#but i love best friend marissonshipping

[11jj11]

Reminder that platonic Marissonshipping is amazing.

[flyswhumpcenter]

Found You in the Woods - Chapter 1

NEXT CHAPTER

Summary: Even if Manon was searching for Alan near some woods yet again, she truly didn't expect to find him lying on the ground in the middle of the leaves fallen from the trees. (or: Manon proves she's so much more than some potential burden and Alan is a stubborn idiot, but that's why we love them)

Fandom: Pokemon (Anime, post Kalos arc) Ships: Marissonshipping (Alan/Manon)

Wordcount: 3K words

Notes: I can't believe I got dragged into Pokemon again, but I especially can't believe I got dragged into another ship too. Thanks, Azure. Jokes aside, I got this idea as soon as I watched the second part of the Mega-Evo special?? It was quick and painless, but impressive nonetheless.

AO3 version available here.

           They’re used to travelling alone together. Manon and her fellow Chespie, she means: she wishes they’d be three, but Alan has this terrible tendency to refuse travelling with her for a reason she cannot quite put her finger on. It’s frustrating, but that’s how things are.

Now, that doesn’t mean she isn’t trying to get back to him… She’s gone in the same direction than him and asked people where he had gone, so she can’t be that far from him. She’s going to find him again, and this time, he won’t be able to refuse!

 They’re walking by the side of a cliff, whose side she hopes not to slip on and roll over, when she notices something peculiar in the sky. While they’ve been distracted by the chirping of some Pokemons flying around, they were all native to the region and logically found near woods and cliffs to feed. These are mostly small creatures flying around to steal Trainers’ food and defy each other in aerial battles with no referee, nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, it’s nice to see such a show when they’ve mostly been journeying through forest after forest.

And that’s why she can’t really reasonably expect a Charizard to show up from literally nowhere near them, its orange scales fiercely soaring through the blue, sunny sky of warmish early summer days.

 At first, Manon stops in her tracks, faces the cliff and wonders why a Charizard could possibly have ventured near them. Perhaps its Trainer is somewhere nearby, and that they’re taking a break? It could be the case: after all, she isn’t the only one to be travelling across the Kalos region, so she shouldn’t be that surprised to see the dragon-type prevent itself from getting too cramped up in a tight space where it can’t fly.

But here’s the catch: that Charizard has a familiar-looking necklace, a piece of jewellery she has already seen somewhere else before and truly rings something to her mind. The lack of a shiny Mega Stone makes her doubt her theory at first, but in the end, the collar is too unique for her to pass up: this is none other than Alan’s Charizard, and she gets excited the moment she realizes that Alan must be nearby for his most trusted companion to be here, almost face-to-face with her.

 “Chespie”, she addresses the Chespin now on her shoulder, “it’s Alan’s Charizard! Let’s follow it, I’m sure it knows where he is!”

Her own companion nods his head positively, so her heart gets even more ecstatic. This is a great day! Beautiful weather, comfortable silence, gentle breeze, and a chance to find her best friend again. If she does, he’ll have to admit she can completely find her way on her own just fine and is entirely ready to travel with him and improve herself as a Trainer.

 Chespie climbs back onto her shoulder as she runs after the Charizard flying nearby. While she follows it, she starts realizing it is much slower than she originally thought: is it its break from training with Alan, or is there something else to it? Maybe it’s just tired, even if it’s just the morning… Perhaps these two have been training together all night, or very late into the night, and it wants to prove a point by disobeying and taking a nap elsewhere? Wait, no, that doesn’t make much sense… Charizard has always been very obedient and loyal to Alan no matter their hardships, while would it just leave him for something as minor as a nap? That’s one more reason to follow it: maybe she’ll know what’s wrong if she tracks Alan’s trace and asks him.

Charizard keeps getting slower, as if getting fatigued. She can finally look at its face: it has worried eyes, its otherwise fierce glaze stuck in either daydreaming or foggy concern, nothing like what she’s seen from it before, ever. Worry starts rooting into her own chest: she has an awful presentiment about it all, she can just feel it, and it pesters her into running faster and faster, until she’s out of breath and has to stop in dead in her tracks, pained at the idea of having to give up on following the dragon to its Trainer because she doesn’t have enough stamina to go through with the idea. Goshdarnit!

 Manon lets herself lean against a tree, back gliding down it until she’s sitting on the ground, frustrated with herself and frustrated with how much she can’t run at her full speed to the end of the world would she need to. Crossing her arms around her knees and pulling her legs towards her torso, she sulks in frustration at how nature is.

That is, until Charizard lands right in front of them.

 Saying she’s kind of confused is an understatement. The Pokemon seems to have recognized it: its eyes are staring directly at hers, without any curiosity or hostility. Chespie doesn’t seem fazed either, poking at her arm. It’s obviously an invitation to climb on its back, but that doesn’t feel quite right, doesn’t it? Why would Alan’s Charizard be looking for her in any way, shape or form? Overthinking has never been her specialty, so she jumps on the dragon’s back, Chespie on its head, and they fly away, far away from there maybe. There’s only one real explanation as to why she got suddenly so eager to jump on some Pokemon’s back: the quickest way to Alan was through his own trusted companion who could, as opposed to her pained feet, carry itself and others easily to places she would have never been able to access on her own anyway.

 Charizard flies in the opposite direction Manon has seen it fly in previously, as if going back to where it originally came from. So the Pokemon has been near Alan recently enough to easily come back to him: this really seems to be the quickest way to find her friend again! What a lucky gal she’s been on this one, her nose truly never mistakes her ever (except when it does)!

“Here I come, Alan!” she finds herself screaming, wishing she could rise her hands in the air to show her happiness and success, but instead Chespie tries to do it for her, and it’s great.

 After a few minutes (or so she thinks? It’s unclear, and she’s always been fairly impatient) of flying around, Charizard lands on a bit of land in contact with the canyon, right in front of some woods she’s never seen before. They look rather thick, but Manon’s been known and famed for her good sense of orientation and capacity to find her way out of impossibly tangled situations. She isn’t afraid by the idea of going into those woods, it’s been her daily life for a while now. Glancing at Chespie to judge by his reaction, he seems to agree with her as he nods to her silent question.

 It’s a good coincidence, considering Charizard starts entering the little forest, tail encouraging them to follow it through the range of trees. She can’t even fathom why Alan would get himself lost in the woods like that: she very much doubts he’d ever be able to find any Mega Evolution-related stones in the soil rooted with hundreds of different trees. They usually visited caves and mines because of that, before he tried dumping her again for some reason she’s forgotten the details of since then, aside that it made her angry yet again. She was responsible enough to travel with him, get better as they went along, but… he kept saying she wasn’t ready. Why? He never even explained her why he thought that…

 The woods are calm, serene, with a few bug Pokemons glancing at their little impromptu group, no big deal made out of anything. Manon’s never been scared of bugs: they’ve always been a part of her life, since trekking in the forest usually involves finding “pesky nasties”. Instead, she enjoys walking around, following the large, orange dragon with an odd necklace, certain to find her friend again at the end of the path. Surely nothing can go wrong on such a sunny day, right?

 Manon glances at Charizard’s face from time to time, as she’s faster than it. She’s not the best at reading Pokemons’ faces, but she can tell there’s something wrong with it. She’s always seen it so confident, so proud by Alan’s side, so she cannot bring herself to think there can’t be something at least a tiny bit wrong. Perhaps it did get lost and hopes it can bring it back to its Trainer? That’d mean she has an Alan-radar in her head, and she really isn’t certain about that; otherwise, she’d have found him in a much shorter span of time. Chespie doesn’t seem as perturbed as she is by the other Pokemon’s expression, but still climbs on her shoulder.

 “Chespie,” she tells her fellow companion, “I think there may be something wrong with Charizard. I wonder what it is…”

The Chespin, as if he understood her, immediately looks at the dragon’s face behind them. He shakes his arms and nods.

“So it ain’t just me, then…”

She’s worried, all of a sudden.

 And just as quickly as she got excited to follow this Charizard around, Manon gets worried about what can possibly be up with Alan. Maybe they got split in the woods, and Charizard was looking for someone to help him out of some hole or trap? It’d only be retribution for her to help him out when he’s helped her before… After all, doesn’t she just want him safe, out of any danger life could be throwing at him in arduous times like this? Perhaps she’s needed. That could be the perfect opportunity to prove to him she’s dependable and not a… weight on his feet he needs to drag around everywhere he goes…

 The little group eventually finds themselves in a… Actually, it’s not any specific part of the woods. It’s still trees upon trees in disorganized rows, but aside from the fact there is very little activity around the place, it’s ordinary and Manon really can’t tell why Charizard has brought her there. No, really, there’s nothing coming to her mind that makes her emit any hypothesis as to why they’re here and not in any other part of the woods. Perhaps Charizard just got lost and doesn’t dare tell Chespie and her that it got them lost? She wouldn’t be too angry at it, not everybody has her instinct in forests. It’s not like Alan brings them often in woods anyway.

But then she looks at its face again, and it hasn’t changed. In fact, the dragon still looks concerned, and that’s when the reddest of flags is risen for her.

 Speaking of which, it’s only now that she realizes this: if Charizard isn’t lost and did bring them where it wanted them to be, where’s Alan? He’s nowhere to be found. She’d hear his footsteps in the cracking leaves if he was walking around, which she’d assume he’d do. Maybe he’s brooding sitting on a rock like a statue? That’s totally an Alan thing to do, right? Well then, too bad there isn’t a single rock that’s standing out in this place, because it’d have made things much easier. Chespie and she then look up: maybe he’s in the trees. But alas, there’s also very much no Alan to be spotted amongst the green leaves and few bug Pokemons hanging around the place. This is starting to look like a joke, a joke Manon really doesn’t want to take a part in. She’s worried and nothing is here to relieve her, it seems.

 And then she spots some kind of informal black form somewhere amongst the leaves.

 Curious and slightly reminded of Alan’s very emo way of dressing (that’s what they call “emo”, right?), she walks up towards it, intrigued. It’s quite the unusual sigh in a forest like, all greens and browns and then you see a black thing on the ground, barely rising from the leaves… There’s another odd thing about this shapeless thing: the closer she gets to it, the louder a breathing noise is to her ears. That’s… that’s pretty terrifying to think about. Maybe it’s her own breathing, though, even if it sounds somewhat familiar yet estranged from her own self. It’s not Chespie’s, and Charizard has barely moved… And it sounds human. Oddly, eerily human.

 The realization hits her like Charizard’s Thunder Punch right in the face.

This form… is Alan.

 She runs as if she has never been fatigued from running before to it (him?) just to verify her hypothesis, just to prove herself wrong, that she’s simply paranoid and wanting to find her friend again very much. She’s trying to reassure herself, that it’s just a hunch, that she’s just hearing her own breathing and gets panicked because she’s already concerned. Alan wouldn’t be there in the middle of the woods, right? Perhaps Charizard brought her to someone else while he’s gone to get some rescue and help. It’s just her, it’s just her mind, it’s just her thoughts racing at uncountable miles per hour, it’s all her, it’s all in her head…

 And then Manon’s foot arrives right before the form, and she recognizes Alan’s body face down against the ground, surrounded by dead and drying leaves.

 She drops to her knees, both in shock and inhumane reflexes she never knew she had until now. She rolls him on his back, a mere wish not to see him eat the dirt. Her hand is trembling on his shoulder, her mouth can’t close anymore, and she wants to cry in concern; but she cannot because she’s promised him to be strong, to be strong enough to be with him without being his burden, so she shakes her head and keeps on doing what she thinks she should be doing right now.

 Alan looks like he’s fast asleep, at first. She’s relieved to know he’s still breathing, even if she should have expected him to survive the toughest challenges in life. However, she quickly notices there has to be something more to it than mere sudden sleep syndrome: he’s always been a strong guy, he wouldn’t fall asleep suddenly and in such a weird place. His eyes are closed, sure, but they look more shut than closed, and she realizes it’s because he’s not asleep: he’s unconscious.

 That’s bad. He has a deep frown on his face, similar to when he hurt his shoulder when sheltering her from debris a while back. No, no, that’s terrible…

“Alan? Alan, what’s wrong?!” She calls to him, in vain, in a hope he wakes up and explains her what’s not right with him. He obviously doesn’t reply, doesn’t wake up, and her stomach churns.

 Manon shakes her head again. She needs to keep her calm and see what’s truly wrong: if he won’t or can’t tell her, then she’ll guess herself. She takes off her hat and puts it under his head as an improvised pillow (it’s probably not comfortable, but it’ll do for now); then studies his face in more details. If he looks this pained, something must be hurting him, right? However, when she checks his different limbs, she can’t find any injury or even a stain of dirt: there’s simply no sign he injured himself, and while that’s a good thing for him, but it’s not for her, since it doesn’t give her any answer, she can base herself off.

 While she does so, as she inspects his hands by looking to see if his palms got bruised or wounded, she realizes something bizarre: usually, Alan’s skin is naturally cool, perhaps because he isn’t very hot-blooded like she tends to be. This can’t be a good sign, especially when she sees sweat pearling on his face and dripping down his temples to the ground. It dawns on her again, as she lets out a tiny gasp, and she puts her hand on his forehead to get a feel for his temperature.

Sure enough, she turns out to be right: he is feverish.

 Manon finally understands why Charizard has brought her here, just as it gets closer to her and stays by its Trainer’s side. There settles panic in her head: what’s she supposed to do, now?! She isn’t a doctor, she isn’t a nurse, there’s no Pokemon Centre nearby, they’re in the middle of the woods, Charizard can’t carry the three of them and she sure cannot carry Alan by herself… As she scrambles for shards of what ideas as to what to do, she realizes she can just ask Charizard why Alan may have asked it to do before she arrived there.

 “Charizard,” she glances up at her friend’s partner with earnest eyes, and it looks back at her with similar irises, “can you try reaching the nearest Pokemon Centre and get some help from there? It may be a while away, but… that’s the one way I know how to help your Trainer!”

The dragon nods, seemingly in agreement, and takes off through the trees. She doesn’t have much time to wonder about why it now decided to do so (perhaps because it wasn’t sure of the way to come back to Alan otherwise?), since her eyes instantly dart back to Alan’s rising-and-downing chest.

 She takes off her scarf with the intention of dumping it in some water and attempt bringing comfort to her ill friend, but instead, she realizes she has no way to freshen it for him. There’s no river nearby she could send Chespie to, and she has no Pokemon on her that have any Water-type move. As far as she knows, not even Alan has one on him at the moment, so she’s stuck waiting here, wondering what she could do for him.

As it stands, Manon has no real answer to the problem, so she retains her tears and hopes for him to wake up soon as she puts his head on her lap instead.

[pkmnjesus]

P J a shipper? SHIP-A-THON ‘18

𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝒱

My case in Kalos:

AmourShipping / SatoSere (Ash/Satoshi & Serena): Okay I’m pretty sure I don’t even need to say it, but THIS THE MOST CANON ASH SHIP WE WILL PROBABLY GET! When XY was first announced 2013, and read the bio for Serena’s character as a “childhood friend” of Ash’s I WAS STOKED. I said to myself back then, are we actually going to have a traveling partner that has a confirmed crush on Ash? The series definitely did not disappoint on delivering this shipping fan service, especially on Serena’s part, but at the same time I was glad that her character wasn’t fully focused on it as well because of her own development as a Pokémon Performer. Ash’s attitude helped Serena motivate herself on doing better, and never giving up no matter if she wins or loses. Every moment and interaction they had were glorious, and loved every second of it! When an episode of XY starts, amourshippers are always on the lookout! Favorite moment - A lot of moments to mention, but without a doubt my favorite is the childhood flashback scene where they first met at Oak’s Summer Camp. Poor baby Serena scared out of her life with that boo boo, until Ash came along and helped her up! That moment when he had her in his arms, I KNEW THE INTERNET WAS GOING TO EXPLODE. As an active member of serebiiforums during the premiere of that episode, it was definitely the talk of the town under the anime section! Wherever you go there it was an AmourShipping frenzy, and from there started this craze of a ship.

DiodeShipping / SatoShito (Ash/Satoshi & Clemont/Citron): Clemont and Ash is probably my favorite friendship among his male companions. I know I said that Cilan was the best tag team partner, but I feel that Clemont has a stronger brotherhood with Ash. I mean they sleep together in the same tent, Ash always clings his arms to him every time he’s proud of something Clemont does, and Ash geeks out on EVERYTHING he makes despite it exploding later on. Like with AmourShipping, Clemont looks up to Ash and drives him to never give up with whatever trials he may face in order to achieve his goals. They’re either blood brothers or gay lovers...you decide?! Favorite moment - 100% their gym battle! It was fun, intense, and a huge development for both characters. Needs more bro hugs ;D

GeekChicShipping / ShitoSere (Clemont/Citron & Serena): This ship is definitely adorable for its own reasons! You have kind outgoing girl, and cautious nerdy boy who both are struggling with self-confidence in order to achieve their dreams. This ship definitely had its respectable moments when Ash wasn’t around in the group. In fact, it was I, the PokémonJesus, who created the first ever GeekChic thread in serebiiforums back in late 2013. Favorite moment - Instead of a moment, I would like to point out the fact that they both know how to cook?! Clemont makes the main dishes, and Serena specializes in the deserts. They are basically the dad and mom of the group xD Ash and Bonnie would not survive without them!

TinhYeuDichThucShipping (...yes that’s what this Kalos quad ship is called I am not even kidding when I did my research): No offense to Brock, May, or Max, but I definitely to prefer this quad pairing over them. The Kalos quad all have their fair share of interactions (as mentioned above), and I’m pretty sure Bonnie looks up to Ash and Serena as older siblings as well! I was also low-key hoping for her to have like an innocent kid-crush on Ash so maybe she can tease Serena with it, but I’m fine with how they interacted. Clemont being the good big bro he is, and the sisterhood shown between Bonnie and Serena were an awesome dynamic (same goes with Ash and Max in AG). With Ash being the definitive leader for this group (since their really isn’t an older figure or Clemont is just short), the most important trait of all is that the three of them look up to Ash, and they can all learn together from him, cheer him on, and maybe even be as strong as he is. Ash fan club jokes aside, I can see these four living in a small peaceful cabin somewhere in the fine forests of Kalos where they seek new adventures every day and help Pokémon in need (no, I don’t write fanfics). 

MarissonShipping (Alain/Alan & Mairin/Manon): Now this is one of the more unique shippings that you don’t see quite often from looks alone. I honestly would not think that the two main characters from the Mega Evolution specials would have much have a bigger role once the XY&Z arc started. Their relationship definitely had a rocky start since Mairin just looked like a stalker following Alain around for no apparent reason. Eventually he softened up to her by Act III (I think?) after Mairin protected him from the Mega Evolution chaos that was happening during their trip in Hoenn. And if you think about it, Alain entered the Kalos League BECAUSE of Mairin and her sick Chespin. If it wasn’t for this ship maybe Ash could have won the League. Mairin is that type of girl that bugs the boyfriend if she can go to her favorite store in mall, and Alain will probably be “oh fine alright” and buys her anything she wants because that’s how much he cares. Alain doesn’t really wanna show his affection much compared to Mairin, but that’s what I like about this cute ship. Favorite moment - The first hug they shared at the end of the 3rd act Mega Evolution. That pretty much sold the ship to me <3

Honorable mentions: As you can tell by my low quality picture collage skills, I do think Serena would make the most girlfriends among her friends/rivals xD Serena and Shauna was a relationship I looked forward to because of how I loved Shauna’s in-game character’s relationship with the player in X/Y. It pretty much as the same vibe with Serena and Aria being performer GFs and taking about how pretty cool they can be when it comes to outfits and stylish performances with their Pokémon. Serena and Miette however is a more aggressive relationship because of them fighting over flirting with Ash. Of course Ash still has no clue whatsoever, but it’s just funny how he’s the innocent little boy in all of this. Serena and Mairin are the best girl power BFFs support to their boys, and wished that they interacted more prior to the Kalos League. But what about Serena’s adorable Pokémon? Before evolving, I always thought that her Fennekin would be more closer to Ash’s Froakie. Would have made AmourShipping even greater! But Serena’s Eevee and Clemont’s Bunnelby were the adorable Pokémon ship for this series. Poor Eevee was scared of everyone’s Pokémon EXCEPT Bunnelby whom she’d hide behind him every time especially when Chespin tries to be friendly xD I can’t remember but I think there were a few interactions of them after Eevee evolved into a Sylveon. Moving on to the gym leader side of things is Viola and Grant’s cute relationship. It wasn’t seen in the games, but it was clearly obvious that these two could be more than just friends. Probably my favoritegmy leader shipping if you ask me. Ash and Korrina had a good dynamic too when she was temporarily traveling with them, and the group even admitted that the two are alike!(maybe just in hunger I don’t know lol) But let’s not forget Shōta’s senpai treatment to Satoshi. I think he is really the first rival that actually looked up to him and wanted to beat him respectfully. This boy has a handful of notes about Ash, and I’m not even surprised if it’s not just the battling styles and strategies found in that little note book of his ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

P J’s ship-a-thon: OS | AG | DP | BW | XY | SM | Others | Non-Pkmn ships

[kalosstarters]

Ok, now that mobile actually let me load your page, nice internet: curious of both Pokemon and Fullmetal Alchemist for 001 :D

Now we are talking! My two absolute favorite topics! :3 Tho I already answered fma earlier and showed it to you so only pokemon in this answer. 

001 | Send me a fandom and I will tell you my:

Favorite character: Mamamamairin ♥ (And Alain. And Ash. No explanations needed)

Least Favorite character: Hmmmmmmm. I... don’t know? I can’t say I’m a huge fan of any of the evil team bosses but that’s kinda obvious answer. Most of the characters are nice one way or another (except Cameron. I already talked about him in the previous answer xD)

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): marissonshipping, contestshipping (I miss them?? I’d die to see them in SM?? Pls poke/ani??? pls???), pokeshipping, ikarishipping (sort of), hmmmmm idk can I say like Kukui and Burnet? (I also like jellowshipping, moonlilyshipping, and some others)

Character I find most attractive: Lusamine xD OK /no/. That was a very bad joke. I find a lot of the poke/girls cute but attractive is /not/ the right word to describe any of them. if Alain was older I could say him but now nuh. OK wait a sec, professors Sycamore and Kukui are both pretty fine and Burnet is pretty as well :D

Character I would marry: gonna skip this bc we are talking about pokemon here (HMU Sycamore)

Character I would be best friends with: (everyone is surprised) probably Mairin. I’d also love to hang out with May. We’d bond over all the food we’d eat

A random thought: Pokemon is just so good and such a savior during bad times, it has always made me happy when I’m feeling low

An unpopular opinion: Huh. Pokemon is such a big concept that there are a lot of unpopular opinions there. I’m just gonna skip this one. 

My canon OTP: eeeeeeeeeh contestshipping is the most canon of those ships I just listed but when it comes to me marisson is totally canon as well

Non-canon OTP: also marisson and pokeS and so on and so on..

Most bad*** character: there are like hundreds of characters to choose from... Gotta say that my son Ash is pretty bada** tho, I wonder how many times he has saved the world...

Pairing I am not a fan of: I have a lot of notp:s. Probably better if I don’t list them :D (but obviously all the creepy ones like adult/child ships and in/cest ships because even those can be found when you search what the fandom has done :SS)

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): when you start thinking about it, poor Ash is pretty screwed up for not ever growing... the writers should have just switched the main character after Johto or AG or something, now I feel it’s almost too late...

