Long Way Home || pokémon violet | arven x OC

Chapter Two

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Mariana and Arven both laid on the grass just outside of the lighthouse staring up at the sky. Neither of the two spoke, Mariana would let Arven take his time telling her how he was feeling. The stars in the sky shone brightly and Mariana couldn't help herself but smile. From the corner of her eye, Mariana could see Arven's gaze fixated at the sky as well but instead of taking in the view of the stars, he seemed to be a million miles away.

A breeze tore through the grass and Mariana shivered. She wouldn't dare complain though.

Beside Mariana, Arven's brows furrowed. He was more than aware of Mariana laying down just beside him only inches away and he was fully aware of her trying not to show how cold she was. He felt terrible. Not only for her laying on the cold grass beside him but also because she had walked from the academy with her leftover food to see if he was okay.

"I'm just finding it hard," Arven began, "to process everything." Mariana turned to him, her eyes urging him to go on. "When my dad became absorbed in his research I resented him for it. He didn't have any time for me and he didn't seem to care."

Arven sat up from the grass and rested his forearms on his knees. Mariana followed his movements.

"I thought that when I found him, I would be able to tell him how badly he treated me," Arven said. "I never thought for a second that he might have died."

As Arven let out a deep breath, Mariana reached over to him and took one of his hands in one of her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Arven's eyes darted towards where their hands joined and a light blush flooded his face that Mariana didn't seem to notice.

"When that AI version of my dad spoke to me, I didn't know how to feel. I never thought my dad loved me or was proud of me because he left me so easily." The grip on Mariana's hand tightened and she shuffled a little closer. "I just don't know what to think anymore. If he loved me and was proud, why did he leave?"

Arven finished with a sigh and continued to look down at their joined hands. Mariana shuffled even closer to Arven until she could easily wrap her arms around him. She let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

"I can't answer that question, Arven," Mariana mumbled into his shoulder as his arms came to wrap around her waist. "I wish I could to spare you the pain."

Mariana could feel Arven begin to shake as tears fell from his eyes and wet the shoulder of her shirt. Mariana clung onto him tighter and let him cry while whispering reassuring words to him.

"I know I can't do anything about this, but you have friends around you that support you and love you," Mariana said. "You have me, Nemona and Penny. We are always going to be there for you." Arven only continued to cry into her shoulder. "Arven you are my best friend, I don't like to see you cry."

The two sat there for a while in the cold night as Arven's sobs subsided and he eventually pulled away from Mariana. "You really mean all of that?"

"Of course I do!" Mariana said. "Even the part where I called you my best friend. Although don't tell Nemona that or she will get her Skeledirge to scorch you."

Arven smiled and a quiet laugh slipped past his lips and it caused Mariana to smile. That was a step in the right direction.

Mariana got to her feet and held out her hands for Arven to help him up. Despite him towering over her, she did it out of courtesy. As Arven stood to his feet he swiftly pulled Mariana off of hers and held her tight. "Thank you."