Shoukan

(By "If I keep gettin smacked with ideas, I'm gonna get brain damage" Zarla)
(Note: I am not responsible fer any mental damage caused by readin this fic.)

The sky was overcast, thick with rumbling black clouds that let their burden fall without a care in the world. The rain splashed into the ground, filling the air with the scent of moist earth. Normally, this would have made him happy. He loved the rain. He loved the smell and he loved how it looked. But now nothing could gladden his heart.
His heart was dead.
Drak sat beneath the tree, his arms on his knees, staring into the rain passively. He was soaking wet, but he didn't care. The streams that ran down his face could have been caused by the rain or by his tears. It was impossible to tell.
He wasn't chosen.
He wasn't good enough.
He cringed visibly at the thought of her words to him.
"I'm sorry, Drak...but I have to think of my future...and...I hope you can understand...you can stay with us, if you want, I know you have nowhere else to go..."
Stay with her...
The very idea was agony to him. His heart was filled with racking pains at the thought and sight of her. That was why he had retreated outside. He hadn't wanted to see her anymore, not for all the pain it caused him.
He normally enjoyed the rain.
But it hurt him now.

~~~

"Where's Drak-sama?" Teishi was busy about the kitchen where the majority of people were on a cold rainy day. He had noticed that whenever it rained, almost everyone in the house got hungry or thirsty for something hot. Not that he was going to complain that he was asked to make everything they desired, nor would he protest. He would simply obey, as he always had. He was just filled with concern for the fact that his master hadn't shown up yet.
Atelli looked outside. "I can see him." She sighed deeply. "He's sulking near the tree. He's probably soaking wet now."
"How long has he been out there?" Teishi looked out, surprised at himself for not noticing his master's disappearance before. He could see the customary black hair and clothes of his master against the grey landscape.
"I don't know." Atelli turned her attention back to the dishes she was washing. "I wish Drak wasn't taking this so hard. I know he's sensitive because he's not used to being around people...but it's almost like he wants to give himself pneumonia..."
"Drak-sama..." Teishi stared at his master forlornly.
"And ever since his Mewtwo left on his own, he doesn't have anyone anymore. Poor guy." Atelli stacked the dishes near the sink. "Didn't even tell him where he was going. Sometimes that Pokémon is just odd. Did he tell you?"
Teishi shook his head. He remembered when the psychic Pokémon had left. It had simply stated that it could not stay here anymore through a simple one-line note and had disappeared. No one took it's disappearance harder then Drak, who yet again felt as if he had lost a part of himself. Ella E's rejection of him no doubt also was weighing on his conscience. "I don't know where it went, miss."
"Ah, well. You know him best, Teishi. See if you can't go out there and bring him back inside."
"I still have to finish up here, miss." Teishi wanted desperatly to soothe his master, but could not disobey a previous command for his own desires. Atelli rolled her eyes.
"I'll do it. Just go cheer him up, okay?"
"Yes, miss."
"And stop calling me that." Atelli's reprimand was half-hearted, knowing it was useless.
Teishi walked out near the front door, where a few others were lounging about, apparently bored. He took a coat from the hook and an umbrella.
"Going to bring Drak back?" Colt asked him, looking incredibly lazy from the vantage point he was in. Teishi was silent for a few moments.
"I'm going to try, sir."
"Good luck." Colt's tone was sarcastic. "This's the most depressed I've ever seen him."
Teishi opened the door, the wind cutting sharply into him, making him glad that he had thought to bring a coat. He moved outside quickly and shut the door, knowing how those inside hated having the cold find a way in.
He opened his umbrella and walked amid the soaked grass and fog, looking for his master. Teishi had never been too familiar with rain, but knew that his master loved it, therefore he loved it by association.
He headed for the tree he had seen his master sitting by. His master did not react when he approached him. Teishi waited patiently for him to recognize his presence, listening to the rain patter against the fabric of the umbrella.
"Drak-sama?"
Drak finally looked up slowly, staring at Teishi for a few moments, as if not recognizing him. Then he sighed deeply. "Teishi..."
Teishi moved closer to him, using his umbrella to shelter him from the drops from the tree. Rain splashed on his own blonde hair, but he ignored it. "Drak-sama, it's cold and wet. You should be inside."
"You should be using that umbrella for yourself." Drak moved over slightly. Teishi interpreted that as a sign that he should sit. He ignored the dampness of the ground beneath him.
"I don't want you to get wet, Drak-sama."
"I'm already wet. It's pointless for you to get wet as well."
Teishi dug the umbrella into the ground between them so it sheltered both. "You should come inside, Drak-sama."
"I don't want to go inside. She's in there."
"Please, Drak-sama, everyone is worried about you. You could get sick."
"I don't want to go inside. No one cares about me in there."
"Of course they do. Atelli herself told me to get you."
"SHE doesn't care." Teishi could tell he meant Ella E. "SHE doesn't care if I freeze to death out here..."
"Of course she does."
"Then why hasn't she come to bring me back in?"
"They sent me-"
"Atelli sent you. Not Ella E."
"Please, Drak-sama, I've never seen you like this. It's strange."
"I'm so terribly sorry." Drak's tone made it obvious he wasn't. "I've just been abandoned by everyone I've ever cared about, it makes me a little irritable."
"People still care about you, Drak-sama."
"No one that matters."
Teishi was hurt by this, but knew that Drak would not know why. "They still care for you."
Drak sighed deeply again, his hair dripping constantly. Teishi took off the coat he was wearing and put it around his shoulders. Drak stared at him.
"Don't do this to yourself, Drak-sama. This is bad for you. It hurts people who care about you."
"I'm already soaking wet, Teishi." Drak sounded angry as he avoided his statement. He took the coat off his shoulders and shoved it back to the blond haired boy. "It's stupid to try and give me this."
Teishi simply replaced the jacket. "I don't want you to get sick. You need to be warm. You should be inside."
"I don't want to be inside!" Drak nearly shouted, but left the coat where it was. "It hurts to be in there..."
"I know you've lost two people that were very close to you, Drak- sama, but it doesn't hurt forever."
"Yes it does..."
"It's like rain." Teishi gestured to the drops that were now falling outside of where he and Drak were sitting, protected as they were by the umbrella. "It feels terrible now, but it clears up soon."
"No it doesn't." Drak was sulky.
"I must admit, I haven't suffered as much as you have, Drak-sama." Teishi touched a hand to his chest. "But I know a little about pain, and it does go away..."
"Maybe for you!" Drak looked at him. "Maybe for people like you who don't care what happens to them, but not for me! This isn't going away..."
"I care what happens to YOU, Drak-sama, if not for myself." Teishi toyed his shirt, not looking at Drak. "Maybe my physical injuries are not the same as your emotional ones."
"Physical?"
"They healed, eventually. They left scars that never leave, but they did heal. They don't hurt." Teishi was actually lying a little. The scar on his chest was twinging painfully in the rain, as it always did, but he was trying to make his master feel better. He pulled down the collar of his shirt, so that the upper edge of the large scar on his chest was visible. "Like this one."
Drak stared at it for a few moments. "I won't ask."
"It's okay, Drak-sama. It hurts a lot at first, but it fades away."
"This won't fade away..." Drak stared at his hands, drying quickly now that they weren't exposed to water. "I was abandoned...and they won't ever come back to me..."
"Perhaps that's true." Teishi edged closer to his master. "They might not ever come back for you, Drak-sama, but there are people here now that care for you that you shouldn't forget."
"Like who?" Drak stared into Teishi's green eyes. Teishi paused, blushing slightly.
"Well...I care about you, Drak-sama."
Drak paused. "You?"
"More then life itself."
Drak was silent.
"I want you to come back inside with me, Drak-sama."
"I can't..." Drak no longer sounded angry, his voice now tinged with sadness. "I just can't stand...to see her anymore...she makes my heart-"
"Shh. If it hurts to think of it, Drak-sama, you shouldn't think of things like that." Teishi hugged him gently, aware that his clothes were becoming wet from the contact from him. Drak fumbled for words.
"Teishi..."
"Don't make me worry about you." Teishi was aware that he could be doing something that he shouldn't, but he felt a very rare surge of confidence that he wanted to make the most of. "Please come back inside. Don't hurt yourself like this."
"Teishi, I-"
"I do care about you, Drak-sama. Even if no one else does, I do. I always will. I will never ever leave you alone. I promise."
Drak was stunned at this affection. Deep within his heart, he was glad to find that someone cared about him. And Teishi's words had a ring of truth to them that he had never encountered before. And he found some kind guilty pleasure at having someone hug him.
He resisted the urge to tell him to hug him tighter, knowing he would instantly obey him. "I'm grateful, really, but-"
"I know I'm no Ella E or Mewtwo and I could never be them, but I'm willing to try and be something to you." Teishi's large green eyes stared at him, his hair beginning to get moist at the contact with him and the fog in the air. Drak could feel the two bracelets that Teishi wore that kept his pulse against his back beeping rapidly. Apparently he was more nervous then he appeared. "Just let me try."
Drak could not resist the imploring look on Teishi's face. He fought the urge that told him to kiss him. He wasn't sure where these urges were coming from. "You don't have to be Mewtwo or Ella E. You just have to be yourself and that'll be fine."
"Please come back inside with me, Drak-sama." Teishi smiled gently. "It's cold and wet out here and you might get sick. Please say yes."
Drak watched him, the smile that was so rare for him lighting up his face. Teishi rarely had a reason to smile, thus it was beautiful when he actually did so. Drak found Teishi set against the rainy backdrop a stunning contrast. The bracelets beeped faster.
"Drak-sama...?" Teishi seemed confused at how Drak was staring at him. Drak thought deeply.
Mewtwo was gone. He had no link to him anymore and had no idea where he had gone.
Ella E was gone as well. There was no way to get her back.
He had been lamenting these losses while a victory was sitting in his hands. Why hadn't he realized what he could have had before? He could have love at anytime, if he had only payed attention to the signs that were now painfully clear to him against the rainy sky.
Love...
He had thought that love had escaped him, when it had actually came right up to him.
"Teishi...how can I say this..."
The confusion on the smaller boy's face was incredibly endearing to Drak. "Say what, Drak-sama?"
Drak loved how his name sounded coming from Teishi. "How long have you felt this way?"
"Felt what way?"
"Cared about me."
"Ever since I first saw you." Teishi smiled brightly, causing Drak to smile as well. "It's different now, but I know I did back then. Just not this much."
"Teishi..."
Teishi sensed something in his master's voice. He stared into the dark eyes to find sadness and hesitance in them. It took a few moments for the words to come from him.
"Teishi...I...Teishi...love me."
Teishi paused for a moment, then smiled gently. He touched Drak's face, noting the surprise in his eyes. "Drak-sama, you don't have to tell me to do that. I already do."
"Teishi?" Drak hadn't expected this.
"I do love you, Drak-sama. I have for a long time and I always will."
Teishi still had the same smile on his face. "Can I ask you something?"
Drak finally smiled slowly. "I know what you're going to ask me. The answer is yes."
Teishi seemed overcome with joy, something that was beautiful coming from him for it's rarity. "Really, Drak-sama?"
"It took me a while to realize it but...it is true..."
"So you'll come inside?"
"I will." Drak put his own arms around Teishi, noting him shivering at his touch. He mentally guessed it was not because of the cold. The bracelets on his wrists were beeping frantically. "But not just yet. It still hurts..."
Teishi was overcome with a sudden strong urge. With surprising speed, he nearly threw himself on Drak and kissed him. Drak made a noise of surprise.
When Drak opened his eyes, Teishi was blushing furiously.
"Teishi..."
"I...I don't know what came over me." Teishi stammered for a moment, the red on his face accentuating his emerald eyes. "I just can't stand to see you in pain, I guess, Drak-sama...so I wanted to make you feel better."
Drak smiled as he sighed, this time with adoration. "Sometimes, Teishi...it surprises me there are still people like you alive."
Teishi misinterpreted him. "Sometimes I'm surprised I'm alive too, Drak-sama. It's all thanks to you, though."
"I didn't mean it quite like that...but..."
"Oh..." Teishi blushed again. "I'm sorry, Drak-sama."
Drak took hold of Teishi and hugged him tightly, enjoying the warmth compared to his frigid body. Teishi was surprised for a moment, but then almost seemed to purr as he hugged him back.
"You can't leave me, ever." Drak's voice had laughter in it, something that was rare these days. "I order you."
"You don't have to order me to do that either..." Teishi almost seemed to be crying and laughing at the same time. "I wouldn't leave you for anything, Drak-sama."

~~~

Atelli finished putting the dishes away. She glanced out the window, but a thick fog had rolled in, preventing her from looking at Drak or Teishi. She sighed.
"I hope he can get him to come inside. This rain doesn't seem to be letting up."
She walked near the front door, noting Colt sprawled upside down halfway on the stairway and halfway on the floor.
"Have you seen Teishi and Drak?"
"They're still outside for all I know." Colt's voice had a strange tone to it due to the fact all the blood had rushed to his head. "Haven't seen them come back in."
"It's bad for you to let your blood run into your head like that."
"If I sit up it'll just get worse." Colt barely seemed to move as he said this.
"Argh!" Atelli threw up her hands. "Everyone around here is so lazy!"
She nearly tripped on Caleb, who was sprawled on the carpet on the living room.
"You could at least sit on the couch or something instead of being a hazard!"
Caleb shrugged, seemingly half-asleep. Atelli looked at the couch and found Monty was in an incredibly odd position on it, apparently asleep. She sighed.
As she turned around, a blast of cold air hit her.
"Close the door!" She said automatically.
"Sorry, miss."
"Teishi!" Atelli was relieved. "Is Drak with you?"
"I'm here." Atelli could, for once, detect a note of happiness in his voice. The others apparently noticed this and sat up, staring at him. Teishi seemed to be helping Drak stay on his feet. "I decided to come in."
"You're a miracle worker, Teishi!" Atelli nudged the blonde boy gently, who simply smiled.
"I guess, miss. I'm going to take Drak-sama upstairs. He's cold, so I'm going to try and warm him up."
The two limped up the stairs, Teishi limping at the same moment as Drak in order to keep continuity in their steps. The others stared at them as they left.
"I swear..." Colt shook his head, trying to clear the black and stars from his vision after he had sat up and the blood rushed away from his head. "If there's anything that little kid can't do, I'd like to know what it is."
"I didn't think anyone could cheer Drak up." Caleb scratched his head. Monty simply shrugged.
"Teishi certainly is a wonder." Atelli smiled. "He obediant, polite, and he can even shake Drak out of his depression. It's such good luck that Drak found him."
"Certainly makes it easier on us." Colt apparently hadn't learned anything from his momentary disorientation and discomfort after sitting up and had put himself back in his previous position. "We don't have to do nearly as much housework."
Atelli sighed in frustration. "You guys are so lazy!"

~~~

The next morning, Atelli walked by the room where Teishi and Drak normally stayed. The door was open. She chanced a glance inside, then continued on her way.
Then she did a double take.
She looked back, stared in the room, blinked several times, then laughed gently to herself.
"So that's why you can cheer him up! He loves you!" Atelli giggled at the sight of the two sleeping together. "That's so cute."
"What are you looking at?" Monty yawned, rubbing his eyes as he stumbled from where he slept. Atelli shut the door quickly.
"Nothing. Let's go make breakfast."
Monty blinked momentarily. "Isn't Teishi making breakfast?"
"Not today." Atelli smiled to herself.

The End
(Author's Note: ::dies of cuteness:: Dear GOD...just when ya think they can't get any cuter, they can. Darn them! Argh, Teishi is so adorable...and this one is happier then Devotion, I think. ^_^ Cuter toooo! Hee hee! Darn it, I need ta think of a (blank)shipper name for this couple...they're so freakin cute...)

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