Birthdays are overrated.

Loud laughing and random side conversations filled up the dance hall in Ecruteak City. It had been rented out for the night, since they were celebrating. From men in suits drinking and smoking, to a few women occupying a few tables with some men as well. It was lively, wild, and full of people associated with them. There were occasional beautiful, female dancers that would dance onto the stage, and they would receive eager whistling from the crowds in the theater.

In the midst of that, there was a table sitting right in the center of the theater, angled towards the stage where the women would slide out and dance ever so elegantly. Occupying one of the chairs, was a familiar redhead. He sat casually, leaned against the chair as his silver eyes flickered here and there from glancing quickly at the dancing women, to looking at his father. Letting an arrogant scoff, the redhead raised the lit cigarette up to his mouth, and smoked away the night's troubles.

They were celebrating his own birthday, or at least that's what he thought. He barely knew any of the people around him, yet they were invited by his father himself. 'In affiliation with the Velesina mafia... Fools,' he thought in his mind, weakly blowing out the smoke from his mouth. Yes, he was the son of the mafia boss, which meant that he had the tools that every man craved: money, power, and respect. People feared him for his title, and it only added more to his reputation. Sure, he's stolen things, he's cheated his way out of situations, he's committed murder—many times—and yet, nobody dared to do anything because of fear. He was next in line to take over as mafia boss soon, as his father said.

A sudden hand clasped itself onto the male's shoulder, making him grunt and almost drop his cigarette. He looked over, and stared at the man. "What."

"My son," the dark-haired man started out proudly. It was evident that he was slightly drunk from his drinking. "Look around you, Silver. All these people are here for you, and only you. Complete fools that take advantage of the situation, and in the end, end up losing." He laughed, which blended in with the laughter around them, and shook his shoulder. "I hope you enjoy your birthday." With that, he let go of his shoulder, and turned away to start another conversation with one of his associates, a glass full of liquor in his hand.

Silver emitted out an annoyed groan, and continued to smoke away. The noise around him was driving him slowly insane, and he wanted nothing more than to end this madness already. Honestly to himself, he didn't give a shit about his birthday. Much like the rest of the people in the dance hall that didn't give a damn about his birthday, either, Silver simply wanted the night to end already. It was a waste of his time. His hand hovered over to the glass of whiskey in front of him, and brought it up to his lips, and drank it all in one shot. He might as well waste off the rest of the night.

"Hey, birthday boy," a male's voice called over.

Silver looked over, and arched an eyebrow at the person who addressed him, blowing out more smoke. "Proton..." he trailed off, toying with the lit cigarette in between his fingers. "I thought you were at Kanto."

"And miss this? Fuck no." Proton dragged up a seat, and sat next to him with a bitter chuckle towards him. "You know smoking is bad for ya," he taunted coolly, crossing his arms.

"And?" Silver turned to him, and blew smoke towards the atmosphere around him.

The greenet shrugged, and raised an eyebrow at Silver. "You haven't changed much. Still don't give a fuck about anything, don't ya." He tapped his chin, and lifted his own glass of whiskey up to his lips as he continued speaking, "Not even about Soul, huh—"

Suddenly, before he could finish his sentence, Silver had roughly gripped his shirt collar, and tugged him off his seat, making him drop his glass of liquor. His silver eyes glared deep into his own eyes, making him sweatdrop. "What the fuck?"

"Never," Silver seethed out, almost like a predator. He broke his harsh gaze on him, and looked down. "Ever, fucking say that again." The redhead's body quivered a bit, due to the sudden adrenaline he received the moment her name slurred out of his lips. He bit his lower lip, still keeping a tight grip on Proton's collar, before relaxing himself. Scoffing, he threw the male back onto his chair, and sat back down, glaring off any attention he managed to attract.

Proton landed on the chair with a grunt, and fixed his shirt again as he peered at Silver. "Why?" he asked, not the least bit scared by the redhead. Sure, he respected the mafia's son, but he wasn't afraid of him, which didn't seem to mind Silver. That's why they were... close. "Is it because," Proton theorized, leaning into the redhead who was taking a deep breath, "deep down, you still have something for her?" When he received no answer from the redhead, he sighed. "Silver, she's just a girl. Look at what she's doing to you! She runs off from you all those years back, and you still feel something for her? Talk about loyalty."

The redhead gritted his teeth hard, looking at the table. That damn memory kept haunting him, and it made his heart ache. Particularly, he was to take some of the blame as to why she had left him all those years back.

It started out with his rudeness...

