A/N: Ahhh yes, a quick update because I was finally feeling productive today. Reviews are greatly appreciated! (They also keep me motivated but that's on another point)

After being shown to his room, Riley got dressed into something lighter for sleep. The guest room was almost as large, if not larger, than his home back at the mines. It had a large mirror, a dressing table, an end table, a ridiculously large wardrobe and glass windows with drawn silk curtains. The bed looked as if it was meant for two people, but Steven told him it was meant for one when he questioned.

"If you need anything, I'll be right next door." Steven smiled.

He gave a nod, and Steven exited the room.

Riley carefully pressed a hand on the mattress, and it felt incredibly soft. He nervously sat on the edge of the bed, before carefully shifted to the back. The bed had two pillows, but he was used to sleeping only with one. Despite being exhausted, his eyes were wide open like a Noctowl's. Under normal conditions, he would have fallen asleep by now, but he found himself being unnerved.

He tossed to the left and put out the oil lamp, ignored his screaming sub consciousness, and tried to sleep. He took deep breaths, before it finally slowed down.

Riley slowly woke up and found himself back in his previous home. Light filtered through the curtains in his room and he sat himself upright, rubbing his eyes. He slipped on his slippers and looked around. A piece of paper under a paperweight caught his eye, and he picked up to read it.

'Dear Riley

Your mother and I have decided to go on another journey. It'll be dangerous, so I'm afraid we can't bring you along. We have sent a caretaker, so she should arrive soon. We'll return soon, until then please take good care of yourself.

Love, Dad'

After he finished reading, bloodstains started to appear, and Riley dropped the note. It became charred, and started to burn away. Dark clouds gathered quickly and thunder clapped, and he assumed a fetal position upon instinct. He tried to scream, but no sound came out of his mouth.

He heard a knock on his door, but he refused to budge. The knocks got louder, and he squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to drown out the noise.

The next thing he knew when he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by shadows, all of them towering over him. He got up and ran away when one of them tried to catch him.

'Thief'

'You don't belong here'

'You should have died with them'

He ran as fast as his legs could take him, but a hand from below caught one of his leg. He tried to shake it off, but it kept him rooted in his position. The shadow caught up and consumed him. He found himself falling into darkness as he was swallowed. He reached inadvertently for the surface, the only source of light, but it seemed as if the more he yearned for salvation, the more distant it felt from him.

'Riley…'

That voice, who is it? Riley tried to think but his thoughts were clouded. Was that his parents?

'Riley…!'

The voice sounded more urgent. He was struggling to keep his eyes open by now, his hand felt heavy, and he was beginning to find it harder to breathe, like something was choking him.

'Steven…'

Strange how that was the name Riley called when he felt so fragile and helpless. Why, he didn't know. They only met once, but he gave him strength to live on when everything else seemed bleak.

Steven… that's right, that voice sounded a lot like his.

Just one more time… he wanted to see him again.

Riley's eyes snapped open and he saw the ceiling of the room. He bolted upright and looked outside – it was still dark, but it was probably going to be dawn soon. He looked at the pillows and felt tearstains on them.

Was he crying?

He shook the thought off and decided he needed to take a breather.

He changed into his usual wear and lit the oil lamp before going outside. The halls were empty. It was too early for anyone to be up anyway, what was he expecting?

He closed the door behind him before hearing the door to Steven's room click. He got suspicious, but suspicion turned into surprise when Steven came out of the room.

He noticed Steven was holding a towel in his hand, and he looked at the other male curiously.

"You're awake?" Steven blinked.

"You're up early, I should be asking you that question."

"I could say the same to you." Steven pointed at his eyes. "Your eyes look red and puffed up."

Riley was confused, was he really crying then?

"I apologise for the intrusion, but I went to your room when I heard you." Steven frowned. "You looked like you were in pain, and I tried to wake you but you wouldn't respond. I got a cold towel just in case."

"I'm fine now, I just had a nightmare." Riley admitted.

"Oh, so it wasn't a fever?" Steven put the towel away. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"...I don't know, it feels silly to talk about something that's already over."

"Nonsense, it might take a load off your mind." Steven held his door open. "Come in, make yourself comfortable."

Riley followed Steven into his room and the latter gestured him to a chair. He took a seat opposite Riley, listening to him explain the details. Riley hesitated in between his sentences, for fear that Steven would think he was being ridiculous.

"…I told you it was silly." Riley finished and looked away, frowning.

"Yet it still affected you, didn't it?" Steven murmured, tilting his head slightly.

"That was because it felt so surreal…" He sighed, rubbing his temples. "It's been so many years, too."

Steven was at a loss for words. Personally, he never knew how his mother looked like because his father told him she died of an illness when he was very young, so he didn't have any memories of her. He still lived comfortably despite that, but Riley had to struggle to get by, and that saddened him.

"The fact that you're here today means your conviction to keep living is strong," Steven smiled. "And I admire that."

"I'm not quite sure what you mean," Riley looked back up at him with curiosity.

"If anyone else were to be in your shoes, I'm almost sure they would have already given up." He stood up, walking to the door. "The same goes for me too."

"You can't possibly mean that."

"Oh, but I do." Steven chuckled. "Do you mind waiting here for a bit? I'm going to go get something warm for the both of us."

"Ah…sure, thank you."

Steven nodded in acknowledgement and shut the door with a click. Riley slumped into the back of the chair, sighing. When he was in Steven's presence, he couldn't help but blurt everything out to him. Perhaps it was his charisma, or was it something else he miscalculated?

Riley only found himself being more drawn to this man. He had a mysterious, curious aura, something that set him aside from most other people. When he told Steven how he ended up finding him, he purposely left out the part that he was particularly aware of the way his aura was emanated. Normally, people can't control their auras because it's something they can't see, yet Steven was able to control it. Instead of the usual bursts he saw, Steven's was calm but remained ever-changing.

Should fate allow it, he would like to find out more about Steven, even if it was just a little.

Arceus, please, just a little more time.