Favourite friendship: Ash and his original companions :’) It was so wonderful to see them together again, even if it was for such a short while. I am having all my thumbs up about them coming to Alola like promised. Edit: I just changed my mind, the purest and most important friendship is obviously Ash and Pikachu. Without Pikachu there wouldn’t be Ash, without Ash there wouldn’t be Pikachu. They belong together (in a not creepy way, come on)

Thank you, I loved answering this :3

[mysticdelphox97]

ok so I'm ofc gonna ask Marissonshipping... and why not Contestshipping and Penguinshipping!

You asked the good ships Tiia! I will happily answer them! :D

(I have more long-ass answers soooo they’ll be under the cut lol)

First up, MarissonShipping!

The ship is my:MY FUCKING OTP OH MY GOD I LOVE THEM.

 I consider thisship’s feelings: Mutual | Mixed| Strange | Awkward | Platonic | Sibling-like| One-sided | They don’t really like each other |

I couldn’t pick just one lol. Their relationship I can seeas more on the platonic side when Mairin is still a child, but I still adorethem so much aahhhhhh T^T. And they know that they’re equally important to eachother which MAKES MY DUMB SHIPPER HEART SWELL WITH LOVE ;A;

 I’d consider therelationship: Healthy | Awkward| Abusive | Doesn’t work properly | They’d never get together |

I love the development of their relationship so much omfg.They definitely had some difficult times, which FREAKING DESTROYED MY HEART,but in the end it all works out and they’re happy and smiling AND THERE’S NOMORE SADNESS.

 Children: No | Yes | They’d think about it

I have four fankids for them (coughcoughsofarcough): Marissa, Austin,Charlotte, and Elliot. So you bet your butts I headcanon them having childrenohohoho~. I will probably write a little drabble about that in the future :D

 General Opinion:I did not expect to love this ship as much as I do now when I first startedwatching the Mega Evolution specials. But after the first Act, I wanted to seemore of them, and I was not disappointed by what I got: Alain letting Mairintravel with him, Alain being comfortable with Mairin’s presence aftertravelling for some time, Alain risking his life to protect Mairin and Chespiefrom Rayquaza’s Draco Meteor, Mairin protecting Alain in turn by getting himout of harm’s way while Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon were battling, THE HUG,Alain devoting every ounce of his energy to saving Chespie throughout theentire XY&Z Series, Alain and Mairin reuniting after being separating forso long, Mairin hosting a party for Alain, Mairin getting Alain to dance at theperformance Serena put on for Lumiose City, and ALAIN AND MAIRIN STARTING THEIRJOURNEY AGAIN.

So, yeah, as you can probably tell, I have a lot of feelsfor this ship ❤

 Next is ContestShipping!

 The ship is my: Definitelyone of my favorite ships from the AG and Battle Frontier sagas! (Fun fact, Iused to ship AdvancedShipping before I became a ContestShipper lol)

 I consider thisship’s feelings: Mutual | Mixed| Strange | Awkward | Platonic | Sibling-like | One-sided | They don’t reallylike each other |

Oh, it’s totally mutual. You can’t convince me otherwiselol.

 I’d consider therelationship: Healthy | Awkward| Abusive | Doesn’t work properly | They’d never get together |

Their dynamic as both rivals and friends (well, maybe a bitmore than friends lol) is just so appealing. They help bring out the best ineach other and they call each other out on their shit haha. It’s just… ahhh, it’sso good ;w;

 Children: No | Yes | They’d think about it

I have two fankids for May and Drew: Primrose (she goes byRose c: ) and a son who’s name I’m still working on. I was gonna call himAndrew Jr., naming him after Drew, and having his nickname be Andy… but idk howI feel about that anymore lol. I’ll update it when I figure it out.

 General Opinion: Agood ship! It might not be one of my OTPs, but I still like it a lot!!

 And last, but certainly not least: PenguinShipping!

 The ship is my:Another wonderful OTP! This time from the DP saga :D

 I consider thisship’s feelings: Mutual | Mixed | Strange | Awkward | Platonic |Sibling-like | One-sided | Theydon’t really like each other |

The frustrating thing about this ship is that it really isone-sided lol. It’s pretty clear that Kenny has a huge crush on Dawn, but wereally don’t get much reciprocation on her part. Though that isn’t to say shedoesn’t care about him! (Even if he calls her Dee Dee lmao)

 I’d consider therelationship: Healthy | Awkward| Abusive | Doesn’t work properly | They’d never get together |

I’d consider it pretty healthy! The only part I was kind of ‘meh’with was when Kenny asked Dawn to travel with him if he beat Ash in a battle.He didn’t force her to go with him though, and respected her wish to continuetravelling with Ash and Brock, which only furthers his character development.And of course he still cares greatly for the girl that he loves, which I adoreso much!

 Children: No | Yes | They’d think about it

In my Fankid AU, I talked a little bit about how Kenny marries Dawn andlater adopts her son, Alex. Well, after that, they have two children together;two daughters that I have named Sienna and Daniella! I still don’t know muchabout them yet, but I know that Sienna takes a lot after both her parents,while Daniella is more on the shy and quiet side.

 General Opinion:Oh my gosh, I love this ship so much. It’s like, MarissonShipping-tier lovelol. I really wish we had seen Kenny more often, and that the rivalry betweenhim and Dawn had been executed a bit better. And I’m still salty that thewriters nixed him from the Grand Festival in the Appeals round… like, wtfwriters. What’s your damage. What is it. Ughhh. Whatever, it’s water under thebridge, and I still love this ship regardless of the anime’s treatment (and someof the fandom’s treatment, now that I think about it….) of Kenny.

#shipping ask #toastbaby

[11jj11]

Confessions (Marissonshipping, Part 1)

Alain considered himself a scientist. Someone that asked questions, and sought answers. Someone that knew why things were happening, and how. He liked to understand the world around him, and the idea that there was always more to learn excited him. At twenty-one years old he was quite content with the life he had built for himself. Working as an intern for Professor Sycamore, and on the road to becoming a professor himself, he was able to do what he loved everyday.

So the fact that he had stumbled across something that he didn’t have an answer for was bothering him to no end.

“Hey Alain, the professor needs you upstairs,” Mairin said from behind him, and he found himself stiffening up. He didn’t turn around, just kneeling in front of his Unfezant with a thumping heart, a food dish in hand.

“Of course,” Alain said slowly after a moment, realizing that she was probably waiting for a reply. “I’ll be right up.” 

He set the food dish down, Unfezant letting out a happy cry as he began to eat. Alain ran a hand down the Pokemon’s back as he ate, listening to Mairin’s footsteps as she walked around the greenhouse, waiting for her to leave. His heart was still thumping loudly from being startled, and it didn’t seem to have any intentions of slowing.

It took a minute, but at last Mairin left. He let out a small sigh, letting out a breath he hadn’t even realized he had been holding in. He pushed himself to his feet, Unfezant shooting a glance at him, before continuing to eat. He wasn’t quite sure what the professor needed from him, his shift was over for today, but he was of course more than willing to help if needed. His eyes shifted towards the door where Mairin had exited, knowing that his mind would be elsewhere.

Because Mairin was the question that he currently didn’t have an answer for.

Something must have changed, something had to have caused all... this. But yet he wasn’t able to draw any conclusion for what could have possibly happened. Mairin was the same as always... but every time he looked at her it was as if he was seeing her for the first time.

Her amber eyes were as bright as ever, but yet whenever he even glanced in her direction they seemed to draw his entire focus. Her smile was as warm as he always remembered, but now it lit up the entire room she was in. Wherever she walked by he wanted to do nothing more than to reach out and touch her hair. And then her voice... her voice was the worst of all. Whenever she spoke to him his heart started thumping, and he found that he had to force himself to focus to catch what she was saying, or else he’d get lost simply listening to the softness of her voice.

What bothered him the most was the fact that nothing about her had changed– she was the same as he had always remembered– but it was as if his mind had just realized that she was... there.

It was getting annoying, because whenever she was in the room he simply couldn’t focus on the task at hand. He had found himself talking to her less and less simply so he could work, but yet he felt sick at the thought of treating his best friend that way. She was the kindest person he knew, and to pull away from her just wasn’t right. But he wasn’t sure what else he could do without every thought being pulled towards her. She was sweet, she was beautiful, and it was as if his mind had to tell him that over and over–

...Since when had he started calling Mairin beautiful?

Alain bit on his lower lip as this thought crossed his mind, standing in the doorway of the greenhouse. It wasn’t like he had never thought that she wasn’t beautiful, but he had just never particularly thought about that before. He didn’t look for beauty in a friend– it was her kindness and optimism that had made them become close. And her sheer stubbornness as well, while his younger self had once seen this as annoying, it had quickly become... cute. She was strong, fiery, and had been the first true friend he had made in many years.

He blinked, slowly realizing that these things were what was making her so beautiful. It wasn’t her smile or her eyes, but rather the person he had come to know was behind that wonderful smile and shining eyes. He wanted to be close to her just as he always had, even if now he wanted to take her into his arms and hold her even closer.

Alain was slowly beginning to realize that he was right– nothing about Mairin had changed. What had changed was the way he was seeing her.

“...Oh,” Alain said slowly as the realization came over him. “Oh...”

“Alain?” A faint voice was calling from upstairs, slowly shaking Alain from his sudden daze. “Alain?”

“I– um– c-coming Professor!” He called out, fumbling for words as he stumbled into the hallway, eyes slightly wide.

-----------

Alain had honestly never ‘liked’ someone.

He had gone on dates before– with Astrid and Kristen– but neither relationship had been anything he had been invested in. He had only gone out with Kristen a few times before it was quite clear that it wasn’t going anywhere, and while he and Astrid had gone steady after a few dates it had honestly never turned into anything serious. They had shared a few kisses, but they had been simple, and he hadn’t felt anything more behind it besides the fact that it had been his first kiss.

They had broken it off not long after that, both agreeing that this wasn’t what they were seeking in a relationship.

And for a time, Alain had wondered if he would ever feel an attraction in such a way. His past relationships hadn’t been bad, but he was well aware that he never saw them or anyone else as more than a friend. Those dates had almost been a test to him, to see if they could go somewhere, but they never had. Kristen had seemed genuinely interested in him, but he wasn’t even sure what returning that was supposed to feel like. While he had definitely considered Astrid pretty, he had never felt anything more.

But now Alain was quite sure that he had feelings for Mairin– and he had no idea of what he should do with that fact.

She wasn’t some girl he could just ask out– this was his best friend. Because this wasn’t someone he could just simply part ways with if things didn’t go right, because that would mean he would be losing one of the most important people in his life. Besides who would even say that she would agree to such an idea, she had mentioned in the past that he was like a brother to her. If that were still so bringing up this topic would most definitely only bring tensions between them.

He had a good relationship with Mairin right now. They were close, he trusted her more than anyone else, and their friendship definitely wasn’t about to go anywhere. So why was he even considering taking it a step further, especially if that meant he could possibly lose what he already had? He was happy with the bond that they had, did he really want to take it further?

Alain knew that it was pointless lying to himself, because he knew that he did. Whenever he looked at Mairin he just wanted to be with her. Not just moments when they worked together at the lab or casual greetings. He would just be lying to himself if he didn’t admit that he wanted to wrap his arms around her. Yes, they had a good relationship, and the mere idea that it could become something more was so appealing. That the bond that they held now could strengthen. It wasn’t something he could ignore.

He argued with himself that it was so simple, that he should simply go up to her and ask. To find out if these emotions were something that they could pursue. He told himself that it was Mairin, someone he knew, and that it shouldn’t be difficult. But that very fact was what made this so hard. If this were a stranger he would have already gone up to her and asked– but instead this was someone he had known for many years, and that alone made the task impossible.

And so on with life Alain went, stuck in this turmoil he didn’t know how to handle.

-----------

Alain was stiffening a yawn as he headed down the hall, a tiredness hanging about him as he headed downstairs. He had always been an early riser, but without a cup of coffee to wake him up he was basically a zombie. He had stumbled out of bed only a few minutes before, having thrown a lab coat over his bare chest as he headed out of his room.

However as he stumbled past the bathroom he couldn’t help but pause, a small grunt of pain catching his attention. He blinked once, even through his tired stupor he instantly recognized it as Mairin. He hesitated, before making his way to the partially open door, pushing it open to see Mairin standing in front of the sink, running a brush through her tangled hair.

She jumped slightly in surprise, giving Alain an uncertain smile. “Um... hi?”

“Are you okay?” Alain asked, not quite sure of what he should do as he stood there in the doorway. “I thought I heard...”

He trailed off, not sure if he was too tired to finish his answer, or perhaps he was slightly embarrassed. Mairin did look flustered, uncertainly passing her brush from hand to hand, a slight red tinge spreading across her cheeks. However this was nothing new for Mairin, the simplest of things able to make her blush.

Her amber eyes regarded him for a moment, and his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. 

“Of course I’m okay...?” She replied uncertainly after a moment, and perhaps if he was a bit more awake Alain would be a bit more embarrassed for just walking in. “It’s just a tangled mess this morning I can’t even get a brush through it...”

She waved a hand at her hair hopelessly, letting out a sigh as she turned back to the mirror. Alain pulled up behind her, touching the ends of her hair. Even with it a bit tangled up Alain found her hair quite pretty, and with a slight frown he held his hand out towards the brush.

“Here, let me brush it,” Alain said, taking the brush from her. 

She looked a bit surprised at this offer, but allowed him to take the brush without an argument. She tensed up slightly as he ran it through her hair, clearly ready for it to be run through all of the knots. He was careful to start at the ends of her hair, brushing out those knots first. He couldn’t help but smile slightly as he continued, fingers running through her red hair.

“Thick hair is the worst,” she muttered, wincing as the knots were brushed out.

“Maybe use more conditioner?” Alain said, and he couldn’t help but notice that her hair faintly smelled like Pecha berries. Her shampoo, maybe?

She let out a small laugh. “You don’t think I do? Besides, what would you know about conditioners?”

“Plenty, I’d say, I use it,” Alain replied, and Mairin stared at him in the mirror. “What?”

“You use conditioner?” she asked, raising a brow.

“Who says a guy can’t use conditioner?” he asked, immediately going on the defensive. “I have thick hair too, and it makes it much easier to take care of.”

“I never said a guy couldn’t use it,” she said, a small smirk on her face. “You’re just one of the last people I expected to,” she leaned her head back, grinning up at him. “I guess that’s just a side effect of growing up with Monsieur Marvelous Professor though, isn’t it?”

“Shut up,” he said, a playful smile spread over his face. His heart skipped a beat as Mairin let out a laugh, her grin turning into that amazing smile of hers that was always so warm. He watched her reflection in the mirror as he continued brushing her hair, just beginning to realize how close he was to her. She was only a step in front of him, her back only inches from his chest.

He so badly wanted to wrap his arms around her, to bring her into his embrace and pull her close, and for a moment he wondered why he didn’t. This was his best friend, and there had been many times he had held her close. But this wasn’t a moment of her seeking comfort, or him trying to reassure her that he was there, but rather just a desire to be close to her.

“...Alain?” Mairin asked, a small frown on her face, and he then realized that he had gone completely still, brush halfway through her hair.

“Sorry,” he said swiftly, letting out an uncertain chuckle, continuing to run the brush through her hair. “Haven’t had my coffee yet, I’m still out of it.”

“You seem pretty alert for an Alain that hasn’t had his mandatory coffee,” She replied, again tilting her head up so she could look at him, and in the process she leaned back against him. Instantly Alain stiffened up, and he knew there was no excuse for this reaction except for she was pressed up against him. He stared down into her amber eyes, and for a moment he almost told her, almost blurted out the feelings that had been tormenting him as of late.

But instead his blue eyes slipped away from her, carefully stepping back, holding the brush out to her. “Here you go, I can happily declare that your hair is now knot-free.”

For a moment he swore that he saw her gaze fall, but he told himself it was just his hopefulness in his tiredness. She took the brush, running it through her hair once, before setting it aside. She gave him a small smile as she ran her fingers through her long red hair, and so desperately he wanted to do the same, to feel her soft hair between his fingers once more. His hand twitched, but he simply lingered near the doorway instead.

“Thank you,” she said, pausing for a moment. He knew that she wanted to say more, he could see that look in her eyes, but no words came from her. She just looked up at him, her expression soft, and even without a smile on her face she still seemed to radiate a light. Their gazes remained locked for a moment longer, and finally he glanced away.

“Coffee,” he grunted, not sure of what he should say. She nodded in understanding, as normally he refused to do anything unless he had drained a mug of the drink. Their gazes flickered towards each other one more time, and though it was the last thing he wanted to do he headed out into the hall, once again heading to the kitchen of the lab.

-----------

“Your lab coat looks nice today.”

Blue eyes flickered back towards Mairin as she spoke, blinking once. She wasn’t looking at him despite having just spoken, her amber gaze intently locked on the Fennekin in front of her. She was offering the young starter a variety of berries, the fire fox turning up his nose with each one he was offered. It was definitely one of the more difficult starters they had hatched at the lab, and he had a ways to go until he was ready for a trainer.

“...I wear it everyday,” Alain said slowly, not quite sure how to respond. It was the same old lab coat he always wore, small scorch marks covering it from Charizard’s sneezes and edges frayed from the Pokemon they looked after. It was far from what he would consider ‘nice’.

"W-Well yeah but it's just... nice,” Mairin said again, stumbling over her words. “Like you. You're nice."

...It was strange, because what he usually expected from Mairin was teasing remarks rather than compliments. And considering it was about something so routine rather than something new was strange as well, but he couldn’t help but hold his head a bit higher at her words.

“Thank you,” he replied slowly. “Your lab coat looks nice as well.”

Really? That’s what he said to Mairin? He wanted to hit himself, of all the things he could have said looked nice he commented on what was essentially their work uniform? Not on the things he always noticed? Like her smile or her hair or her eyes or her gentleness or the way she just managed to make his day so much brighter?

Not that she didn’t look nice in her lab coat...

“Thank you,” she replied, just as slow as he had. Neither looked at each other, both suddenly quite interested in their work. Alain was quite sure the Froakie he was washing had a spot on its head that needed to come off, and Mairin seemed very intent on offering the Fennekin a Pecha berry. 

Alain had actually become quite fond of Pecha berries recently, finding himself eating them more often at meals and buying extra on his run to the grocery store. He had never really had a sweet tooth, but the sweetness of the Pecha berries had suddenly seemed much more appealing. They had always been Mairin’s favorite berry, and that fact of course had nothing to do with his sudden fondness for the berries.

“Naught!” A frustrated voice cried, causing both of them to jump. They looked up to see a certain Chesnaught staring at them, arms up in exasperation.

“Chespie?” Mairin asked, blinking at her starter. “Is everything okay?”

“Chesnaught naught!” He said, waving his arms about. He gestured towards Mairin, and then towards Alain, the grass type letting out several grunts. Alain shot a glance at Mairin in hopes she’d have a translation, but she looked just as confused as he did.

“Um, do you want me to help Mairin?” Alain asked, setting aside his rag and scooping up the Froakie into his arms and heading towards her. Chespie let out a frustrated groan, clearly this not being what he was trying to say, before he let out a defeated grunt. He waved Alain towards his trainer, before turning and lumbering out of the room with a heavy sigh.

“Sorry,” Mairin said, her eyes flickering towards the ground. “He’s been acting weird lately, nothing to worry about though, I got this...”

He noticed a red tinge spreading across her cheeks, but Alain didn’t comment on this. It never took much to get Mairin to blush, and if there was one thing she hated it was someone pointing this out. She would only turn redder, which was absolutely adorable, which made it hard not to tease her about it.

“I’m sure Froakie could use a little treat though,” Alain said, setting the water type down next to the Fennekin. “He’s done so well today he most definitely deserves a reward.”

The Froakie looked up hopefully at Mairin, who smiled and offered the rejected Pecha berry to the frog. The Froakie took it in his hands, happily biting into the fruit with a happy croak. The Fennekin shot a haughty glare at him, letting out a sharp yip and turning away.

“You just can’t eat only Custap berries,” Mairin said, tapping the Fennekin on the nose. “Those are expensive!” She pulled up a small container of Pokemon food, setting it next to the two Pokemon. “So about you try some of this, Fennekin? This is made especially for fire types.”

“It’s really good,” Alain chimed in. “It’s mine and Charizard’s favorite.”

“Alain, do you really not realize how absolutely disgusting that is?”

He replied by reaching into the container and snatching several pieces of the Pokemon food, taking a bite. “Everything in it is edible, and it doesn’t taste bad at all! It’s pleasantly spicy!”

“There is nothing pleasant about spicy food,” she said, pulling the container away. “And it’s still disgusting!”

“Kin,” Fennekin yipped, and the two humans looked down at him. He was sniffing towards the container of Pokemon food, eyes narrowed, but he yipped at it again. Mairin grabbed a handful of the fire type food, spreading it in front of the Fennekin hopefully.

The Fennekin carefully stepped forward, sniffing at the food again. He nudged a few to the side, looking over each one with a critical eye. They both held their breath as the Fennekin opened his mouth, carefully picking up a piece of the food. He chewed it slowly, ears twitching, and then he swallowed.

The Fennekin eyed the remaining pieces of food, and began to eat them as well.

“Yes! Finally!” Mairin cheered, earning a glare from the Fennekin as he continued eating.

“It looks like he just needed a guarantee that it was good,” Alain said with a smirk. “You’re welcome.”

“I’m not thanking you for eating Pokemon food!”

“You can’t say it’s gross unless you try it~”

He let out a laugh, ducking as she threw several pieces of Pokemon food at him.

-----------

“Flare!”

The Flareon bolted across the park, happily chasing after the Vivillon drifting through the air. The bug types danced about as the fire type attempted to pounce on them, letting out small chirrs as they darted out of the way.

Mairin was running after Kade, trying to reach the Pokemon before he decided to use an attack on the bug types. Alain lingered near one of the pathways that ran through the park, a small smile on his face as he watched them. It was early spring, the warm weather just beginning to settle into Lumiose. He was grateful for the shift in the weather, as it was nice to finally be able to take Kade outside without needing to bundle up.

He was a hyper Flareon, and it had become habit to take him to the park every Saturday to give him a chance to run. The lab had never been an effective place for him to play, and so without fail Kade insisted that he was taken to the park no matter the weather– Alain and Mairin having made their way here through several snow storms before. Even the rain didn’t deter the fire type, Kade was always more than willing to jump into a puddle or the mud.

Kade launched an Incinerate up at the Vivillions– who replied by spreading a Powder over him. The Powder ignited the moment his flames hit it, the attack blowing up right in his face. The Flareon landed on his back, blinking a few times as the bug types flew away, and Mairin scooped him up. He happily nuzzled the one he knew as his mother, before worming his way out of her arms– and bolting across the park once more. Mairin raced after him, and with a chuckle Alain made his way further down the path, making sure that he wasn’t left too far behind.

A small cart was parked on the path up ahead, which wasn’t an uncommon sight to find in the city park. People selling food and souvenirs to those passing by, usually to tourists, but it wasn’t uncommon for a salesman to try to get locals to buy as well. Alain was more than careful to avoid them, knowing the cheap plastic ‘souvenirs’ they sold were nothing but overpriced, and he knew of a dozen other places that sold better food than cheap hotdogs and half melted ice cream.

But this cart didn’t seem to have the usual scams– this one filled to the brim with beautiful bouquets of flowers. He paused as he reached the cart, eyes scanning over the blossoms. While the flowers were pretty, his eyes instantly were drawn to the Pokemon perched on the edge of the cart. Roselia weren’t necessarily a rare Pokemon, but definitely an uncommon sight in the city.

“Can I help you?” a voice asked, and Alain finally raised his gaze to the salesman. The Roselia brightened up as the man spoke, turning and hopping up onto her trainer’s shoulder. “Anything catching your eye, monsieur?”

“No, just looking,” Alain replied. “You have a very nice Pokemon there.”

