- N - = Nicky's part
- J - = my part
Chapter 003 - So much to catch up
- J -
Dew and Maki also laughed at Serena's joke, but couldn't stop figuring which type of pokémon was that Audino. If it hadn't caught the joke, that had to mean it'd be from a faraway region!
Amethyst looked at Stephanie and Serena while they discussed about Roark, taking advantage of the situation to look at someone who wasn't Riley.
"Poor Steph." Amethyst thought. "I hate to admit it, but Serena's right, she has no chance to win against a rock-type trainer with her normal-type pokémon."
"Unless she has taught him some fight-type move..."
She was somewhat sad at Ms. Brown's sorrow, and her pokémon also looked worried about Rodent. Anyway, it took a short amount of time to Stephanie to cheer up again, all thanks to Rodent.
Dew smiled and looked at her trainer.
"Moreover," Amethyst said. "I can lend you my Roserade if you want."
Amethyst noticed that Ms. Brown kept calling Serena's pokémon a Chansey, but before she could ask what type of pokémon it really was, Serena mentioned her deceased pokémon, which caused Amethyst to be extremely sad.
"Oh, my!" She exclaimed. "I'm so sorry...!"
However, Serena seemed to have overcome the loss of her pokémon well.
Amethyst noticed Riley using his aura again on Serena and Stephanie.
"I wonder what's he doing..." She thought. "Will he be using it on me too? Well, he already knows everything about me... Since the day we met..."
The purple-eyed woman listened at Riley and Serena's final words before Serena left. Amethyst's quietness quite contrasted with Brown's enthusiasm regarding the dinner at Roark's house. However, there was something irking Amethyst.
"Come to think of it, Serena was blushing a lot when Riley talked to her." She thought, pissed. "And she was acting very shy and nervous, too! I hope she doesn't li-."
Amethyst's thoughts were interrupted by Riley's joyful invite and Ms. Brown's happy screams.
"Oh! That's a good idea!" Amethyst exclaimed, patting Stephanie's shoulder. "Poor Ms. Brown hasn't eaten anything in a while, and this is very kind of you!"
Giggling, Amethyst blushed at Riley's gentle smile. He hadn't changed anything.
Once out of the Pokémon Center, Amethyst looked around.
"I fancy some chocolate!" She said, happily.
As they started moving, Amy's hand brushed Riley's by accident. Blushing as hell, Amethyst put her hands in her pockets. Maybe it didn't happen by accident? She couldn't tell since she didn't dare look at Riley's face.
"A-anyway," Amethyst said, somewhat nervous. "we shouldn't eat a lot now, we have to be prepared for tonight's dinner! Keep that in mind, okay? Ms. Brown?"
- N -
He'd told her she was too young, hadn't he? Well, here she was, all grown up.
Riley tried not to look disappointed as Amy stuffed her hands into her pockets, he pulled his own gloved hand back to his side. She was right, holding hands would be awkward, especially considering how long it'd been since they'd last seen each other. Still, the urge to grab her and turn her to face him was overpowering.
She'd grown up perfectly, into a mature gentle and experienced young woman. (Maybe looking a little more grown up than usual with Stephanie Brown jumping along beside her.) It all seemed so familiar, the bounce of her curly brown hair, the way those purple eyes caught the light…
"But I'm starving!" Brown laughed, clutching her stomach and snapping Riley out from his thoughts. "We're going to have to eat a lot more than just chocolate."
"Ticate!" Rodent agreed.
Riley blinked. Chocolate? Oh, yes, wasn't that what Amy had wanted? He placed his fingers on his temples, trying to find a hint of chocolate in the air…
"There's a dessert shop not too far from here," He smiled, pointing to the direction he'd sensed the smell of chocolate sauce and cream. "It's not too far a walk…"
He droned off, feeling somewhat awkward at the younger trainer and her Raticate staring at him.
"What is it?"
"Your eyes," Brown gestured vaguely at the air. "Do they always glow?"
Riley sighed patiently, slightly amused. "Only when I'm feeling something… strong," He tried to explain. He caught a glimpse of Amy's purple dress from a corner of his vision, and found himself smiling despite himself. "And right now, I guess you can say I'm feeling… I'm feeling something…."
He turned to Amy, waiting for her to join in, but she was as silent as usual. Something wasn't quite right. Still, she was just like they'd been before – she never needed to say anything aloud, her body language tended to speak for itself.
