Obligation Chocolate

Obligation Chocolate
A Pokemon One-Shot



    Silver hated holidays.  He just simply never saw any reason to celebrate them.  The fact that his birthday fell the day before one of the major holidays (Christmas) didn't help matters.  But if there was one holiday he hated, one holiday he absolutely, vehemently could not stand, it was Valentine's Day.  As a matter of fact, he was pretty much the self-proclaimed Scrooge of Valentine's Day.  All the people, rushing about giving flowers and chocolates in heart-shaped boxes to one another, gushing on and on and on about how much they loved the other one more...it was enough to make him vomit.  Every February 14th he was subjected to seeing the paper cut-out hearts and the Cupids out on display...Seriously, who in the hell thought that a fat, half-naked baby was a good mascot for a holiday?

    And thus that was the reason he grumbled to himself as he made his way through Vermilion City, headed toward the pier to take the ferry back to Johto, surrounded by hearts and flowers and all other sorts of frivolity that the town had put up in honor of the day of love.  The sooner he could get away from all this pink and red madness and lock himself in his ship cabin for the few hours' journey to Johto, the better.  Leering at couples as they passed and contemplating biting a few of them should they try to poison him with their sappiness, he quickened his pace and plowed head-long into another Trainer, who'd been chatting into his PokeGear.

    "Yes, Eusine, I just got off the ferry, and I'll be there soo—"  It was at this point in the man's conversation that he was cut off by Silver's collision, and his PokeGear clattered on the ground.  Silver retrieved it and handed it back to the man, muttering something that only slightly resembled an apology.  At that point he looked up and realized he recognized the Trainer: it was Morty, the Gym Leader from Ecruteak.  Clutched in his other hand was a small, square box, tied up with curly ribbon.

    "Sorry, guess I wasn't looking where I was headed," Morty said, scratching his head.  "No harm done."  He glanced over his parcel and grinned.  "Yep, even the chocolates Lyra gave me are okay; that's a relief."

    Silver's blood prickled in his veins; had he heard that right?  He couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth.  "Y...You got chocolates from Lyra?"

    Morty looked at Silver, surprised.  "Oh, so you know her too?  Yeah, I caught her getting onto the ferry just as I was getting off, and she handed them to me.  Said she'd made them just for me, which I thought was really ni—oh, okay, bye, then..."  He trailed off as Silver streaked past him at a brisk walk.  Morty snorted.  "Jeez, what's his hurry?"  He heard a squaking sound in his right hand, and he recalled his interrupted conversation.  Without missing a beat, he picked up again, saying, "Yes, yes, Eusine, I'm hurrying there now; I'm sure Suicune will wait the hour it'll take me to Fly to you..."

    Silver's jaw clenched.  How could this be?  Lyra had given chocolates to that Gym Leader, someone she'd only met maybe once?  Why...Why, dammit?  He stomped onto the wooden docks, mind ablaze, when he stopped suddenly and stared at his reflection in the ocean.  Wait...why the hell did he care?  After all, it's not like it was any of his business who Lyra gave chocolate to.  And he certainly didn't want any from her.  He laughed at the very idea.  So why had he been so furious just a moment ago?  What nonsense.

    "...Well, that was nice of her, giving us chocolate," a voice said as two Trainers walked past Silver; at a glance he recognized one as Green, Viridian's Gym Leader, addressing another boy in a red cap with a Pikachu on his shoulder.  "I didn't even think you'd met Lyra, Red," Green continued.  He held up the small pink package and eyed it with a grin.  "I'll just count this one towards my total of more chocolates I'm going to get than you today.  Seriously, you're never going to find a girlfriend if you keep hanging out up on that mountain, Red..."

    "Not all of us can be uncontrollable leches, Green," Red said, pocketing his own box from Lyra in his jacket pocket.

    "How the hell am I a lech...?" Green asked as they turned the corner off the pier and strolled out of Silver's earshot.

    Silver stood, head down, opening and closing his fists, shoulders quaking.  What...What the hell was going on here?  How many chocolates was Lyra giving away today, anyway?!  Swearing under his breath, he stomped off to the cruise liner and made his way up the ramp after flashing his ticket, forgetting completely that he wasn't supposed to care about to whom Lyra doled out chocolate.  In the entry hallway, he received a key card for his room and sulked off to find the number, more agitated than he'd ever been in his life.  He passed by a boy who whistled while he strolled, apparently quite pleased about something.  Silver hated happy people.  It only made it worse when this happy person stopped and turned to address him with an, "Oi, Silver!"  It disgusted him even more to find that it was Ethan, and he noticed right away he was toting a familiar pink box tied up with red curled ribbon.

    "You headed for Johto too?" Ethan said with a toothy grin.  "I just ran into Lyra, and look what she gave me!"  He held out the small box for Silver to admire it; it served only to make him more furious.  "She said she made chocolates for all her friends today!  Ah, but," he grinned, "I notice you don't have one, Silver!  Don't tell me she forgot to give you one!  Or maybe," he chuckled deviously, "you're just so unimportant to her that she didn't even bother to make you one—"

    Silver reeled back and clocked Ethan in the eye with all the force he could muster and flew down the hallway in a rage.

    Ethan scraped himself off the ground and held his face; he could already feel the bruising around his eye beginning.  "Yeesh, maybe I took it too far..."

