Cherrygrove Town was beautiful in late autumn- the cherry blossom trees that bloomed almost year round were replaced with the falling of leaves, and the water in the lake was still and calm. No one remembered this town existed, so it was the most peaceful town in all of Johto. Lyra and Silver landed in the town that fateful Friday, disrupting the peace that the town had grown accustomed to.

"Why here? Why not just land right outside your house?" Silver asked, returning Pelipper to it's Pokéball and handing it back to Lyra.

"I want to walk for a bit. Maybe we can… talk about stuff."

"Great," Silver huffed. He knew what was coming- the inquiry. Lyra started to walk towards her home, Silver trudging along in silence behind her. The walked like this for a few minutes- Lyra leading, and Silver following, mumbling to himself.

"So. Are you okay?" Lyra said, turning round to talk to him. The were about half way down the route now, and Lyra had stopped near the side so they could have a conversation. Silver paused for a moment before answering.

"No," he sighed truthfully.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes and no. I mean… I don't want to bore you with all the details, but I think it would be good to get some stuff off my chest."

"Go ahead whenever you're ready. I'm all ears."

Silver slumped to the ground, and Lyra sat beside him, not wanting to make him feel any more uncomfortable than he already was. She avoided looking at him as much as possible- for her, eyes staring at her was off putting, and she didn't want to make Silver feel the same way.

"Well, you know a lot of it. Like… the whole 'the leader of Team Rocket is my father' thing, right?"

"Right."

"Well… he wants- no, wanted- me to take over the company. He calls it a company so that they can operate legally. Anyway, he plans to retire at the end of the year, and as an 'heir' he wanted me to be in charge next. So, he was going tot rain me up, and while he was at it, marry me off to Crystal. Her parents run the Safari Zone in the west. I didn't want to marry her because of… well, lots of reasons. I don't want any part of Team Rocket, not after what they did to this region, not after what they did to…you." His voice harshened and then immediately softened again, his eyes staring at the floor. Lyra hummed in understanding, words still forming in her head.

"Anyway, they said that if I didn't marry her, they would kill you- well, they didn't say that, but it was kinda implied. And that if I did, you would be able to go free. And that's when I learned they had captured you, too. So I agreed, if only to protect you."

"Silver, you didn't have to do that! We would've got out okay!"

"And look how well that turned out," he quipped, laughing bitterly.

"We may not be in the best shape, but we did it. Anyway, I'm interrupting. Go on."

"Thanks. Well, after that, I had to meet with Crystal and give her a ring. I'm not sure if she was actually into me or whatever, but she seemed pretty happy. I hope she's okay. I wouldn't want anything to happen to her."

"Mhm."

The wind blew across the route, causing the grass to sway to the left. A few more leaves fell of the trees, gathering in piles at their bases and scattering across the path. The two trainers sat silently, neither knowing what to day to the other. Both of them knew exactly what the other wanted to say, but neither of them wanted to be the one that went first. So instead, Lyra took Silver's larger hand in her own, putting her other free hand over the top. He smiled down at her, in his unusual way, and no words needed to be said between them. They both knew, and they didn't want to spoil the moment by saying something wrong.

"We should go." Silver hauled himself to his feet, holding his hand out to help Lyra up.

"We don't have to," Lyra retorted, refusing to take his hand.

"Come on, Lyra. I thought you wanted to go."

"I do. I want to get out of this region, but… not yet, And besides, where are we going to go?"

"You literally live five minutes away from here," Silver pointed out, tilting his head in the direction of New Bark Town. "We could at least get into the warm. And look, it's about to rain."

"Ugh, fine," Lyra said, putting her hand in Silver's and hauling herself up.

Lyra took comfort in the winds of New Bark Town. Their town sign took pride in having the winds of a new beginning, and the soft breezes that blew in from Kanto always reminded Lyra of home. Of course, New Bark Town was her home, but when she was travelling in Kanto and felt the breeze against her face, she couldn't help but be reminded of the quaint little town she had grown up in.

Lyra's house stood unchanged from the way she'd left it only a month ago. She could see her mother inside, just about, and the orange glow from the window was inviting to her.

"Come on," she encouraged, dragging Silver up the steps and onto the porch. She knocked once, twice, three times on the door, and Silver could hear the shuffling of slippers coming down the hallway.

"Lyra!" Her mother greeted, opening the door to her. "You look a mess. No offense, honey. And…" she peered around her daughter's shoulder. "Who is this?"

"Uh… I'll explain inside. I'm pretty cold, so… yeah. Can we come in?"

