Dixie was never quite sure if he loved Stanislaus more than he was afraid of him. To begin with, it was hard to separate the feelings from one another. Here was this man not much older than himself, and yet so full of ruthless vigor and ambition. Those dark blue eyes of his were cutting, and when he looked at Dixie it made his knees go weak and all he could do was tremble. Is that fear, or is it love?

With Stanislaus, they were pretty much the same.

Dixie and Stanislaus worked together a lot of the time. Stanislaus arranged it to be that way. Dixie had no objections to it; he was fascinated by Stanislaus. However, for weeks he barely spoke to the other man. He wanted to, but every time Stanislaus looked at him, his heart began to pound and his throat locked up. He'd watch Stanislaus when he wasn't looking—he'd watch for a long time, trying to get up the courage to start a conversation with him. "St-stanislaus," he'd begin hesitantly.

Stanislaus would look at him with those dark eyes. "Hm?" he'd ask. "Did you say something?"

And Dixie could only shake his head and turn away.

This went on for some time until, one day, Dixie managed to ask him, very meekly, "Why don't you like being called Wolf?"

Stanislaus looked at him, and Dixie shrank back, suddenly regretting having said anything at all. "It's a stupid name," said Stanislaus, turning away again. "I mean, it's not even a name."

"Oh," said Dixie. "That's… too bad."

"You don't ever feel that about your name?" asked Stanislaus, glancing at him.

Dixie frowned and put one hand to his chin. "Well," he said, at length. "I think I'd feel much more ridiculous being called DuPont. But Stanislaus is a nice name. I can see why you prefer it. It… it suits you."

Stanislaus smiled and Dixie felt his heart flutter. "Nice of you to say," he said. Dixie blushed and, with a slight shrug, looked down.

Talking to him was easier after that—though it would be folly to say it was ever "easy" to speak to Stanislaus. He was a hard man to read; he said little without prompting, rarely showed his emotions on his face, and almost never said a thing about how he felt. Dixie didn't realize for quite a time that Stanislaus was fond of him at all.

As usual, they were working together. On this occasion, they were searching for a rare bird pokemon that was supposed to have a roost on victory road. When they reached the place, Dixie took a long look around, amazed at the scenery. Rocky cliffs surrounded them as they walked along a narrow meadow, just beyond a clear blue lake. "I never thought I'd see Victory Road," said Dixie, kneeling down in a patch of grass with Bruno at his back. "It's amazing."

"It's probably all the more amazing if one comes here on their way to the Pokemon League," said Stanislaus, putting his hands on his hips. Beside him, his raticate nodded in agreement.

"Stanislaus," said Dixie, looking up. "Did you ever collect any badges? Was being a Pokemon League Champion your dream, too?"

He shook his head. "No, it never was," he said. "I've been with Team Rocket all my life. No badges. No need for championships."

"Then what was your dream?"

Stanislaus looked at him slightly surprised. "Eh? My… dream?"

"I'm—I'm sorry if it's out of line," said Dixie quickly, lowering his face. "I just—I figured that, at one time, there had to have been something more you wanted out of life."

Stanislaus blinked a couple times before turning his face toward the clear blue sky. "No," he said. "This… This is all I wanted. What else should I want? I wanted to train pokemon, and I get to. I get to battle without having to jump through the arbitrary loops of some league. It was a little lonely, at one time but… It's not anymore." He smiled at Dixie but the other boy didn't see.

Bruno wrapped his arms around Dixie's neck as the Rocket grunt stood. "So," he said, swatting the dirt from his suit. "What's this pokemon we're looking for again? Molton?"

"Moltres," corrected Stanislaus.

"What's it like?" Dixie asked.

"It's a bird—a really rare, powerful bird pokemon," he answered. "That's all I know."

Dixie frowned. "A bird," he said. "Maybe we should check the cliffs, then?"

Stanislaus looked up at the cliffs. "Sounds like an awful lot of work," he said. "But you may be right." He smiled at the younger boy, prompting another blush.

Side by side, they started toward the wall of the little canyon. The pair looked up at the sheer cliff, unsure of where to start. Riding on Dixie's back, Bruno craned his neck around. "Sand?" he mumbled, looking at a small dent high up in the rocks. The sandshrew tilted his head and screwed up his eyes. After a moment, he nipped at Dixie's ear. "Sandshrew!"

"Huh?" Dixie said, turning to look. "Up there…?"

Stanislaus looked as well. "Looks like there's a cave up there… Good job, Brun." He looked to Dixie. "Let's start climbing."

