Sorry for the delays. These side chapters are just not forming, no matter how much I've tried. But I'm not giving up!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Piplup POV:

I slowly opened my eyes, being woken by the sound of trainers in the lobby. The morning sun shone brightly through the nearby window, indicating visiting hours were imminent. That meant Dawn and the others would be here any minute. I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, extending my flippers and feeling satisfying pops in my joints. I felt so much better than I had last night.

I'm sure it was thanks to the conversation I had with Articuno and the information she provided. It was a relief to know I wasn't going too fast with Oshawott, and that it didn't matter if he was a boy. She certainly helped me process my thoughts and feelings emotions about him. And I came to a decision:

I wanted Oshawott to be my boyfriend.

The sound of the door opening snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned to see an Audino walk in. It was holding a clipboard and reading its papers as it flipped through them.

"Good, you're awake" it stated plainly, not even looking up. "Your trainer is here to get you, she's out front on a call right now." With that, the Audino turned around and exited the room without even glancing at me. I guess the Audino weren't as friendly as the Chansey and Blissey in other regions.

As soon as it left, something leapt through the doorway and tackled me, sending me onto my back. Its arms were wrapped tightly around me, and I was having a hard time breathing.

"Ack…Buneary…need air…" I squeaked out. I felt her grip loosen so I could breathe, to which I was immensely thankful for.

"Oh Piplup, I was so worried!" she exclaimed. "Pikachu said you suddenly collapsed on the boat and were completely unconscious!" I looked down in shame. I had not meant to cause anyone concern. "He said it happened when Meloetta sang a song that reminded of home." I looked up and saw her expression was full of concern. It was clear she figured out what happened, being the only one to know about my past. The atmosphere quickly darkened at her impending next question. "Was it…that home?" I nodded in confirmation, relieved she hadn't been specific.

The next thing I knew she was once again hugging me, but not nearly as tight. "It's okay, Piplup" she whispered comfortingly as I choked up from the painful memories. "You're safe now. He can't hurt you." It was too much, and I felt tears start trickling down my cheeks as I quietly sobbed in her embrace. She didn't seem to mind that I was messing up her fur. She never did.

It was a rare thing for me to completely break down like this, especially in front of someone. With Buneary, however, I felt safe. She has always had this caring, trustworthy aura to her, so I told her all my secrets, all about my horrific history. And she became my best friend, the only one I ever had. I knew she would never tell anyone about my past and these vulnerable moments of mine. She had a heart of gold, plain and simple.

"Um, should I come back?" I glanced at the door through blurry eyes and saw Oshawott looking in. I quickly buried my head into Buneary's chest, hiding from him. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment at being seen in such a vulnerable state.

"No, you're fine" Buneary replied, much to my horror. She knew I was terrified at being seen like this! "I need to watch for Dawn coming." She gently pushed me out of her fur and met my scared stare. "I know you don't want Dawn to see you like this" she whispered to me. "Besides, if you really do like him, you should be alright with him seeing you like this."

I groaned in frustration; she had a point. Not that it made me feel any better. She then turned and walked to the doorway and left, leaving me alone with Oshawott.

I suddenly felt self-conscious as I felt the tear streaks on my face and the congestion in my nostrils. This only served to make me feel worse. Add in the fact that it was Oshawott who was seeing me like this, and I felt like dying where I stood. After all, I was supposed to be stronger than this.

I was so caught up in my thoughts and feelings that I didn't realize he had walked over to me until I felt him wrap his arms around me and pull me to his chest. I couldn't help it and started crying again. I buried my face into his chest, soaking his fur. He patted my back as he held me close.

After a minute, I stopped crying and pulled away from him. I felt so embarrassed and refused to look at him, instead studying the floor. Wow, the tiles sure were shiny. The Audino here must do a really good job cleaning, although their bedside manner sure was lacking.

"Are you okay?" Oshawott asked. I shook my head, still looking down.

"No, and I never will be" I sighed sadly. "I'm haunted by my past, and it will never go away." His expression turned compassionate, caring, and…loving. I realized that Buneary and Articuno were right. If I wanted us to be boyfriends, I needed to trust him with everything, including my horrific past. No matter how much it hurt to talk about it.

