man who spoke of Pokémon Liberation. It was cruel, I realized now. He had loved me and I had rejected him immediately after meeting someone who, as it turned out, was our enemy.
He sat before me now, at the bank at the western edge of Route 1. He faced the ocean, mahogany hair swaying in the wind, bare feet submerged in the shallows, chin cupped in his calloused but soft hands. I knew those hands all too well. They helped me up too many times to count and held me when I was sad.
"Touya?" I asked softly. He turned.
"Touko." The look that he gave me broke my heart right there and then. So wounded but so full of forgiveness; so injured but eclipsed by kindness.
"May I?" I asked, and he nodded. I sat next to him, the soft grass cool and welcoming. We were silent for a few moments.
How selfish was I? To have been his best friend, and then to have forgotten him when I met N… it wasn't like me, it was too unkind. I had wanted N; wanted him with every fiber of my being, but he had disappeared. It wasn't until I came home that I realized that the one that I truly loved was the one who had been by my side throughout my entire life; throughout the entire duration of our journeys. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't forgive me, but the look that he had given me was so full of compassion… did I dare to ask him?
"Touya?" I ventured, hoping that my voice accurately reflected the sorrow that I was feeling.
"Yes?" His response was quiet but confident.
"I'm so sorry."
"Oh, Touko." I was met by a warm stare, chocolate eyes meeting my cerulean ones and holding them in a moment of forgiveness.
"Can you forgive me?" He sighed at my question, the tiniest of smiles tugging at the corners of his lips.
"I can't stay mad at you forever," he reasoned. "How am I ever supposed to meet another best friend quite like you?"
"Touya…" I leaned into him and rested my head against his shoulder. His arm curved around me in a secure and protective hold.
It wasn't perfect. It wasn't everything. I still had a lot of work to do if I wanted to restore our friendship to its former glory. I would do it; I would do everything in my power to make sure that he knew how much he meant to me. But for a fleeting moment, I was comfortable. That fleeting moment stretched into a minute, then into several minutes. But his warm presence next to me set my fears at ease, and just then, I knew that everything – everything – would be alright.