A/N: Very sorry for the delayed update, was busy with school. orz

This fic will be on a hiatus after this chapter, probably for a couple of months. Until then, please enjoy this chapter.

Riley wound up becoming an escort for Steven and the Grand Duke, mostly Steven, because they were together more often. He tagged along with Steven when he was supposed to run some errands, or to attend a function, to make sure nothing happens to him. Although he was rather capable of taking care of himself, he didn't seem to mind the company, which made Riley happy.

After running the last errand for the day, Riley made a trip to the garden to visit Latias and Latios. Latias was the first to hear his footsteps, and immediately flew over to greet him. She nuzzled him playfully, occasionally nudging him with her snout. Latios followed closely behind, and went over to Steven, lowering his head. Steven smiled and gave him a pat, chuckling.

They watched as Riley tried to get Latias to calm down, only to end up chasing her around.

"They look like they're having fun," Steven glanced at Latios. They exchanged looks, before the blue eon pokemon gave a nod.

Latias was about to dive into a large bush, but was startled when it started to rustle. A metagross emerged, and it looked at Riley curiously before turning its attention to Steven.

"Metagross, so that's where you were?" Steven chuckled. The steel pokemon simply grunted in reply.

Metagross and Latios exchanged looks, before gesturing Steven to follow them. He was puzzled, but intrigued. Riley noticed, and followed behind Steven.

"What happened?" He inquired, his brows knitted with worry.

"I don't know," Steven shrugged. "But I trust it to be of utmost importance."

They followed Metagross and Latios through the vine arch and was guided under the largest tree in the garden. An injured Riolu was resting there, seemingly in pain. They didn't know how it even got there in the first place, but it needed help right away. Riley knelt down and approached it carefully, but it growled and tried to put up a fight. It didn't have the energy to, and fell as soon as it got up.

"Easy there, I'm not going to hurt you." Riley assured gently. Latias floated by his side and mewled softly, as if asking if there was anything she could do to help.

Riley examined the injured pokemon, and determined it had been poisoned, probably caused by Beedrill's stings.

"If you would be so kind," Riley turned to Latias. "Could you help me gather some oran and pecha berries?"

The eon pokemon nodded, and flew off with Latios tagging along. Steven, who had been standing by and watching, was impressed by Riley's quick diagnosis.

"This is nothing," He told Steven humbly. "I worked with a small pokemon clinic for a while, just a ways from my hometown. It got shut down because it wasn't doing so well."

"That's a shame," Steven sat down beside him. "I wonder if this Riolu has a partner. Whoever they are, they must be worried sick."

"I don't know if that's the case," Riley murmured, barely touching Riolu's head. "It seems to be very confused right now, but we'll see when it gets better."

The two eon pokemon brought the berries and handed them to Riley. They hovered above them worriedly, until Steven noticed, and gestured to give them some space. They lowered their heads and moved beside Metagross, who continued to keep an eye on the siblings.

Riley tried to feed Riolu the berries, but it refused, albeit weakly. Riley asked Steven if he had a mortar, and gave it a good thought.

"I think so," Steven mused, getting up. "It should be in the medicine room nearby, I'll go get it."

"No, let me." Riley quickly said, getting up with the berries in hand. "You should…stay here, and watch over Riolu."

He didn't need Riley to say anything, but Steven understood why he didn't want to let him do it. He grew up as a noble, and didn't really need to lift a finger for himself. Sure, he felt uncomfortable with it, but he was used to that by now. Even though he really wanted to do something for Riley for once, he pursed his lips, and said nothing more.

"I'll be back," Riley flashed a gentle smile, before leaving them. Steven looked down at Riolu, sighing. At least he let him take care of it, it was better than doing nothing. He made a bed of dried leaves and picked up the injured pokemon, laying it there.

Riley was looking through the cabinets in the medicine room, and found a mortar and pestle. He had it cleaned, before grinding the pecha berries in the mortar. He brought it back to the garden where Steven and Riolu waited.

"How is it doing?" Riley inquired, his brows knitted with worry.

"I wouldn't say it got better, but it's holding out somehow."

"Alright, then these should do it." He mumbled, producing a spoon from his pocket. He slowly fed it to the Riolu, who reluctantly swallowed the grinded berries.

It opened its eyes slowly, its vision starting to clear. When it realized it was in an unfamiliar place, the fur on its tail stood on end and it started hissing.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Riley held out his hand to assure the pokemon, but Riolu scratched him, before looking conflicted and running away, hiding behind a nearby tree.

Riley was stunned, but took the oran berries with him nevertheless, and left it in front of the tree that Riolu was hiding behind.

"You should take these, it'll make you feel better." Riley spoke gently. "Latias, please take care of the little guy for me."

Latias beamed and nodded in reply. She nuzzled him happily, before approaching Riolu. It seemed to be cautious at first, but it warmed up to her quickly. She fetched the oran berries, and gave it to Riolu. It ate one and jumped, showing off its energy. Riley looked on, assuming that it probably mistrusted humans.

He was so deep in his thoughts, he didn't notice Steven approaching him. Steven took his wounded hand and examined it carefully, causing Riley to jolt at the sudden gesture. He felt his heart flutter, and could only be grateful that Steven couldn't read aura like he can, because he was pretty sure it was spilling all his intentions out – even emotions he couldn't comprehend.

"S-Steven…?" Riley croaked, finally gathering the courage to speak.

"It doesn't look too serious, but it's better if we got that checked." Steven said simply, reaching into his pocket to look for something.

"Ah- no, this is nothing. You shouldn't bother too much with it." Riley was flustered by now, scrambling to find his words.

"Oh, found it." Steven took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around his hand, leaving Riley a little confused. "That should stop the bleeding for a while."

"I can't- isn't this silk…?" Riley inquired, the material felt soft and smooth against his weathered hands. "I won't want to stain something so important."

"Please, let me do something for you." Steven blurted out, holding his hand. Riley's heart almost stopped when he heard that, but Steven suddenly let go of his grip and looked away, leaving him discreetly disappointed. "It's…not that important anyway."

"Thank you," Riley managed an honest smile. "I understand your intentions, really. The mere thought is enough."

"…I'll take you to the physician." Steven said quietly, his cheeks still tinted with pink, turning around to lead the way.

Riley chuckled as he followed behind the younger man. He thought Steven's honesty was rather adorable, and before he knew it, he became more drawn to him than before.