Silence.

It cocooned the two men in an impenetrable stare for what seemed like an eternity as their brains both processed what had just taken place.

It was at that moment that Shin felt his eyebrows raise abruptly while he rested his sight on the trembling man before him. The void of sound the shallowness of the awkwardness was naked and bare, sending chills up his spine that burned his neck. Vapid nothingness gnawed at his consciousness. It lingered in the air, thick and heavy, like a blanket.

An expression of nausea soon appeared in Terry's eyes, as if what he had just declared began to lay on his skin like poison. His breaths quickened, whetting painfully with each inhale until Shin thought he was going to faint.

And suddenly, before the next sentence hit the roof of Shin's dried mouth, Terry had bolted in the other direction, his gasps struggling to keep up with him as his legs carried him with giant strides-- larger than Shin had ever seen him run before. He watched as his friend disappeared from sight when the looming glass doors slammed behind him, his frantic footsteps no longer audible.

Shin made the attempt to chase after him, somehow grab him by the shoulder, but his feet refused to obey. They stood grounded, paralyzed by Anonymous', who had witnessed the entire scene with just as much emotion as his partner. The Pokémon gaped up at the man with knowing desperation, and Shin only responded with an astonished exhale, short and tense. He stood there, completely at a loss for words.

"Shocker," a plain voice emitted from behind them. Shin turned to face a stoic Wendy, seemingly unperturbed by the previous events that had taken place. She stepped forward, crossing her arms like a wise man.

Shin blinked, steadying himself. "You heard it?" he asked cautiously, earning an impassive grunt from the young woman.

"With Terry's volume? I'm sure half the planet heard it," She folded a loose strand of her hair back under the safety of her headband.

Shin remained as if he forgot how to breathe, unable to speak in full sentences. "I... don't..." he muttered haphazardly.

Wendy then made her way over to Anonymous' side, both him and her now across from the agitated man. "You know, Terry broke down when he came back from his first visit," she began out of the blue, immediately catching Shin's attention from his mental hurricane. "Told me he couldn't stomach the fact that--"

"What? That my arm is gone?"

"...That he didn't make it in time to save it." Wendy only averted her gaze from his. "Blamed himself for the whole thing."

Anonymous flashed the woman a nervous glance, worried about his partner's mortified reaction. Shin's mind swam with regrets, things he might have, or rather, should have said to Terry to prevent this dilemma. The mere thought of them set his soul on fire.

"Wendy, I..." His breaths hitched as he scrambled to find his next statement. "...You don't know how much I want to make things right again with him... What do I do anymore?" he asked blankly, letting the question drone out of his mouth like water. "Who do I go to now? I'm lost without him... Without him... I don't know." His eyes became pitless holes that drilled into the core of his heart; Something painful began to burn in within them.

Wendy suddenly stepped towards him, making herself look much taller despite her smaller figure. "Listen, I know what kind of person you are, Shin... Because you're me." Her eyes sharpened, yet gained the most vibrant color of cyan Shin had ever seen in her. They seemed to blaze behind her snowy irises. "You fight for what you believe is right because you were too weak back then to do anything. And instead of doing something about it, you waste your time complaining about it until the world ends. It hurts to look back, but can't you use that confidence for something other than proving yourself for once?"

Shin gave her a dumbfounded look. Her comment was so out of character, so far from what he knew of her, he just stared at her open-mouthed. His brain formulated no thoughts other than to register that he was shocked. He clenched his mouth before glancing back up to catch her eye. "What, and have you tried it?" he demanded, hoping to stir something out of her.

"I don't have this kind of opportunity."

"What do you mean?"

The female heaved a sigh shaking her head in a matter of disappointment. "Shin, you are as dense as they come," she mused. "Why do you think he was so angry at Jaderine? When you told him he wasn't important to you? When you broke his promise of being together?"

The man tensed. "How do you--"

"He told me about a lot of things while you were gone, actually." A glare crossed her face. "...A lot more things he's never told you."

Shin's response practically choked itself out of him. "Well... he was hurt, obviously!"

"Stop denying it," Wendy abruptly snapped.

Shin gulped, glancing down at the gravel at his feet. When the familiar cream-colored paws entered his field of vision, he heard a whine-like grumble that came from its general direction. Anonymous had begun to show a face of undying anxiousness, his shimmery blue eyes narrowing with want. "What? What is it?" Shin interrogated flatly. The Pokémon let out a snort through his wet charcoal nose as if to convey something of an urging presence, and with his snout, began to nudge the ankles of the male's feet to trip him over. Shin grunted with effort to balance himself, his arm and stump waving wildly while he did so. "Hey! What are you...?!"

"See? Even your Pokémon knows what's going on." Wendy produced a small smirk and within seconds, concealed it back into the depths of her emotions. "You told me you're lost without him. Don't you acknowledge that you feel the same way?"

