Chapter twenty: Real

Prompt: #58 Heartfelt Apology

Universe: Gameverse

Rating: T+

A/N: Continuation of 'Fake'.. I couldn't leave it at that! Again, previous warnings in place, thought this one is more mild. And I'm sorry for pulling your heartstrings :c Please forgive me!

x

Dawn sat on the shore of Lake Verity, staring into her reflection. She stared and stared, looking for answers to help her out of this predicament. It's been two weeks since Cynthia had broken up with her, and Dawn was incredibly depressed. She still didn't completely understand why they broke up, but it had something to do with Dawn wanting to have sex all the time.

She didn't understand.. what was wrong with that? Didn't Cynthia enjoy it too? Or was she deluding herself into thinking so? Thinking about it, Dawn realized she was the only one who initiated contact that led to sex. Cynthia just went with it, maybe to avoid hurting her feelings...

Dawn kicked the water roughly, and splashed herself, fresh water mixing with her tears. All this time, Cynthia was bottling it in, hiding her feelings from Dawn. Why didn't she tell her? Was she too afraid of her reaction? Dawn was sure she would've understood, but there was no point in dwelling on what could have happened.

She loved Cynthia with all her heart, she really did. The minute Cynthia had walked out of that café, Dawn had sprinted out, tears streaming down her face. She wanted to talk, communicate and fix what was wrong, but Cynthia had already flown away on her Togekiss. No matter how many times Dawn called, Cynthia didn't pick up. She visited the blonde's apartment everyday but to no avail; she'd moved out prior to meeting her.

Her heart was shredded, it ached whenever she thought of the former champion, and Dawn had to stay at her mother's because she couldn't take care of herself. She was thinner, and had lost her appetite for battling, letting her pokémon roam around in her mother's backyard. They nudged her, wanting to know what was wrong, but she always smiled and told them to not worry.

Empoleon was the most hurt by her distant attitude, and had resigned to staying in Lake Verity. He never talked to her anymore, and it drove Dawn over the edge. If she didn't fix things with Cynthia, she would lose not only her real, loving, relationship, but her beloved pokémon as well.

She had to fix this.

"Empoleon... I'm sorry for being a bitch. I promise I'll tell you what's wrong if you talk to me again," she promised loudly, standing up. She grew worried at the lack of response and was close to turning away.

A ripple formed in the middle of the lake and Dawn smiled, seeing the stern eyes of her beloved starter. Before Empoleon could swim to his trainer, Dawn jumped in, shrieking and laughing in joy when Empoleon lifted her up and spun her around. She cried and hugged the steel penguin's neck.

"I'll fix everything, don't worry. Let's round everyone up for some training! I'm getting rusty, we gotta build some confidence, yeah?"

Empoleon nodded and they both exited the area, smiling widely and happily.

x

Cynthia smiled weakly at a joke Flint said, and clutched her knees harder when she heard Dawn's name being mentioned. Flint was throwing one of his extravagant parties again, and everyone who owned a pokémon was invited. Cynthia was sitting on one of the recliners, lost in her thoughts and barely paying attention to the conversations around.

"Hey, I heard Dawn's been staying with her mom in Twinleaf recently."

"Yeah? I thought she lived in Sunyshore."

"I don't know the whole story, but I heard from Barry that she's pretty depressed right now. Barry told me she doesn't even talk to her mom or her pokémon. She barely eats, let alone battles."

Cynthia gasped and stood up, surprising the two gossiping trainers. They were pretty low key trainers, originating from Jubilife, but right now, they were the most important people in the world. She approached them, eyes wide and expression desperate.

"What's this about Dawn?"

"Umm.." one guy stumbled, looking at his friend.

"W-well, lately, Dawn's lost her drive and she's spiralling into depression because of something, though we don't know what," the other one answered, shrugging his shoulders.

'This is all my fault!' Cynthia screamed in her head, heart torn in two. On the outside, she returned to her calm demeanour and politely thanked the two, marching off to find Flint.

