If you have been reading since the beginning and didn't see my note on tumblr... please go back to the 7th chapter and reread the beginning! I accidentally left out a big chunk of the story, hurhur. It's extremely relevant to this chapter, and if you didn't read it, you probably won't know what's going on now.
When Black got out of the shower, N was awake and eating the last sweet roll.
"Feeling better?" Black asked him.
N nodded, smiling.
"After you take a shower we can head out, I guess. Cheren's probably way ahead of us, the early bird. I already packed your things up." N's face lit up before standing up off the bed.
"Thank you, Black!" he chimed before heading into the bathroom. He didn't bother closing the door.
Not much later, the pair headed out towards the next route. Though Black secretly kept a close eye on his lover, N was either as whimsical as ever, or was doing a very good job at hiding any lingering turmoil he might be feeling, as he gazed around at the late summer scenery with delight, splashing in the puddles like a child.
'I should have bought him some boots and a raincoat...' Black mused, watching N's pants become soaked and his shoes turn brown with mud. He said nothing though, happy that N was having so much fun. N deserved any and all chances to be a normal person, even if he was not acting his age.
"Black!" N called from up ahead. "Let's go in there!" He was pointing to the entrance to the Moor of Icirrus.
"Alright!" Black quickened his pace to catch up. "But take off your shoes and socks before you catch another cold. And roll up your pant legs. Sheesh. Do I have to hold your hand?"
N looked up from where he had been obediently following Black's commands, his face lit up. "You'd hold my hand?"
Nearly bursting out laughing, Black managed to keep a somewhat straight face. "Sure, okay." Taking the wet shoes and socks and tying them to the side of his backpack to dry, Black let N take his hand and lead him into the Moor.
As they walked into the open expanse, Black noticed a familiar hair color on the other side of the flooded field. It was Cheren, heading towards a wooded area. Without thinking, he called to him.
"Cheren!" he shouted. The other boy turned and flashed a smile as he caught sight of his friend. But as he approached, his smile faded to a confused scowl.
"Uhh, hello, Black. N. Where you two headed?" Black was a bit off-put by his facial expression.
"We're just exploring, I guess. What are you doing here? And what's with that face?" Cheren looked down at the other two boys' hands, their fingers still tightly woven together.
"Err..!" Black felt his face heat up and quickly tried to take his hand back, but N held on.
"Is there something wrong with this?" N asked, sounding genuinely inquisitive, though when Black glanced up at his face, he was shocked to find an almost challenging expression there.
Cheren pressed his lips together and pushed his glasses up. "No, nothing." He turned to Black again. "I've been hearing rumors about an extremely rare pokemon that may have been sighted here recently, so I came to see if I can find it."
"Ohh!" N exclaimed, letting go Black's hand and forming fists with his own. "Keldeo? I've read about a place like this! Many years ago, there was a fire here... the poor pokemon was forced out... I wonder if it has returned? It certainly is lovely enough here now!" Cheren crossed his arms, reflecting on what the other had said.
"Mmm, but... I don't know where to look. There was a rumor that it is part water-type, so I assume it would like the wetter areas. There's a p-"
But N was already dragging Black deeper into the moor, talking amiably.
"I didn't get a chance to come here the first time I was passing through because I had many things to attend to, but I really wanted to look around for Keldeo! As the Heroes, we'll surely be able to make friends with it, don't you think, Black?"
Black was currently sending Cheren an apologetic smile as he tried to keep up with N's long legs.
"Legendary pokemon really trust you, don't they?" N continued. "You befriended Virizion, Cobalion, and Terrakion so easily, and Zekrom, too." Stopping at last as they reached the top of a grassy slope, N squeezed Black's hand. "And me. We all felt that we could trust you when we could trust no one else. That's the kind of person you are."
"N..." Black wondered if his face was as red as it felt. He was very thankful that Cheren, though following behind, was out of hearing range. As touched as he was, it was horribly embarrassing for a decidedly average person like Black to be thought of so highly by anyone.
N examined the landscape carefully, taking into account what he had learned as a child from the books he read, trying to find a possible place to start searching. Black looked behind him and saw Cheren running awkwardly up the hill. He began slipping up the muddy side; the brown-haired boy reached his arm out to him for aid.
"Geez, you two are in such a hurry! How do you run so fast?" As he was pulled to the top, the boy bent over with his hands on his knees, obviously out of breath.
"Ahh, Cheren, sorry... he tends to take off, and I don't want to lose him..." Black turned to where N stood and noticed he was gone. He sighed at the stupid irony of it all. "Dammit."
The two looked down over the valley and saw a lanky body darting towards a grassy meadow, his tea green hair making him difficult to detect over such green scenery. Black held back a chuckle.
"So, would you mind telling me what you're doing with the former king of Team Plasma?" Cheren demanded, folding his arms against his body again. It seemed more haughty than it had before.
Black fidgeted. It was not that he was ashamed, but Cheren could be very critical.
