Jirachi's Twin Bonus Stories (btyu and others ♥)

Tear me to Pieces

He thought for a moment he'd imagined her voice behind him, but he was wrong. As he looked over the pages of his book, he saw her eyes staring quietly back at him from across the field.

"I'm surprised you actually came."

He closed his book and stretched his arms for a moment.

"What? Why wouldn't I? I'm not heartless you know..." she sighed, taking a seat a few steps away from him.

He'd asked her to come out to the Giant's Seat a few days prior. Frankly, he didn't have much of a reason to, but it was forecasted to be a nice day, and happening just below their feet was the semi-annual Galarian fishing tournament. Bede often enjoyed watching large groups of people from a distance. He liked to imagine the lives of the individuals as they wandered around below him. He figured Gloria was the same way, since he so often noticed her staring off in the direction of large crowds.

That, and he wanted to talk to her about something that had been on his mind.

"So, what'd you want to see me about?" she asked, glancing at the cover of Bede's book.

He shrugged, "Well, the fishing tourney's going on right now. I thought you'd be interested in watching it."

She smirked at him, "Wow Bede. You might be the only person I know who watches a fishing tourney of all things."

He glared annoyedly at her, "Am I now?"

She glanced around the Giant's Seat, "Do you see anyone else with us watching?"

"Hmph. Well if you're already bored, you shouldn't have come."

She waved her hands dismissively, "No, no, I'm staying!" she grinned, "It's rare enough for you to say hi to me in the halls—of course I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to become a closer friend."

"Still trying hard at that, I see..." acknowledging her recent desperate attempts to befriend him.

"Althooough..." she glanced sideways at him, and immediately he recognized what she was about to do.

Though he didn't know specifically what she was going to say, Bede was well-acquainted with what that certain, annoying stare and drawling tone of her voice meant. She was words away from teasing him again.

"If it's just the two of us here, some people might mistake this as a date."

"Tch..." he rolled his eyes, turning off to the left to avoid confronting her face, "Don't be ridiculous. I don't see you that way."

She giggled obnoxiously at him, "I know, I know."

The two of them were quiet for a few moments as they watched the competition down below. One trainer yanked a massive Barraskewda out of the water as they were watching, and Gloria clapped politely at the impressive feat.

"That's one big fish," she commented gleefully, "I remember when I caught one of those. It was chasing me around in the water while I was biking across lake Axewell." she paused for a moment, recalling the memory fondly, "Then afterwards my Pokémon helped set up camp, and I made sushi out of it. Those were good times..."

As she remembered it, the smile on her face slowly fell away.

"Hop was there with me. We did everything together back then."

He watched as her eyebrows began to knit together, the light in her eyes disappearing. He turned back to watch the people again, and the quiet atmosphere returned—though heavier than before.

"Speaking of dates, Bede," Gloria said suddenly, forgetting her own moment of nostalgia, "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What is it?"