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The situation had gone from bad to worse.
The snowstorm had come on sooner than expected.
Tom had not wanted to be delayed for an indeterminate number of days waiting out the storm. He thought he and his Pokémon could push through it if they moved quickly and make it to the next town before the storm reached them. He should have stayed at the Pokémon Center in the last town. He’d made a mistake.
What had started off as a light snow quickly turned into a blizzard.
As the storm had gotten worse the ledge they were standing on had broken unexpectedly from beneath their feet. Thankfully Arbok was still in her pokeball, but Cubone who was sitting on his shoulder had gotten separated from him in the fall.
Thankfully the drop wasn't too steep and he’d made it out with only a few minor scrapes and bruises. However, after picking himself up from the ground there was no sign of Cubone. The snowstorm was in full swing which did not help matters as it was almost impossible to see anything in it.
It was so bitingly cold he could barely feel his limbs. The coat he was wearing was not made for this type of weather. Nor were the rest of his clothes. The ice blowing against his face felt like small sharp knives. Despite the sting, he refused to stop his search.
He knew the smart thing to do would be to look for immediate shelter, but he wasn’t going to be like his father. He refused to abandon Cubone the way his family had abandoned him.
Both motherless and alone, he and Cubone had made a promise to each other when they first met. They were going to become stronger together.
He was going to prove everyone who said he couldn’t be a trainer wrong. Not only would he become a trainer, but he would become the strongest trainer.
But he couldn’t do it without Cubone by his side. Cubone was his first Pokémon and the first one to believe in him and trust in him. He hadn’t even officially caught Cubone with a pokeball until months into their journey together when he finally managed to steal an empty pokeball from another trainer’s camp when they were distracted. Despite not officially being caught Cubone still agreed to follow him. He had to find him. Giving up his search was not an option.
Worry and fear gnawed at him. The visibility was so bad that he could barely see his own hand in front of his face. If it was this bad for him, it must be even worse for Cubone.
“Cubone!”
“If you can hear me answer me!”
“Cubone!”
He continued calling out until his voice was hoarse.
However, the only answer he received was the howling wind.
He was growing more despondent as he trudged through the snow with no sign of his Pokémon, but then he heard a rhythmic tapping sound ringing out faintly. He strained his ears trying to pinpoint where it was coming from.
He followed the rhythmic tapping until he found Cubone who was huddled against a rock only slightly larger than his small body. It was clear that Cubone had been trying to use the rock for slight cover, though the rock wasn’t providing much help in a blizzard this strong. Cubone was weakly, but determinedly using his bone club to strike the rock to send a distress signal.
“Cubone! It’s alright. I’m here now. Everything is going to be okay,” said Tom, picking up Cubone and holding him to his chest using his own body to try to shield as much of the ice and wind from hitting Cubone.
“I’m going to need you to get in your pokeball and I’ll get us out of here,” said Tom, but Cubone just weakly shook his head.
“What do you mean no?” asked Tom incredulously.
Cubone pointed at Tom.
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I’m bigger than you, that means the weather won’t affect me as much,” lied Tom.
“It’ll be easier for me to carry you in the pokeball and get us both out,” he assured.
At his words, Cubone relented and agreed to go into his pokeball.
Tom tried to make his way through the storm looking for any type of shelter. He thought he might have seen a cave entrance earlier and tried heading back to what he hoped was the right direction. In these conditions it was impossible to tell.
He didn’t know how long he had been walking. It could have been minutes or hours. It was also getting harder to focus. His movements grew more sluggish as time passed and he felt so tired. Tom only made it a few more steps before he collapsed in the snow, his hand still tightly gripped around Cubone’s pokeball refusing to part from it even as he lost consciousness.
“What’s gotten into you, Dartrix?” asked Draco, slightly annoyed by his Pokémon’s light pecking that seemed to become more incessant.
He’d just helped Dartrix groom his feathers so Draco knew that couldn’t be the reason he was trying to draw his attention.
In reply Dartrix grabbed his sleeve in his beak and pulled Draco toward the entrance of the cave.
“We can’t go outside yet. It’s snowing way too hard outside for it to be safe,” reminded Draco, trying to reason with his Pokémon.
However, the other ignored his words and pulled even harder toward the cave entrance. Seeing that Dartrix was not going to let the matter go, Draco followed Dartrix to whatever it was he wanted to show him.
“Alright, what is it?” asked Draco standing at the entrance of the cave where Dartrix had dragged him.
