No Words Could Ever Be Enough
(Valentines Randomness Week Part 6)
Fandom: Pokémon
Ship: Kieran x Calem (BrightEyesShipping)
Main Prompt: Dancing in the moonlight
Opening Line Prompt: "He wanted to tell him how much he loved him, but…"
Setting Prompt: A forest
So… there's no name for this pairing yet. Which means I get to choose the name! I hereby designate this pairing with the name 'BrightEyesShipping'! Let's see if this starts something…
He wanted to tell him how much he loved him, but he couldn't ever seem to find the words.
Or the time or place.
Or the courage.
He was such a mess.
Kieran lowered his head into his hands and sighed.
Maybe coming out here was a bad idea after all…
Footsteps approached the clearing. Kieran lifted his head at the sound and schooled his expression into one that was, hopefully, neutrally positive-looking. He didn't want to make Calem worry about him.
He was sick and tired of having people worry about him, look down on him, thinking he was someone frail and weak and worthless…
No. He couldn't start thinking like that again. That was a road he had been down once already. A road he had only just barely managed to drag himself back from with his friends' help. He had to be better, now.
But it wasn't always easy…
Calem set down the bundle in his arms, various sticks and twigs and dry leaves gathered from the forest floor. Plenty of kindling to get a good fire going.
He flashed Kieran a grin, and Kieran returned one of his own.
If Kieran's smile was smaller and shakier than it was supposed to be, Calem didn't say anything about it. He just set about arranging his gathered firewood into a suitable hearth, surrounding it with the stones Kieran had gathered earlier, then called out his Delphox to set the fire going.
The sun had descended out of sight, and the moon was just beginning to poke above the treeline, casting its pale silver glow over the clearing. A cool light, held at bay by the warm red and orange of the fire, the contrast creating a little bubble around the two of them. It was like they had their own little pocket of the world all to themselves.
A perfect opportunity to say what he wanted to say…
He opened his mouth… then closed it again.
No. He couldn't. The words just wouldn't come.
…
Calem opened his bag and began taking out various ingredients. Kieran watched, silent and thoughtful.
He and Calem had been travelling together for almost six months now. Six months of journeying across Kalos, the pair of them tackling the gyms in turn, earning badge after badge while simultaneously searching for anything they could learn about the Mega Stones that some trainers in this region seemed to have.
He hadn't intended to have a travelling companion. When he had decided to leave Blueberry and head out to somewhere new on a new journey, Kieran had been planning on taking on the Kalos League solo. Gather all eight badges, tackle the Elite Four, earn the Champion Rank of another region entirely…
But right there on day one of his Kalos quest, Kieran had encountered Calem.
At first, it had just been a one-off thing. He was lost, the layout of Lumiose City throwing him for a loop, and Calem had been kind enough to point him in the direction he needed to go. A passing meeting, nothing special. He hadn't even caught the other boy's name at the time.
But then, by chance a few days later, they crossed baths again as Kieran was en-route to the next town. This time, they weren't meeting as simple passerby, but as trainers on the road. And that meant a battle.
Kieran won, but only just. Having decided to start with a new team for his new journey, he didn't have his aces to fall back on, only a newly-caught Fletchling and Ralts to counter Calem's Fennekin, Vivillon and Zigzagoon.
They learnt each other's names after that, then went their separate ways once more.
Only to once again encounter one another on the road, just after Kieran had claimed his first Kalos Gym Badge.
Calem claimed victory in their rematch, his team having grown by leaps and bounds in the space of only a week. After congratulations were given, and conversations were had over an impromptu lunch, they split off from one another once more, Kieran leaving town ahead of Calem, determined to earn his second badge.
The next time they encountered one another, they weren't able to have another battle. Circumstances were considerably more… dire that day.
Team Flare, they called themselves apparently. Lunatics and criminals stirring up trouble, a pair of them were attempting to strongarm some people into who knows what.
Kieran may have preferred to battle alone, but he and Calem managed to work well as a team it turned out, and together they made quick work of the criminals.
After that, they seemed to keep on running into each other more and more and more. So somewhere along the line, they just kinda decided to stick together.
And then, somewhere else along the line, Kieran's feelings for his new friend became something… more.
It wasn't a sudden thing. There wasn't one big moment that made Kieran realise he was in love. It was more the sum total of a thousand and one little things that all added up into something he just couldn't ignore after it all piled up in his mind and in his heart.
Little things, like the sound of Calem's laughter whenever he heard something funny. Like the way Calem's eyes shone with wonder whenever he saw something new. It was in the way he would take that little bit of extra time in the mornings to play with his Pokémon, or the way he would get excited every time they arrived at a town with a boutique and drag Kieran along. It was his energy, his cheerfulness, his adventurous spirit and his unending determination…
How could he possibly put all of that into words?
He watched quietly for a moment as Calem prepared dinner for the two of them. They had taken to alternating who would cook each night at first, but over time Calem had taken the role of team chef for himself. Perhaps for the best, seeing as Kieran's culinary skills extended to preparing instant noodles and sandwiches.
So Kieran took charge of feeding their Pokémon. While Calem cooked, Kieran poured out bowls of chow for their teams.
