He awoke to a gasp, the sound of clattering furniture, and a groan of pain. Bloom found himself snuggled underneath his portion of their covers, blinking the sleep from his eyes. A whimper from across the room brought him to full alert in an instant.
The Meowscarada sat up, haphazardly throwing the covers aside on the floor next to their bedding, and reached for the lamp on their bedside table. Light filled the room as he flicked it on and looked around, searching for his partner.
He found a lump of red and white fur next to a fallen dresser, its contents spilled out onto the floor. Red-tipped tendrils extending from white bases shuffled around aimlessly in a lazy pattern pointed toward the ceiling. The lump let out another whimper.
"Ki, darling?" Bloom let out a tentative whisper, eyeing the collapsed Pokémon. The moon was out in full force tonight, as its light flickered in through an open window, illuminating the floor with an eerie glow. Bloom was wide awake now. From his angle on the bed, he could see a Hisuian-Zoroark curled up in a ball, paws and arms covering his face.
Rapid breaths escaped as his form rose and fell. Shaking.
Bloom got up quickly and rushed to his partner's side, paying no heed to the surrounding mess. The lamp flickered behind Bloom as he slid onto the floor next to his partner, placing a paw on his shoulder.
"Kiah!" The nightmares were nothing new. The scars from their past would forever lay claim in their minds. "It's me! It's Bloom! I'm here!"
Reassurance. Faith. Trust.
Something they built over a life together, through boon and through ill. They faced their trials together; tonight was nothing different.
He waited patiently while Kiah continued to pant in distress.
"It wasn't-"
Kiah spoke, still facing the floor. Nothing more than a grunt, before he cut himself off. With a roll of his shoulders, he pushed himself up and sat cross-legged. His paws fidgeted nervously in his lap. He faced Bloom and revealed his face for the first time since they both stirred. Tears streaked his fur, a far-off look in his eyes.
"It wasn't enough."
A bitter pall blanketed the room as the Zoroark finished his sentence, a chill sprinting unbidden down Bloom's spine. No scent of fear filled the air, however—not after all this time.
"They–you, I mean–no one! It just, well, you didn't-," Kiah said, tripping over his words with a pleading look on his face.
Bloom leaned forward, stretching his arms around Kiah and pulling the Zoroark's forehead to his, closing his eyes.
"Peace, my love. You're safe. That's enough. You don't need to strive for anything else."
They sat there together, Bloom holding tight to his partner; would hold tight for as long as needed. The familiar scent of his love seemed to overpower the bitter feeling from before until, with time, that bitterness faded away. Soon, the Meowscarada felt arms against his own back; the Zoroark leaning into the embrace as they held the connection between their foreheads.
After a few minutes, Bloom leaned back, making sure not to let go of what was his. He opened his pink-colored eyes and a pair of yellow ones greeted him. An unsure look on the Zoroark's face–a slight improvement from the pain-filled expression Bloom had seen before.
Bloom held eye contact for a moment, then gave his best crooked smile. The one that Kiah had fallen for.
And, oh, the tears started again. The Zoroark fell into the Meowscarada, both of them tumbling to the floor in a heap together. There was no bitterness in the air, nor in the tears that stained his fur.
It was a clear night with little to no wind blowing through their home, no extra scents but their own for their noses to pick up. Silence filled the room, broken up occasionally by the sounds of sniffling and soothing.
Eventually, Kiah spoke up.
"Thanks, Bloom."
They both took a moment to return to their prior positions on the floor. Bloom reached forward and ran a paw up and over Kiah's face to lay his mane back, to better see his lover's face. The Zoroark's own subdued smile appeared on his face.
"It was more than the usual affair this time. I'm used to reliving old wounds, betrayals from various villages, but…" one of Kiah's paws squeezed tightly to Bloom's shoulder, face scrunching up. "This time, you were among them."
Bloom reached up with both paws, taking Kiah's paws into his own and bringing them down together in between the two of them, quietly providing support as he nodded at the Zoroark to continue.
"You know all about the struggle I've had. You've been at the receiving end of my shit and, conversely, stuck with me through all the garbage others have thrown at me."
He paused.
"I…still feel anxiety about this body. About how I appear to people."
A burst of Typeless energy filled the space with a quick flash of light, and in Bloom's arms appeared a small, familiar Eevee. Bloom brought his head down to nuzzle the top of the Eevee's head, an amused smile on his face as he did so. The Eevee batted him away with a paw, a look of mock frustration on his face. Bloom let out a snicker, but then a genuine smile grew across his face as he leaned back, urging his partner to continue on.
"Strange to say it, but this little shit still feels more like 'me' sometimes," he said, maintaining eye contact with his now brown-colored eyes. "This form hasn't gotten me thrown out of villages. It hasn't led to me getting blindsided by random Pokémon's attacks. Nor has it led to me putting those I care about, those I love, in danger. And yet…"
The Eevee jumped from Bloom's arms to the floor and faced the Meowscarada with a look of resolve.
A burst again, a flash, then Kiah, sitting there in his true Hisuian-Zoroark form. The Zoroark quickly took hold of his partner's paws, as they were before. This time, the smiles on each of their faces matched.