Dixie nodded, and they got to it. It was difficult and tiring, but at last they managed to reach the cave. Aided by Bruno, Dixie got there first, and helped to pull Stanislaus and Orla up into the cave. They rested a while by the mouth, looking around at what they could see from there. A tunnel extended inwards, the end of which could not be seen, but down below the cave the land spread out like a vibrant oil painting.

"It's beautiful," said Dixie, holding Bruno against his chest.

"Yes," agreed Stanislaus. "But I suppose I would rate it only the second or third most beautiful thing I've ever seen…"

There was a shuffling from deeper inside the cave and they both turned their faces to the darkness as their pokemon bristled. "Sounds like something's back there," said Dixie.

"Could be Moltres, or some other strong pokemon," Stanislaus said, getting to his feet. "Let's move. Quietly." Dixie nodded and stood as well, and they slowly made their way toward the sound. The tunnel was warm and stuffy, and Dixie could feel himself sweating beneath his uniform.

"It's so uncomfortable in here," he mumbled. "This really isn't suited to our all-black jumpsuits…"

"You could strip down to your boxers," Stanislaus said. "But you'd look pretty silly and neither Moltres nor I would respect you much."

"What's that light?" said Dixie as a glow became visible at the tunnel's end.

Stanislaus lowered his head. "Moltres," he said quietly. "Okay, Dixie, get on that side. You and Bruno attack it from the left side while Orla and I get the right."

The younger boy nodded as they crept along the passage walls. Soon, the pokemon they were hunting became visible, by a red and yellow light he cast himself. He was a great, large beast with fiery wings and a fiery crest, all folded in upon himself in slumber. Both Rocket grunts breathed sharply at the sight of him. "Amazing," said Dixie, and Bruno nodded. Stanislaus motioned for him to go around the side and he did. Silently, the older Rocket grunt counted down on his fingers from three and then, they jumped to the attack.

The two pokemon lunged at Moltres and he opened his eyes and threw out his wings with a deafening screech, throwing Bruno and Orla back. Bruno smashed hard into Dixie, knocking him against the wall of the cave, as Stanislaus caught Orla in the air. Moltres screeched again and the flames on his body roared, burning brighter than before. He flapped his wings and wheeled on Stanislaus.

"Hyperfang!" he shouted to Orla. She leapt out in front of him, sinking her teeth into Moltres' neck. With a powerful shake, he threw her off and continued toward her momentarily defenseless trainer.

"Stanislaus!" shouted Dixie, running toward him. "Bruno, quick—scratch!"

The sandshrew threw himself forward. "Sand!" he cried, raking Moltres' wing with his little claws. Irritated, Moltres spun around, glaring daggers. Dixie trembled and took a step back as the color drained from his face and his mouth went dry. "B-bruno, dig!"

Bruno tried to dig but Moltres caught him with one wing, slamming him down and rendering him unconscious. His rage at its peak, Moltres spun toward the trainer and breathed in deep. Trembling, Dixie fumbled for Nathair's pokeball. "Dixie, get down!" cried Stanislaus, lunging forward. As a flame burst free of the legendary fire bird's mouth, Stanislaus knocked Dixie out of its path, taking the worst of the attack himself. He screamed as it burned his clothes and left his back red and blistered. Moltres screeched again, and fled, out of the cave, but neither of them cared. They were just glad it was gone.

"You protected me," said Dixie, stunned. Stanislaus was still laying on top of him, guarding him from harm. "Are you alright?"

Stanislaus squeezed his eyes shut. "It burns," he said.

Carefully, Dixie scooted out from underneath the older boy, and went to rifling around in his pack. At length, he produced a burn heal from his bag. "It's for pokemon," he said. "But it might help you."

He sprayed it onto Stanislaus' exposed back. Stanislaus shivered and let out a deep breath. "Is that any better?" Dixie asked.

"Yes," said Stanislaus, nodding. "The pain's gone now…"

"What were you thinking, throwing yourself into the fire?" said Dixie. "You… you didn't have to do that on my account."

"I wanted to do it," said Stanislaus. He turned his eyes on Dixie, and it was the younger Rocket's turn to shiver. "I… love you."

In Stanislaus' mouth, the word sounded choked and uncomfortable, as if he'd never used it before in his life. Dixie blinked as the color drained out of his face before rushing back into it. Stanislaus leaned forward toward him, until first their noses were touching, then their lips. He kissed him roughly, like someone who didn't know how to be gentle; someone who was afraid to be gentle. Closing his eyes, Dixie returned the kiss, with the tenderness of someone desperate to be loved. Stanislaus wrapped his arms around Dixie's back, as they lay down together on the stone floor, Dixie making sure to keep his hands away from the older Rocket grunt's injured back.

And so they were lovers, with all the joys and heartaches that entailed.