The Roselia puffed up proudly, and the florist let out a chuckle. “She’s something alright, keeps all the flowers in bloom even after they’ve been cut– she’ll even help some bloom out of season.”

Many grass types did have a natural influence over plants and could help them grow, but he had honestly never thought of them being used in gardening– he always pictured them in a more natural environment. A clever use, though one that he’d never personally need.

“Well she’s done a nice job,” Alain said politely, before turning to leave– but like all salesmen they couldn’t let a potential customer escape.

“Sure I can’t interest you in a bouquet?” the florist asked, waving a hand over his merchandise. The Roselia released an Aromatherapy in response, the scent of the flowers and the move washing over Alain. “There’s no better gift for a lovely lady.”

Alain hesitated, his thoughts instantly going to Mairin. The florist seemed to notice this, a smile spreading over his face.

“Someone in mind, I see? I can promise you that flowers make a perfect gift for a girlfriend.”

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Alain said swiftly. “We’re just... friends. That’s all.”

Maybe he was just easy to read, though more likely the florist was just trying to get to him to buy some flowers. “You don’t want to be ‘just friends’ though, do you? Nothing’s going to change unless you make that first step.”

Alain stared down at a bouquet of roses, before sighing. How would Mairin even react if he handed that to her? It was too over the top, too out of the blue, and... he shook his head– why was he even thinking about this? Yes, he thought about telling Mairin about his feelings quite often, but he wasn’t going to waltz up with a bunch of flowers to do so.

“It’s not that simple,” Alain replied. “We’ve been friends since we’re kids, I’m pretty sure she just sees me as a brother, and saying otherwise would be nothing but awkward.”

“That’s a possibility,” The salesman agreed. “But so is her feeling the same way– and you’ll never know unless you tell her.”

“Is possibly losing everything we have now worth that though?” Alain asked, more to himself than to the florist. “We’re happy with the way things are and if I ruined that... I’d never forgive myself.”

“But what are you losing by staying quiet? You’re hurting now by not saying a thing, aren’t you?”

Alain didn’t reply.

“Rose,” The Roselia trilled, causing Alain to look up slightly.

“Look kid, life's too short as it is– and you’re too young to be wasting it,” The florist said. “There’s always a risk, and there’s always a reward– but wallowing in doubt is just as painful as anything that could go wrong, and when you look back on this you’re going to regret letting time waste away.”

Alain opened his mouth to reply, but a voice calling out cut him off. “Hey! Alain!”

A smile passed over his lips as he heard Mairin’s voice, and he looked over his shoulder as he heard her calling. She was running towards him, Kade curled up on her shoulder as she waved a hand over her head. There was a grin on her face as she charged towards him across the park, which slowly turned to a pant as she stumbled towards him. She linked an arm through Alain’s as she reached him, swinging around to peer at the cart in front of him.

“Whatcha doing?” she asked, Kade climbing from her shoulder and onto Alain’s.

“Just looking at the man’s Roselia,” Alain replied evenly, nodding towards the grass type. Mairin flashed a smile at the Pokemon, who happily waved in return.

“Grass types are the best, aren’t they?” Mairin said, her gaze turning to the florist, while Kade shot a glare at her. “You have some really pretty flowers, sir. Do you grow them here in Lumiose? I can’t imagine where though...”

“I grow everything just outside of Camphrier Town,” The florist said. “Everything from flowers, to produce, to berries. Fresh is always the best after all.”

“I have a Florges, but I left her back at the lab,” Mairin said wistfully. “Bébé would have loved to see these.”

The florist looked at Alain, a small gleam in his eyes. He stared at the man warily, but before he could say anything the florist clasped his hands together, smiling warmly at them. “Well, anyways, as I was saying before your lovely companion arrived– you are our hundredth customer today!”

Alain raised an eyebrow– knowing it was much too early in the day for a hundred people to have stopped by a flower cart, even in the heart of Lumiose. Besides, this was nothing like what they had been talking about, though Alain was grateful that the man hadn’t decided to continue their conversation from before now that Mairin was here.

He waved a hand over his blossoms. “As such you may pick any flower for free, so go ahead and choose, monsieur.”

“I don’t–” Alain began, but quickly fell silent as Mairin’s hands tightened around his arm.

“Ooo!” she said, amber eyes lighting up.

“I, um, don’t know much about flowers,” Alain said uncertainly, shifting.

“Peonies!” Mairin chirped. “You should choose a peony.”

Alain’s eyes flickered over the abundance of flowers– but he had no idea which one was a peony. The only flowers he recognized were the basic ones such as roses and daisies. “Er– a peony, I suppose?”

“Good choice,” The florist said with a smile, selecting a pink flower from the center of the cart. “Here you go, monsieur, your peony.”

Alain supposed it was a pretty flower, light pink in color, with the blossom much bigger than he was expecting. The peony had more petals than he could count, giving the flower an almost feathery look. He stared down at the flower for a moment, knowing exactly what the man wanted him to do with it. And if he had given it to him for free... then clearly his advice hadn’t just been an attempt for him to buy flowers.

“Here you go, Mairin,” Alain said, turning towards her, just barely able to keep a waver out of his voice. His blue eyes locked on her amber ones, not sure of how she’d react, but he didn’t want to turn away. At first he held the flower out to her, the woman staring at it for a moment, before reaching out to take it. “Wait.”

Alain’s fingers tightened around the stem, and he turned so he was facing Mairin. He wasn’t quite sure why he decided to do this, but he reached out to tuck the flower behind her ear instead, her soft red hair brushing against his fingers as he did so. He could instantly see the blush forming on Mairin’s cheeks, but he knew it was more from the contact than anything else. He pulled back after a moment, a smile tugging on his lips as he looked at her.

“...How do I look?” Mairin asked sheepishly after a moment, eyes darting to the ground. Alain studied her, her cheeks starting to clash with her hair, the peony tucked behind an ear.

“Pretty,” Alain replied, a bit quietly, because it honestly took effort not to say beautiful. Because that was exactly what Mairin was– beautiful. Her smile, her eyes, the way she gently interacted with those around her– everything about her was beautiful.

“...Pretty what?” she asked after a moment, hesitance in her eyes– as if she expected him to continue and say something along the lines of ‘pretty silly’. She fiddled with her hair uncertainly, and Alain reached out, pulling her hands away from her face.

“Pretty, Mairin,” He said softly. “You look pretty.”

She stared up at him for a moment, before letting out a hushed: “Thank you.”

Kade mewed contently on Alain’s shoulder, and that’s when they remembered that they weren’t standing there alone. His hand slowly pulled back from Mairin’s wrist, and for some reason as much as he wanted to look at her his eyes seemed to dart away from her gaze. No more words passed between them, Alain muttering a thanks to the florist, who gave him a wink. Kade hopped off of Alain, darting ahead of the two of them as they walked away.

They headed towards the exit of the park without a word, Alain caught up in his own thoughts as they walked. His heart was fluttering slightly, the action of giving her the flower having just been simple– but it was her reaction that was making his heart race. His eyes kept flickering in her direction, Mairin walking right by his side, a lingering blush on her cheeks. She didn’t glance at him, and her gaze seemed to be drawn towards the ground.

Meanwhile Alain’s gaze was drawn towards her hand, which hung at her side– and wasn’t that far from his own.

He didn’t know where this courage had come from, because only minutes ago he would have been panicking at such an idea. But without hesitation he reached out, letting his fingers brush against hers as they walked. Her hand twitched in surprise, Mairin’s head turning towards him, but he was careful to keep his eyes locked ahead.

After a few moments, Alain felt her fingers brushing against his.

He swallowed, his mind instantly telling himself that it was just an accident, but he shoved the thoughts to the side. He simply let his hand brush against hers again, this time letting them linger there as they walked. She didn’t pull away, the backs of their fingers pressing against each other. He didn’t dare look at her, mind racing they walked, their fingers just wanting to slip together.

And the moment Alain gathered his courage to let his hand hold hers, in the same moment he was about to reach out, he heard a small yelp. He turned in time to see Mairin toppling forward, her shoe having become caught on an uneven section in the sidewalk. Instantly he stepped towards her, arms wrapping around her as she began to fall forward. An arm went around her waist, the other grabbing her shoulder to keep her from tripping right on her face.

“Are you okay?” Alain asked, worry lacing his tone as he pulled her up. Mairin stammered out something, and it was in that moment Alain realized how he was holding her. Her body was pressed up against his, an arm wrapped tightly around her waist as he held her. For a moment he blinked, before loosening his arms and stepping back. “Um– sorry–”

“It’s fine,” Mairin said swiftly, shifting. “Th-thank you. For catching me,” She let out an uncertain laugh. “And here I thought I had moved past my clumsy self, heh...”

It was true, she didn’t stumble and trip nearly as much as she had when they were younger, but in a strange way it was almost refreshing to see that side of Mairin again. Her face was flushed once more, the woman trying to compose herself. Amber eyes kept flickering towards Alain, and in that moment he wondered if Mairin could possibly be feeling the same things as him.

His actions had been small, but clear, yet Mairin hadn’t pushed anything away. She seemed a bit uncertain, clearly recognizing that he was acting differently– but she didn’t seem frightened by it either. His fingertips tingled, realizing just how close he had been to holding her hand.

Was it too late to try again?

“Flare!” A voice called– Kade looking up at his ‘parents’ with an impatient look. Alain let out a sigh, and knowing that unless they wanted an Incinerate to the face they needed to keep moving. The Flareon happily pranced ahead of them as they continued on their way home, mewing happily.

Alain’s heart was thumping, his thoughts racing, and for the first time the possibility of telling Mairin how he felt seemed more real than ever.

[11jj11]

Far From Yesterday - Epilogue - Marissonshipping

The final chapter! :D

----------------------

"Why on earth were they driving that fast? They could hit someone!"

"Alain," Mairin said with a sigh. "I'm pretty sure they were going the speed limit."

"They were going faster than us!"

"Well," Mairin said, fighting against a smirk. "You're driving like an old lady."

His eyes flickered towards the rearview mirror, looking at the backseat. "Well... I have a good reason! And they should all be careful!"

She simply laughed, leaning back against the seat as they pulled up to a red light, eyes closed. One hand was pressed against her head, and he looked at her in worry. She must have heard his sharp intake of breath, as an amber eye cracked open, and she gave him a soft smile.

"Are you okay, Mairin?"

"I'm fine, I promise."

"Do you have a headache?"

Mairin let out a sigh. "A small one, but it's a natural headache– these last few days haven't been exactly easy. Besides, I haven't been sensitive to psychic energy since... since the fusion."

"I know," he said, eyes turning back to the road as the light turned green. "I still can't help but worry. I mean, a psychic in our house... that will take some getting used to, after avoiding them for so long. And... and what about her? We have three dark type Pokemon! What if being around them hurts her? What if–"

"Maybe I should be the one driving if you're going to be this tense."

"No way," Alain snapped. "Not with these crazy drivers on the road. Besides, we're almost home anyways, just a few more blocks."

Mairin looked out the window, looking out at the rows of neighborhoods they were driving past. As much as the lab had been home for her, being out of the heart of Lumiose City definitely had been the best choice for them. A fresh start had been exactly what they needed, especially once she had gotten her memories back– just because so much had changed. The dynamics in their relationship was no longer what it had been before– not the same as before or after she had been inflicted with her amnesia.

The changes, however, Mairin felt were for the better. A home for themselves, without anyone else there, hadn't been something Mairin realized she had needed until now. Most of their Pokemon could now be comfortably released in the house, and those who were too large had plenty of room out in the garden– and that garden had sparked a passion in Mairin she didn't realize she had. She loved being out in the yard working, no matter how much Alain had protested with her being pregnant. He insisted on being right by her side the entire time, and their Pokemon were happy to join them.

Another advantage that a real house had was the neighbors. It was startling how they had been welcomed with open arms when they had moved, housewarming gifts having been left on the porch, people who swiftly became friends coming over to visit– everything adding up to feel like home.

What had made the biggest change in their life though was them finally seeking out counseling for what they had gone through– both now and many years before. They had depended on each other for so long, supporting the other, but never had they been able to truly talk through what had happened. Together they were able to learn how to let go– and how to move forward together.

Perhaps things could never be perfect, but they could be happy.

"It's good to be home," Mairin said with a smile as they pulled into the driveway. Their house was small, but it was big enough for their family. Alain didn't reply, hurrying out of the car as quickly as he could and going around to the passenger side door, opening it so he could help her out. She didn't complain, her whole body was sore, and the help was more than welcome. He pulled her against his chest for a moment, holding her in his embrace.

Then Alain stepped away, opening the door to the backseat, pulling out a carseat. His movements were slow as he carefully carried it over to the grass, setting the carseat down. Mairin was by his side the entire time, looking down fondly at the small figure nestled inside, covered with a light pink blanket– a gift from Ash and Serena.

"We're home, Varya," Alain said softly, kneeling down next to the baby, Mairin leaning up against him, looking down at their daughter.

Varya was only two days old, and despite having been born early the doctors had declared her to be in perfect health. She was a tiny baby, with Mairin's bright red hair, her eyes pressed shut as she slept in her carseat. A part of Mairin wanted to get her baby inside as quickly as possible, finally free after having spent several days in the hospital, but as she looked up, seeing three figures charging towards them, she knew they were right with waiting.

"Veevee!" the smallest of the three chirped, the small brown mass of fluff rushing at them. Alain tensed, but another Pokemon was quick to snap the Eevee up into his jaws. The normal type struggled in the Manetric's grasp for a moment, before settling down as Lucas held him by the scruff.

Bringing up the trio was a Charizard, neck craned up proudly as he approached the humans. Alex let out a rumble in greeting, his shadow falling across all of them. Alain smiled warmly at their Pokemon, before carefully unbuckling Varya from her carseat.

"I hope you all were behaved while we were gone?" Mairin asked, crossing her arms, and the Pokemon let out cries in confirmation. This was far from their full teams, but she knew the rest were either in the house or in the backyard– they didn't want to crowd the newest member of their family. The Eevee was dropped from his adoptive father's mouth as Lucas let out a bark, and he hurried to Mairin's ankle. "It's good to see you too, Kade."

Alex leaned forward, grabbing Kade by the scruff, placing him on his shoulder to give Mairin some breathing room. He then bumped his head against her, rumbling happily as she stroked him. This moment was short lived, however, everyone turning to face Alain as he stood up with Varya.

"Alex," he said, angling the baby towards the Charizard. "Meet your little sister, Varya."

Alex moved his head in close, letting out a low rumble, but the baby gave no response. It wasn't until a puff of hot breath washed over her that she moved, face scrunching up, shifting in her father's arms. Her eyes slowly flickered open, and Alex couldn't help but pull back in surprise as a pair of bright green eyes met his gaze. He let out another rumble, a look of confusion on his face as he looked up at the humans. He had been under the impression that humans were born with lighter eyes, that shifted to their true eye color during their first year.

"She's a special little one," Mairin said with a smile, taking the baby from Alain, kneeling down so Lucas could get a look at her too. The Manectric placed his front paws on her knees, peering down at the baby. He let out an excited yip, and Varya didn't even flinch– just letting out a small yawn.

Alex craned his head down towards her, studying the baby closely. Kade scurried up his neck, peering down from between his horns at the baby, shaking with excitement. His gleaming brown eyes showed that he clearly expected a new playmate– meaning that Lucas and Alex would have to keep a close eye on him. Alex pressed the tip of his snout to Varya's forehead, before giving her a small lick, pulling back. Varya squirmed slightly, but didn't cry.

"It seems that Visitor did more than save Varya's life when they fused," Alain told the Pokemon in the soft voice, causing both of them to look up at him. "She had a psychic outburst just a few hours after she was born, and the doctors say her powers are going to only grow."

The doctors had seemed surprised that a baby with psychic powers had been born to parents that had none– and they had inquired if either of their parents had powers. Alain had been grateful in that moment that he had been adopted, able to shift the origins of her powers onto his birth parents that he had never met, not feeling comfortable with explaining where her psychic energy had truly come from.

Because both he and Mairin knew that Varya was not alone.

The fusion had saved Varya's life, and it had saved Visitor's as well. Two lives now living as one. No matter how human their little one looked, they knew that fact was not completely true– but that also did not matter. She was their daughter.

And they loved her.

"Varya Aida Vide," Mairin told the Pokemon, Lucas careful to keep his electricity at bay as he sniffed the baby. A middle name had not been something they considered for their daughter for some time, but when Mairin had brought up the suggestion he knew that she had been thinking it over for a long time. They had both agreed that Aida was a fitting name– a name that meant visiting.

"Eevee veevee!" Kade chirred in excitement, leaping down from Alex's head in an attempt to land into Mairin's arms. Alain moved quickly, grabbing the Eevee before he could pounce on the baby.

"Why don't you go play with Poppy?" Alain asked, looking down at the energetic Pokemon in his arms. The Eevee seemed to consider this for a moment, before twisting and leaping down into the grass– bolting for the backyard.

Lucas and Alex watched him go, before turning their attention back towards Alain and Mairin as they rose to their feet. Mairin held Varya close as they headed for the front door, Alex dashing ahead to open the door for her. The Charizard stood far taller than the doorway, claws taking a moment to get a proper grip on the handle without denting it.

Mairin let out a soft sigh as they stepped inside, looking about at their home. Alain placed his hands on her shoulders. She looked back at him, and he placed a kiss on her lips.

"She's home, Alain," she whispered softly as they pulled apart. "Our little girl is finally home."

[11jj11]

To be a Dad - Marissonshipping One-shot

Here's a (late) one-shot for Father's Day.

---------------------------

"Okay Mairin, what is it you want?" Alain asked, crossing his arms as he wife set an only-sort-of burnt dinner in front of him. He raised an eyebrow, blue eyes looking up at Mairin.

"What?" She asked in a tone that was just a bit too innocent. "Can't I make dinner for wonderful husband for a change?"

"Of course you can," Alain said, looking down at the plate that held his favorite meal, fingers tracing the mug of coffee she had given him several minutes before. "My favorite dinner is always a nice surprise– and judging by the burnt mess in the trash can you've spent several attempts in making this."

Mairin flushed.

"Nothing wrong with that... but then you also gave me a back rub as soon as I got home, brewed me my coffee just how I liked it, picked up the books I had on hold at the library, and for once stopped Kade from getting his muddy paws all over my work clothes..." Alain sighed, giving her a small smile. "Well, I can't help but think that maybe you want something."

"Heh..." Mairin said, scratching at her neck. "Well, maybe there's one little favor I need..."

Alain chuckled, taking a bite of his dinner, which was a little bit more charred than when he made it– but still fairly good. "You can always just ask, you know? You didn't need to go all out today. What do you need?"

"Will you watch Faith tomorrow afternoon?"

Alain paused as she said this, glancing back at Mairin, who had a pleading look on her face. He blinked, hesitating for a moment, before setting his fork down. A silence hovered in the air for several moments, before Alain spoke.

"Mairin, you know I have work then–"

"You can take the day off– I know the professor would let you," Mairin said, sitting down in the chair next to Alain. "But the girls are going out, and they invited me to go with them. It's been ages since I've just been able to have a night to hang out."

"Then take Faith with you, Serena and Bonnie love her–" Alain began, but Mairin cut him off.

"They're planning on watching a movie that's not appropriate for a two year old," She crossed her arms. "Besides, as much as I love Faith, sometimes I need a break too. I'm with her everyday, is it too much to ask to have one afternoon to myself?"

He hesitated. "I'm not saying that you can't– but can't we just hire a babysitter? You know I have so much going on at the lab right now, and even one day will put me behind–" He paused as Mairin turned away, a bitter look on her face. "...Mairin?"

"...The reason why I'm asking you to do this isn't just so I can get a break," Mairin muttered. "I think you need to spend more time with Faith."

"I see her everyday," Alain replied, before pausing. "Well, um, I haven't seen her today– but I assume you sent her to a friend's house or something while you did all this."

"See?" Mairin said, turning to face him. "You barely even noticed that she wasn't in the house! You didn't even ask where she was! Bonnie's watching her– and she runs a whole daycare but still has time to spend with Faith! Our daughter looks forward to you getting home from work every night, but you just barely give her a hello half of the time. Your normal shifts are bad enough, since she's usually in bed an hour after you get home!"

"Mairin–"

"But now you've been taking so many more hours at work that the only times you'll see her are way early in the morning, when she's half asleep and you're hurrying out the door," Mairin said, the words just rushing from her, as if she had been wanting to say this for some time now. "She's going to be three years old in a month, but yet you never see her! And when I say see her, I mean real quality time together! When's the last time you've played a game with her? Tucked her into bed? Sat down at dinner with the rest of us instead of eating alone because you get home so late!"

Alain stared down at his plate, while Mairin was panting from her rant.

"...I..." She looked away. "I'm not saying that you're a bad parent– I know you'd do anything for her, and you're supporting this family..." Glossy amber eyes looked at Alain. "But she misses you so much."

"It's not that I don't want to be with Faith, or you for that matter," Alain said, reaching out and grabbing Mairin's hand with both of his. "But these hours I'm putting in at work are all going towards me becoming an independent researcher. Once I get all the hours I need, I'll have more control over my schedule. I'll be earning more money, I'll be my own boss. I won't be stuck in the lab, I can spend more time with you and Faith, I just need to get through this and–"

"Won't be stuck in the lab because you'll be traveling about for your research instead," Mairin whispered, looking up at him. "Am I wrong? That means you'll probably be at home even less. And while you spend your focus getting in the hours you need, Faith will be growing up," She grasped his wrist. "One day, Alain, just one day for your little girl? How far would that put you behind with work?"

"...One day would probably be fine..." Alain said slowly after a moment, and Mairin's eyes softened. "But I'd need more than one day to arrange–"

"I already spoke with Sycamore," Mairin said. "I didn't want to pester you about work since it already runs you to the bone, so I called him to ask just how flexible your hours were," She hesitated. "So will you spend tomorrow with Faith?"

Alain smiled. "Of course."

Mairin leaned forward a bit. "...If you can take one day off, do you think you could take another as well?" She tilted her head slightly. "A day just for you and me...?"

A faint pink tinge appeared on Alain's cheeks. "Next month would be better..." He began, and Mairin leaned towards him a bit. He swallowed. "But you're right, I do need to spend more time with you two... so yes. I'll take tomorrow and... another time off."

Mairin grinned, leaning forward and giving him a peck on the nose, making him blink. "Wonderful!" Mairin said. "Why don't you call up the professor and let him know you won't be coming in tomorrow?"

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "Alright, but I will be turning in early tonight– I'm exhausted."

"Of course– don't worry about cleaning up, just enjoy your dinner," Mairin said.

Alain nodded, lifting another bite to his mouth.

-----------------------------------------------------

"And have her in bed no later than eight if you want to stay up with her," Mairin said as she stood by the door, all dressed up for her night out with her friends. "But I'd prefer it if she was in bed around seven."

"Got it," Alain said, glancing at the list in his hand. He was honestly a bit annoyed that Mairin had made one– even if he had been busy lately he still knew how to take care of his child. "You should probably get going, you don't want to be late."

"It only takes like ten minutes to get Bonnie's place," Mairin said with a wave of her hand. "Now, Faith won't take a bath without both of her rubber Duckletts and the Swanna, and you'll have to find them since she likes to play with them throughout the day–"

"Wait, ten minutes?" Alain said, paling slightly. "Mairin– how fast have you been driving?! It's nearly a twenty minute drive!"

"Only because you drive so slow," Mairin replied. "Make sure you use the 'no-tear' shampoo and–"

"I drive the speed limit!"

"Alain, are you even listening to me?" Mairin asked, putting a hand on her hip. "No-tear shampoo in case you get it into her eyes."

"...Maybe you can just ride Kaj there?" Alain asked meekly.

