Roma had once called her naïve. At the time, she did not know what it meant until he explained it to her. A man had called something at her as she passed by, and not understanding the phrase, she had asked Roma about it. Roma had grown quite upset, but seeing her curiosity and confusion, laughed instead, telling her she was naïve, and that he loved her even so.

She remembered the look in that man's eyes. It was dark, frightening, but…exhilarating. It was mysterious, dangerous, a promise of things to come if she responded. She would see that look again later, in N's eyes, and seeing it there sent shivers through her body, caused her mind and physical form to react in ways she couldn't comprehend. The look in the strange man's eyes only made her curious, as a strange colored stone on the ground might, but the look in N's eyes…set her aflame.

When she waited in the forest for N, moonlight filtering through skeletal branches and casting ghostly silhouettes upon the ground, she thought of that look, of N's lips against her own, his hot breath on her neck, his firm body pressed against her, and wondered silently if Roma still considered her innocent and naïve.

"You are here." A voice stated, smooth as velvet. She turned to her right to see him, white shirt almost glowing in the light of the full moon as he strode towards her. Though his hat was pulled down, she still saw his eyes burning beneath the brim, smoldering like embers.

"That I am." She replied, refusing to let her voice shake. He stopped a few feet from her, as if they were mere acquaintances, and offered her a smirk.

"That you are…" She could feel his eyes on her, never straying from her face, his focus sharp as a knife. She didn't remember him being this way, his face a wicked, grinning mask over his true emotions, his tongue held careful for words. The falsity of his new appearance made her ill.

"Stop lying!" She cried, grabbing fistfuls of her hair and tugging out of frustration. For a moment, his façade cracked, alarm and confusion crossing his features.

"L-lying…?" He stuttered, taken aback.

"Yes! Lying! Just tell me the truth! Be honest with me! Don't hide!" She reached him in a few quick steps and placed her palms on his cheeks, forcing his eyes to hers. "You are here! I can see you! You can hide from others, but I can see you!"

"You aren't making any sense." He snapped, trying to pull back, a shadow crossing his face.

"You are the one not making sense. You said you cared about me, so why are you hiding from me? Why…do you hide…?" She released him, feeling tears prick at her eyes. He froze, unsure as she breathed heavily, her emotional strain apparent.

"Why do you care?" His voice cracked slightly, his pain evident. "You hate me anyways, do you not?" His body shook slightly, like a predator about to pounce.

"N, I-" He cut her off with his lips, grabbing her chin forcefully and kissing her as hard as he could. She responded after a few moments, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing herself against him with equal force.

She decided then and there that if he wouldn't let her speak with words, she would have to speak with her actions.

He let out a soft sound of surprise at her response and released her chin, instead burying his hand in her hair, tangling his slender fingers in the silky locks. His other hand found her neck and lightly grasped the side, holding her close to him, giving him control over her in a gentle manner, but asserting dominance none the less. She let out a quiet whimper at the motion, finding a thrill in the thought of him possessing her in such fashion, and, following instinct, nipped his bottom lip playfully.

N let out a low growl in response, a shiver running up his spine, and pressed against her, causing her to step backwards until she was pinned against a tree, his body keeping her in place. He ground his hips against hers, and as she gasped in surprise, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, lightly tracing the back of her teeth. She responded slowly, learning as she went, twirling her tongue about his, trying to steady her increasingly erratic breathing until she had to break for air, panting heavily.

He chuckled softly at her even though he was out of breath as well. He admired the flush of pink on her cheeks, the slight disheveling of her hair, the hazy look in her eyes. Her crystal orbs met his stare and sharpened, a smirk crawling up her lips. Before he could ask her what she was thinking, she dove for his throat, licking long and slow up from the base to below his ear, causing heat to shoot up his spine and back down to his crotch. She seemed to know the sensations she was giving him, and explored the new territory with vigor, pressing fluttery kisses up the column of his throat one moment and then sucking gently and nipping the next.

He groaned aloud, letting his hands fall to her waist and rub up her sides. N had never experienced any of this before and the new feelings were threatening to overwhelm him, but a part of him, an increasingly growing part, didn't mind. Something felt right, as if they had already done this dance before, as if this weren't the first time she'd nipped his earlobe, or dug her teeth into the soft skin of his collarbone. It was familiar, comfortable, but none the less exhilarating, perhaps even more so because of how right it felt. He didn't have to second guess himself as he dug his fingers into her ribs, he didn't question if he was going too far as his thumbs rubbed gentle circles increasingly closer to her breasts, and he wasn't afraid or nervous as his body responded, his groin growing tighter, his breathing heavier, his head dizzy.

