[A/n: sorry for the late update, guys! I gave the chapter some extra awkward-N as an apology. :3 he's so out of character in this story, i don't know what i'm doing here. i'll probably be making a new story with math nerd N since he's more canon. I'll still be keeping this one, though, so no worries. c:]

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

The searing kiss from weeks ago burned in the brunette's mind as she answered his question. "I wouldn't have come this far if I didn't."

The solid gold building that was the exterior of the champion's room loomed over the pair as they spoke, regal and threatening in all its glory despite Hilda owning it. She knew Alder waited for her inside, and that in itself was not worrying. What was concerning was the fact that the fiery-haired ex-champion was unaware that Hilda was coming back with an escort.

Said escort leaned over her as she thought, inches away from her face. She knew there was nothing romantic about it; he'd never been good with personal space, after all. Yet she still had to fight the urge to throw her arms around his neck and let him spin her around with the ease that he always did. She wanted to squeal into his neck at the shock of it, and to hear him laugh like it was just the funniest thing in the world to see her frightened. She wanted to make a snappy remark about how stupid he could be sometimes, and she wanted him to give her that look that said 'whatever you say, Hilda.' N gave her that look a lot, it seemed, but she had never wanted it more than right now. It would have been much easier to deal with that than what lay ahead.

Unfortunately, Hilda's life had never been easy, so she settled for brushing her fingers through N's long hair. She'd cut it in order to make him look more professional for Alder, ["No need for you to look like a wanted criminal in front of my boss," she'd scolded him as the scissors snipped the mane away] but it seemed that the stuff had grown right back in mere days. She huffed aloud as she twirled it around her fingers, partially in frustration and partially because although she liked his hair long, she didn't need any more difficulties at this point.

The smile he gave her was small and amused and yet almost...forced. Was he as nervous as she was?

She supposed he had the right to be. After all, not only Alder awaited them; half the region did also. It was an honor to receive Unova's sweetheart as she came back to her post as champion, and tickets to do so had been bought out in days. Hilda could hear the diplomats and aristocrats even from outside, mingling and talking as they awaited their guest of honor. Without doubt, all of them had hated Team Plasma while it had existed. What would they do when the king of it all entered the room with the champion on his arm? Riot, perhaps? She could see it now: the people gasping, rushing forward to attack like rabid pokemon, blood, blood, green hair and red blood mingling like Christmas colors and-

N's fingers on her cheek shook her from her panic.

"They're going to love you. They'll hate me, but they'll absolutely love you." It was an attempt at a joke, N's attempt, but she didn't laugh. His joking grin that resembled more of a grimace faded, and he opened his mouth to say something that would probably be ridiculously cheesy [After all, he'd learned everything about women from the television] when Audino interrupted.

"Dino!" The pink Pokemon that was known for being the doctor of Hilda's team tugged his trainer's free hand, pulling her towards the entrance to the building. Emolga, Serperior, Absol, Audino, and Buizel gathered in front of the couple, giddy with excitement. For a moment, the brunette was jealous; the only emotion she was capable of was unshakeable fear.

She couldn't help side glancing at her escort just before the doors opened, and was surprised to find his expression anything but afraid. He was almost majestic in the way he held himself, but that only lasted a second before he caught her looking in what was probably dorky awe or something. She shouldn't have been surprised. He'd been a king once, and he'd probably done this kind of thing millions of times.

She thought she saw him smirk before a pressure was on her mouth in what she assumed was a good luck kiss. Before she could respond, he pulled away, and she nearly sulked as the massive doors were pulled, her nervousness forgotten. Maybe that had been his intention.

"Presenting the Champion and her five Pokemon: Serperior, Emolga, Absol, Buizel, and Audino!" The announcers voice boomed in her ears as her team entered, surprisingly well behaved. She made a note to treat them before she entered and was nearly deafened by the sudden silence.

Before, the people had been cooing and cheering over the team that had beaten the Elite four and Alder. Cameras had snapped and congratulatory hollering had filled the air. Whenever Hilda had entered, however, the room had gone quiet, deadly. No one cheered as she walked to the platform; instead, they whispered and pointed at N, who was unreadable at this point. He might as well have been made of stone. And Alder...well, she didn't dare look at Alder until she stood by his side on the platform that overlooked the crowd, and when she did, she immediately regretted it.

His emotion was remnant of that of a disappointed father's, and she nearly flinched. Nearly. If she knew anything about flinching, she knew that it lost you your turn to fight in a battle, and with that in mind, she mumbled under her breath where only Alder could hear:

"You will present him as my date. If you say one bad thing about him, I'll make sure you regret it. Understand?"

A curt nod, and then the fiery-haired individual spoke, his grin wide and fake as a Purrloin's sweetness. He spread his arms as he addressed the crowd, his whole being welcoming and warm.

"Beloved guests! We thank you for your presence here, and we ask for your consideration as we handle this…er, situation. Please, help yourself to the snack tables in the other room as you wait. The dancing will be held later on." The scandal forgotten, the people moved to the other room, gossiping loudly as they went. The public eye gone and unseeing, Alder whirled on the two.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" His voice was an angry whisper despite the room being empty. No, anger was the wrong word. Furious would have better described it, and as she noted his tone she couldn't help but feel as if he'd slapped her. She released her grip on N's arm, suddenly furious as well despite being at fault, and stood on her tiptoes to get into the older man's face. How dare he talk to her like that? After all that she'd accomplished?

