The sweet chill of the morning crept into the room as the breeze quietly hovered around them both. With the blanket lying on their waists the cold wind nipped onto their skin, causing one of them to slowly awake from their sleep. His eyes flickered for a brief moment before closing them again, in the hope to fall back to sleep.

But that wasn't the case no more as he felt someone tucked in nicely with their face against his chest. His hair was a mess as his arms were tossed over his waist. He shouldn't complain as his hair wasn't in the greatest of shapes either.

"Mmm…that sounds great…pancakes…ok…"

Alain tried not to laugh at the boy's muttering of food. No doubt he was going to mention how hungry he would be in the morning as soon as he woke up. He softly pushed away the hair covering his face before reaching the blanket that was lying now by their ankles. It was way too early and cold to be up this early.

"Why do you have to kick the blanket so much, gees." Alain muttered to himself before feeling Ash grip onto his sleeve tightly all of a sudden.

"No…don't go…don't…hurt me…enough…"

As Alain lay back down on his side, he tossed the blanket over Ash's shoulders but it didn't stop Ash's tense hands that were holding onto his long sleeve shirt tightly.

"You're not dreaming of pancakes anymore, are you?"

Alain knew there was no way Ash could reply back to him as he felt Ash's body starting to shake. Concern poured over him as he held Ash in his arms tightly and hoped he would wake up, or at least hoped that hugging him would stop the nightmare he was having.

"Stop…please…Ly-Lysandre."

The name that now had become so foreign to hear shook Alain as well. That man was somebody he wished had never met, as the horrible words and memories Lysandre told him and later on to Ash still haunted him. The guilt of what he had done to Ash still had not passed him over, even after the many years that had passed.

"Ash, wake up. It's alright now. I promise he won't hurt you anymore."

It was as if, Alain's warm voice was able to calm the stressed boy in his arms, as the tense hand that once was holding onto his shirt finally relaxed. Seconds passed and finally Alain was able to hear Ash breathing normally again. He let go before retreating to his side of the bed and hoped he could shake off what had just happened.

Years had now passed since he met Ash and his friends. It all started from simple battles and his dream to get stronger and protect the two people that only really mattered to him. He didn't understood it back then but every time he would battle with Ash, his heart would race so fast that he would always be left behind. He couldn't stop smiling and only felt the joy their battles brought to him, which no other battles had given to him beforehand.

Then when hell came to Luminous City and when he slowly discovered what that horrible man Lysandre had done to him and Ash, Alain had never felt so lost before in his life. They were able to pull through together in the end, but without getting scarred along the way.

They said their goodbyes after that and went their own ways, years passed and they met and before he knew it, he had fallen for the dense boy. It wasn't easy making Ash see and understand what he meant, but he was glad he got there in the end. They now had more great and wonderful memories than he and Ash could have ever imagined.

But after what he had done to Ash back in Luminous City. After letting him get captured by Lysandre Alain always couldn't help but wonder why he still picked him. He was one of the many reasons that made him suffer something no child at the age of ten should have gone through.

Turning to face Ash, Alain was glad to see he was all relaxed and back to way he was before his nightmare hit.

"Sometimes I wonder why you still picked me after all the horrible things I did."

Alain knew Ash wouldn't hear his words yet he still hoped he would be given an answer. A few seconds passed before he sighed and turned his back on Ash and tossed the blanket over his shoulders and hoped he could rest his worries and fears away.

But before he could even begin he felt warm arms wrap around him as Ash's face touched with the crook of his neck.

"Because you are not as bad as you believe yourself to be."

Alain's eyes opened up as he turned around to face Ash while still remaining in his arms. Ash always knew how to find a way for his words to touch anyone, no matter how cold they may be.

"I always had faith in you, ever since we first met back as children." The young man smiled in the hopes it would make Alain feel a little more at ease.

"You're always so harsh at yourself. You think you're this big ol' bad monster but in fact you have a heart of gold."

Alain felt his whole body freeze as he was too speechless to move or talk.

"You never had the intention to let me get captured by him. You just wanted to be happy. You just wanted to protect your friends. You didn't want us to ever get hurt."

Even after the many years that had passed since the horrible incident they both faced and suffered together, Alain was surprised Ash was still able to smile and move forward. He was so touched by his words that he didn't notice the tears he was shedding until he felt them crash onto his pillow.

Ash leaned forward until his forehead touched with Alain's. "You should never feel sorry for wanting to be happy."

A smile soon crossed his lips, "I'm so glad I have you." Alain muttered softly.

"And I'm pretty lucky to have you by my side as well." Ash put on a cheeky grin before feeling Alain toss himself into Ash's arms. Ash chuckled as Alain stayed quiet in his arms.

"You can be quite the softie too, can't you?"

With his face still buried in Ash's chest, he felt his face go red all over again. "…S-Shut up."

Ash chuckled slightly as he let the man in his arms rest quietly for a little longer. After all, 7 o'clock was way too early to get out of bed.