Chapter Text
Till had assumed that Ivan would be the one catching the Fennekin for himself. He thought wrong. Once the two men had successfully climbed up the scaffolding that was strategically placed all around Lumiose by Racine Construction and they had entered the Wild Zone, instead of going towards where they knew the Fennekin would be found, Ivan, of course, got distracted by the Swablu and Altaria.
"Ivan, you already have Kiko." Till pointed out, referring to the Altaria that Ivan had as part of his 6 Pokémon team.
"Can't I give these one attention too?" Ivan cooed, crouching down so that he was level with the Swablu in front of him, and it chirped happily. "Hey little buddy."
"We're here to catch a Fennekin, asshole." Till said affectionately, holding out the Love Ball that Ivan decided he wanted to catch the fox in. He really liked the fox Pokémon. "You want to use the Love Ball on it, no?"
Ivan hummed noncommittally as he pet the cloudy wings of the Swablu in front of him, then let his Kiko out of his ball so that he could hang out around it's kind. "Yeah, yeah. But these Swablu need attention too, no?"
"I know this day is about you, but I don't want to be here forever, because I have other plans that you don't have to say yes to, but that can only be done around a certain time." Till pointed out, and promptly began climbing up the ladder to the roof where a small pack of Fennekin could be found. He had to be careful, or they would run away.
"Can you catch it for me, darling?" Ivan called up to Till, and the silver haired man sighed dramatically.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll catch it for you." Till huffed, but crouched behind the chimney of the building nonetheless. Fennekin were fickle creatures—one of the more rare Pokémon found around Lumiose.
There were none currently, but Till would just wait patiently for one of them to emerge from some of the bushes that had just been recently installed on that rooftop, which made it easier for Fennekin to live.
In the meantime, Till gestured for his Lucario to keep watch for a Fennekin, and he just sat and watched as his husband played with the Pokémon below.
"Having fun?" he called down, watching as Ivan fed them some berries from his satchel. Till had never really cared for berries, but had never really had a need to collect them because Ivan always had an assortment of them on hand.
His husband grinned up at him, the most carefree look on his face as cloudy birds surrounded him and his Altaria, Kiko, like they were their parents. It was an adorable sight. Till tapped the back of his satchel, and his Rotom Phone came out to snap a photo of his husband.
"Did you really have to take a photo without me knowing? You probably didn't capture my good side." Ivan huffed, flopping back onto the roof, making the Swablu flutter upwards, only to land on his lying down body seconds later.
Till snorted a laugh. "Obviously, you're the one who makes me make the photobooks for us, what do you think we need for those, dumbass?"
Ivan stared blankly up at Till for a moment, and then giggled. "Right! Of course! That makes so much more sense, heh… "
Suddenly, Till felt an urgent tap on his shoulder. Lucario had spotted a Fennekin. Till put a finger to his lips, signalling to Ivan that he had to be quiet.
Till gestured for his Lucario to use her signature move, Aura Sphere, so that it wouldn't be a contact move, and it would catch the Fennekin off-guard.
A ball of light swelled in Lucario's hands, and she unleashed the move onto the fox, immediately knocking it out. Wasting no time, Till stood up and threw the Love Ball at it—a perfect throw—and impatiently waited for it to catch.
"Did you get it?" Ivan asked, noticing the lack of quietness from Till.
"Almost." Till replied, not taking his eyes off of the ball, which was still shaking, as if determining whether or not it wanted Ivan to have the Fennekin.
Eventually, it stopped shaking, and buzzed softly, signalling that it had been caught.
"Got it!" Till cheered, walking over to pick up the Pokéball. He then threw it down to his husband, who caught it and giggled excitedly, waving the Swablu off of him so he could release the Fennekin and look at it.
"Okay Fennekin, c'mon out!" he chirped, and let out a soft aww when the fox emerged from its pink ball. "Aren't you adorable. Yes you are…"
Till jumped down from the higher up roof, trusting his phone to catch him as he landed, and his Lucario followed.
"He is pretty cute." Till remarked, ruffling the fox's fur. "See Fennekin? This is your actual trainer. Not me."
The fox tilted it's head, but leaped into Ivan's lap anyway. Pokémon just really, really loved Ivan, it seemed. Which was okay. Till didn't mind that.
"He already really likes you." Till said, sitting down next to his husband. "You happy?"
"Of course. I'm married to you, you got me my dream ball, and you caught me a Pokémon I've been struggling to catch. And, I get to be with you. Forever." Ivan nuzzled Till's shoulder. "I'm such a lucky man."
Till thought the opposite. He was the lucky man to have gotten Ivan to love him all of those years ago.
And he would never want anyone else.
Ivan was it.
"…so. About those other things… I have a reservation at Café Soleil for lunch." Till said sheepishly. "Sorry."
Ivan shook his head fervently. "No! That's amazing! It'll be a great opportunity for me and Fennekin to bond!"
That was a good point. Cafés in Lumiose had amazing food for both Pokémon and trainers, and it often was a way that trainers bonded with their Pokémon, especially if it was like an Eevee, some of who's evolutions require friendship.
"Shall we go?" Till said, returning his Lucario to its ball and standing up to offer a hand to Ivan. As they left the Wild Zone, Ivan waved to the Swablus, who cooed happily, fluttering their cloudy wings, and then they were off.
It was a lovely Valentine's Day, and birthday, indeed.