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Hotel Z. Home sweet home.
The vines twirled and weaved into one another. Leaves protruded from the vines, creating a nice blanket of foliage over the cream-colored windowsills. They failed to fully cover the windows, but that’s not what you were focused on. You took note of how the vines intertwined together, with almost no space in between.
You yearned to be close to someone like that.
Every step felt heavy. It were as if your feet had turned into bricks that you had to lug around, like everything else in your life. Everything was a burden, including this stupid tournament. What started as a nice vacation became yet another duty to fulfill. You were bestowed the task of saving the city of Lumiose.
But did you really want to?
What a horrible thing to think. Of course you wanted to. But it felt so difficult to get yourself to continue the fight every day. Never-ending days and sleepless nights. Destroying random peoples’ spirits. And on top of that, you had to deal with Rogue Mega Evolutions. While it warmed your heart to bring those suffering Pokémon out of their pain, it was a lot to deal with. It was all for a good cause, of course. But, you couldn’t get it out of your head that it was something that you had to do.
You had to. You just had to. No other option.
You wouldn’t want to disappoint your teammates, especially not him. And you wouldn’t want to allow Pokémon to suffer and the city to fall into disarray. What would everyone think? How would they feel knowing that someone so gifted had wasted their talents on self-preservation? That there was someone out there that could be their savior, but chose not to be?
The weight of the world was truly on your shoulders. You couldn’t bear it. But you had to. You just had to. No other option.
With your last few bits of strength, you walked through the door of the large hotel. The dim and cozy lights welcomed you. It gave you a sliver of your spirit back, yet only a sliver. The little sliver that would be used to go back to your bed.
Your bed that you never wanted to get out of.
You weakly smiled and let out a long exhale. You trudged over to the elevator, where Taunie/Urbain was standing there to greet you.
“Mppphm mppph mmm mppph?”
It all seemed like a blur. It hurt to try to comprehend what your friend was saying. Especially since you were barely awake.
“What…?”
“I said, how are you, y/n? You look tired.”
“Oh, uh, good. I am pretty tired though.”
“Well, you should probably head to bed, then. I won’t get in your way.”
They moved out of the way of the elevator. As your finger was about to press the button, you thought of something you desperately needed in that moment.
Solace.
“Where is he?”
Taunie/Urbain looked confused.
“Where’s who?”
“Oh, uh… AZ?”
“Oh! He’s in his room!”
They pointed to the area behind the counter.
“He might be sleeping though-“
Without hesitation, you walked over to the hallway behind the counter. You would regret to wake him up, but you needed someone to talk you. And only he would understand you. If he was asleep, you would simply go another night repeating this dreaded cycle. No big deal.
You approached AZ’s bedroom door, hoping that he was awake.
“Come in.”
His sweet, raspy voice followed your soft knocks against the door. You turned the cold doorknob to enter the room.
It was warm. Very warm. Not so much the temperature, but the overall atmosphere. Your tired, longing eyes met his, and you scanned your surroundings. AZ was in his pajamas: reading glasses, a maroon shirt and pair of pants, and a cute little nightcap. An old book with a detailed cover laid in his lap. The bed was quite large — fitting for someone of his size — and he seemed to be quite snug in there. He looked very comfortable and at ease, unlike you. You knew in your heart that he was almost never at ease, but he seemed so… relaxed. It was almost impossible to imagine otherwise.
The room was dimly lit, the perfect condition for lulling oneself to sleep. Maybe you interrupted his nightly routine. You wanted to turn away, ashamed of how self-centered you were.
“Why, hello, y/n. How was your day?”
Your mind was wiped of all negative thoughts. A smile crept onto your face. How could you not smile in this moment?
“Well…”
You couldn’t lie to him. That wouldn’t fix anything.
“Not great, but… that doesn’t matter.”
AZ’s eyebrows became tense as he gave you a concerned look.
“Tell me about it.”
You paused for a moment before removing your shoes at the door. “Well…” you started, as you closed the door and proceeded over to AZ’s bed.
“I guess… nothing bad really happened. It was just like any other day. But I suppose that’s the problem.”
“What do you mean?” AZ asked as you sat on his bed.
“Well, I’m just a bit… drained from the whole competition. It’s hard, y’know, busting your ass off every day fighting random people.”
AZ nodded with a hint of sadness in his expression.
“I understand. I can’t even begin to comprehend what that must be taking out of you.”
You laughed.
“At least you try…” You muttered under your breath.
You knew that wasn’t fair. The other members of Team MZ were going through the same thing as you. Well, not exactly. They don’t know what it’s like to feel nothing but pain every day. You wouldn’t wish that fate upon anyone. But that same fate met AZ. His case was slightly different, of course. He was at least 3000 years old, for crying out loud. And he had seen the worst of the Kalos War. There was so much of his past constantly weighing him down. He wanted some solace from the burdens of life, too.
But, his reason for feeling this way was understandable.
“What was that?” AZ asked.
“Nothing.”
AZ patted the spot next to him on the bed.
“Why don’t you come here for a moment.”
