Rain Falling Down--Pokemon

You hold a hand out to catch the rain, looking skyward with your other hand shielding your eyes. In any other occasion, I would have loved the sight, but the tension surrounding us makes such enjoyment impossible.

Yet you seem to be in your own little world, elegant hand closing over a droplet. You glance over at me for a brief second, adjusting your hat before speaking.

"They'll be fine..." you begin, but I stop you with a look. I know you better than that. A short sigh, and you continue. "...I'm not ready for this."

"None of us are." I look sidelong at the temple workers, huddled together under the archway. "It's impossible to prepare for something like this..."

"N...no..." Your hand finds mine, and you pull me closer. "It's too real..."

I wrap an arm around your shoulders. "Wallace..." is all I can say momentarily, but it seems to suffice.

"...I want to go back to the gym," you whisper. "Come back with me, please."

"We should be here. It's our duties as trainers of rank to be here. Besides, we can't abandon those kids."

"It's ending, Steven..." There's a hush in your voice when you say my name, as you rest your head on my shoulder. "And I'd...rather die with my illusions, in my Gym...with you at my side..."

"Stop that."

"Please, Steven..." You always say my name more when you mean business. "I don't want it to happen here, I don't want it to be real at all..."

I take a step away from you, pausing as you catch your balance. "Wallace, what are you talking about?"

That look in your eyes...I'm not easily scared, but you're coming close. Perhaps it's just the situation, but I'm not certain. "...It's too real," you repeat. "I want my illusions. I want to know that everything is safe..."

You're stronger than this. I know you are. I'm about to tell you that when it dawns on me.

It all comes back to your illusions. Every time things get too serious, you retreat into your own world. You present a brave face, and for the most part you live up to it, heading into daily things like gym battles or public appearances with the utmost of confidence. But you've always seemed to be separate from things, in a way that I never understood. And I still don't, but I think I'm closer now.

Since I drew back, you leaned against a pillar, turned away from the rest of us and looking out at the water. "Steven, please...I can't take this."

"Wallace..." For some reason, the only word I can say is your name, which sticks in my throat and falls to the pit of my stomach. No, no, I have to keep positive. Things *will* be all right.

They have to be.

For the longest time, I can only watch you. I hear the temple workers talking amongst themselves in hushed tones, an occasional sob breaking through the rain, and I chide myself for not being able to be there for you like they are for each other.

After who-knows-how long, I put my hand on your shoulder. It's small comfort, but the only that I can think to give. And I find a returned comfort by your hand draping over mine. I wish you would face me, though. I can feel you trembling. I know you want to throw aside all responsibility and retreat into your own world, but this is where we have to be.

And I realize why I still can't say anything to you. If I said anything, it would be a false promise.

The wind picks up, and you cringe with your entire body. Before I know what happened, you're in my arms, shivering. I'm petrified, not only of our surroundings, but because this is a side of you I had hoped I would never see.

The water is rising, lapping at our feet and trickling into the cave. The temple workers are heading to higher ground, but neither of us move.

"...it's our duty, right?" you ask, putting words to my thoughts. "We have to stand our ground even if it means our lives..."

I sigh, twirling your hair around a finger. "...yes."

"We'll be together," is your whispered reply, which I can barely hear over the wind. There is a crack of thunder, and we both gasp.

"Wallace..."

"Steven, are we going to die?"

There is no way to answer that save to seal your mouth with a kiss. I know I'll do it right before the end, too, to give us both faint calm as the water takes us.

The thunder rolls across the sky, progressively louder, and your kiss intensifies. When you finally pull back, you do not look at me, but immediately rest your head on my chest. "...Steven, I--"

And then the rain stops. Almost immediately, the water retreats and the clouds pull back. Such an oddity could only be explained one way.

"...they did it," you whisper, and repeat it somewhat louder once you have caught your breath. "They did it! Steven!" You grab my shoulders and shake me excitedly. "Steven, we're safe! The world is safe!"

The revelation takes a little longer to sink in with me. "...They did it," I echo, my voice heavy with a relieved sigh. "They...wow..."

You dart a few meters away, looking skyward. "There's not a cloud in the sky, Steven! And...and..." Without warning, you jump down the rock wall to the next level down, racing to the shore. You hit the water and keep going, wading out as far as you can and laughing gleefully. "Steven! The water's clear! It's like the storm never happened!"

I smile, still unable to find any words, and climb down after you just as the children emerge from the cave. My first impulse is to say something to them, but there will be time enough later. With their skills, they will surely make it to Ever Grande.

The time for my official duty is over, and I follow you into the water as you happily start swimming back to your gym.