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N's heart thudded heavily in his chest. As he stepped backward, his shoulders bumped against the frozen stone of the cave. The wintry chill immediately crept through the fabric of his jacket, biting into his skin. The shiver that raced down his spine had nothing to do with the cold, though, and everything to do with the silhouetted figure astride the shining black dragon.
He could not tear his eyes away as the dragon landed, dipping its muscular neck low so that the man could dismount and dash forward.
You found me...!
Was this real? Perhaps he really had died a hero's death moments earlier. Forcibly stripped of his partner Reshiram's strength but unwilling to bow to a despot, he was to be glaciated and devoured by Kyurem's pitiless jaws. The hollow shell of a dragon had no voice to speak of, no heart to listen to while it was under Ghetsis's spell; there would be no reasoning with Kyurem, just as his impassioned pleas to his father fell upon deaf ears.
As the light enveloped him, he didn't fear for his own fate, but that of all of Unova. Ghetsis would not have stopped once he'd murdered his wayward son. All life would suffer if N was killed.
But he did not die. A small, relieved smile crossed his countenance when he realized it was true: Touya really came for him.
They still had a chance.
He exhaled slowly, clutching at his chest as he fought to catch his breath. He had not been separated from Reshiram since the day they had bonded. He was strong now, strong enough to bear the suffering of his partner, strong enough to stand up to Ghetsis and protect this land he'd grown to love. He refused to break in front of Ghetsis, but it was hard to think of anything but reuniting with his partner, hard not to fall to his knees and scream out loud in desperation.
Touya! Save my friend! And all of Unova's people and Pokemon!
Hope swelled in his breast as Zekrom's iridescent scales crackled and sparked with electricity, blazing to life as the hero charged White Kyurem. He watched Ghetsis snarl and splutter with righteous indignation, and slam his cane down as he barked his commands. Touya, indomitable Touya, fired back with everything he had. N trusted he wouldn't hold back when he believed in what he was fighting for.
They were the same, when it came to that.
The dragons reared and clashed, claws gouging deep marks into the cavern floor as they grappled each other. Stentorian roars rattled stalactites loose and shattered ice as the beasts crashed repeatedly against one another. White fire scorched along the stone walls, following by arcs of blue lightning that Ghetsis narrowly dodged.
N's heart ached for Reshiram – the echoes of its voice were still audible to him, but corrupted by Kyurem's ravenous body. They would be separated again, but only once White Kyurem submitted to their will.
It must hurt terribly. Please endure this pain just a little longer, my friend.
He flinched, but refused to look away, as Zekrom caught the heavier dragon by the throat. Its white feathers were stained red as Zekrom's grip tightened, crushing its windpipe and dragging it to the ground. Dull yellow eyes went glassy and unfocused beneath the pressure. White Kyurem thrashed on instinct as its body began shutting down, fiery tail scalding the air to blistering temperatures.
N choked, heat searing his nostrils and throat. He raised his arms to shield his face against the blinding aura, right as he heard Touya cry out. Ghetsis screamed something over the din, but he could no longer discern what they were shouting. He sank low, as steam from evaporating ice filled the air with a haze of white.
When he opened his eyes again, the battle was over.
Reshiram was collapsed, separated, Kyurem's body slumped beneath Zekrom's dominant form. The black dragon reared and bellowed in victory. Its obsidian wings beat the air and bloodied teeth bared, as Kyurem rose and retreated deeper into the cave. They had won.
N's gaze swept quickly, and located Ghetsis in the arms of one of the Shadow Triad.
For a brief moment, N made eye contact with the servant, but had no command to issue. He hesitated. Kyurem was freed from control, and the remnants of Plasma would disband.
He would let Ghetsis go.
He nodded once, and the pair vanished. He did not know if they would ever meet again. Just like that, the cave fell silent.
N made a soft whine of distress and rushed to Reshiram's side. He ran his hands over the dragon's feathered body, exploring, reassuring. Beneath his fingertips, he found warmth and gratitude radiating from its form.
Reshiram lifted its massive head, blue eyes solemn, and pressed against N's chest. He was flooded with exhaustion and relief and something light and free, emotions abruptly roiling through his shivering frame. Together again, as they were meant to be. He stroked his fingers slowly through the dragon's downy crest, humming something under his breath as they both steadied each other.
He could feel Touya's eyes on him, patient but expectant. It took him a long moment to gather his jumbled thoughts back into something coherent.
Reshiram bowed its head and settled back on the cavern floor, satisfied their connection had been restored. Zekrom settled on its haunches nearby, burning gaze keeping careful watch on the corridor that Kyurem had fled through.
"On behalf of everyone, Reshiram thanks you," N blurted suddenly, and turned to face Touya. "I wanted to thank you too," he added too quickly, adjusting the brim of his hat.
Two years. It had been two years since they'd parted ways. He had been waiting all this time.
Curiosity welled to the brim – what have you seen? What have you learned with your partner? Did you find your dream? Were you looking for me, while I was looking for you?
Touya looked more mature, he supposed; his face was leaner, shoulders broader, although he hadn't gained any height. His jacket was stained with soot, his hair tousled and his cheeks chapped from the wind. The steadiness and warmth in his brown eyes was exactly how N remembered it.
There were flickers of red to be seen in his irises, though – just a spark here and there, like a flash of lightning, vanished as soon as he noticed them. Zekrom's influence made Touya's very presence more commanding, filling the cavern, demanding his respect and attention. He wondered how Touya saw him – if there was ever Reshiram's blue firelight in his own eyes, and whether Touya couldn't avert his gaze from it.
Touya studied him for a time, then quirked an eyebrow. "What, for fighting? If our roles were reversed, you would have done the same," he dismissed gently. The edges of his voice were hoarse, damaged by the smoke he'd inhaled.
