Pokemon - The Apex of Time

Chapter 8 - Not Alone

Training had ended early on this particular day, because Darragh had arranged to take Alexis out somewhere. It was only fair – what with the baby and everything, I supposed they deserved the time away. Darragh had asked Nelly and I to babysit, coincidentally, and we were more than happy to. Her parents were going out for most of the night, and said that everyone was likely to be asleep when they came back. It was late in the evening when we were all sat around in the living room.

Maruki was fast asleep in his little cot by the sofa, wrapped up in a yellow blanket. His sister was leaning over his bed with a look of happiness and amazement on her face. Meanwhile, my sister was sat in the armchair, staring at the television with a worn-out look. I was sitting on the sofa, losing interest in whatever was on TV. I felt tired, yet I wanted to stay awake. My gaze flickered from Nelly to Maruki, and a warm smile spread across my face. Everyone was dressed for bed anyway, but it was Bonnie who caved in first. She stood up, yawned and stretched. “I'm gonna go to bed now...” She rubbed her eyes as she walked across the room.

“Good night.” Nelly said as she passed.

“Night.” I called after her. She waved weakly and disappeared upstairs.

After a while, Nelly sat down on the sofa beside me and let out a sigh. “He's so cute.” She smiled. I smiled back and leant my head against one of the sofa cushions. I held my hand out and spread my fingers in a fan. “You're so beautiful...” I said, looking at her through the gaps in my fingers. Her cheeks went red and she fluttered her eyelids at me.

“Toby...”

Nelly placed her fingers between mine and we closed our hands together, squeezing tight. She shuffled her body so she could lay down by my side, and we spread out the length of the sofa. Her head rested on my chest, whilst we curled up close.

“I love you...” She told me. “I'm sorry I was paying Maruki more attention than you...”

“I love you too. And it's ok, he is your little brother, after all.”

“But you're my lover...” Nelly blushed again.

“I know I won't get to have you to myself all the time...” I sighed, gently playing with her hair. “But I want us to do as many things together as possible... And when we're older and married, I... I'll try and be a good husband... And I want to be a good father... I'll make sure you're never alone, and we'll go through our lives together...”

“Toby... You'll be a wonderful dad...” Nelly grasped my hand tighter. “And you know that I would rather die than marry someone other than you...”

“I-I know it's a long way away from now, but... I want you to know that no matter what, I'll look after any children we might have... That goes without saying, but... I don't want you to ever have to worry...”

“Oh, Toby...” She sniffed. “Look at you... You're crying... It's ok, I know you'll be fine. Don't think about it now, ok?”