A.N/ No, I'm not dead. Just close. xp

Anywho, I LOVE SILVER. Nuff said.

Emotionally repressed people deserve to be able to uhm…show emotion…sometimes, right?

I worked hard on this, it took me forever, but I don't think it's that good…

Well, I better shut up before this authors note becomes too long!

This was inspired by Jim's theme, 'I'm Still Here' from the movie 'Treasure Planet'

Has anyone noticed how well that song fits Silver?

Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon. I only make Silver cry XD

I'm so mean :p

Somehow, you always end up alone.

It doesn't matter who, where, or even what you are. Human, pokémon, it makes no difference. Always, you're left wounded and abandoned in the end, an endless, pointless cycle that fades and blooms with every tick on the clock face.

Silver sat on the banks of the Lake of Rage, his eyes transfixed on the glass surface, the cool night wind gently cooling and caressing his skin, whispering meaningless comforts.

Beside him sat his faithful Croconaw, completely at ease with his trainer's current state. He was used his partner acting in this brooding, forlorn manner of his by now, so therefore stopped worrying when he retreated into himself this way.

The calls of wild pokémon were heard now and again, but apart from that minor disturbance, the night was silent. The moon was at its prime, coating the world with it's silvery, borrowed glow. It was indeed a beautiful night, but Silver saw nothing of the wonders of the natural world unfurling before his eyes, for his mind had carried him far away from the idyllic scene before him.

Frowning, he absentmindedly placed his hand on the head of his companion, as if to reassure himself the creature had not run off, or disappeared into thin air like the rest of the things in life that meant something to him seemed to have an unnerving habit of doing.

Croconaw nuzzled his palm affectionately, and Silver allowed himself a small smile. No, Croconaw would not leave him. Not like…

He gritted his teeth. The garish, red logo burned hot in the back of his mind, branded there permanently, making him unable to forget.

He was the son of Gionnavi, the criminal mastermind. They were tied by blood, which therefore must make him bad too, mustn't it? Had he not stolen, lied, cheated so many times he'd stopped counting? As much as he tried to escape and defy the truth, he knew that in the end it was pointless, because he was just another one of them, really.

Father would be so proud.

He snorted bitterly, and croconaw looked at him questioningly. He glanced fleetingly at the blue crocodile, and sighed loudly.

He lay on his back, and put his hands behind his head. Millions of stars shone gently in the clear night sky, and the moon's light reflected off his pale face, giving it an eerie, silver glow.

When Silver had been small, he'd dreamed of having a proper family, just like all the other children he saw, with happy smiles on their sticky faces and impossible, childish dreams in their heads.

Silver had never really been a child, in that sense. He'd never been given the chance to be ignorant or naïve.

Physically, he was but a child, but his eyes reflected a certain maturity that was past the comprehension of even an adult. Not a lot of people could have gone through what he had, and survived.

Everyday, he had wondered what it was like to be normal.

He wondered how it felt to have someone care about what happened to you.

Always, he had believed that even if his mother and father weren't there for him, they must think about him sometimes.

It was logical, wasn't it?

He knew now, of course, that having a child usually wasn't a conscious choice. Most times, it was a reckless decision, a stupid mistake.

However, something must make a mother decide to go around looking like the side of a bus for nine months; something must make a father put up with his partners raging hormones and unpredictable mood swings.

That was a conscious choice, for both of them. This choice was the hardest.

Therefore, he had decided that this must be what love was like, the love for the unborn child and the love for each other was what got them through, and now here he was.

He had never known his mother, but she must have loved him at some point, mustn't she? If she hadn't, he probably wouldn't even be here.

Had she loved him when she'd seen him for the first time, a helpless, squirming infant, screaming it's lungs out?

Something must make parents stumble from their warm beds several times a night to tend to a newborn; something must make them put up with the endless worry and stress that came with a new life.

That was love, wasn't it? The fierce protectiveness a mother feels when she gazes on the face of her child for the first time, the proud smile of a father as his infant takes his first few shaky steps, or says his first word? The sorrow they feel when the same child walks away into the sunset without a wave, or even a backward glance?

Silver had never had that. His father had turned his back on him long ago, and he'd never even laid eyes on his mother, so she couldn't have cared for very long.

He had always thought that maybe there was something wrong with him, something that made him unlovable. He had decided a long time ago that the world had turned its back on him, so he turned his back on the world, and went through his life alone.

Love was stupid anyway. It brought a fleeting burst of happiness, then something happened and you wound up alone, facing a life full of misery and longing.

