Winter in Nuvema Town was always perfectly silent. The snow fell silently to the ground, wind blew silently through the trees. Everyone visited home for the holidays, yet even the streets were silent at night. Everything was always perfectly silent.

"What do you mean, he's not back yet?"

With the exception of Touya and Touko's house. Touko understood why her brother was yelling, but he was so mad that steam was practically pouring out of his ears. He was being a little more than over-the-top about it.

"Calm down, bro," she said, taking a sip of her hot cocoa. "Maybe he just doesn't want to be back here yet?"

Touya turned around, his lips set in a hard frown. "It's been almost two years, Touko! Why wouldn't N come back yet?" He paced around more, nearly running a hole in the rug. "None of this makes any sense. I've been looking for two years, and nothing."

It was hard to imagine that they were all where they were after two years. Touya was the champion of Unova now, though Iris was starting to give him a run for his money while his attention was split between that and finding N. After everything that happened two years ago, she wasn't surprised that N still hadn't been found. He was more reserved, much like Touko herself. She was never a serious trainer, preferring to raise her pokémon as friends rather than for battling, something she didn't enjoy too much. Maybe that was why N took such an interest in her.

Although, she knew it was hurting Touya quite a bit that N wasn't anywhere that he'd looked. Touko preferred to stay out of it, but if she had the chance to travel to a different region in his place, why not take it as a vacation? And, of course, Bianca and Cheren had their feelers out as well, as did the friends Touko made in different regions. Not that she thought any of it was needed.

"You'll find him eventually." Touko couldn't really find anything more to say other than that. "It's Christmas, though, and remember how he had to spend basically his whole life with Ghetsis? Do you really think he would want to come back here to remember those years?"

"I guess you're right." He sat across the table from her, cupping his hands around his own cocoa. Instead of drinking it, he just stared at the surface, thinking. Touko knew her brother well to know that he wanted to say something. "I wish I could've apologized."

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong."

He looked up at her. "I feel like I'm the one who pushed him to leave Unova, just because of that fight with him and Ghetsis in the castle."

It was almost funny that he blamed himself, because Touko blamed herself even more. But he didn't know that, not yet. "That's not true and you know it. For all you know, N could still see you as a friend. He probably already forgave you for whatever you think you did, even without you apologizing."

"How could you know that?" Touya shook his head after a minute, sipping his cocoa. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I should stop stressing for a while."

"Of course I'm right! I'm the older one, after all." She smiled at him, bright and bubbling. He couldn't keep a straight face when she was this peppy. "Look, if he wants to be found, he'll be found. Everything is okay."

"Right." He glanced back at the TV- Touko had the news station on a bit earlier, paying closer attention once a Christmas special started. "I wish you didn't hog all of the calm and collected genes. All I got were the hotheaded ones."

Touko laughed, knowing that he would say something like that. Their mom had been saying it their whole lives. "Trust me, I've noticed." But it wasn't all true, and Touko was the only one who knew it. She felt a bit guilty keeping a secret this big from her brother, but it was at N's request, so she couldn't help but do it.

She spent the next couple of hours watching more Christmas specials, but tired of them quickly and went to bed. Before she went to sleep, though, she took out a small box, running her fingers over the top before opening it. Bright, beautiful pictures from all over the world greeted her, one after another after another. She'd been collecting them since the first one arrived almost two years ago.

She took that one out from the bottom, the edges a little bit worn but still in very good shape. Greetings from Hoenn! the front read in a cheerful script. She flipped it over, reading the message inked on the back.

Touko-

I'm sorry for leaving all of a sudden. Your brother is likely angry right now, and I apologize. But for right now, I would like to push those matters aside and discuss why I am writing.

Ever since I met you, I could tell you were different than other trainers, just as your brother and his friends could tell that I was. Unlike the others, you never showed an interest in battling, a trait which I admired greatly. I still do.

Getting to know you through conflicts with your brother and his friends has been wholly worthwhile, although I wish those conflicts could have been avoided. If they never happened, perhaps we would've been able to get to know each other on more peaceful terms. That is why I'm writing; so we can get to know each other away from conflict.

Do not tell anybody of these correspondences. If Ghetsis were to ever escape, I have no doubt he will either come after me or your brother, and I do not want to put either of you in danger of him.

-N

It wasn't much, but at least N acknowledged that there was some kind of special connection between them that she felt all the way back when they met in Accumula Town. He raved about how her pokémon and her brother's were talking wonders about them, and so soon after they met. From then on, she was...smitten, to say the least. But nobody ever caught on to her silly crush.

She flipped through a couple more postcards from around the world, the first six or so from Hoenn before moving to Sinnoh, Kanto, Alola, Kalos, and Johto. The most recent one was from two months ago, from Ecruteak City. From what she gathered from the postcards, he was just waiting for the right time to return.

She felt kind of bad that she could only return notes to him on bland notebook paper. Although, in a way, it was almost better- she could fit more writing on paper than N could on a postcard, even with his super-small writing.