"Of course!" She stood aside to let the two teenagers into the house, before closing the door behind her. Silver mumbled a 'thank you' at her on the way past, ambling up the hall behind Lyra, who immediately flung herself onto the sofa in the living room, crossing her legs underneath her. Silver perched awkwardly beside her, still feeling uncomfortable in his suit.

"So… this is Silver! He was my rival on my journey, and… yeah."

"Is this the boy you ran off to Hoenn with?"

"Yes," Silver interjected before Lyra even had a chance to open her mouth. "It's nice to meet you."

"And you. Lyra, can you please go and get changed? You look like you were almost murdered. And wash that cut! And Silver, you look really tired. Maybe a nap would be good? I'll get some food on. There's a spare bedroom upstairs, Lyra can show you where it is."

Silver mumbled his thanks yet again, and Lyra led him out of the room and upstairs. He noted the homeliness that was in the air- it was so different than his home. Not that it was really what he would describe as a home; more of a place where he lived, which were two very different things in his opinion.

"You're lucky you have a home. And a parent that cares about you," he said, avoiding looking at the brunette.

"I only have one caring parent though. Dear only knows where my dad is," she replied, glancing at the large collection of photos hanging at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, I didn't mean-"

"No. It's fine. I don't really mind. I never really knew him, so I can't really miss him, you get me? Anyway, your situation is like a million times worse, so I shouldn't even be talking. You should sleep, by the way. My mom said so, and what she says goes here." She gave a nervous giggle, twisting the end of her pigtail around her finger.

"Sure."

"The room's over there. Second on the left."

"Thanks."

As Silver turned to leave, Lyra noted that their conversation was a lot more one-sided than usual- it was almost akin to some of their earliest conversations. Clearly, there was something still weighing on Silver's mind, but of course, Lyra had no way of knowing what it was.

She took a quick shower, being careful to avoid soap getting in contact with the gash on her hand. She bandaged the aforementioned wound up with a piece of cloth from the medicine cabinet, tying it neatly in a bow and admiring her handiwork. Putting on a fresh set of pyjamas, Lyra padded downstairs, taking up the position she had been in before on the sofa.

"So…" her mother said, sidling into the room. "Are you two… a thing?"

"No!" Lyra protested, shaking her head furiously. "Well… maybe. Kinda? In the future. I guess."

"You can tell me, you know."

"I know," Lyra sighed, "but… well, it's complicated. He's had a bad few months, and by few months I mean whole life, but especially the past few months. He had an arranged marriage, but I stopped that, in my usual, champion of Johto way!" She glanced up at her mother, who wore an expression of pure shock.

"Y'know, I'm not even gonna ask. You do you, I guess. Well, go and get your mystery redheaded ex-rival, travel buddy, boyfriend, whatever. Dinner's ready."

"Mom!" Lyra protested, stomping up the stairs.

She knocked on the door of the room Silver had gone into, waiting for a moment to see if he replied. When no sound came, she knocked again, whispering his name at the end. She heard a creaking from the other side of the door, and relaxed slightly against the wall.

"What?" Silver asked, opening the door. His hair was tousled and it was clear to Lyra that he had just woken up from whatever power nap he was having. Lyra let out an intimidated squeak before talking again.

"Dinner's ready," she managed, before turning sharply and escaping.

Lyra and her mother were halfway through their dinner when Silver finally appeared, sliding into the chair at the end of the table, where a plate was set out for him. He poked the food around the plate before actually deciding to attempt to eat it. Lyra stole glances at him, checking if he was actually eating.

"You're unnerving me."

"Sorry."

"I'll go clean up. You bring your plate in when you're done, Silver," Lyra's mother said, using it as a convenient excuse to escape the tense room.

"Silver… what is wrong? You were fine earlier, but now you're all… like this!"

"Nothing's wrong. Well, nothing that wasn't wrong from before, anyway."

"Is there anything… you're not telling me? I mean, you don't actually have to tell me anything at all, but y'know. I was wondering."

"There's one thing. But… I'll tell you when I feel ready, okay?" Silver bowed his head toward the table slightly, before deciding he was done with his meal. He brought the plate into the kitchen, returning to his seat.

"I have a question for you," Lyra started, leaning slightly across the table to him.

"Shoot."

"You said you wanted to leave. Like… go on a holiday, or leave leave. Because, well… I'm okay with both. Just putting that out there." She gave a nervous laugh at the end, looking up at Silver expectantly.

"Leave leave. I want to get as far from this region as possible."

"How about Kalos?"

"What?"

"Kalos. It's like, on the other side of the world. The weather there is pretty much the same as it is here, and it would be pretty easy to get to. There's a lot of research going on into Mega Evolution there, and I think I'd like to check that out."