A warm feeling filled your soul. AZ always knew how to cheer you up. You shifted over on the bed to be closer to him, sitting where he suggested. You nestled in close to him and he put his large hand on your head.
“Well, it’s just… really hard to keep fighting. Every day feels like… well, not exactly a burden, but some kind of challenge I need to overcome. I can’t do it. Well, I have to do it. But, it’s taking so much out of me.”
“y/n… you can always come talk to me if you’re ever feeling this way.”
He was so damn sweet. And understanding, too. That’s part of why you loved him so much.
“Thank you, AZ. And thank you for listening to me.”
Even though you knew it was probably a better idea to talk things out, you didn’t want to. It put you in an even worse mood to dwell on such things. You came here to talk, but now it was just making you more upset.
“I…” With tears in your eyes, you looked up at AZ. “Can we not talk about that right now, though?”
“Of course. We can talk about whatever you want.”
“Okay…”
You wrapped your arms around AZ’s waist and buried your face into his chest. He accepted your embrace and cradled you in his arms.
There were many qualities that made AZ unlike any other man you had met before. He was wise. He was kind. Above all, he was caring. He cared a heck of a lot for the people he loved, especially his beloved Floette. Even to a fault, he cared for those around him. One of those people was you.
All of the evils of the world seemed to melt away as you remained in AZ’s embrace. No pain. No sadness. No hopelessness. None of that. You could take a break from the world and just be with him, and he could take a break from the world to just be with you.
And it felt lovely.
“Can we just stay here? Like this?”
AZ looked down at you, hugging you a little bit tighter.
“I would love that. I enjoy being at your side.”
The tears in your eyes finally escaped and trickled down your cheeks. AZ quickly, but gently, wiped them away.
“I… I love you AZ…” you whispered in between sniffles. “More than anything…”
AZ returned your words with a tender smile.
“I love you too, y/n…”
You could feel yourself being pulled closer and closer to AZ. You didn’t pull back. Suddenly, he gave you a loving kiss on the forehead and gazed into your eyes.
“I know that this world can be cruel… I wish you never had to bear its cruelty. But, I will always be here if you need someone to help you along the way.”
Your tears flowed once again, with even more intensity. AZ didn’t try to stop your tears. He simply gave you a nice, big hug. And that was honestly all you needed.
You didn’t need to say anything in return. He knew that you reciprocated his words. That you would always be there for him too. Whether he would accept your help was a different story. He didn’t think that he deserved any of your love for him. But he accepted it nonetheless.
“I just… I just wish I could deal with this stuff on my own.” You blurted out as you wiped your tears with your sleeve.
“Nobody can deal with life on their own. We’re human. We’re meant to have bonds with one another. That’s how we get through life, with our relationships with one another.”
“You’re right.” You sniffled. AZ was, in fact, right. But, that didn’t stop you from feeling that there was something that separated you from everyone else. Something about you was different. Everyone else seemed to be able to handle their own burdens, but you always had to run to someone else to coddle you, usually AZ. Maybe he didn’t want this.
“Do I ever feel like a burden to you?”
AZ’s eyes widened. His expression became instantly filled with sorrow.
“y/n… why would you ask me that? Of course you’re not a burden to me.”
“I just… I feel like I’m always running to you to help me with my problems. It’s not fair to you.”
AZ looked down at his book. He placed a bookmark between the pages and closed it softly.
“That’s very thoughtful of you. But, please don’t worry about me. I’d much rather help you than watch you suffer in silence.”
“But you-“
“Shh…” AZ hushed you, putting his finger on your lips. He took his hand and began to stroke your face.
“It hurts my heart to see you in pain. More than you could ever imagine. So please, don’t try to go through this alone just because you feel like that’s what you should do. I traveled through life alone for so many years… it was honestly miserable. I don’t want you to live the same way as I did. I want you to live knowing that you’re loved.”
You were taken aback by his response. You paused for a moment. The warm feeling from before filled you to the brim. You certainly felt loved. You wanted him to feel the same.
“I… I want you to live knowing that you’re loved, too. By me. And Floette. And everyone in Team MZ.”
AZ smiled. You thought that you could see tears forming in the corners of his eyes, but you pushed that thought to the back of your head.
“Thank you, y/n. I’m not sure they love me in the same way that you do, though.”
“Well, it’s definitely a different kind of love. That’s for sure.”
The two of you shared a laugh. You got up on your knees to give AZ a kiss. His cheeks turned a rosy color afterwards.
“I… I have an idea.”
“What is it?” you inquired.
AZ pulled the covers out from under you to tuck you in. You cooperated and allowed him to pull the blankets and sheets over the both of you.
“May I read you a story? I’m sure you must be tired after such a long day.”
You got closer to AZ again and snuggled back in.
“Sure.”
AZ flipped to a specific point in his book.
“I’ll start here… There was sometimes a certain king, inhabiting in the Wmmpphh pmmmph… Yet the singular passing beauty and maidenly mmmmppphh…”
You were sure that AZ’s story was interesting, but a wave of exhaustion suddenly swept over you. Everything became a blur. A beautiful blur. Just you next to the man you loved, drifting off into your much-needed slumber.
You finally found the solace that you were searching for.