Anonymous suddenly pinched his teeth on the bottom fabric of Shin's shirt. He tugged, at first lightly, and then with each pull, a bit more stubbornly; Shin was afraid his clothes would rip right off of him. His gaze fumbled onto Anonymous', who held on him a stare that crisped him— one that he knew would be seared into his brain forever, ready to pop up and torment him again when he was ever in a quiet place.

For some reason, he could hear that expression manifest into words:

Stop being a coward, Shin, like we both were. If you don't want to lose him, now's your chance.

You need to be happy too.

He couldn't tell if it was Anonymous who was really speaking to him or his own mind, but the thought ebbed away at his uneasiness. It was as if he had reached the center of a tornado, calm and light, a space of light-headedness that allowed his heart to settle. With another jerk from the Lycanroc, he found that he was now letting himself be dragged by the pulls. He looked down at the Pokémon, then back at Wendy.

Her face hardened, and she said simply, "Go."

Before he could object, Anonymous had already led him to the entrance of the building. He felt the cool breeze of the indoors blast against his skin, causing goosebumps to rise like mazes of corn in a field. He began to panic.

"Wait...! Anonymous, hold on!

No. No more waiting.

"I don't even know if he'll feel this way after all this...!"

You need to stop complaining. You need to stop regretting.

"Stop! I can't ruin this any more than I—"

A loud bark penetrated his range of sound, throwing Shin into silence. Anonymous had ceased movement to gape at his beloved trainer, letting the yelp fade into the quiet ambiance of the room. His blue jewels plunged deep into his own and cast away the cloudy spells that bound it into frightened submission.

Shin understood.

He let out a small exhale, surrendering his next movements to the determined Pokémon.

His ears soon filled with the sound of Anonymous sniffing the air, scouting out the trailing scent of Terry in the vicinity. Within seconds, the two were bolting towards the parking lot door of the department, where the familiar redhead stood, head in his hands.

Apprehension crept all over him, yet that sensation of tenacity overpowered every nerve that managed to stick within him.

He opened his mouth.

"Ter."

The other man turned quickly at the sound of his voice. His astonished face attempted to recollect itself, pursing his lips with an avoiding glance. "What do you want?" he grumbled coldly.

Shin tried to turn to find his Pokémon, but the Lycanroc had fled into the crevices of the building to give the two room. The man sighed stressfully. "I wanted to—"

"To say 'I'm sorry' again?" Terry dug his nails into his palms; it clearly hurt him to talk in that manner. "It's not like you said it already when this whole thing started."

With an aching heart, Shin stepped forward to meet him. "I only want your ears for a moment. I don't care if you won't look at me, just please listen."

Terry paused in his movements, soon dropping his shoulders as he exhaled— a sign of his yield. Shin bit the inside of his bottom lip.

"I wish I could have told you a lot of things about me. I wish I could have told you about Anonymous... and I wish I could have known what was going to happen..." he hovered a hand over his barren limb, "...before it happened. I didn't know why I felt the need to go back to that place... I never knew it would be because of Anonymous and all those other Pokémon. I just... couldn't pass up my intuition that time, not after all the mistakes I made."

Shin felt his teeth crush against each other behind his closed mouth.

"So many times in the past that I regret existing just because I didn't trust myself to do what I thought was right... I lost everything because of that...! I lost Anonymous for Arceus' sakes— The only one who was there for me when I was little!" Warmth brimmed in his eyes and he was forced to weaken his once strong manner. "And yet, when I finally chose to follow my heart, I never thought I would lose someone else important to me too... I never even knew I would have someone else other than Anonymous who meant so much to me."

At that moment, there was a small flinch that reverberated through Terry's figure. Shin could now see the concern and anxiety in his expression, directly stabbing into his already withering spirit. His head lowered, but he kept his raven eyes planted onto Terry's honey ones.

"I thought that I was keeping you safe by keeping to myself, but instead, I worried you so much. It was wrong of me to ever conclude that." Shin desperately breathed. "I've always told myself that my confidence was my priority...

...You know what? To hell with my confidence."

As if a trigger had been activated inside of him, he immediately began to near Terry, forcing the other man to shuffle back and hunch his shoulders forward as if he were being cornered by a daunting predator. Only seconds later was the redhead pushed against the wall behind him, unable to escape from the intense situation before him. Beads of sweat formed on his head and Shin continued to stare into his increasingly pliant gaze.

"There's nothing I want more in the world than for you to forgive me. You made me realize how much more you really mean to me." Shin felt his head tilt towards Terry's nose, and their body heats began to clash together. He peered down at him from his taller stance. "So, please... What do I have to do to show you?"

Terry began to tremble, looking as if all feelings in his stomach were crunching up into one crushing weight. In a way, it was unbearable for Shin to watch, but there was an odd sense of intrigue that lingered in his chest as he focused on Terry's flustered face.