    Never in all his life had he felt so hot, so furious, so uncontrollably enraged.  He doubted what Ethan said was true; he'd seen Lyra enough over the past two years to warrant her giving him at least a small something for Valentine's Day, but that wasn't the point.  He expected if he ran into her, she'd happily hand over his portion of her presentations for the day, most likely with the same dopey smile she'd shared with all the others.  But that...that just wouldn't do.  If he was going to accept any chocolate at all on Valentine's Day, something he already didn't want to do in the first place, it had better be the only chocolate the girl had given all day!  He wasn't going to accept any chocolate a girl had made for him out of obligation, with no meaning behind it.  Shoving his hands in his pockets, he grumbled sourly and wished more than ever for the the seclusion of his cabin.  He didn't get his wish, though, for when he rounded the corner, he came face-to-face with Lyra, who looked up and brightened instantly when she saw him.

    "Silver!  I'm so happy I ran into you today!  I was worried we wouldn't meet up, and I'd have to give you this later," Lyra said, digging in her bag.  "Now, where did I put it...?"

    Clenching his jaw, Silver shoved past her.  "If it's chocolate for Valentine's Day, keep it.  I don't want any, least of all from you."  He left her there alone in the hallway, staring after him with a shocked and hurt expression.

---

    Sighing, Silver rolled over on his bed a near-hour later in his cabin.  Try as he might to dismiss the matter from his mind, he couldn't stop thinking about the whole situation with Lyra.  Why did it bother him so much?  It's not as if he actually...That is to say, when it came to Lyra, he didn't actually feel...

    And there it was.  Sitting up, he felt the warm rush of his epiphany, his eyes widening.  He...He was such an idiot.  Climbing to his feet, he rushed out of the room.  He had to find her and fix this, before the boat landed.  If he didn't, who knew when he'd see her again?  But there were so many rooms on the boat, how could he possibly find her?  He walked briskly down the hallway, mind atwitter.  As he turned a corner, he spotted a familiar Marril standing near its trainer, and he recognized this trainer as Ethan, much to, oddly, his delight.  He dashed toward him, calling out.  Ethan turned, giving view to his brilliantly purple eye, and tensed uncomfortably as Silver approached.  "Ethan, what room is Lyra staying in on the boat?  Do you know?" Silver asked when he'd reached him.

    Eyebrows furrowing at the peculiar question, Ethan thought for a moment.  "I...think she said she's in room 42, but why do you as—"

    "Thanks, Ethan!" Silver said as he whipped past him, eying each door number as he went.

    Ethan stood in the hallway, blinking, and he turned to his Marril.  "Did...Did Silver just tell me....thanks?"  His Marril nodded in confirmation, and he stared after him, blown away.  "Now there's something you don't see every day...Wonder what got into him?"

    "...38...39....40..." Silver counted aloud as he walked.  At last he came upon the door labeled 42, and, hesitantly, he reached for the doorknob.  Before his hand even touched the metal, he heard a faint sound from within the room; it sounded a bit like sobbing.  Retracting his hand, he wondered for a moment what he should do, and then he raised his hand and knocked.

    There was a small shuffling sound from within, and then Lyra answered the door.  Her eyes were very red and puffy, and there was no doubt that she'd been crying only moments ago, which only served to make Silver feel even worse.  She was very surprised to see him standing there, and for the briefest of moments, she contemplated closing the door again.  Against her better judgment, she ushered him into the room with her.

    He sat down in a vacant chair as Lyra returned to the edge of the bed, where she placed herself, drawing up her knees and hugging them to her chest.  They sat there for a long moment, not speaking to one another.  Unable to stand it any longer, Silver finally spoke.

    "Look, Lyra—"

    "I'm sorry!" she blurted, cutting him off, and she buried her face in her knees.  She sobbed again, adding, "I'm sorry if I said or did anything to make you mad!  If...If you don't like chocolate, I can give you something else for Valentine's Day!  I just....I just wanted to give you something..."

    "No, Lyra, don't....don't apologize..." Silver said, completely flabbergasted.  What had he done to this poor girl to make her this insecure?  Was he really that much of asshole?

    "I shouldn't have assumed chocolate would be okay," Lyra said, holding her head as she rocked a bit on the bed.  "I should've asked in advance if you like chocolate, or I should've asked if you even wanted anything for Valentine's Day, or—"

    "Lyra, please!" Silver shouted, leaping from his chair and grabbing her hands.  "Calm.  Down," he said slowly, squeezing her hands.  He sighed and closed his eyes.  "Chocolate is...fine.  If you want, you can give it to me now."

    She blinked up at him, uncertain.  "Are...you sure?"

    He sighed again and sat down in the chair once more.  "Yes, I'm sure.  I was just in a bad mood earlier.  Not your fault."

    Taking a deep breath, Lyra dug in her bag and removed a box much different than the ones Silver had seen the other boys carrying.  It was larger, red, and heart-shaped, and had a delicately-signed card attached to it, addressed to him.  Hands shaking, Lyra handed it to him.

    Silver marveled at the quality of it; she'd tied it shut with a white silk ribbon, and the box appeared to have been covered in red fabric by hand.  Unattaching the card with his name on it, he opened it and read it.  The box slipped from his hand slightly, but he managed to save it before it fell to the floor.  Placing it and the card on the table, he stood, his chair making a loud noise on the floor.  He then crossed the short distance and wrapped his arms around her.  Surprised, Lyra pulled her legs down so she could accept the hug more properly, and before either of them knew it, their lips connected, Lyra's salty tears gliding gently across their meeting.

    "...There's only one thing I have to say," he said after they'd pulled away, his forehead resting against hers.

    "What's that?"

    "...Next year, you're only allowed to give chocolate to me."

    She laughed.  "Fair enough."

    On the table, next to the heart-shaped box sat the small card Lyra had composed.  Inside it were two sentences, three words each: "I love you.  Happy Valentine's Day."