Silver was not going to let that happen to him. He wouldn't let anyone get close enough, because he knew if he did, the same thing would happen. He wasn't foolish, not like her.

Silver was no fool; he had never had the chance to wear the rose coloured glasses, to stumble through life with a stupid smile on his face, blinded by innocence and the senseless belief that love was somehow real.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps jerked him out of his reverie, and he spun around so quickly he almost knocked croconaw right off his feet.

That girl stood before him, the girl that was the complete opposite of everything he believed in. Her chocolate hair was waving gently around her shoulders, her mild, brown eyes alight with surprise.

Her cyndaquil stood behind her, eyeing Silver nervously.

He blinked at her in shock for a few seconds, then turned round and resumed his gaze on the lake, ignoring her. Then maybe she would go away and leave him in peace.

He heard her take a few more cautious steps forward, the way you would approach a dangerous animal. He smirked to himself. So that was how she thought of him?

She stopped a few feet behind him, and hesitated.

'What are you doing here?' she asked, pulling her jacket further around her shoulders.

He didn't turn around, instead replied in a monotone, 'I could ask you the same thing.'

She came and stood beside him, he could feel her gaze burning into the side of his face.

'I couldn't sleep,' she stated, sitting down. He shifted away a little, a little uncomfortable with her closeness.

They sat in silence for a while, their pokémon keeping an eye on each other out of the corner of their eyes.

'It's a beautiful night,' she said after a couple of minutes.

He grunted in response.

He was getting increasingly uneasy with her around, and he couldn't understand why. Not understanding was something that Silver hated more than anything, and he wished she would just leave so everything would stop being so confusing.

She must have sensed his discomfort, because she looked at him.

'Are you okay, Silver?' she asked, concern evident in her tone.

It was a simple enough question, with a simple enough answer, but something inside him just snapped.

He stood up abruptly, his eyes glittering with rage and contempt.

'Why do you even care? What's the point of asking a question when the answer doesn't even mean anything?'

She gazed at him, shocked at his sudden outburst.

'I…I do care, Silver, I just -'

'You just what? You just wanted to know, because you were concerned for my wellbeing? You want to know how I feel? Is that it, Soul? You just want to knowbecause you care about me? Well, if you want to know, I'll tell you. I want you to go away and leave me alone. I don't need your petty concern, I don't need you! I don't need anyone, so just push off and leave me be, all right?'

She was staring at him, her eyes wide and shimmering with an emotion that he couldn't decipher.

With a sudden rush, the irrational rage left him as soon as it had come. The fire in his eyes went out, and he sat down again heavily, burying his face in his arms.

Soul stared at him, stunned for a few seconds, then walked tentatively towards his forlorn figure. The pokémon gazed on in amazement, and croconaw began to waddle forward, intent on comforting his master.

Soul saw this, and put a hand out to stop him.

'Don't, please, let me,' croconaw stared suspiciously at her for a second, then relented and went to stand beside cyndaquil, his eyes trained on his master.

Soul knelt down beside Silver, and placed a tender hand on his shoulder. She could feel his body trembling.

She knew there was no point in saying anything; he was past listening to her now. Instead, she shifted closer and put her arm around his shoulders, in a silent gesture of comfort.

He tensed, she was too close and he couldn't think.

With her this close, he couldn't keep his mask on, and he could feel it slipping a little more every second he let her stay this close. Her aura of concern and… love for the boy she considered a friend was suffocating him.

For without his cover, he was just a lost, desperately lonely little boy who craved comfort and for someone to understand him, for someone just to care.

That was why, when she wound her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a hug, he didn't try to fight her off. He pressed his face into her shoulder, and let himself cry, let all the emotions that he had bottled up and pushed out of sight over the years pour out onto the earth and evaporate into the night air, invisible to everyone except her.

She was the only one who had seen through him. His own father, even he himself had failed to see, his act was so convincing even he had believed in it.

Soul had never been fooled, not for one second. Her ignorance, her naivety had somehow given her insight, and she had seen straight into his soul.

They sat like that for a long time, both pokémon looking on in confusion. The first few rosy fingers of dawn invaded the dark sky, and he realized that all along he had thought he had been running from her, he had been coming closer with every rare encounter. All along, he had known that it was somehow going to end like this, and deep inside him, he was glad it had.

That was love, wasn't it?

He wasn't alone anymore.

A.N/ So that's it.

I didn't like the ending, but this was really hard to write, but I really wanted to!

Silver is by far the best character ever, and I've had this idea in the back on my mind for a while.

I don't care if you think Silver is OOC. I don't think he is, I mean, even Silver has to cry sometimes, right?

~ iaculum signing off