What's Four Months to Two Years?

"...wait, he didn't tell you which ship he got on?'

Bianca and White looked to one another, quickly able to tell neither knew anything about Black's trip outside of when he called to let them know he was leaving.

Cheren could immediately tell without a word what their looks meant. "Darn it, Black! I'll be back in a second!" Cheren dashed off immediately toward the nearest information desk, leaving the two girls by themselves.

White sighed, massaging her temples. "I guess not even being on his own overseas would stop Black from being Black."

"But it's more fun this way, isn't it?" Bianca laughed.

"For a certain definition of 'fun,' I guess…" White could steadily feel her sympathy for Cheren rise, though she decided to keep that part to herself. "But given how much he'd talk about all those battles in detail, you'd think he'd be able to remember that to be detailed about other, equally important things…"

"Hmm? What're you talking about?"

"Huh? Well, he called me pretty much every other day about a 'Cactus Pokemon that isn't Maractus' this or 'Fire turtle but Costa is cooler' that…"

"Wow, he called you a lot! He only called me at least once a week about his trip!"

"That's, uh, not what I was talking about, Bianca."

"Right, right." She giggled, nudging White. "But you're probably the only one he called that much, you know?"

White felt her face grow red. "Now what exactly are you-"

"Hey, you two!" The two turned, seeing Cheren approach. "The only ship that's coming from Hoenn when he left is the S.S. Tidal, so he'll be here in just a few minutes! ...hey, uh, you okay, White?"

White quickly covered her cheeks, nodding. "I'm fine, just fine." She sighed. "Hey, Cheren, how often did Black call you?"

"Um, probably only once something big happened, like when he beat a gym or something similar. Not often, I guess. Why?"

White immediately noticed the knowing look Bianca gave her. "No reason. I, uh, I'm going to go get something to drink, I'll be back soon."

She quickly left the two, hurrying around a corner in a direction she remembered seeing a vending machine in. Having a moment to herself, she worked to calm herself down.

'You're probably the only one he called that much.'

Those words still echoed in her mind, and despite Bianca's teasing, White had no doubts that was right. Black called so often she had help arrange a schedule for him so that he wouldn't interrupt her work because of the time zone differences. And even then, he'd eat up at least twenty minutes talking about whatever he'd been doing, nevermind when some big battle got him really talking.

"But that wasn't bad at all." White found herself rationalizing her own thoughts to herself aloud. "It might've been tough to handle, but it was nice just to hear from him. Really made being apart easier. ...but I didn't really need to hear from him so often, did I? Its not like I didn't know Black could handle himself abroad on a journey, he did just fine back in Unova."

White easily found a vending machine, but at this point, she was merely going through the motions of getting herself something to drink to justify the excuse she gave the two. Her thoughts, now being vocalized, were anywhere but here.

"Even if I didn't need to, I liked hearing from him. ...though that's still a lot of time to spend talking with him, especially just by myself. X-transceivers can make multi-person calls easily. But… that he called me specifically was really nice, and it made being apart for so long more bearable."

"...but we've been apart for even longer before."

White shuddered, feeling her heart clench as she remembered that time. That dark, dreary period of her life, where she struggled without Black's presence. She kept thinking of how Reshiram's form enveloped him, the Light stone sitting on the ground before speeding away…

She shoved that thought away as forcefully as she could, that was in the past now. Black was fine now, Ghetsis was long beaten. That wasn't the point. The point - she reminded herself - was that Black and her had spent time apart before; it's not like they knew each other their whole lives, after all. So if he decided to go away for his own journeys, what did it matter? What's four months to two years, after all?

"Hey, White, what's taking so long?"

White turned, recognizing the voice as Bianca's before she even saw her. "Oh, sorry, just got a bit distracted! Everything okay?"

Bianca nodded excitedly. "Of course! Black's ship just pulled in, he's finally back! Come on, I'm so eager to see him again!"

Before White could so much as respond, Bianca's hand was around hers, dragging her back toward the docks. The thought of seeing Black once again finally sunk in, and she freed herself from Bianca's grasp, proceeding alongside her.

By the time they arrived at the dock, the ship had already come to a stop and was letting off passengers. A quick scan of the passengers still departing down the ramp bore no Black, though that was because - as they quickly noticed - Black was already off the ship, already speaking rather animatedly with Cheren.

Bianca started to walk towards the two, but she noticed White hadn't moved stop, glancing at her. "Hey, White, what're you waiting for? He's right there."

"Sorry, just… a moment." The sight of Black right there made her heart beat faster and brought a smile to her face. Her thoughts from earlier had resurfaced, helping her understand the feelings she had been wrestling with. It didn't really matter whether it was a few months or years, she realized, she enjoyed being with him and hated being apart from him, more than it did with anyone else.

She quickly pushed herself forward, approaching Black, who was still utterly absorbed with his conversation with Cheren - or, as she could tell as she got closer, the scolding Cheren was giving him over not relaying his trip to them.

"-it's a difference between taking a minute to find you and waiting around for maybe an hour for you."

"I get it already, I said I'm sorry!"

"Sheesh, and that's not getting into how you… oh, White!"

Black perked up at Cheren's words, turning to follow Cheren's gaze. "She's here now? Hey, White, over-!"

Black was cut off as White rushed into him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug, burying her face in his chest. Black blushed brightly, very obviously caught off-guard by the sudden hug. "W-White?! I, um, ah… h-hi…"

White laughed softly, taking a moment to compose herself before releasing him. "Hi you you, too, Black." She spent a moment taking him all in: his flustered expression, the way he was awkwardly rubbing the back of his head… he was the same Black as ever, much like he was when they reunited after two years. This familiarity only reinforced the happiness she felt at meeting up with him again.

Cheren glanced at Bianca, who was watching the scene with a delighted smile. "Is White okay? She's been a bit-"

Bianca quickly covered his mouth, dragging him away. "We're gonna let you two catch up a bit, we'll wait over there."

Black watched the two head away, a puzzled - yet flustered - expression on his face. "You're all acting a bit funny. Nothing happened while I was gone, right?"

White shook her head, despite that being rather false given her recent revelation. Still, her pulse quickening, her realizing her loneliness when apart, her exuberance at their reunion: there was a lot that she had to work out there. She had an idea, but a part of her wasn't sure she was ready to come to terms with that particular thought yet.

"Everything's just fine, Black. It's just been dull without you around. So, you said you caught a cool Pokemon in Hoenn, right? Can I see?"

She knew for sure that whatever thoughts she had about him, it meant she wanted to spend more time with him. Nothing could make her happier.