Cold

The long winter days have come once more. Hikari kicks the floorboards of the mountain retreat in boredom. There's nothing more for her to do. She can't amuse herself. Her Pokémon are all sleeping soundly in their Poké balls. They're warm and relaxed and she doesn't have the heart to disturb them.

A whine arises from elsewhere. Hikari rolls her eyes at the sound. It's one of Shinji's Pokémon. He hasn't been as kind to his companions and she isn't surprised. She expected nothing more of him. His remorseless coldness hasn't lessened at all since they last met.

She taps her fingers against the table. Her gaze is at the window but she knows that Shinji's watching her. She can feel his irritation grow and grow. A twisted pleasure blossoms at the thought of his annoyance. A large smile spreads across her face.

She gloats in silence for a long moment. Then a hand lands on her shoulder. Shinji pulls her back. She yelps, arms flailing wildly, only to find that his leg is keeping the chair from toppling over. She glowers at him and folds her arms.

Her eyes narrow. "What do you want?"

He replies coldly. "Be quiet,"

She mutters under her breath and sits forward. The floorboards creak as he storms away. A frightened whine comes Shinji's Pokémon and a pang of sympathy resonates in Hikari. She leans towards them but stops herself at the last moment.

She drags the chair closer to the table. The legs screech against the floor. Anything that annoys Shinji is good for her. Since the sudden snowfall began they've been trapped. The experience hasn't been pleasant for either of them.

She was surprised when they first met in the lodge. She wouldn't have stayed if there was a choice in the matter. However, unbeknownst to her, when they met, Shinji was the one who was willing to leave.

Shinji's Pokémon makes another sad, whining sound. Hikari throws her chair aside and storms over. She plants herself firmly between the two; arms crossed and glowering. Shinji's jaw drops half an inch with fright. His eyes meet hers without intimidation.

He demands. "What do you want?"

She snaps. "I want you to respect someone other than yourself!"

The words are out before she can stop herself. She hadn't meant to admit that. She pretends to have planned that statement all along. Shinji's jaw falls even slacker. His eyes search her face carefully. It unnerves her to be looked over so thoroughly.

Shinji speaks once more; his voice subdued and hushed. "Is that why you left?"

Their previous meeting was many years ago. When they parted it wasn't under the best of circumstances. The relationship that they had forged had ended in a violent explosion with both words and broken furniture – for which the hotel fined them.

Hikari was the one to leave; sneaking away in the dead of night. Shinji has never understood why the fallout was so bad.

Hikari steels herself. "Yes. You're cold, callous and you always have to be the one in control. Does it make you happy to make others worthless?"

He frowns at her. "I made you feel worthless?"

She snarls. "No, you made me worthless. You took my confidence, my self-esteem and everything that made me who I was!"

She glances over at the worried Pokémon. "I'm not letting you do that anymore,"

He stands abruptly and grasps her wrist. "That wasn't my intention,"

She glares at him. "That was what you did. I don't care what you intended. The damage has been done. Let's leave it at that,"

He pulls her closer as she tries to walk away. "You're right… I am disrespectful and I do have to be in control. That's why I'm staying with you tonight-"

She scoffs. "The snow is up to the doors. You-"

He interjects; choosing to ignore her protests. "I'm staying with you tomorrow. I'll stay with you the day after that… Until you make the choice I'm going to be with you,"

She pauses. "What choice is that?"

"You either find someone else or you accept me again," he insists. "I know… I know what to avoid now…"

Hikari struggles not to sigh. She'd sworn not to allow him into her life again! However, he was never gifted at expressing himself and his acknowledgement of his flaws is a start.

After a long deliberation, she concedes. "Consider yourself an acquaintance and we can start again,"

He struggles to hide his surprise. "What?"

She shrugs. "I can't escape you and I think I tried to hit you with a mirror. I also left you with that hotel fine and I don't have any money to pay you back… This doesn't mean that we're going to date again though. You know that, right?"

He nods. "I don't think I could date someone like you anyway,"

Annoyance flashes across her face. "Thank you,"

Author's Note: I'm so sorry that I've missed the deadline again! Argh! ... I wanted to make a really happy ending. Then I thought, no… They're not the greatest couple in terms of personality. They're opposites so I think it's nice to concede that though they might never be a couple they might be able to be friends. Also, this is not a portrayal of an abusive relationship it's closure for the abrupt ending that they had. They both threw a hissy fit and now they're calm and mature grown-ups; one of whom is emotionally constipated. Thank you for reading. I hope that you enjoyed this piece. I apologise if you've taken it the wrong way.

Part of the Revival Collection.