"First of all, he doesn't do well with long flights," Mairin said. "Second of all, I'm not riding on a Pokemon in a dress. And finally– have you even been listening to a word I've been saying?"

"Use the special shampoo for Faith's bath, I've got that," Alain said. "What I'm concerned about is how fast you're apparently driving!"

Mairin smiled. "You worry too much– I'll be fine," She shouldered her purse, taking a step towards Alain and pulling him for a hug. "But I don't want to be late– I'll see you tonight!"

Alain returned her embrace, leaning down and pressed a small kiss onto her lips. "Drive carefully, please," He said as he pulled back. "I love you."

"I love you too," She said, stepping towards the door, before pausing. "Goodbye Faith– Mommy's leaving now!"

"Bye-bye!" A voice cried from down the hall. "Bring me back a present!"

Mairin chuckled. "I blame Serena– she spoils her with too many gifts," She gave one more smile towards Alain as she opened the door. "Bye, honey."

"Goodbye," Alain said, lingering by the door for a moment as it shut behind her. He glanced down at the list one more time, before stuffing it in his pocket, and he went in search of Faith.

He found the young girl in the family room, having already set up a large assortment of toys in the few minutes she had been in there. Blocks and stuffed animals were scattered across the floor, and in the center of it all was Faith, happily working on building a tower of blocks next to a sleeping Flareon. Alain swallowed, heading straight for the tower– having that fall onto a sleeping fire type was not the best idea.

"Um, how about we move your tower somewhere else, sweetie," Alain said uncertainty.

"Daddy!" Faith cried happily, a pair of amber eyes turning up towards him as he knelt down next to her. A pair of small arms wrapped around him, a grin on his daughter's face. "Mommy says we get to play for the rest of the day– it's going to be so much fun!"

"Definitely," Alain agreed, a bit swiftly. "But we should move your tower, we don't want it to fall onto Kade."

"Kadey's fine," Faith said, standing up and placing another building block onto the tower. "And it's not a tower, Daddy– it be Char-zar– see? It's her long, long neck!"

"...I see," Alain said slowly. "Well, um, how about we move 'Charizard' somewhere else since Kade's asleep?"

The two year old shook her head, grabbing another block, reaching up to place it on the top on her tower. Alain tensed as it wobbled, but Faith seemed unconcerned as she reached for another block. He wasn't quite sure how high she intended to build, but he couldn't just let her just keep building here.

"Faith, that's enough," Alain said firmly, and the two year old glanced at him. "We need to move the blocks elsewhere."

"No!" She cried, going up on her tiptoes to place another building block. The unbalanced tower of blocks wobbled, and Alain quickly slid between the crumbling tower and the sleeping Flareon. He gritted his teeth as they fell onto his lap, but the only harm the falling blocks brought was a loud noise.

But Kade slept on.

"Again!" Faith cried happily, kneeling down to gather the scattered wooden blocks, but Alain gently grabbed her wrists.

"Faith, I already said we can't play with the blocks here," Alain said, and an unhappy frown crossed her face. "Let's take the blocks somewhere else, okay?"

"But I wanna play here!"

"The blocks almost fell on Kade. Would you like it if they fell on you?" Alain asked, raising an eyebrow. A pair of amber eyes glanced at Kade as he snored, then slipped towards the ground.

"No..." She said quietly, shifting.

"So why don't we move the blocks somewhere else then?"

"Okay..." Faith muttered, but then her eyes lit up. "This time we build Chespie! You help, okay? Make it really-extra-super tall!"

Alain smiled, gathering several of the blocks in his arms. "Alright, really-extra-super tall it is."

-----------------------------------------------------

"And then the mama Swanna went 'quack quack quack!'" Faith sang happily, holding her rubber Swanna toy high. "Two little Duck-its came waddling back!"

Alain squeaked the two rubber Ducklett toys he was holding, and moved them towards Faith. This caused her to giggle– then dart to the other side of the room. She held up her Swanna once more, and began the next verse of the song.

"Two little Duck-its went out to play!" She called, watching Alain to make sure he had the Duckletts 'playing' as the song said. "Over the hills and far away! When the the mama Swanna went 'quack quack quack!' Only one Duck-it came waddling back!"

Alain pushed himself to his feet, letting the blue Ducklett toy fall to the ground, and he lead the pink and purple one over to where Faith was standing. She beamed happily, while Alain gave her a tired smile. It had just been over an hour– but they had played at least a dozen games, if not more.

Nothing seemed to hold Faith's attention for long, as soon as a new idea popped into her head or she saw a different toy she would jump onto a new activity, leaving the last one behind without a blink. They had gone from the living room, to playing tag in the halls, and they were currently in her bedroom.

"Okay sweetie," Alain said softly. "It's time for a little break. We need to clean up this mess we've made."

The bedroom looked like a Hurricane attack had hit it– toys scattered about– and not to mention what was out downstairs as well.

"No!" Faith said, running and jumping onto her bed. "Let's play!"

How did she have this much energy?

"We can play after we clean up," Alain replied. "We can't leave out this mess," He leaned down, picking up some puzzle pieces that had been scattered about. "I don't think your mother would like to see this mess when she gets home."

Faith had a glint in her eyes. "Mommy told me that we don't have to clean up!"

"Uh-huh," Alain said. "How unfortunate that she didn't mention that to me," He deposited the puzzle into its box, and then turned towards Faith. "Come now, help me clean this up."

"No!" She exclaimed, continuing to jump on her bed. "Playtime!"

He let out a long sigh, and headed towards her bed. She let out a squeal– jumping off and bolting for the door. Alain caught her midrun with ease, swinging her up into the air, the young girl laughing as her father plopped her down onto the bed. He couldn't help but smile at her laugh, and his fingers swiftly found her sides– her laughing only becoming louder.

"Stop it, Daddy!" She giggled, squirming. "That tickles!"

"What's the magic word?" Alain asked, grinning.

"Da-daddy!" She laughed.

"I don't think that's the magic word," Alain said thoughtfully, his fingers coming to a stop, face twisted in an exaggerated look of thought. Faith used the moment to 'break free' from Alain, tackling him. Alain fell back onto the bed with a dramatic grunt, even though Faith was nowhere near strong enough to do so, but the small giggle she gave was worth it. She sat on his chest, smiling down on him triumphantly.

"I win!" She declared.

"Yes you do," Alain said, wrapping his arms around her as he sat up, pushing himself to his feet. "You win the amazing prize of... helping Daddy clean up your toys!"

A pouting look came onto her face. "I don't wanna clean up!"

"Neither do I," Alain said. "But we need to."

Pleading amber eyes looked up at him. "Do it later?"

"No, we need to do it now," Alain said, and she stuck out her lower lip.

"Please?" She asked, leaning against him, giving her father the biggest begging eyes she could manage. Alain stared down at her, knowing that he needed to stay firm no matter how adorable she looked right now. "Clean up later– after we play outside?"

Alain hesitated, and Faith took the opportunity to give him another long 'please', and Alain's willpower crumbled. "...Do you promise to clean up as soon as we're done playing outside?"

"Yes!"

"Okay," Alain said, setting her on the ground. "But as soon as we're done we're going to clean up no matter what."

"Okay!" She chirped– racing for the door.

He followed behind her, even though the young girl was already bolting for the backdoor. Alain felt exhausted, a different exhaustion than coming home from work, but still exhausted. Playing with her for a few minutes was one thing, but it was startling to find out just how much energy she had, and he was finding it hard to believe she had already had a nap today.

How did Mairin keep up with her everyday?

"Daddy?" Faith asked, pausing by the backdoor. "What are Char-zar and Tyranitar doing?"

Alain's eyes widened for a second– remembering just how close the two Pokemon had become in the last few months– and he raced for the door, pulling Faith away as quickly as he could. She let out a yelp of surprise, confusion in her eyes as she once again found herself in her father's arms. She poked his cheek, giggling at his pale face.

Alain risked a glance out the window– but only saw Tyranitar at the base of a tree, glaring angrily upwards.

"Why'd you do that?" Faith asked, tilting her head. "Char-zar's just being silly– she's up in the tree."

"...Oh," Alain said, stepping towards the door once more. There was a look of relief in his eyes as he spotted an orange shape up in the boughs of the tree, a metallic band in her claws. He opened the door. "Charizard– give Tyranitar's mega stone back to him!"

Tyranitar let out a roar of agreement, while Charizard let out a laugh, holding the band with the Tyranitarite out tauntingly. This only made the rock type more frustrated, stomping his feet angrily, and Charizard laughed harder. Alain sighed– wondering when babysitting his Pokemon had been added to his duties of watching Faith, and he headed outside.

"Tar!" Tyranitar screamed, clenching a fist as he prepared a Stone Edge.

"Yeah– no," Alain said, snapping his fingers with his free hand, and the Pokemon paused from forming its attack. "No launching moves in the backyard. Charizard, you get down here right now and return his mega stone or else you're both going back into your Pokeballs."

Charizard let out a rumble, but she spread open her wings and glided down to the ground– dropping the mega stone right on Tyranitar's head. The rock type let out a panicked screech, seizing the band and looking over the mega stone in a fright. He let out a sigh once he found it wasn't scratched, and slipped it back onto his arm, hissing at Charizard.

"That's no way to treat your mate," Alain said– and his two Pokemon stiffened up. Charizard's scales flushed to a red, and she let out a tangle of sounds, waving her arms and wings about, as if trying to deny the statement. Faith let out a giggle at the sight, shifting in Alain's arms.

Tyranitar hadn't said anything– simply staring in the other direction as if Alain hadn't said anything of the sort. The rock type looked at Charizard for a moment, before once again looking away before anyone would notice he was looking. Charizard was still letting out flustered snarls and calls at Alain, waving her claws at him as if refusing to accept what he said.

"You guys aren't exactly subtle, you know," Alain said, raising an eyebrow. "Getting upset if I try to put one of you in a Pokeball. Sleeping right next to each other every night– and then of course these childish fights. If you guys honestly don't think you're an item then you're both blind."

Charizard glowered at Alain.

He smiled sweetly at her, knowing that he wasn't at risk for a Flamethrower as long as Faith was in his arms. He turned towards his daughter. "Okay, now that's settled, what do you want to do?"

"Fly on Char-zar!" Faith cried excitedly.

"Well, um," He hesitated, looking at the lizard uncertainly. "That probably isn't the safest idea..."

"Kadey rides on her!" Faith protested.

"Well, as long as I'm with you I guess a short flight will be okay..." Charizard went onto all fours as he spoke, folding in her wings so she could be mounted. Faith let out a happy squeal, and he uncertainly approached his starter, sliding onto her back. "Take it slow Charizard– don't go too high, and–"

The lizard snorted, cutting him off as she flared open her wings. This wasn't the first time she had worked with young humans, and she wasn't about to be told what she already knew. Alain gulped, making sure Faith was secure in his arms as Charizard lowered herself to the ground, preparing to take off.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Faith, you promised me," Alain said, crossing his arms.

"But I'm hungry! I can't clean up when I'm hungry!"

"...Will you help me pick up your toys after dinner then?" Alain asked.

Faith nodded. "Uh-huh!"

He let out a long sigh. "Alright then, we can have dinner first. But right after that we need to clean up all of the toys."

Faith flashed him a grin.

-----------------------------------------------------

It wasn't until dinner and two games later that he was finally able to get Faith to help him clean up the mess of toys that she made. She had protested despite her promises, eyes watering as she pouted– but he had given into her too many times today.

"Hmph!" She huffed as she stalked past him, a single toy in her arms as she dragged it to a toy box.

"Oh don't give me that," Alain said, multiple toys in his arms. "I'm the one doing most of the work."

"But I wanna play some more," She whimpered, slowly dropping her toy into a basket. Alain was wondering at what point they had collected so many toys for her, and how she had gotten them all out within a day. She wasn't even three yet, she didn't need this many toys.

"Well, there won't be anymore playing tonight," Alain said. "After this it's bath time and then off to bed."

Alain realized that he probably shouldn't have said this at all, because he just had enough time to deposit the toys into the box when he saw a blur of black– Faith bolting from the bedroom as fast as her little legs could carry her. He blinked once, before letting out a loud sigh. He hurried after her, the young girl already dashing down the stairs.

Alain caught up with her fairly easily, scooping her up into his arms. "Nice try, missy, you're getting a bath no matter what."

He decided it wasn't worth the effort to have them finish cleaning up the bedroom, it was nearly Faith's bedtime anyways, and it would probably take another ten minutes to make a dent in the mess, he'd just clean it up himself once she was asleep. Faith was currently pouting in his arms as she was carried back upstairs and to the bathroom.

Much to Alain's relief he found that Mairin had laid out everything needed– towel, clean clothes, and the shampoo she had been so insistent on.

"I need my Duck-its!" Faith suddenly shrieked as Alain put her down, and he looked at her in surprise and confusion.

"What?"

"My Duck-its and mama Swanna!" She cried. "They hafta take a bath with me!"

Alain remembered the two rubber Ducklett toys and the Swanna toy they had been playing with earlier... which were currently buried in the bin of toys in the bedroom. Alain let out a long sigh, and began to run the water.

"How about they take a bath with you next time, okay?" He said.

This was apparently the wrong answer.

"No! No! They hafta take a bath with me, they hafta!" Faith cried, and Alain just stared at her with exasperation. It was strange to see the normally cheery Faith look like she was on the verge of a tantrum, especially over some bath toys. He let out a long sigh, knowing that there wasn't going to be an easy way out of this.

"...I'll go look for them," Alain said at last, and instantly Faith's distressed expression vanished, the young girl beaming up at him.

And honestly, that smile was what Alain lived for.

-----------------------------------------------------

Despite Faith being the one in the tub, Alain was positive that more water had ended up on him. And also despite her efforts to avoid getting into the tub, she had refused to get out once they had actually finished. She had been in tears as Alain drained the water, and if it wasn't already eight o'clock he probably would have let her play for a while.

Getting her ready from there had been just as much of a struggle, her going basically limp as he tried to get her into her pajamas, refusing to open her mouth so he could brush her teeth. It was a side of Faith he had honestly never really seen before, even on the weekends it was usually Mairin that got her ready for bed, and if she always put up this much of a fight Alain wasn't sure how Mairin did it every day.

"Another story!" Faith cried, jumping eagerly on her bed as Alain set aside their third story book.

"No sweetie, it's time to go to sleep," Alain replied.

"No! I wanna another story!" She was surrounded by stuffed Pokemon– having spent at least five minutes picking out the plushie she wanted to sleep with, and had apparently decided on all of them. Alain sat on the edge of the bed, giving his daughter an exasperated look as she crawled out from her covers once more, about to dart over to her bookshelf.

"Faith, I said no," Alain replied, carefully grabbing her before she could bolt, tucking her back under the covers. "We got read several stories already, and it's already past your bedtime. You got to stay up late tonight– isn't that cool?"

Apparently it wasn't cool, her lower lip curling. "I wanna another story."

"How about a song?" Alain offered instead. He honestly didn't like singing, but he was more than willing to for his daughter.

She pressed her lips together, considering this. "...Okay. Only if you do the actions as well."

"Only one song though," He said. "And then it's time for bed– promise?"

"I promise!" She chirped, but Alain only raised an eyebrow, having seen how well she had kept her other promises today. "Start by singing baby Sharpedo!"

"There's no such thing as a baby Sharpedo, because that'd be a Carvanha..."

"Huh?"

Alain just gave her a smile, and started singing.

-----------------------------------------------------

Mairin came home while Alain was singing his fifth song.

"It looks like you two are having fun," Mairin said in the doorway of Faith's bedroom, raising an eyebrow at a very tired looking Alain. "But isn't it a little past your bedtime, Faith?"

"Daddy said I could stay up!" Faith said happily.

"No I didn't!" Alain cried, and Faith once again began to crawl out from under her covers. "She won't go to sleep," He quickly grabbed her, once again tucking her in, and she let out a giggle. "I've tried everything but she won't listen to me!"

"Faith, have you been good for Daddy?" Mairin asked, and she let out a small giggle. "Because when he says it's time for bed that means it's time for bed."

"But I wanna another song!" Faith declared.

"I've got this," Mairin said to Alain, who gave her a grateful smile. He pushed himself to his feet, Mairin taking his place on the edge of the bed. He ducked out of the room, waiting in the hallway.

He couldn't quite make out what the two girls were saying as they whispered quietly to one another– but in just a few minutes Mairin was slipping out of the bedroom, flicking the lights off behind her. He could hear Faith cooing out a 'goodnight' as she shut the door, the little girl staying in bed, a small smile on Mairin's face.

"How?" He asked in disbelief. "What did you do?"

"I told her it was time for bed," Mairin replied, heading towards their room.

"But I told her that as well and she wouldn't settle down!" Alain protested, careful to keep his voice quiet. "Story after story, song after song– she'd just climb right back out of bed if I tried to leave!"

"You just got to be firm with her, Alain," Mairin replied, holding back a laugh. "It's like with Pokemon, you give an inch they take a mile. What else did you let her get away with tonight, if she was able to stay up until nine?"

"I didn't let her get away with anything," Alain said defensively. "I know how to take care of our child... though she didn't really want to clean up her toys," He hesitated. "Actually, we never finished doing that..."

Mairin was smirking. "You gave her an inch."

Alain didn't reply as they made their way to their room.

It wasn't that late, but it seemed both of them were tired from their day. They both started getting ready for bed without much thought, Mairin talking about her girl's night out. Apparently the movie was good (though not as good as How to Train Your Latios, she insisted) and that they would have to watch it together sometime. Alain nodded and listened, but found his thoughts continually drifting back to Faith.

It hadn't been an easy afternoon, but it had been the first time in a long time he had spent real quality time with his daughter. It was startling to think that only a couple of years ago she had been a tiny baby, and before that... she hadn't been apart of their life at all. It was a hard thought to comprehend, trying to picture Faith not being there, even though he had spent most of his life without her.

And with a twisting feeling in his gut, he realized he was still doing that.

He didn't want to admit it, but there was times when Faith had almost seemed like a stranger tonight, seeing sides of her he had never really seen. Not that he didn't know his own child... but how there was so much he was learning by just spending that immediate time with her. Time he usually spent away at the lab or up in his office...

What he was doing wasn't bad. He was furthering his education, expanding his research and job opportunities, he was bringing in money to support the family he loved. But lately he had been pushing himself, trying to go farther, and that was taking time away from his family. He was working hard, doing something he loved, but...

But was it something he loved more than his family?

Time wasn't unlimited, it was slipping away through his fingertips. Not that long ago Faith had been tottering with each step and stumbling over her words, but she was growing so swiftly, and that would only continue. If he continued pressing towards the goals he had set, more of that time would slip away.

Becoming an independent researcher... it was a goal he wanted to reach, but that didn't mean he was enjoying the road there. And if reaching that goal meant being taken away from his family life... he didn't know if it would be something he'd love once he reached that goal. It would mean perhaps working from home, but still locked away in his office or out traveling to gather data.

It would mean not only being away from his home here, but from Sycamore's lab as well. Away from the first place he had truly felt safe, the place he had first felt like he had a family. Was that something he wanted to give up?

"Alain, are you okay?" Mairin asked quietly as they climbed into bed, and Alain realized his eyes were watering. He swiftly blinked them away, turning.

"Where's my phone?" He asked quietly.

"On the dresser, why?" Mairin asked, and he pushed himself to his feet.

"I need to talk to the professor," He said, hands clamping around the cell phone. "I... I want to go back to my regular shifts."

"But what about those hours you need?" Mairin asked, blinking in confusion.

"...I don't want them," Alain said, thumb hovering over the call button. "They're... they're not worth it. Not when they're taking me from you. From Faith."

"Wait a second!" Mairin cried, and he glanced at her as he headed back towards the bed. "Is this because of what I said to you yesterday? Alain, I was just a little frustrated, I wasn't saying to give up what you've been working towards–!"

"But I don't want to give up you for that!"

She reached out, grabbing his arms and forcing him to sit. "Alain. Yes, these last few weeks have been stressful, but it's only temporary. I don't want you to give up something you love because of what I said."

Alain hesitated. "It wasn't because of what you said. It was because of tonight," Swallowing, he slowly set the phone on the lamp table. "Mairin... she's growing up, and I haven't been there for half of it. My little baby is growing up and I... I don't want to miss anymore."

Mairin didn't reply.

"I have a good job, one that supports us, one that I love... why on earth do I need a new one? One that will take me away from the lab and from you and from our daughter?" His mouth went dry. "...I don't want it. I don't want that, I don't want it, I don't want something like that, I don't–"

He went quiet and he felt Mairin's arms wrapping around him. "I'll support you with whatever you choose, Alain."

He turned, pulling her against his chest. "I choose you," He whispered. "I choose this family, I don't want to grow any farther away," His lips brushed against her forehead. "I'm calling the professor first thing tomorrow..."

"I'm sure Faith will be thrilled to have you around more," Mairin said with a smile.

"...She has so much energy," Alain said after a moment. "How do you keep up with her all day?"

Mairin laughed. "I don't. Chespie and Bébé know how to keep her entertained when needed. Or we go to the park and she finds some playmates to keep her occupied for a bit," Mairin smirked, poking his chest. "Maybe she needs a little sibling to keep her occupied."

Alain knew that Mairin was just teasing, a playful gleam in her eyes as she pushed up against him, but he couldn't help but go still as she said this. He just stared at her for a few moments, thoughts turning, his wife still wrapped in his arms.

"...Why not?" Alain asked, and Mairin blinked at him.

"...Huh?" She replied– clearly having not expected this response.

"I mean, do we want Faith to be an only child?" He said slowly, surprising himself as he said this– but yet he felt no doubt at the idea. "I wouldn't mind a son... you girls are starting to out number me."

Mairin blinked again, before letting out a laugh. "Going from too scared to be a dad to the one wanting another kid?" She asked, raising an eyebrow– but she was smiling. They sat in silence for a few moments, taking in the idea. It was all so sudden, but yet for Alain it felt so right. "Another baby... heh, that would definitely be a change. But if you're going to be home more often... and I'm sure that Faith would be excited."

Alain rolled over so Mairin was below him, pulling her into a kiss, before quietly whispering into her ear. "Well, you did say you wanted a day of just you and me, so it seems this all works out then, doesn't it?"

"Yeah! I wanna a little sister!"

Both Mairin and Alain froze up as they heard the small excited voice, turning just in time to see a small shape pushing the door fully open. Faith had a huge grin on her face, an Eevee doll in one hand as she looked at her parents happily.

"Faith you're supposed to be in bed!" Mairin cried, her face suddenly turning red, Alain still right above her.

"I'm thirsty," She replied, and she looked between them excitedly. "But you guys were talking about babies? Are you gonna to get me a little sister? How do you get a baby–?"

"Let's go get you that drink– okay sweetie?" Alain suddenly declared very loudly, rolling out of bed and scooping up Faith before she could continue.

"Alain, do you want me to?" Mairin asked, still looking slightly flushed from Faith's sudden entrance, even if nothing had actually happened. "That way I can put her back to bed afterwards?"

"I've got it," Alain replied, looking at Faith sternly. "We're going straight back to bed after we get you some water, okay?"

"I want milk!"

"You already brushed your teeth, we're going to get you some water," Alain replied, nodding at Mairin to show that he could handle this. Maybe Faith had been able to pull some strings earlier, but he was more than capable of putting their daughter to bed.

He carried her out of the room, Faith pressing up against him as they headed down to the kitchen. She was chattering away about nothing in particular as Alain searched for sippy cup, that way she could take it up to her room in case she needed another drink later. She was moving her Eevee toy about, the stuffed Pokemon currently 'climbing' up Alain's head.

"Veevee made it to the top of the mountain!" Faith declared, a blur of brown covering Alain's eyes as he tried to fill up the cup.

