Disclaimer: To Looketh: I'm not sure if you got my PM, but I basically just spazzed out in complete happiness and thanked you a zillion times for your review, lol. To Ebaz: Awwww, thank you so, so, so much! (And sorry about the gender confusion :) ) Oh, and thank you Rat2rrj for adding my story to your favourite stories list! Guys, keep the reviews a-comin', they reassure me that this story isn't in vain! Now, everyone, grab onto my fanfic! *Whooshes away over a rainbow of awesomeness* LUCKYSHIPPING!

Characters: Blue X Red, in thanks to Ebaz for her review (since you mentioned that you like luckyshipping :) ) Also, even though I have only two reviews I'm taking requests. Just letting ya know.

Summary: Blue, Red and some reassurances (song is by David Cook, by the way).

Permanent

~Will you think that you're all alone

When there's no one to hold your hand?

When all you know seems so far away

And everything is temporary, rest your head

I'm permanent~

It's times like these, when there is no one to talk to, no one in sight, that the depression comes. Like how the tide goes out ever so slowly, so slowly I think it's going to be that way forever, and then comes back in a rush.

The memories come back even faster.

Bird pokemon shrieking, clawing, diving down again and again and again; 'Dance for me,' spoken in the slow, glacial tones of Pryce; Karen dressing me up and putting my make-up on, the weight of her gaze making me want to tear my own skin off; watching Silver get beaten, and having to stuff my fist in my mouth so that they wouldn't find out I was hiding in the secret compartment in the walls, witnessing it all; always being alone, always being hurt, always being afraid.

I bow my head between my knees, trying to control my breathing. It's times like these that the walls seem too close; it's times like these that the present seems too flimsy. The past has always felt more solid: the feel of Pryce's hands on my skin; the hardness of my mask pressed against my face; the sound of Karen's laugh rebounding off the walls; the damp, metallic scent of blood that made me choke and vomit after finding Silver half-dead on the floor every morning. The present is a dream that I'm already half-waking from, already realising that it's unreal and not going to last. Not the Dexholders. Not my parents. Not me.

The salty sting of tears in my mouth just reminds me of the fact.

So when I feel a hand press against the small of my back, I jump, caught unawares. I turn, half-expecting to see Pryce ready to drag me back into hell, or a bird pokemon preparing to slash my face to ribbons- but then I focus on familiar maroon eyes, and time catches for a second before I'm downright sobbing.

"O-oh. H-h-hi, Red," I manage to say, swiping a hand across my eyes repeatedly, angry at how my makeup's smearing and streaking down my face. "W-what are you d-d-doing here?"

He ignores me, and those eyes search mine in a way that I can't block out. His hands slide up to hold me by my shoulders, warmth seeping out of his palms and trickling through my body. "What's wrong, Blue?" he whispers.

"N-nothing's wrong, Red." I stamp my best smile onto my face, my teeth gritting in an effort to keep the tears back. "I'm fine. I'm absolutely, positively, one-hundred-percent fine."

He stares at me before murmuring, gently and distinctly, "No, you're not."

My smile breaks, splinters, crashes to the ground like a phoenix. I can feel the tears still drenching my cheeks, and great, animalistic wails are ripping from my throat, filling the entire room.

Without a word he leans forward, trapping me in his arms. I struggle: I struggle because I can't hide behind my mask of flirtation and deception, because I know I'm going to wake up soon. Red's not going to last. I can't care about him; he can't know that I care about him. Caring means a harder goodbye, and it's easier if I pretend that he means next to nothing to me. It's easier to pretend that he's just a friend.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Blue," he whispers. "You don't have to be afraid."

"Yes, I do." It's a moan that's nearly lost in the fabric of his clothing.

"Why?"

There's something about the sound of his voice that breaks me down completely. My mask of ice is gone- there's nothing to hide behind now. The walls are close enough to touch. The tide's coming back so quickly that it's becoming a tsunami, rocking my world and sweeping me off my feet until the only thing stable enough to hang onto his Red.

"It just…comes back sometimes, you know? My past. It makes it feel like I've been r-r-running and running and r-running for my entire life, and that I've stopped to try and c-catch my breath, and realised t-t-that I haven't gotten anywhere. I'm too tired to keep running anymore, Red. I-I-I…"

He says nothing for a moment. "It's going to be okay, Blue. I promise."

"No one can p-promise that." My voice is the rawest of whispers.

"I can," he says with force.

"You might be the hero, Red, but you can't save me. Not this t-t-time."

"No, Blue, listen to me." He pulls back to look me in the eye, his lashes brushing mine. "You don't have to run anymore."

"Why n-not?"

"Because I'm here. I'll carry you."

It's so corny that I nearly snort, but all that comes out is a strangled sound. "A-a-and if I fall?"

"I'll pick you up again."

This time I do laugh, but it turns into another sobbing fit. "Nothing's permanent, R-Red."

"I am." He cups my face in his hands, his dark eyes stern. "I am what's real. This is what's real. And it's going to be okay, Blue. You're going to be okay."

I lift my hand to curl it around his, feeling his warmth, his solidness. "This is really, really c-cheesy, you know," I comment with a sniffle, feeling a small smile sneak onto my face.

He gives me a tiny smile in return, hugging me even closer. "I know," he says. "But it's long overdue."

It's times like these, when I have Red to talk to, and this feeling in my heart is ballooning in size, that I wonder how I could have felt depressed at all.

~I'm permanent~