Chapter Text
Johannes glanced down at the tiny box in his hand and let out a long sigh. A hand clapped him on the back and knocked the wind out of him. "Alright there, Talburn?" it asked gruffly.
With a sigh, Johannes pocketed the box and nodded. "Yeah. Just a bit nervous. Never done this before," he mumbled. "You got any advice, Dietrich?"
The man responded with a booming laugh and clapped him on the back again. "What are you, thick? It's not behavioral sciences."
With a roll of the eyes and a grin in spite of himself, Johannes shook his head. "It kind of is, if you think about it. This is almost trailblazing. Almost."
"Hah! Trailblazing! Johannes, please, you've seen the papers, the engravings, the books - all of it! We're making tracks on some overgrown footpath, not punching deep into the Johtoan wilderness. Look at you, you're the portrait of normalcy as far as this is concerned," replied Dietrich, a wide grin splitting his mustachioed face.
"Portrait of normalcy? What?" asked Johannes.
"A man in his late twenties, early thirties getting shacked up to his doting and loving gardevoir? Come on now, Johannes, you're more common than a magikarp in Kanto waters! How is the missus anyway?"
"She's doing fine," began Johannes. He paused. "Wait, did you say I'm common?"
Dietrich clapped him once more on the back and walked away, his confirmations a mishmash of words that wrapped around his hearty guffaws and gasps for breath. Johannes watched his retreating back and traced around the shape the box made in his pocket. He frowned.
Viola stared at her plate of salad with vague disinterest plastered on her face. Johannes frowned and tapped the small box he had hidden away in his pocket. So much for taking her to dessert and… She's just looked so glum the past few days. What's eating her? He lifted a piece of steak to his mouth and then set it down with a sigh. "Viola? What's the matter? Are you feeling alright?" he asked. He reached cross the table and placed his hand over hers.
The gardevoir seemed to snap out of a trance, and she glanced up at Johannes with a faraway look in her eyes. "Johannes…" She squeezed his hand and then made for the ball that hung from her side. She unhooked it and laid it down on the table before them, placing a single digit on top of it, rocking it back and forth. "What does this mean? What does having this really say?" Her hand began to glow as she pulled it away from the ball, and a second later a soft pink aura engulfed the device. It floated up and began to circle the two in a wide orbit.
Johannes opened his mouth but Viola cut him off. "Not enough." The tones in his head were high and clear, ringing in his skull like a hundred bells. "It is a nod to independence. But it does not say any more. A single message, clear as day. What about the other messages, Johannes?"
The researcher stared down at his plate of steak salad and frowned. He cleared his throat and rose, the sound of his chair scraping across the floor echoing in the dining room. "Let's go for a walk."
Viola cocked her head. "What? Johannes, were you not listening?" A soft cascade of reds fell across the tapestry in his head.
"Please, just - just trust me. Let's go for a walk." The gardevoir frowned and let her pokeball fall to the ground with a clatter.
"Fine." She rose from her chair and made her way to the front door and outside without a word. Johannes shook his head, then knelt down to pick up her pokeball. He rolled it over in his hands several times and then smiled. He fished around in his pocket for the box, and then made his way outside to the path that led up to his home.
He strode up behind Viola and said, "There's a lake nearby. Let's head that way." He took her by the hand and pulled her towards a footpath that led into a forest. The soft rustle of leaves as they made their way up the path carried into the otherwise silent air.
"Johannes? Where exactly are we headed?" she asked. Her question was answered with a swift smile and a pointed finger, drawing her eyes beyond the trees to the sparkling waters of a small lake. Viola fell silent and continued to walk alongside him, though her hand clenched his more tightly.
They came to stop at the water's edge, the soft orange sparkles of the setting sun bouncing off the glassy surface and crashing against the waves of blue and pink washing over the tapestry in his mind. Johannes released her hand and pulled her pokeball from his belt. "Before you ask, I just thought this would be more, uh, romantic."
Viola cocked her head. "Romantic?" she asked.
"Look, you were talking about symbolism and stuff at dinner and what this means," he explained, shaking the ball once at her for emphasis. "I think you're right. It really only does mean so much, but it still says a lot. It says an awful lot about how you see yourself, and how I see you, and about freedom and-" He trailed off and rolled the ball over in his hands nervously.
"You've looked so glum the last few days. I thought maybe putting this off would have been a better idea, but, somehow, I think you might have gone and accidentally been getting at something I was already planning." He rolled the ball in his hand with increasing speed, his nerves getting the better of him. "That's fine, I think. You should just know, I think this ball is important. I think it means an awful lot, but, well, if you were hoping for more…" He trailed off again and shook his head. "I'm awful at this. Here, take it, and open it up. That'll say more than anything else that'll come out of my mouth." He held her ball out towards her.
Viola took the device from him and depressed the button for several seconds. With a loud beep, the ball opened for maintenance, revealing a shining golden ring. She fumbled the ball in her hands several times before catching a firm grip on it, and with a trembling hand, removed the ring from the ball and let the device fall to the grass with a soft thump. "J-Johannes? I-is this…?"
Johannes pulled the ring from her grasp and slipped it on her finger. "Getting it sized was a little difficult, but, it looks like it fits. I was worried it wasn't going-" The gardevoir launched herself at her partner, and Johannes felt wet patches begin to spread on his shirt, and chuckled in spite of himself. "Come on, don't hide your face away in my chest." He pulled her away and lifted her chin. Tears streamed down her face, leaving haphazard trails in their wake.
"What do you think? This the kind of message you wanted to send?" He kissed her forehead. "Will you marry me?"
She threw her arms around his neck and cried out in joy, and a rush of pinks filled his head to the brim. "Yes."
Johannes flipped through a catalog of catering services with a frown on his face. A pencil dangled precariously from his mouth as he read through their menu. "Mm… probably a pass on this one…" He jumped in his seat as his phone began to ring. He put the phone to his ear and said, "Johannes Talburn speaking."
"Jo! It's Eric. Just got your voicemail. I'll probably be there, which I know, sucks 'cos that's not an RSVP but-" There was a pause and then Eric's voiced dropped several levels. "Talia's on the fucking warpath man. She's somehow gotten wind about your marriage and it's like you're here again. She's complained out loud in my office so many times about how you got off easy and- well, anyway. You don't need this shit. Not when you're about to tie the knot. Anyway, look, I'll try my best to be there, okay? But if I don't show up, no hard feelings yeah?"
Johannes nodded. "Of course, Eric. I get it. No worries if you can't make it. I'll send you a video instead."
With a loud laugh, the man replied, "No, no. Video fucking evidence will make Talia snap. I'll just take a hard pass on it." A pause. "Got the honeymoon planned out?"
Johannes nodded again. "Yeah. I do." He shifted a set of brochures and pamphlets he had on the table in front of him around, and revealed a map of the so-called City of Lights. "Kalos."