Dartrix used his wing to point at the lump of snow that was positioned just beyond the entrance a few steps away from where they were standing. Peaking out beneath the layer of snow was a hand firmly gripping a pokeball.
Dartrix’s sharp eyes had seen the flash of metal and realized that there was a person attached to it.
Draco tightened his coat and walked out into the unforgiving storm. He brushed off the layer of snow revealing the figure of a boy who appeared to be around his age. The other boy had dark hair and appeared to be half frozen from the blizzard that seemed to have enveloped the area. His lips were a worrying shade of blue.
“Please don’t be dead!” exclaimed Draco out loud to himself as he carefully carried the other boy out of the snowstorm into the shelter of the cave.
When Tom woke up he was aware of four major things.
The first was that he was somehow alive.
The second was that he was wrapped in a blanket.
The third thing was that he was not alone in the blanket.
The fourth and most alarming thing was that he was barely wearing any clothes and so was the person who was hugging him from behind.
“Pervert! What did you do with my clothes?!” accused Tom, swinging his hand wildly, hitting the other in the face.
At the action the figure rolled out of the blanket in a mess of limbs as Tom grabbed the blanket wrapping it tighter to cover himself.
The figure who had been holding him looked to be about his age. The boy had white blond hair and grey eyes.
“That hurt!” shouted the other boy, backing away and holding his nose.
“Serves you right! What kind of sick pervert strips someone of their clothes and makes them wear their pants!”
“You’d have died if you stayed in wet clothes! And you didn’t have any clothes of your own that didn’t get soaked through from the snow! Stop giving me that look! I’m not a pervert! I didn’t do anything weird to you! The manuals all said this is what you’re supposed to do if you get hypothermia!” yelled Draco, his face red with indignation and embarrassment at the accusation.
“That doesn’t explain why you were hugging me!”
“I needed to slowly raise your body temperature! The manuals said skin to skin contact would help! If I put you by the fire it would have been too dangerous. Doing it too quickly could potentially give you a heart attack! If you die you’d be dead!”
“Yes. People tend to be dead when they die,” said Tom deadpan at the other’s redundant remark, trying to appear more in control than he felt at the moment.
It seemed his life was saved by a complete idiot.
“Not only would it be bad if you died in general, but I’d have to report the body and my parents would find out because finding a dead body is a pretty big deal and then I would never get to leave the house again! They were already hesitant about me going on a journey! I only managed to convince them to let me go this year! If they found out someone my age died out here where I was I’d never hear the end of it!” ranted Draco loudly as he got dressed.
“I was holding a pokeball before this. Where is it?” demanded Tom, ignoring the other’s complaints.
“Oh. I kept it safe and sound for you. It seemed important. You were holding onto it as if your life depended on it,” said Draco, pulling out the pokeball from his pocket.
“Give it to me,” ordered Tom.
Draco held out the pokeball to the other.
Tom was about to grab the pokeball with his right hand but felt a twinge of pain run through his hand as he lifted it, noticing the careful bandages wrapped around it.
“You were holding cold metal with your bare hand. You had a pretty bad ice burn from it,” explained Draco.
“I applied some ointment to it and bandaged it the best I could, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to use it much until it’s fully healed. It's bad to exacerbate an injury,” said Draco, the last line sounding like he was parroting words he’d been told before.
Tom resignedly switched to grab the pokeball with his other hand instead.
Once the pokeball was in Tom’s hand he let Cubone out to assess his injuries.
Cubone was breathing shallowly and had cuts across his body where the sharp wind and ice had pelted him.
Tom gently held Cubone cradling him in his arms. A deep furrow marred his face as he looked down at the other’s injuries.
“I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have insisted we keep going. I’ll get us out of here and fix things. Just hold on a little longer,” said Tom quietly, trying to reassure Cubone who was letting out little cries of pain.
His attention was pulled away by a second set of crying.
“Why are you crying?” asked Tom incredulously.
The other boy clearly wasn’t injured in any way.
“He seems really hurt,” said Draco looking at Cubone.
Draco hated seeing Pokémon seriously hurt.
“Wait here I have something I think will help,” stated Draco, wiping at his eyes and making his way to his bag.
Tom watched as Draco started pulling numerous items out in his search trying to find whatever item it was he was looking for. Pokeballs, clothes, cooking ingredients, potions, a set of binoculars, and rope were only the start of some of the items that were slowly making a pile around Draco.
Was that a frying pan?! And a tea set?!
“Did you pack the entire PokeMart in your bag?!” asked Tom in disbelief.
