This fic is based on 11JJ11's fic Far From Yesterday

Manon frowned as she poked at the waffle on her plate. She bit her lip and chanced a glance up at Alain. He was sipping at his morning coffee, casually leaning against the countertop staring right back at her expectantly. Her eyes fell back to the waffles. They were coated in syrup, just how she liked them, but that didn't mean she wouldn't see those damn seeds drifting around in the sugary liquid.

"Why would you ruin perfectly good waffles?" Manon pouted, using her fork to guide one of the seeds off of her breakfast and onto the plate.

"Because you absolutely drown your waffles in syrup and whipped cream." Alain retorted. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the single seed that Manon had pushed off of her pile of waffles. "And don't try to ask me where the whipped cream is."

"I already know where it is." She crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair and tapping her foot against the ground. "You threw it out. You're such a bully."

Alain stiffened before pushing off of the counter and pacing around the table. "You don't need any more sugar, Manon!" He spread his arms out wide, like he couldn't even believe he was having this conversation with her. "You get twice the recommended amount daily, I've done the math!"

Manon huffed and looked away from him stubbornly. "That's such an Alain/thing to do." She muttered. Stabbing one of the waffles with her fork, she turned her head back to him and smirked. "Everyone has their food weaknesses, Alain. What about you and your coffee addiction?" She tore a piece of her waffle away with the fork and pointed it right at the mug in his hand, syrup dripping steadily onto the floor.

"Don't bring my coffee into this!"

The two glared at each other for a few moments longer, before a smile cracked across Manon's face and she burst out into a fit of laughter. Alain couldn't keep his own frown much longer as he watched his soon-to-be-wife struggling to contain herself.

Once they had settled down, Manon hurriedly stuffed the waffles in her mouth as Alain finished his coffee and prepared some toast for himself. They finished their breakfasts in silence and Manon thanked Alain for the food once the dishes were in the sink.

"You sure you don't want me to help?" Manon mumbled, watching as Alain dropped one last fork into the sink full of hot water and soap. "I could do the drying while your washing them?"

Alain paused. "Well ... It's not that I don't appreciate the offer ..." He quickly grabbed the cloth from below the sink. "But last time you tried to help with the dishes you dropped at least 3 of them."

"Fine . . ." Manon grumbled. She swallowed her irritation, knowing that there was no point in arguing with Alain. He wasn't exactly wrong ... "I think I'm going to go get dressed. Then maybe Max and I can do some more work, if he's up for it."

"Are things going alright with your projects?" Alain inquired, not removing his eyes from the knife in his hands.

"Well . . . We've run into a few bumps, but nothing serious. We're making good progress. It's harder now though ... I can't exactly be around if there's something we need his Gardevoir for."

"But that's not something to blame yourself for. You're still doing everything you can to help-" Manon pressed her hand gently to Alain's back, silencing him before he could continue. He swallowed the rest of his words and sighed, letting his focus fall back towards his chore.

"It's okay, Alain. I know that now." Manon smiled at him before patting him on the shoulder and heading out of the kitchen. The lab was quiet that morning, but Manon could hear Sophie and Sycamore chatting in one of the sitting rooms. They were probably sharing their morning teas, which had turned into a kind of routine of their own.

It didn't take long for Manon to make her way up the stairs. With everyone being downstairs, the upper floor was almost entirely silent. The lights were off, but the morning sun pouring through the window made it hardly matter at all.

Manon gently pushed open the door to the room she shared with Alain, but she froze as soon as she saw what was waiting for her. A Charmeleon was resting on the bed. Its tail flicked up and down impatiently, like a clock ticking through the seconds. The flame at the tip flared when it locked its eyes on her. The lizard rose slowly, silver eyes narrowed and sharp. Its hips rocked as it raised its head, an angry hiss leaking from its jaws.

"A-Alex . . ." Manon stammered, her hands raising just slightly as she froze in the doorway. She hadn't been on the best terms with the Charmeleon ... They had used to get along but then ... She shoved the thoughts aside as fast as they had come. "I'm sorry, Alex. I didn't mean to disturb you."

