They were young; perhaps she was 7 and he was 8. But that didn't stop her from trying to make friends with him…even if it was accidental.

Their fathers were reunited when Kotone's mother died. Silver came to the funeral, walking next to his father, avoiding eye contact with everyone. He simply paid his respects to a woman he would never know, and then headed up to the room.

Kotone, surprised that a boy around her age had come to such a somber event, smiled and went up to meet him.

She was grinning. Not only was she happy, she was going to make a new friend too!

When Kotone found him, he simply glared at her. "Why are you smiling?" he snapped. "Your mum's dead!"

"My mum's in heaven!" she replied enthusiastically, her grin plastered in place.

He scowled. Everyone knows the truth; why should she hide it? "Don't you understand? Your mum's dead! She's never coming back!"

Kotone bit her lip. "B-But she's happy there!" she retorted back angrily. How dare he say that! Of course Mummy's going to come back! Daddy says he's going to see her; find her address so next time, Kotone could visit! Daddy said that he was going to heaven to see her; that one day, Kotone could come visit them with her boyfriend!

"No she's not!" Silver yelled back. He was furious now; how could she be so blind? It was just there; her mum's dead body, her coffin, and this girl, this pathetic girl. How could she not see that? "She's gone for good! Gone!"

"S-She's not! She's NOT!" Kotone screamed, and then she tackled him onto the ground, her pigtails bouncing about as she tried to make him stop. Her mummy was okay, Daddy was going to see her soon and he'll tell her how they are and what they're doing so Kotone would know.

Silver wrestled back, and he easily got off, leaving her on the ground. Now, usually, he'd walk away, but…there was something else. Was she crying?

Kotone was sniffling, tears rolling down her rosy cheeks. She was shaking. Mummy would see her Mummy will come back She may be in that big box downstairs but she'll come back for her baby yes yes she would. Of course.

But the red-haired boy; he said she was never coming back. Of course if Mummy was in that big box how would she come back and hug her little Kotone?

"I-I'm going to help her!" she wailed, running off, but before she could even reach the stairs she fell, and started to wail loudly, bubbles formed by her nose, her cheeks flushed, damp from crying too much.

Silver looked at her and he felt something; it was painful. He found himself walking up to the little girl sprawled on the floor; held out his hand for her. She ignored it and started to cry even louder.

He ignored her wails as he lifted her from the floor, giving a slight grunt, and he hobbled down the stairs; piggy backs weren't his thing.

Silver focused. One step at a time; yes, that was it. He felt the little girl – Kotone, was it? – her breath more steady, her wails reduced to sniffles.

He slipped at the last step and they both fell down. Silver was relatively okay, but Kotone – she had a huge scratch; on her hand from trying to steady herself. Some of her blood was on the wall, a bright crimson red. Kotone started to cry; it was so loud; too loud.

Silver panicked. So much blood for such a small girl; he lifted her up in a piggy back again, blood seeping into his black jacket, but then again he had his own blood there so what was the difference?

The redhead sat her down at the swing; it was in a garden but it was empty for the casket was outside, and everyone was there. He managed to find a plaster from the kitchen, and he pasted it on her hand.

"There, all better," Silver announced, a little triumphant, "so stop crying."

He stood up from his kneeling position and sat down next to her on the swing. Silver rocked it a little; he watched children his age do it, so perhaps it was okay. Surprisingly, Kotone started to smile.

Warmth.

"What's your name?" Kotone asked, as she examined her plaster. She tried to peek underneath it, but Silver stopped her; he held her wrist firmly.

"Silver. You're…Kotone, right?" he queried, and she grinned.

"Yay! Yup, I'm Kotone!" she cheered happily. The brunette hopped off the swing, and then she stumbled onto the grass. "Oops!"

She giggled as she stood up, dusting off the grass and dirt from her pretty dress. "Okay, will you help me with my Mummy, reddie?"

"Your…Mummy? …Reddie?" Silver echoed, incredulously. After all that what he said…

"Yup! Help me get her out of that big box!" she exclaimed, taking his hand and tugging at it impatiently. "Come on, let's go, go, go!"

"I-"

"Silver."

"Kotone! So you're here!"

Both fathers ran towards their respective child. Silver received a glare; Kotone received a hug.

"Let's go, Silver." His father commanded, and Silver nodded. His father then nodded at Kotone's daddy. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

Kotone's father simply nodded back. Kotone grinned at Silver. "Silver! We'll meet again someday!" she called out, as Silver walked away. "It'll be fate!"

He looked back, and then his father saw something he had never seen in his son before.

Silver smiled back.

He only saw her once that day; at the burial. It was so sad; she was screaming for her mummy…and then by the time it was time to go, he stole a final look at her.

She was smiling; her usual self.

But he never saw her again.

Until recently.

Her face set in determination. Her Meganium standing strong. His Typlosion weakening.

He never expected this; the girl who fell down and cried; her permanent scar hidden by her glove, Pokéball hiding her past, hiding the day she realised.

Hiding the day she met him.

"Meganium, use Frenzy Plant!" she commanded. He remembered her sweet voice, how she nearly convinced him to do the unthinkable; something his father would never allow him to do, nearly convinced him that perhaps the world wasn't that bad after all.

