"I will, I promise." Tracey nodded, determination seeping through his dark eyes.

"Good..." Misty said, peeling herself away from him to allow him to leave, but before he did, she made sure to say to him something that she had been meaning to tell him, whether they liked it or not.

"And, Tracey..."

"Yeah, Misty?"

She looked up at him. He was a few feet away from the table, standing by the head of the knocked over Wobbuffet plush that had fallen when Teari had ran.

"...I just needed to say that... I appreciate all that you've done for me... for always being there when I needed you the most... for taking the time to comfort me... especially when it came to Ash... and... a-and I love you for that."

Tracey paused. What Misty had just told him, was the missing piece to why she was doing this. Misty was hurt from not only regret, but from seeing those who she cared for, hurt as well. He realized, that this is how Teari thought of love. Caring for one another. Putting their needs before your own. He guessed that perhaps Teari knew love was like this, but he didn't understand how or why she already knew this. He wondered if there is more to her than what they knew.

Perhaps... the way Teari thinks love is meant to be... is the way it was always meant to be... to love one another more than we love ourselves...

Maybe... love means something deeper than having feelings for each other... something bigger, like, caring about everyone... to always put them first... to sacrifice for them... to protect them with your own life, with all your heart and soul...

Maybe... this really is how she feels about us...

Maybe... Maybe... love is the keystone... the keystone to even more extraordinary friendship... Maybe love is what makes us do the things we do...

Smile...

Laugh...

Cry...

Help others who are in greater need...

Share our untold thoughts of our past...

Encourage others to leap for their dreams...

...

...

Heal...

It was then that he knew Misty... already knew it to.

Sacrifice...

Now he was sure. He was convinced. Love is a bond. A bond that held the world in balance. A bond that could only grow stronger, the more you choose to accept it. Without a strong bond, getting through the unexpected would be damaging, and unlikely. So he accepted it. He loves Misty Waterflower, the Cerulean City Gym Leader, as a close friend.

So, he replied, "I love you too, Misty."

She saw the truth in his words, and smiled. He too smiled, and gently picked up the soft blue plush from off the tile flooring. Before he left hearing range, he heard Misty say, "I'm a SketchHowlItShipper, by the way!"

Sketch... Howl... it...

...My last name, but with hers in between 'sketch' and 'it'...

Figures... He thought ...But that is pretty decent. I'll ask who came up with that later.

Tracey looked up from where he was standing to see the sign on the door.

'Family Restroom'

He took a deep, shaky breath. He turned back to see Misty watching him, making knocking hand motions in the air. Tracey barely nodded back, and faced the door again. He could tell that she wasn't crying in there anymore. With another deep breath, he knocked on the door.

"Hey, it's Tracey. May I come in?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. It's not locked." Teari said, sounding very calm compared to earlier, which confused Tracey a little.

He cracked the door open a little bit, just enough to peek his head through, to see that she was sitting on the floor against the wall, tissues neatly tossed in the far corner of the room. Her Chikorita, Chiko, was out of her Pokéball, as well as her Absol, Angel, her Clefairy, Treble, and her Deerling that Tracey hadn't seen before. It had a light pink fur coat and a lavender flower on it's head, instead of the usual yellow flower that he was use to seeing.

Slowly, he opened the door all the way, and cautiously stepped inside, revealing the Wobbuffet plush. He got the Pokémon's attention, as they turned their heads toward him.

Angel greeted him without hesitation, as she nudged his free hand, indicating her want to be petted by the boy. Chiko stayed on Teari's lap, but smiled with glee. Treble was distracted by the strange figure of blue, intrigued by its blob-like appearance, not caring about Tracey in the slightest. The Deerling, however, was superstitious about Tracey and especially the Wobbuffet, and coward beside Teari and Chiko, who rolled their eyes.

Tracey gently shut the door behind him, and gave in to Angel's desires and stroked her back. Treble, in her curiosity, picked up the Wobbuffet plush and walked off with it, before starting to dance around with it instead, which was very amusing indeed. "I can see that Treble likes the Wobbuffet." Tracey said softly, watching Teari giggle at her odd little Clefairy.

"I think you're right about that one." Teari agreed, smiling briefly, before it faded.

Tracey sat down next to her, and soon did the rest of her Pokémon, encircling her. The Deerling grumbled to itself when he got closer, unsure of who he is and of why she seems to trust him.

"Tray," Teari started, "I'm sorry about the way I acted earlier." Teari apologized. "I was scared and confused, and I didn't know what else to do. I don't know what came over me back there." She explained. "But I think I'm okay now." She said, wearily. "I not quite sure."

"It's okay, Teari. We all make mistakes sometimes... especially when we're anxious or confused." Tracey replied, "I know you didn't mean to..." He trailed off a little.

"Yeah..." Teari sighed, fatigued from the stress that had buildup over the course of the day. A short moment of silence passed between them.

"How's Misty doing?" Teari softly asked after awhile, still sounding very exhausted, but now with concern.

Tracey sighed. Sadly, he figured out for himself that the fatigue around them was contagious. "She said that she would be fine... We talked a bit before I came in here..." He said slowly, due to the deprived aura around them. "... She was the one that told me that I should check on you... Even though that'd mean she'd be alone... I was a little concerned for her at first, but she insisted that I check on you..... She was really worried about... us."

They were quiet again for a bit while Tracey was rethinking about the look in Misty's eyes when she told him that she'd be okay. Teari seemed to be thinking deeply, appearing to be clueless about something. Then in a second, it came to her, and found peacefulness in the silence.

They figured it out... She smiled... I can tell by the look in his eyes that he knows...

