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The sky was endless.
For the first time in what felt like forever, there was nothing chasing them.
No voices demanding answers. No battles waiting at the end of the road. No weight of an entire region pressing down on their shoulders.
Only the steady rhythm of Reshiram’s wings carrying them farther and farther away from Unova.
N sat quietly, one hand resting against the legendary Pokémon’s feathers. The warmth beneath his palm was familiar - comforting, almost. Reshiram had chosen him, trusted him, followed him like all of his other Pokémon.
But there was still a part of him that wondered why.
Why any of them had.
His gaze drifted.
Hilbert was asleep.
It was strange.
N had seen him exhausted before. He had seen him bruised, determined, angry, stubbornly refusing to give up even when the odds were impossible.
He had seen Hilbert standing against him with a strength that N had never been able to understand.
But he had never seen him like this.
Peaceful.
The young Trainer sat infront of him, head resting against Reshiram’s side, eyes closed. His breathing was slow and even. His expression had finally lost that constant focus - the look of someone always preparing for the next challenge.
N looked away, unable to meet the younger trainer’s eyes without being overwhelmed by a wave of guilt.
“You shouldn’t trust me this much,” he whispered.
The words disappeared into the wind.
Hilbert didn’t stir.
N forced himself to look at him again.
A thousand memories rushed forward at once.
Their first meeting in Accumula Town.
The Ferris Wheel in Nimbasa City where N had told he was the King of Team Plasma.
The way Hilbert had looked at him - not with hatred, not with fear, but with a compassion he had lacked his entire life.
Hilbert had challenged every certainty N had ever held.
And N responded by hurting him.
He had tried taking away his Pokémon.
He had forced him to carry the burden of defeating an entire evil organisation at just the age of fourteen.
And yet…
Hilbert had still reached out for his hand in the aftermath of everything - choosing to believe there was something worth saving.
N lowered his eyes.
“I don’t understand you.”
A small, sad smile appeared.
“I understand Pokémon. I understand their feelings. Their wishes. Their fears.”
His fingers curled slightly.
“But you… you are the one thing I cannot understand.”
The answer never came.
Only the quiet sound of Hilbert sleeping.
N wondered if that was what made it so difficult.
There was no grand explanation. No hidden reason. No perfect logic.
Hilbert simply cared.
And N had never known what being cared for felt like.
Ghetsis had cared in his own twisted way.
He cared what N could do for him.
He cared how many people N could rally to their side.
By contrast, Hilbert cared about how N felt and how his Pokémon were doing. He never pushed his Pokémon into battles they didn’t want to participate in - something N deeply admired about the brunette.
Their flight continued.
Eventually, the endless blue shifted into something unfamiliar.
The clouds parted.
A new land appeared beneath them - one N had only ever read about in the storybooks Ghetsis brought him when he was younger, back when he still believed the wretched man loved him like a son. He remembered reading about how the region had nearly been destroyed by the Darkest Day three millennia ago.
Galar.
Reshiram descended slowly, landing far from the crowded areas. The moment they were on solid ground, Hilbert stirred.
His eyes opened.
For a second, he looked confused.
Then he looked at N.
“Are we here?”
N nodded.
“Yes.”
Hilbert sat up, rubbing his eyes.
“How long was I asleep for?”
N considered lying.
Then he remembered that Hilbert had always been able to see through him.
“A while… sorry.”
Hilbert tilted his head in confusion.
“Why are you apologising?”
“I should have woken you up; you missed out on some amazing views."
Hilbert sighed.
“You do that a lot, you know.”
“Do what?”
“Blame yourself for things that happened.”
N looked away.
“I have many things to apologise for.”
Hilbert was quiet.
Then he reached out and lightly tapped N’s shoulder.
“You also have a habit of forgetting you’re allowed to be forgiven.”
N looked at him.
The words stayed with him.
Forgiveness.
Not repay every mistake.
Just…
Move forward.
--
Later that night, they found a small hotel to stay in in Wyndon.