Brown seemed to catch on. The younger trainer ran ahead of her, trying her best to see whatever was troubling her. "Something wrong, Miss Amy?" She asked, her brown eyebrows furrowed. "You seem distracted."
- J -
Amethyst smiled, amused at Stephanie's enthusiasm, as usually. It was so refreshing to be accompanied by a young teenager again.
"Haha!" She laughed. "Okay, okay! But if you eat too much, you won't be hungry at dinner! And who knows? Serena could prepare something tasty for us~!"
She felt so relieved when talking to Stephanie. Maybe it was because she reminded her of her brother Emerald when he was younger, but Amethyst really enjoyed her company. So happy-go-lucky and jolly...
She sometimes wished she could go back to when she was 16 and travelled with her brother, Diamond and Pearl, all of them 12-years-old adorable kids.
Dew and Maki were more attentive to Stephanie and Rodent, amused at the fact that they didn't get used to Riley's superpowers.
"Hehe." Amethyst thought, looking at Ms. Brown. "She is sure very perceptive. When I was her age, I could never tell when Riley was using his powers!"
However, Amethyst's expression turned more serious after Riley's speech about what he was feeling and such.
"Yeah, sure." She thought, frowning. "He's always talking about beautiful things... His words are as elegant as before... But WHAT? He has made me wait for eight years... Does he really expect me to go after him just like I did eight years ago? And still, I can't resist... I like him too much..."
She was engrossed in her thoughts. She had even stopped paying attention to the happy Stephanie.
Of course, Riley noticed it. Dew patted her trainer's leg, Amethyst blinked a few times and looked at Ms. Brown, who had just asked her something...
"O-oh! It's nothing!" Amethyst exclaimed. "I was just thinking what could I buy at the dessert shop, hehe!"
Amethyst smiled gently at Stephanie. Then, with a more serious expression but slightly blushing, she turned to Riley and approached him.
"It will be better if we go now to that shop." She said. "That way, if Ms. Brown eats too much it won't be a problem at dinner because they will have passed more hours."
The purple-eyed woman gave Riley a light smile. She was very happy to see him again, after all.
"Why don't you take us to that shop~?"
They started walking and a few minutes later, they spotted the shop.
- N -
"Oh, trust me," Brown laughed loudly at the thought of not being able to eat, "I could eat a whole Milktank and still have room for dinner."
Riley chuckled, doffing his hat at the waiter who stood by the shop entrance. Quietly, he slid into a booth, motioning for Amy to join him. Brown merely bounced into the seat opposite them both and leafed through the menu, her Raticate looking intently at the pictures.
"How about you order for me – just get anything you want." He suggested, looking at the brown-eyed girl, who instantly squealed and began leafing excitedly through the options. He smiled at her enthusiasm, which also gave him time to check on the other trainer.
Turning to Amy, he felt his chest begin to heave, as if his heart had started warming up. It felt so good to actually feel her beside him. He allowed her Roserade and Masquerain to wander by him, and began absentmindedly petting them both. Her pokemon had grown too – no doubt she was much stronger than the last time they'd met. He found himself feeling empty at this revelation – what good was he now that she could take care of herself?
Maybe it was time to find out?"Amy," He began, somewhat melancholically, "Why don't you tell me about your adventures? We have all way until dinner and so much catching up to do…"
Serena Joy looked out the kitchen window, leaning her elbows out the sill. The sun had just started to set. It was a wonderful feeling, just being bathed in the cool evening air, the last of the orange-pink sunlight reflected against the mountains in the distance. The sky, she noticed, was the same fiery red as Roark's hair. She breathed deeply… Peace, at last-
"AUDINO!"
…And then she promptly remembered why she was in the kitchen in the first place.
Shoving aside a Graveller and a kicking several Geodudes out of the way, she ran towards the oven and rescued the roasting turkey. Behind her, the Audino breathed a sigh of relief.
"Does it look okay?" Serena tilted the dish from side to side to check for burns, her Audino giving her a thumbs-up of approval. "Alright then… Oh! Go get the silverware and get the potatoes ready." Saluting, the normal-type scampered to the drawers, pulling out all the plates and forks and cutlery it could find.
Gently, she laid the bird on the table with the rest of dinner and wiped her forehead. "Phew," She collapsed onto the sofa and closed her eyes. "Roark better like this Riley fellow," She complained to her Audino. "Because I don't. Can you believe it? Asking me to cook for two more people just because he wants me to! Who am I? His maid? Seriously!"
