Ascending Abbreviation 1st, Taon 300.
Bells were ringing from the cathedral in the distance, blossom petals were falling from the trees. People were gathering around it, some in suits and dresses for today's occasion. There were even instruments being played in the background, everything was perfect. But.. What was the occasion exactly? Was it someone's confirmation? Baptism? Anything? No, it was two lovebirds' wedding today.
Inside of the cathedral in one of the rooms, there was a Buneary that was being helped by her friends and mother to put on her wedding dress. Her mother; a Lopunny, looked so happy for her daughter, that this was the day that she didn't need to worry about her anymore. The day of new journeys to begin for her only daughter.. Excluding her other two sons.
Her mother left the room, whilst two of her friends stayed in the room to talk to her. One was a Pachirisu and the other was a Quilava. Both dressed beautifully for her friend's wedding. Both have at least a moderate amount of make-up.
"Stephanie, aren't you excited?" The Pachirisu asked the Buneary with enthusiasm.
She smiled, "Of course, Katie! Today's the day where I'll be with my husband… forever." Stephanie's eyes drifted to the side to look at her other friend, "Astrid? Are you doing alright?"
The Quilava; Astrid had her arms crossed- a look of.. Discomfort or concern? She snapped out of it and looked at Stephanie, "Oh? Uh.. Yeah, I'm doing fine.. Don't mind me." Astrid waved it off.
"You sure?" Katie joined in, "I've never really seen you like this, all so.. Soaked about somethin'."
Astrid shook her head, "Nono, like I said, there's nothing wrong." Giving a forced smile, giving a thumbs up, "I'm just happy that you'll be with Nicholas."
"..If you're so sure." Katie walked away, "I'm gonna go out and sit with my family-"
Both Astrid and Stephanie waved to their friend, "I'll catch up with you in a bit." Astrid said, "I just got a few things I want to talk to Stephanie about."
"'Kay!" Katie's voice faded away, signaling that she was gone.
Stephanie looked at her childhood friend, "What's wrong, Astrid? You look stressed."
"..I'm worried.. About.." She scratched her neck, "Atlas…"
Stephanie's eyes hardened, crossed her arms, swiftly moving her head; giving a 'hmph!' "Don't remind me of him, I refuse to think about him. Let alone have him in my head any longer." Growling in anger.
"But you know he didn't mean to-"
"No!" Stephanie suddenly shouted, "Astrid, I gave him several hints, it's been ten years. He never responded to my feelings, so I found somebody else."
"Stephanie, but-"
Stephanie shook her head, "No- I won't let that idiot into my head. Nicholas is who I'm devoting myself to and that's final. Not only that, my feelings for Atlas are erased." She seemed confident.
Astrid sighed in disappointment, "..Here." She pulled out an envelope.
She raised her eye, "What is it?" Taking the envelope.
"A letter." Astrid headed to the door, "I'm gonna go, everyone is gonna be ready for ya. Just let them know when you're ready."
"Right.." She watched Astrid leave the room, her footsteps fading away. She glanced at the envelope, interested in what's inside. Although she was a bit suspicious of the envelope at first.
Stephanie knew that this could've been from Atlas, probably giving some corny apology about something. Placing the letter down on the table nearby she continued to look at the mirror next to her, smiling at herself. She always wanted this day to come, truly a dream come true.
Although.. She continually looked at the envelope sitting on the table, she didn't know why it kept drawing her attention to it. Her feelings over Atlas were gone, that smug Pikachu that was always so confident.. So handsome and…
Stephanie shook her head, she couldn't let her past hold her now. Knowing that it's over those ten years of false hope for him are gone. But.. What if it's really an apology? It's not like she could ever go back, she just couldn't. Knowing everything happening in one year. She met Nicholas, they dated, happy together, and.. Nothing could stop them, she felt so much more alive and happy with someone that loves her.
But.. Deeply, she knows that Nicholas couldn't fill in the hole within her heart. Things can change, everything can change all of a sudden. Grabbing the envelope, her paws shook, having them in her paws. Opening it, she grabbed the folded letter out, reading: "I'm sorry." written in cursive.
She knows that this is Atlases' handwriting, it was so elegant to even look at and.. She shook her head, "...Why can't I get him out of my head.."
She flipped the letter around, she wanted to unfold the paper so badly, but at the same time, she didn't want to. She knows that she's gone too far and said in her own words that she'd want to marry Nicholas. But.. everytime she was with Nicholas, she couldn't stop looking and thinking about Atlas. She had patience for him to at least realize that she loved him. Ten long years, but nothing.
She started to mutter some things to herself, realizing a couple of things. Atlas stopped talking to her much ever since she went out with Nicholas. Even noticing that Atlas had stopped caring about some things, even stopped doing his favorite hobbies. She took a deep breath to calm herself, opening the letter for once.
She took a glance at it quickly, noticing her name at the top. Still in cursive, but instead of reading the paper first, she analyzed it. Back when they were younger, Atlas had to move away because of his parents getting a divorce. He moved with his father, which they went overseas, due to his father being part of the Delvers.
It was almost as if they were pen buddies. She smiled to herself, laughing to herself at the small memories she made with him. Remembering the time where she was told by him that he went to a combat campus that helped him venturing the Abyss with his father a couple of times.
Lost in thought, Stephanie continued to daydream about Atlas. Remembering the time when Atlas came back to their hometown; she was so worried about him seeing the amount of scars on his arms and face. Laughing at the time where Astrid and herself would scold him for wanting to go on fighting tournaments nearby.
She sighed and sniffed the paper, she shivered, cringing at the fact that she used to do this when she was much younger. Sighing in disappointment, that things didn't turn out how she wanted things to be. Stephanie still didn't even read the letter yet. The nostalgia from her thoughts drifted away, finally taking a look at what Atlas wrote to her.
..
..
