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Title: Connect
Rating: G
Pairing: Bisharp/Gardevoir
Notes: For Garde, for the SPPf Secret Santa ’14…Please enjoy! <3
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“I apologize, but I am afraid that I still do not understand.”
Bisharp, despite his audible efforts to keep his tone and vocabulary neutral, betrayed a flash of annoyance with his statement. To some, this would be considered disrespectful, but for Gardevoir, she had adjusted to his attitudes and tonal shifts that she brushed it off like it was a speck of dust. Her approach to him was the same as it always was, especially with this discussion…Be sincere, tell the truth, and ignore anything that might cause any rifts between each other.
Thus, she only sighed, and tapped a patient finger on her temple to signal that she was about to speak. “What exactly do you not understand? Which aspects would you like me to explain further?”
Or, do you not wish me to explain it, but wish that I renounce it all?
Metal blades tapped together impatiently. “All of it. I don’t understand why you would commit yourself to someone in that manner…And humans, of all things. Personally, I find that sort of outlook…odd. Dangerous.”
Bisharp’s tone was beginning to slip, and unveil his frustration, but he seemed too caught up in his own bemusement to notice. Shaking his head and waving around one of his bladed appendages, the Sword Blade Pokemon spoke again, metallic voice almost quivering in biliousness towards her ideals.
“If you attach yourself to someone else so easily, what gives you the idea that they won’t end up causing you problems, once they know you’ve committed yourself like that? What gives you the idea that they are trustworthy? Are you willing to put up with their mistreatment, and stay?”
“You ask many questions, and they are very difficult for me to answer all of them fully and satisfactorily.” Gardevoir sighed, quietly, waving up towards the starry sky above the two of them. “It is because your questions are both very personal and subjective…What I say and regard as a fact, you may choose to ignore and follow your own path. But, regardless of your opinion on my unwavering loyalty towards my Trainer, and your lack thereof, I would first like you to answer one question of my own creation.”
Blinking at the rush of words that he was assaulted with, Bisharp could only stammer, “Y-Yes, of course, feel free to ask me anything.”
“Do you really want to be alone?”
The question caused the Sword Blade Pokémon to jolt, as if he was struck by a harsh Earthquake under his feet. Struggling to recover, he managed too quickly to say, “I have my pack. I have my Trainer. I am not alone.”
Gardevoir shook her head. “Now, it is you who does not understand.”
“Please explain.”
A silence filled the space between them. It seemed to last for hours, only broken by Bisharp releasing his breath, attempting to choke the baffling wave of nausea that had overtaken him when she had claimed that he was lonesome. But, why, exactly? Why did her claim do such a thing?
It isn’t true, so why should I fear a lie?
Gardevoir didn’t look at him as she spoke, her crimson eyes glimmering with the shimmering stars above them.
“Just being surrounded by other people does not mean that you are not alone. If you wish for companionship, there must be a deeper level of presence. Just by standing next to someone, and speaking with them, are you friends, lovers?”
“N-No—“
“Thus, just by leading a pack, or having a Trainer, you may still be lonesome,” she cut in, turning her head to face his with a piercing gaze. “Am I wrong?”
He couldn’t answer her, opting to instead glare at the ground.
“If you are feeling lonely, and you feel as if you need company, you must learn to reach out. Simply knowing, speaking, and ruling over others does not guarantee that you will feel kinship. You must build connections, get to know others, and then you will understand.”
“Understand what…?”
“You will then understand where I am coming from, with my own ideals about connections with others. I continue to follow and obey my Trainer with the loyalty I have because we have a connection with each other. I have learned him from the inside out, and he has learned of my psyche in the same fashion. Thus, we trust each other with our lives and trust. Is this something you do not wish upon yourself? Do you not want to have other hearts touch yours, and thus never feel alone?”
Bisharp was silent. Closing his eyes, he mentally ran over the faces of his pack, his Trainer. Was he really alone?
Perhaps.
He never really discussed anything with them, beyond the weather or perhaps a handful of battle tactics and ideas. They had exchanges in conversation, ideas, and feelings that were never deeply personal. They never really bothered him much, and he never really bothered them. He had always found it odd that he knew nothing about them, their history, their feelings…
It was only now that he had spoken with her that he now realized that it wasn’t normal at all. The reason he knew nothing about them wasn’t normal, it was because he never tried to learn a thing, because he never encouraged them to try and learn anything about him.
I must seem like such a metal husk to them…
The Sword Blade Pokémon was so absorbed in his own idiocy of his situation that he didn’t see Gardevoir approach him, until she touched his bladed hand.
She smiled, a first, and nodded approvingly. “That is the first step to understanding me and my ideals, my friend…Making heartfelt connections with others.”
“They will leave me one day…” he murmured to himself, attempting to regain some of the dignity that the conversation had robbed him of. Surely, his previous argument could still apply.
No, it could not. It cannot.
“If you touch their hearts, they will never leave you.”
“They will die, will they not? What then?”
“If you keep your end of the connection, they will keep theirs.” Gardevoir replied simply, her tone conveying to him that the conversation required no further discussion from here.
He straightened himself, turned towards her, and saluted. “Well, then, I must bid you farewell until the next time we meet. I thank you kindly for your advice, and I will apply it accordingly.”
Gardevoir smiled again. “As you wish.”
Bisharp turned around, and marched calmly forward, hoping that his unruffled gait would hide the harsh flashes of embarrassment of his own blundering alongside Gardevoir’s miraculous patience towards his folly.
Should we connect, then? She’s helped me so much…
…or have we connected already?