“It’s necessary to be prepared when going on a journey,” replied Draco defensively.
There was also the fact that his parents wouldn’t let him leave if he wasn’t packed with enough supplies that met their standards.
“Found it!”
“I only have one left, but I think you need it more than I do,” said Draco holding out a Max Revive toward Tom.
Tom stared at it with wide eyes.
A Max Revive wasn’t exactly cheap. Although based on the amount of items Draco had and the quality of his clothes he seemed to be very well off and could probably easily afford whatever high price a seller asked for.
However he did mention this was his last one. Even if Draco had the money on him to buy another one they were days away from any PokeMart and few locations sold it. If any. In the event that Draco needed one in the next few days then he’d be out of luck. There was also no way of telling how long this storm would last. It was a risk to give such a rare item away in this type of situation.
“What do you want in exchange for it?” asked Tom suspiciously.
“Um, nothing?” remarked Draco with a confused look crossing his face, as if he hadn’t even thought it was something that needed to be questioned in the first place in the current circumstance.
“Then why are you giving it to me?” asked Tom, trying to gauge Draco’s intentions.
“Your Cubone is really injured. There’s no reason he should needlessly suffer if he doesn’t have to,” pointed out Draco.
“You’re an idiot,” scoffed Tom, swiping it from the other’s hand before Draco could change his mind.
“Hey!”
“Thank you,” mumbled Tom.
At the words, Draco stopped midway from the rant he was about to go on regarding being called an idiot.
“You’re welcome,” replied Draco awkwardly, shuffling his feet as Tom focused his efforts on healing Cubone.
Max Revives really did do wonders. After it was used, Cubone looked as if his injuries had never been there.
Tom’s shoulders sagged in relief at the sight.
“I’m Draco by the way,” said Draco, realizing he had yet to formally introduce himself.
“Tom.”
Though he still had his guard up around him, after Draco had helped to heal Cubone, Tom acted less hostile toward him.
Tom was wearing an extra set of Draco’s clothes as his own were still drying by the fire.
There wasn’t much to do to pass the time except talk to each other. The blizzard did not seem as if it would be stopping any time soon. It seemed they would likely be trapped here together for days.
“Can you believe it! My parents wouldn’t let me go until I turned twelve! Twelve!” complained Draco.
“So how long have you been a trainer?” asked Draco, curiously.
“A year,” replied Tom.
“What about your parents? Is that why you started your journey later too?” asked Draco.
Draco had found out that they were around the same age, though Tom was about six months older than him.
“I don’t have any parents,” replied Tom shortly.
“How can you not have parents? Everyone has parents!” exclaimed Draco.
“Oh! I know maybe you were a baby who was wished into existence by a Jirachi, I’ve heard they can grant wishes you know. Perhaps some evil organization captured a Jirachi and they wanted to see if a Pokémon could create human life and use you for nefarious purposes. But then one of the scientists felt bad and got attached thinking you were an innocent baby who didn’t deserve such a tragic fate. So he spirited you away from the bad guys, but he tragically died saving you and that’s why you don’t have any parents!”
“What?! No! Why is that your first assumption?!”
“My mom died when I was born in childbirth. My dad was never there and abandoned us, I’ve never met him and as far as I’m concerned he’s as good as dead too,” said Tom viciously.
“I’m an orphan,” continued Tom, his mood seeming to have turned for the worse.
“Oh. I can’t imagine my father ever abandoning me and Mother,” commented Draco thoughtlessly.
“Lucky you,” said Tom coldly, turning his back to Draco.
Draco realized he’d said something wrong again and had upset the other boy.
This always happened eventually. He thought he was doing well trying to make friends on his journey and then he’d put his foot in his mouth. He’d say something that offended the other person and they wouldn’t want to be his friend anymore. Well if that was the case he didn’t want to be their friend either! But traveling without friends was lonely…
But Tom quite literally couldn’t leave the cave so he had time to make it work this time.
“Do you want some hot cocoa? I have enough left to make at least two cups. I think you’re well enough now that a warm drink won’t be too harsh on your system,” suggested Draco, trying to make it up to the other boy.
“Sure.”
Tom was not going to say no to free food. He was stubborn, not stupid.
“Do you want to play a game of chess together to pass the time?” asked Draco.
“You packed a chess set too?!” asked Tom incredulously.
“Well is that a yes or no?” asked Draco.
“…Alright.”
It would be less boring than staring at the wall for hours.
“Brilliant!” exclaimed Draco as he made his way to his bag to grab the game from his bottomless pit of supplies.
