Cold Metal, Warm Hearts (Preciousmetalshipping)

5-Healing Wounds

Silver stood there shocked for a brief moment, he didn't know what to do or say, he felt as if everything around him became blurry, tears threatening to burst out his eyes but he fought it down.
He thought he could fight, he thought he could overcome this challenge but he couldn't, it wasn't enough, he was finally eliminated from the tournament, there would be no point anymore.

He walked away quietly, heading towards the elevator hoping that maybe it would lead him to somewhere that would make him forget this whole ordeal, he did not care where it led to, as long as it was somewhere away from that hellhole of a tournament field.
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard someone approach him.

-"Silv! That was a great battle there" it was Gold, back with his optimistic attitude, it would've normally irritated Silver, but something about that voice felt different this time.
-"Yeah...a great battle cause your girlfriend won...or whatever she is to you anymore" Silver spat, not looking Gold in the eye, knowing if he looked at him he would break down.
-"Silver..." Gold sighed, he knew Silver was gonna get that Krys and him were together. "She's not my girlfriend anymore...i told her we were better off as friends, but that doesnt matter now. I said it was a great battle cause you gave it your all! You were so strong there" the golden eyed trainer added, he sounded genuinely happy about that fact. He was smiling so warmly at Silver that the other male felt himself blush, he was blushing, he wasn't used to feeling such feelings, especially ones as innocent as those from Gold. The silver eyed male didn't respond, he only stared at the floor trying desperately to hold back his tears of frustration, but he knew that would be pointless.

Gold saw his hesitation, and took a small step forward.
-"How about this? We should go get something to eat, just the two of us!" The smile had gone completely now, replaced by a worried frown that Silver found himself matching, he wasnt sure he was really in the state for social interactions, he had just been through such an emotional rollercoaster today and he needed some time alone after all that to process what had happened, even if that meant spending some time with Gold.

It went quite quick, but they went to a nice restaurant to eat, Gold deviating from the topic of the battle to distract the redhead, and surprisingly it was working, the younger male actually relaxed and enjoyed himself. For some reason he felt lighter after meeting up with Gold again, despite their fights all those years ago, they managed to find a common ground and Silver was glad for that, it was nice to have someone by his side that understood him completely, someone that always cared about him.
After eating they got into an ice cream shop together, talking about nothing in particular, mostly just making conversation because neither of them felt comfortable discussing personal topics. But before Silver knew it, hours had passed by and it was nearly night time, it was late and the both of them needed to sleep.

They headed to the apartment and each went to their rooms, as soon as Silver noticed he was actually smiling for more than a few minutes, it started to hit him, something was growing in him, something like a new emotion, one he didn't search for, but it found him and he was about to discover it.
But what was that feeling?, Why was it coming, and why does it feel so nice? Wasn't he upset at first? Why did Gold suddenly change his mood all of the sudden? Shouldn't he still want to beat the living daylights out of him? But he was happy now too, happier than he had been in ages, perhaps even since he was first abandoned by Giovanni. He hadn't known it, but he had missed these kind of things, the days he spent with people who cared for him, the days he spent laughing with everyone, the days he spent being happy with others, was this what Gold meant with the whole thing about the holidays?

And that thought made him giggle aloud. Yes, this was what Gold meant, he could feel the difference in his mood now. The way he was smiling right now was probably a sign, he was happy, which was a good start...and he realized that he wanted to be happy every single moment of every day.

The next day, he got his pokemon healed up at the pokemon center, quite nervous about the embarrassment of having lost at the semifinals, but once he got back to the apartment to see Gold making lunch for the group, it went away like it was never there, Lyra congratulated Silver for his efforts since she didn't have the chance to before, Krys did so too, but with a shorter sentence than usual, he didn't really like it. He felt like she was forcing herself to congratulate him, he had to remind himself that she isnt the same person she was back when they were young, she changed, that was evident from how she acted, she was more closed off and colder than before, but then again, she was probably being cocky over getting to the finals of this tournament.

Once they finished up lunch, Silver left to take a bath to help relax himself and hopefully get rid of his nerves, Gold however stayed behind to clean up, he had cleaned earlier and now it was time to do it again. As soon as Silver closed the door, Gold let out a deep sigh, it had only been a few days since he broke up with Krys, and now he felt himself falling for someone else, for the redheaded male he knew so well, his rival. It was strange, he had been thinking about him all week, he wanted to spend more time with him, talk to him, hear him laugh, play games with him, even just spend time together without worrying, the thought alone made him excited.