"You've figured it out... haven't you?" Teari said softly, with such a gentle grace, and deep, peaceful understanding, it silently took his breath away when he dived in those shiny, eyes of emerald beauty, that were gazing in his. The Butterfree froliced in jubilation inside him, when her eyes brightened magically due to her growing smile, that he barely noticed because of how much her beautiful eyes sunk into his never ending thoughts.

Until guilt struck him, hard. He started to question what he'd done. Should he have really told Misty that first, when he couldn't get the courage to tell Teari that for over 4 years?

Teari sensed his hurt.

She broke away their stare, and quietly got up, returning her Pokémon. Before she sat down again, she picked up the Wobbuffet and let it stand on the floor on the other side of her.

Tracey didn't need to tell her about why or how he figured it out, because she sensed it.

Just like how she sensed his feelings towards her. She can sense a lot of things about her friends, but out of all the other things she's sensed, his love for her was the most vague when it comes to details. She has the what, but when it comes to the when, why, and how, she didn't know.

It's strange what isolation can do to a person after 2 years without contact with anyone but their Pokémon, to realize the ways of the little humanity they've encountered in their past.

Like their body language.

Like their habits and tendencies.

Like their meaning of love, and the real meaning of love.

Before too much silence could attempt to come between them, Teari shuffled closer and rested her head on his shoulder. "It's okay, Tracey... I'm not mad." She whispered.

Tracey however, was surprised by her move and a part of him was scared of his fear to show his feelings for her before he said it, but he simply couldn't deny the pleasing warmth. But he still rejected her reasoning.

"B-But I told Misty t-that I...I—"

"I know." Teari interrupted him, not effected by his worrisome, shaky tone one bit, sounding calm, yet gentle.

Silence lingered. Tracey got a little nervous and bit his lip. "K-Know... what?"

Teari smiled, a small giggle escaping at the thought of her two possible responses. She thought that she could either say that she knows he told Misty that he loves her, or that she knows about his feelings for her. Either way, she knew that it'd surprise him.

"I know what you told Misty." She said, which made him wonder how she sounded so... positive.

Wouldn't she be the least bit jealous?

Why is she so calm about this?

"and I know why you feel guilty." Teari continued, "I understand why you'd feel like that after something like that... especially when you feel that it was for somebody else."

Tracey was stunned.

Could she really know?

Is this why she didn't seem jealous?

Cause she knew that I love her?

Is that why she isn't upset?

Is that why she knows I feel guilty about telling her that?

Why isn't she freaking out if she knows I feel that way about her?

Why am I thinking so much?

Surely there's a logical explanation as to why she's so... Teari?

"Tray," Teari murmured, looking up into his deep, dark eyes, "how much do you truly love me?"

Her question caught him quite off guard. He didn't want to give her the wrong idea by saying that he really did love her more than he's been allowing himself to show.

"Who-o-a what?! I... I- uh... I-I uh..." Tracey stuttered in a panic, before slowly trailing off, to find himself lost in her sparkling green eyes again. It's always the eyes. Tracey thought.

He felt himself calm down before Teari said, "It's okay, Tray. You don't have to say it. I was just... curious." She said, as if she shrugged, but couldn't because Tracey would be in the way.

Teari sighed, and stood up, dusting herself off, and adjusted her shirt. Tracey followed her actions, but instead, was helped up by Teari by the hand. She noticed his blushing and let out a giggle to herself when he realized that he didn't let go of her hand. "It's okay, Tray. It's just me," she smiled, "there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Even though Tracey could argue, he knew that it wasn't worth it and that she was right anyway. He had no reason to get all worked up about it.

"So, Teari?" Tracey said, nervously, inquiring that he was going to ask a question.

"Yes, Tray." She looked back at him curiously, wondering what he was going on about. She had already released his hand from hers by now.

"Do you... um... love me more than... uh... you know...?"

"Our other friends?" Teari finished, in a guessing way.

Tracey nodded, sheepishly, as if ashamed to have to ask her that.

Teari just smiled, and held back a small comforting giggle, knowing how to turn this in her favor. "Well, the one I love the most out of our friend group, is the one I've loved the longest."

Tracey looked back at her, puzzled. He figured that surly she wasn't talking about when they were younger. She was only 10, and he was just a young 8 year old boy who didn't have more than one friend. So he thought that she was talking about Ember, being her first traveling companion and all.

"Ember?" Tracey guessed with the same puzzled look glued on his face.

Teari's sigh became a soft laugh, "No silly," she said, "I'm talking about you." Her laughs became more confident when Tracey joined in, nervously at first, but all the same.

"So..." Tracey inquired again, this time sounding more cautious, "... does that mean that we should... uh... you know..." He trailed off in a nervous wreck, scratching the back of his head.

Teari sighed, "No Tray..." and before he could respond, she explained, "... I do love you in that way... but I think that we should wait."

She was about to leave it at that, but then realized that there was a flaw in saying that they should 'wait', when they've literally been waiting for over 4 years.

"As in... get use to being friends first," she said regretfully, seeing his saddened look, "cause..... in all honesty..."

Tracey gasped as he saw her eyes covered up by the foggy gleam of tears, shooked by their sudden appearance on her whimpering face.

"... I still don't believe you've come back..." she said weakly, before the tears escaped her.

Though her denial hurt, he realized it hurt her as well to have to say that, and let his hurt melt away to bring her into a tight embrace.

~

"Come on," Tracey said after Teari adjusted herself, and confirmed that she was better, "let's make sure that Mistys okay."

"Okay," Teari replied, sounding like nothing had happened. It was just the way she was.

"Oh, and Teari?"

"What?"

"Who's the Deerling?"

~

Ta da!

I make you guys wait forever for this!

Do you like it?

Was it good enough?

TELL MEH!

~Teari Howl't!