The knocking at the door stopped her Audino from answering.
"Door's open," Serena called, too tired to leave her resting spot. "Just come in or something."
- J -
As they approached the table, Amethyst started to plan which seat she should choose.
"If I sit down near Riley, he'll believe I'm doing it on purpose, and I don't want him to think I'm crazy about him...! Yet..." She thought. "But if I avoid him, he could be sad..."
However, Amethyst didn't have to think anymore, because Stephanie rushed to sit down in front of Riley. Rodent, of course, sat down near his trainer.
Blushing, the young woman took seat near Riley. She waited for Ms. Brown to choose her meal, then had a look at the menu and decided.
"I'd like a chocolate sundae!" Amethyst announced, happily.
Although she wasn't so starving as Stephanie, it had been a long time since she hadn't eaten chocolate.
Amethyst looked at Riley, her eyes full with joy.
"It'd be pointless to be in a bad mood after eight years without seeing each other." She thought. "He might have done things I didn't like in the past, but he never did them to harm me, so..."
"Thank you very, VERY much for this, Riley." Amethyst said. "If there's anything I can do for you to repay this..."
She then looked at Ms. Brown, who waited for her meal impatiently.
"I'm also glad to have met you, Ms. Brown. We're having a fun time here...!"
The meals were served. While Stephanie ate her meal with anxiety, Amethyst took a spoonful of her ice-cream and offered Lucario.
"Would you like some, Laelaps?" Amethyst asked, gently.
Then, Riley asked her about her adventures. Stephanie seemed interested, too.
"Well, Emerald and I kept travelling for a few years and met a lot trainers." Amethyst explained. "Emerald battled against tons of trainers and polished his skills. I didn't battle a lot, only when I needed to, so I can't say the same about me, hehe."
"We stayed at Kanto for a year, at my friend Pink's house. We had been travelling for several years, so it was kind of a sabbatical year for us. We kept travelling for a couple of years more, and Emerald conquered some Battle Frontiers in other areas, and even some tests at the Pokéathlon in Johto!"
"Now, Emerald is almost 20 years old, he's almost an adult, he has now some needs, so we went separated ways. He went to Hoenn three months ago and I haven't talked to him since then... And I came to Sinnoh because I wanted to enjoy the manners of each town better!"
Both Ms. Brown and Amethyst finished eating and they moved towards Roark's house, which was at the other side of the town.
Speaking of the devil, Roark got into his house as he saw Serena, lying on the sofa, her hot-pink hair scattered among the cushions. If only she was as peaceful as she seemed at that moment...
"I'm home!" Roark announced. "It's been a tough day at the work, but I've had fun!"
Roark approached Serena.
"Say, Serena. Did you encounter Riley? Is he coming finally?"
- N -
As the waitress placed their food on the table, Rodent lunged for a chocolate pie in a blur of snarling and cream. When he lifted his head, it looked as if someone had slapped him facefirst into a mud puddle.
"Rodent!" Brown laughed, wiping the rat's face with her sleeve, "You're such a pig!"
She stopped as she heard the older trainer grateful for meeting her. "Ohh, it's nothing, Miss Amy! I should be the one thanking you! If you hadn't stopped those Bidoof, I'd probably still be running to Eterna right now!"
She watched as Amy fed part of her sundae to the large dog pokemon, who for the first time all afternoon, seemed downright excited. Chocolate, it seemed, were to Lucarios what honey was to Winnie the Pooh. Amy must have known that thing for quite a while to know its favourite food. I wonder, Brown thought, how long she's known this Riley fellow.
She didn't ask, though. It seemed things like this were much too private.
As they walked, she thought of all the things Emerald and Amy had done, and all the places they'd seen. It seemed Amy really was a world traveller. She wondered how long it would take for her to be that free, to feel that every city in the world was, more or less, home.
"That sounds amazing," She admitted, "Living in Kanto, seeing the Battle Frontier… wow, I wish I could spend a couple years of my life just exploring."
She tucked Rodent under her arm and gestured to the vast beyond. "Stephanie Brown, World Explorer! No Gold to have to keep calling to tell him you're alright, no Kris always asking if you want to come home, nothing! Just us," She hugged her raticate, "no ties to anyone!"
She noticed Riley looking wistfully at the purple-eyed trainer, as if there was something he had to say but couldn't.