The Charmeleon, Alex, snorted with a toss of his head. He grazed a talon slowly across the blanket. Manon's eyes were glued to the claw, watching it creep forward, and she couldn't help but yelp when Alex suddenly snapped his arm up and tore the blanket with a roar.

"Alex, I'm sorry! I know I can't fix things!" Manon burst out, trying to keep her voice from cracking. Her limbs were shaking but she didn't know if it was from fear or frustration. "I don't want us to fight ... I hate this, Alex! We were friends before! I miss you!"

Alex growled as he slid off the bed, his movements seamless. He watched her, not moving once they were on even ground. He waited, then took a single step towards her. Manon could feel the heat from his burning tail from where she stood, but she didn't back away. Her hands went back to her sides and she curled her fingers into fists.

"I know I don't have the right to ask ... I just ..." Her vision blurred as tears formed in her eyes. Not bothering to wipe them away, she forced herself to continue. "Please forgive me ... I never wanted any of it to happen ..." She took a cautious step forward and the heaviness in her heart lifted slightly when Alex didn't back away. "I blame myself every single day. I know that you blame me too, but please, I'm begging you Alex, please forgive me!"

Alex howled and stormed towards her, nothing short of fury consuming his face. Manon didn't have time to move. She was on the floor in seconds and Alex had his claws buried into the skin of her arms. Drool seeped from his mouth, dripping onto her pajama shirt as she lay frozen beneath him. Fear rushed through her, she could barely bring herself to move as Alex raised one of his arms above her. She rolled just as it came crashing down. The floor quaked at the impact and Manon shoved Alex off of her with her feet before she scrambled into the hall.

I need to get to the others!

The stairs were in sight when she felt a stab of pain in her leg. The floor hit her hard in the chest when she dropped. She twisted onto her back quickly and caught sight of Alex just as he crawled on top of her. Her leg was pulsing with a hot pain, and she didn't need to look to know that Alex had caught it with his claws.

"Alex, I'm sorry!" Manon cried out as he closed the distance between their faces. His snout was so close that she could feel the burning heat from his nostrils. "I'm sorry ..." She closed her eyes, a small whimper escaping from her lips.

She couldn't bring herself to look at him, not until a strange wave of boiling energy washed over her body. Struggling to open her eyes, she saw what was happening and choked out a scream. Fire was forming along Alex's fangs, and his target was her.

"A-Alex, what are you doing?" Manon tried to crawl back on the palms of her hands, but the Chameleon slammed his claws down on her shoulder, shoving her right back against the floor. Her head hit the ground with a hard thud. She could hardly keep her eyes open against the blaze as Alex shot forward. His teeth dug right into her side and scorched her flesh instantly from the inside out. Manon shrieked and her body instantly writhed under the Pokemon holding her down. Tears streamed from her face as she wailed, her voice growing louder and louder until she was sure all of Lumiose could hear her pain.

"MANON?!

A loud voice filled her ears, but it was muffled against the agony that seemed to be drowning her. Her vision was blurred, but she could see Alex throwing his head from side to side, as if he was trying to tear her apart. More figures filled her vision, pulling the dragon off of her. She could hardly watch as Alex turned on whoever had removed him from her. Darkness was closing in on her and she couldn't tell if she was still screaming.

There was a flash of red, followed by a strange silence.

"Manon, can you hear me? Open your eyes!"

Manon couldn't tell who was speaking, couldn't tell if the voices were real, or if she had her eyes open or not. All she knew was that the only thing she could feel was a terrible, sizzling pain that touched everywhere from her head to her toes. She could barely breathe. Her body felt as though it was strangling her from the inside.

"She's bleeding really badly! What do I do?!"

"Alain, I'm calling an ambulance. Stay with her!"

That voice had been deeper ... Was it Sycamore? That would make sense ... Sycamore and Alain had heard her and had saved her.

I want to see Alain ...

She forced her eyes open, just enough to make out the blurry silhouette above her. She could feel Alain's gentle arms around her, feel how she was lifted from the ground and into his lap.