"Good for him," Alain said as the toy was pulled away from his face. "Is Veevee the best climber?"

"Almost," Faith said, face twisting in thought. "Veevee is a super-good climber, but Gogo is the super-good-best climber. At least Mom says Gogos are good climbers."

"Gogoats are very good climbers, they can jump pretty high as well," Alain said, needing to set Faith down so he could fit the lid onto the cup, and he handed it to her. "Here you go, one drink for little Ms. Faith."

"Princess Faith," Faith corrected, sucking on the sippy cup as Alain scooped her back up into his arms. She began chattering way about how she was going to play princesses tomorrow and how all of her toys would be princesses too. She seemed to get more excited with each word, practically bouncing in his arms by the time they had once against reached her room. "And then the Duck-its will be the evil bad Pokemon that take Princess Veevee and then–"

"It sounds like it's going to be a very fun game," Alain said, tucking her back under the covers. "But it's time for bed now, okay?"

"...I wanna story," Faith said after a moment, looking up at Alain.

"Nuh-uh– you already had plenty of stories tonight, it's bedtime."

She looked up at him with big eyes. "Can you sing me a song?"

Alain hesitated, glancing at the door, before sitting down on the edge of her bed. "...One song– and only one song– and then straight to bed after, okay?"

Faith beamed, eyes gleaming. "Okay!"

Mairin found them about ten minutes later– Faith out of bed and on the ground, happily playing with some toy cars as she pushed them across the room. Alain was up on the bed, leaning against the wall, eyes closed and soft snores coming from him as Mairin entered. She looked down at Faith, raising an eyebrow.

"Daddy's songs made him fall asleep and not me," Faith informed her, sending a toy truck crashing into a car– and Mairin just simply laughed.

[flyswhumpcenter]

Found You in the Woods - Chapter 2

PREVIOUS CHAPTER / NEXT CHAPTER [TBA]

Summary: Even if Manon was searching for Alan near some woods yet again, she truly didn’t expect to find him lying on the ground in the middle of the leaves fallen from the trees. (or: Manon proves she’s so much more than some potential burden and Alan is a stubborn idiot, but that’s why we love them)

Fandom: Pokemon (Anime, post-XYZ) Ships: Marissonshipping (Alain/Mairin)

Chapter Summary: Manon scolds Alan for being irresponsible, when she'd have expected it to be the other way around.

Wordcount: 2.5K words

Notes: (insert here line about how I should be studying for my exams currently taking place and sleeping appropriately instead of working on fics) Well geez, that's really not the direction I hoped this fic would take, holy shit. I thought it was gonna be a more traditional "stubborn character pushes through illness, more at 7", but that surely didn't happen. Oh well, happy incidents or something. Why, I don't know. is it OOC? Maybe. May also come back to it tomorrow or later this week. (I need to go back to my other Pokemon fic...) ((The next chapter will be good though, I promise!))

AO3 version available here.

Time has never seemed so slow to Manon before this day. She really has no idea how far that Centre is, much less how long it’s going to take for help to get there. She trusts Charizard, she really does (she has no other choice anyway), yet her impatience is once again getting the best of her. She’s never been the calm or patient type, sure thing, but in such a situation, nobody could blame her for being so upset and wanting everything to go faster, right? The situation was urgent!

That sense of urgency, she mostly feels it whenever she surprises herself glancing at Alan, hoping he’d start waking up or at least show he’s still alive by doing something else than painful, weak grunts. On second thought, the fact she’s able to qualify anything Alan does of being weak, even frail or fragile, is a rift in space and time: Alan doesn’t really go well with either of these adjectives, much less with the idea itself of weakness or vulnerability. Her impatience must steam from this contrast between the last time she saw him, healthy and being cold to her again (she knows it was more of a ruse anyway, maybe a dare to see if she was truly able to keep up with him no matter what), and… whatever this is. A daytime nightmare, perhaps?

 With how little she’s actually equipped for adventure, Manon has no way to check anything. Her only thermometer is the clammy palms of her hands, something way past imprecise. What if her hands are too hot to actually evaluate his fever? If that’s the case, she can’t be able to tell if his fever is getting worse! And, if it does, then what? She doesn’t know what Pokemons Alan on him right now, much less if they’d actually obey her like Charizard did. Would the sense of urgency currently raging in her heart spread to them? So many questions, so little possibility to answer them and be sure she’s not getting totally mistaken.

Despite how cruel the vision under her eyes is, Manon cannot look away from him. She’d have never imagined she’d ever see Alan, the strong and strong-willed Alan who had risked his life in the battle between two Hoenn legendary giants to save his Charizard, the stubborn Alan who never gives up on anything he decides he’s going to accomplish, the Alan who put the world into jeopardy only to help fix it later as an attempt to atone, be this fragile on her lap, at nature’s mercy, so vulnerable it feels like she could shatter his entire body with merely a misplaced embrace.

Manon wants to cry. Not for her, because she’s doing perfectly fine, but because the situation calls for it. The more she thinks of what could have been, the more she sees her dearest friend (aside from Chespie), the heavier her heart gets. What if Pokemons in the forest had attacked him? What if Charizard had never found her? Wouldn’t he be… No. She’s here to protect him, and so is Chespie. They’ve gotten stronger since he last saw them, she’s going to show the world if said world forces her into doing so. She won’t let anyone, or anything for that matter, endanger him anymore.

 Suddenly, breaking through the artificial serenity of the overly-calm forest, resonates a different grunt. With the earring of a Fennekin, Manon turns her head towards the one currently lying with his head on her lap, her heart skipping a beat when she notices his eyes trying to open. Manon shakes her head: he must be stirring in his sleep. Then she shakes it again: he’s waking up! Finally, he’s waking up, he’s alive and he’ll be able to explain to her what happened to him! Everything is going to be okay, thank Arceus, thank Xerneas!

She didn’t know what she really expected from his current condition, but her heart still hurts badly when she notices his eyes. Like everything else, they’re not like themselves and yet so his: his usually sharp and piercing icy blue eyes are foggy, reddened around the ages, unclear like a mirror covered in mist. She should have seen it coming, she knows that, but it doesn’t prevent her from biting her lip thinking it shouldn’t be this way.

 A few, heavy moments fly by. There is still no sign Charizard is coming back. The forest is oddly quiet, but it’s been since the very moment she’s arrived there with Chespie. Her companion is also dead quiet, barely reminding the world he’s still there. She wonders if he’s able to talk, if he can hear her if she speaks to him, if he’s waking up for real or if he’s just going to fall asleep right afterwards, if he can tell her how he got himself in this dangerous mess. She wants to scold him, to hug him, to bombard him with questions, to tell him she may have saved him from bigger dangers; but she can’t do that, not for the moment. She painfully needs to wait, and then wait again. Maybe she’s going to wither away before she can do anything about the situation. Goddammit.

Finally, after these excruciating minutes, Alan visibly stirs and his eyes fully open. Well, “fully” may be overselling it… It’s more that she can tell he’s trying to open them fully, but it ends up looking half-closed anyway. Her fight against her own impatience and sense of urgency is turning into a curb-stomp battle with her as the loser of it all: as such, she prefers to focus on him, in hopes it’ll make time go by faster and bring help to them. Charizard must have found the Centre by now… right?

 “Ah, you’re awake, finally!” she yells, almost more to herself than to him, a smile making its way onto her worried face. He’s not fine, but at least he’s alive, there’s that.

Of course, she receives no answer immediately. Instead, Alan moves his head around, sighs and finally looks at her. If she didn’t know him better, she would have almost thought this look on his face wasn’t of surprise, but rather his next stage of waking up.

“Ma…” His voice is dry, hoarse, and barely a whisper. “Manon…?”

“Yep, that’s right, it’s me!”

She’s a bit too excited about watching someone wake up.

 Alan tries to sit up, elbows against the grass and the fallen leaves, a hand flying to his head.

“H-hey, don’t overdo it!” she tells him, in a moment of panic, trying to see if that’ll get him not to be too stubborn about it. She doesn’t want it to become the next time where he’d break his shoulder for her.

“Where… are we…?”

Oh, good question. She’s got zero idea where they are, considering she’s just followed a Charizard until she was presented with the fainted figure of her friend and desired travelling companion. (Still in her dreams, she guesses).

“I… don’t know, actually. But Charizard’s gone to get help, so it should be fine, just rest!”

She giggles nervously, as if to convince either Alan or herself that truly everything is one-hundred-percent fine when it’s not, while he looks around. Does this dude even stay still for a second? He’s always moving, even when she’s asked him not to and that he’s sick! How’s she supposed to make him behave?

“What help?” Alan asks as he gets up, only for him to stumble and her to quickly sit him down to the ground. He’s terrible, terrible she says!

“The one for you because you were unconscious on the ground with a fever, dummy!”

 Manon doesn’t really know why she’s scolding Alan, the thick-sculled and utterly confused Alan who’d never listen to her before. It’s not like she expects any rational answer or reaction from him either, so as long as she speaks, she may be able to keep him grounded until help arrives and he’s obligated to surrender to medicine (and people who actually know what they’re doing, because she sure doesn’t know that).

In lieu of a reply, Alan coughs in his fists, loudly, hoarsely, to match with his voice and everything. All of her grudge against him melts into a tiny puddle of stupid feelings as she hears and watches this, prompting her to rub his back as if that’s gonna make anything easier on him. She got too caught up in her own mind to remember he was still unwell and needing medical attention before he got tremendously ill, so she shuts up for a few moments and waits for the fit to be over.

 “Hey… You’re alright? That sounded painful…” she then asks him, trying to get his eyes to look into hers, hands on his shoulders, tone softer than anything she’s ever said to anyone who wasn’t Chespie. Speaking of him, he’s back on her own shoulder, silent, solemn. Probably doesn’t have anything to add, anything to make the situation better. Just like she does, in fact.

“Ah…” He pants first, then clears his throat, coughs again, and finally finds the voice in him to respond. “I’m… fine enough, I guess…”

“That can’t be right! You felt hot and your cough’s super nasty, you can’t be ‘fine enough’!” She wants to scold him like a kid, she really does! He’s such a Tauros-headed idiot sometimes, just like her, if not even worse! Just a pain, a big bad pain for her, but especially for himself!

 Alan doesn’t reply again, too busy looking at her confused and being too dizzy to really get up. She sits down next to him, just in case he needs a place where to put his head which, suddenly, seems way too heavy for his poor neck and body.

Neither of them speaks, at least for a while. All the noise around them are breathes, some faraway falls crunching under the weight of small Pokemons and Alan’s cough, which sometimes comes back, sometimes gets replaced or announced by some throat clearing. Manon can hear the birds soaring in the sky, the little things you only hear in a forest, the beating of her stressed heart and what she thinks is Alan’s pulse, sounding almost quicker than her own. He’s usually cold-blooded, she knows it, she knows that, but… But…

 “I hope Charizard’s found help and that they’re on their way…”

She can feel her friend slumping on her, head on her shoulder, left side lodged against her right. A faint smile must be on her lips by now: he’s alive, he’s going to be fine once this is all over. He’s strangely not moving much anymore, apparently content with pseudo-resting against her. At least, she’s found him in times, she can now watch over him and, she hopes, she’ll prevent him from hurting himself any further.

“You… mind if I babble about? I’m scared you’re gonna faint again if you fall asleep…”

“I’m not falling asleep…”

 Manon doesn’t feel like directly rebutting him. Alan’s feverish, she can sense it through their clothes (he’s sticky too, she knows that from having put her hands on his shoulders), it’d be like hitting an injured Pokemon for the sake of proving she’s right or something. Yes, he’s stubborn and, yes, he still seems to think she’s dumb: but he’s sick, he can barely keep up with a conversation, he can’t get up properly… She needs to be caring and patient, not as jumpy as she usually is. That sucks for her, but it especially sucks for him.

Frankly, seeing Chespie bedridden was way more than enough for her, she doesn’t need to see her other dearest friend falling deadly ill on her watch.

 A new silence follows, thicker than the previous one, covering them both in a thick layer of fabric, wrapped around their throats. Manon doesn’t have a single clue as to what she should be saying next, if she should even be saying something too. Instead, she just stares at Alan with his eyes fluttering like broken roller blinds. He seems so out of himself, so unlike his usual tough guy persona, that she cannot help but worry more with each passing second. What if it’s actually already too late? What if he’s sicker than she thinks? How sick is he, anyway? He won’t let her touch him to test out, she knows that, so she’s left with speculating through observations

And, well, she sucks at analysing other humans. If she was any good at it, she’d have been able to tell Lysandre had terrible plans in mind. Perhaps she’d have been able to tell Alan her true feelings, to convince him he didn’t need to cut all ties with her. Everything would be better; she’d be able to know what she can do to help him feel at least a bit better. No, no, instead, she’s just sitting there, her sick friend against her, slowly but surely either falling asleep or losing consciousness again. Where is Charizard when you need it?

So Manon silently prays. The girl who’s always noisy, always nosy, never getting quiet and always asking questions, making remarks and comments, snarking at people, sliding some jokes; is silent and prays. Praying who, she doesn’t know, she didn’t think about it. She just repeats over and over in her mind how she wants everything to be better, for her friend to feel good again, for the illness to go away and the fatigue to disappear. It’s dumb, she knows that, praying Xerneas only work in fairy tales and nursery rhymes. At least, she thinks so? If it works, she’ll get back what she said and be the happiest girl ever for her poor, poor friend.

 The complete, too heavy to be serene silence breaks in the snap of a stick from behind her. She jumps, taken aback, balancing Chespie out of her shoulder and making Alan almost land on the ground, barely catching him back with her surprised arms. His eyes try to look at hers, or that’s what it feels like, but they’re too unfocused and glassy to properly do so, and as such it ends up failing. This is still so weird, so unnatural…

However, a smile is soon brought where right before it stood a frown. Charizard is back and, with it, what looks like a medical team. The rest of the rescue mission passes in a flash: the nurse and other people she doesn’t know take her friend away on a stretcher, Charizard still out of its Pokeball offers Chespie and her to fly to where the staff comes from. The sudden change of pace is unexpected, and that surprises her.

 As they fly away from the forest, Manon thinks, a lot, much more than usual. Today’s weird, too weird. The changes of pace all over the place are awful, she wants them to stop, she wants today to go back to normal and boring. She wants to get her normal Alan back, the one who gives her snarky remarks, the one who’s too stubborn to ever go back or accept things the way he doesn’t see them, the one who’s worked and fought again Lysandre, the one who almost brought the end of the world before helping fix it. She just wants her friend back, free of illnesses and exhaustion, to travel with him and not be Kalos’s worst nurse ever.

And, well… Is that asking too much from the world?

[11jj11]

Kiss -- Marissonshipping Drabble

“And so I think if we move the starter eggs into the greenhouse they’ll-- Alain, why are you staring at me?”

Mairin glared at her best friend, his blue eyes blinking at her question. He pulled back slightly, as if just realizing what he had been doing. He hastily glanced around the room, adjusting his glasses, before staring down at the clipboard in his hand as if nothing had happened.

“I wasn’t staring. I was just listening to you,” Alain said, voice rushed as his hand uncertainly tugged on the sleeve of his lab coat. “Anyways, I agree. The greenhouse would be a better place for the eggs-- much more natural.”

Mairin crossed her arms, giving Alain a pointed glare as he tried to walk past her. She only had to take a step to the side to block his path, forcing him to look at her. Even with him being a whole head taller than her, he still seemed to shrink back at her glare.

“Really, Alain?” She asked. “You keep staring at me like that, and honestly it’s becoming a bit distracting.”

“You’re that one that’s distracting,” Alain whispered softly under his breath, but yet Mairin heard his words. She couldn’t help but flush slightly, however, she still didn’t move from where she stood. Ever since Professor Sycamore had left them in charge of the lab Alain had been acting different, and she wanted a clear answer.

“Wh-what’s that supposed to mean,” Mairin asked, hand uncertainly reaching up towards her head. “Is there something on my face...?”

His eyes looked into hers-- his gaze an icy blue, but yet it looked so warm. The faintest hint of pink colored his cheeks, and he swallowed.

“...W-well, um, yes,” He whispered. “There is something--”

“What?” Mairin cried, eyes widening. “There’s something on my face and you didn’t tell me?! What is it? Where--?”

She fell silent as Alain took a step towards her, their bodies only inches apart as he stared down at her. His blue eyes shone behind his glasses, and Mairin’s face slowly became redder as he watched her. Mairin wasn’t quite sure why her heart was thumping so heavily, or why tingles ran up her arm as Alain’s hand touch her wrist.

“It’s your lips,” He muttered, voice soft. “They’re.. they’re pretty.”

He swallowed at the last word, looking slightly embarrassed, but yet he didn’t pull away. Mairin continued staring up at him, not quite sure what to make of his words or of him being so close-- but she most certainly didn’t want him to pull away.

“M-my lips?” Mairin asked weakly-- her cheeks turning only redder.

Alain gave a weak nod, swallowing again. “Can... can I kiss them?”

Mairin’s face was currently clashing with her hair. Her mouth opened, trying to find some words, but no reply came. Her heart began to race faster, mind scrambling as it tried to make sense of what he had just asked her.

“I... I think would I like that,” Mairin squeaked after a moment, blushing even redder.

The next thing Mairin felt was Alain’s warm hand cupping her cheek as he leaned his head down towards her. Mairin’s amber eyes were locked on Alain as his lips were gently pressed against hers. A warm feeling washed over her, and she felt her eyes pressing shut.

Mairin found that she was very wrong-- she didn’t just like it.

Rather, she loved every moment.

[11jj11]

Falling For You -- Marissonshipping -- Part Four

Well everyone, here’s the final part of Falling For You. This story was originally going to be a one-shot, focusing on Mairin’s clumsy nature with a bit of romance. Instead I wrote a four-part romance story, but I’ve loved writing it! It’s kind of sad to know this is the end. 

Thank you for the support! I hope you enjoy! ^^

   Part Four – Forever and Always

   “For the final time, hold still Mairin!” Serena snapped, giving the redhead a small tap on the head with the brush. Mairin sighed, forcing herself to go still as Serena ran continued doing her hair, running the brush through her thick hair.

   “I’m just... nervous,” Mairin muttered, resisting the urge to look down. “You know?”

   “It’s your wedding day!” An energetic voice said from behind them. “You should be excited!”

   Mairin’s gaze flickered across the mirror, allowing her to catch a glimpse of the grinning blonde next to Serena. Like always, Bonnie had a huge smile on her face, a Frogadier on one shoulder, a Dedenne on the other. Serena smiled at the young woman, her eyes widening slightly.

   “Bonnie, why aren’t you in your bridesmaid dress yet?” Serena cried, looking alarmed.

   Bonnie shrugged, unconcerned as she patted one of her Pokemon. “We have like, an hour until the wedding starts, I have plenty of time.”

   Serena on the other hand, looked panicked, as if they only had minutes to get ready. Serena was currently wearing a long green dress, sky blue flowers stitched across the skirt of the dress and sleeves. Even though it was a spring wedding, Mairin had insisted on long sleeves for the bridesmaids, maid of honor, and of course her own wedding dress. Bonnie had moaned upon learning about this, while Serena had agreed with Mairin– the longer sleeves complimented the dresses’ design.

   Mairin hadn’t been too worried about the design though– just as long as nothing looked horrid she’d be happy. The true reasoning for the long sleeves was because she knew that spring was a fickle season, and she just hadn’t wanted to risk being cold if winter decided to cling on until April like it had in years past.

   With Serena temporarily distracted, Mairin allowed herself to look down at the wedding dress she was currently wearing. It was made of a brilliant white fabric that felt like silk, though she knew it wasn’t. She honestly wasn’t sure what it was called– Serena had been a lifesaver when it came to helping her pick out dresses. There had been a few clashes between them however, Serena worrying over the style while Mairin had been more focused on how comfortable they’d be to wear.

   They had eventually found a middle ground– the silky wedding dress having been both comfortable and easy to move about in for Mairin, and instyle enough for Serena. The white dress flowed out near the ground– giving the cloth plenty of space between it and Mairin’s clumsy feet. The dress had no train– Mairin having seen it as a potential tripping hazard, and Serena had declared them out of style.

   Silver sequins decorated the neckline and sleeves of the dress, webs of them branching down the dress and merging into trails of light blue sequins– which were formed into the shape of flowers down the skirt of the gown, mirroring Serena’s maid of honor dress. More silver sequins lined the hem, and the dress was topped off with a beautiful green sash around her waist.

   “And you’re not stressed in the slightest?” Serena asked as she returned to Mairin, having finally conviced Bonnie to go and change. Mairin looked up at Serena by staring into the mirror, blinking.

   Stressed?

   “No,” Mairin finally said. “Just nervous.”

   She was getting married– today.

   Serena shook her head, brushing through Mairin’s hair one more time before starting to do a Kalosian braid with her red hair, causing the bride-to-be to flinch every time a bobby pin was pushed against her head to hold every strand of hair in place.

   “I swear, I’ve been more stressed out about your wedding than you’ve been,” Serena muttered, though she didn’t sound upset at all by this.

   “Heh... I’m sure I would have been if you haven’t been helping me,” Mairin said– the moment had realized she’d have a whole wedding to plan she had gone straight to Serena for help– and it was thanks to the Kalos Queen that the wedding plans had gone through at all. Serena had basically seized control of the wedding plans the moment Mairin had asked– which had just been what Mairin had wanted.

   Serena was a natural leader– and a natural when it came to what Mairin liked to call ‘fancy events’. Serena had so many connections since she was the current Kalos Queen– able get the best deals for the flowers, dresses, food, and the cake. Thanks to Serena she knew that this wedding would satisfy what her younger self had always dream of, and not destroy her wallet at the same time.

   But Serena hadn’t been controlling either– so many conversations of ‘Are you sure this is the dress you want? These are the wedding colors you want, right? I know you like simple Mairin, I’m not overstepping what you’d like, right?’

   Serena smiled, but didn’t say another word as she continued on with Mairin’s hair– something she had Serena had different ideas for. Serena had offered to connect her with many of the high-end hair stylist– while Mairin was more than happy just to have her friend do it. This was a wedding, not a runway. In the end, Serena had given into doing it herself.

   “Hold your breath,” Serena said, before drenching her with hairspray.

   At least, it felt like drenching to Mairin– she had never used more than a few sprays at most! Serena however released a plume around her, humming lightly as she turned the chair around to get a good look at Mairin.

   “Perfect,” She said after a moment, smiling happily. “I’ll have one more look at it when we get closer to the wedding to make sure it stays this way– I’ll have to make sure me and Bonnie are ready as well– we can not mess up your special day!”

   “This dress is going to mess me up...” Bonnie muttered, having reentered the room. Her dress reflected Serena’s– rather hers was mostly blue with green highlights. “I’m going to burn up in this thing!”

   “And who’s the one who’d run around in costumes in the summer when we were younger?” Serena asked with a slight smirk.

   “I was just a kid then– I had more energy!”

   Mairin smiled at her two best friends, before leaning back in her chair, closing her eyes. Less than an hour... In less than an hour she’d be walking down the aisle– she was going to be getting married.

   Her heart started thumping– she hadn’t lied to Serena– there was no stress about the wedding. It was simple, small, and traditional– just what she wanted. But it was her nerves she just couldn’t calm down. Nervous wasn’t the word– she was petrified. Married, she was getting married– and she honestly had no idea what to expect!

   But at the same time there was a strange sense of eagerness– because what she had always wanted was about to happen. She was about to be married to the man she loved.

   “Mairin?”

   She was snapped out of her thoughts as Serena called her name. She blinked several times, looking at her maid of honor blankly.

   “H-huh?”

   Serena smiled. “You okay? You weren’t answering us there for a moment.”

   Mairin flushed. “Just... lost in thought.”