A tiny tap came at her window- something she'd been anticipating since the last one came. She padded over to her window, careful to not wake her brother in the next room. The frigid, snowy air bit at her exposed skin as a pidove flew in, landing on her desk with a piece of paper in its beak. It was one of N's many pokémon friends, she knew, one that he relied on greatly when it came to their writing.

"Thank you," she said, taking a berry out of her desk for it to eat while she read the postcard. She expected another from Johto, but to her surprise, Hello from Nimbasa City! is what greeted her on the front. Her stomach flipped as she turned it over, fingers grazing over the painted picture of the ferris wheel. This one had only a little writing on it, but her eyes skimmed over it at least three times.

Touko-

I'm back.

This one wasn't even signed, but she knew it was him. There wasn't anybody else it could be but him. And now that she knew where he was, she needed to go see him.

Touya was asleep, and their mom was in Aspertia City for a visit with an old friend. Nobody would notice if she left right now to go see him.

She slipped a sweatshirt over her pajama top, shoving socks and sneakers haphazardly on her feet. The pidove flew back out the window, which she shut behind it. She didn't feel the need to write a note to send back if she herself was coming.

"Fezzie, come out!" she whispered once she was outside, releasing her unfezant from its poké ball. It cooed a bit at the sight of her, and she stroked its head with a smile before asking her favor. "I know it's late, but could we fly to Nimbasa City, please? There's somebody I need to see."

Fezzie cooed again, before taking off with Touko in tow. Flying during the night was a little exhilarating, though she wished she brought a hat and gloves. Her hair was flying everywhere, tangling in her face. Nimbasa City was only a ten-minute fly away, but it was also a very cold one. She was half of a popsicle before they arrived.

"Thank you so much," she breathed out, her breath freezing in the air in front of her. Fezzie cooed again, nibbling on the berry Touko offered it. She practically sprinted over to the ferris wheel, even though it was shut down for the winter. A shame, really.

Cold air flowed into her lungs as she walked around a little, remembering how it was back then, the first time he brought her on the ferris wheel. It felt like so long ago, though she hadn't really changed at all. She couldn't help but wonder if N did.

A flash of green between the snow-covered branches of the trees caught her eye. She lit up, jogging over with about as much patience as a five-year-old. "N?"

He turned, surprise lighting up his face before it was replaced with a smile. "Touko."

She nearly bowled him over with a hug, despite him being a good six inches taller than her. "You actually came back," she said into his chest, barely able to contain her grin. His arms encased her as much as hers did him. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too." Almost immediately, she could tell how much he'd grown. She never imagined he would say those words back when they were traveling; he was too focused on his goal. He held her for another minute, their beating hearts the only sound around them.

Touko never thought this moment would come, at least not this soon. She always imagined that it would be another couple of years before she would get to see N again. "You're not leaving this time, are you?"

The silence that followed scared her for a good second before N shook his head. "No. This time, I'm staying." A greater Christmas gift could never be given. She threw her arms around him again, her smile nearly splitting her cheeks.

"You should come back to my house so you can surprise Touya. He was pretty disappointed that you weren't back yet; he still wants to apologize." She yawned into him while speaking, a reminder of how late it really was.

"I'll come by tomorrow," N promised, "but I have a couple things I need to take care of tonight with Anthea and Concordia. You'll be okay going back?"

Touko nodded, trying to restrain herself from yawning again as she called out Fezzie. Fezzie cooed in delight when it noticed N, who always had something special for it and Touko's other pokémon. N smiled fondly at Fezzie and Touko both, waving at them as they rose back into the chilly air and went on their way back to Nuvema Town.

She could barely think on the way back, only pausing once to revisit how quick the interaction started and ended, just like they did two years ago. She fell asleep still in her clothes and shoes, crashing onto her bed with the box of postcards right beside her. She would have nothing but good dreams tonight, she knew it.

X-X-X

The bright light of the sun woke her up the next morning, the box still clutched to her chest. She blinked her weary eyes, briefly wondering when she managed to take her sweatshirt off when she remembered falling asleep in it. Her shoes were kicked off as well, her feet like ice under her covers.

The lid of the box was loose thanks to her tossing and turning. She popped it open, staring down at the contents. The postcard on the top of the pile was from Ecruteak City, dated two months ago. She looked over on her desk; nothing on it except for her computer and a plush she won at a fair years ago.

Nothing was any different from how it was when she came upstairs last night.

"Another dream, then." She couldn't help but be disappointed, even though she'd been having the same kinds of dreams for two years. Each time she woke up, her world felt a little more empty without him in it. She sighed as she started getting ready for the day, another of knowing about this little game of hide-and-seek N appeared to be playing with both her and Touya.

Maybe next Christmas, he would show up. She just needed to hope.

I apparently can't write Ferriswheelshipping without making it angsty, huh.

Anyway, I realized I hadn't written any Pokemon fanfics recently, so I immediately had to remedy that. No way am I gonna leave you all hanging!

Also, the title comes from the song "It's Been A Long, Long Time." I learned it recently, and the lines "You'll never know how many dreams I dreamed without you/Or just how empty they all seemed without you" kind of inspired this. It's a really good, romantic song. I recommend giving it a listen.