"Manon, I'm sorry. I'm sorry! He was supposed to be outside. I shouldn't have let him out without watching him." Alain whispered, pulling her closer to him. He felt so warm, but it was completely unlike Alex's searing fire. Strength dissolving, Manon's eyes slid closed and she let herself sink into an uneasy sleep.

The pain seemed to follow her even there ...

Everything was quiet aside from a strange, dull thrumming sound. Manon was aware of a dull pain in her side. She tried to blink, but a harsh white light attacked her eyes the moment she opened them, making her wince. Once her vision had adjusted, she realized that she was resting in a hospital bed. The walls were white, and so were the floor tiles, and the hanging lights on the ceilings ... Everything was white and it made her eyes sting.

Manon's head felt strangely heavy, like she couldn't think straight. Her body felt stiff and sore all over, tingles of pain running across her skin whenever she breathed in. She turned slightly and froze. Alain had his head resting on the side of her bed, his eyes closed and his breaths almost silent. Not thinking for a moment, Manon weakly reached out to him with her hand, the slight strain instantly sending a scathing pain through her side. Her entire body tensed and she swallowed a moan.

Alain must have felt her move. She watched as he lifted his head and looked her in the eyes. His gaze wandered to the hand she had tried to hold out to him, and he wrapped it gently in his own fingers as if it would break apart. They were silent for a long while. Neither knew what to say or where to even start ...

"How are you feeling? Are you okay?" Alain bit his lip and pushed his chair closer to the front of the bed so that she wouldn't need to raise her voice louder than she had to. "The doctors have already given you some painkillers but if you're still hurting I can see if they'll get you more."

Manon struggled to put together his words for a moment, but when she managed she came to a very immediate conclusion. "No more painkillers ..." Her head felt like a drifting cloud and she didn't like it. She needed to think, especially after what had happened. "It's my fault. He hates me so much, and I know it's my fault."

"Manon, what are you even saying-"

"Alex had the right to do what he did. I hurt him so badly, Alain. Everything that he's gone through, its been because of me." Her words were slow and messy as she tried to speak. She would have been more upset if it wasn't for the fact that she knew she'd still be in agony without the drugs.

"It's not your fault." Alain muttered, his shoulders tense. He lifted one of his hands away from hers and rested it against her head. Her eyes closed and a small, content sigh escaped her lips as he ran his hand through her hair. "I thought Alex was the only one that still needed to understand that."

Manon shook her head tiredly. She tried to lift herself into a sitting position but Alain stopped her before she had barely moved at all. He gently pushed on her shoulder and she relaxed against the bed again. The pain in her side burned in warning, telling her that she was lucky Alain had kept her from moving more than she had.

"The doctor said that you should move as little as possible, or the wound won't heal as quickly." He tore his eyes away from hers, looking to the small window behind him. "They said it will leave a pretty big scar ..."

"I really don't need more of those, do I?" Manon joked flatly. She regretted it when she noticed the small shivers running across Alain's arms. "Everything is fine, Alain. I'm okay ..."

Alain shook his head vigorously. "Nothing is okay! I haven't been able to protect you from anything!" He took her arm in his hand and ran his thumb cross the twisting white scars. "None of this should have happened. I couldn't protect you then, and I can't even seem to protect you now."

"But you did protect me!" Manon raised her voice slightly, ignoring the flare of pain that her body reprimanded her with.

"You were bleeding out on the lab floor because of MY Pokemon!" Alain barked back, hardly listening to her.

Manon took a deep breath and set her hand on Alain's shoulder to try to calm him. "Maybe, but you still saved my life. Not just today either. You saved me back in the d-desert ..." She stammered, knowing neither of them liked to mention that place. "I'd be dead if it wasn't for you."

Shifting in the bed to make room beside her, Manon patted the new empty space. Alain didn't hesitate before he crawled under the covers beside her, careful not to touch her. "I worry about you so much ... You have no idea how terrified I was when I heard you scream."

Alain's icy eyes wavered as tears brimmed at their edges. Manon's own gaze widened at the realization and she smiled softly at him, moving her head so that it rested against his chest. They didn't speak after that. The minutes passed by, both of them simply enjoying the warmth and presence of each other.

I love you, Alain ...