Fortunately he did not have to say anything. Cheren sighed. "That's not what I mean. Even someone who wasn't your childhood friend could see that you've been in love with him since forever. And I guess it's great that he seems to share your feelings, as much as he's capable, at least." Noticing Black's frown, Cheren held up his hand. "Let me finish. What I want to know is what you're doing with him. What is your plan? Try to introduce him to society? Black, I think taking care of him will be a big responsibility. You're probably capable of handling it, but won't it be a burden?"
"I seem to recall you giving a very similar lecture that time when Bel tried to take a wild Lilipup home when we were seven," Black muttered. "You may have been right then, but you don't know anything about N."
"He's not like normal people; I know that much. You'll waste away your youth and opportunities practically having to raise him. I know you're smitten, but—"
"It's not smitten." Black turned away and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I care about him. I love him. He needs me, and I... I need him. I was never anything before I met N. I wasn't ambitious like you, or earnest like Bel. I just went along with everything not really caring. N makes me feel like I have purpose, like I'm worth something. I want to make his life better. I want to make him happy. If that's all I can accomplish, it'll be enough."
Cheren was silent for a while, then Black heard him sigh. "I hope you know what you're getting yourself into. I'll say one last thing– N is unstable, that much is obvious. Can someone as mild-mannered as you really be able to control someone as recklessly passionate as him?"
Black smiled slightly.
"I'm always up for a challenge." Cheren rolled his eyes dramatically before beginning to head down the hill, following after the older boy who worried him so.
"I guess we should follow him, then," he responded as Black travelled not far behind. "Look, do what you want, I'm not questioning your abilities or feelings or anything. I'm just looking out for you. Just try not to do anything too crazy. You can be a bit rash sometimes." With that comment, Black chuckled and ran back the shorter boy.
"Whatever, Cheren. You're just not adventurous enough!" Pouting, he ran close behind the other, both heading towards the large meadow ahead.
"N? Where are you?" Black called. He was about to try again when he heard a shushing from the trees and saw N's hand waving them closer.
Glancing at each other, Black and Cheren carefully made their way over into the dense underbrush. Reaching N's side, they both stopped dead in their tracks as they caught sight of a small pony-like pokemon with bright red and blue colouring standing nearby. It stared at them cautiously, but did not move.
"I knew it would be here," N whispered gently, his stare not breaking from the rare creature before them. "It looks so scared... I want to talk to it. I wonder what it has seen..."
Cheren was not paying attention to N; his hands were too preoccupied with slipping into his back pocket, fumbling with a pokeball worthy of catching such a mystical pokemon.
"N, be careful," Black warned him as he touched his shoulder. "It's probably scared of humans..."
A tranquil look overcame the older boy's face, showing an expression of understanding. It was an emotion Black had never seen before. Slowly, ever so slowly, N began approaching it, his arms outstretched to his sides. The creature seemed to lose the tenseness in its body, flinching but not fleeing. It astounded Black how well he could communicate with these mysterious monsters without words.
"You won't mind if I'm the one to catch it, right?" Cheren asked in a whisper, although it did not really sound like a question.
Black did a double-take. "Cheren, I don't think that's such a good idea... N won't.."
Sharp eyes behind glasses made Black trail off. "I'm not going to miss this chance because N doesn't understand the importance of catching pokemon."
Perhaps alerted by the watchful Keldeo, N turned at that moment and saw Cheren with his pokeball in hand. Black winced as he saw that rare but formidable hardness come into N's face.
"You will not catch this pokemon," he said with an authority Black had not heard him use since he was the king of Team Plasma. It sent a shiver down his spine that was not entirely unpleasant. "It's meant to be free."
Cheren similarly was not about to back down. "Why don't you let it decide? If I can catch it then aren't I worthy of keeping it?"
N's eyes flashed. "It doesn't want to be caught! You have no right to barge into it's habitat with the intention of chaining it to you like a trophy! It's a living being, with it's own dreams and it's own future! Yet you would take it from it's home without any thought for what it wants! To use at your leisure like some doll!"
Black suddenly felt very torn. Understanding both sides of the argument, not wanting to oppose his lover or his friend, he was at a loss as to how to rectify the steadily worsening situation.
The situation became much, much worse when Cheren threw the pokeball once hidden in his palm.
Black heard the creature cry out in a voice much deeper than he had expected before bucking its legs and kicking the ball to the side. Just as Cheren reached for another, the creature screeched once more before taking off, nimbly darting out of the meadow and into the woods in mere moments.
"NO!" N screamed, reaching out to the pokemon that was now long gone. All the questions he had formulated as a child, the curiosities of such a troubled creature... ripped from him in seconds of what N could only consider ignorance.
Black put his face in his hands. Things had gone from bad to worse and he had no idea what to do. He looked up again quickly when the sound of a sharp slap broke the heavy silence. N had just backhanded Cheren with enough force to knock off his glasses. Tears streamed down the taller boy's face which was twisted with a mixture of anger and sorrow.
"Selfish," N spat. "Greedy. Loathsome human. People like you are the reason that I.." He faltered. "That I endured everything.. to become King.. To stop this cruelty..."