   Serena’s smiled widened. “We just wanted to make everything was ready. Cake and the refreshments arrived, right?”

   “Last night,” Mairin replied. “The caterer has them all set up.”

   “The professor’s ready?” Serena asked.

   Once again Mairin nodded. “Strange to see him out of a lab coat, but he has everything he needs.”

   Serena nodded at this, then turned to Bonnie. “The boys are ready, right?”

   “Why are you looking at me, I don’t know!” Bonnie said, fidgeting with the sleeves of her dress.

   “Because we cannot let Alain catch glimpse of Mairin until it’s time for the wedding,” Serena replied, pushing Bonnie towards the door. “It’s bad luck! Now you go make sure that they are dressed and ready to go, we will not be delaying this wedding because anyone thinks they can wait until the last minute!”

   “I’m going, I’m going...” Bonnie muttered, and she flashed a grin at Mairin. “I’ll make sure that my brother doesn’t have anything that can blow up.”

   Mairin smiled. “Tell Alain I say hi.”

   “Check on the rest of the bridesmaids as well!” Serena called after Bonnie. “I don’t think they’ve ever done something like this before!”

   “They’ll be fine,” Mairin said, wistfully looking after Bonnie. She was sure Serena was going to keep her confined to this room until the wedding as to not risk Alain seeing her wedding dress– something she had been very adamantly against.

   Then again she hadn’t been too fond of letting Alain in on any of the wedding plans after he had suggested black as one of their wedding colors. (He had eventually decided that blue would go better with Mairin’s green than black would after receiving several glares from Serena and Mairin.)

   As soon as Bonnie was out the door Serena was back to her mental checklist.

   “Flower girl?” Serena asked.

   “Hope’s ready,” Mairin said– her niece had been ecstatic the moment Mairin had asked her to be a flower girl.

   “Ring bearer?”

   “Reluctant about the bowtie, but ready.”

   And on Serena went, pacing slightly as she ran through everything. Mairin closed her eyes, more focused on the clock on the wall. They had gone through everything last night, and the night before, and the week before– they had everything ready.

   But was she ready herself?

   Marriage... she was getting married today! The more Mairin thought on it, the more nervous she became. Was this really the right choice– was she ready to be a wife? There was no doubt about how she felt about Alain– but what if this was a mistake? What if this wasn’t the next step they needed to take? What if she–

   “Mairin!”

   “H-huh?” Mairin asked, snapped out of her racing thoughts once more by Serena.

   “Getting nervous again?” Serena asked with a smile. “I just asked you who was going to walk you down the aisle– you said a few weeks ago that you’d find someone and I just realized I never got back to you about that.”

   Mairin’s eyes widened. “Um...”

   Serena turned to face her. “You did find someone– right?”

   Mairin flushed a bit, staring down at the hem of her wedding dress, speaking quickly and quietly. “WellImighthaveforgotten...”

   Serena stopped in her tracks. “We have roughly forty-five minutes until the ceremony begins and you don’t have someone to walk you down the aisle?!”

   Serena wasn’t angry– simply panicked. Her light pacing swiftly increased, blue eyes wide.

   “I can go asked someone!” Mairin cried, leaping to her feet. “It shouldn’t be too hard, I mean, the professor will be preforming the ceremony... but I can find someone–!”

   “Who though?” Serena asked. “You can’t just not have someone walk you down the aisle– it’s your wedding! It’s an important part of the ceremony! Oh, why didn’t I realize this sooner, I don’t want to ruin your wedding–”

   “Hey,” Mairin said. “It’s not your fault– I’m the one that forgot. I’ll... I’ll go ask my dad, he should be here soon...”

   Serena hesitated. “Is that who you want doing it?”

   Mairin rolled her eyes. “Have you been listening to Alain about my family? Honestly, my sister is the only bad one– I know that Dad won’t say no,” She headed towards the door. “I’ll just go ask him real quick, no sweat.”

   Serena hesitated. “But Alain–”

   “I won’t let him see me,” Mairin promised. “Don’t worry.”

   Serena hesitated, before giving a reluctant nod. “Okay.... just hurry. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

   “To me or to my dress?” Mairin asked with a slight grin.

   “To you of course–!”

   Mairin’s grinned widened. “I was just teasing Serena– I’ll see you in a minute.”

   And with that Mairin headed out the door.

----------------------------------------

   The church where the wedding was being held was a formal place– a simple chapel dedicated to Xerneas. It had been built as a place for weddings and ceremonies, regularly rented out for use. Mairin had found the place charming, the small building made of white stone, with a beautiful stained-glass window of Xerneas in the chapel.

   But Mairin didn’t have time to admire it as she hastily made her way through the hallways, nodding politely at those who paused to congratulate her and wished her luck. She couldn’t give more than a friendly smile to them though, before quickly heading on. People luckily seemed to take notice of her rush, and didn’t hold her up for long. Mairin forced a smile on her face, not portraying any of her worry as she hurried through the halls, looking for her father– or any of her family.

   She unfortunately didn’t see Alain anywhere as she made her way through the church– she hadn’t seen him since early this morning thanks to Serena, and the sight of her husband-to-be would probably calm her nerves.

   Mairin shook her head– she just needed to find her dad right now.

   “The dress looks wonderful Mairin,” Sophie smiled at Mairin as their eyes met.

   Mairin nodded at her former coworker. “Thank you Sophie,” Mairin gave a small smile, before pausing. “Um, have you seen any of my family anywhere by chance?”

   Sophie paused as well, thinking. “I believe that adorable niece of yours was with Bonnie a few minutes ago, and I saw your brother heading towards the front of the building.”

   “Thank you,” Mairin said, a bit curtly, and she quickly began to make her way to the front of the church. Justin wasn’t who she was looking for, but if anyone would know where their parents were it would be him. Mairin gathered the skirt of her dress in her hands, allowing her to move a bit faster through the church.

   She was frustrated with herself that she had forgotten as something as important as someone walking her down the aisle, but there was nothing she could do but right that wrong, even if it was at the last second. Mairin hesitated for a moment though, would it be alright to just suddenly throw this on her dad? Would he be offended that she was asking him this at the last minute?

   She closed her eyes– this was her father! This was nothing to worry about– there was no sense in letting herself panic. Besides, who else would she ask to walk her down the aisle? The only other person that came to mind was Professor Sycamore, but since he was going to be the one performing the ceremony, he obviously wouldn’t be able to do it. She had wanted a traditional wedding after all– and so having her father walk her down the aisle would be traditional.

   But why was she feeling such a sense of dread then?

   ...Perhaps she was more stressed than she had realized.

   She let out a sigh as she turned the corner, nearly to the front doors. Everything would be fine, it wasn’t as if she had forgotten as something as big as a cake or a dress, the wedding would be just fine. In just a little while she’d be a married woman, and all this pressure would be behind her. She just needed to press forward, and enjoy the moment. This was her big day– today she was going to be officially married to Alain!

   A smile spread across Mairin’s face at the thought.

   “What is she doing here?!”

   Mairin froze as she heard the voice, sharp and angry, echoing through the hallways. She jumped, startled at hearing shouting within the church. She blinked, heart racing a bit as the cry died down, and she frowned. The voice sounded familiar, but her mind couldn’t place it right away. Mairin hesitated for a moment, before pressing forward to where the hallways turned, and looked out at the entrance hall.

   There was Justin, her brother currently having his back facing her. His posture was tensed however, and in front of him stood three people. Mairin’s eyes quickly scanned them: her mother, her father, and...

   Mercy.

   Mairin stiffened at the sight of her older sister, blood running cold.

   “Now Justin, why shouldn’t she be here?” Mairin had pulled back around the corner, heart pounding, but she could hear her mother’s voice carrying through the halls.

   Mairin pressed her eyes closed, heart hammering.

   Mairin had been torn when it had come to her sister and her wedding– Alain had wanted to not to even contact Mercy, while Mairin had been afraid of raising the tensions that already stood between her and Mercy. They hadn’t been on speaking terms in years, but she knew that her sister would find any way to make things worse– perhaps something like not knowing of her sister’s marriage. She didn’t know if she should just send an invitation and pray that she didn’t show up– or just take Alain’s advice had pretend that Mercy didn’t exist.

   In the end she had left a message for her sister telling her that she was getting married– but had not invited her to the wedding.

   “‘Why shouldn’t she be here’?” Justin snarled. “Because she shouldn’t be here! She wasn’t invited– so why in Zygarde’s name did you bring her here?”

   “Oh Justin, this isn’t hurting you, is it?”

   Mairin couldn’t help but flinch at the sound of Mercy’s voice. Twenty-four years old, and she still cowered at her voice. Mairin didn’t focus on this though, simply pulling back, mind trying to understand what was happening. Mercy was here– the one that had hurt her so much. The very last person she wanted to see was at her wedding.

   “Dad,” Justin’s voice was quieter now, but still strained. “You know she wasn’t invited, why did you bring Mercy?”

   “I think there’s something wrong with Mercy not being invited to her own sister’s wedding,” Her father said, in his normal, business-like tone.

   “...We all know why Mercy wasn’t invited,” Justin growled. “And we all know that you have no interest in even congratulating her– so why don’t you just leave? This is the last thing she needs today.”

   “Honestly,” Mairin’s father said with a sigh. “You are no longer children, can you please put this to the side, Justin.”

   Mairin slowly pulled herself back towards the corner, looking out at her family. Mercy was standing near their mother, a satisfied smirk on her face. Her face was framed by red curls, a pair of pink eyes gleaming.

   Mairin bit her lip, hurt rushing through her. Her parents had brought Mercy here– they knew what she was like! Why would they bring Mercy, how could they just invite her of their own accord!

   “This has nothing to do with age,” Justin growled. “You know how Mercy treats Mairin, and you thought it was appropriate to bring her to her wedding? When she wasn’t invited?” He shot a glare at Mercy. “You hate her– we both know that– the only reason why you’d want to be here would be to do something to Mairin.”

   “Oh, I’ve never laid a finger on her,” Mercy said with a laugh, a laugh that never failed to make Mairin’s stomach curl.

   Why was she here, why was she here...?

   “Mom,” Justin muttered.

   “Justin, that’s enough,” The older woman said with an exasperated sigh. “Leave your sister alone.”

   Those four words felt like a knife to the heart.

   Mairin blinked as she heard them, for a moment not quite registering what she was hearing. Slowly an inky feeling spread through her, a heaviness taking root in her stomach. The words were simple, so simple, words that most would never think twice of.

   But they were the words Mairin had always longed to hear growing up. That she wished would have even been said in passing– said when Mercy would relentlessly harass her in her childhood, when harsh and bitter words would be thrown at her. When her sister would taunt and degrade her, make her feel as if she were nothing. Mairin had always hoped that someone would step in– would shield from her sister’s words.

   But Mairin had always been on her own, left her at the mercy of her sister.

   She had always seen things as only between her and her sister– she had never dwelled on the fact that no one had defended her before– seeing it as her own problem to handle. But as she stood there, hovering around the corner, a heavy weight crushed her heart.

   Her parents had always stood by when Mercy would reduce her to tears, they had heard everything ever said to her, but had done nothing. But yet when Justin pressed Mercy– accused her for being here when she shouldn't– they had taken her side. They had defended Mercy against Justin– who had just been trying to help Mairin.

   The words had been simple– but they had brought a painful realization for Mairin– that they didn’t care.

   Her parents hadn’t cared all those years Mercy had hurt her, hadn’t cared when she had ran crying from the room. Mairin closed her eyes, heart racing as she remembered hoping that someone would try to comfort her, would seek her out after running. It had never happened though, it had merely become part of her routine, her life. How could she think twice of something when nothing different had ever occurred?

   But now, after years of being freed from the toxic environment, she fully realized for the first time that they had never cared.

   And it hurt.

   Her eyes remained pressed shut, trying to hold back the tears threatening to fall.

   Fists curled, and she struggled to muster her courage, trying to fight the instinct to run. She shakily stepped forward, pulling herself away from her hiding spot, and opened her eyes. She stared out at her family, trying to force herself to step forward again.

   Mercy was the first to notice her, pink eyes slipping away from Justin and onto her. A sly smirk spread across her face, hands going to her hips.

   “Speaking of Yveltal,” Mercy said in a silky tone. “Looks like the little bride was eavesdropping.”

   Mairin gulped, watching as several sets of eyes turned to face her. Pink and amber, Justin’s gaze looking pained, her parents’ unreadable.

   “Hello Mairin,” Her father said, his tone unchanging. He offered her a small smile, before it flickered away. Mairin watched him– he knew that she had overheard what they had been saying. She stared at him, as if hoping he’s something more. An apology, an excuse– something.

   He said nothing more.

   “Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” Mercy asked, taking a step towards Mairin. She stumbled back, slightly startled to find she was now the same height as her sister– so many memories featured her sister glaring down at her that it was almost disconcerting. “I mean, you’re not even wearing any makeup! You’ll need something to cover up that hideous face of yours– we wouldn’t want the groom running off in fear now, would we?”

   Tears stung Mairin’s eyes, and she gritted her teeth, trying to hold them back.

   “Mercy, leave her alone,” Justin growled. “It’s her wedding day.”

   “Did a little advice ever hurt anyone, Justin?” Mercy asked. “And I don’t see anything wrong with my question– why is she out here?”

   “I–” The words seemed to get stuck in her throat. “I... I wanted to talk to Dad...”

   “Oh?” He looked mildly surprised as she said this, her father blinking. “Why is that?”

   Mairin opened her mouth, vision blurring in. Her heart was aching, the words refusing to leave her mouth. She closed her eyes, trying to hold back her tears as she forced the words from her.

   “I w-wanted to know if you’d– if you would–” The words hurt as they left her throat. She sputtered for a moment, before they rushed from her all at once, voice almost a squeak. “–I was going to ask you if you’d walk me down the aisle.”

   Her eyes were glued to her feet as she said this, fingers shaking, a sticky feeling in her heart.

   Her father blinked, then shrugged. “I suppose I could.”

   Mairin gritted her teeth. “But... b-but...” She looked up at him, amber eyes blazing. “S-seeing how you’ve never been here for me before... I... I don’t think I want you here today. Clearly it’d be better you’d... if you’d just all leave.”

   It hurt, saying those words hurt so much, but she kept her gaze level with them, tears lining the brim of her eyes.

   “It looks like the accident managed to say something smart for once,” Mercy said quietly.

   It was at this point Mairin couldn’t keep back the tears anymore. They spilled over, a sob becoming caught in her throat, and she turned. Without waiting for a reply– for whatever excuse or insult would come next– Mairin ran. She bolted down the hallways, tears falling, stumbling her way as her feet caught on the hem of her dress.

   Her vision was a blur, the heaviness in her heart feeling like iron. She didn’t even try to hold back the tears anymore, the tears falling down her cheeks as she ran. She didn’t know where she was going– the church wasn’t the biggest, so she simply pressed on.

   After several minutes she stumbled to a stop, pressing up against the wall as she stood there. She wiped away several tears on her sleeve, before stopping herself. She was shaking– and she didn’t know what to do. She wanted to scream, cry, and breakdown all at the same time. She tried to tell herself that everything was over now– that they were gone– but that was half of the pain. Finally she sank down, drawing up her knees, crying even harder than before.

   “...Aunty Mairin? Are you okay?”

   Mairin hiccuped, looking up at the blurry image of her niece. Hope’s amber eyes were full of concern and confusion, her father’s white Floette hovering by her side. Hope was wearing a beautiful sky blue dress, her hair drawn up with a flower headband resting on her head. Mairin tried to smile, wiping away several more tears.

   “I’m fine, Ledyba,” Mairin whispered, hating to lie to her own niece, but she didn’t need to be drawn into this mess. “Just... overwhelmed...”

   “Dad says you should be happy today,” Hope whispered, kneeling at Mairin’s side. “You are happy, right? Today is your special day.”

   Mairin took in a struggling breath. “Y-yes, it is...” It was her wedding day. She was going to be married to Alain. She was going to be fine... everything was fine... “I’m just nervous, that’s all Ledyba...”

   Her parents had never cared...

   Mairin bit her lip as more tears filled her eyes, and she tried to hold them back.

   “Mairin!”

   Justin’s voice once more echoed through the halls, though it was only pure concern in his voice this time. She couldn’t bring herself to look up, not wanting anyone to see her tears. She could hear his footsteps approaching though, his Floette letting out a concern call as her trainer approach.

   “Dad, what’s wrong?” Hope asked.

   “...Mairin...” He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him helplessly. “I... I know you said to leave, b-but– but I just wanted to make sure you’re okay first and–”

   Mairin shook her head. “Not you...” She muttered. “You can stay, I... I want you to stay, please...”

   Justin’s gaze softened. “Mairin, I’m... I’m so sorry. I tried, I tried to get her to leave before you could see and...” His hand tightened. “I’m sorry, for never doing anything.”

   Again she shook her head. “You defended me... no one else has done that...”

   A sharp pain hit her heart– no one in her family had defended her before.

   “I should have done something sooner,” Justin muttered, mostly to himself. “I just never wanted to get involved but... but I let you get hurt because of that,” He closed his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

   Mairin grabbed her brother’s hand. “Thank you...”

   Silence fell between them, Hope uncertainly glancing between her father and aunt.

   “Everything is okay, right?” She asked urgently. “The wedding is still going to happen?”

   “Yes Ledyba,” Mairin whispered– nothing would stop her from becoming bound to her new family. “I can’t have a flower girl without a wedding.”

   A new family– Alain was going to become her new family. Mairin blinked, a new family and a new name... that’s what she needed. Some of the heaviness in her heart lifted somewhat, and she looked up at Justin.

   There was still concern in his amber eyes, but he look much more relaxed than before. “Come on,” He said, and he pulled Mairin to her feet. “You have a half an hour until the ceremony. Let’s get you back and make sure... everything is ready.”

   Make sure she didn’t look like she had just been crying.

   “Justin?” Mairin asked quietly.

   “Yes?”

   “...Would you walk me down the aisle?”

   Justin gave her a gentle smile. “I’d be honored to, Mairin.”

   Some of the tension drained away from Mairin’s muscles, and she pulled herself away from Justin. She smoothed out the dress of her skirt, taking in several deep breaths. She couldn't imagine how she looked– Serena was going to kill her. Yet at the same time... she felt light. For a moment the intimidation of the wedding did seem as pressing– instead the future seemed nothing but inviting.

   She was going to be okay.

   “Do you want me to go find Alain?” Justin asked.

   Mairin quickly shook her head. “Arceus no– he has enough on his shoulders at the moment. I don’t want to throw this on him.”

   “Mairin it wouldn’t be like that–”

   “Justin, please?” Mairin asked– she knew how Alain would react. This was his wedding day just as much as it was hers– he had a right to enjoy the day without the pressures of what had just happened. She would tell Alain, but after the wedding was over.

   Once everything was better.

   “Okay...” Justin relented, sounding slightly uncertain. “Hope, why don’t you take Mairin back with the bridesmaids? So they can make sure she’s ready.”

   “Sure thing Dad!” Hope chirped. She grabbed Mairin’s arm, and lead her through the church. Mairin glanced back at her brother, who was running a hand through his blonde hair.

   Mairin smiled, grateful that he was here.

----------------------------------------

   Mairin’s heart was pounding, and she stared at the doors. Her heart was hammering– louder than it had been all day. Her hands clutched the bouquet– a bundle of yellow roses and blue lilacs. She stared down at the flowers, trying to master her racing emotions.

   “I can’t to this...” Mairin whispered. “I’m not ready.”

   “You’ll be fine,” Justin said. He was standing by her side, giving her a smile. Mairin simply shook her head, backing away from the door.

   “No– I’m not ready,” Mairin muttered, voice slightly strained. “I c-can’t–”

   Mairin fell silent as she felt a slight tug on her dress. She turned, finding Hope standing behind her. She was watching her aunt with sharp eyes, arms crossed unhappily. Hooked around her arm was a basket of flower petals, Justin’s Floette floating next to her, alongside Kade. Mairin was startled by the scowl on innocent Hope’s face, and for a moment she felt her panic slip away.

   “You love Alain, don’t you?” She asked, voice cold. But instead of looking harsh, as she was probably going for, the nine-year old looked absolutely adorable with her fierce scowl. Under any other circumstances Mairin probably would have laughed, but instead she just stared. “Don’t you?”

   “Of c-course I do!” Mairin said, slightly put off by her little ‘Ledyba’s’ suddenly attitude change.

   “And I know that he loves you– which means you two have to get married!” Hope declared, and she pointed towards the doors. “He makes you happy, and you have been sad enough for your special day– so you go in there and be happy!” She paused for a moment. “And make him my uncle, I’ve always needed one of those.”

   Justin chuckled at this, while Mairin smiled.

   “She’s right you know– both of you want this– so what should be holding you back?” Justin asked.

   “Wh-what if something goes wrong, what if things end up like between you and Courtney–?” Mairin asked, her panic resurging.

   Justin grabbed her arm. “Mairin– most people would give the world to have someone look at them the way Alain looks at you. He’s the one you want, isn’t he?”

   “Y-yes–”

   Justin smiled. “Then there’s nothing to worry about.”

   Mairin hesitated for a moment, as if her mind was trying to scramble for some other excuse. She opened her mouth, but before she could say another word music started playing. Mairin stiffened up, staring at the wooden doors with wide eyes. The music kept playing from within the chapel, muffled and steady.

   Justin offered her his arm. “Come on,” He said softly. “It’s time.”

   With shaky hands she placed her arm on top of his. Mairin took in a deep breath, and they turned to face the door. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Hope standing behind them, one hand in her basket of flowers, an eager look on her face. Kade was standing next to her, carrying a small box in his mouth. Mairin closed her eyes for a moment.

   And then the doors swung open.

   The organ music was now blaring loudly, washing over Mairin along with a wave of cold air. She hesitated for a moment, before opening her eyes. She could see the rows of people– those who had come out to attend her special day– looking back at her. She saw Bisharp and Zach, the two Pokemon having opened the doors for them. They were currently standing off to the side, heads held high as they waiting for her. She was still for a moment, before Justin urged her forward.

   She stepped into the chapel, heart fluttering nervously with each step. She peered around at the many eyes watching her. She quickly pulled her gaze away, looking down at the ground for a moment before once more peering out. Time seemed to be going slow as she walked forward, the music echoing in her mind.

   Mairin could see Alain’s Metagross at the organ, using his psychic energy to press down the many keys. Mairin remembered how she had laughed when Alain had said that Metagross should be their organist– she had thought he had been joking. It turns out that having the mind of a supercomputer made one very adapt at learning music. It was quite the sight to see, but somehow it felt right.

   Her eyes drifted away from the organ, and up towards the front of the chapel, the elevated stands gleaming in the light coming from the stained glass window of Xerneas. Mairin could see Serena standing as her maid of honor, smiling at her encouragingly. Near her stood the bridesmaids– Bonnie, Charizard, Weavile, Bébé, Piper, and Zola.

   While the Pokemon weren’t in full dresses like Bonnie, they were all wearing green ribbons laced with blue flowers. The Pokemon bridesmaids weren’t standing still: Charizard had her wings flared open with excitement, tail swinging side to side. Weavile kept curling her claws, uncertainly poking at the ribbons on her. Bébé gracefully spun around, the Florges scattering a gentle Petal Dance across the room. Zola was curled up into a ball, the Sandslash nervously hiding. Piper kept pecking at Zola, the Pidgeot trying to get her teammate to look out at the crowd.

   Mairin couldn’t have asked for better bridesmaids.

   Her eyes flickered to the other side of the chapel, where the boys were. There was Ash– Alain’s best man– his usual cheerful grin on his face as he watched her approach. The groomsmen were near him– Clemont as stiff as a statue, Chespie beaming happily while wearing a bowtie, Alain’s Tyranitar looking stoic as ever, with Unfezant perched on Tyranitar’s shoulder.