..
..
Her paws shook, dropping the letter onto the floor. She started to cry to herself slowly, tears dripped on the letter, overlaying the already dried tears on the letter.
With the 'boys'
In the room, there were five inside: Pawmot, Scrafty, Minccino, Linoone(Hoennian) and… a Pikachu. The Pawmot was more well dressed than the others, as if it was his marriage. The other males in the room helped remove dust, dandruff or anything that looked imperfect to him. "Come on guys- You're doing a bit much-"
"Nah bro, this is your moment, you're getting married to Stephanie for Arceuses sake." The Minccino said, saying to his best friend; Nicholas.
"Since when have you ever been a salon pro, Ethan?" He raised an eyebrow.
The Minccino; Ethan rolled his eyes, "Dude- Did you forget that my family runs an entire salon and bath-house?" Seeing that Nicholas chuckled a little, having Ethan to sigh in disappointment.
"Yo, Atlas, you gonna help or what?" The Linoone turned around to face the Pikachu, wearing his usual suit but what stood out was bandages wrapped around his paws. But Xiao could tell that Atlas was spaced out. "Yo! ATLAS!" He raised his voice.
Atlas looked up, there were dark bags underneath his eyes, tired and exhausted, "Shit, sorry." He shook his head, "What'd you say Xiao?" Standing up
Xiao pinched between his eyes, "Arceus, Atlas, why are you so down? Shouldn't you be happy for Nicholas? It's his wedding today."
"I know. I just have a lot of things on my mind." Atlas looked away, looking at the window.
Nicholas turned, having the others to stop what they're doing, "Come on dude, just try to avoid those bad thoughts away. You're my best friend man! Nobody wants to see a sobby Pikachu-"
Atlases eyes hardened, taking a deep breath to calm himself, "Nicholas you really don't know how to hold back with your words eh?"
"Whattt? Nooo-" He said playfully, "But dude, didn't Stephanie ask you to help out? If you became her 'best man' or whatever that means to prepare- Why are you sulking-"
"Because I'm tired, okay?" He gritted his teeth, "Cut me some slack." Atlas looked away, "I'm gonna head out, I just need some fresh air." He then headed to the exit, leaving the room.
"Sheesh, what's his problem suddenly?" Xiao walked to a nearby wall, leaning on it.
The Scrafty sighed, "It's a long story."
The rest of the group looked at him, "What do you mean, Alto?" Nicholas asked.
He shook his head, "Before you and Stephanie met, which was a year ago." Putting his hands in his pockets, "I don't feel like explainin' so if you want answers, go ask your wife." He walked out.
The others looked at each other confused. "...So is it me or they aren't being themselves today?" Xiao asked.
Both Nicholas and Ethan shrugged. Nicholas went back to face the mirror, "Xiao you can let me do it now, I can finish up with Nicholas and we can let the priest and the others know."
Xiao nodded, sitting down on the chair that Atlas was recently sitting on. Stretching his back, giving a small groan, "Man.. this entire taon has been wild, hasn't it?" He looked at the ceiling.
"Yeah dude, for real." Nicholas chuckled, "It's just like my pops told me, life will throw something at you one day and here it is! I found my soul-mate.."
"We gotta catch up to your level man, I gotta find one-"
Ethan continued to fix Nicholas' hair, "No need to tell me twice, my parents have arranged an arranged marriage for me."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah.. She's attractive, but ehh…" He looked a bit uncomfortable talking about it. Both Nicholas and Xiao noticed this, deciding not to push the topic any longer.
Something did distract Nicholas slightly though. He couldn't sit still, Ethan could notice Nicholas tapping his foot on the ground rapidly. Ethan slapped Nicholases head.
"Yo, stop being a nuisance, I'm just about finished."
"Sorry, sorry.. I just have a lot of things on my mind right now." Brushing it off. Ethan slapped his head again, "O-Ow! What was that for?!"
"Dude, you have a serious issue about rethinking your life." Ethan finished combing his hair, "I'm finished."
Nicholas looked at the mirror and saw his hair was shiny, perhaps it could accidentally blind someone. "Damn Ethan! I'm lookin' hella good!" He checked himself out.
Xiao laughed a bit, imagining what it'd be like if Nicholas and Ethan switched spots; personality wise. The trio enjoyed their time together, as if they were brothers. Seeing the sunset go down, becoming dark once more. Although, they were interrupted with a priest slamming the door open.
The priest was trying to gasp for air, "S-Stephanie.. Is in trouble!"
Atlas was sitting outside on the stairway that led into the cathedral, having a cigarette in his mouth, lighting it up with electricity. The cigarette lit up, having Atlas to inhale and exhale. Feeling the stress releasing from his shoulders.
His ears twitched, hearing footsteps coming by, "I know it's you, Astrid."
She chuckled, "You got me once again, Atlas." Walking down the stairs, sitting down next to him, "You gonna be okay?"
"..Maybe," He looked up, "Suns going down."
"You don't want to talk about it, huh?" She leaned back, seeing the sun falling slowly. "I understand how you feel, we were all childhood friends and bam.. Just like that, she's gone from your sight."
Astrid didn't get a response from him. But she felt something leaning on the left side of her shoulder, hearing Atlas crying to himself slowly. Speechless, is all that spoke on her face. Hugging him closely, she frowned, she then started to brush her fingers on Atlases head, petting him, whispering to him that everything will be okay.
"I don't feel safe anymore…" He choked in between words, "..I feel so alone.. I feel lost.."
"Atlas.." Astrid didn't know what to say, she wanted to be there for Atlas. The Quilava hugged him, placing her head on top of his, "Sorry that I don't know what to say…"
"It's okay.." Atlas backed away, wiping his tears. "Do you remember… That all four of us go on adventures?"
