~Wally~

I sat staring out the three story window of Ruby's mother's ridiculous penthouse, wrapped in the emptiness of wearing a borrowed shirt, but knowing I was still alone.
I couldn't say I was expecting anything even remotely homely in this kind of town, but I certainly wasn't expecting their house to be uncomfortable. It was tall and narrow with little space between buildings. If I was on the second floor I would probably be able to reach out and touch the grubby wall of the building next door. I dreaded the feeling of claustrophobia like I did my asthma, so in a sense I was mentally stuck on the third floor where I could see the sky and thick grey clouds that covered it.

I took sanctuary in the blanket of cover, but also a strange discomfort. It was unfamiliar sky, glaring dark and heavy. The clouds seemed to trap in the smog like the lid of a container, and I knew that if it didn't rain soon, the whole town would know how I felt on a regular basis.

But not only this, for the first time since I left home I felt not only the rudimentary anger for the people I had seen and the places I was going, but the longing pang of homesickness. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, and I couldn't find it in me to go down to the second floor where Ruby had his room. No matter how badly I wanted to… it just wasn't rational.

After long exhausting hours of hearing horrible things about Ruby not loving anyone and then having witnessed the wrath of his mother as she gave him the tongue lashing of the century… I felt miserable. He had walked away from that lecture teary eyed and clutching his hat in a way of desperation I had never seen before. It was as if the lifeless sack suddenly meant so much more to him around his mother. I didn't know why, but I knew I wanted to make him feel better.

The only problem with that is in doing so I would only make myself feel even more horrible. I wasn't sure how much longer I could take this kind of rejection, and more importantly how much longer I could take this city. Was it even worth it being here? Even with Ruby…? I turned and curled my inhaler in hand, wondering if it would help me at all to take another gasp from it. Probably not.

The silence was getting to me on this painfully long night, while I awaited the rain like the hot summer air. Lightening flickered in the distance timelessly, each branch sparking another until the sky danced with a sever static. None of it seemed to touch the ground yet, so thunder was unlikely and I wouldn't fill the emptiness anytime soon. I stared in at what might possibly be the first storm of the summer, and wondered if it had reached Verdanturf yet.

Surely the power would go out there, and all the neighbors would be gathered in the pokemon center telling each other stories about when they were younger and the adventures they had in storms. It would be like some old black and white movie to these city folk, but all the more real for someone like me. I wished I was there, listening to the sound of friendship and quiet laughter rather than here with nothing. The loneliness pierced me like a thorn.

Steadily I got up from the bench by the window and made my way over to a built in desk at the far side of the room. There was a small, blue lighted radio there, with a remote no bigger than the palm of my hand sitting there. I read the buttons when the lightning flashed and clicked it on with my hand perched over the volume. It wasn't actually loud when it started, and I was surprise to find it wasn't even the radio, but a CD playing from deep within. I stopped and listened, tweaking the volume so that I could understand the soft words.

Ruby's mother was on the bottom floor so I didn't worry about her waking up, but I couldn't lie to myself about Ruby. I wanted him to wake up and come to me, though the thought alone made my stomach curl. That was mean of me, he needed his sleep. With a flinch I turned it slightly lower and made my way back to the bench seat by the window. It would have been all too easy to go lie on the huge comfortable couch and listen to the melody.

I retreated back to the solace that was my homesickness, thinking about all the things I could be doing in Verdanturf right now opposed to this. The comfortable air, the lackluster but large ranch houses with more property than you could see; I missed it all and more. With a sigh my head thumped against the glass and my eyes closed. I thought about the very first time I saw Ruby, and the way it felt when I woke up in the hospital to know he was gone. His face was the only thing in my mind when a sudden whirl of wind outside blew in the long awaited rain. I could feel the tiny vibrations as each drop hit the glass on the other side of my cheek. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled, smashing the music in its tracks and ruining the collaboration of sounds. I blinked, trying to find the beat again.

"Wally?"

I didn't jump in surprise like you might have thought I would, but rather melted a little on the inside. Ruby's voice was a song inside itself, and it completely unraveled me in a way I couldn't comprehend. Arceus I loved him. I loved him so much.

Too bad he didn't love anyone…

"What are you doing?" He asked gently, crossing the room and coming to the bench seat beside me. I pulled my legs up to my chest tightly and let him sit against the other side.

I set my chin on my knees. "I can't sleep."

"Me neither…" He murmured, his attention drawn back to the music. The CD was a mix of something, judging by the three different voices I had heard since it started, but everything sounded somewhat the same. It was simple, quiet, calm and packed full of emotion. It was the kind of music that knew how to tug on your heart, but at the same time could cheer you up in an instant. Ruby smiled sadly at it.

"I used to listen to this CD all the time."

I pulled the grabbed the small remote from beside me and handed it to him. "I've never heard any of these songs."

"They aren't that popular." He shrugged as it mellowed out and came to an end. A mere second was placed between the next chord that was the start of something new. I listened attentively as his eyes widened and his mouth opened to mouth the first line. Nostalgia at its best.

