Sapphire Aura: Prelude

a chapter (romance warning but no lemon if u wanted lemon this is not it)

Sapphire woke to the chirping of different bird Pokemon the next day, a seemingly normal day for continuing the search for something intangible. There was something, or someone, lying down beside her, and she remembered what had happened yesterday night, when everyone had been asleep and she had stayed up, her brain suddenly breaking down with all the memories of the past. She had wanted to carve something unrecognizable into the tree trunk and cry, but she couldn't and wouldn't let herself do that. 

Although now she was probably the safest she had been since the start of her journey. Lucario was beside her, quiet snores making their way out of his slightly open mouth. She blushed and looked their intertwined fingers. She wanted to stay like this forever and ever.

If only she didn't have a responsibility.

"Wake up, sleepyhead," Sapphire whispered into Lucario's ear. It twitched a little and he mumbled something incoherent in his sleep, but still stayed unconscious. "Wake up or I'll sleep with Gecko tonight." It was a blank threat, something that I had created just to get him to wake up. (I would never, I say, never, cheat on someone I loved.) Lucario's eyes snapped open and he yelped, immediately sitting up (and all the while neither of us letting go of the other's hand) and yelling "OH NO YOU DON'T". I giggled. Sometimes, hiding behind the tough, spiky (and absolutely the fluffiest of the fluffiest) cover was a soft pup that just wanted to be loved. 

"I'm kidding, alright!" I laughed and ruffled the fur on his head, making his cheeks flush a little. This bliss... how long had it been since I had last felt something like this? Something so pure, to break any sadness spell cast. Lucario gave in to my affection and nuzzled my neck. I buried my face in his fur. It was soft and smelled just the right kind of musty. How long had I wanted this to happen, for me to finally find love? Maybe a long time, maybe longer, maybe only a few weeks. I would never know me, all the different sides of me that existed within and outside of me. 

Sapphire let herself relax and drown in the pure bliss that she felt. It wouldn't hurt to just let her guard down for a moment, would it? No, it wouldn't, she thought. She felt like drifting off to sleep again, but she stopped herself from doing so. She was supposed to be tough, someone who wouldn't give in to anything, and yet... she felt that if anyone threatened to harm Lucario, she would give her own life just to save him. This has to be love, she reckoned. This has got to be how it feels like. 

She didn't realise Gecko watching them from behind a bush, plotting his revenge. He wanted Sapphire to himself, but Sapphire was already taken by someone else. He probably had no chance with her now. He should have stopped being a coward long ago and told Sapphire what he really felt about her--more than a trainer or a friend. Maybe then he would have her, instead of him being here and being a jealous green dragon. He wanted to ruin Lucario--scar his face or something, but it wasn't Lucario's looks that Sapphire had fallen in love with. It was the personality of the blue jackal Pokemon, how he behaved, that Sapphire loved. 

Maybe if he imitated Lucario enough, then Sapphire would want him instead of Lucario. He still remembered the day that Sapphire had met him, the lord of the ozone layer, got a little too excited that she was meeting a legendary, threw a literal Pokeball, a NORMAL POKEBALL at him and due to him not expecting even a Master Ball, let alone a Pokeball thrown at him, he didn't fight back fast enough and before he knew it, he had been caught and made Sapphire's. After that, he got to know Sapphire as the tough, bouncy yet calm girl that she was, seldom panicking. That was when he actually started to develop feelings for her, to think of her more than just his trainer. 

He had hinted at a crush before, when bringing her more flowers than any of her other Pokemon did, but she didn't take it. She never did. She stayed single despite the sheer number of boys that she had met and could have chosen to settle down with, but she took none of them, choosing to continue her journey instead. She always said that she didn't have a large enough view of the world yet, and it would be wrong of her to settle without knowing enough. She had never actually loved any of the boys she had met anyways, and just treated them as friends.