Soon enough, they were all seated around the warmth of the fire and enjoying a meal.
They talked as they ate. Discussing their plans for tomorrow. Badge number seven was next on the agenda, and if they kept up their current pace, they figured they could make the final leg of the journey there by the end of the week.
Simple, casual chatter, just like always. Talking with Caleb felt so… easy. A rarity for Kieran. Yet another one of the many things about Calem that shone.
So why was this so hard? He could talk to Calem about anything. He did talk to Calem about anything. About everything. Even his past, as awkward as that conversation had been. Conversation flowed between them as easily as water in a river.
So why could he not say it?
They finished eating. Packed away the utensils. Rolled out their sleeping bags and prepared to settle in for the night.
But Kieran wasn't ready to sleep. Too much going through his head like always.
He made sure his Pokémon were comfortable, reassured Calem that he wasn't going far, and set out to walk for a little while.
A short walk before going to sleep. A habit he had developed recently. A way to clear his head, even if it was just a little bit.
He found his eyes looking upwards, at the twinkling stars in the night sky. They were far away enough from civilisation for them to be visible, no light pollution blocking them out. He traced over the constellations he could recall, dim memories from some book he read at some point in time. He tried to make out some other patterns amid the lights, drawing pictures in his mind.
He glanced at the moon. Full tonight, or near enough he supposed. Full enough for its light to allow him to see well even in the shadows of the trees. And no clouds to block any of it out. A clear night sky…
Kieran sighed and closed his eyes. This wasn't helping. His mind wouldn't stop going places, conjuring up half-baked thoughts and ideas of what to do, and then answering those thoughts with fuzzy images of all the ways they could go wrong.
He kept walking, wandering a slow, lazy path amid the trees, trying and failing to steer his wayward brain someplace else.
He was such a mess.
After some time, Kieran admitted defeat and made his way back to the campsite, emerging from the treeline to see everyone else fast asleep. Delphox and Talonflame curled up together, Gallade resting against the trunk of a tree, Vivillon nestled in between Linoone and Sylveon…
Calem snoring softly, his face peaceful, not a care in the world. His hair had gotten longer, long enough for his brown roots to be noticeable, contrasting with the rest of his dyed-blonde look…
Kieran realised he was staring, and shook himself back to reality before tip-toeing to his own sleeping bag and settling in for the night.
But sleep was not coming fast, so Kieran just continued to stare up at the sky, willing himself to suddenly grow tired enough to just drift off…
Rustling from beside him drew his gaze downwards, and he say Calem's eyes wide open, looking his way and smiling at him.
He was saying something, but Kieran was lost in his friend's eyes, how even under the light of the moon they seemed to shine so bright.
He blinked, the spell broken momentarily, and he realised Calem was asking him if he was OK, if something was troubling him, keeping him up again.
He tried to sound reassuring, tried to put Calem's worries to rest, but he didn't seem to be too successful if the way Calem frowned was anything to go by.
Calem pushed himself out of his sleeping bag and came over to Kieran's side. Kieran sat up as well, and the two of them were side-by-side, watching the embers of the fire in silence.
He had to say something. Calem was worried about him, and his excuses weren't working anymore, if they ever even had in the first place.
But still, the words would not come. Nothing felt right in his head. As much as he wanted to just say it, just be honest and open with the boy at his side, he just could not find the words.
He was such a mess.
A warmth fell over his hand, startling Kieran out of his dreary daze, and he looked down to see Calem's hand over his own.
He looked up and met Calem's eyes with his own. Those bright, shining eyes…
Calem stood up, still holding Kieran's hand in his own and pulling him up alongside.
Without letting go, he led Kieran away from the fire and into a spot elsewhere in the clearing.
He took hold of Kieran's other hand, and he began to sway from side to side, moving his and Kieran's arms in time with some silent rhythm.
Kieran found himself moving in time, matching Calem's movements with his own. Their feet began to move as well, stepping in time, side to side, forward and back, slowly circling about…
A slow, simple dance.
Calem let go of one of Kieran's hands and placed his own upon Kieran's shoulder, moving closer. Kieran, without thinking, placed his now free hand on Calem's waist, echoing something or other he had seen where people were dancing and that was the move to do…
They continued their slow dance under the moon and the stars, no words exchanged between them. A silent waltz…
Calem smiled at him. Kieran smiled back.
He wanted so, so badly to be able to tell him how much he loved him…
Calem moved closer, leaned in, his eyes fluttering closed.
Kieran met him in the middle.
Maybe no words would ever be enough.
But Kieran decided in that moment that maybe that wasn't such a problem after all.
Hello all! Not Scot here with the penultimate instalment of Valentines Randomness Week, and the very first Kieren x Calem fic in the world! At least, so far as I am aware.
All good things must come to an end though, and that end comes tomorrow. So if you wanna see what the final randomly-chosen pairing and prompt winds up being, check back in on Sunday for the grand(ish) finale of Valentines Randomness Week!
It's getting late where I am right now though, and I really don't wanna wreck my sleep schedule all over again, so for now I shall take my leave.
Until next time,
Not Scot.
P.S: I may have written the first BrightEyesShipping fic (and chosen the name), but who will write the second? Could it be… you?