• Hollis sighed, it was mating season again...he, like all other members of his and other species, should enjoy this time of the year...it was a chance to find true love, a chance to finally be happy...it never was for him though...

    Each year, his trainer took him out to be with his species in order to try to find a mate...several Gallade were always interested in him, he was a prized show pokemon...he was bred for beauty and grace, he had won so many contests it was hard for anyone not to know who he was...they all knew about his pedigree, his beauty, and his reputation..but none of them seemed to know one important detail...

    ...none of them knew that he himself was a male...

    Males flocked around him each year, all hoping that they'd get to have a chance to be his mate...they all made incredible declarations of their love for him, but, once he told them he was a male, they all left him...in order to lessen the heartache, both he and his trainer allow only one Gallade to propose to him a year, which made the fight to get to him all the more brutal...

    Silently, he stood by, watching the Galade fight for their chance to propose...he wished he didn't have to go through this, he'd much rather stay home with his trainer than go through the rejection once more...but nature had it's own plans, he couldn't escape this no matter how hard he tried.

    Finally, a Gallade broke through the fighting crowd. He was oddly colored, almost as if he was permanently standing in the shade, and the red part of his chest caught the light in such an unusual way...almost as if it was made of organic crystal.

    Hollis' heart skipped a beat, this Gallade was incredibly attractive...though, he knew his approach would only lead to one more rejection...

    The dark-colored Gallade stopped in front of Hollis and slid his foot back in a graceful, gentlemanly bow, the male's half of the proposal ritual. "You really are as beautiful as they say..." he said, "...no...you're far more beautiful than that...words do you no justice..."

    Despite the fact that he had heard something much like this many times before, his heart beat faster...yet he could already feel the heartache coming on...waiting for the Gallade to rise so he could tell him the 'bad news', hollis said nothing as he stood there.

    The Gallade did not rise though...no, he did something that no other had did before, he pulled his hand from behind his back and produced a small, egg-shaped crystal, "...The minute i heard you were coming to this clearing, I began searching for something that I might give you to match you're beauty..." he never looked up as he spoke, "...though, now that i've finally laid my eyes upon you, I see that finding something to compare to you is an impossibility..." he sighed, "...though, I hope you can accept my small token of admiration..." finally, he looked up at Hollis with a gentle smile, "...along with my proposal to you..."

    Hollis' eyes widened as they quickly began to fill with tears, his whole body already ached with the pain of rejection, "...I..." even though his whole being screamed 'you're going to get hurt!', he reached out and slowly took the crystal, pulling it close to his chest, "...I don't deserve this...I don't deserve any of this..." his voice was soft and gentle, feminine and passive, like the gentle ringing of a bell.

    Slowly, he handed the stone back to his suitor, "...here...take this back now...so you won't have to go through the trouble when you leave me..." he closed his eyes, letting tears run freely down his face, "...I-I know you won't want me once i tell you the truth..." His eyes trailed back to the stone the Gallade had given him, "...I was bred for beauty and grace, but I have never once mated...No male has ever wanted to stay with me..." he took in a shaky breath, "...as I am a male myself..."

    His face burned red with embarrassment and he looked away in shame, "...You can go now...I know you don't want to be in my presence any longer..." He couldn't bring himself to move, he didn't want to stay and watch the other male leave, but his body wouldn't cooperate with his mind. Unable to move, he merely closed his eyes, again letting the tears flow freely, "...just go..."

    Kael, the dark-colored male Gallade, rose from his bow and reached out for the crystal that was being handed back to him. Instead of taking it, he took Hollis' hands in his own, "Why would i no longer want to be in your presense?...You're incredibly beautiful, you have the voice as smooth as the crystal you now hold..." he chuckled, "and yet the gift i've given you still doesn't compare..." he brought both Hollis' hand up and kissed them gently, "...the fact that you are a male means nothing to me...You deserve someone just as any other does...i just hope that you will still accept what i have given you, to remind you of how others see you...even if you don't accept me."

    Hollis just stared at him with wide eyes. No one had ever still accepted him after they found out he was indeed male. Slowly a smile hame to his face before he moved to hold the crystal to his chest and he finally took the female's verison of the proposal, but it wasn't until after he had rose that he spoke again. "I accept. Thank you..." His eyes still had tears in them, but by this time they were small, cute, tears of an overjoyed heart. Quickly afterwards Hollis moved forward and wrapped his arms around Kael. "Thank you so much for not leaving me!"