   Mairin was now half way across the aisle, and she fixated her gaze straight ahead, right where the altar stood at the top of the steps. Professor Sycamore was smiling down at her, and while he was no priest, as the League Professor he was legally able to perform marriages. Perhaps the scientist looked a bit out of place at the front of the chapel, but Alain and Mairin would have no one else be the one to bind them together.

   Finally Mairin let her gaze fall onto Alain.

   His bright blue eyes were gleaming as they made eye contact, a gentle smile spread on Alain’s face. His gaze was locked right on her, taking in her whole form as she approached. Mairin barely noticed how she stopped shaking as soon as Alain was in her sights, her steps becoming steadier as she and Justin moved forward.

   The fear seemed to be drained from her– because she slowly beginning to realize that she wasn’t moving towards an uncertain future– she was moving towards Alain. He was nothing but familiar, nothing but safety. Her uneasy expression slowly grew to a real smile, and Justin had to increase his pace to keep up with her growing strides.

   It was strange how something could be so swift and slow at the same time. It felt like it had taken mere seconds for her to reach the base of the steps, but every moment of it was so vivid, that nothing escaped her view as it played out. Justin’s arm was slowly pull away from hers, and he stepped back to join his daughter. Kade bolted forward, the Flareon at Mairin’s heels, the box with their rings in his mouth. Mairin stood there for a moment, watching as Alain descended the steps, hand held out towards her.

   The tremble in her limbs was back as she reached out for him, his familiar fingers slipping between hers just as they always did. He guided her up onto the first step, before withdrawing his hand and offering her his arm in a more traditional fashion. She placed her hand over his, her arm resting on top as his, and then they slowly began to climb the few steps. She glanced at Alain for a moment, his gaze locked straight ahead. Mairin felt a flush fill her cheeks, and for a moment she felt like she was fifteen again, watching Alain as he battle. She too then turned her gaze forward, steps slow as her heart started to race.

   Kade was suppose to be a step behind them, they had explained to the Flareon what his role as ring bearer would be. But with the excitement of the moment, the Flareon just couldn’t linger back behind his slow parents. With an excited chitter Kade raced forward, bolting past Mairin, rushing his box with the rings to the altar. Mairin would have found this adorable– but Kade’s sudden rush forward had twisted Mairin’s dress as he ran by, causing the hem to become entangled in her feet.

   The pull of the gut, the sense of weightlessness as her feet slipped from under her– Mairin was well acquainted with the sensation of falling. But of all the times, and of all the days, it had to be now. The rush of embarrassment raced through her even before she could even hit the ground, frustration and shame gnawing at her as she fell. The stairs with the foreign dress and shoes made attempting to catch herself an impossible task– not that would even change the fact that she had tripped while walking down the aisle.

   Alain’s strong hands were around her arms before she could get far though, and Mairin was dimly reminded of a rain-soaked Alain as she saw him peering down at her. One hand grasping her wrist, the other on her shoulder to keep her from crashing down the stairs. His hand shifted to her back, slowly steadying her even with her leaning back. Alain was smiling, a gleam in his eyes as if this had been expected. Mairin watched him for a moment, so comfortable in his arms that she nearly forgot that she had been moments away from crashing into the ground. Alain just looked so happy, so content, and for a moment it didn’t even feel like they had a crowd watching.

   He pulled her up slightly, before leaning down so their faces were close. She could feel his warm breath as he watched her, and he shifted her so he could whisper in her ear.

   “You know,” His voice was soft, like a gentle breeze. “You just keep falling for me, don’t you?”

   Mairin flushed, and before she could form any reply he pulled her back up onto her feet. She took a moment to find her balance, which Alain used to let his hand find her fingers. Once she was stable Alain continued on, the two of them heading up the last few steps as if nothing had occurred.

   There was Kade, the Flareon sitting up on the altar, ears back. He let out an apologetic whimper, and Mairin stroked the top of his head as they reached him to let him know that it was alright. He thumped his bushy tail happily as Alain took the rings from him, then the Flareon raced off towards Chespie.

   Mairin pulled away from Alain’s side, their hands remaining interlocked as they turned to face each other as Professor Sycamore stepped forward. Mairin looked up at Alain, a fiery warmth in her chest. The blaze seemed to drive everything from her– the fear, the embarrassment and the pain– the only emotions remaining in her was the fierce love she felt for Alain. Nothing felt more right than her standing right here, him across from her.

   His hand pulled away as he gently opened the box with their rings. The two silver rings glittered, Alain’s a simple silver band, while Mairin’s was topped with a gorgeous emerald gem. She took Alain’s ring from him, while he gently cradled her left hand in his.

   “A ring has no beginning or end,” Alain said, voice soft, yet it carried through the chapel. “And just as my love for you is, Mairin, it shall carry on forever.”

   He carefully slipped the ring onto her finger, the metal cool against her skin.

   Mairin fingered Alain’s wedding band a moment longer, before taking his hand into hers. She was trembling slightly as she placed the ring on, but managed to find her voice. “A ring is something you can always have with you, just like how I will always be by your side, and that as long as I live, you will never be alone.”

   As soon as the ring was on Alain took no time to admire it– swiftly taking both of Mairin’s hands into his once more.

   With the ring ceremony now done, Professor Sycamore stepped forward. Mairin gave him the tiniest glance, before returning her gaze right back to Alain. The warmth in her chest was fierce, burning brighter than ever while her heart raced. This was the moment she had been dreaming of since she was a child. A tremble took to her hands, and Alain ran his thumbs across the back of her hands. He was simply smiling at her, and that was what held Mairin’s attention. Not his tux or his blue tie, nor the fact that he had taken some effort with his hair today, just the unfading smile on his face.

   Professor Sycamore was talking, but Mairin barely took in his words. Instead she glanced out towards those who had come to watch their marriage. It wasn’t a large audience– but it was full of those she wanted here. She could see Sophie, Cosette, and Sina; all smiling up at her. There was Bonnie’s father in the back, and Astrid on the edge of a pew. Mairin was surprised when her eyes met Steven’s– he had been unsure if his champion duties would allow him to come.

   Mairin pulled her eyes towards the front of the chapel– were the first row sat empty with the exception of Hope and Justin. Mairin’s heart twisted, this was where her and Alain’s family were suppose to be sitting. Seeing it nearly empty... hurt. Mairin’s eyes locked with Justin, who gave her a nod. Hope gave Mairin a tiny wave, grinning.

   She looked back towards Alain– neither of their parents were here. His had died years before, while she had sent her own away. But... but Mairin felt fine. Things were going to be okay, and perhaps it was better that it was this way. She squeezed Alain’s hands, realizing that everything she needed was right here.

   “Mairin Floraison,” As Professor Sycamore spoke her name she was snapped away from her thoughts. “Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

   Mairin could feel everyone watching her, but her gaze remained on Alain. Her heart was thumping, but there was no hesitation in her voice as she spoke.

   “I do.”

   Two words, so simple, but so impactful. She felt Alain’s hands tighten as Professor Sycamore turned towards him.

   “Alain Vide,” He didn’t even look at the professor as he spoke, blue eyes locked on Mairin. “Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, in good times and bad, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

   Alain’s eyes were gleaming as he looked down at Mairin.

   “No.”

   The single word sent chills down Mairin’s back, her whole form freezing up. Swift mutters swept the audience, and Professor Sycamore blinked. Mairin stood there for a moment, mind trying to take in what he had just said. She tried to pull back, but Alain’s hands were tight around hers. He stepped closer to Mairin, one of his hands going to her waist and pulling her in close. He leaned his head down, their faces nearly touching.

   “Not ‘until death do we part’,” Alain said, almost fiercely as he held her close. “I won’t accept that. I want you forever and always.”

   The momentary fear that had built up in Mairin melted away all at once, and she relaxed in his grasp.

   “Y-yes,” Mairin stuttered out. “Forever and always.”

   Professor Sycamore smiled. “...In that case, I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now–”

   Alain tugged her forward, closing the gap between them, lips pressing together.

   “Um... kiss the bride,” Professor Sycamore finished, chuckling as Alain and Mairin embraced.

   Mairin didn’t hear him, nor the cheers as she and Alain kissed. She was too caught up in the moment, arms wrapped around her husband as the kissed continued. The feelings rushing through her didn’t end, even as they pulled back, Alain looking down at her. Her eyes were gleaming as she looked at her husband, a smile across their faces.

   She was married.

   Alain didn’t even give her a moment to embrace this fact, scooping her up bridal style, carrying her down the steps of the chapel.

----------------------------------------

   What happened after that was honestly mostly a blur for Mairin– everything taking place so quickly, her bursting emotions racing through her. Faces of those that approached them merged together, the many congratulations and smiles becoming one. What Mairin remembered was Alain’s warm hand around hers, and the tingling on her lips.

   Chespie had wrapped the happy couple up in his giant arms, before the rest of their Pokemon had raced to join the hug. Kade managed to worm his way to the mass of Pokemon, slinking up into Mairin’s arms. She had planted a kiss on the Pokemon’s forehead, and Kade had then insisted on stay on either her or Alain’s shoulder the rest of the night.

   Cake, pictures, thanking everyone for coming– Mairin barely registered any of it. A giddy feeling was about Mairin, making sure Alain was right next to her the whole day, hands entangled in each other. It didn’t take long for her face to start hurting from her unfading smile, and not even the pain could make it die down. Every few minutes she’d press up against Alain, just to make sure that this was real.

   His kisses were enough to confirm that.

   “Naught!” Chespie cried later that day, at this point the reception was dragging on. Mairin hadn’t seen much of her starter since the beginning of the reception, so it was a welcoming sight. He drew up behind the married couple, throwing glares at those who lingered near. And as a towering fighting type, it didn’t take long for people to back away. “Ches!”

   Chespie’s face grew friendly again, and he happily began to nudge Mairin and Alain towards the doors. She shot her starter a questioning look, to which he responded by picking both of them up, and carrying them out the doors despite their protesting.

   “Where is Charizard when you need her,” Alain grumbled, having been thrown over Chespie’s shoulders... well, shell, while the Chesnaught gently carried his trainer in his arms. Alain was holding onto on of Chespie’s large spikes so he didn’t fall, looking back at the guests following them.

   Chespie grinned.

   “I’d bet she’s in on this,” Mairin said, happily settling into Chespie’s arms. Her feet were killing her anyways, and she’d give just about anything to finally get out of this dress. Despite having been by their side the whole day, Kade was currently nowhere near the couple.

   Chespie carried the two of them outside, where Mairin was able to spot a crowd of familiar Pokemon. Their teams were gathered around Charizard, Tyranitar and Piper doing their best to hide the lizard from sight. Alain was deposited onto the ground in front of them, while Mairin was carefully set down next to him.

   The Pokemon let out an assortment of greetings– roars, rumbles, chitters, and chips– their cries filling the air. Alain pushed himself to his feet, and the Pokemon pulled away from Charizard happily.

   “Oh Arceus...” Alain muttered as he saw his starter, paling. The Pokemon had taken all of their ribbons, bowties, and flowers; placing and lacing them all across Charizard. She was a flowery nightmare, lilacs dangling from poorly tied ribbons. A wreath of flowers had even been taken from the wedding, hooked around Charizard’s horns. Charizard was grinning happily, and spun around.

   That’s when they noticed the clump of cans tied to Charizard’s tail, and the words ‘just married’ crudely written across her wings Oran berry juice. Alain stared, while Mairin let out a laugh.

   “Looks like we have our getaway car!” Mairin grinned, and their Pokemon let out a happy calls.

   “What did Charizard ever do to you...” Alain whispered to Chespie, who gave Alain a playful shove.

   “Let's go now!” Mairin said excitedly. “I’m sick of walking around anyways.”

   “But the reception was suppose to go until–” Alain began, and Mairin shut him up with a quick peck on the lips. He flushed slightly at being interrupted.

   “Do you honestly think they want to be here all night?” Mairin muttered, gesturing out to their guests that had followed them outside. “It’s our wedding day, and I’d like to spend that time with you.”

   “Um... I mean–” Alain stuttered, and their Pokemon started laughing. Mairin’s grinned widened, and she turned out towards their guests.

   “Party’s over!” She cried, cupping her hands to her mouth. Chespie pushed Alain and Mairin towards Charizard, who lowered herself onto all fours so the newlyweds could mount her. Alain scooped Mairin up, placing her on Charizard’s back before climbing on himself. Mairin felt his hands wrapping around her waist, and she leaned back against his chest.

   “Mairin!” Serena’s voice called out as Charizard opened her wings. Mairin peered back, afraid for a moment that her wedding planner and maid of honor would be upset at her sudden escape.

   But of course this was Serena, and there was only a smile on her face.

   “You gotta throw the bouquet!” She called out to her. “Before you go!”

   Mairin looked down at the bouquet in her hands, then out towards them. Mairin grinned, and then chucked the bouquet of flowers as hard as she could. She knew that she was suppose to do it blindly over her shoulder, but hey, this was her wedding.

   Mairin had been aiming the bouquet towards Bonnie– since she was the one always trying to pair everyone up since she was a kid, but Mairin’s throwing skills weren’t the best. The bouquet went over Bonnie’s head, and landed straight into Serena’s hands. The woman blinked, clearly having not planned on catching it, and Mairin grinned.

   “See you at your wedding then!” Mairin called out to her friend, before wrapping her arms around Charizard. “Fly Charizard, get us out of here!”

   “She’s my Pokemon–” Alain began, but the Charizard took to Mairin’s words, leaping up into the air. Alain’s arms tightened around Mairin as they rose into the sky– ribbons and petals falling from Charizard as the wind tore at them. Mairin pressed herself up against Alain as the reception became a blur below them, nothing but open skies ahead.

   “Where to then?” Mairin asked.

   “Home,” Alain said simply, placing his chin on the top of her head. She scowled– knowing he was just doing this to remind her who was taller.

   “The lab?” Mairin muttered– Alain had taken to living over the lab since he had moved out of Sycamore’s lab. Mairin had been more than happy to get her own apartment though, sick of living where she worked.

   “No, home,” Alain said, offering nothing else. Charizard flared her wings open more, catching an updraft. The wind tore at them, the temperature around them dropping.

   “Take that Bonnie,” Mairin muttered under her breath.

   “Huh?”

   Mairin tugged at the sleeves of her dress. “I told Bonnie I’d want the longer sleeves– it’s cold up here!”

   Alain wrapped his arms around hers, then whispered in her ear. “We’ll just have to fix that, won’t we?”

   “Alain!”

   “Charizard, think you can fly faster?” Alain asked, and the lizard put on a suddenly burst of speed, wings flapping.

   “...Now I’m colder...” Mairin muttered as the wind increased, though she was smiling. Alain simply hugged her closer.

----------------------------------------

   “So... where are we heading anyways?” Mairin asked. She wasn’t sure how long they had been flying, but her fingers were starting to go numb from the chill of the ride.

   “I said we’re heading home,” Alain said– the same thing he’s been saying the whole trip.

   “I recall that we don’t have a ‘home’,” Mairin said. “You live at the lab, and I’ve been crashing at Bonnie’s since I moved out of my apartment.”

   It wasn’t that they hadn’t considered that they’d need a place to truly call their own once they were married– Alain had brought it up once or twice, and Mairin had of course forgotten in the havoc of the wedding planning with Serena. And now as they flew out across Kalos, it had once again popped into Mairin’s mind. The only place they had to go was the lab– which wasn’t where Mairin would want to spread their first days as newlyweds.

   She could hear the smile in Alain’s voice. “You worry too much.”

   “I’m pretty sure you’re the one that worries too much,” Mairin replied, pressing up against his chest. She peered up at him, his gaze fixated straight ahead. The wind blew at his hair, tuxedo wrinkled. Mairin didn’t even want to guess what state her dress was in– but then again she was the one that wanted to fly on Charizard right away.

   They were flying across Cyllage City, the ocean spread out towards the west, the sky turning orange as the sun dipped low on the horizon. The cloudless sunset was breathtaking, especially when they were racing across the sky. She could see the beautiful beaches and cliffs of route 8 in the distance as they skimmed the edges of the city.

   “You’re right, I do worry too much,” Alain said, ruffling her hair. “And you forget things too much.”

   She scowled. “Don’t do that, I’m not a kid.”

   He chuckled, but ignored this comment. “I’m just saying that you and Serena were caught up in the wedding plans, and so it’s no surprise that we haven’t considered this until now. Well, I’ve been thinking on it– because two certain women didn’t seem to like having me involved with the plans for my own wedding.”

   “Well, if I recall correctly... ‘I think black wouldn’t be a bad option for the wedding– it goes with just about every color and looks quite nice’!” Mairin quoted, holding her hands up dramatically. She and Charizard then laughed, and Alain rolled his eyes.

   “I’m just saying that while you were busy with the wedding, I decided that I thought I should do something as well,” Alain said, his hands reaching forward to find hers. “I hope you like it, and if not... well, we can figure it out later then.”

   And with that Charizard swooped down, heading towards the mountainous lands on the end of Cyllage City. Mairin opened her mouth, but she didn’t have anything to say, so she simply stayed silent to see what Alain was going to show her.

   The small cottage soon came into view– the modest little place the only building in sight. There was no lawn– simply the wilds coming right up to the doorstep. Mairin could see a small little garden on the side of the home, a porch winding all the way around the cottage. While the home most likely sat within the borders of Cyllage City, the town was out of sight. Mairin could hear the ocean in the distance, and the calls of bird Pokemon.

   “It’s not fully paid off or anything,” Alain said quickly as Charizard landed outside of the house, folding her wings to the side. “But I have everything set up so that all payments would go smoothly. I know it’s not big or anything, but I thought it might be a nice place to start off–”

   “It’s perfect,” Mairin said softly. “Oh Alain, you didn’t have to go house hunting on your own–”

   Alain slipped off of Charizard. “You’ve always wanted your own place, but don’t make a final opinion until you at least see the inside,” Alain said as he offered her his hand, and he gave her a small bow, grinning. “So, my lovely bride, may I?”

   Mairin placed her hand in his, and he helped her off of Charizard’s back. The lizard’s wings flared open as soon as she dismounted, and she leapt right back into the sky. Mairin peered at Charizard as she flew off, much faster now that she didn’t have any passengers.

   “Where is she going?” Mairin asked.

   Alain smiled. “With Bonnie. I asked her to watch all of our Pokemon for the night– her daycare will be able to handle them all.”

   “Is Kade aware of this?” Mairin asked, knowing just how... fired up the Flareon could be about being left behind.

   “...Bonnie’s problem,” Alain said swiftly, and he pulled a key out of the inside pocket of his suit, handing it to Mairin. “Shall we go inside?”

   And with that they approached the small cottage. It had light yellow siding, and a dark roof. Mairin had been in love with the place from the distance, but she couldn’t help but let out a small squeal at the planters that hung around the porch and at the base of the windows– which had green shutters! The only word Mairin could bring to describe the house was adorable, and Mairin knew just how much Bébé would love the gardens, Chespie as well. There was plenty of open air for Piper to fly, and Zach could discharge as much electricity as he wanted freely in the wide fields around the house– which would also be perfect for Zola to dig about in. Mairin could only hope that the insides could handle an energetic fire type– so Kade could be happy as well.

   She slipped the key into the lock– happily noting that the door was also green. Mairin turned the key, eyes flickering down to the wedding ring on her finger. She grinned to herself– basking in the fact that she was married. To Alain.

   She pushed the door open. She couldn’t see too much from the doorway, but she recognized some of the furniture from her apartment that Alain had offered to store for her. But before she could step inside Alain grabbed her waist, scooping her up bridal style– which was fitting– but it still startled her. She yelped, the key falling from her grasp as she was lifted up into Alain’s arms.

   He somehow managed to catch the key as it fell with two fingers– not being able to do much more as he held her. Mairin fumed to herself at the fact that he was slick enough to do that, before setting into his arms. She still glowered up at him, though in a playful way.

   “I’m capable of walking, you know?”

   He smirked. “Usually.”

   “Hey!” She slapped his chest.

   He laughed, his smirk relaxing into a smile. “Besides, it’s tradition for the husband to carry his bride across the threshold of their home. You wanted a more traditional wedding, didn’t you?”

   She answered him by relaxing into his arms, and Alain stepped into the cottage, careful to make sure her dress didn’t get snagged in the doorway. Mairin looked around at her new home– which was just as beautiful and modest on the inside as it was outside. It was a bit bare– which was not unexpected. Alain had actually done more with the place that Mairin had thought he could for a place that had just been bought. She let herself look over the house, before looking up at Alain.

   He smiled, leaning down and kissing her. Mairin had lost count of how many times they had kissed today... which she saw as a good thing.

   He pulled back, still cradling her in his arms, and for the first time Mairin truly mulled over the events of the day– with the excitement and stress now in the past.

   She was married– she and Alain were officially married. A new chapter of her life had opened up, one of just her and Alain, the step in their relationship she had always dreamed of making. The man that she loved with every fiber of her being was officially hers, and she was his. Husband, wife... it now applied to them. They were one now, not to be separated. Her heart swelled– sealed to the one she saw as the perfect man.

   But as she thought back on the wedding her smile faded, the more unpleasant memories of the day rising. Sending her parents away from the wedding, the realization of just how little they had cared for her, and the fact that they had brought Mercy...

   Mairin closed her eyes, having been able to push her sister from her mind until now. She had only seen her for a few minutes, but her presence had been like a knife, cutting into her. That cut was now widening, as Mairin thought on her, shivers racing through her.

  “I mean, you’re not even wearing any makeup! You’ll need something to cover up that hideous face of yours– we wouldn’t want the groom running off in fear now, would we?”

   There was never a neutral word from Mercy– everything was meant to hurt. Mairin tried to push the thoughts from her mind, but they seemed to be stronger than her will. Mercy had been right– Mairin hadn’t worn makeup at her wedding. She had never before in her life, so why now? Mairin’s insides shriveled up, had she really been that lazy? Couldn’t even spend an extra minute to look her best at her wedding? She turned away as Alain gently sat her down, lost in her thoughts.

   Her fingers dug into the mattress– someone as amazing as Alain... and he had chosen her? Not that she’d ever want anyone else– but why would he want her? He was kind, brave, strong... everything that she wasn’t. She couldn’t even carry a key without dropping it... she was a klutz, less than pretty– not someone to spend the rest of one’s life with.

   Alain made her so happy, but how could she do the same for him?

   “Mairin?” Alain’s voice snapped her from her intoxicating thoughts. His voice was so gentle, so concerned... just pure. “Mairn, what’s wrong?”

   She blinked a few times, everything jumping into focus. She noticed the tears streaming down her face, silent and steady. Her cheeks were wet, eyes stinging as she blinked, and she swiftly turned away from Alain, hands digging into the blanket of the bed. Of course this would do nothing– he had already seen her tears.

   “Mairin...” He sounded so worried, but she didn’t offer a reply. “Please, talk to me...” He hesitated. “I know today’s been a long day and you... you don’t have to–”

   “Why me?” Mairin croaked out.

   He was silent, not sure of what to make of her words. She turned to face him, amber eyes watering.

   “What do you mean?” He asked after a moment.

   “Of everyone in the world... of everyone you could possibly want to be your forever...” Mairin whispered. “Why me?”

   There was a flicker of nervousness in his gaze. “You... you did want this, right?”

   “Of course I do,” Mairin whispered, and a sob began to escape her. “But why would you w-want me?”

   Alain stared at her for a moment, surprise on his face at her words. He blinked, realization crossing his face, before his gaze hardened, scanning her. “...What happened, Mairin?”