As they both sipped their hot cocoa and Tom strategically decimated Draco’s pieces on the board one by one, Tom took in his situation. Draco was a slightly annoying, spoiled, stupid rich kid who talked a mile a minute, but Tom concluded that things could be a lot worse.
When the storm finally stopped, they made their way out of the cave.
“Which way are you going?” asked Draco.
Tom stated the name of the nearest town from here.
Draco’s eyes lit up when he heard his answer.
“Hey I’m heading in the same direction! Let’s be traveling companions!” suggested Draco.
“I don’t need any traveling companions,” replied Tom.
Despite his words, Tom never made any moves to outpace Draco as they walked and always stopped whenever Draco did and vice versa.
Tom told himself that they were just heading in the same direction. It was inevitable that they would both be going the same way and route to get to the next town.
Besides, traveling alongside Draco meant he could use him for his well stocked set of supplies. He couldn’t deny that it made the journey much easier and more comfortable.
“I want to show you something,” said Draco, smiling.
They were currently camped for the evening, the sun was hanging low in the sky though it had yet to set which gave the place a warm glow.
“Stand right here,” said Draco to Tom pointing to the ground across from him.
“I’m standing here. What am I supposed to be seeing?” asked Tom blandly.
“Just wait. It’s a surprise!”
“Alright guys just like we did for Mum’s birthday,” instructed Draco to his Pokémon, moving to stand a short distance from Tom.
“Alright Servine, use Magical Leaf!” shouted Draco pointing at Tom.
Tom’s eyes widened in betrayal before he shut them, throwing up his arms in front of his face to brace himself for the attack.
He was stupid to trust the other!
“Hey! Open your eyes, you're going to miss the best part!” complained Draco, snapping him out of his defensive position.
As Tom opened his eyes he realized that the move had not harmed him. There was not a single scratch on him that a move like Magical Leaf directed at an opponent would leave. It was Magical Leaf, but it was as if it was the weakest version of it. It floated around Tom’s body moving around him almost as if the leaves were dancing in the wind.
Tom lowered his arms from his face, sweeping one of them curiously through the leaves watching them move around his hand as if in a playful caress.
“Now it’s your turn, Dartrix! Use your wings to bring the leaves higher into the air and use Leafage! Servine, use Vine Whip like we practiced!” called out Draco.
Servine arranged his vines into different shapes for Dartrix to fly through while the bird Pokémon guided the leaves with the speed of his tailwind through the different shaped loops. It started off with simple circles, then moved on to stars, and then a final heart where the leaves shot through its center alongside Dartrix. As Dartrix flew through he pivoted his body, flapping his wings to make the leaves scatter around before letting them rain down in a shower of leaves that gently drifted around them in a grand finale.
“Great job everyone!” exclaimed Draco to his Pokémon who preened at the praise.
“What did you think?” asked Draco, expectantly turning toward Tom.
“How’s that going to help in a battle?” questioned Tom in confusion.
“It’s not about battling, it's just supposed to be pretty,” drawled Draco, rolling his eyes.
“Did you not like it?” asked Draco, his face falling into an insecure pout.
“I didn’t say that,” said Tom.
“But you at least thought it looked pretty right?” asked Draco with hopeful eyes.
Tom tilted his head in consideration before answering.
“It was pretty,” concluded Tom, drawing a smile from Draco.
“But I still think it’s useless in battle, you’d waste too much time looking flashy when you should be going in for the finishing blow to win the match,” said Tom, drawing a snort of laughter from Draco.
“Not everything is about battling,” said Draco.
“I beg to differ,” stated Tom.
Draco would take what he could get. He had started to figure out that Tom was just like this. Very single-minded in his goals.
“I think the soup is done, let’s go eat before it goes cold. You should probably go wake up Cubone and Arbok from their naps so they can join us,” said Draco with a fond shake of his head.
To be honest, Draco had been feeling rather lonely since he’d started his journey six months ago.
Crabbe and Goyle had gone off on their own Pokémon journey together when they both turned ten.
Pansy had her rivalry with Parvati and when she heard that her rival was starting her own journey any plans to wait until Draco could join her to go together were forgotten.
Blaise decided to travel abroad for his own journey.
Theo didn’t want to be a trainer and was more interested in becoming a researcher. He already had an internship lined up with the local professor and saw no reason to travel at the moment.
His own parents had deemed that he wasn’t old enough to go on his own yet even though most kids his age could. They wanted to wait until he was older and more prepared, just in case.
