Only missing everything (One shot)

Only Missing Everything
~/~
Ruby was a super-star. Everyone in
Hoenn knew his name. If you
didn't, you were either a foreigner
from a region far far away, a baby
unable to comprehend his
significance, or a person ignorant
of the world around them. He had
saved the region from a calamity
before even becoming a teenager!
Now, as a grown adult, he was the
new gymleader of the Petalburg
Gym and the founder of one of the
world's most successful fashion
lines, Loyal Beauty . Challengers
and coordinators from every corner
of the region came to meet him
and get advice. Boys and girls of
every age waited in lines as long
as Rayquaza to buy his newest
clothing lines. The girls especially
loved him, and at the age of
nineteen he was voted "Hottest
Celebrity" in the popular magazine
Absol Beat.
Ruby wasn't happy, though. He
had everything every trainer and
every coordinator could dream of.
At the ripe age of twenty-two, he
already had fame, popularity,
money, and a hoard of screaming
fans. The only thing he was
missing, his everything, was
nowhere near his reach.
Sapphire had left. After they had
saved the region, Ruby had
pretended to forget her confession.
She was extremely angry, and had
yelled at him over and over. It was
all worth it in his opinion, though.
She really did love him, and she
would tell him about her
confession again as her face turned
red and she avoided his gaze. Her
loud voice would suddenly turn
quiet and her confident, blazing
eyes would become bright and shy.
He would always tell her he had
forgotten just to see that cute side
of Sapphire again. She was often
loud, violent, impulsive and wild,
so seeing a shy, cute, girlish
Sapphire was always welcome. He
really loved her.
When they were seventeen, she
stopped reminding him of her
confession. They continued to
spend time together like the
always did; they fought, they
played, and they sat around in
their secret base. But Ruby felt
that something was different. He
noticed that she had stopped
asking about the one thing that
signified she loved him. Sapphire
also stopped randomly poking his
face or tugging on his hair. She
didn't sit so close anymore and
she resisted modeling his dresses
more than she usually did. He
didn't think much about it at the
time, but now he regretted not just
confessing his own feelings right
there.
On her eighteenth birthday he
woke up extra early (8 a.m.) and
ran down to her house excitedly.
Her birthday was one of his favorite
holidays. He loved showering her
with gifts and favors, and her
birthday was one of the few days
Sapphire would allow Ruby to do
her hair and make-up. He had the
whole day planned for them and
he excitedly swung his make-up
and gift bags around as he waited
for someone to answer his knock to
the door. Professor Birch had
answered, and Ruby had asked for
Sapphire, excitedly explaining his
plans for the day.
The professor was confused and
told Ruby that Sapphire had left
yesterday on a new Pokemon
journey, and that she would soon
be arriving in Sinnoh. Ruby's heart
sank. No, it broke. Sapphire left?
He wanted to yell at Professor
Birch for not telling him, but then
he remembered that two days
earlier she had sat especially close
to him and had whispered that she
was, "going away for a while for
some training." That usually meant
a week in Victory Road, not a flight
to another region. Ruby thanked
the professor with a shaking voice
and went home.
His mother greeted him. "Aren't
you home early? What about your
date with Sapphire?" He ignored
her, angry that she brought up
Sapphire's name. He trudged up
the stairs to his room and threw
himself on his bed after shutting
the door. He buried his face in his
perfumed pillows and just stared
at the wall. She was gone. There
was no yelling, no hitting, no
crying, no warning, no hug, no
good bye, no confession. He looked
over at the gift bag on the floor
and his eyes began to sting. She
had shyly told him a few weeks ago
that charm bracelets were "kinda
cute, not that I want one..." and he
had thought that a pair of
bracelets for them to share would
be a wonderful gift. Both bracelets
had simple silver chains, and a
single charm. One had a ruby key
and the other had a sapphire lock.
Engraved on the back of each
charm was "R+S" in beautiful, curly
letters. He knew she would love it.
But she was gone now. She had
left, and he had finally realized
that he had pushed her too far
away. He really did love her, more
than any other boy would, he was
sure. He regretted ignoring all the
hints she had dropped. He
couldn't stand the thought of
being apart from his other half for
more than a week, so how could he
stand a whole year (their first
journey took a year) or more
without her? The sting in his eyes
had increased and soon tears
started leaking. His breathing
came in shallowly as he thought
about her. He had pushed away
his everything.
~/~
It was her twenty-second birthday,
and everyone and anyone knew it.
Every September 20th since Loyal
Beauty had opened when Ruby was
nineteen, he held a special event
in his store. This day was no
different. The usual white, tiled
store was covered in blue confetti,
streamers, and balloons. Flowers in
vases were placed every here and
there. The high prices were cut in
half, at least, on every item. These
alone were enough to drive fans
crazy, but what really reeled in the
shoppers were the clothes that
only came out on this day: blue
dresses and blue jackets.
Everyone wanted one. Getting a
blue jacket or dress from Loyal
Beauty was like getting a Master
Ball. The blue dresses were the
most beautiful of all of Ruby's
dresses, and the jackets had a
unique style that everyone loved.