   She shook for a moment, and threw herself forward, burying her head into his chest. Her bottled up emotions from her encounter with her parents spilled over, sobs escaping her. She tried to speak, tried to explained what she witnessed, but the only word to escape her was a strangled: “M-mercy.”

   This was all Alain needed to hear, his arms seizing her in a protective embrace. She was pressed against him, his muscles tensed. “Today?”

   “M-mom and Dad b-brought her,” Mairin whispered. “They... they just brought her! They knew I didn’t want her there, th-they knew how much she hurts me, and– and–” She closed her eyes. “Alain, th-they don’t care, they never– they never really wanted m-me– she was always r-right and–”

   His fingers dug into her shoulders. “She wasn’t right, Mairin, don’t dare believe any of her words for a second...” He paused for a moment. “...Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner, Mairin?”

   She squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s m-my problem... you shouldn’t have to d-deal with it...”

   But by breaking down right now, she was forcing this upon him.

   He pulled her back, forcing her to gaze into his burning blue eyes. “Mairin, I do not want to hear that ever again. You are my– my wife– and you never have to face anything alone from now on,” He swiftly pulled her back into a hug, a look of bitterness on his face as he thought of Mercy. “You never have been alone... and neither have I. You’ve always been here for me, and Arceus help the soul that tries to keep me from you.”

   “But why me... why would you want someone so...”

   “So what?” Alain spat. “There’s nothing wrong with you– her words mean nothing Mairin!”

   “But there is...” Mairin muttered. Her sister had always pointed out the worse in her– but they had never been lies. Mairin looked up at Alain, taking in a deep breath, trying to rein in her emotions. “You want to know what’s wrong with me Alain?! The fact that I can’t handle things on my own– that I always have to fall back on someone!”

   “Mairin–” Alain began.

   She pushed herself away from him. “Mercy wasn’t wrong about me... my parents never cared about me... I’m a klutz, I can’t even walk down the street without–!”

   “That doesn’t matter!”

   “Well maybe it should!” Mairin cried back.

   “Enough,” Alain growled. “That’s... that’s enough Mairin!”

   “Why? Because you know I’m right?” Mairin asked, tears still falling. “Because someone as perfect as you deserves someone better–”

   His arms wrapped around her, pressing her against his chest again. She refused to look up at him, shivering as she tried to throw her sister’s words out of her mind. But they didn’t leave, echoing through her, pulling up every doubt she had ever buried. Alain let out a sigh, seemingly not knowing what to say.

   “Maybe you are a bit clumsy Mairin,” He whispered. “Always tripping and falling... but then you get right back up. You’re so strong, never letting anything keep you down, you’re always moving forward. I wish I could be like that, able to let go of the past and make the most of life...”

   He planted a kiss on top of her head, rubbing her back.

   “Mairin, it doesn’t matter what they think. If they can’t accept you, then they’re the ones missing out on one of the most wonderful, kindest people I know... She’s hurt you so much, but don’t you dare for one moment believe that it’s true or that you deserve it. You are strong, you are beautiful, and Mairin– you are wanted.”

   His body was tense as he held her close, as if afraid someone would tear her away.

   “The only thing wrong with you is the fact that you can’t see this yourself Mairin,” He told her gently. “The fact that you don’t see just how amazing you are... the fact that you keep dragging yourself down when in reality you’re flying...”

   He was so warm, as he held her close. Mairin pressed against him, eyes closed.

   “You’re right, maybe I do deserve someone else... because I don’t deserve someone as wonderful as you... You think I’m perfect? Me?” He gave a small scoff. “No, no one deserves you, because there is no one out there that could be as wonderful to you as you are to them...” He looked into her eyes, blue eyes shining. “But yet you want me, someone like you wants me... why would you want someone like me?”

   “Because I love you,” Mairin whispered.

   “Exactly. Mairin, perhaps I haven’t said this enough to you– but I love you. I love you. That’s why I want you to be my forever, Mairin– because I love you and only you,” Alain said.

   A warm feeling had returned to her chest. “That’s the truth?”

   “Yes,” He said softly, and she could hear the conviction in his voice.

   Mairin pressed up against him. “Tell me you love me again, please.”

   He smiled. “I think instead I’ll show you.”

   He brought her in close, placing a kiss on her lips, arms entangling one another. Tears fell down Mairin’s face, but this time they were tears of joy as her doubt was chased away. She loved Alain, and he loved her– so nothing else mattered. Not their faults, not their doubts, and not even the perfection they saw in each other.

   They were meant to be together.

   Outside the sun set.

   And that night two souls became one.

[11jj11]

Marissonshipping

Has anyone ever had a shipping that they once hated, but soon grew to love?

That’s how I was with Marissonshipping-- I once despised this ship so much. I saw Alain and Mairin only as friends, I couldn’t see it anyone way... I hated when people paired them up...

Then I saw Mega Evolution Act III...

Let’s just say that Marssonshipping is probably my favorite Pokemon ship at the moment. Alain and Mairin are just so cute together! I wish they got more episodes to themselves... And this is coming from someone that loves Ash’s character.

Alain is one of the best characters in the Pokemon anime, he got so much character development in the short time he had-- and it was good development as well. I hate it when people hate on him solely for beating Ash in the league. Yes, I wanted Ash to win too, but Alain... He earned it. He wasn’t just some random person from no where *cough cough* Tobias *cough cough*-- but rather someone who had just as much story as Ash. 

Mairin was the one that got Alain through everything he went through, and was the one he was willing to open up to. These two deserve each other. Just how different they are, but yet how well they fit together just makes them so adorable. Mairin never gave up on him, even when he pushed her away, and he only did that to protect her. This ship just needs more people on board.

Marissonshipping forever.

[kalosstarters]

I'm gonna be real original and ask Alain and Mairin c:

Well I’m 100% ok with that originality! 

Mairin:

Sexuality Headcanon: bi/pan sexual (haven’t really decided), demiromanticGender Headcanon: cis girlA ship I have with said character:

I’ll give you one guess.

A friendship I have with said character:

Hmmmm… I’m gonna say TSME/XY&Z era AlaMano here just because I literally can’t think of anything else rn. She needs more friends who are not Serena (sorry Serena likers). And of course her friendship with Chespie needs to be mentioned :3

A NOTP I have with said character: 

basically her with anyone who isn’t Alain, I don’t like imagining my ships with someone else…

A random headcanon:

hmmm I’d like to think of something new since I have talked about my headcanons quite a lot. I hc she has a good imagination (and she’s creative in many ways). One of my headcanons include her illustrating the mega evolution book and and Alain work on when they are adults. When they are traveling in new places (such as Alola) she always carries paper and pens/water colors with her so she can stop and draw when she sees something beautiful (that annoys Alain because he doesn’t care about such things, he just wants to get into his next destination).

Sometimes when she’s not busy with her gym she also helps Alain with his patients and is much more capable of soothing them than Alain.

I just remembered, I recently talked with @fairy-amy about Mairin’s clothes and we thought that maybe she uses clothes like that because she’s not ok with her body. It will be a while until she learns to accept it is fine the way it is.

General Opinion over said character: 

♥♥♥ Do I need to say more? (I’m just gonna repeat that while she’s not the deepest/best developed character, she’s adorable and gold hearted and relatable and much more and has such a cute design too and I adore her. Surprise.)

Alain:

Sexuality Headcanon: demisexual, demiromantic

Gender Headcanon: cis man

A ship I have with said character: I can only hope I have made it clear enough earlier :D :D (Sry it just feels stupid to say marissonshipping over and over again)

A friendship I have with said character: with Charizard. They belong together like Ash and Pikachu do. 

A NOTP I have with said character: 

him with everyone who isn’t M ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m protective of my ships

A random headcanon: 

something new for Alain… Well, we all saw how athletic he was during TF arc (jumping into the megalith and all) so I could say that before he met Prof Sycamore and got under his protection, his coping mechanism after his parents’ sudden death was sports. He was never inside, he run around in the nature (which always made his foster parents angry and they claimed he was the most difficult child ever to control) and during his trips he also made friends with a lot of Pokémon. That led to him being pokemon friendly and wanting to help at Sycamore’s. 

He’s also much better at writing than showing his emotions orally, and he even writes books (often for children) about mega evolution later on. 

General Opinion over said character: My precious son who did a few things wrong but winning the Kalos league was not one of them, and he paid for his mistakes in a hard way. I think he will never fully be over the guilt (but he will be helped). I love him and I would protect him at all costs. (I have written longer posts about him and Mairin earlier so if someone is actually interested, I believe those posts can be found from my character tags (/tagged/alain or /mairin) or from the headcanon tag so there’s that)Thank you Rosaleen, I’m sure you know I enjoy talking about them no matter how much I have talked about them earlier. 

[mysticdelphox97]

Tagged by Kalosstarters c:

Welp, I got tagged by Tiia ( @kalosstarters ) so I guess I gotta do this lmao.

Rules: once you have been tagged you are supposed to write 92 truths about yourself. At the end, choose however many people you want to tag!

(this was 13 fucking pages long on Word jesus. I’ll add a “Keep Reading” break so it doesn’t take up people’s dashboards)

LAST…

[1] drink: a mocha coffee cooler from Baker’s Dozen ^^

[2] phone call: uhh, mom probably.

[3] text message: From Mom: “Here.” (she was picking me up from classes)

[4] song you listened to: I’ve got Pandora Radio playing while doing this, so I’ve heard Panic at the Disco and Against the Current so far.

[5] time you cried: Sunday night because I completely forgot that I had an art critique due the next day and I completely forgot and it was midnight and I was trying to churn out this pathetic paper for something I left until the last minute and [SCREEAAMMMMINGGG]

Phew. Okay, I think I’m good now.

 HAVE YOU EVER…

[6] dated someone twice: I haven’t even dated someone once.

[7] been cheated on: Considering I’ve never been in a relationship, thankfully I can say no lol.

[8] kissed someone and regretted it: Can’t regret something I’ve never done sooooo xD

[9] lost someone special: Yeah… ;^;

[10] been depressed: Ugh… yes. It’s… pretty awful, honestly. Couple that with anxiety and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

[11] gotten drunk and thrown up: I haven’t gotten drunk before, but I have thrown up after drinking an excessive amount of one of those Starbucks mocha drinks when I was a kid. I can’t even look at one of those things anymore because of that.

 LIST 3 FAVOURITE COLOURS:

[12] Purple, like an orchid. C:

[13] Sky blue is rather pretty~

[14] I know black isn’t technically a color but I sure have a lot of black shirts pfft.

 IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

[15] made new friends: Tiia and Beth ( @wingsonghalo)~! :D they might be internet friends but I love talking to them every day <3

[16] fallen out of love: Never really been in love tbh. I’ve had crushes that I’ve grown out, that’s close enough right?

[17] laughed until you cried: That’s pretty much me all the time tbh.

[18] found out someone was talking about you: In high school I think… but they weren’t really bad things.

[19] met someone who changed you: Like, for better/worse? I guess most of the people I’ve met have influenced me in some way or another.

[20] found out who your true friends are: Yep. Kinda happened after I graduated from high school.

[21] kissed someone on your Facebook list: Other than my mom and dad? Nope.

 GENERAL…

[22] how many of your tumblr friends do you know in real life: Other than my friend Kelsie, and a few people from high school. Sadly I do not know Tiia or Beth in real life and that makes me very sad, I wanna meet you guys so bad dang it T^T

[23] do you have any pets: Hah, oh god yeah. Three horses, three sheep (we used to have hundreds when I was a kid), three cats (two are mine and they’re my babies c: ), and two little dogs—a purebred pug and a pug/Pekingese mix. Oh, and my family lives on a farm, in case that needed some clarification.

[24] do you want to change your name: pfft hell no, I love my name. Besides, you’re not gonna meet many people who’s name is Rosaleen (and spelled exactly like that too)

[25] what did you do for your last birthday: I went out to a restaurant with some of my family. It was a school day for my brothers though, and my younger bro had football practice, so it was really just me, my mom, my grandma, and my sister with her baby.

[26] what time did you wake up: a little before 9 AM since I had to go to class.

[27] what were you doing at midnight last night: Pumping out mini profiles for my Pokémon fankids because my priorities are trash. Oh, and playing Candy Crush Jelly.

[28] name something you cannot wait for: MarissonShipping Week! :D I can’t wait to participate in it!!

[29] when was the last time you saw your mother: This morning when I got dropped off at college.

[30] what is one thing you wish you could change about your life: I wish I didn’t have social anxiety so I could actually go out and be productive, and not be so terrified of social interaction with strangers. It’s awful.

[31] what are you listening to right now: Whatever’s playing on Pandora Radio. When I got to this question, “Blood Like Gasoline” by Against the Current was playing.

[32] have you ever talked to a person named tom: Uhh, I knew a Tom in high school… he was kind of a bum though.

[33] something that is getting on your nerves: Whenever my brother doesn’t put away the dishes properly, or doesn’t put them all away. IT’S NOT THAT HARD BRO. HONESTLY.

[35] elementary: Like, elementary school? I guess it was okay… well, except for the boys constantly picking on me. That sucked. And that’s about the time my parents separated. That also sucked. Yeah, elementary school just really sucked.

[36] high school: Oh man I really miss the high school I went to. I flourished so well there and had a great time.

[37] college: Honestly… pretty boring. I’m just taking my general studies and getting them out of the way before I transfer to another college, so I can focus on what I love. The problem is, I really don’t know what I want to do with that. It’s very frustrating.

[38] hair colour: Oh god it always changes because it’s got a bunch of different highlights. It’s like, a reddish-brown with gold highlights, and it gets lighter in the sun. It’s really weird.

[39] long or short hair: Uhh, right now it’s like, a little over shoulder-length. I usually keep it a bit shorter because I never do much with my hair.

[40] do you have a crush on someone: Nope, and when I did get crushes it was always on the wrong kind of person. So I kinda hate crushes on real people since it always disappoints pfft.

[41] what do you like about yourself?: Oh jeez, what DO I like about myself? Well… I guess the fact that I can exceed my own expectations? Like, with driving, I didn’t think I’d do well with it at all—and now that I’ve been driving for over a year now, I’m actually a lot better at it. And on a couple of exams that I took a few weeks ago, I thought I’d get at least a B on them; turns out that I got A’s on both of them. And I like that a lot lol

[42] piercings: I’ve got one in my earlobes, and in high school I used to wear earrings all the time. Now it’s like, kinda sporatic.

[43] blood type: I think it’s a B-. RedCross really wants me to donate again because they keep calling me lmao.

[44] nickname: I go by Mystic on Tumblr and Rose in real life.

[45] relationship status: Single, and tbh that doesn’t bother me too much.

[46] zodiac sign: Virgo c:

[47] pronouns: she/her

[48] fav tv show: Lately I’ve been really into Forensic Files—it’s about older cases and the techniques that were used to solve them. I also love Bones and Criminal Minds. And, of course, there’s the Pokémon Anime.

[49] tattoos: Nope. Though I should get the backs of my hands tattooed so I know which one’s left and which one’s right. It’s a dumb thing to forget but agh I forget way too often.

[50] right or left handed: Right-handed!

 FIRST…

[51] surgery: When I was in first grade I broke my left arm and needed surgery. I also had my tonsils and adenoids removed.

[52] piercing: Ears. I believe I got them in eighth grade.

[53] best friend: My friend Miranda, we’ve been best friends since elementary school c: she’s mostly working now but I usually try to get together with her if her schedule allows.

[55] vacation: I remember going to Washington DC for the first time in fifth grade for a weekend. I don’t remember a whole lot about it though. I guess my first ‘real’ vacation was the class trip I went on in eighth grade, which was also to Washington DC but it was for a whole week. Though I twisted my foot literally the day before I had to leave, so I hobbled about on crutches for the most part, and I had a wheel chair for one of the night tours. A lot of my classmates had fun pushing me around in it lol.

[56] pair of trainers: Is that like, a kind of shoe or sneaker? I’m afraid I have no clue.

 RIGHT NOW…

[57] eating: Nothing. I have a protein bar but I’m kinda stuffed from the breakfast sandwich I had earlier.

[58] drinking: Still working on my mocha coffee cooler.

[59] I’m about to: Eventually post this, preferably before I go to class at 2:00 PM.

[60] listening to: I think I answered this question already earlier… well, now Pandora Radio is playing “Miss Jackson” by Panic at the Disco.

[61] waiting for: uh, nothing in particular. I guess for this day to be over?

[62] want: I can’t really think of anything at the moment.

[63] get married: Ehh, I guess of the person is rich I wouldn’t mind. Though if they want kids I’ll have to drag them to the nearest adoption center, there’s plenty of children there. I don’t necessarily want to procreate when there’s kids that can be adopted into a loving home.

[64] career: Currently a suffering student pfft. I guess I’d like to be an accomplished author or someone who works with animals. Maybe I could even help write movies? Who knows.

 WHICH IS BETTER…

[65] hugs or kisses: I’m a sucker for hugs

[66] lips or eyes: Eyes are nice.

[67] shorter or taller: Meh, I’m not picky.

[68] older or younger: Ehh, not picky here either.

[69] romantic or spontaneous: I like both tbh c:

[70] nice arms or nice stomach: bruh do I gotta choose. Bruh.

[71] sensitive or loud: sensitive

[72] hook up or relationship: Relationship

[73] troublemaker or hesitant: hesitant

 HAVE YOU EVER…

[74] kissed a stranger? Definitely not.

[75] drank hard liquor? I think I tried it (with parent supervision of course). It was nasty lmao.

[76] lost glasses/contact lenses? I don’t believe so. I can’t exactly see without my glasses so they’re usually on my face or on my nightstand.

[77] turned someone down: I think someone asked me out in sixth grade and I turned him down. I kinda felt a little bad because the people I was friends with at the time teased him about it.

[78] sex on first date? Bruh I haven’t even been on a date lmao xD

[79] broken someone’s heart? If I ever did I’m so sorry ;;

[80] had your own heart broken? Yeah…

[81] been arrested? No

[82] cried when someone died? Yes

[83] fallen for a friend? Yeah, it was a crush I had on a guy friend in middle school. We both loved Pokémon and would pretend to have battles during recess. We drifted apart eventually, and he hung out a lot with this other girl. I guess he had a crush on her, but I’m not sure. I kinda miss that.

  DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

[84] yourself? Uhhh, probably not as much as I should...

[85] miracles? It depends

[86] love at first sight? Meh, not really.

[87] Santa Claus? Kinda grew out of that a while ago lol

[88] kiss on the first date? Sure why not?

[89] angels?: I’m kind of indifferent.

 OTHER…

[90] current best friend’s name: Miranda, Kelsie, Beth, and Tiia c:

[91] eye colour: brown

[92] favourite movie: I recently watched Moana and I absolutely loved it, so I’m gonna roll with Moana! :)

 I can’t really think of anyone to tag at the moment, so if anyone wants to do this you’re more than welcome to ^.^

[kalosstarters]

Me again! lmao maybe no one else is online, but I am the only one who has to work this early ;-; okay, 26, 31 & 2!!

Oh. It’s you again. (lmao) I hope you’ll have a good work day

2. Talk about three of the most important ships throughout your life.

Odl. These are difficult to choose bc I have maaany ships that have been important to me at some point. But maybe I’ll pick these ones:

Peeta and Katniss/Everlark (The Hunger Games)

OTP stands for “oh the pain” (one true pairing? I don’t know them) and this ship is certainly that. It’s just… so tragic and beautiful in basically every way, and the only thing I don’t like about it is what happens to Peeta in Mockingjay, but even that part is kinda necessary for the plot development, I feel. I was a goner from the moment when I read how Peeta had saved Katniss as a child and given her hope, and HAD FEELINGS FOR HER when they were destined to kill each other (which obviously didn’t happen), ughhhh. And then all the small moments that make me adsjfgsj. Fake dating. Peeta fiddling with Katniss’ hair when they were watching the sunset, and Katniss getting fixated by his eyelashes. Sleeping (literally sleeping) together. Comforting each other when they had nightmares (something I imagine also Marisson doing ahdsjhdsj). The hard as stone Katniss finally realizing that it was real (people who have read those books understand this reference). AND IT IS EFFING CANON AND THEY HAD TWO KIDS AND GOODBYE WORLD I HAD FORGOTTEN HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS SHIP ADFSDF. They were the ship to me before my poke/mon phase started.

Ryan and Marissa (The O.C.)

This ship messed up my life seriously during my early teenage years (and a bit after that too). I don’t have as much to say about them as I had about everlark, but the basic broody “bad” boy and the girl next door trope works every time. Tho I must admit that they had their best moments when they were not (officially) together, such as the swimming scene (and the cuddling in the Tijuana episode!!) that ended way too quickly in season 1, them planning the bonfire, and Marissa staying at Cohens’ for a moment during season 2… Those are the moments I value the most. Season 3 (none of it, not even a certain tiki hut scene) never happened to me. I hate everything about it, and hate how the writers first ruined Marissa’s character, and then… totally unnecessarily did something I can’t ever forgive. She. was. supposed. to. go. to. Greece. No. need. to. kill. her. off. Grrr. (It never happened)

I realize I talk about these ships too much considering many of my followers probably don’t care about these things…

Marissonshipping

My current OTP ♥ Without them I wouldn’t be as big a Pokémon fan as I am now. I would still like the anime and the games, but this ship was the salt this fandom needed to truly pique my interest. Now, I’ve said it 13435454 times, and I’m gonna say it again, that I don’t ship the TSME/XY&Z era Mairin and Alain romantically (i.e. in the “dffdgd get together already” way) but rather as a ship in which I see a lot of potential to be something more in the future when the circumstances are right. There’s so much I love about their friendship that I don’t even know where to start from. I love how they are like night and day (even their main colors indicate that) - the broody boy and happy girl, the classic :’) - but still learn to care about each other a lot, and Alain wants to protect Mairin and make her smile again while Mairin makes Alain loosen up a bit. And it’s pretty much canon that Mairin has a crush on him in the end, I mean have you seen how she looks like in the group photo and during the dance scene? (Obviously Alain cares about her a lot too, as seen in many occasions particularly during XY&Z) Feel free to disagree, but I also feel that the writers made them stick together at the end of xy&z for a reason. Something is building there, and while they are still way too young to start a relationship, what we see is the beginning of something beautiful :3 (Ps. the hug ♥___♥)

(shoutout to my Harry Potter ships, particularly Romione)

26. Have you noticed a pattern in your shipping? Is there a romantic dynamic you’re more drawn to?

Well, yeah. Even when you look at these ships I just listed, I’m drawn to ships in which one of the characters kinda broody/mysterious/hard to read or approach, while the other one is usually happier and someone who understands them and knows what they’ve been through and how to support them. I’m also a sucker for ships that have small, casual, adorable moments, such as cuddling and some other things I mentioned in the everlark and ryrissa sections. 

Also: “opposites attract each other” and “from enemies to friends to lovers”. Good.

31. Talk about one of your favorite headcanons for a ship you love.

My blog is full of Marisson headcanons and I don’t think there’s much I haven’t shared. But in a nutshell for those who might not be as familiar with my headcanons: I HC that after a while of searching for the mega stones Mairin leaves for her own journey and travels in Hoenn, Kanto and Johto while Alain studies to become a pokemon doctor, and when she returns, they travel through Kalos again, this time so Mairin can participate in the Kalos league (and Alain doing some field work meanwhile) and eventually realize they have feelings for each other. Mairin wins the league and gets a chance to become an E4 member but she feels she isn’t ready yet and becomes a grass type gym leader instead (she’ll become E4 later). A few years later they get married and eventually have 3 kids, Marisse, Alex and Amelia. 

That’s the “main story” I have for them, but if you want some smaller scale headcanons, I for example HC that during their second Kalos journey after Mairin’s return they end up sharing a tent and comfort each other when they have nightmares about their past - which still happens from time to time. I’m a sucker for that kind of things.