A day late, but here's a short Mother's Day fic.

Letters to Moms (Alain-15, Mairin-12)

"Whatcha doing?"

Alain paused as he heard Mairin's voice behind him, and moments later he felt a pair of hands as Mairin peered over his shoulder. He was careful to angle the paper he was writing on away, looking back at her as he sat in the grass. A pair of amber eyes stared at him curiously– several envelopes spread out in front of him, Charizard and Unfezant were sitting in the grass in front of him, creating what probably looked like a strange sight.

"Writing letters," Alain said, carefully folding up the one he had been working on so it couldn't be read.

"How come?" Mairin asked, swinging about, looking down at the papers between them. "Isn't it quicker to send a message from the Pokemon Center?"

"It's Mother's Day today," He replied. "So I'm just writing a letter to my moms."

"Mom-s?" She questioned, tilting her head slightly. "You have more than one mom?"

Alain hesitated. "Yes. If you want to be technical, I actually have four moms, so a lot of letters to get through today, and I want all of them to be thoughtful..."

He trailed off, hoping that Mairin would get the hint and let him finish writing them in private, but she only seemed more curious than ever. She inched forward, gleaming eyes locked on him. Chespie was up on her shoulder, looking just as curious, the Chespin peering up at him.

"How do you have four moms?"

Alain sighed, looking down at the multiple envelopes sitting in front of him, and he pointed to the first one. "Well, this one is for my birth mom. I've never met her– I'm adopted, you see– but I still write her a letter every year. Because even if I've never known her... she's the reason I'm alive."

She nodded, amber gaze still locked on him.

He pointed to the next envelope. "And then this one is for Mom. My real mom, the one that raised me," His throat tightened for a moment, and he closed his eyes. "And then my last two moms are my foster mothers."

"Foster mothers?" Mairin asked.

"Yes, Elise and Morgan Lambert," Alain said. "They took me in when I was seven, gave me a family when I had no one else. They're both really important to me."

"...What about your other mom? What happened to her?" Mairin asked, looking at him in worry, and Alain looked away.

"She died, Mairin. A long time ago, when I was just a kid," He spoke plainly, knowing that there was no point in hiding what had happened, but still his voice wavered.

Her eyes widened slightly. "O-oh... I'm sorry Alain, I didn't know..." She paused. "Is that why you had foster moms then? Because your mom passed away?"

A heavy feeling settled in Alain's stomach, a fear taking hold of him. He closed his eyes, trying to keep his breathing even, forcing the memories out of his mind. Oh, how he wished that Elise and Morgan would have taken him after his mother had passed, but that hadn't been so. There had been three years between his mom's passing and going into foster care, three long years with his father...

"...Yeah," Alain said hoarsely, hating the fact that he was lying to Mairin, but any other answers would have brought up memories he wasn't ready to deal with. "Yeah... that's why..."

"And what about the last two letters?" Mairin asked, pointing to the final two envelopes. "That makes six, not four."

He took a moment to compose himself, to keep his mounting feelings back and his expression neutral. "Oh, those? They're for Sophie and Cosette... because, um, they're not my mom but..."

"But they take care of us just like a mom could!" Mairin said, her eyes lightly up with realization. "I get it, so you're giving them a Mother's Day letter too! That's a good idea– maybe I'll draw a picture for them for Mother's Day!"

"That's a great idea," Alain said. "If you want I can have Unfezant deliver them with my letters when you're done."

Mairin leapt to her feet, ready to bolt off to grab her sketchbook. "Yeah! That will be perfect!"

"Are you going to make anything for your mom?" Alain asked, causing Mairin to pause.

"I, um, erm... don't think she wants anything from me..." Mairin muttered, trailing off, and he frowned at her. "I just, um, she's always busy and I'm sure a drawing would just bother her... heh..."

"I'm sure it wouldn't," Alain said. "It's Mother's Day after all, and I'm sure she'd be thrilled. Besides, your drawings are really good– who wouldn't want one?"

She still looked hesitant, but she perked up slightly. "Well I do think my drawings have gotten a lot better, so maybe she will want one..." She nodded to herself, a gleam of hope in her eyes. "Yeah– I'll make one for Mom too!"

"I'm sure they'll all love it," Alain said, and Mairin raced off, a huge smile on her face. He smiled as well, before turning his attention back to the letter he had been working on. He unfolded it, nearly two pages front and back filled, but he continued writing.

Charizard carefully tore a third page out from a notebook with her claws, holding it out to him so he could finish the letter. He gave the lizard a grateful nod, before turning his focus back towards the letter. It was on the back of the third page that his writing at last slowed, the teen pausing for a moment, glancing over what he had written– before carefully signing his name.

He folded the papers, reaching for the envelope meant for his adoptive mother. The name 'Harper Vide' had already been written out the outside as he slipped the letter inside, before sealing the envelope. He held the papers for a moment, silence in the air, before looking up at the sky.

"Happy Mother's Day, Mom," He said quietly. "I miss you."

And then without another word he held the envelope out to Charizard, who swung her tail around, letting her tail flames lick the edges of the letter. The papers caught fire, consuming the letter in the flames. Ashes crumbled to the ground, smoke curling up into the sky. He stared up, watching the smoke climb higher, before the wind scattered the gray wisps.

"...I love you."