Ruby only sold them on this day,
and not very many were made.
When asked why by the press, he
replied with a nostalgic smile,
"Blue is my girlfriend's color, and
September 20 is her birthday."
Ruby himself usually didn't work at
his store, but the 20th was a
special occasion. He believed that
if he made a big enough fuss
about her birthday, Sapphire
would catch wind of it and come
back to yell at him. She had always
done that before. She didn't call
him so often anymore (only on
holidays and his birthday), and she
never answered his calls unless it
was her birthday. Birthdays were
really special.
"Um... Ruby, Sir, there's already a
long line outside. It's almost gone
around the block now. Should we
open a few minutes early?" an
employee asked.
Ruby put the away the few post
cards she had sent him and put on
his best camera smile. "Yes, let's
begin!"
~/~
Ruby would always forget how hard
it was to work at a cash register,
and then he would work on her
birthday and remember why. A few
weeks later, he would forget, and
the cycle would continue. There
were so many people, and each
one wanted to talk to him while he
was busy attending to other
things. He would be working the
cash register when a group of
fangirl friends would come up to
him and beg him for pictures and
autographs. He would be
organizing shelves when a
competitor would congratulate him
on his big reel in of customers and
then talk about the other fashion
brands. Ruby would be replacing
the balloons when challengers
would ask when he would be at
the gym again.
As the day wore in, Ruby wanted to
talk to people less and less. He
loved his fans, but he could only
take so many, "Marry me!"s, "Battle
me!"s, and "Blah blah blah!"s. He
continued to force himself to smile
and chat as he served customers.
By this point in the day, he didn't
even look at the customers
anymore. He just scanned their
items, gave them their change, and
sent them on their way.
"I'll take this, please," another
customer said as she placed a red
scarf with a cute little Torchic
print on the table.
Ruby quickly scanned the item and
placed it in the Loyal Beauty
shopping bag. "That'll be $6.41,
ma'am," he said.
The girl placed ten dollars on the
table. Ruby quickly got her change
and placed it into her hand after
giving her the bag. He smiled and
said for at least the five hundredth
time that day, "Thank you for
shopping at Loyal Beauty ! Please
come again!"
She laughed, and Ruby found that
it sounded it like Sapphire's.
"Thanks, Prissy Boy," the girl said
as she walked out.
Ruby's head snapped up at the
nickname. Only one person called
him that. His eyes scanned the
flood of people in his store for the
girl that just paid. He saw a girl
with the same hairstyle Sapphire
usually had exit the store and his
heart started to race. Could that
be her!? The thought of seeing her
again, being able to be with her
again completely took over his
mind. They hadn't seen each other
in eight years, and the thought of
losing her again when she was so
close drove him crazy. He ran out
from behind the counter and
began pushing his way out of the
store.
Every second counted. Each second
he spent shoving people aside was
a second with her that he lost and
another second of her possibly
leaving him again. People in the
store yelped in surprise as the
usually cool and calm Ruby
frantically pushed them aside as if
they didn't matter. He finally made
it out of the store and looked
around. The cold air whacked him
in the face, and his cheeks slowly
turned red as he looked around
the street. He saw the girl strolling
down the street, her boots clicking
on the sidewalk as she went.
It was her and he knew it. That
hair, that height, that build, that
walk, that everything. It was all so
very Sapphire. He ran down the
sidewalk at full speed until he was
close enough to reach out at her.
He grabbed her shoulder and spun
her around, his eyes growing wide
at the sight before him. It really
was her.
"Ruby, what are you doing!?" she
yelled at him. This was so unreal to
him. It had been four years since
they had seen each other, and she
was actually standing here, yelling
at him. He had only one way to
respond this, and it seemed the
most natural for both of them.
He yelled back.
"What do you mean, 'What are you
doing?'? You're here! Why are you
here, Sapph?" he yelled at her. He
was angry, confused, and oh so
happy that she was back.
"Oh, sorry for being here! What, I
can't come home once in a while?"
she protested. Ruby noticed how
much the both of them had
changed in those four years. He
now towered above her, and she
had to look up at him to speak. Her
blue eyes still sparkled with
defiance and confidence, but they
were now framed in a teeny bit of
eye liner. Her pink lips called to
him like sirens, and he noticed
that he couldn't tease her about
being a woman with no shape. She
was also wearing the clothes that
he had made for her, and she
matched them perfectly.
"Not that! What about your trip?
Why didn't you tell me you were
coming back? I could've gotten you
from the airport!" he yelled at her.
"It's 'cuz you never tell me things
that I yelled at you over the phone
that night!"
"Oh, so it's my fault? Don't be
ridiculous, Ruby! I told you I was
leaving!" she yelled, her cheeks
reddening.
"'Going away for a while for some
training' didn't mean leaving the
freaking region and you know it!
What the heck happened to
training in Victory Road!?" he
asked. People in the street were
staring by now. Here was Hoenn's
up and rising super star screaming
at Hoenn's champion on a street
corner, when neither had been
seen together in a long time. The
two were loud and disturbing the
peaceful fall atmosphere, but no
one could draw their eyes away.
