On a bright, sunny day, a luxurious white boat was sailing around slowly out at sea. Off the coast of Fuchsia City, the boat glided over the gentle waves with grace, as the low hum of the engine beat against the natural crash of the water.
We were out on the craft, enjoying the sunshine and the natural environment. Darragh and Alexis had organised it for us all to come out on the boat, which was being driven by one of the former's friends. It was a beautiful scene, sat on the built-in bench of the vessel, watching the water-type Pokemon thrive below the shining waves.
Darragh was talking to his friend in the cabin behind the front deck, where almost everybody else was. My mother and sisters were still with us, too. Bonnie was talking to Nelly by the metal railings, as the two of them watched the creatures in the water. Megan was sat on the wooden decking with Maruki, playing with him and his toys. Alexis and my mother were sat together at one end of the bench, talking extensively. I was at the other end, sat with my back against the wall and my chin in my hand, watching the distant birds flying around, and listening to the calming noise of the voices all around, coupled with the sounds of nature. My Larvitar, Rainbow and Jirachi were sat down with Megan and Maruki, having just as much fun as the little one. Snowflake was curled up on the roof of the boat with Nelly's Pokemon, Trixie and Patch, whilst my Empoleon was floating on her back in the water beside the us. Finally, Grovyle was sat back in a deck chair with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed. Everyone was relaxing as best they could.
Gradually, my eyes drifted over the scene. The land in the distance, the rolling ripples in the water, the cloudless sky... But without realising it at first, my eyes came to rest on Nelly. I watched quietly as she talked to my sister at the very front of the boat. My mind was completely focussed on her, as her lips moved to form her words. Her dark brown hair danced gently in the mild breeze, reaching up slightly before falling against her back. Her fingers moved gracefully as she gestured something, and her smile was brighter than the shining day. I became aware that I was staring, but I couldn't stop myself, as I blinked but didn't move a muscle.
Slowly in my mind's eye, Nelly blinked too, and I watched as her eyes closed for a split second. Her eyelashes moved with her eyelids to reveal her deep, deep brown eyes. Even the little things had me hooked. She swept some of her hair back from her cheek and ran a fingertip under her chin as she nodded to Bonnie. The end of her purple dress fluttered ever so slightly with the low wind, and she elegantly shuffled her feet. Nelly looked down and carefully picked up her pendant with her thumb and index finger, bringing it up to her sweet, perfectly shaped lips to kiss it. The golden heart on the golden chain sparkled almost as bright as her eyes. Gently, she let go of the pendant, and it fell back down to her chest.
“Are you all right, Toby?”
I looked up in mild shock at Alexis, who was watching me carefully. “Uh...”
“You've been staring at her for twenty minutes.”
“I... Uh...” I blinked, words still not coming to my mind.
“Go and talk to her.” Nelly's mother smiled.
“But I... I don't know what to say...” I said slowly, still watching my fiancée.
“It's all right. Just give it a minute.”
Bonnie walked away from Nelly, and she was left alone to watch the sea. I rose from the bench slowly and carefully, before awkwardly shuffling towards her.
“She's a lucky girl.” Alexis said to my mother.
“You think so?” She asked.
“Oh yeah, of course. Can't you see it in Toby's eyes?”
“His eyes...?”
“He has that sparkle. They both do.” Alexis said proudly.
“You're right...” Mum smiled. “I never thought he would fall in love this young but... I'm glad he's got Nelly.”
“It's a beautiful sight, isn't it? Seeing the two of them so happy...”
“It is...”
“You know, Tracey...” Alexis looked at my mother happily. “Nelly really loves Toby. She really, really loves him.”
“I... I can see that. And I can tell that Toby loves Nelly with all his heart too...” She smiled. “I can't believe I ever even thought of taking him away with me...”
“He needs her, and she needs him.” Alexis watched as I walked towards her daughter. “I don't know if you know this yet, but... They can't sleep without each other.”
“Th-they sleep together...?” My mum swallowed.
“There's nothing wrong with that, is there?”
“Well, I...”
“One day, the adoption agency tried to take Toby and Bonnie into care.” Alexis looked up at the sky, remembering the dark day. “No matter how much we protested, we couldn't stop them from being taken... It shook Snowflake up so bad... She was in tears for the rest of the day, and come night time, she just sat on the stairs and cried...”
“That's awful... What happened...?”
Nelly's mother looked back and smiled again. “Toby took Bonnie, and he broke them out of the care centre in the middle of the night. He walked all the way back to us in the freezing cold, right up to the front door. You should have seen the look on Nelly's face when he walked in, she was so happy... And so was he. They ran straight into each other's arms.”
“Aww... I've missed so much...”
“But anyway, my point is, they can't sleep without each other. They need each other.”
“I understand... And that's fine... I don't mind at all.”
“Good.” Alexis nodded. “I think it's sweet of them to want to share the nights together.”
I stood next to Nelly as she looked out at the water. “H-hey...” I said nervously.
“Hi, Toby.” She smiled. “It's really pretty out here, don't you think?”
“Yeah... Pretty...”
“Are you all right? You seem down...”
“Oh, no, I... I was just sitting down and I... I couldn't stop staring at you...” I shrugged.
“O-oh...” She blushed.
“So, uh... H-how're you doing?”
“I'm good... It's really nice looking at the sea like this.”
“Yeah...”
We both turned to watch the tiny waves, standing shoulder-to-shoulder. “...Nelly...?” I looked over to her.
“Yeah?”
“I love you...” I held her hand.
“I love you too...”
We lightly pressed our foreheads together, so that we were looking into each other's eyes. She let out a cute little giggle, and I smiled brightly. “I never thought it was possible... But you get more and more beautiful every day...”
“Aww... And I love you more and more every day...”
“Nelly...”
We kissed slowly, and held still for seconds that could have been hours. I was in another world until finally, we took our lips away and opened our eyes. Her beautiful brown eyes were filled with happiness, and I smiled in wonder. “You make every day worthwhile...”
*
Despite how happy that trip out at sea had made me, the very next day would bring a sour after-taste. However, even if it was bad, I learnt just how much Nelly really cared for me...
*
I woke up early the next morning, and everything felt fine for a while. But as the tiredness crept away from my eyes, and my body realised I was awake, a rising feeling of sickness filled my insides. “Urrf...” I sat up, holding my stomach. “Agh... Ow...”
“Toby...” Nelly sat up beside me, rubbing her eyes. “What's wrong?”
“Ugh... I feel... Terrible... My stomach hurts... Ahh... I feel sick...”
“Hold on, I'll be right back!”
Nelly swung her legs over the side and stood, half-running to the door. “Urrgh...” I fought against the acidic feeling in my chest, trying to stop myself from vomiting. Nelly went out into the corridor and left the door open behind her. “Why now...?” I asked myself, keeling forward so my head was in the covers. “Agh... Ah...”
I closed my eyes and breathed heavily, praying for the pain to go away. About a minute later, Nelly reappeared, carrying a packet of tablets and a glass of water. An orange bucket was hanging from her arm. “Try and sit up a second, Toby...” She said gently, placing the bucket on the floor by the left side of the bed.
“Nelly...” I groaned, almost tasting the sick in my mouth.
“Are you going to throw up?”
“I... Urr...”
She sat beside me on the bed and rubbed my back as I rocked slowly from side to side, trying to calm the fires in my body. Eventually, the pain began to stop coming in such frequent bursts.
“It's all right...” Nelly whispered. “I'm here...”
“Mm...”
“Here you go.” She handed me the glass of water. “Take two of these.”
She popped out two tablets from the packet and held them out to me. I put the first one in my mouth and swallowed it with water, then took the second. Nelly let me drink a bit more before she put the glass back on the side. She held her hand against my forehead and looked at me sadly. “You're getting hot...”
“Are you all right?” Darragh poked his head around the door.
“Toby's not feeling very well.”
“Oh, I'll get the tablets-”
“I already gave them to him.” Nelly interrupted, before turning back to me. “Lay down.” She whispered. I did as she said, easing myself down onto the soft bedding. My stomach lurched and I winced, but Nelly held my hand tight.
“All right, Toby, hang in there.” Darragh said. “Try and get back to sleep. We'll see if you can eat something later.”
“Ok...” I replied weakly, putting my free hand on my forehead.
*
I must have fallen asleep, because when I opened my eyes again, the lights were off. But I wasn't on the pillow any more. Instead, I woke up with my head on Nelly's shoulder. She had her arms around my shoulders and was stroking my hair gently, with her chin on my head. “N... Nelly...?” I whispered, my stomach still rough.
“Hey, Toby...” She whispered back, moving so I could see her face. “How do you feel?”
“Still bad...” I moaned. “But why are you still here...?”
“Hm?”
“I... I don't... Want you to get sick too...” I wailed.
“I'm not leaving you up here on your own.” Nelly shook her head. “You're in pain, and I'm not leaving your side...”
“But... I don't want you to go through this...”
“You'd do the same for me.” She said soothingly. “I'll stay with you forever, in sickness and in health.”
“Oof...” I groaned, but smiled at the same time.
“How's it going?” Darragh asked, walking into the room. He was holding a plate of toast. “Ah, you're up. See how you get on with this.”
He handed the plate to Nelly, who gently put it down on my lap as I sat back up. “It's just butter. Don't want to aggravate your stomach even more.”
“Thank you.” I said to Darragh.
“It's ok. You might want another dose of tablets soon too.”
With that, he walked out of the room.
“Hang on...” Nelly leant across me and reached for the tablets. I watched her hair fall down onto my arm, and smiled as she pulled back with a smile on her face. “Here you go.”
I took the tablets with water again and thanked her. Before I could put the glass on the bedside table, she took it and leant across again to put it back. “Th-thank you...” I watched her again.
“Ok, now try to eat.” She smiled. I took a bite of the toast and spent a long time chewing it before I eventually swallowed. I could feel the food slither down into my stomach, and it did wonders for my growing hunger. Nelly watched happily as I ate it all up.
“Do you need anything else?” Nelly asked.
“Nelly... You don't have to get me everything...”
“No, but I want to.”
“Well... No, I don't need anything else.” I said, shuffling slowly down onto my back. She placed her hand carefully on my tender stomach and began to rub it.
“Ah...” I winced.
“Just close your eyes.” She whispered. “This is how my mum helped me feel better when I had a sore tummy...”
“My mum used to do it too...” I relaxed as she gently continued.
Eventually, my insides began to feel a little bit better. I reached up and stopped Nelly from rubbing my stomach.
“What's up?” She asked, concerned.
“You can stop now...”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” I nodded reluctantly. Nelly smiled and leant over me. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against mine. I closed my eyes too, and a wave of happiness shivered throughout my whole body. She pulled back and put her hand on my cheek, looking at me lovingly.
“B-but... You'll get sick...” I sighed.
“Don't you worry about me...” She snuggled up beside me in bed. “I'll be fine... I've got you.”
“If you do get sick, I'll be here for you.” I held her close, but not so close as to aggravate my stomach.
“I know you will...” Nelly hugged me. “I hope you get better soon... I love you, Toby...”
“I love you too, Nelly...”
*
The next day, I felt much better. All of the pains were gone and I felt as good as ever. Luckily, Nelly didn't get sick like I had feared. Being able to fully enjoy her touch again was like a blessing, and I was truly grateful. Being ill briefly had taught me just how much Nelly cared. Knowing that she would risk her own health just to make sure I recovered sooner was incredible, and I would do the same for her in a heartbeat.