can't we just go back? | pokémon

ten | "i loved you to the point of ruin," (two)

wallace looked at the pile of papers neatly arranged in front of him, compiled in a clear, white sliding folder. he has been checking all these papers that required his attention for almost a week now. he's been busy left and right, almost having no time to leave the premises of his office in his home, attending to all these proposals for business establishments, events, and all that relating to the different towns in hoenn.

as the new champion, he was given the task by the association to attend to these paperworks. not that every champion is given this task but more so the ones that the association deems worthy to work on it, for the title isn't just a mere name to be bragged to the public but also entails many responsibilities that not everyone is willing and ready to handle.

with being a top coordinator, a famous contest master, and even being a pokemon champion of hoenn, wallace doesn't have much time to spend on resting as his work requires much of his attention. too much of it, if he was being honest. even in his rest days, work would follow him wherever he goes. it's just that he prioritizes his self when it's time for his rests.

while working, the wall clock of his office chimed a familiar melody, something he has been hearing for the past decade. it was time for his lunch. and every time the clock chimed, he reminded himself that he doesn't need to talk to her, to remind her to eat her lunch on time.

wallace looked at his pokenav. even after all this years, he never really had the courage to delete winona's number. to be fair, he has all the reasons to, given that they're no longer together. it's just that having her number is handy when it comes to their gym leader duties plus winona is the leader of the gym leaders of hoenn so they get to contact each other whenever necessary but as much as he can, he doesn't call her much to avoid having to interact with her. before, several years back when they were still together, whenever lunch time would come, he always had to remind her to eat or she would totally lose track of time and skip her meals. she asked him beforehand to remind her to eat because she was always busy with her gym duties. wallace didn't mind this because sometimes, he would come over and they would eat together. sometimes, she's just too busy so they would eat by their own office, calling each other with their pokenav propped in front of them just so they could still see each other, eat, and chitchat.

they would do this everyday, unless piles of paperwork and even gym matters need their immediate attention. if the latter was the case, either of them would inform the other as soon as they can. there were times were winona would finish her meals first and she would inform wallace that she is needed in the gym. she would swiftly tell him and that they should chat or call later after duties. she would go out and end the call. of course, there were times were wallace was the busy one and that he would tell her beforehand that he needs to eat a little faster or that she can eat first because he has a lot of things to do.

looking back, wallace realized how mature and transparent their relationship was. how domestic they were. he loved her company as much as she did with him. they were so perfect that everyone he met would tell him how jealous they were of him because of how loved he was with winona.

which led him to the question of what went wrong? what did he do several years back that led to the downfall of their relationship? 

he even vividly remembers how winona told him that he was everything winona could ever ask for in a man. she loved him too much. sometimes, wallace wondered who loved who the most because surely winona was the answer. or maybe he just looks up to winona so much that he considers that.

wallace loved her to bits. wallace loved everything winona was made of. he loved her imperfections. he loved her flaws. he loved her quirks and how sometimes she would buffer when she speaks because she didn't know how to say the things she wanted to say best. he loved her in her lowest points and loved her in her highest points in her life. wallace supported her during her difficult times and stayed with her during her hardest times. he was there when she cried and he was there when she needed to smile. every milestone, every stop, and every achievement winona got, wallace was there to clap and cheer for her. and if winona asked for anything, he would gladly give it to her. he always looked out for her and loved taking care of her, because she herself cannot take care of her own because of how she prioritizes her own strength and growth before her physical and mental health. he was her gentle reminder; her rest, and her lullaby.