"I learned to dance to this song." He admitted sheepishly.

"You know how to dance?" I asked in disbelief, though it was a stupid question. Of course he knew how to dance, he was a performer.

"You don't?" he looked to have the same disbelief on his face that I did mine. Prime example of the two different worlds we came from. I'm sure if I asked him if he knew how to plant a tree he would say no.

"No." I shook my head.

Ruby looked away for a moment as the music flooded us. He closed his eyes, picking up the remote and aiming it precisely at the blue light. With a click it paused. "Want to learn?"

I shivered in surprise as he pushed up off the bench and stood, holding a hand out to me and turned the remote back at the radio to start the song over from the beginning. "Come on."

"Oh… ok." I blushed, shaking slightly as my hand slithered into the shape of his. I got up carefully, wondering if this was even possible for someone like me.

"It really isn't hard." He whispered as I approached him. His fingers knotted with mine and he clicked the remote to start the song. That sweet melody began. "It's one step at a time… Don't move back at all, and don't move forward unless I do. I'll lead."

I miss the sound of your voice.

Those words sent butterfree through my insides. I had never exactly enjoyed the company of music before, but its warmth amazed me.

And I miss the rush of your skin.

Ruby moved then, taking our hands awkwardly and spreading them apart. Mine remained stiff until he pulled it up again and let it lay on his shoulder. His skin was hot under my fingers, so flushed I thought maybe it was my imagination. His other hand wrapped around my opposite elbow.

And I miss the still of the silence…

"As you breathe out… I breathe in…" Ruby sang along with the lyrics of such a song, taking a lopping step to the side and making my heart race. "Right foot." He whispered. I stepped with him, hesitantly.

If I could walk on water, If I could tell you what's next
Make you believe, make you forget.

"So come on get higher, loosen my lips. Faith and desire at the swing of your hips. Just pull me down hard and drowned me in love." Ruby sang, his voice as angelica as the first time I had heard him. I shuddered as his hands snaked its way down my sides and gripped around my hips. He moved slightly faster, pulling me around in a swooping motion until my head was on fire with embarrassment.

Though I did not seem to miss a beat, I was disobeying what he told me. He said not to move forward unless he did, but I was indeed pushing forward, pulling both arms up and wrapping them around his neck so that our chests were pressed up against one another's. I fought a smile at the helplessness of it all. There was no way I could leave him now. Not ever.

So come on, get higher, loosen my lips
Faith and desire in the swing of your hips
Just to throw me down hard
And drown me in love

By the second verse I was pressing my face into his neck and letting our feet tangle together in a mess. He fought to keep the dance going, while I fought just to have him hold me. My fingers tightened in his hair as thunder roared outside. Peace only lasted as far as the window, I knew that, and I knew that this would all have to come to a dreaded end at some point. But I couldn't stop. The pain—whenever it was meant to happen—was worth this moment.

"I miss the pull of your heart
I can taste the sparks on your tongue
I see angels and devils
And God
when you come… on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on – HOLD…"

I froze in surprise as Ruby wrapped himself around me as tightly as he could; face trailing up my jaw and down my neck again. The song paused, the music flitted and caressed us, my heart pounded harder in my chest than ever before, and I shook with utter delight and fear and passion. My breath came in a whir, shakily, not quite a gasp but bordering a whimper.

Singing shalala la
Singing shalala lala

Ruby whispered so softly in my ear I thought it was a dream. And then lovingly, more perfectly than before he kissed the side of my cheek, moving upwards until his lips found the small crease of my temple. He leaned into me as I tugged on his hair, trying to surpass the shortness of breath.

"Relax." He rubbed my back with his strong hands, while his eyelashes tickled my jaw. "Breathe."

I forced a breath, but it was nothing compared to what I needed. Not even my inhaler would have filled that need in this particular situation. I swallowed the dryness in my throat and pulled my face up to look him in the eyes. The reflection of lightning in them aroused me.

"Is your nose bleeding?" He smiled lightly at me.

I sniffed and shook my head. For once… no it wasn't.

"Good." He tilted his face inward, pushing on my upper lip and closing his eyes. Where had this Ruby come from? Certainly this wasn't the same person that told me he didn't love anyone this morning. Certainly I was dreaming…

So come on, get higher, loosen my lips

His mouth danced against mine, pulling and pushing, giving and taking until I was absolutely stunned out my mind. Goosebumps raced up my spine, while all the blood raced to the pit of my stomach and lower.

Faith and desire in the swing of your hips

He squeezed my sides firmly, rubbing his thumbs over the little bit of muscle I had around my waist.

Just throw me down hard

My mind flickered and my lungs bucked with panic. The blackness behind my eyelids spun in the most pleasant way possible. I felt nothing but air for a long moment, and then a wonderfully terrifying gasping in my chest as it disappeared.

And drown me…

Drown me in love…