"I'm tired of your shit, Silver! You don't care about me at all, do you?!"

His anger took the better of him, and he didn't control what was spewing out of his mouth towards her...

"I'm sorry that I'm in your way! If you don't want me around, just say it already!"

He told her he didn't need her in his life...

"You stupid asshole! I never want to see you again!"

She walked out of his life after that, and he never saw her again, which made him even colder than before...

Little did he know, she needed him as much as he needed her...

"Silver..."

He broke away from his memory once Proton gave him a gentle punch on his arm. He was smirking, all while holding up a new glass filled up with whiskey, which he then pushed it onto the table and towards Silver. "Bros before hoes, dude. So all you can do is drink up, and say 'fuck it'. It's in the past, forget about her."

Silver rubbed his temple, and took the drink. He wasn't really agreeing with Proton on this. It was the simple fucking fact that he couldn't forget about her. All those insults he threw at her, all those times he almost laid a hand on her, all those lies he told her; it was piling up on him. "I'm such an asshole, aren't I?" he asked to nobody in particular, and drank up the remains of his glass. "I don't even know why she was with me. I never deserved something so pure and gentle as her..." he trailed off, wiping his mouth from the specks of residue liquor. "But..."

Proton was listening tentatively, keeping quiet. "...?"

The male dropped his glass on the table, making it roll off and shatter into pieces onto the ground near his feet. "I don't care if I didn't deserve her... I wanted her. She was mine..." He leaned back against his seat again, and let out a semi-stressful sigh.

"Was," Proton repeated, "She was."

Silver didn't respond. His gaze was set onto the stage, where there was a woman dancing suggestively. A few men that were close up kept chanting for her to get dirtier. The redhead muttered incoherently under his breath, and lit out his now finished cigarette.

Proton sighed, and finally averted his gaze towards the stage. 'The idiot's fucking hopeless...'

One by one, girls came in and out on the stage, dancing their way towards the crowd. Proton was off conversing with Giovanni, leaving Silver as he drank, and drank, and drank himself away through the night. Every now and then, he'd run his hand through his red locks, all while sucking on the cigarette that never seemed to escape his fingers—or his lips.

When the crowd got slightly louder after a while, Silver groaned out in annoyance, rubbing at his aching head. He was about to slam his head onto the table, but froze once Proton gasped loudly. "Holy shit," he blurted out, since he was sitting right next to Silver.

The redhead looked at him. It wasn't like Proton to get easily surprised like that. His reaction was worrying Silver the slightest bits. His eyes were wide as he gawked over towards the stage, and his mouth was wide open in shock. "..."

Before Silver could throw him a snarky comment, Proton raised a hand, and pushed the side of Silver's face towards the stage.

The sounds of a yet, another glass making contact with the ground was heard, which was a mere zephyr when comparing to the crowd's loud cheering and chanting. Silver swore his heart stopped beating the moment his eyes made contact with the sight before him.

There was a girl—no a young lady slowly maneuvering her body towards the center of the stage. Her curvaceous, delicate body moved slowly, and suggestively—only spurring on the crowd of men to grow louder. Her body was so revealing in the little clothing she had on; she had a rose red dress, that perfectly hugged her gorgeous body. Her long, toned legs were revealing a lot, and she revealed some cleavage. Her stilettos clicked onto the floor with every step she took into her movements. In general, she was gorgeous.

Silver eyes trailed down her body greedily, gawking widely. He couldn't begin to explain how she looked at that moment. "Holy fucking shit..." he blurted out like an idiot, letting his gaze trail her body again.

It was Soul.

...

Wait what?

His eyes almost popped out of their sockets, his jaw dropped as he tried to think properly. 'Soul... is a dancer here?!' his mind screamed out.

Proton was gawking at her tempting body as well—just like any other male inside that theater. "Speak of the motherfucking devil!" he exclaimed, earning him a cold glare from Silver. He didn't even acknowledge Silver's existence, since he was too focused on Soul. "Shit, she's fucking hot."

All the redhead could do was stare, and stare, and stare at her. She was utter perfection, and all at a mere few feet away from him. What he would fucking do at that moment to have her...

Giovanni leaned in near his ear, and cornered a smirk on his lips. "She's a fine one, isn't she?" Silver shuddered at that, and snarled. His father didn't catch that, and continued, "Well, it is your birthday, son. Although, I do believe that the upcoming lady should be better since—"

Silver growled, cutting his sentence, "I want her." Mere moments passed, and when Giovanni didn't say anything, he repeated his words with more possessiveness. "I. Want. Her. Now."