"I don't know about that, Miss Brown," He said, a tinge of sadness on his voice. "When you keep travelling the world like that, you tend to forget the people that are most important to you."
"What do you mean?" Brown raised in eyebrow.
Riley kept silent. "We're here," He went through front door of an apartment house, and began to climb up the stairs, motioning for the girls to follow him. "Roark lives in the penthouse. Can you handle six flights of stairs, Amy?"
"I did," Serena deadpanned. "He's coming at seven,"
"And he wears a fedora," She scolded the ceiling, "that's, like, the most pretentious thing I've ever seen. I swear, Roark, some people have the worst taste in hats-"
She stopped, looking up at Roark leaning over her – and the red hardhelment he liked to wear. She watched the way it wrapped around his usual stock of red curls, gently framing his concerned face… Well, maybe not all hats were pretentious.
"Sorry," She bit her lip, reminding herself that Riley was Roark's friend. And, while she enjoyed insulting everything that moved, friends were off-limits. "It's been a rough day." She gestured vaguely at the apartment which, she swore, was probably 20% cleaner than it had been that morning.
"And I got dinner ready, too," at the mention of dinner, the Audino scampered to the table and lifted the lids off several dishes to show the redheaded man. "Riley's got travelling companions, so I cooked for five tonight. I don't know; this just seems very inconvenient to me…"
Serena sat upright, looking at her roommate. He reeked gently of sweat and the coal mines, and his shirt was plastered wetly to his body. He certainly looked like he'd had fun today, but he also looked physically exhausted.
"You okay?" She motioned to this room. "I got some of your good clothes on your bed and a hot shower running in the bathroom," Gently, she pulled his hat off, watching his red curls fall
out from under the helmet. "You can thank me later.""By the way," she added, slightly embarrassed, "how's the, um, the Miner's Dance coming along? Are the miners excited?"
- J -
"When you keep travelling the world like that, you tend to forget the people that are most important to you?"
"What did he mean with that?" Amethyst thought, frowning. "Is he insinuating that I've forgotten about him? He sure has NO idea that I can never stop thinking about him... And it's been like that for EIGHT years!"
Amethyst shook her head when Riley asked her. Not only she was annoyed by his insinuation but also by his question. She was a traveller! How could he doubt her?
"Of course!" Amethyst said, looking at Riley firmly. "Hold my hand, Ms. Brown, you're still pretty tired from your adventure with those Bidoofs."
"Haha, it's okay." Roark laughed. "Riley is a pretty good friend, but even I can admit he's somewhat eccentric."
"Oh! So he has brought some friends!" Roark exclaimed, amused. "That's fantastic!"
Roark looked at the food Serena had prepared, impressed.
"Whoa, you sure overdid yourself today." He said. "I'm sure it'll be tasty!"
As soon as Serena told him she had prepared a bath for him, Roark couldn't help but feel slightly surprised. She wasn't usually that nice. Moreover, her huge interest in the Dance pleased him.
"Aha, thank you very much, Serena." Roark said. "I have to be presentable for our guests, haha!"
Roark winked at Serena.
"Well, you see. Some miners are excited, other aren't. I guess you suppose why. Finding a partner can be so difficult, hahaha!"
The ginger went to the bathroom in a very good mood, humming some kind of song they used to sing at work.
Just a few minutes later, someone knocked the door. As soon as the door was opened, a nervous blondie bounced into the house, followed by a petite brunette.
"Chill out, Ms. Brown!" Amethyst exclaimed, yet somewhat amused. "This ain't your house, you know!"
Riley closed the door behind her. Amethyst approached Serena and bowed politely at Serena.
"Good evening, Serena." She said. "First of all, thank you for accepting us in... your house."
Amethyst couldn't help but feel somehow surprised. Wasn't that supposed to be Roark's house?
"Are they living together?" Amethyst thought. "Does that mean they're...?"
Just a couple of minutes full of introductions later, Roark got into the room, guided by the voices.
"Oh! So you've already arri-!"
"Roark?" Amethyst screamed, perplexed.
Because of the rush, Roark was only wearing a towel around his waist.
"Ah!" Roark exclaimed, recognizing Amethyst. "You are... that brunette from Dialga and Palkia's battle!"
"Y-yes..." Amethyst said, trying not to look. "But, please... Could you...?"
"Oh, yeah!" Roark said, rubbing his head. "I'll get dressed now, just wait a minute. I'll come back now!"