"What's out there?"

"My lord N?"

He stares out of the window of his palace and sees what he knows now is a machinated sky, computer-generated clouds partially covering a plethora of twinkling stars, rather than the mud and dirt of the deep earth. "Is this what the sky really looks like? What you have both seen? What all the Pokémon I talk to long to see again? Open, free, magical…"

The windows in his castle do not open. He presses his palm against the glass; if he leans close, he can hear the buzz of electricity that feeds the hologram. Anthea rests her hand over his. Her touch is comforting, though her hand no longer covers his completely. Yet even with his seventeen years, he knows he lacks maturity and knowledge like hers. She has experienced what he has not.

"Yes, we have seen the world," says Concordia. "A very small experience, and yet one that remains dear in our hearts. Soon, N… soon you will know the same feelings. The beauty of the night sky, brilliant lights at unimaginable distances. The roar of an ocean, the bubbling of a river, the swaying of wind through grass and trees. Nature is where all creatures belong. You, of all people, will be able to appreciate it all the more."

Her words paint a beautiful, tranquil picture in his mind. "What if it's not what I imagine?" N breathes. "What if it isn't everything I've dreamed, and I am disappointed?"

Both women shake their heads. Concordia kneels to speak to him face-to-face.

"Do not worry. It will exceed your wildest imaginings. You will learn things that you didn't even know existed. Take advantage. Experience everything you can… meet new people, learn new ideas… Let the world take who you are now and build upon it, shape it into the best version of yourself. Promise me, N… who you are here and now… Let the world open you to new aspects of yourself that you cannot find here."

Concordia's eyes implore him, more fiercely than ever he has seen them. He doesn't quite understand what she means. Must he lose himself completely in the world, in all its grandeur, far larger even than his palace? Anthea's hand tightens around his.

"Say you will, N."

His mouth opens seemingly of its own accord. He doesn't understand her fully, but he takes her words to heart, and hopes that someday he will realize what they truly mean.

"I will."

"Where are we?" N asked. White kept the map, though she hardly ever referred to it. Every day they camped somewhere different. They wandered for the sake of wandering. Had it not been for White to give him purpose, N felt that he probably wouldn't have made it; he had never before functioned without a clear goal in his mind, a single task he was set to accomplish.

"I don't know exactly," said White, shrugging. "But it's a gorgeous lake, isn't it? Want to stop here?"

"Sure, if you do."

"It's settled then." She took his hand, leading him to the water's edge. Leading him through living without something to follow. The irony was not lost on N.

White threw down her bag, then tossed off her hat, shoes, and black sweater. She tested the water with her toes. "Ooh, it's cold," she said happily.

N frowned. "We didn't bring swimsuits with us, did we?"

"Who cares?"

Without further ado, White charged into the lake. At first she stumbled, splashing through muddy reeds, but then she reached the deep, clear water in the center. She floated there easily, like a princess on her dais, as if the white patch of sun reflecting off the water were solid enough to support her weight. She lifted her head up, wet hair clinging to her cheeks, and called out to N.

"Come on! It feels great."

With childlike precision, N untied his shoes, removed his shirt, folded it neatly, and set it on top of his sneakers. He deliberated on the shore. "Is it deep where you are?"

"I found a rock I can stand on."

Still N hesitated. White's grin faded; she stopped swimming in little circles and stood. Even at a distance, her posture and demeanor made her gaze piercing.

"What's wrong? Can't you swim?"

"Of course I can." N sighed. "You saw the size of the place where I grew up. Every other floor had a pool… I was taught to swim when I was very small. Usually with Pokémon."

"But you've never gone swimming anywhere else, have you? Lakes, oceans, rivers?"

"It's not that I'm scared," N explained. He struggled to find the words to make her understand. Despite everything she had taught him, this life with her still seemed so unreal. "It's just something I'm not used to. I still as if I… as if I don't deserve these new experiences."

He half-hoped, half-expected, that White would swim over, touch his face, tell him what he said wasn't true, and soothe his fears, as she so often did. But she remained on her rock, still and sure. Beneath the water's surface, the image of her body rippled, as if she were standing in a veiled world separate from his own. She sighed.

"You're so dramatic," she said at last, though not unkindly. N almost wished she spoke more sternly. "You think things through too much."

"How can I not? After what I've done?" A Pokémon leapt out of the water in the distance. Seeing it intensified his sudden guilt. "How can I be here, enjoying the same oasis, breathing the same sunny air, when I tried so hard, so recently, to destroy such peace? I truly believed - "

White cut him off. "Enough," she said sharply. "Stop dwelling on the past. Stop pitying yourself. I know, N, I know – we both know what happened, who you used to be. And why. And you know what else? It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is who you are and what you do right now. So tell me, N. What's it going to be? Are you going to come swim with me or not?"

Once more, N hesitated. Her words were sweet honey, and they hummed repetitively in his head, driving away all other thoughts. How he longed to be able to accept all that she had said… His misgivings began to drown in her words. He did not, yet, have faith in himself, but he had faith in her. Perhaps, eventually, he would live up to that faith.

N stepped into the cool water, letting it lap at his ankles, letting soft mud and pebbles drift between his toes. He soaked his shorts as he walked in deeper, then dove beneath the surface near her rock. Underwater, he circled her and emerged behind her. She slipped from her perch when she turned to face him, and N caught her. For a moment, they treaded water there, bobbing in time as they helped one another remain afloat.

"You're so pale," White teased, spreading her palm on his bare chest.

"And you," replied N. For all that her hands and arms were sun-kissed, her wet white shirt clung transparently to her body, and the skin beneath it was as pearly and fresh as his own.

White only shrugged, but N saw her smile, too. Her upper body pressed against him as her feet floated out, searching for their rock. Once she found it, she pulled him onto it with her. Their toes touched. Their legs tangled, their arms wrapped around one another, and there in the sunny lake they kissed without reserve, without thought. N let the moment linger. Happiness and passion such as he had never known were settling inside him like hot drink. He kissed her ear, tangled his hands in her dripping hair; hers were exploring his face and chest and arms. Their eyes met once more, and White smiled at him.

"I believe you, White," he said, touching the corner of that beautiful smile. "Someday… I will change. I will deserve moments like these, with you. I promise. I'll… do everything I can to deserve you."

Her cheeks flushed bright pink, not out of embarrassment, he thought, but out of happiness. Her gaze rendered words unnecessary. N didn't need them. All he needed was her, here with him, exactly as she was.

A/N: And that's it! Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Happy New Years! N/White is so much fun to write; there's so much to consider between them. ^^