She laughed a little, "Yeah, I remember. We used to go outlaw hunting or go into those mystery dungeons back when we were younger." Smiling a little, seeing the sun go down completely, "I remember the time where we were both separated that one time, where the dungeon suddenly caved in."
"Arceus.. Don't remind me of that.." He chuckled, scratching his chin, hearing more footsteps. Both of them turned to the noise, seeing Alto.
"What's up?" Alto said.
"The sky." Astrid laughed at her small joke, amusing both Alto and Atlas.
"I see you both are having your moment." Alto sat down next to them, "Mind passing me one, Atlas?"
He looked at the pack of cigarettes he has in his paw, "You sure? It's herbal. I know for sure you don't like them, despite them being much healthier than normal ones."
"Well, it'll be the first time smoking them. No?" He opened his hand out, "Come on, I might actually throw away the old ones I use and might take your kind of brand."
Atlas sighed, sticking one of them out, tossing it to Alto. Alto put it in his mouth, Astrid scooting away from Atlas over to Alto, to help him light his herbal cigarette. Astrid then placed her head on his shoulder, smiling, looking at the stars.
The lonely Pikachu looked at the two, envying both of them. Knowing that they would be perfect together. He joined in at looking at the stars, looking at the constellations.
"..I'm gonna leave town." Atlas frowned.
"What? Why?" Astrid said first.
"I just feel like I belong here anymore.. When we were kids back when we were ten, doing mystery dungeons and before I left with my dad for five years. And another five years passed with me not making any progress at all, ending up losing Stephanie… I think it's time for me to move on."
Atlas spat the cigarette in his mouth, exhaling the components out. He stood up and crushed it underneath his foot, "It's just another way for me to cope as well.. you know? I might find someone else that loves me or… if I can make use of the best of my abilities to save others."
Stretching a bit, he walked down the stairs, "I know I said I was gonna be there to give the rings to both of them, but… I can't stand being in there. It breaks my heart. I'm twenty now, I should at least see where the wind will take me."
"What was in the letter?" Alto asked.
"How-"
"Astrid told me-" Getting a playful slap on his lap from Astrid, "H-Hey!"
"You promised me that you wouldn't tell him!" She pouted.
"Great.. Meowths out of the bag." Atlas shook his head, "But back to the point, I just said that I'm gonna be gone.. I got my things packed already, so don't try and stop me. Alright?"
The two watched him walk away, knowing that he'll be okay in some time. They stood up, hearing some noises happening in the cathedral.
"Well, it's about to start, we should probably go back inside." Alto parted away from Astrid, he opened his hand to her; which she gradually accepted.
The two walked together inside the cathedral hearing some noise. Multiple people were rushing to somewhere. They looked at each other, following the crowd. Hearing some muttering when they followed. Stephanie is crying.
They could hear the sobs of their familiar friend, over by a nearby room. At Least ten were blocking their way, but they could see Stephanie holding a piece of paper to her chest, sobbing to herself. No one knew what to do, they wanted to help her relieve herself from her current emotions, but how exactly?
Inception Abbreviation 14th, Taon 290— Valentines Day.
"Atlas!"
A ten year old Pichu; Atlas was sitting alone at the lunch table at their school, reading a book. Looking up to face a Buneary, much taller than him.
"Oh, hey Stephanie." His eyes drifted back to the book.
"Do you mind if I sit next to you?" She asked, Atlas was about to say no, until she immediately sat next to her, "Thanks!"
"…No problem." He blushed, trying to ignore the fact that she's practically nuzzling him at this point.
"So, watcha reading?" She leaned in closer.
"U-Uhm.. It's a story about an Eevee going into the Abyss with his friends.. It's published by-"
"Nothing interesting.." She sighed, but kept her smile up. "But uh! Atlas, do you remember what day it is today?"
"Inception Abbreviation, the 14th on a Tuesday." He plainly said, closing the book he held, placing it down.
She giggled, "Not that silly! I meant something else! Today's special holiday!" She scooted away to give him some space.
"Today's holiday? I don't remember anything special today?" He turned his head slightly, looking a bit confused.
Groaning in frustration, "Guess." Crossing her arms. He was making sweat beads, shrugging in response. She sighed in disappointment, "It's valentine's day!"
Atlas cringed, "Ugh, that?" He felt a chill go down his spine, "Don't remind me of that horrid romantic feeling."
She facepalmed, "Oh, come on! Don't you ever wonder what it's like to be in a relationship? Full of love and-"
He lifted his paw to stop her, "That's gross- Besides.. That'll get in the way of adventuring and having fun." He picked up his tray and his book, "I'm gonna go outside. Wanna come?"
She sighed in disappointment, following right behind him. The two headed outside, seeing all the other children playing, some of them were fighting, some teachers tried to stop some of them. The usual recess you would see on any day.
The two stayed by the fence where there were a couple of benches for them to sit. They both walked towards the benches, sitting down on them. Of course, Stephanie sat next to Atlas, their arms touching each other. Her eyes kept glancing towards Atlas; reading his book minding his own business.
"Soo… Still reading that boring old book?" She leaned in, "Come on! Let's do something fun like playing tag or roleplay!"
He cleared his throat, "Really? Role Playing?"
"Yeah! Haven't you seen those theaters? My mama brought me to one of those big theaters downtown!" She smiled, putting her paws together, looking up dreamily; thinking about the play. "It was all about romance, you should've seen it!"
"Sheesh.. Does your mom not know when's the time to have you look at the adult stuff..?"
"What do you mean by that?" She laid her back on the bench, relaxing herself.
"...Nothing." He closed his book shut.
She puffed her face up, then jumped off her seat, grabbing Atlases paw. "Come on! Let's at least do something fun!"
"Alright, alright." He placed his paw, letting her drag him to the field. "But, what will we play?"
"Let's do the roleplaying I told you about! I have the perfect concept!" She said, letting go of his paw, standing to the side. "We're gonna pretend to be like a family!"