"Who the hell do you think you are?" Cheren screeched, grabbing N by the collar of his shirt. N suddenly flinched as if he were to be severely punished, his eyes flickering with terror. "I don't know what drives you to have these stupid ideals even after all this time, but do me a huge favor and stop. That crazy bastard told you it was all a big lie, and you still pull this shit? I could've caught that thing!"
"That thing?" N retaliated, his hands trembling. "You act as though it's not even alive! That it exists solely for you to collect and use! I know that Father lied to me, but I'm not stupid! I can see with my own eyes the way trainers treat pokemon! I was raised by so many who had been abused. Do not tell me that it is a stupid ideal when you have not seen the results of your indiscriminate ambition!"
Black watched the argument unfold, speechless. Nothing good would come of this, but he could not just choose a side. Both of them were headstrong in their opposite viewpoints; what could he do?
With the low blow to such a personal topic, Cheren shoved N, causing the older teen to fall back onto the ground.
"Don't you dare insult my ambitions just because yours are a farce. You know it is, so stop lying to yourself. You're just making yourself look more stupid. I used to pity you, but I'm starting to think you're just too arrogant to admit you're wrong."
N froze for a moment, then grit his teeth, looking more furious by the moment. "Just because this world is not nearly as bad as I was led to believe, does not mean that I am wrong. You cannot understand pokemon as I do, how could you know anything about their true feelings? Your pokemon may respect you, but not all of them would want to be your companion!" He got to his feet and shook his head, tears still falling down his flushed cheeks. "All that matters to you is strength. If a pokemon is weaker than you want it to be, would you throw it away? Would you drag a pokemon from it's friends and family just because it's strong? You're no different than my father, then!"
Cheren stopped, a look of frustration still very clearly written over his face. It was useless to argue with N like this; it was becoming perfectly apparent, now. The three stood in awkward silence for a moment before N suddenly took off running towards the woods. Black flinched and called out to him, preparing to run after the boy before he felt a hand wrap around his arm.
"Black, are you seriously going to go after him?" The comment aggravated Black, who tore his arm from the other's grasp.
"Cheren, come on! I know he's difficult, but you're just being an ass. Look, he's got a lot of baggage, ok? His whole life has been awful, and he's just coming to terms with it. I know you two don't see everything in the same light, but... please, just drop it for now. I'm really trying to make him feel better, and fighting with him won't help."
As fast as he could, Black ran after N. For a moment he thought he had lost him, seeing no sign of green hair or white shirt, and he could not hear the sound of running anymore, but then as he leaped over another log, he caught sight of N nearby, kneeling on the ground.
"N, are you ok?" Black rushed to his side.
Pushing away Black's hands, N rounded on him fiercely. "Do you agree with him? Do you think I'm some sort of fool?"
Black took off his cap and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think you're a fool. Cheren said some things he shouldn't have. But..."
"Would you have tried to catch it?" N's loaded question was almost too quiet to hear.
Wincing, Black cursed this whole ordeal for making things so difficult. He sighed and sat down on the ground. "I'll be honest with you. As a trainer, I would have tried. But if a pokemon doesn't want to be caught, it can escape. I think that in most battles between a trainer and a wild pokemon, you have to prove yourself worthy of capturing it. A pokemon must accept you as it's trainer. Cheren believes that too, he just has a different way of saying it."
N looked at him unreadably.
"But he tried without any considerations... he wouldn't listen to me...!" The tears that had settled in his eyes now overflowed as frustration set in. Black tried not to find anything endearing about his child-like expression, but it was rather difficult. Still, he swallowed hard and spoke.
"People make mistakes, N. And that's okay. Cheren was excited, is all. Sometimes people do things without thinking about them. I'm... kind of guilty of that, too." He chuckled awkwardly, remembering the first time they kissed. "That doesn't make what he said to you any less hurtful, but please trust that Cheren is a good guy with the right intentions. He just... got caught up in the moment. It was a legendary pokemon! You were excited too, weren't you? That opportunity is pretty rare, being able to see something you've only heard or read about."
N chewed on his lower lip, obviously not ready to admit to anything. A sound from behind made them turn to see Cheren walking up, his cheek still red from the slap.
Black stood and patted the air in a placating manner toward both his companions. "I know nothing has really been resolved, but can you two please at least agree to disagree? Don't fight anymore, alright? Nothing will come of it."
"I don't intend to keep arguing," Cheren reassured him somewhat coldly. "I just came to say that we should get going if we want to reach a place to eat for dinner."
"Right.." Black glanced down at N, who was glaring at the ground. He had stopped crying, but he was no less upset. Black looked back at Cheren and silently pleaded with him to say -something- that would make things less tense between them.
Cheren started in surprise and quickly turned away as his cheeks flushed. "Let's just go already," he snapped, striding away swiftly.
Sighing, Black helped N up. "You up for walking back?" he asked gently.
N nodded and took Black's hand. "Are you mad at me?"
"No, not at all. Just try to get along with him, please?"
"...I'll try."
"Thank you." Stretching himself up on his toes, Black kissed N's lips briefly before leading the way back to the open moor.