"Weren't you the one who believed in N redeeming himself?" she snapped, eyes blazing despite said man plucking at her arm, begging her to stop while she was still in Alder's good graces. She didn't care. He might have been timid in the face of conflict, but she was certainly not about to be. Behind her, she could hear her Pokemon emitting low growls, confused but not afraid to protect their trainer in any circumstance. And despite all of it, she carried on. "What better way to do that then to have the champion by his side? What better ways for him to redeem himself than to have the leader of the region forgive him?"

"And what if I do not?"

"You are not the champion. It is not your forgiveness he needs." Their voices had raised to yells at this point, but the two were apathetic about who heard the argument. "Reshiram chose me. Not you, but me. And unless you'd like me to show you why, I think you should back the hell off."

Silence.

Alder coughed, his expression an empty mask.

"Fine. But remember that not everyone is looking out for your best interests, Hilda. Some people would be very happy to have you take a disastrous fall down a couple flights of stairs." In an instant, he was gone, and she was left alone with the cause of all her problems.

She sighed, burying her face in her hands, and for a fleeting instance, Hilda doubted.

Was N really worth all this trouble?

As a pair of arms snaked carefully around her waist, like they were diffusing a bomb, she thought yes, of course he was. He was not just someone she loved. He was her friend, one of her best friends, and with that thought in her mind she buried her face in his chest and hid.

"They hate me, N."

"Shhh, no, they don't. They're just surprised, that's all."

"Alder will make them hate me."

"He tries, and you'll tear his world down before he can say a word."

She stifled a laugh. "You think so?"

"I know so. You defeated me and…my father without stopping for breath. You defeated the entire elite four and the champion without using a single potion. What's one man?"

"You know very well what one man can do."

She felt him tense beside her, inhaling a sharp breath. It was a couple of moments before he replied, and she was surprised at his calm manner as he pulled away.

"I suppose I do. Shall we go join the others?" N offered his arm, the other folded neatly behind his back, and Hilda got the impression that he'd been practicing. She fought back a giggle at the image of her mother attempting to teach N how to be chivalrous, and allowed him to lead her into the other room.

[]

The ceremony of Hilda's return was not nearly as bad as the green haired thought it would be. Plenty had side-eyed N, especially when he'd been the one that Hilda had danced with all night, but eventually he fit in well with the other partiers. The only difference was that he hadn't dared even touch the alcohol. He'd never gotten drunk before, and as he glanced around at the others, he didn't think that he would like to.

Hilda had vastly different views.

"S-s-so, I was sh'like, no, you can't have my lasht revive.." He could hear her voice from across the room, loud and so obviously intoxicated as she told a story to the people surrounding her. Judging by the uproarious laugh, N judged that they, too, had had one too many of the frilly purple drinks sitting on seemingly every table. He didn't hesitate; he was shoving through the crowd in a moment, muttering apologies even though the people he said them to might as well have been deaf. He gripped Hilda's arm, tugging at it to get her attention.

"You're drunk."

She merely giggled, her voice higher and girlier than usual. "Then take me home, lover boy." She outstretched her arms from her chair as the crowd surrounding her let out suggestive whoops and chuckles at her invitation

The words surprised him, and as he lifted her to take her back to the Pokemon center, he decided that no, he certainly did not want to drink. If it could make even the less than sentimental Hilda call him lover boy…he dreaded thinking the effect it could have on him.

He tucked her carefully into her bed that night, glad that she'd passed out in his arms as soon as he'd entered the Pokemon center. It saved him a lot of disapproving looks from the nurses working there, thinking he was a strange man taking advantage of a drunken girl. And he was certainly not that. Hell, he wouldn't even know how to take advantage of someone. Sex was certainly not something he was educated in, and although kissing was easy to learn, he wasn't sure that he'd ever really figure out why people did…other stuff. The abused Pokemon he'd grown up with had never really served as anything other than playmates, and certainly not sex ed teachers.

He shuddered. Why was he thinking about this anyway? He was with Hilda, for crying out loud. And as much as he loved her, he didn't want to think about her that way. Even when he'd kissed her back in Nuvema town and he'd felt that strangeness that made him want inexplicable things, he had been partially glad that she'd stopped him despite his disappointment. He probably would have made a fool of himself. That seemed to be the only thing he was skilled at, making a fool of himself, besides Math and Pokemon. Math was a series of equations, and Pokemon were partners to work with, but women? That was a whole new ball field.

The small hand on his arm tore him from his thoughts and made him turn back to the bed. "Heyyy, N?" Her voice was a mix of too much to drink and exhaustion, but it was still her voice, and he was automatically inclined to answer her.

"Mm?"

"What's your real name?" Her words were suddenly clear, and he swallowed in nervousness as he attempted to dismiss the question.

"My name is N, and you've had too much liquor."

She frowned, her lower lip jutting out like a child's. "N isn't a name. It's a letter."

He sighed, deciding that it wouldn't matter if he told her. She would probably forget in the morning anyway.

"My name is Natural. Natural Gropius Harmonia." He paused. "Ghetsis used to call me my full name whenever he would get angry with me. I like N better, to be honest. Sounds less alien."

He had expected her to snort and take it in stride. He hadn't expected, however, a very small voice to answer him. "Was that what the nightmares were about? Him…getting angry with you?"

He hesitated, and he almost flinched at the memory of a whip cutting down on his skin. "Yes."

The grip on his arm moved lower, down to where his hand was before giving a light squeeze. "I'm so sorry."

He frowned, suddenly uncomfortable with talking about what things had been like before. "That's alright. Good night, Hilda." He made for the door, done with talking about his father and the past that haunted him.

"Good night. And..N?"

N paused, his hand on the door. "Yes?"

"I will never, ever let anyone hurt you. I promise."

He supposed he should have felt weak, being told that by a girl, but instead he almost believed that maybe he wasn't so alien after all.