Protective Instincts (Male Reader X Incineroar)

Part 3: Reconciliation

You open your eyes to find that the recent events have not been some sort of weird dream. You're still trapped with Incineroar in a rundown shack outside of town in the middle of the night, how lovely. The Attract must have worn off and now your regular thoughts are back.

Speaking of Incineroar, he was fast asleep. You could see the door just a few feet ahead of you, tempting you with the idea of escape. Maybe, just maybe you could sneak out. Whatever lock had once been on the door had fallen off a long time ago, you could leave if you were careful.

You delicately and slowly loosen Incineroar's grasp on you, trying not to wake him up. When you eventually get enough wiggle room you edge away bit by bit until you're far enough away to stand up. You tiptoe over to your bag desperately trying not to make noise. You put it on your back and then walk towards the door. As you reach for the handle you hesitate and look back. Incineroar looks so peaceful laying there, his chest rising and falling slowly as he breathes, none the wiser that the person bringing him so much comfort is about to disappear from him forever. You start to feel bad for wanting to leave. Imagine what he'd be like when he wakes up and sees you're not there? He'd be heartbroken! You scold yourself internally, why should you feel any remorse? He kidnapped you for god's sake! You reason that the Attract must've had some lasting effects. That must be it... right? Nothing else...?

You take a deep breathe and push down on the handle, delicately opening the door. Unfortunately for you the hinges probably haven't been oiled in a while and doors that haven't been kept in good condition tend to creak. The high pitched squeaking of the door strikes fear in your heart. Of all times for that to happen why now? The world really must find this a very funny joke you reason to yourself. You turn around to see Incineroar's eyes snap open, his pupils staring at you and piercing into your soul. He growls and gets up, prowling towards you like a wild beast stalking prey. Funny, that simile because it's true. He's the beast and you really are his prey.

You're left with no options now. There's no way you're staying, all you can do is run. You doubt if you can outrun him but you're gonna have to. You dash towards the already open door and break into a sprint. There's a forest just outside, maybe you can lose him in there.

Incineroar sprints after you and begins making ground on you. He tries to grab you and misses, swiping your arm instead and drawing blood. It stings like hell but you've no time to lick your wounds, if he catches you he'll increase security tenfold and you'll never see the light of day, you just continue running. Oddly, Incineroar stops and stares at the blood on his razor sharp claws, seemingly horrified at what he had done but he snaps out of his daze quickly and continues the chase.

You make it into the forest but you are given no respite. You see flashes of red through the trees, what must be Incineroar stalking you. You begin to lose hope, your whole body aches especially your wounded arm and lungs that feel like they're on fire from running so fast. Your legs feel like they're about to give way. You to start to think that maybe you should just give up. Even if you did lose him he'd just track you with your scent. There's no getting out of this.

Before you can make up your mind about whether to surrender or not your decision is made for you. You reach a dead end, a wall of rock stands in front of you. You back up against the wall but you don't see Incineroar behind you. Maybe you did lose him. But just when you think you're safe things get worse. You hear howling coming from somewhere nearby. A pack of Lycanroc stride into view, baring their teeth and looking hungry. It seems like you may be their next meal. One Lycanroc seems to lead the others, most likely the Alpha. You close your eyes and brace yourself as the Alpha bounds towards you and pounces but you don't feel the impact. You open your eyes to see Incineroar standing in front of you, holding the Alpha in his hands which is furiously trying to snap at Incineroar. He throws the Alpha back at the rest of the pack and another pounces at him, managing to rake his chest with its claws. He roars in anger and swats the other Lycanroc away. The pack finally realises they've met their match and retreat with their tails between their legs.

Finally convinced that you're safe Incineroar turns around to face you. His right pec is bleeding from the three gashes left by the Lycanroc. He saved you... He actually saved you. He lumbers towards you and kneels down, looking at the wound he left on your arm. He looks completely ashamed and horrified at what he did. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine. You're bleeding, let me help you. We'll call it even."

You reach into your bag and pull out some first aid you had kept just in case. As you reach to clean his injury he looks away in shame, not able to bring himself to look you in the eye. You wipe away the scarlet blood and dress the wound over, patching it up. While you're at it you bandage the scratch on your arm.

Incineroar's P.O.V

I can't believe myself. I was supposed to protect him from danger but I ended up being the danger. I cut his arm open for god's sake! Maybe I should leave, he'd be better off without me. He was right, I am a monster.

Reader's P.O.V

You turn away for a second to put back the first aid and hear sniffling behind you. You turn back around to see Incineroar... Crying. You had never seen him cry before. It felt so strange and alien to see such an intimidating figure, someone you had seen as so strong and powerful actually cry. Tears streamed down his face, dropping onto the dirt below.

You felt so conflicted. You knew you shouldn't forgive him for what he did but at the same time he obviously cared. He rescued you and now he was actually feeling remorse for his actions. You put a hand on his cheek and wipe the tears away. He sniffles as he looks up at you. You're not sure if it was your imagination but you swear you heard him mumble "S-sorry..." Whatever the case was you couldn't stay mad at him for long. "It's okay. I forgive you", you say with a smile, trying to cheer him up.

"Incineroar...?", he whimpers. "Yep, you heard me right. I forgive you", you repeat. His tears stop and he hugs you so tight you feel like you're about to be crushed. You giggle as he rubs his face against yours. You can't blame the Attract anymore, you finally accept that maybe you do feel the same way about him that he does you. "We've been with each other through so much and known each other for so long there's no way I'm letting this get between us. Anyway, it's not like I'm going to get the same type of affection you give me from anyone else. I know you meant well but you need to give me some freedom. We can't spend both our lives trapped in some shack in the middle of nowhere. I want to stay with you, I'm not going anywhere, okay?" Incineroar nods in understanding, realising where he went wrong.

"You know, I read somewhere a while ago about human and Pokémon marriages." Incineroar's head perked up at that. "I'm guessing you'd like that?" "Incineroar!", he purred. You chuckle at the idea of Incineroar all dressed up in a suit and bowtie. What happens during the honeymoon though? You decide that's something you'll deal with later.

You stand up and hold hands with Incineroar making your way out of the forest. As you step away from trees you see the sun rise in the distance over the town you had been in a few hours ago. You stare deep into Incineroar's eyes as he stares back into yours. You both nod and take the first step towards a new life together. As the sunlight shines on your face you get the feeling that things are going to get a whole lot better.