He looked at her with a blank stare, "Isn't that called 'play house'?"
"Whatever! Come on! Let's start!" She smiled, clearing her throat, preparing herself to undertake her role. "Honey! You're back from work?"
Atlas pinched between his eyes; groaning in frustration, "Yes… I'm back from work." He said with a cold stare.
"Come on, Atlas… at least be a little bit more ethu.. Ethuas…"
"Enthusiastic?"
"Yeah! That word!"
Rolling his eyes, he cleared his throat, "Yes, dear.. I'm back from work." He cringed. Pretending to be holding a briefcase. "Jeez… My back hurts.." Placing a paw on his back, rubbing it slightly.
"Aww.. Would you like me to take that from you?" She pointed at the imaginary briefcase.
He looked down at it, smiling, "Sure, that'll be helpful dear."
Stephanie stepped next to him, taking the imaginary briefcase. Pretending that the briefcase was heavy, walking to the slides and 'placing' it down. She walked back to him, "Why don't you rest? You must've had an awful day at work."
"Uh- Yeah.." He scratched behind his head, walking underneath the playground and sitting down.
Atlas watched Stephanie from the short distance between them. He listened to her humming playfully. He saw her moving her paws as if she was cooking something in the imaginary kitchen. She turned around smiling, walking to him, holding whatever he could think of that could possibly be food that was imaginary.
"I'm back! Are you hungry?" She sat down next to him on his left, she kneeled down; moving her legs to the opposite direction.
He nodded, "Yeah, what'd you bring?" He kept on with his act.
"It's an oran berry pie! I thought you might like it!" She placed the 'pie' on his lap.
"Oh, thank you. I appreciate it." He bowed down slightly, ignoring the fact that in reality.. That pie would burn his thigh. He took a piece of the pie and started to eat. "It's delicious!" He exaggerated.
"Thank you!" She blushed, looking away.
"Is something the matter?" He leaned in, trying to take a look at her face.
She shook her head, "..Hey Atlas." Her ears lowered down; putting her paws on her legs. "If I do become a cook, would you eat it?" Her voice went out of character.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Going out of character as well, "I think you'd be a good cook too in fact, Steph."
"S-Steph?!" Her face reddened.
He turned his head, "Oh. You don't like that name?" His ears lowered.
"W-What?! Nono- I just-" She was speechless, pulling the fluff around her waist up to her face. Covering up her reddened face.
Atlas took a good look at her, he did notice that she was a bit cute when she was embarrassed about something. Or whatever he said earlier that made her into that state. Smiling at her, he placed his paws on her paws, moving them down slightly so he could see her face. But then again, she did her best to resist him moving her paws away.
"Steph, please move your paws away- I wanna see your face." He went back into character.
Her face reddened more, playfully hitting him with her ears. "Nonono! Leave me be!"
"Please? For me? I want to see your beautiful face." He said with a charming voice.
She paused, moving her paws down slightly. Suddenly.. She felt that something ran down her nose. Seeing that Atlas was shocked, immediately going up to her face. She went blank, immediately falling back seeing Atlas shouted her name.
..
..
..
..
..
Stephanie woke up, feeling something on her forehead. Looking around, she was met with a small Pichu sleeping on the side of the bed. Noticing that she was in the nurses room. No one else was around, it was only herself and Atlas. She saw him drooling slightly, his book was next to him.
She sat up, brushing her fingers on Atlases head. His ears twitched slightly, causing Stephanie to retract back. Atlas moved up, wiping his mouth; a bit dazed still. He looked at Stephanie, "Oh, uh hey. You okay?"
She nodded, "What happened?"
"Your nose was bleeding, so the teachers came over when they heard me shouting your name. They quickly brought you to the nurses office. I got permission to stay here with you until you got better or woke up." He frowned.
"O-Oh.. Thank you for staying here with me Atlas." She blushed.
"No problem.." He scratched behind his head, looking up at her, "You made me worried sick."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah of course!" Crossing his arms, "Your nose was bleeding and I thought you.." He blushed, placing his paws on his cheeks. "Just don't make me worry so much.." His eyes drifted away from her.
"..Atlas?"
"Y-Yeah..?"
"W-Will.." She was blushing horribly, her face was completely red, looking at him. "Will you be my valentine..?"
He looked at her with a completely red face. He looked away, trying to hide his embarrassment. But when he looked at her once more, he admired her looks. His heart was beating a bit fast, after finally he decided to take a good look at her. She truly was attractive to him. Despite them being so young, it doesn't hurt for young love to grow. Right?
"Y-Y…" Before he got the chance to say yes, a bright light came out of him. He looked at himself, the bright blue light then dissipated after a few seconds passed.
"Atlas..! You're a Pikachu now!" She hopped out of her bed, dragging Atlas off his stool.
He was suddenly then being spun around by the contentful Buneary. She kept hopping with him being flung around. Atlas didn't know what to say but couldn't help but laugh with her. This happened for a while until the nurse came into the room. Stephanie put Atlas back onto the floor, next to each other yet still holding hands, but they earned a scolding from the nurse.
In the end, they couldn't help but laugh. The nurse did look at them confused, but she sighed and facepalmed. Couldn't help but congratulate the young mouse for evolving. Giving a small applaud for Atlas.
Moments later, the school day ended. Both Atlas and Stephanie walked together, paws were separated, however… Atlas was much happier than usual. Every second that he was with Stephanie, his heart bounced. It wouldn't stop rapidly beating.
"Atlas? Thanks for spending the day with me. I can't wait to tell my mama what happened!" She laughed a little.
He shook his head, "Nono, I should thank you. You made my day today. I never thought I would have this much fun! Next time we should have Alto and Astrid play with us."