And here she was, proving to him just that.

The Pokémon obliged, her eyes glowing. Thorny plants rammed out of the earth; grabbed his helpless Typlosion. There was rumbling; mayhem. Typlosion struggled; he fought!

No use. The plants attacked him mercilessly; it was done willingly, because he felt it; trust. Hah. He always thought that such things never existed, and yet here he was, witnessing trust that they would pull through. His Typlosion would never have such passion in attacking; he didn't trust Silver, but he had to oblige anyway.

"Typlosion, return."

Kotone's steely gaze broke; a smile emerged, it evolved to a grin. "We did it, Meganium! Oh yeah, perfect record for the win!" she cheered, hugging her Meganium.

This was the Pokémon Champion; so elusive that Silver had to search everywhere for her. And there he was, facing the girl he remembered, thought of, for so very long…

He walked away, eyes downcast. She wouldn't remember the boy who gave her a scar; wouldn't remember what he did to her. Everything worked out for her in the end; she defeated the Elite Four, won the Grand Festival…

"Hey, Reddie!" she called out. That nickname; the way she said it…it was too warm; far too warm for his comfort.

"What?" he snapped furiously, turning around. She was no longer standing; she was slumped on the ground, cross-legged, hat tilted upwards. He remembered those bright eyes that said a million things to him; how upset they were.

"I haven't gotten your name, and I haven't introduced myself!" she replied cheerfully, a grin emerging. She had the same smile; never changed, never faltered. Even during her mother's funeral; that grin was still there, like there was nothing in the world to be upset over. "I'm-"

"I know. Kotone."

"I'm also pretty surprised we met here; must be fate, huh?" she whispered, but he could hear it; it was just the two of them in a cave. He didn't even remember which cave was it; he just had this strange instinct.

"Fate?" he asked, again incredulous.

"Yup…and..." she trailed off, before she gave him a softer smile. "…we did meet again, huh, Silver?"

He flinched. "You…remembered?"

She nodded eagerly, pigtails bouncing, exactly like the first time he met her. "Of course! You were my first friend there!"

"First…friend?" he echoed again.

"Yup. Because, after my mum died…my dad died a few days later," Kotone whispered, her smile disappearing. "And then…no one wanted to talk to me."

"Hiya! I'm Kotone! Do you want to play?"

"No way! Why don't you go play with your Mummy? …Oh wait, she's dead already, right?"

Kotone didn't say a word, her tears emerging. She bit her lip.

"What about Daddy? Not around?"

"Every friend I had…they just left. Parents told them not to come near me; they thought I was weird because no one came to Parents' Night with me."

She rubbed at her eyes. Silver found himself sitting next to her.

"And then…in the darkest of times, I remembered you. You helped me when I fell, remember? And…you didn't abandon me when I cried." Kotone smiled at him. His heart melted.

"But…that was only that day!" Silver retorted, his cheeks flushed.

"And you saved me. Because I remembered that we would meet again; I didn't die!" This time, she laughed, and she dissolved into small, tears that rolled down.

"Kotone, do you want to join Mummy and I?"

"I…I want to find my friend Silver!"

He smirked at her, not because he found her silly, but because she had done the exact same thing for him.

"Are you joining Team Rocket, Silver? Your first assignment…kill that girl, Kotone; just started her journey, said to be rather promising…and then take her Chikorita."

"No…because it's not worth killing innocent trainers for their Pokémon." Kotone.

I won't let them near you. Ever.

"So…thank you." They both mumbled at the same time.

"For what?" They both replied again, at the same time, before Kotone laughed; a happy tinkling that made Silver smile again.

"I…I like that smile of yours. You never seem to do that; the whole battle, your face was just cast in stone."

"Maybe I wasn't meant to smile."

"No, perhaps it was fate that you met me again," Kotone spoke, this time really softly, "so I can make you smile again like that day."

She stood up, and returned her Meganium into her Pokéball. Kotone winked at Silver. "Well, I have to go now. We'll meet each other again soon."

The redhead stood up. "How do you know?"

"Because since it happened once, it'll happen again, no? Fate."

They did meet again; this time a few years later. She was sitting at the garden, by the swing. He was just there because he felt like going there; the grass was greener and the air was fresher.

"Fancy meeting you here," she murmured.

"Of all places," he agreed.

They met at lunch, at dinner, at breakfasts. They'd talk about their lives, their joys, their sadness, their desires.

A year later, they met at the swings again. He was nursing her hand; a wound again. She was on the swing, he was kneeling down. There was a box in his pocket and a few other things he wanted to show her; it was an engagement ring and all his love for her, everything he thought of her, everything he loved about her; he showed all that to her, and she did the same.

A year after that they met again; it was at the altar and they already knew that they were fated to meet. They kissed; it was simple but so filled with love and happiness because no matter how far one went, they would meet up with each other, simply because of fate.

Gosh, the first part was darker than expected...for me. It was based on a scene in Marry Me, Mary or Mary Stayed out All Night, a Korean drama, but I made it a little more detailed, and changed the ending a bit. WATCH IT BECAUSE IT'S AWESOME. And the guy Silver was meant to depict is really cute, if not a little scary.