"I needed a new challenge!" she
yelled haughtily. "Victory Road was
too easy for me!"
"I could've battled with you, Wild
Girl! What, was I too weak, too?" he
yelled at her.
"I never said that, idiot, but it
that's what you want to think, I'm
not stopping you!" she yelled.
"What the heck's that supposed to
mean?" he yelled at her.
"You didn't even have the balls to
reject me!" she screamed. Her face
was red from the yelling and she
suddenly looked upset and sad.
Her hands were clenched into fists
and she was trembling a bit.
Ruby's eyes grew wide. Reject?
Why in Arceus's name would he
reject Sapphire? Had he
misunderstood something? "What
the heck are you talking about!?
Why would you come to that stupid
conclusion!?" If Sapphire thought
he didn't love her, than there was
no hope for humanity. Arceus
could just make it explode and
start over again. Because, really,
what was the point if Sapphire
thought he wasn't crazy about her?
For Jirachi's sake, she had just
been in his store that he had
freaking. Dec-o-rat-ed. Just. For.
Her.
Sapphire just growled at him and
turned around to walk away. "I'm
done talking to you!" she yelled
over her shoulder. Ruby wouldn't
have any of that, though. Letting
her walk away thinking whatever
she was thinking would be the
biggest mistake of his life. He had
already let her done it once, and
he would never do it again. He
threw her over his shoulder like a
sack of cloth and walked back in
the direction of his store. What he
was about to say he couldn't just
yell on a street corner. He had to
be completely alone with her, just
for a little bit. "What the heck are
you doing!? Put me down!
Kidnapper!" she yelled at him as
she pounded his back and flailed
around. He hadn't remembered
her or her punches being this
light.
He waltzed into his store like
carrying a screaming woman was
the most natural thing in the
world. All the shoppers and
employees were dumbfounded.
Ruby just walked past all the
staring people as Sapphire
continued to yell. "We'll be
borrowing the store room," he told
the cashier, who was still holding
the change he had yet to give to
the customer who was also staring.
"Y-yes!" the cashier said, trying to
avoid staring too long.
Ruby opened the door to the store
room and brought Sapphire to the
very back. "Ruby, put me down!
Damn it, are you even listening to
me!? You stupid barbarian, let me
go!" she screeched. He found his
secret resting spot and tossed her
on the bean bag there. "Ow! Jeez.
I don't remember you being able
to lift anything that weighed more
than your make-up bag, Prissy Boy.
Although I guess I can't call you
that anymore," she told him as she
glared up at him defiantly. She
arranged herself on the bean bag
and sat down properly. "Wait, is
this Snorlax beanie from our secret
base? This rug, too! You stole this
from our base!" she yelled.
"And look at you! The Wild Girl is
actually sitting like a lady!" Ruby
retorted, ignoring her accusation
(although it was completely right).
He couldn't help it. He did plan
on confessing to her now, but
fighting with her was so natural, so
familiar, and it reminded him she
was here. Her voice was a hundred
times louder in person than on the
phone.
"Whatever! I'm leaving! I have stuff
to do!" she said as she began
getting up.
Ruby plopped down on top of her
and said, "Nope!" They both fell
onto the bean bag, him on top of
her. He rolled off of her so that
they were lying next to each other.
He had one arm under his head
and he placed the other around
her waist. She blushed and stared
at him. They laid there together
like that for a few minutes, just
indulging in the other's presence.
They stared at each other quietly,
remembering the past, enjoying
the present, and wondering about
the future.
"I missed you," he whispered, all
the sorrow and loneliness he had
felt these past years in those three
words.
"Me, too," she whispered back. Her
voice was beautiful and he could
feel her breath on his face. Her
blue eyes were like the sky, bright
and mysterious. Her brown hair
formed a veil around her face that
only brought her eyes out even
more.
"I was really lonely without you,"
he whispered again.
He didn't know if he was imagining
it, but he thought she scooted just
a bit closer. "Me, too," she said
again. She allowed her eyes to
slide close and he quietly
continued to watch her. She was
peaceful, beautiful, and here. He
didn't want her leaving again. He
had lost her when they were six
years old, and again when they
were eighteen. If he didn't tell her
now, he was sure she would leave
again.
"Sapph?" he asked quietly. If she
was asleep, he wouldn't wake her.
"What, Ruby?" she asked without
opening her eyes.
She was his everything, and she
needed to know. "I love you,
Sapphire." Her eyes shot open, but
she couldn't get a single word out
before he kissed her. They had
kissed once or twice before, but
this was something totally
different. His feelings overwhelmed
her, and as her eyes slid shut she
found herself drowning in his love
and hope. The kiss was soft and
sweet, like the ones at the end of
princess movies, and it left a warm
feeling when the parted. "You're
my everything."
She smiled, and then asked, "Do
you really not remember my
confession?"
He laughed then admitted, "I lied."
Her eyes narrowed and he knew
that she was going to give him an
earful, and he was definitely going
to yell back. He didn't mind,
though. He had almost lost the girl
that mattered the most to him, but
now she was back.
~/~