Why did she break up with Dawn instead of trying to talk things out? Why did she take the easier way, which then made things a hell of a lot harder? If she'd just relied on communication instead of rash actions, then Dawn wouldn't be... in her current state. She could only imagine Johanna's fury at being told that the woman who promised to protect her daughter caused her depression.

Stupid, stupid, stupid...! Why did she do this? How could she face her again? Didn't Cynthia love her? Of course! But if she really did, then wouldn't she have told Dawn her worries instead of breaking things off?

Cynthia tapped Flint on his shoulder and forced a smile, excusing herself from his party. He bid his goodbye through a mouthful of chips and she waved, exiting the mansion. Releasing Togekiss, she climbed on and ordered her to fly to Twinleaf.

x

Dawn had been treading water for the last two hours, working up her muscles to get a full body exercise. She had stuffed her face with her mother's delicious food, something Johanna heartily obliged to provide. Her pokémon were also battling against each other, occasionally stopping to take breaks and encourage their trainer. Empoleon was fighting under water with Quagsire, Rotom was racing Staraptor and Gallade was learning to resist fire attacks from Rapidash. Dawn felt completely exhausted and her muscles were on fire but she refused to stop, determined to rebuild her endurance and grow stronger. After this, she was going for a run from Lake Verity to Oreburgh.

Empoleon approached her and signalled for her to take a break and Dawn nodded, panting. She swam to the shore, pulling herself up and sitting down. She grabbed a few sandwiches from her picnic basket and shoved them in her mouth, eating her weight in seconds. It wasn't so hard, considering how thin she was...

Her pokémon crowded around her and she smiled, dumping the contents of the basket on the ground so they could eat, too. When she finished, she jumped back in the water and floated on her back, staring up at the clouds floating about. It was incredibly peaceful.

A sudden squawk from Empoleon had her straightening herself, splashing water everywhere. She looked to see all her pokémon glancing up and gasped, spotting the figure rapidly descending.

Panicking, she dove underwater and held her breath. Now was not the time to confront Cynthia! She was not ready yet! She wanted to hone her body, mind and spirit before she approached Cynthia, let alone talk to her! Maybe she'll go away if Dawn prayed hard enough...

...no such luck, since the very next second she said that a splash was heard and a figure was swimming to her. Dawn resigned to turning away and closing her eyes, shivering when she felt arms around her. She felt herself go up, up, up until she and the figure broke surface, gasping for air. She felt a kiss on her bare shoulder and shuddered, her face heating up. It's been so long since she'd...

Dawn shook her head and pulled away from Cynthia, climbing onto the shore and walking briskly to where her towel and clothes were. Cynthia followed her and picked up her discarded clothes, clad only in her tank top and panties.

"Dawn, we need to talk.."

"Last time you said that, you did all the talking and broke my heart."

Cynthia flinched; she was expecting that one. "Listen, things are different now and—"

Dawn whirled around, hair swishing behind and eyes ablaze. Her anger was taking her over again, like it usually did. She had a nasty temper, and a short fuse. Cynthia was testing her patience with all of her talk and she wasn't going to stand for it. "And what? You told me you loved me after you crushed me and left... doesn't sound like love does it? What's different this time, huh?"

"Dawn, do not place all of the blame on me."

"And why the hell not?"

"Because your attitude made me want to take a break in the first place!"

"Why didn't you just tell me that! Can't you see how miserable I am without you? Cynthia, I've lost twenty pounds in the last week... that's not healthy."

"I'm sorry, Dawn, I should've talked to you instead of acting rash. I've been miserable without you too."

Dawn approached the older woman and placed a hand on her cheek, eyes softening. "That's all I wanted to hear," and she placed her lips on hers. Cynthia groaned and gripped Dawn's shoulders, leaning heavily into the kiss. Dawn simply smiled and pulled back, eyes hooded. She gently brushed hair away from Cynthia's eyes.

"I'm taking you out on a date, first thing tomorrow," she promised firmly, "and we'll have a battle on the beach near Lake Valor. Then, we'll walk under moonlight in Jubilife, 'cause the city is alive at night."

Cynthia sighed. "That sounds nice."

Dawn's pokémon cheered and they both blushed, hugging each other and laughing.