Earthbound :: Trading Hearts

[grapegarden]

Another challengefic for me trying to fix study habits. I actually liked writing this one. Plus Pokey's line in Magicant always made me wonder--had to be an awkward meeting in the game, eh? Who knows, maybe Pokey wasn't an asshole once--in Magicant, is he the friend Ness used to know, what Ness thought he would be, what Ness wished he'd be like or... nevermind me. I'm obsessed with Magicant. Guess where the ficlet takes place:

Title: Trading Hearts
Author: Shamanic Shaymin
Fandom: Earthbound/Mother 2
Genre: General/Drama
Rating: G
Warnings: None.
Ships/Characters: Pokey, Ness. Thankfully no slash. XD
Finished: Yes

"Ness, you're so lucky."

The giant boy offered a seat on the couch--Ness cautiously stepped forward, bracing himself in case he got slugged in the stomach. But Pokey didn't move, didn't even grimace as he sat beside him. Ness stared at him, and the blond's next words were a whisper:

"I envy you."

Well that explained a lot.

Admittedly, he had a life Pokey only wished he could have. Yes, it was true Pokey's spoiled rotten, given a little too much ice cream each night. But it was like his parents wanted nothing more to do with him or his brother Picky--just an annoying scab to pick until it quit bleeding, then flick it away. He craved that attention, that love that Ness's mother and even his father at work showered their own son with. Ness's family cherished their children, talked and played with them--Aloysius and Lardna considered their kids nuisances, two extra bodies to pay for and sink further into debt. Ness got kisses--Pokey got spankings.

"...I have no luck. But Ness... well, okay..."

He felt horrible for him. He wanted to give Pokey so much more. Show him what his world was like, what life was really all about--discovery, adventure, just being a kid. For a while, Ness did get to show him these things. A sheltered, unwanted scab that got to taste innocence and awe for a rare millisecond, what he could've become if they hadn't drifted away, if Ness hadn't let go--and as a consequence doomed to watch him self-destruct into the bully he is today. How could he have been so stupid? He beat himself for it, determined to keep speaking, to bring back the curious pure Pokey he once knew long ago...

"Let's be friends forever, all right?"

There's the slug he'd been waiting for. If only metaphorical--Ness clutched his knees, refusing to face Pokey. What happened to when they had heart? This was a stranger that insulted and put him down for years now. Sure, that's reality, but it's an uneven trade for a friend. A warm sweaty palm clasped over his knuckles, and Ness was paralyzed. Tears pushed down his cheeks--he felt ugly, he felt hideous, he felt weak. He waited for the snicker, the guffaws long familiar to him now--here it comes:

"Hey. I think you're all right."

Pokey didn't smile. He was silent, hand clutched tighter over Ness's as his old friend cried.

Comments

[telluryan.livejournal.com]

Gahhh okay, enough's enough. This made me so sad ;___; I have to watch this journal.

I LIVE for this kind of thing.