Draco had made a loud stink about it, but there was no getting around it. He had even thrown a big tantrum regarding the matter when he’d been ten. All his peers got to go, but he couldn’t. Sometimes he could bully his father into getting his way, but this was not one of those times. His mother was adamant that he wait and his father agreed with her. She’d put her foot down and that was that.
If they both agreed with the decision Draco knew it was a lost cause. Though he’d eventually worn them down enough that they agreed to let him go this year. Of course he’d had to memorize a mile long list of what to do in almost every conceivable emergency case scenario and had to agree to call his parents to check in with them whenever he reached a Pokémon Center.
Although it was fun and exciting to finally be on his own starting his journey, it was also a bit lonely.
While he enjoyed the company of his Pokémon, it wasn’t the same as interacting with another human being.
Draco liked traveling with Tom.
Sure Tom was a bit standoffish and had a blunt callousness about him, but Draco had found that the other also had a dry sense of humor that made him laugh. He could also be surprisingly sweet at times.
Once when Tom had left to go refill his water bottle, Draco had been goaded into a battle by another trainer passing by.
When Draco had lost the battle against the other trainer losing a fair amount of his money he’d taken it badly. It wasn’t so much losing the money that bothered him, but the humiliation of losing again. He’d been on a losing streak for a while now and this was more like the straw that broke the Camerupt’s back. It didn’t help that the other trainer’s mocking words after the battle had hit a little too close to home.
After that he had hidden behind a tree and cried.
That was how Tom had found him when he returned to their campsite.
“What happened?” demanded Tom.
Draco recounted what had occurred to the other. It was a miracle that Tom was able to understand what Draco was saying between all the sniffles and hiccuping sobs.
“A-and then he said that he bet I had l-lost almost every battle since I started my journey and that he felt sorry for my Pokémon for having to be stuck with such a poor trainer. T-that I’d get them seriously hurt one day with my nonexistent skills and I should just go home before I keep embarrassing myself,” cried Draco.
“Maybe he was right, maybe I should just turn around and go back home. Maybe I made a mistake coming out here,” sniffled Draco, whispering that last part to himself though it was loud enough that Tom heard it.
Draco had been hoping for some comforting words, but instead Tom had just left him crying there sitting under that tree without uttering a sound.
That only made Draco cry harder.
It seemed he was such a pathetic trainer that even Tom had abandoned him.
By the time Tom returned to their campsite, a few hours had passed and the sun was about to set. Draco was still crying where he’d left him. The other looked up at Tom in surprise as the other stood before him.
“I got it all back so stop crying already,” said Tom, holding out the money Draco had lost after his match.
“How?” asked Draco in wide eyed shock.
“How else? I battled him and won,” stated Tom plainly.
“You mean you went out and battled that other trainer to get my money back?” asked Draco, his eyes were still brimming with tears, but the crying seemed to have subsided.
“I thought we just established that. Are you dense?” questioned Tom, not sure why Draco was asking something he already knew.
“Now are you going to take it?” asked Tom impatiently.
“You keep it. You won it fair and square,” said Draco with a soft smile.
“But I won it back for you,” stated Tom, his brow slightly furrowed like he was trying to decipher a difficult puzzle.
“I know. It’s fine. I don’t mind if it’s you who keeps it,” said Draco.
Losing the money had made Draco sad. Draco still had not gotten it back, but was for some reason happy again. Tom did not understand why.
If Tom lost his money to someone he’d only be happy if he had gotten it back.
Draco was a confusing person. At least he’d returned to normal now.
Tom wasn’t in a place where he would say no to free money. Besides, Tom was better at handling their finances more responsibly than Draco as they traveled.
When they had run into the trainer again, the bloke had caught sight of Tom and turned ghostly pale before fleeing in the opposite direction.
“Did you beat him in the match that badly?” asked Draco in slight awe, but he also seemed pleased.
Tom had battled the other trainer on Draco’s behalf after all.
“Something like that,” said Tom, with a small upturn of his lips at the memory.
Draco did eventually get to see Tom in a Pokémon battle. They ran into a few other trainers on the way to their destination. Tom's battle style was very similar to his personality. He was just as calculating, quick-witted, and intense. It really was a sight to behold.
“That was brilliant! You’re amazing!” exclaimed Draco, a bit starry eyed at the display.
Once after a battle where Tom had won, Draco and his Pokémon had used their moves to create a sign spelling out the words ‘Congratulations Tom!’ out of leaves before it flew apart dropping around them like confetti.