He wanted the free fall, he wanted to explore into the unknown. He wanted to go to places he could never come back from, and he wanted to go there with Rose, his Rose, and no one else.

She ceased her attention on his neck and looked at his lips, as if asking him to kiss her. He obliged, hungrily, molding his lips against hers fiercely before pulling back and pressing his forehead to hers, staring deep into her eyes.

"Rose…" He breathed, trying to keep his voice steady. "I…" He faltered. He what? He wanted to beg her to join his side, to see how he saw, to stand beside him and be his queen. But how could he? Her resolve was just as strong as his. He knew she wouldn't budge.

But what did that mean for them? They stood on opposite ends of the spectrum. She wanted to undo everything he had been working his whole life for, and somehow, he didn't hate her for it. No, if anything he loved her even more for her passion.

Yes. He loved her. Staring into her eyes, almost glowing in the moonlight, he knew, without a doubt, that she held his heart. The notion should have frightened him, but it didn't, and the fact that it didn't frighten him in the slightest was more alarming. He had never felt anything but contempt for humans. He loved the Goddesses of course, but in the way a child loves their parent. Ever since Ghetsis had been spreading the word about Plasma and Pokemon liberation there had been many interested human girls pursuing him, but he found no attraction towards their batting eyelashes and scantily clothed bodies.

He only had eyes for Rose. Even after a few days of traveling and camping, covered in dust and sweat and exhausted, she was the most beautiful girl in the world in his eyes.

He let out a deep sigh and rubbed her sides gently, trying to stop his hands from shaking.

"Rose…what are we going to do?" He asked softly. "How can we be together? We're fighting against each other. I know I should hate you for working against me, but I just can't. I just can't. You mean so much more to me than you know…"

"Love will find a way." She whispered, offering him a soft smile.

He smiled painfully, eyebrows furrowed. How could she possibly love him back? She had been so angry, he had betrayed her, he had tried to take her family from her.

"Rose, I don't think you know the implications of what you are saying."

"…N. I…I love you. I am certain of it. I know what I am saying, and what it means." Her hands cupped his face gently and she stroked his cheek with one of her thumbs, smiling fondly. "I want to be with you, even if it's difficult. Even if…it's not possible, it is what I want. Even if it takes a thousand lifetimes, I will always be trying to be by your side. Always."

His eyes began to sting and he shut them before any tears could fall.

"Rose…Rose…." He shook his head and took a step back, breaking their embrace.

"Rose, I need to work towards my dream. I want to liberate all Pokemon and let them be free from the cruelties of humans. I want to create my ideal world, where no one is hurt and everyone is happy."

"But the truth is we need each other! Pokemon and humans cannot live separate, we are meant to be together." She countered, frowning slightly. He shook his head sadly and opened his eyes, hoping she couldn't see the tears threatening to fall.

"It is of no use for us to debate. I will wait for you on top of DragonSpiral Tower. If Reshiram accepts you as its hero, then you can battle me and Zekrom to see who really wins, Truth or Ideals. That is the only way we can settle this." He stepped towards her, grabbing her chin once more and pressing his lips to her ear. "And when I am victorious, we will finally be together in harmony and you will never need to be away from my side. We will be together always and I will give you everything you could ever want. You will be my queen, and you will be mine."

"And if I defeat you?" She asked, voice low. He thought for a moment, realizing the notion had never even crossed his mind.

"Then…I…I don't know then…" He answered truthfully. "I suppose we shall cross that bridge if we reach it." He wrapped his arms around her slowly, feeling an ache starting to form in his heart. He knew he couldn't journey with her, he had to go on his own path, as did she, but the thought of being apart again, after just finally reconciling, after just confessing their feelings, after that kiss…the thought of leaving seemed impossible.

At that moment, a lot of things seems impossible, but as he gently stroked her hair he knew that he would never stop trying, and that gave him hope.

Hehehehe...hi everyone.

I have no excuses this time, I've been tired and uninspired. But I've been reading another author's fanfic and being so excited between updates inspired me to give you guys one. I know how painful it is to wait, and I apologize for doing that to you.

Another reason I took so long is that the ending I had planned (which I had actually thought of before any other part of this story) isn't doing it for me anymore. However, I was struck with sudden inspiration for a new ending (which will work with what I've written so far, meaning I wouldn't have to scrap and re-do the story). So that's awesome! I'm going to start on the next chapter after submitting this. I'll have to go back and re-read a few things first, just to see where I've gotten so far. There's a lot of little details that I need to keep track of that I forget about (and if you notice any continuity errors let me know).

Thank you so much for reading, and I apologize for the wait!

-Vayel