Fire and Ice

Confession

This is a sequel to Jealous.

Later that night, after Hawlucha and Frogadier had reconciled, the fighting-type was still following him around like a lost puppy. He knew he was being clingy, but he couldn't bring himself to leave the frog Pokemon alone. Spending two days not saying a word to him had been more painful than Hawlucha could have ever imagined.

Although, to be fair, that was his own fault for being spiteful. He hadn't been able to handle listening to Frogadier and Talonflame talking about their double battle, so he'd ignored his friend in the hopes that he would hurt him in the same way he was, however unintentionally.

Sure, Hawlucha had known that he didn't have any right to feel jealous. Of course he'd known that. But he just couldn't help himself.

He had spent months trying to get at least a kind word from Frogadier, and for a while it had looked as though all his efforts would be for nothing. But because of his stubborn persistence, he had finally prevailed and Frogadier (Froakie at the time) had agreed to be his friend. Hawlucha had been happier than he could ever remember feeling, and had decided that perhaps Froakie just had trouble making friends. Maybe the reason it took so long for him to warm up to him wasn't because he hated him.

Yet somehow, after one single double battle, Frogadier already loved working with Talonflame. The stupid fire pigeon hadn't even had to try to get Frogadier to like him. Seeing how quickly his friend warmed up to the fire-type had dampened Hawlucha's spirits, and a part of his mind told him that his suspicions all those months ago had been right. He had taken forever to earn Frogadier's friendship because he hated him, and now he had made another new friend, one he probably preferred over Hawlucha. Why else would he become so amiable towards him in such a short amount of time?

And so, hurt and resentful, Hawlucha had started ignoring his friend, refusing to speak to him unless necessary and even then keeping his answers as short as possible. He knew he was being cruel, but he was too upset to care all that much.

And his plan had worked. He had hurt Frogadier; he had gotten what he wanted. Yet somehow, Hawlucha couldn't bring himself to feel satisfied with his success.

He had hurt someone he loved, all because of some petty jealousy. And of course, he had known all along that what he was doing was wrong, but he'd chosen to ignore that little voice of reason. He wouldn't be surprised if Frogadier hated him now. It certainly would be the least he deserved.

"Hawlucha? What's wrong?" Frogadier asked, snapping the Aztec bird out of his thoughts. "Is something bothering you? You look upset about something."

Hawlucha blinked. "O-oh," he said, swallowing. "It-it's nothing, really. I just...can I talk to you? Alone?"

Frogadier looked slightly bemused, but nodded all the same and stood up from his dinner. The two Pokemon walked out into the forest, away from the rest of their friends. Once they were out of earshot, the frog Pokemon turned to him with a questioning expression on his face.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" he inquired.

Hawlucha took a deep breath and opened his mouth, only to find that he had no idea what to say. How was he supposed to tell Frogadier how he felt about him when he knew that his efforts would probably be met with rejection? Even if he hadn't gone out of his way to hurt him, his chances of getting together with Frogadier were still slim to none. Why would Frogadier ever like someone like him?

"Hawlucha?" Frogadier prompted. "What is it?"

Hawlucha blinked rapidly, feeling the tears from earlier threatening to build up again. He looked down at the ground, willing them not to fall. If he started crying now, there was no way he could ever recover from the resulting humiliation. Hopefully Frogadier couldn't see how close he was to losing it again.

"Hawlucha? What's wrong?" Frogadier asked worriedly.

Nope, he had noticed. Why was it always so obvious whenever he was about to have an emotional breakdown?

"I-I...I'm sorry," Hawlucha sniffed, several tears sliding down his face.

"Sorry for what?" Frogadier asked in confusion. "You already apologized for not speaking to me for two days..."

"I'm going to say something horrible, and you're going to hate me afterwards," Hawlucha whispered. "But...I was glad."

"Glad?" the Bubble Frog Pokemon repeated, looking even more confused. "What are you talking...?"

"When I was ignoring you after your gym battle with Talonflame. I was glad to think I was hurting you," Hawlucha clarified, more tears filling his eyes. "I hated how you took to Talonflame so quickly, and I wanted to hurt you as much as it hurt me. I couldn't stand liking someone who didn't feel the same way about me. And now you're probably going to hate me forever. But I still...I still..."

And just like that, he was crying for the second time that day. Frogadier reached out and hugged him gently, letting Hawlucha sob into his shoulder. Despite himself, Hawlucha found himself reveling in the closeness he shared with Frogadier. It was probably the only chance he'd ever get to be this close with him again as it was.

"It's okay," Frogadier murmured softly. "Hawlucha, I don't hate you...don't feel bad..."

After a while, Hawlucha's crying finally stopped. He wiped his eyes, still resting his head against the water-type's shoulder. Frogadier patted his back gently, one arm still wrapped around him in a comforting embrace.

"Are you okay?" the Bubble Frog Pokemon asked.

"I'm fine," Hawlucha murmured. More softly, he added, "I love you."

He wasn't sure if Frogadier had heard him or not, for he didn't say a word. However, he also didn't run away, so Hawlucha took that as a good sign. Besides, even if Frogadier wasn't ready to accept his feelings yet, that was perfectly fine if it meant he could remain like this forever.