Chapter Text
Three and a half years into the aftermath, two and a half of those spent tucked away in White Forest with Hilbert, N has come to learn that the phrase "don't leave" is synonymous with more than he initially understood.
On paper, it seems like a command. "Don't leave", "stay here", if it were someone else maybe he'd read it as such. But this is Hilbert, and himself, and in his experience, it's a plea.
"Don't leave." Hilbert only voices this when he's tired, defeated, overwhelmed, when the cumulative wear he's taken to his physical and mental state over the years catches up to him. N knows he hates to say it, but he also knows that after a certain point even Hilbert will allow himself a selfish request, and N is happy to oblige. Don't run away from me again, please, don't think you're alone.
"Don't leave," N finds himself parroting when he's scared. Don't disappear again. Stay here and tangible. I want to be with you. Don't die. Three and a half years ago, N had carried Hilbert's thin and ragged body out of Alola, long after he'd learned an apparent half-truth. Hilbert had died before, so Hilbert understands, and so Hilbert holds him tighter.
Words can only convey so much, though, and N fears that neither of them will ever be fully convinced if the sentiment is left at just that.
So, he suggests making the promise more tangible.
He has Hilbert sat on the Feelings Couch (title courtesy of Hilbert after one too many sessions of emotionally charged discussion and catharsis), although he expects this conversation to be a short and simple one.
Instead, Hilbert looks at him like a Deerling caught in headlights. "... Rings?"
"Is that not good?" Hilbert's tone would imply not. N mentally chastises himself- of course, there's many things he still doesn't know about societal norms, of course he'd overstep some unknown boundary.
"No- that's- that's, hold on. N, are you proposing to me?"
Oh. To be frank, N hadn't thought past the purchase and exchange of the rings. The thought of marriage hadn't crossed his mind. But, that's what the process would entail, wouldn't it? "I suppose so?"
Hilbert keeps staring. Eventually, his skin turns a few shades redder and he looks away. "That's. I think that one's for exclusively romantic couples, N."
Now it's N's turn to be dumbfounded. Human relationships were not his forte, yes, but he'd been so certain that... well, what he and Hilbert had couldn't exactly be classified as platonic. "Are we not... haven't we engaged in multiple romantic gestures and activities?"
"I mean," Hilbert starts, but his voice dies off and his point remains unfinished, so N continues.
"You've kissed me, on the mouth. Several times. You just did it again, not even three hours ago. Is that not implicative of a romantic relationship?"
Hilbert pulls his hat over his face.
"We've-"
"Okay! Okay, I get it."
"Hilbert," N feels woefully lost, but he wants to understand. "Have I misread our dynamic...?"
"No, I- ugh," he can practically hear the gears in his head turning. He waits in anxious silence before Hilbert begins again. "It's just that-" Hilbert tilts his hat back up, meeting N's eyes again. "We never... It's complicated. We're complicated."
"Complicated?"
"Yes! Like," he fidgets again. "We're all out of order! We never even did the whole dating thing- we skipped right past that, I'm pretty sure. Have we ever called each other 'boyfriend'?"
"Well. No."
"Right, that's too... too normal. I guess," Hilbert huffs. "What I'm saying- I don't know how to define us, is what I'm saying. It all just sounds too simple for. Whatever this is." True; to N's knowledge, most couples weren't tied together with such obvious strings of fate (as their former titles of the Heroes of Truth and Ideals suggested, the two of them seemed to be literal counterparts, though he still didn't know if he was deserving to compare himself to Hilbert).
Hilbert continues more quietly, more embarrassed: "I didn't know what you thought the nature of our relationship was, and I didn't want to assume for you, either."
"I've told you I love you, haven't I?" N replies (Hilbert blushes and hides under the brim of his hat again- that phrase seems to be a weak point for him, N's noticed, and it's awfully endearing). "I understand what you mean, though. I've yet to find an adequate descriptor, really."
The other nods slowly. Thinking again.
"Just..."
A long stretch of silence.
"I'm not... opposed to your idea," Hilbert finally adds. "Just give me a little bit, okay?"
N obliges.
A week later, Hilbert comes back to him, and two matching gold bands find their way onto his and N's hands.
Partners, they eventually agree, is most accurate.