Ricky woke up two mornings later really excited. Today was the day Vincent and Ruby finally met. Once his regular educational schedule was behind him, he rushed home and waited for Blaze to arrive. He was looking forward to regaining good relations with Vincent most of all. It had been a while since his friend had confidence in him, and Ricky was eager to get it back.

A few minutes later, Blaze knocked on Ricky's door. His heart skipped a beat; this was it. He opened it, seeing his girlfriend waiting for him.
"Are you ready?"
She asked.
"Vincent is on his way there."
Ricky replied.
"Good. Ruby is too. Let's hope this works."
Blaze replied. With that, the two headed for a local restaurant where the two Zoroark would meet for the first time in years. There was much to discuss before the problem was resolved, however.

One such issue became apparent to Ricky as the two walked onward to their destination.
"Wait. If Ruby's parents are only staying here for a couple weeks, what will that mean for her once they meet again?"
Blaze stopped, looking thoughtful.
"How did we not think of that?"
Ricky shook his head.
"Ryan tried to warn us about that."
The two pondered on it as they continued on. In the end, they agreed that they would solve the matter at another time.
"Let's cross that bridge when we get there, my love."
Blaze suggested.
"I... suppose you're right. There's a time and place for everything."
Ricky agreed. The two then continued on their way.

When they finally arrived, they saw Vincent there, but not Ruby. When Vincent saw the two approaching, he perked up a bit.
"Where is she? Is she here yet?"
He asked hurriedly, feeling disappointed when the two replied with unknowing answers.
"Don't worry, she'll be here."
Blaze reassured him.
"For now, you should probably go inside and wait. It's chilly out here."
Vincent agreed and sat at a table with only one chair on the opposite side. Ricky and Blaze both agreed not to interfere with their meeting and sat a short distance away.

After a long and anxious wait, Ruby finally arrived. Once she opened the door and saw the Zoroark sitting at the empty table alone, she knew it was him.
"...Vincent?"
She asked in surprise. Ricky saw Vincent look right back at her, stunned when he saw the female Zoroark looking at him. The look in her eyes was one of great happiness, but also a slight sense of sadness.
"Ruby!"
Vincent replied excitedly, standing up immediately after saying her name. She ran into his arms, almost tackling him in a tight embrace, just managing to keep her tears from flowing freely.
"Vincent, I missed you so much! I feared I'd never see you again!"
Ruby told him, not letting go. Vincent smiled warmly.
"Don't worry, Ruby. I'm right here. Don't be upset. We can finally be happy now that we're together again."
That's when Vincent noticed her tears.
"I wish it was that easy, Vincent, but..." She could barely speak through her sobs.
"we can't."
She spoke quietly, too quietly for Blaze and Ricky to hear. The sentence cut off Vincent's spell of happiness rather abruptly.
"We can't? Why not?"
He asked with a hint of desperation.
"Oh no..."
Blaze nurtured, hearing Vincent's question.
"What? What is it?"
Ricky inquired, seemingly unaware of the problem.
"Ruby knows that she can't stay long. Now Vincent will learn that."
Blaze felt for the two, knowing the news would be crushing.
She continued listening with a slight sense of uncertainty about the outcome of the whole conversation.

"So... you can't stay for any longer than two weeks?"
Vincent asked.
"I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to tell you."
Ruby remained in her lover's arms, still crying quietly.
"Well, it's okay, right? You've still got two weeks. That's plenty of time to do something."
Ruby sniffled, thinking about it.
"You're... you're right. Maybe we can think of something."
She sounded slightly hopeful after that.
"Come on; I'll get you a drink and we can talk. I'm sure there's a lot to catch up on."
Vincent suggested. Ruby didn't seem opposed.
"I'd like that. I sure have missed you."
At that point, the two similar looking Pokemon began to talk about all that had happened in the years since they last met. Ricky and Blaze decided to leave them alone for a while.
"Come on. We should let them have some time without us looking over their shoulders the whole time."
Blaze told the Lucario.
"Alright. You're the boss."
Ricky joked as the two left the cafe.

Later that day, Ricky was watching TV in his apartment when he heard his phone buzz. He had a text from Vincent. It was rather long winded for Vincent, but after reading it, Ricky understood. He unlocked his phone and began to read:
Hey Ricky,
I just wanted to thank you for helping me out. You've done me a favour I honesty cannot repay you. You're a very good friend to me, almost like a brother. The trust we put in each other is unlike anything I've ever had before.

However, I'd also like to apologise for the way I've treated you recently. I know that I've been pretty hard on you, and I see that as an error on my part. Know now that my trust and good will toward you is higher than ever. Today was great; Ruby and I are really excited to meet again.
I couldn't have done it without you, friend. Tell Blaze I said hello, and again, thank you.

-Your good friend, Vincent

Ricky smiled as he finished reading the message, relieved that his friend trusted in him again.
"That big furball had me scared for a minute there..."
Ricky said to himself as he put his phone down and returned to his show, still grinning widely. Blaze showed up later that day as the sun set, and he showed her the message that Vincent had sent.
"Oh, that's wonderful Ricky. I'm sure you're delighted."
He nodded with pride and happiness.
"Of course I am. It's been a while since-"
Ricky's phone then began to ring. He picked it up, looking at the name on the screen.
"Vincent?"
Blaze asked.
"No..."
He replied, confused.
"It's Ryan."

A bit of a cliffhanger this time. What is it that Ryan would want at a time like this? Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Sincere apologies for such a short chapter after so long. To be honest with you, I've ran out of passion for the problem surrounding Ruby. It took a lot to make a good ending out of all of it. Now that it's out of the way, I might be clear to make chapters a little faster.

Also, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for 20k reads! You've blown my mind with the milestones we're hitting! As promised, I've got a surprise for all of you that I'll be posting after the next chapter. I hope you're all as excited as I am to move forward from here. Until next time, stay awesome guys, and I'll see you real soon. Thanks again for 20k! I love you all!