Stephanie looked down, "Yeah.. But uhm.. Atlas?" He turned his head, looking at her. "Maybe let's have the role playing only between us two. Okay?" She blushed.
Atlas gave a small laugh, blushing as well, "Y-Yeah.." It was a bit awkward between the two of them, so Atlas decided to change the topic, "Did you know I'm much taller than you now?" He grinned
"What?!" She looked at herself and Atlas, measuring their heights. "Come on..!" She groaned in frustration.
He laughed, "Now I can call you 'shorty' from now on!"
She laughed with him, playfully hitting him with her fluffy ears, "Oh yeah?! My ears count to my height!"
"Cheater!" He defended himself from the soft hits. "Then I can use my tail to boost my height!"
"You're being a.. Hypo.. hy.."
"Hypocrite-" He finished her sentence.
Her face puffed up, "You seriously gotta ruin my fun!"
On the way home, they both laughed and talked together like there was no tomorrow. They enjoyed each other's company. The two were in front of their houses, due to them being neighbors. They said their goodbyes for today, both having a smile on their faces; their excitement couldn't wait for the next day to happen.
Solace Abbreviation 24th, Taon 299– The Day before Christmas.
Atlas was sitting alone on a bench that was next to a nearby large tree that was in the center with a large amount of Christmas lights and decorations on it. It was a bit early in the afternoon, the sun still shining. He was smoking his herbal cigarettes as well, relaxing himself a bit.
He recently left Astrid and Alto alone not that long ago, they seemed like they wanted some space. So Atlas volunteered to leave the group for not wanting to be a third wheel, unfortunately they tried to make him stay, to reassure that he wasn't a third party but he insisted. Thankfully they let him be on his way, giving him some time for himself.
Atlas took a moment to check his surroundings, seeing a bunch of couples that were together. Once more, Atlas envied those couples. Wishing he had something like that. But he couldn't stop thinking that Stephanie could've been with him.
Alast, he knew he was too late. She found somebody else that she was much happier with. He frowned, shaking his head to get those thoughts out of his head. Knowing that isn't a future that won't ever happen, he hate to admit that he was being a bit pessimistic about it; but it was the truth.
Sighing in disappointment, his vision was then blocked by two paws. "Guess who~" The familiar voice said.
"Stephanie."
"Awh! Come on! Was I that obvious?" She pouted.
"Yeah. And hold on, I thought you were with Nicholas?" He leaned back.
She sweated a bit, "Yeah.. about that.. I needed to go out to buy him a present for Christmas. But who knew that I would've found the lonely Atlas!"
He rolled his eyes, "So then you apparently saw me, and your first thought was to try to irritate me?"
"Way to ruin the fun spirit, Atlas." She removed her paws from his face, crossing her arms. "Nevermind that, when I saw you I thought it might be a good idea to treat you out. As another thanks for helping prepare my wedding with Nicholas and-"
"Tsk."
"Did you just click your tongue at me?"
He swiped his head away, "No, it must've been your imagination."
"Jirachi Christ, Atlas, what is with you?" She sat down next to him, "All you've been doing is being a sore loser this past year. You stopped being your joyful self. What happened?" She kneeled down, placing her paw on his.
Atlas blushed, brushing off her paw, "Nothing happened. Shit happened and that's how life is." He got off of his seat, "Please leave me alone." He walked away.
"Wait!" She grabbed his paw, "I-I need a bit more help to uh, get presents for Nicholas.. and for Alto and Astrid…"
He looked up, "Oh yeah, I forgot that you gave all of us the wr-"
"Shut up!" She covered her face with her ears and paws in embarrassment, "Don't remind me of that.."
"You literally gave me a saxophone… I don't even play music…" He pinched between his eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll help you get gifts for everyone. After that, leave me alone."
"Thank you!" She bowed down to Atlas.
"Uh.. lift your head up.." He could feel stares from the large crowd they were in, "Let's just get it over with.."
"Okay uh! Let's go to the mall!" She hopped away.
Arceus damn it.. She's hard to hate… Atlas sighed, following right behind her. "You're gonna make me pay again, I'm going to assume?"
"Uh.." She chuckled nervously.
He facepalmed, "Pay me later, I make a lot of money as a Black Delver anyway." Putting his paws in his pockets. "Who's gift are we gonna get first?"
"I was thinking of starting with Astrid first. I took some thought into it, and I was thinking of getting her an ice cream machine-" She heard the footsteps behind her stop, being curious she turned to see Atlas on the floor. "Atlas?!"
He moved his head up, "Stephanie, has anyone told you that you're stupid when it comes to gifts?"
"Uhh… Only you?"
"May Arceus save my soul…" He got up, dusting himself off, "That's a TERRIBLE gift! Especially for Astrid!" Pinching between his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Okay, let's start with a couple things." Suddenly grabbing her paw, dragging her to the mall.
"Owow! Atlas that hurts!" She resisted, hearing muttering from the crowd of both bad and good things. There were even small amounts of giggling saying that they looked cute together.
"Come on, don't be such a sissy."
Stephanie gazed at Atlas, she always knew he was attractive, thanks to his fathers genes. Shaking her head, she knew that there was something.. Off about him. She noticed his eyes, noticing how dried they look, seeing the dark eye bags underneath them.
He hasn't been sleeping..? Wait.. has he been crying..?
Wanting to speak up about it, but couldn't muster the courage to do it. Sighing in disappointment, it was an awkward walk to the mall.
Before they went inside, Atlas finally let go of her paw, removing the herbal cigarette from his mouth, tossing it into the garbage. He walked inside, Stephanie following behind him silently. There really weren't any devices or such in this time, but the architecture here seemed just like a normal mall. Walking up the steps, they headed into the Christmas gift section.
"So.. About earlier, what first things first?" Stephanie asked.
"You're just getting a gift for them right? I'm going to guess that you're going to have a party with them." He walked into one of the stores, walking into one of the aisles.
