Disclaimer: If I owned Pokemon do you really think I'd be sitting here typing these things out? No- I'd be swimming in my pool of money and laughing at my good fortune. 'Beautiful' by Trading Yesterday isn't mine, either.

Characters: Ruby X Sapphire from the manga! (Aw, I go into fangirl mode just thinking about them)

Summary: Ruby reflects on his relationship with Sapphire while she sleeps. Warning: shameless self-gratification ahead!

Reason

~And time stands still beneath the air of waiting hours~

Remnants of our picnic were left abandoned on the checkered blanket, the sky having bled into evening. Our pokemon were sprawled out in different areas of the field, all asleep. Sapphire and I were resting side-by-side under the canopy of a blossoming cherry tree, admiring the clouds.

"Sapph, look," I murmured, breaking the silence that had spanned between us for a while by pointing to a cloud right above us. Her head was resting on my shoulder, her arm brushing against mine. "Doesn't that cloud look like the rainbow we saw yesterday?"

When she didn't answer I persisted, "What, you don't agree? See, if you tilt your head and squint there's the base of it, and it sort of arcs…" Nothing but quiet answered me.

"Sapphire, are you ignoring me again?" I sighed. I tilted my head down to face her, meaning to ask her what I did this time, only to be met with the sight of closed eyes and deep, even breaths. Her lips were slightly parted, her lashes pale crescents on her cheeks. The cherry blossom that I had tucked behind her ear earlier was still in place, her soft, slightly waving chestnut hair curling where it met the nape of her neck.

The smallest of smiles found its way onto my face, and, making sure not to wake her, I shifted so that her head was resting on my collarbone, my arms wound lightly around her waist.

~To touch, just to feel a love that seems to overpower me

She's all I'll ever need

And you know her love just hypnotizes me

'Til all I see is beautiful~

She yawned, but instead of waking nuzzled her face into my neck as if trying to burrow into me. I tightened my grip on her, resting my cheek against the top of her head; she was usually violent to hold, so this was nice. She had even (although reluctantly) agreed to wear the summer dress that I had made for her, which had made the day even better. There was only one thing that would have perfected it.

And that would be if I was able to tell her.

~My life, it seems so lonely here without your presence

You could change my everyday

And I could never think of love without your name

As you remain~

I let my fingers drift along the length of her face, regret turning my smile into a frown. Every day it was the same routine, filled with arguing and making up again: something would always make her bring up the final battle, and what happened between us during it, and when I dodged it she'd get upset.

Across the field, Mimi raised her head, her gaze pitying as she picked up on my feelings. I couldn't meet her eyes, so I bowed my face into Sapphire's hair.

"I didn't forget, Sapph," I admitted, in a whisper even I couldn't hear. "It's just that…" It's just that I don't want to ruin what we have. It's just that I don't know if I'll be everything you expect me to be. It's just that I want to keep you safe, since everything I touch seems to… My dad, giving up his dream and then dying for me; Courtney, lying motionless in the rubble; my mom, being forced to deal with not having my dad around; a younger Sapphire, eyes wide and face white as a corpse. All flickered through my mind. To…to die, in some way or another. It's just that… I looked down at her again, tracing the features I had already memorized with my eyes.

~Beautiful, like the summer rain to wash away the winter stain

Beautiful, like the morning sun inviting the dawn to break

Beautiful, like the joy that comes when the love you've longed for has just begun

Beautiful, making everything brand new

Beautiful you~

"It's just that I love you, Sapphire." It was the barest of breaths, inaudible. It was no less painful than when I had said it the last time, and every day it felt as if it were exploding inside me, begging to get out- I love you, I love you, I love you.

She stirred, yawning. "Huh?" she mumbled, sitting upright. I immediately let go of her, knowing she'd get angry if she found out I'd been holding her. Her face flushed as she sat up, putting a good amount of space between us. "Jeez, did I fall asleep? Sorry."

Every time she spoke to me I remembered her voice saying those words, those beautiful, beautiful words, and it made an ache form in my chest. "No problem, Sapph."

She cocked her head at me, blue eyes scrutinizing. "Were you saying something? 'Cause when I woke up I thought I heard you talkin'…"

"No. Nothing worth saying, anyway."

It was true. Because until the day came that I was good enough for her, I would strive to forget.

~And all this time you're changing me into something better

A love so high that every day that we're together

I will leave the world below

Until your heart is the only thing I know~