Draco was so ridiculous.
Yet Tom did not hate it. It was kind of nice for once to have someone other than himself root for his victory.
And he should be doing it, Tom was going to become the strongest trainer. It’s just that it felt a bit different from having to tell himself that and another thing to have someone else believe it too.
When they reached the town they were heading to, Draco had left in a rush to call his parents at the Pokémon Center using their video phone. He reassured them that he was fine and explained why he was late in checking in with them. He left the part out of saving Tom from hypothermia glossing over the details of the snowstorm. All they needed to know was that the storm delayed him from calling and that he was perfectly healthy. He assured them that yes, he was going to meet up with his cousins now and not to worry. After exchanging the usual ‘I love you’s and promises to call again, Draco had to quickly meet up with his older cousins Sirius and Regulus who had been waiting for him in town so that he could join them in traveling together.
That was the last Tom had seen of Draco since they arrived here.
Now that they had reached their destination it was inevitable that they would part ways.
Tom had been on his own for far longer than he had traveled with Draco. He shouldn’t get stupidly attached. Draco was useful for the time being, but it was bad to get too dependent on someone else.
It was better this way.
At least that was what he told himself as he stood on the border of the town.
He should have left yesterday after he had gotten the information he needed on the next lead of where his mother’s family might be. He should stop dawdling. He tightened his grip on the strap of his bag and resolutely took a step away from the town.
“Hey wait up! Were you going to leave without me?!” shouted Draco with a pout and puffed up cheeks, looking indignant and haughty.
Tom turned around in surprise to the sight of Draco running after him.
“I thought you had to leave and travel with your cousins,” said Tom when the other stopped in front of him.
“Change of plans! Turns out I’m actually heading to the same place as you again,” announced Draco with a beaming smile.
“You don’t even know where I’m going,” pointed out Tom.
“Well where are you going?” asked Draco in turn, his hands on his hips.
Tom stated the name of the city he was traveling to against his better judgment.
“Perfect! That’s exactly where I was heading too!” said Draco, clearly lying but Tom didn’t call him out on it.
“Do whatever you want,” replied Tom neutrally, though a warm fluttering feeling swept through him as Draco moved to walk in step beside him.
“So which one of us is going to tell Cissa that we let her precious baby boy go off on his own?” grimaced Sirius.
“Is that even a question, obviously it’ll be you. Which one of us said and I quote ‘a boy his age should get to go off on his own and explore! A little rebellion is good for the soul!’” chided Regulus.
“Hey! You agreed the same as me!” shouted Sirius in his defense.
“Well what was I supposed to say? He looked like a kicked Litten about not getting to travel with his new friend,” argued Regulus with a sigh.
“Let’s flip a coin on it, leave it up to luck. Heads you do it. Tails I do it,” said Sirius, pulling out a coin from his pocket and flipping it into the air.
“Don’t look so smug about it,” groused Sirius, looking down at the coin.
“Elder brothers should protect their younger siblings,” pointed out Regulus with mocking false innocence.
“Oh shut it,” said Sirius wacking him on the arm, drawing a laugh from Regulus.
Many years had passed since their first meeting. In that time they had shared many ups and downs in their adventures together as they traveled far and wide.
“And he’s done it! Tom Riddle has become the new Pokémon Champion!” exclaimed the announcer across the entire stadium.
Confetti streamed down in waves as the entire crowd cheered.
“You did it! I knew you could do it! Congratulations!” exclaimed Draco excitedly, running down from the stands and leaping into the other’s arms to hug Tom.
Tom lifted him off his feet and spun him around in a circle before pulling him in close.
As they were joined together Tom leaned in further so that his lips were right by Draco’s ear.
“Marry me,” said Tom.
At his words Tom heard an intake of breath, before the other pulled slightly away to look into his eyes and nodded his head enthusiastically.
“Yes. Yes!” exclaimed Draco.
“Even after all these years you’re still such a crybaby,” remarked Tom, lifting his hand to wipe away Draco’s tears though he himself couldn’t keep the smile off his own face.
“I’m going to be married soon and my fiancé just achieved an amazing feat, I think some tears of happiness are appropriate for the occasion,” said Draco, before leaning in to kiss Tom.
As they kissed a camera flashed, immortalizing the moment.
The newspaper the next day bore the large headline ‘Trainer Tom Marvolo Riddle becomes new Pokémon Champion! Champion celebrates with engagement to renowned Pokémon Coordinator Draco Malfoy!’