The man blinked slowly at the redhead, and nodded. "If you wish, I'll get her to come over." He raised a hand towards the entrance of the theater, and in moments, an associate waltz over, conversing with Giovanni. A few spoken words, mutters tossed back and forth, some threats, and exchange of tender had Silver standing up straight. Giovanni handed Silver a big, thick stack of money and nodded towards him. "Go, she's all yours."

Silver just had to smirk. While Proton was staring in shock as Silver was preparing to walk off, the redhead didn't bother thanking his father. After all, it was his special day, and he gets whatever he wants.

That's how birthdays work, right?

As he made his way through the crowd of drunk people, he made his way off towards the side of the building. With guidance from the associates, he found himself walking into a private room...

He was informed to patiently wait while they went on to fetch the girl. His eyes widened at the slight realization. They thought it was for her services... He was a client now... He didn't want her just like that, he wanted her all, as in making her his once again. Maybe, just maybe, he could fix up what he had fucked up all those years back...

Silver's foot tapped impatiently, running his hands through his hair. His hormones were already going through a freaking roller coaster ride. Hopefully, he could have control over himself and try to mend back what he had destroyed between them.

TAP! TAP! TAP!

His skin prickled as he breathed through his nostrils. He whirled around, just as the door was opening. There she was, in all of her glory. 'Arceus, the fucking woman is like a piece of art,' he referred to her striking, gorgeous features. He scanned her once more from top to bottom, and took a sharp breath. Everything from her deep, brown hazels accompanied by her thick lashes, to her plump, pink lips that parted slightly; to her not-bad-at-all size chest, to her curvy waist, down to her perfection of slender legs.

In the second she laid her warm, brown eyes on his face, she instantly froze on the spot. Her lips were indeed parted, stunned by his appearance. 'What in the fuck?!' She sure as hell wasn't expecting Silver, out of all people to randomly show up here... Her eyes drooped slightly, and barely managed to fight back a cringe. 'Of course he would be here... It's what he used to do a lot when we...' Her head snapped up, and she pursed her lips. She'll act like she doesn't even know him. Simple as that. "Sir," she started out, addressing him, "Specify—"

Silver snarled, breaking her statement. "Don't act like you don't fucking know who I am."

"—what you want—"

"Soul."

"—and we'll go from—"

His large hand suddenly reached out, and swiftly gripped her wrist in a tight hold. Both flinched at his act, it was the first time Silver laid a single hand on her ever since they managed to cut it off. "Soul." Her eyes quickly averted his gaze, and looked down. He growled at this, and tried to calm himself down. "Look at me."

She merely stayed there, muted and unresponsive. Gazing down to the ground, she bit her lower lip, biting off the soft, frail skin. Soul mentally cursed herself as she tried to force the slowly building up tears away as she blinked rapidly. 'Dammit...' She felt his hand tighten his grip even more, and she remembered how little his patience was. The brunette finally responded with a harsh flinch of her body.

Silver studied her, squaring his jaw as he tried to relax. At this point, he wanted nothing more than to throw her against the nearest fucking wall, and devour her on the spot—his lust was off the charts. The simple thought made him groan quietly to himself. He needed to calm down and try to fix this first. Then, he would gladly claim his prize. "Why the hell are you here."

Soul's eyebrows furrowed as she slowly looked up to him. Growling and pushing away the ache in her chest, she forced a scoff. "I'm working, isn't it obvious, Sir."

With swift movements, his hand tightened even more on her wrist, successfully cutting off the blood circulation in it. "You know my goddamn name, now fucking say it," he ordered coldly.

The brunette finally gasped, breaking off her little act. "S-Silver, it hurts!" she whined out painfully, trying to tug at her hand.

Unfortunately, he made no action to break away. His eyes stared into hers and he simply whispered, "Now you feel... what I feel..."

Soul froze in her spot, and shook her head. "Fuck off, Silver." Instinctively, she reached up, and kneed him in his groin. Grunting in the sudden, sharp pain, Silver finally ripped his hand off her wrist, and cupped his crotch. He scowled at her, grunting slightly. Her hazels narrowed, and she scoffed in disgust. "I know how you feel? How you feel?!" Soul ran a quivering hand through her hair, and laughed bitterly. "You're the fucking reason why this happened! And yet—" Her laughter died down, and her lips cornered a sly smirk as she approached him. The scent of smoke and liquor filled her nostrils, but it also had a mixture of his own scent, something very, very familiar to her. Before Silver could react, she curled her slender finger under his chin, and tilted it upwards, metallic eyes meeting hazels. She could feel his tense body, and she widened her smirk at that alone. "—You're the reason why we're both here, now aren't we?"

Moments later, her back roughly met the cold, hard wall. She let out a squeak of surprise, and stared. Silver reached down to snatch her hands, and raise them over her head, pinning her against the wall. He growled slightly, leaning into her beautiful face. His eyes trailed down to the smirk of her lips, and he fought the urge to crash his own lips with hers. "Tell me, Soul..." Silver was dangerously close to her face, and it made her shiver. "How much is it to purchase you."

"Purchase me?" Soul's voice dripped with utter amusement at him. What Silver loved about her the most, was that she never feared him. Even when his anger got the better of him, most would fear from his actions. But not her.

She's never afraid.

The redhead wheezed out a chuckle, getting drunk in lust. His right hand steadily traced its way down from her neck, to her collarbone, to her curvy waist. "Yes. How much are you worth, sweetheart."

At this point, what happened between them was in the past, and they both understood. Their eyes never broke away from one another, focused on each other.

Her lips once again curled upwards. "I don't know..."

"You set up the price."

"Well... How about we both pay the price." She managed to break her hands away from his grip, and placed them gently on his broad chest, tracing fine circles on it.

The redhead crashed lips against her own hungrily, pushing her even more against the wall. His mouth tasted like nothing, except of whiskey and cigarettes, to which she found to be desirably sexy. To her own surprise, she found herself wrapping her slender arms around her neck, pulling him closer to her. Her fingers knotted and fisted his flaming, red locks. She purred gently in his mouth once his hand trailed down, and gripped her thigh. Without hesitation, he lifted it up to his hip, and held it in place. He forced her mouth open almost immediately, and penetrated her mouth with his tongue. Their tongues danced in her mouth, and finally, she let out a small moan. Soul broke the kiss, and panted as her head rested against the wall to catch her breath. "Silver..."

"Exquisite." Silver licked his lips slowly, and pressed his lips against her neck.

Soul shuddered in pleasure, and arched her body forward towards the redhead. "Arceus."

"Soul... You know what I want to hear from you."

Her soft panting quickened up as she managed to narrow her eyes at him. The brunette pursed her lips, and pushed him off. Distracting him, she pushed him back on the bed, and sat on his already warm lap, and bit back a moan. Leaning in, she trailed her lips across his jaw line, and sloppily went down to his neck. The moment she had pushed him down, Silver simply watched as he dominated him for the moment. He growled, since his neck was a weak spot—which was exactly what she was aiming for. The redhead realized she was trying to distract him, and he pulled away before he could lose it. "I'm not your fucking plaything, Soul. I know you fucking know what I want. Say it."

The petite leaned in, bumping foreheads against him with eyes closed. Inhaling softly, she draped her arms on his shoulders as she choked back a tiny sob. "Goddamit, Silver... Why must you be like this..."

"Because, I'm not your fuck doll."

"..." Soul looked up, and stared at him warmly. "Oh, Silver..."

Silver stared back, his once tense body relaxing after what felt like the longest time. Finally, she was here with him at this moment. The redhead patiently awaited what he wanted to hear. "Soul..."

Said brunette raised up her hands, and gently cupped his cheeks. She smiled warmly; his cheeks felt soft in her hands. Her lips parted, and she finally said what he wanted to hear.

"I love you..."

Silver reached over, and drew her into another kiss, this time more passionate. Their lips moved in sync as they deepened the kiss significantly. Slowly, Soul pushed him down on the bed, and continued to make out with him at this point, their bodies warming up. But before his lips connected with her own, he managed to mutter something in response to her.

"Likewise."

In their minds, both thought of the same, simple statement. 'Always...'

Birthdays are overrated. This one, however, was one Silver wouldn't forget. He got what he wanted.

Because, that's how birthdays work, right?

A/N: This is for Silver's birthday, which is in a few days. Since I'll be gone at that time, I might as well submit it early. cx Fun fact: I had like three other pieces to use for his present, but stuck to this one. I hope you liked it. c:

Also, I changed from using Lyra to Soul. Why? I dunno—/shot/

This is for Majorelle, one of my good dear friends here on ff and on dA. Since she's been gone, this is a special dedication for her. And also, mentioning the following authors as well:

-LXie (Sorry, the damn format won't let me make the periods -.-)
-maycontestdrew
-Contestshipper16
-Time Signature
-BlackTwistedTwilight

I apologize from breaking away from the collab. But still know that I made an effort to give Relle her gift. ^u^ Thanks, you guys!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. :c