The hothead's fingers clenched together nervously as he tried to reignite the anger inside of him. "Stop acting like you know how I feel...!" he retaliated, his breathing becoming more intense and disoriented. "After all this time, I already know how you feel about me— I'm your friend. Hell, probably the first real human friend you've ever had." Droplets of water hung from the corners of his eyes, longing to inch their way out, and he shut them tightly in an attempt to block his view of Shin's every reaction. "If that's what's important you... and if this is how it's going to be... then I—!"

"Will this prove it to you?"

Before each of them had a chance to process a single thought, Shin swiftly leaned himself forward...

...and gentle lips suddenly pressed against each other.

Shin could hear the subtle gasp of Terry's nose followed by the hot breeze of his sharp exhale upon the Cupid's bow of his mouth. He could feel each shudder of his body, each wild pump of his heart thumping like a cannon as it sped up against his own chest.

It was odd how such a fiery individual could have such soft and comforting lips, Shin thought to himself; it almost took him by surprise. He fully expected the other man to flee from his abrupt movement, or at least bat him away in some sort of self-defense as he always would. He was clearly as tense as he could have ever been in his entire life, his heart racing, his breaths limited and quick.

Yet, he looked as if he let the warm touch of Shin completely paralyze him over. His widened eyes were frozen, making it seem as if time had stood still. Shin couldn't tell if it was of shock or bliss, but he accepted it either way.

He just hoped it was the right thing.

Shin finally pulled back, leaving his exhale as the only trace of him left on Terry's face, and touched his forehead onto his strawberry blonde hair. He stared down at the lips he had just kissed as Terry covered them with his shaking hands.

Shin blinked sweetly. "Well?" he whispered quietly with an expression like a rock. "Did it?"

Red frothed from under Terry's cheeks, who was a trembling, stammering mess. He swallowed hard to clear his throat only to produce chokes of disbelief that disappeared under the sound of his drumming heart.

Shin couldn't help but let out a few soft snickers and he tenderly pulled Terry's body into a close embrace. "I need you too, Ter," he muttered into the top of Terry's scalp. He pulled him in tighter with his single arm, shutting his eyes. "I'll never let you worry like that again. I promise you."

There was a small hesitation that took the air, and Shin fought to cling onto whatever hope he had left in his system. How difficult it was to compose himself in such a nervewracking situation, he knew, could never be put to words.

Despite it being the first, he feared it could be the last time he could hold Terry in this way. It would feel like the air being taken away from his lungs if the man chose to break it off then and there. The constant thought if it kept pounding itself into his skull. He could only hold his breath, praying that he hadn't just ruined the rest of his life with his choice.

That was when a shock ran through Shin as he felt the weight of Terry's arms wrapping around his back, his hands clasping together on top of his tailbone. The redhead pressed himself against Shin's collarbone and buried his face under the rough material of his shirt.

"...I'm just letting you go because you're special," the stubborn muffle of Terry grumbled.

Shin smiled. "I know."

He could feel the redhead beam against his shirt, and they both pulled away, faces heated. Shin turned to face the hallway, fixing the hat on top of his head that had fallen out of position. "Sorry I have to cut this short... Need to go do an investigation." He peeked behind him slightly to catch a look of disappointment on Terry's face. The redhead soon replaced it with a trying smirk.

"Fine," he responded quickly. There was a pause before he added, "Um, your arm... Are you sure you don't need any backup?"

Shin flashed his belt, and with it, a shiny new pokéball. "Yeah, I have Anonymous with me."

Terry cautiously fidgeted his fingers, clearly bothered. "Anything at all?"

Shin huffed playfully. He spun on his heel and narrowed his eyes slyly. "If you could do me one thing, possibly."

Terry crossed his arms, regaining the sturdiness in his eyes. "God, what?" he asked defensively.

With that, Shin fixed a fierce finger on Terry's bottom lip, causing the latter to flinch. "Promise me that we'll continue being officers. Together." His heart almost leaped out of his body as he forced a collected appearance upon him. "Okay?"

Completely taken aback, Terry's eyes gave a slight frown as his lips quivered slightly. His gold irises were filled to the brim with sudden desire. "Idiot... Only if you promise me that first." he murmured with Shin's index finger still resting on his mouth. His statement earned a small raspy chuckle from Shin.

"Then... I promise."

"You really mean it?"

"From the bottom of my heart."

Terry shuffled his feet, taking in a gasp of air.

"...I promise too."

The ebony-haired man retreated his hand from Terry and presented him a tender grin-- a grin that tore past the titanous boarder that had been parting the two for so long. It dissipated all apprehension separating them from the solace that the two so desperately begged for.

"What will the others think when... you know?" Terry nervously muttered nervously under his breath.

Shin only blessed him with a light peck on the forehead, his lips soft and feathery. "To hell with what they think. They aren't the ones who can break our promise."

They both knew that things would be different from now on.

Much different.

Much better.

"Then... I'll see you always, Ter."

There was a brief pause before the voice answered back to him, contentedly.

"See you always, Shin."

They smiled.