Neither of them used their real names.
It was safer that way.
New region. New identities. A chance to exist without everyone knowing who they were.
The receptionist barely looked up from the desk as they checked in.
“Two guests?”
“Yes,” N replied.
The woman smiled.
“Wonderful. I have a double room available.”
N froze.
“A double?”
“Yes. One bed.”
The receptionist continued speaking, completely unaware of the sudden tension.
“Enjoy your stay.”
N accepted the key with a polite smile.
Only when they reached the room did he finally speak.
“Hilbert.”
“Yeah?”
N held up the key.
“She believes we’re a…”
He hesitated.
Hilbert looked at him.
Then he laughed softly.
“Oh.”
N frowned slightly.
“Is that amusing?”
“A little.”
“Why?”
“Because you look more nervous about this than when I was battling Ghetsis for the final time.”
N stared.
“That is not the same situation.”
“No?”
“No.”
Hilbert’s smile softened.
The teasing faded.
“It’s okay, N.”
The room suddenly felt very quiet.
N looked down.
“I do not want you to feel uncomfortable.”
Hilbert’s expression changed.
“N.”
“I mean it.”
N’s voice lowered.
“You have already given me so much. Your trust. Your forgiveness. I don’t want to take anything else from you.”
For a moment, Hilbert said nothing.
Then he stepped closer.
“You’re still doing it.”
N blinked.
“Doing what?”
“Apologising for just existing.”
Hilbert shook his head.
“You’re fine just the way you are.”
N looked away.
“But why?”
The question was so quiet that Hilbert almost missed it.
“Why what?”
“Why do you choose me to love me?”
Hilbert’s expression softened.
“N…”
“I hurt you.”
“I know.”
“I tried to destroy everything you stand for.”
“I know.”
“I-”
“I’m still here because I want to be.”
N stopped.
Hilbert nodded at him encouragingly.
“And because you make me feel things no one else ever has. I love how deeply you care about Pokémon - how you can look at the world with so much kindness despite everything you’ve been through. I love how you notice the things most people miss, how you listen, how you make me feel like the only person in the world when we're together.”
Hilbert’s voice softened.
“I like how safe I feel when I’m around you. How you protect me, not because you think I’m weak, but because you care. I like that you make me want to be a better person. You showed me that even if people shoot you down – you have to stick to your ideals because they matter, even if you are the only person who feels that way.”
For once, N had no answer. He could only stare, completely overwhelmed by the fact that the person he cared about most felt the same way. That somehow, the kindest, most wonderful boy in all of Unova had chosen him too.
“Really?”
He asked breathlessly.
“Yes.”
The honesty of it seemed to surprise them both.
N looked away, face warming.
“I still don’t understand.”
Hilbert laughed quietly.
“You really don’t, do you?”
“No.”
“Well…”
Hilbert stepped a little closer.
“Maybe this will help you to.”
N’s eyes widened as their lips met gently.
It was a brief first kiss, but when they pulled apart, both boys were as red as the famed shiny Gyarados of Johto.
Neither spoke for a solid minute.
Until Hilbert cleared his throat.
“So…”
“So.”
N echoed.
Another pause.
Then, unexpectedly, they both laughed.
Not because it was funny.
But because after everything they had been through together, this tiny moment in a rundown hotel in Wyndon somehow felt more frightening than any clash of truth and ideals.
That night, they stayed close to another one.
Not because they had solved everything.
They hadn’t.
They still had questions.
They still had a future they couldn’t see.
They still had to figure out who they were when they weren’t the two heroes – destined to clash in an epic showdown.
But they had time.
And most importantly of all, they had each other.
Hilbert rested against N’s side, eyes half closed.
“We’ll figure it out.”
N looked down at him.
“The future?”
“Everything.”
N was quiet.
Then, slowly, he smiled.
“Yes, we will.”
Outside, Wyndon’s lights shone across the city.
A new place.
A new beginning.
And for once, N wasn’t afraid of the uncertainty of what came next.