"You, who were the most annoying creature I ever met, love me for this. Love me enough to continue to support me as I…figure all this shit out. And honestly, it feels good to have a sense of rightness to living as a Zoroark, for once."
A pause, a sigh, then a determination to see this through passed across his face.
"You told me that no matter what I did to help, it wasn't enough. Just like everyone else. I was dangerous. Unwanted. Cursed. You stood there with a crowd of random Pokémon, saying the same shit. And that…somehow, that hadn't happened before." He shuddered. "That was a new dream. It was so vivid. So real. I panicked. I'm not sure when I went from dreamscape to reality."
He looked away, shame plain across his features.
"Hey," Bloom said, drawing Kiah's attention back to him. "You know that wasn't me, right? I love you, Kiah."
"Of course I do! Well, now I do–err, did! I don't know! Nightmares suck shit, alright!"
Bloom took this moment to sneak a peck of his lips to Kiah's. Kiah sputtered incredulous sounds in response.
"Love, you misunderstand. I know nightmares, as you said, 'suck shit,' but I do not mean to dismiss your worries here. I just want you to know I'm here, really here. That other Bloom you saw sounds like a real asshole."
A chuckle. A real, Arceus-damned chuckle escaped from Kiah's lips. Kiah eyed Bloom seriously, however, as he worked himself up to say what was on his mind a moment later.
"When I heard your voice earlier, I thought for a moment that my reality got thrown into the shitter yet again," he said, a lingering tinge of worry to the words. "But you brought me out of that space, as you have again and again. You're so fucking good, Bloom. It sometimes makes me feel like you're too good for m-"
The tiniest pulse of Dark-Type energy struck one of Kiah's paws as an unnerving expression appeared on Bloom's face; a smile, eyes closed, extremely dangerous. The barest hint of a Knock Off dissipated into the room as those eyes trained on him, open and a warning on display.
"Ki, we've talked about this. You aren't the only one with issues. I got loads of 'em. Loads! They barely fit in our home!"
Time for a bold action, Bloom thought, and moved on instinct.
He removed his paws from Kiah's grasp, moving them to the back of Kiah's head. Kiah was then pulled abruptly into a kiss. Their mouths met and stayed together as Bloom held them there. This was far more than a simple peck. He would have let go if Kiah had objected, but it never came. Bloom tried to press as much of the raw emotion he held inside into Kiah; putting on a brave face for his love throughout this conversation had been difficult.
Perhaps words were not what was needed, but this. Passion. Compassion. In equal measure.
They held this position for a few seconds, before Bloom felt paws against the back of his own head, holding him close. Bloom felt a fire light inside of him. They continued their fervid exchange for minutes on end as both of their paws began exploring the other's body. He wanted so desperately to take it further, to take Kiah to bed, but the conversation wasn't over yet.
Bloom pulled away against some resistance and against the rising lust he felt course through his body.
"Arceus, I'd love to continue that, but we weren't done talking, sweetheart," he said, panting.
Kiah just gave him a frustrated look, pouting. He eventually nodded and sat back on the floor.
"Now, as I was saying, we both have problems, Ki. Both are as valid as can be, but I want you to know I plan on sticking with you as long as you'll allow me." He put his right paw to the side of Kiah's face. "Believe me when I say that neither of us are too good for the other. I struggle with those thoughts as well, you know? You were always the more competent one, the cool one, the one everyone could rely on, while I tripped over berries on the ground."
He held up his other paw to stop the protest from Kiah, and continued, "You mean the world to me. It hurts me when you talk down about yourself like that. Just like I did there, right?"
"Bloom, I–no, not quite enough," he said, raising his left paw to Bloom's face, mirroring him. "My beloved. Thanks again for…for just being you. Of course you're right."
"I know! I'm right a lot, because you are so far stuck up your ass all the time! Someone has to be around to pull you out!" Bloom laughed and jumped forward into another embrace.
"You're such a dick sometimes, ya know that?" Kiah said flatly.
"Yes, but I'm your dick, Foxy, and only yours," Bloom said, tightening their embrace. "Feel better?"
"I…do. I still feel a little on edge. Maybe…we could continue what we started earlier?"
Kiah eyed the bed not-so-surreptitiously, and Bloom leaned back to give him a blank look.
"I guess I'm not the only dick you're thinking of, huh?"
Kiah sputtered again. He was always so adorable when he got flustered. Bloom thought it would be best if he saved his partner yet again.
"How about, instead, my husband takes me to bed, and we lay down, cuddle, and tell each other how wonderful the other one is? Hmm?" Bloom asked with an impish smile on his face.
Kiah's shoulders slumped in jest. But then, in a show of strength, he picked up Bloom and started walking toward the bedding they shared. He glanced behind him at the knocked over dresser, items and articles of clothing spread all over the floor of their bedroom.
"Oh. Right. Oops. Well, that can wait until the morning," he said, as he first laid Bloom down on the bed before jumping to the other side, snuggling up to Bloom as the Meowscarada reached to the ground to return their covers to their rightful place. Bloom then flipped the lamp off and turned to face his husband.
"Now, why don't I start by saying there is no one braver on this entire planet than the fox I find in my bed…"