"I need to tell you something and it's hard to talk about" I began. "So please don't interrupt me." He gently nodded his head, and I sighed. "Have you ever heard of consecutive twins?" He took a moment before responding.

"Yes, I read about it in Professor Juniper's lab" he answered. "It's when the female Pokémon lays two eggs at once. The book said it's extremely rare and almost always the second egg never hatches, and the mother dies." He suddenly gave me a horrified look. "Wait, is that what happened to you?

"No, I'm not a twin" I said. "It's worse than that." I sniffed as I prepared to tell him the truth.

"I'm a triplet."

I watched Oshawott's mouth open in shock. "I'm also the third egg. It's the only time in recorded history any triplet has ever hatched." I looked down in sorrow before continuing. "Like any consecutive twin, I've always had inferior genetics, but even more so being a triplet." I shuddered as the memories started to come back up. "I was constantly picked on by the other Piplup there. They constantly teased me, attacked me, stole my food, stole my bed, and just outright tortured me." I sniffed again before continuing. "I was too weak to fight back. There were many nights where I ate grass and slept outside in the cold. Nobody cared if I lived or died, not even the humans who worked at the private breeder, Premium Piplup Purveyors." I sniffed yet again as I kept going. "They planned to sell me, if I was still alive, to some laboratory who would perform experiments on a "freak of nature" like me. The only reason that didn't happen was because of an Ekans outbreak at all the Pokémon League hatcheries. They were eating the baby Piplup, causing a shortage for new trainers. So all of us Piplup were sold to the league to help cover the shortage." I felt my eyes tearing up again. "The worst part of it all was that the leader of the group, the one who made sure I was treated like scum, was the first egg, my brother." I felt my eyes sting as I recalled the torture he put me through. "He was the strongest fighter among us, and he made sure I suffered because, according to him, I was the reason our mother died." I growled angrily and imitated his voice. "You must suffer the consequences of killing mom, you weak, worthless little runt." I snarled to myself. "He told me no girl could ever love me because I would always be a weakling." I snorted angrily. "I must become the strongest Piplup to ever live, otherwise he wins. And I can't let that happen." I sighed, finally done. "Meloetta's song took me back to the breeder and the painful experiences I had there. That's why I passed out."

I was exhausted now from recalling all those stories, but I had to admit, I did feel better now that I told Oshawott. He was strangely silent, and I worried I had scared him. Or worse, maybe he had realized I wasn't worth the trouble. Hesitantly, I looked up at him as I blinked the remaining tears from my eyes. I was shocked at what I saw. He was crying as well, glistening eyes and tear marks flowing down his cheeks.

"That…is the most horrific story I've ever heard" he stammered. I nodded sadly.

"Only Buneary knows my full life story, and now you" I quietly admitted. He brought his arm up and wiped the tears from his face.

"I won't tell anybody, I promise" he said, and I lightly smiled.

"Thank you" I whispered in appreciation. He smiled back at me, and I felt a wonderful warmth blossom in my stomach. One that I really liked. No, one that I loved. Just like the otter across from me.

"Do you remember what happened between us on Onix Island, in that cave we hid in?" I asked. His expression turned thoughtful, lighting up a moment later, then followed with a heavy blush.

"We said we liked each other" he mumbled, looking down briefly before looking back up at me, eyes full of confidence. "And I do! I really like you!"

"So do I" I admitted. "You've now seen me at my worst. You now know my worst. But if you're okay with it, I want to date you. So, do you?"

He never answered. Instead, my vision was full of white fur and a pair of warm lips were pressed against the tip of my beak in a gentle kiss.

My very first one.

I was surprised, but quickly felt my eyelids shut and enjoyed the warmth of the kiss. Instantly all the painful memories were washed away. The image of my brother was replaced with this otter. MY otter.

I never thought beaks would be any good to kiss. But apparently that didn't matter to my new boyfriend. The way his warm lips were pushing against me, the way he was purring, it showed he loved it. Just like I did.

He pulled back and stared into my now-open eyes. "I'm all yours" he said lovingly. I smiled and pressed my beak to his lips again. My eyes shut again, and I relished in the contact.

For the first time, I felt truly loved.

/

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