She nodded at the party part, but she paused, "Wait, guess? No one told you about the Christmas party at my house?"
Atlas shook his head, "No one invited me. So it's none of my business."
"What?! Why wouldn't anyone invite you? Not even Alto or Astrid asked you to come along?" Stephanie was furious, why wouldn't anyone invite Atlas? He's a good friend and pretty entertaining, excluding the fact he's been a bit distant and cold towards everyone.
"Well, don't blame Alto and Astrid. I heard from them a couple weeks ago that they were going to invite me. But I simply avoided them, and earlier today, I decided to separate from them." He sighed, "Besides, I'm busy on christmas." His ear twitched.
Stephanie knew that he was lying, back when they were younger, it was easy to read that he was lying due to his ear twitching whenever he was lying. But she decided to play along, to see what he was going to say. "Huh? You're busy on christmas? There's no way that the Delvers really took your day off on that day."
"There was an expedition of missing Delvers. So.." He was trying to think of something, "They needed some Black Delvers to find them. Since you already know we recently found the Abyss fifty years ago." His ear twitched at the first part, but didn't twitch at the discovery about the Abyss.
She wanted to scold him that he should go to the party. But.. knowing him and how he was this past year, he must've been dealing with something personal. Sighing in disappointment, she nodded; understanding what he wanted.
Stephanie never knew what was up with him, this past year has been.. Rough on him. She did try to spend time with him, at least cheer him up a little. He was much more alive and more happy with himself. Much less grouchy too. She couldn't put it when he started to be this.. aggressive.
But as she watched him, he looked a bit more happy with himself. Perhaps.. Maybe he likes to be alone… No one to hold him back.. She thought about it, frowning at herself. Perhaps before she dated Nicholas, maybe… she was holding him back..
"Yo, Steph? Are you good?" He looked at her with concern.
She stopped thinking negatively, slapping her facial cheeks with her paws gently, "I'm okay, I just have a couple things in my mind."
"Thinkin' about your fiance?" He looked back at the shelves.
"W-What? No.." She covered her face with her fluff, she remembered this feeling. Being teased often, her heart racing rapidly.. But.. It just wasn't the same, her face wasn't that red. Her nose wasn't bleeding like usual.
"Mhm.. Sure." He rolled his eyes, seeing what would be good for Astrid as a gift.
She removed her fluff from her face, looking at Atlas, "So uh.. What kind of gift is it? For Astrid of course."
"I was thinking about getting her a new training dummy." He tapped his chin, "You know how she is, She loves to fight and she earns money easier that way. But…" He cringed at something.
"But what?" Leaning over next to him, "Oh…" She was looking at the price tag of one of the training dummies at the top, "That's uhm.."
"Expensive? Yeah." He groaned in frustration, "It doesn't matter I guess. You already know I make 500k per taon."
"..Sorry still." She whispered
"Sorry about what?"
"Having you pay for all of these things for all of us. You've made a lot of money in the past couple taons. You're basically a millionaire." She said casually.
"Shh.. I don't want people to know that." Placing a finger over his mouth, "I don't want anyone to really know.. I can only trust you guys with that secret." He took the training dummy, holding it over his arm like it weighs like nothing.
"Arceus, Atlas, I can never get used to you being able to carry something like that so heavy." Sweat beads were visible on Stephanie.
"What can I say? My father wouldn't leave me alone about daily work out and stuff like that." He shrugged, "Besides, there's no harm in doing so." He cleared his throat, "Alright, the next gift we need to get is Altos. I already know what to give him."
"Oh?" She raised an eye.
"Yeah, give him a Japanese futon or a weighted blanket. Then next is your fiance." He shrugged.
"Right.."
He turned his head to face her, "Don't tell me tha-"
She covered his mouth with the fluff from her ears. "Shshshsh!" Shushing him to be quiet, a bit embarrassed about it.
He groaned, "This is gonna be a difficult one.." He pinched between his eyes, "Alright, let's go find a weighted blanket for Alto, then we'll buy them.. Then we can have dinner. To think at least something for Nicholas."
"Jeez.. You planned this out right away?"
He shrugged, "Well, I thought about it when we were on our way here.. No problem." Scratching behind his head embarrassingly.
"Thanks so much, Atlas!" She smiled.
He shook his head, "Don't thank me. You gave me the chance to make friends and explore what I can do. To be honest.. I thought I was going to be a sad lonely mouse." He smiled gently, "After everything we've been through, both good and bad."
"That's very sweet of you to say Atlas." She giggled a little, seeing the weighted blanket. She tried to reach for it, but Atlas took it.
He grinned, "Oh? But I thought I was always the mean one?" He held it on the other side of his shoulder.
She rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean-"
He scratched his cheek slightly with one of his fingers, "Yeah, yeah.. So what do you want to eat?"
"Uhh.. How about something less fancy… I've been dying to eat something less.. exquisite." She laughed nervously.
He raised an eye, placing the items on the cashiers counter. "Let me guess.. Nicholas has been treating you to a lot of those overly expensive restaurants."
"Yes!" She groaned, "Sure he likes going there but it's just not my taste-" Her stomach growled slightly; loud enough for Atlas to hear. "Ugh.. And it's not enough for me to eat!" She said with an embarrassed look.
Atlas chuckled, "Arceus, you're such a gluttony." He grabbed the bag of coins from his waist.
"I'm not!" She crossed her arms.
"Whatever you say, oh good princess of beelzebub." He gave two platinum coins and 3 gold to the cashier, feeling a bit generous he placed one gold coin in their tip jar.
The cashier looked extremely happy, bowing down to the both of them and said a gracious 'thank you'. Both Atlas and Stephanie walked out of the section and headed to the nearby fast food restaurant to eat. They both got their food and sat down to eat, there was a bit of an awkward silence between the two.
When they finished eating, they exited the fast food restaurant. Seeing that it was sunset, knowingly the mall will be closed in a few hours. Atlas carried both the weighted blanket and the training dummy.
"Oh uh! Atlas, since I don't really know what to get for Nicholas.. Could you think of one? I forgot that I need to go and find something." She was a bit suspicious, hopping away from him.
He raised an eyebrow, "Of course I always gotta do this kind of shit.." Muttering underneath his breath. Walking in the other direction, to wrap the presents first in one of the other shops.
Atlas was alone for an hour or two, for some reason there was a whole line of pokemon waiting for their presents to be wrapped. But the more he thought about it, he couldn't blame the people here. Today's the day before Christmas, people just gotta get their gifts wrapped for their loved ones. Of course, Atlas did buy Nicholases gift.
But to be fair, Atlas really didn't know the guy well at all. The only times they've talked was whenever Nicholas needed advice for what to do or what to give for Stephanie. It did irritate him a little bit, but not enough to hate the guy. Atlas had to admit, Nicholas genuinely seemed like a good guy, perhaps even perfect for Stephanie.
He still frowned at the thought of it, still knowing that he was just anyone else. Stephanie could've dated anyone, he couldn't force her to love him; let alone marrying him. The thought made him laugh quietly; he tried not to draw attention to himself. After shaking his head to clear his mind, he heard a number called by the shop workers. Standing up, he went up and thanked the employees and left them a tip for their hard work.
Atlas was looking for Stephanie but he couldn't find her, it was time to exit the mall before it closed. As he waited for Stephanie, he sighed. It was dark outside, everyone around him left. He was alone, lanterns filled the void of his surroundings. He could feel something fall on him, looking up, he saw snow falling. Lifting his paw up, he let the gentle snowflakes drop upon him gracefully.
"Atlas! He heard Stephanie shout as she ran toward him. "I'm so sorry that it took so long!" She gasped for air, holding something behind her back.
He stood up, "No problem. It's a bit late, it's almost.." He looked at his watch, "It's almost nine PM." Ignoring the small object that she was holding, walking off down in the streets.
"Come on, I'll walk you home." He carried all of the gifts, having no struggle at all.
"Thanks so much for today, Atlas." She followed behind her.
"Again, no problem."
Silence was around them, the snow continued to fall gently on them. It was dark, no one to be seen. The both of them did small glances at each other every once in a while. The two wanted to break the silence between themselves. Knowing that this might be the last chance they ever talk to each other again. Alone.
"I-" They both said at the same time.
Pausing at the synchronized sudden talk, they laughed it off, "You go first." Atlas said.
"No, you. I thought you might want to take some things off your mind." She shivered.
"Cold?"
"Just a little.. Even with my fluff, it's not enough to keep me warm.." Sneezing afterwards.
"Well, let's get you back home soon, Nicholas might be worried sick."
"R-Right.."
Once again, more silence between them. Stephanie lived pretty close to the mall, since she moved to a different house. It wasn't long before they arrived. Standing in front of the door, they glance at each other. Stephanie knocked on the door, as she heard thumps and footsteps. Hearing the door being unlocked, Nicholas was there.
"Wha.." He looked to be drunk. "Ooohh.. Hey.. w-welcome back h-honey.." He hiccuped, Atlas gritted his teeth.
"Jeez, Nicholas, you were drinking again?" She shook her head, helping him before he fell down.
"I-I'm okay.." He hiccuped again, "W-Who's tis… guy..?" He wobbled a little. "Y-You uh! Gotta leave b-before I beat you up!" Atlas stared at him, irritated even with the smidge of his voice that made him angry.
"..I'll just drop your presents here. I'll see you later, Stephanie." He said quickly, before walking away. Stephanie stopped him before he got the chance.
Stephanie shook her head, "Why don't you come in?"
"H-Honey!" Nicholas gasped, his voice became less dragging. Atlas could notice that this is just an act. Seeing Nicholas had his eyes on him.
"It's fine, I'll just-"
Atlas was met with a punch to his face, "Nicholas!" She let go of Nicholas and quickly came to check on Atlas.
"..."
"Atlas are you okay?!" The lights around the neighborhood were turned on.
"I'm fine." He scoffed, going back to his usual cold voice. "I'll take my leave, thank you for your time today Stephanie." Standing up.
"A-Atlas!"
"Fuck off." He swiped her paw away, "It was a mistake to help you."
She could see his cold gaze piercing through her. Stephanie can recognize this cold stare, it made her spine shiver; stopping to help him. Taking a deep breath, "Fine. Leave, I didn't need your help anyway!"
Atlas' fists tightened, turning away, leaving her yard. He didn't even take a moment to look back at her. But in the corner in the eye, he could see her kissing Nicholases forehead, seeing them both enter their home. His teeth grinded against each other.
Feeling stress overcome him, he grabbed a herbal cigarette out of habit. "Fuck this, fuck everything, fucking…" He groaned in frustration, his fist tightened, enough to make his palms bleed.
He stomped his way to his home.. But he calmed his rage quickly. He looked up at the snow falling down on him once more. Finding himself a nearby wall, he leaned on it and sat down, crying to himself.
He sniffed trying to wipe his tears away, "I-I can't say that I'm surprised, either…" Digging his right paw into the snow; flinching that the snow was entering his wound. "J-Just when today.. I'd hope to see her again.."
Standing up, he spat the cigarette out of his mouth, crushing it underneath his foot. "I'd just really wish it would've turned for the better…" He wiped his face with his scarf, "But.. It's too late for something like that, though." Taking a deep breath, practicing his methods to calm his broken heart.
He looked up at the sky, "Maybe.. Another version of me is out there having fun.." Gazing at the empty sky. "I guess this situation is on me…"
Back to the present time.
Nicholas, Ethan and Xiao were running in the halls, after one of the priests came in to tell them what happened. Nicholas was worried, feeling the stress being weighed on his shoulders. They arrived at the scene. The crowd moved to the side, even Alto and Astrid moved as well.
Nicholas initially ran to Stephanie to hug her, "Stephanie.. I'm here-"
Suddenly, he was pushed away by her, "Nono! Go away! Leave me alone!" She continued to cry, earning a couple of gasps.
"S-Stephanie..?" Nicholas was speechless.
"I-I can't believe.. That I've been ignoring him all this time.." She spoke, it was loud enough for everyone to hear.
What? Who..? Mutters were voiced in the crowd, has she been double timing Nicholas? There were multiple theories being made by the small crowd.
"Stephanie.. Dear.. What's wrong?" Nicholas wanted to give her closure, wanted to make sure that everything was okay, that this shouldn't ruin their day today.
She faced him with tears all over her face, snot coming out, dropping the letter. Dashing past him and the crowd, nobody even tried to stop her, but was followed behind by Alto and Astrid. Nicholas looked at the paper on the floor, it was still a bit wet from all of her tears, but it was visibly readable still.
Dear, Stephanie Rosemary,
This is a bit awkward, isn't it? On the day of your wedding? Haha.. Fuck, I don't know why this is so difficult for me to do. But.. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being an asshat and pushing you away and everyone else, please send them my regards as well. Arceus, this is difficult still.. Even when I'm still writing about this..
I can't bring myself to come to your wedding. I couldn't face you, so I asked Astrid to give you this. Now, you must be wondering, 'Why wouldn't I go to your wedding?' It's because it hurts. It hurts to see you married to someone else that isn't me, the pain in my heart broke me. I've loved you ever since we were kids.. I never knew how to tell you, I didn't want to ruin our friendship. And I was too afraid to think that you'd even like me back. Haha.. Corny, isn't it?
Nicholas could notice that there were dried up tears from a long time ago.
I wanted to ask you out so badly ever since I went overseas, I was afraid that you must've lost interest in me for five years. I thought, 'Hey! Maybe we can build it back up again in a couple of months!' But I waited. Waited for way too long. Now, here we are.. Ever since you went out with Nicholas I couldn't bring myself to talk to you anymore.
Really, I should thank Alto and Astrid for at least talking to me and bringing me out. The day before Christmas, I wanted you to leave Nicholas so badly.. But.. I couldn't muster the courage to do it. Nicholas is a good guy, you looked like you were having a lot more fun with him than me, so I pushed you away. I didn't want Nicholas to be sad, he looked like he truly enjoyed his time with you. Also.. I wanted to apologize for what I said back there.. I didn't mean it.
I'm running out of space here.. So I'll wrap things up. After your wedding, I'm going to be gone. I'm taking my trip back overseas and finding my own adventure. I think I need to explore to get my mind out of this. I'm sorry that I'm running away like a coward without telling you anything in front of you. Please. Don't try to look for me. I want you to forget I ever existed, spend the rest of your life free with Nicholas.
I love you, Stephanie.
Sincerely, Atlas Reminiscence.
Nicholas' paws were shaking, speechless. He was lost, he didn't know what to say. Xiao walked up behind him, placing his paw on his shoulder, "You okay? What did it say in the letter?"
"N-Nothing.. Nothing at all.." He laughed, trying to fight back his tears. Unfortunately his eyes were overflowing with tears, "FUCK MAN! I'M SO SORRY ATLAS!" He banged his hand on the floor.
"Nicholas?!" Xiao kneeled down to him, "Dude what the hell has gotten into you?!" Taking the letter and skimming it through, his eyes widened.
"Xiao? What's wrong?" He didn't get a response, but Xiao just gave the letter to him. Ethan also skimmed it through, "..Oh shit."
"Alright.. I think that's everything.." Atlas said to himself. He exited out of his home, smiling at it, "Thank you for the memories. Home."
Atlas wore his gray cloak with a bag, he had a lantern on his thigh, walking down the streets. Heading towards the large gate, that was also assisted with walls to protect the town. Exiting his hometown, it took him a couple of minutes to walk up a mountain, and headed to a cliff, seeing his beautiful hometown in the distance.
It was still filled with snow, but the scene was so beautiful. He was going to miss this. Turning around to leave, he could hear the bells ring from the cathedral in the distance suddenly. Taking his attention, facing back at his hometown once more.
"I'm going to miss you, Stephanie. I hope everything goes well for you." He smiled.
"Are you going to be okay?"
"..Yeah, I'll be okay." He said to the figure that was dressed in black.
"..Only if you say so, my king. Now let us make haste." The figure walked up to Atlas, pressing his hand on Atlases shoulder.
The two teleported away from their spot, nothing left behind.. Except for a note, it sank into the snow. It continued to snow and snow, covering the note that was left behind.
Word Count:8956
..Hey, it's been awhile since I posted a story back in december. Right? Sorry it's been awhile. I just lost motivation to write it, but what does it mean for those two? I don't know, might scrap it? To be honest this was supposed to be uploaded on August 31. But I had an open house at my school.
Yay… I'm a senior now.. Fuck man.. I'll cut to the chase. Why am I suddenly back? I just wanted to write a oneshot story with lagomorphshipping (Pikabun) for once. This story wouldn't leave my mind, I kept having dreams about it. Now here I am, finishing this up. It's wild that I can muster it up so I write up to 8K words.
Also I apologize for my crappy writing. If this oneshot is "unreadable," I sincerely apologize. I'm not expecting this to blow-up much. But, if this gets at least 5-10 favorites or just 100 views; I'll write a sequel. I do have a big one in my mind instead of the last one.
(Also, I just wanted to say, I haven't really re-read it for spell checking so theres going to be some errors I guess.)
Signing out; Synopsis