"Sounds good."

"What?" Now it was Lyra's turn to be confused.

"That sounds good. When can we leave?"

"Are you serious? I didn't think you'd be this enthusiastic."

"Well, I am. I want to get out of this region as fast as possible, and I've never heard of Kalos, so I reckon it's a good choice."

"Okay. Okay! I'll try and book ferry tickets as soon as I can."

"Great. Thank you, Lyra."

"No problem." She offered him a small smile, which he returned in his own, awkward way.

"You're leaving already? But… you only just got home!"

"I'm aware, but… well, I want to go to Kalos. And I want to look after Silver. And he's definitely going to Kalos, so it's like… killing two Pidgey with one stone, as you would stay."

"Lyra… you've been to three regions. Is that not even enough for you?"

"No! I want to travel, see the world! I want to become champion in as many places as I can. I love battling, mom, you should know that!"

"I do, I do. Well… since you've got your heart set on it, there's no point in me saying no. Will you… will you come back?" Her voice was filled with apprehension, and Lyra tried her best to produce a comforting smile.

"Of course. I'm not going to just abandon you here!"

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "You know I love you, Lyra, honey?"

"I know. I love you too, mom." Lyra moved towards her mother, wrapping her arms around her neck.

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow."

"Stay safe, Lyra, okay?"

"I will, mom."

"Look at that tower! It's huge!"

"I do have eyes, Lyra. I'm perfectly capable of looking."

"Oh, shut up."

Lyra dragged the redheaded boy through the streets of Lumiose, through back alleys and side streets that she swore were shortcuts. They'd been in the country less than a day, and Lyra had already won her first gym badge, which she pinned in pride of place on her jacket. Silver, as usual, took a supporting role, offering her help just as he had done in Hoenn.

"Silver."

"What?"

"I've been calling your name for the last minute, but you didn't respond."

"Oh. Sorry. What did you want?"

"Are we like… gonna find somewhere to stay? No offence, but if we plan to stay in Kalos even semi-long term, I do not want to sponge off the Pokémon Centre forever."

"Are you suggesting we get a place together?" Silver asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Kinda."

"Sure," he replied nonchalantly, sticking his hands in his jean's pockets.

"Cool. We can start looking tomorrow. I need to get some rest."

"I thought we weren't sponging off the Pokémon Centre?"

"We're not. Just a couple of days. And there's like three different Pokémon Centres in this city, so we'll be fine."

"You are such hard work, Lyra."

"That is not true. I'm actually very easy to get along with."

"Whatever."

"This is the one!" Lyra proclaimed as soon as she stepped over the threshold into an apartment just off Hibernal Avenue. Silver rolled her eyes, conveniently ignoring her. She had said a similar thing about every apartment they had checked out so far.

This one was nicer than the other ones though, Silver forced himself to admit. It had two bedrooms, and a living room, and was decorated not too fancily. Silver guessed that it was new, and at the price of 7,000 PokéYen per month, it was well within their price range.

"I guess it'll do."

"Is that a 'yes', Silver?"

"Yes."

"Good! We'll take it, then."

"You know you're supposed to carry me into the house?" Lyra said, raising her eyebrows suggestively and nudging Silver in the sides.

"That's for if you're married."

"Well, whatever. I think you should do it anyway."

"I'm not lifting you anywhere."

"Please?" Lyra asked, elongating the 'e'.

"No."

"You're so mean, Silver," she pouted, puffing her cheeks out.

Silver walked into the apartment, leaving Lyra standing outside. She followed him inside, glaring at him.

"You look ridiculous."

"You always look ridiculous!"

"You're awful at comebacks, Lyra."

"I hate you. You ruined all the fun of going into a house!"

"I love you."

"You're such an- wait. What?"

"I love you," Silver reiterated, looking down at his shoes.

"You're such an idiot."

"How is that a good response in any wa-"

He was cut off by Lyra's lips against his, and when he looked down at her, her eyes were shut tight, and her hands were clenched against his chest. He closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her waist, and pulling her closer into him. She slowly pulled away from him, her cheeks tinted with pink.

"I love you too."

AN: Sappiest ending possible! I've wrote and rewrote this chapter like ten times, but I'm pretty much happy with the way it is now. Thank you to everyone who's reading this, and an extra special thank you to champion lyra, who has been reviewing every chapter. You're really great and thank you for your support the whole way through this! As for what's next from me, I'll be doing another HoennChampion thing (im so predictable), a multichaptered IkariShipping thing, and then another SoulSilver thing. I'm boring sorry. Anyway, this AN has got hella long, so thank you again for reading, and I hope you enjoyed! c: