The Bitter Cold

A ShiroShipping Story
Aka "Touko/Hilda x Bel/Bianca"

The grassy fields swayed with the wind softly, the dew from the blades swinging off into the air.  The sun shone brightly, yet it did not give warmth; did not warm up the bitter cold which was biting at everything. Small pieces of ice covered the tree roots, orange leaves damp and broken on the ice's surface. The sun drifted slowly behind the stratus clouds, giving in to what it knew would come – bad, cold weather.
And yet, one girl still lay on the watered grass, not moving. Her eyes were closed, her pale skin gleamed, and her clothes looked like it was still Summer. The girl's brown hair flew around, covering parts of her face. She didn't seem to mind, she just lay there.
And then a girl in silky clothes pranced along. Her white skirt flew to her right, her orange button-up shirt doing the same. Her short, blond hair flowed around in all directions, and her bright green eyes sparkled in contrast to her porcelain skin. She tiptoed across the field, happening upon the girl with brown hair. The one in orange giggled, her cheeks a rosy colour.
The girl on the ground opened her right eye to peek at the giggling one. She then sat straight up, the grass flying away off the back of her arms. She stretched and yawned and then looked up at the blond girl.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I forgot you were coming, Bel!" The girl exclaimed, brushing the dirt off her shorts as she stood up. She was a bit taller than the skinny Bel, but not by much. Bel looked up, still giggling for some reason.
"So, Touko, you fell asleep instead of calling N, Touya, or Cheren? You just waited for me?" Bel brought her index finger up to her lips, suppressing a burst of laughter. Touko put her hands on her lips, biting the bottom of my lip.
"Of course." Bel stopped when she heard this, a puzzled look on her face. She lifted her head to look at Touko.
"What do you mean, 'Of course'?" Touko shuffled her feet.
"By of course, I mean what I say. How is that hard to understand?" Bel shook her head.
"Never mind…" Bel looked to her left, at the darkened forest with all the Pokémon hidden deep within it. She sighed, her emerald eyes closing in synch with her mouth. Touko glanced behind her before putting her hand on Bel's shoulder. Bel immediately opened her eyes to see Touko.
"I didn't do anything, just waited, because the moment I was waiting for was a moment with you. You… The one who makes my life brilliant, the shining star so close but so far away." Touko paused to see Bel's reaction. Bel remained silent and blank for a few minutes before she processed what Touko had just said, and blushed, a laugh coming from deep inside her. Touko pouted, waiting for Bel's laughter to end.
"What? You don't believe me?" Touko took her hand off of Bel's shoulder. Her icy blue eyes danced with curiosity as she waited for a reply from the blond.
Bel finally sighed after the storm of giggles that came from her. She closed her eyes and smiled.
"You have no idea how long I've actually…been hearing for you to say anything like that." Bel opened her eyes again, staring deeply into Touko's. Touko took a small step back, the emerald eyes sparkling at hers feeling like they were staring into her soul.
Instead of walking back more, Touko ran forward, opening her arms to the blond. She wrapped the around her waist; the impact of her running to Bel knocking them down. Even with this, Bel did not show a shocked face, or an angry face, or a sad one. She smiled greatly, running her fingers along one of Touko's bare arms.
"Do you love me, Touko?" Bel whispered. She stared at the sky while she asked this, and noticed how the sky was completely covered in the darkest-shade-of-gray clouds.
Touko exhaled heavily. "Yes…I do, I really do love you, Bel." Touko intertwined her fingers under Bel's back, nervous. Bel stroked Touko's head.
"I love you too, Touko. Ever since I saw you battle those many times, those days we played around the houses, the times we kicked out Cheren and Touya and had our own little 'adventures'." Bel paused.  "I always have loved you, and I always thought you would never notice. So I tried to stay away from you, so as you would not notice, and not go spread anything about it. Not a smart move, I guess…" Bel mumbled.
Then it was Touko to laugh. She patted Bel's hair and a mix of dewy grass.
"Same here, Bel, same here…"
A silence came, but it was a warm silence. It made both of them feel warm to the heart, not a feeling of the bitter cold affecting them. They lay there even as icy rain poured down and penetrated through Bel's silk clothing, even as their hair grew damp, even as they saw their friends look down upon them the next morning. And when it was time for them to leave, they both stood up and leaned on each other's shoulders, holding hands as they walked towards the glowing sunset, the sign of the day coming to an end. The girls reached their houses, and, before departing, gave each other a long kiss, and whispered an 'I love you', before finally leaving with their hearts warm and fuzzy, the bitter cold not affecting them one bit.