Disclaimer: Dude, if I owned Pokemon I'd be more pro than Gary ************* Oak. And the lovely song is 'If I Die Young' by The Band Perry, which I think fits Bianca very well.

Characters: Bianca X Black from Black/White.

Summary: Bianca needs some cuddle-comfort, which Black is willing to give (P.S, am I the only one that hates Bianca's dad? Seriously).

2 A.M

~The ballad of a dove

Go with peace and love

Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket

Save them for a time when you're really gonna need them~

Bianca's room was the colour of a peony's petals, the frothy curtains tulip-pink and lined in lace. The chandelier was shaped like a blossom, its milky glow illuminating the pristine book cases and bed. The floor gleamed the tint of a cherry blossom tree's bark, just as reflective as the mirror that was decorated by pictures of magnolias. The flowers Black had picked for her this afternoon rested in the homemade vase on her sill, edged in silver by the shafts of moonlight that were slanting through the window.

It was the picture of serenity. Of girlhood. Of innocence.

Or it would have been, if it wasn't for a distressed-looking Black and the weeping Bianca that he held in his arms.

"I'm just so afraid," she hiccupped, her southern drawl marred by tears. "He says he knows I'm not stupid, but he talks to me as if I am…" She squeezed her eyes shut, the pain building. "I feel like I've let him down. I feel like every time I open my mouth, I say something that hurts him and makes him angry. I feel like I can't do anything right."

"You do everything right." His voice was hushed, but brimming with fervour. "You aren't stupid. You're brave and caring and sweet and…" He dipped his head to brush away the tears on her cheeks with his lips, having grown so used to the salty tang of her sorrow that it didn't bother him anymore. "And it's him that's let you down, not the other way around. None of this is your fault, Bianca," he murmured against her skin. "It never was, and it never will be."

She ran her fingers through his earth-coloured locks, trailing them down his face to feel the tears of sympathy that lingered there. "Black, can I ask you something?"

He kissed her fingertips. "Of course."

"Papa says that he doesn't want me to travel because I'll end up dead. Do you think that's true?"

He drew back so that he could look into her face, his eyes softening as if what he saw there made him want to melt. "You have no sense of direction, can't run a block without getting tired, are entirely too trusting…But no, I don't think that's true."

"Why not?"

"Because I wouldn't let it happen," he told her, almost sounding as if he was scolding her. "I'd rather wear Cheren's tights in public than let anything hurt you."

She smiled up at him with so much adoration that she thought her face would break, and he smiled back, his inky irises dancing with more light than a thousand cities could produce. "I love you, Black," she whispered, pressing a tender hand against the side of his face.

He leaned his cheek against it, his eyes half-shutting in contentedness. "I love you, too, Bianca. Always have, and always will."

They smiled at each other for a moment more before she softly pushed him back onto the pillows, crawling on top of him and resting her head against his chest. One hand played idly with his hair, and he wrapped an arm around her waist as their breathing slowed and their heartbeats fell in step with each other.

Then, as the tears dried on their cheeks and 2 A.M came and went, they fell asleep in each other's warm embrace.

~I've never known the loving of a man

But it sure felt nice when he was holding my hand

There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever~