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You had only been attending Blueberry Academy for a little over two months, yet seeing the floating school slowly come into view as the ferry drew closer gave you the same warm feeling as coming home after a long, exhausting day. Your mother may not be there to welcome you back, but the friends you had made would no doubt be just as happy to see your safe return from your latest trip to Area Zero.
Carmine and Ms. Briar sat opposite you on the top deck of the passenger boat, the former still giving the latter a hard time about endangering you all and almost getting her little brother killed. Said little brother sat quietly beside you, still not having spoken a word to you since you got off the plane from Paldea.
You didn’t think Kieran was intentionally ignoring you. There hadn’t really been a good opportunity to talk following the aftermath of subduing Terapagos. He had cried throughout the journey back to the Zero Lab, unable to talk to you between choked sobs and hiccups. You patiently let him get it all out, knowing how much he’d been through – not only in the last 24 hours, but also since your falling out in Kitakami. His sister Carmine was able to eventually quell her own tears in favour of appearing as the older, ‘mature’ sibling, but you could still hear the occasional sniffle from her position beside you.
The subsequent walk back through Area Zero had been quieter. Kieran had calmed to silent tears that he kept trying in vain to wipe away on the sleeve of his jacket. You could tell he was embarrassed, so you continued to say nothing and waited instead for him to talk when he was ready.
At least, that was the excuse you gave yourself. Truthfully, you had no idea what you would even say to him. Kieran had been a jerk to you ever since you arrived at Blueberry Academy, but you weren’t exactly innocent in your treatment of him either. You had lied to him and kept him away from Ogerpon. You had humiliated him by taking his title as a Champion in front of his entire school - a school you didn’t even attend and were only enrolled in as part of an exchange programme. Then you had captured Terapagos - a Pokémon that Kieran had caught first with a Master Ball and should have by all rights been his.
You felt like your already strained friendship was hanging on by a thread, and you were too scared to try and fix it in fear that you’d somehow destroy it forever.
Thankfully you were put out of your misery while the four of you had been waiting to board the plane back to Unova. Kieran managed to pull you aside and awkwardly thank you and your sandwich-loving partner for saving his life. He stammered over his words and couldn’t quite look you in the eye, but you knew he was being genuine. You expressed your own gratitude for his assistance in battling Terapagos, but then you were interrupted by your flight’s boarding announcement before you could say anything else.
You couldn’t help but sleep for most of the flight back, grateful for the comfy Business Class seats that had been provided for you – on behalf of Ms. Briar or the Blueberry Academy, no doubt. You had landed in Castelia City and went down to the harbour, boarding the ferry that would take you back to the academy.
Now that ferry had pulled up to the dock that connected to the Academy’s entrance, and the four of you got up to disembark and make the final stretch across the pier.
Carmine and Ms. Briar took the lead while you and Kieran slowly brought up the rear. You heard Ms. Briar mention something about getting in touch with a publisher, but the sound of Kieran calling your name made you stop and turn your attention back to him.
“L-Look, I know I caused a lot of trouble for the League Club and everyone.” He began, glancing down at the ground between the two of you. “I wanted to give everyone a proper apology… Including you. So, I’m sorry.” He gave a short bow, keeping his gaze down at your feet. “And, uh…” He cautiously peeked at you through the loose section of hair that fell over his right eye, and for a moment you could once again see the shy yet sweet boy you met back in Kitakami. “I guess what I’m trying to say is… I wanna make things right.”
Kieran lifted his head to look at you now, though his eyes still darted around nervously. Whatever he wanted to say was taking a lot of his courage, and you almost couldn’t believe that this was the same guy that had battled you so viciously less than twelve hours ago.
“So, do you think…” Kieran took a deep breath and closed his eyes, “we could start over from zero and be friends again?”
You were taken aback, unable to stop the chuckle escaping your mouth. He flinched – evidently not expecting that reaction, so you quickly spoke up to ease his nerves.
“Kieran, we’ve been friends this whole time.” You smiled at him, relieved that you hadn’t ruined your friendship after all.
“Wha- huh?!” Kieran stared at you with wide eyes. “B-but-… I was so horrible to you! I said all those awful things about you, an’…and–”
You stopped him before he could spiral into more guilt. “I know, and it hurt, but… I hurt you too.” You sighed, “I wanted to apologise to you back in Kitakami, but you didn’t want to see me. I thought maybe you just needed time, but then I had to leave and you don’t have a phone, so…”
Kieran was still looking at you, the orange glow from the rising sun bathing him in a warm light that softened his tired features. Encouraged by this, you continued.
“I guess now is my chance to say it. I’m so, so sorry, Kieran. I really wanted to tell you about Ogerpon – but I let your family convince me that they knew what was best for you, without considering your own feelings. I never should have lied to you. I should have stood up for you, like an actual friend would.”
You knew you weren’t entirely to blame for what happened, but it was important that Kieran understood you never meant to hurt him. It wasn’t your fault that Ogerpon chose you over him - Ogerpon had spent the most time around you, of course she would feel more comfortable with you as her trainer. You were certain that if she had spent the same amount of time with Kieran, she would have chosen him instead. But that didn’t happen, because you had lied and allowed Kieran to be excluded from meeting the Pokémon he idolised so much.
“I didn’t want to take your title as Champion.” You went on, “I just wanted to talk, but you didn’t want to see me a-and everyone wanted me to do something and Drayden kept pushing–” You could feel your eyes starting to sting, but you kept going. “I-I didn’t know what else to do. I just… I just wanted my friend back.”
You sniffled, trying to hold it together long enough to hear Kieran’s response. He looked shocked at your confession. His once lifeless eyes had returned to their natural state of awe and wonder, no longer plagued by the cruel indifference that had stolen their light.
“I-… Wowzers, we both kinda made a big mess of things, huh?” He chuckled, the use of his old verbal mannerisms bringing an endeared smile to your face. “I wasn’t really expectin’ you to apologise, or forgive me... Guess I’m still gettin’ used to this whole friendship stuf–woah!”
Unable to restrain yourself, you flung your arms around your friend and pulled him into a desperate hug. It was something you had wanted to do back in Kitakami, but held back on for the sake of the socially anxious boy. Back then, even holding hands had been too much for him.
”Sorry… I probably should’ve asked first…” You started to pull away, but stopped when you felt Kieran’s arms slowly wrap around your back.
”I-It’s fine, I’ve never-“ Kieran started, “-I mean, I don’t mind… ”
You let out a relieved chuckle. He felt so small in your embrace, despite the fact that the two of you were more or less the same height. You remembered Carmine mentioning that her brother had barely been taking care of himself, skipping meals and avoiding sleep in favour of training. You vowed to help him get back on track, starting with making sure he rested enough to cure the heavy bags under his eyes.
For now, you enjoyed holding your fragile friend, knowing he needed the physical support just as much as you did by the way he buried his face in your shoulder. At one point you felt his body shake with a sob, the sound muffled by your uniform. You moved your hand up to his hair and gently combed your fingers through the purple roots. His grip on the back of your uniform tightened as you did so, but he made no protests to the gesture.
Tempting as it was to rip off the repurposed headband holding his hair up, you resisted in favour of respecting Kieran’s boundaries. As much as you missed the adorable way his hair had framed his face, his new look was growing on you. At least now you could see his face better – and you couldn’t deny how cute his ponytail looked, sticking up like a scorbunny’s ears at the top of his head.
You didn’t realise you were crying too until Kieran called your name in concern.
“I’m-m fine…” You sniffled, bringing a hand up and rubbing your eyes. “Just… ha-appy you’re back…”
“I… didn’t go anywhere?” Kieran replied, making you laugh between your tears. “Aw man… y-you’re gunna get me goin’ again…”
You weren’t sure how long you both stood embracing each other on the pier. Neither of you wanted to be the one to let go, however all good things had to come to an end – and that end came in the form of Carmine’s voice calling out to both of you.
“Seriously, you guys? We thought you’d fallen into the ocean or something!” She scolded with shaking fists. You let go of each other, embarrassed at being caught in such a vulnerable moment. Despite this, you couldn’t help but find Carmine’s annoyed concern amusing.
She crossed her arms in disapproval, shaking her head. “It’s great that you’re both getting along again or whatever, but it’s already sunrise and I’m starving. We’re going to eat without you if you don’t hurry up, you saps!”
She turned back towards the academy entrance, leaving you and Kieran to smile sheepishly at each other before running after her together.
After being served a strange mix of dinner and breakfast, you, Kieran and Carmine walked in comfortable silence back to the student living quarters. You exchanged a look with Kieran before parting ways, feeling confident that you were well on your way to making things right between the both of you again. Carmine must have felt the same, thanking you again for ‘bringing Kiki back to his senses’ before heading off to her own dorm room.
You collapsed on your bed the moment you were back in your own dorm, closing your eyes to finally let your exhaustion take over you. You fell asleep with the warmth of Kieran’s embrace lingering in your heart, and the comforting thought that finally everything was going to be okay.