N waved his hand -- of course he would have fought this battle, there was no question.
"That's not what I meant," he corrected. N stood tall with the noble bearing of the king and champion he'd once been, but he had discarded those titles. He stood now as Touya's equal. His hands curled into determined fists as he plunged onward. "The next time I saw you. I've been searching for you. I've been meaning to thank you for everything. You taught me so much about this world, and about myself, and I… I have so much I want to talk to you about. I want to know everything. I want to understand everything you are, and… for you to understand me."
He waited, holding Touya's gaze, but blinked in surprise when Touya closed the distance between them.
"When we said goodbye, you told me to make my dreams come true," Touya murmured, taking N's hands in his and unfurling his fists. N made no move to resist the contact.
"Did you?" N asked, voice going softer. He blinked more rapidly, noting the way his pulse quickened when Touya slotted his fingers between his and clasped him tight.
Touya shook his head, smiling ruefully. "It's hard, you know? I… I have to ask you something. I wanted to try and change the world… with you. Do you think… together, both dragons, both heroes side by side, we could protect Unova the way we did today?"
"Different ideals, but working together... Possibilities are born out of combining and fusing. I think… I think I would very much like to see what is possible between us," N babbled, but he glanced down, distracted by Touya's proximity.
Touya was worrying his lip with his teeth, hesitation creeping into his posture for the first time. It reminded him of the naïve boy he'd met, fresh at the start of his Pokemon journey, long before convictions took root and dragons were resurrected and they became the hero kings of legend.
N squeezed his hands encouragingly, waiting. They had both been different people, before they met and changed one other.
"I missed you, N," Touya finally whispered. "I haven't stopped thinking about you all this time, you know. I'm so glad I found you before it was too late."
Touya let go of his hands, and for a moment, N longed to have the contact back. He did not have to wait long.
Their first kiss was slow, tentative. Touya's lips were so warm, his eyelashes brushing against N's cheek as he leaned upward to meet his height.
Both of them moved with uncertainty, but lingered like they didn't want to risk waking from this dream. N's hands hovered, and finally settled on the curve of Touya's hips, pulling his waist in close, reveling in the solid warmth of his body. This was real.
Touya's hand strayed upward, hesitant at first, as he brushed thick strands of tea green hair back from his face. His fingers settled on the brim of N's cap, and pushed it playfully backward until it fell to the ground. When their lips parted, a soft cloud of white was the only thing to separate them.
They held still, sharing each others' breath, drowning in each others' gaze.
The air was cool in the cavern, but the heat of Reshiram's recovering aura was gradually raising the temperature. Zekrom had moved to Reshiram's side. The two dragon siblings nested together, large bodies curling into each others' contact. N thought of the empty vessel Kyurem, and wondered if the black and white dragons had memories of being one entity before they were rent in twain. They were whole and separate now, but two halves of something greater that could be combined.
"I… I want you to stay with me," N murmured, conviction strengthening his tone.
N knew himself as a being between human and Pokemon – he did not truly belong in either world, and though he could hear the heart songs of Pokemon and men alike, he knew they would never understand his. Freak, they called him. It didn't hurt so much as it was a simple truth. He was a freak of nature, an anomaly. It was this missing variable in his existence that made it possible for him to bond with Reshiram, and he would not trade that experience for anything.
But – that sort of bond with a human? Was that a possibility? He'd never considered that a real human would desire him as a mate. That sort of relationship was not something he had ever yearned for, either. But if it was Touya…
Touya, as always, was the catalyst for change. Touya made him want to live this way.
N swallowed, waiting for Touya to find his voice.
"I never wanted you to leave," Touya admitted in a rush. "I felt like I was finally starting to understand you, but... Watching you fly away, and not chasing after you then… I don't want to have any regrets about you ever again."
N leaned forward, pressing a tender kiss along the curve of Touya's jaw, then another, mapping the contour of his face up toward his earlobe. Touya hummed under his breath as N nipped lightly at his ear, and kissed the sensitive patch of skin just behind it. He felt Touya shiver as he tipped his chin up to oblige him, and N rubbed his thumbs in encouraging circles against his hipbones.
He wanted to hear more of Touya's voice, to feel more of his own body's reactions, to chase this buzzing warmth filtering through his senses, disorienting and intoxicating him. He had never felt like this before. He sensed the dragons stirring behind them, their grounding presence calming and reassuring him. This was right. This was good.
"Touya," he breathed, and buried his face into the crook of his shoulder.
Touya's arms wrapped around him in a tight hug, and he smelled like pine needles and mountain snow and the sharp scent of ozone that lingered after a lightning strike ripped apart the very molecules of the air around them. Touya was powerful, a dangerous enemy, once the only one with the strength of will to challenge everything he believed – now they were the same, and the circle of his arms felt like home when nowhere else did.
"Fly with me, N," Touya exhaled. "Let's go to Nimbasa – let's ride the ferris wheel again, right now! Or to Undella Bay, we can see the ocean together! Or, or, anywhere, anywhere but here, N, I'll go anywhere with you," he promised over and over, pressing kisses to the crown of his head.
N's shoulders shook, and he wasn't certain if he was laughing or crying or both. He tightened his grip on Touya's waist, never wanting to let go. He wouldn't be the one to leave. Never again.
Reshiram and Zekrom rumbled their assent, rising slowly, unfurling their wings to scrape the ceiling of the cavern. They wanted to see the sky again, and so did he, he would fly anywhere that Touya wanted.
Excitement fluttered in his chest, tingling down through his fingertips and toes. He was trembling. He had never wanted anything as badly as he wanted this, in this moment.
"I'll go anywhere with you, too," N murmured into his skin, then pressed a soft kiss there to seal the promise. "Thank you for finding me... Touya."