Chapter Text
It was early afternoon when you walked through the gate into Jubilife Village. It had been quite a day surveying the Crimson Mirelands since dawn, and you were exhausted. You planned on going straight to your quarters to wash up and maybe nap before dinner. As you began to trudge back, a familiar coat caught your eye when you approached the photography studio. You paused in your tracks upon seeing your beloved warden, Ingo, admiring the frames outside. The Beautiflies in your stomach fluttered to life, and you found yourself sneaking towards the unsuspecting man.
“Boo!” you exclaimed the moment you wrapped your arms around his waist. He stiffened at first, but then relaxed when he recognized your voice and your embrace. Your name fell out of his mouth as an amused sigh as he ruffled your hair.
“Thinking about getting some glamor shots, Ingo?” you asked when you let him go.
A soft chuckle came from him. “I was just thinking that getting a photo made wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”
“I’ve had mine taken before here,” you told him. “They come out really nice.”
“I’m certain they do with a subject as photogenic as yourself,” he teased.
You gave him a gentle shove at this. When you first met him, you had no idea Ingo would be as flirty as he was with you. He never lacked praise when you were around.
“Are you wanting to get one with a Pokémon of yours?”
Ingo stroked his chin, then shook his head.
“One of yourself?”
“May I say your timing was impeccable?” he asked. “I was actually wondering if I could convince you to do me the honor of joining me.”
“Me?” A furious blush spread across your face.
“Yes. I think I’d like to have a photograph of us together, if you don’t mind. The studio is empty. We could get one taken right now.”
“Oh, looking like this?” you joked. “I just got back from the field.”
“It doesn’t appear that you even broke a sweat out there. You look as lovely as ever,” he complimented, causing your face to burn hotter. It was impossible to tell him no when he heaped on the sweet talk like that.
“Fine. On one condition,” you said.
With a tilt of his head, he asked, “What might that condition be?”
“I’d like to have one of both of us for myself as well.”
It’d be nice to have a picture of him to keep close when the two of you were apart, even if those days were becoming rarer and rarer.
Ingo nodded. “I’m certain that can be arranged. If there’s an extra charge, I’d gladly pay it as my thanks to you.”
“Oh… You don’t have to do that… I can help out.”
“Please, I insist. Consider it a gift.”
“Giving gifts now, Ingo?” you teased. “Y’know, if you’re not careful, people may suspect you’re…” You paused to motion him closer. When he brought his ear to you, you whispered. “… In love with me.”
The stern look he gave you wasn’t nearly as intimidating when his cheeks were so rosy.
“C’mon, lover boy,” you said, grabbing his hand. “Let’s get inside.”
Much later on, you had accompanied Ingo on the trip back to where he stayed, once again unable to convince yourself to stay in Jubilife in favor of being with him. You arrived with him at the Clamberclaw Cliffs right as evening was approaching. Usually, it was well after dark when you reached where he stayed. He had told you before that the sunset over Mount Coronet was breathtaking, so you asked him if the two of you could witness it together now that you were here early enough. It took no convincing for him to comply.
While seated on a cliff together, waiting for the sun to sink lower in the sky, he held the photograph that the two of you had got made earlier and admired it. It was a very nice shot. Ingo looked genuinely happy. He was even smiling for it! Though subtle, that man had the most beautiful, heart-warming smile, and now you had it on film to cherish forever.
“You know, that phrase makes so much sense now,” mused Ingo with his eyes still glued to the photograph.
“What phrase is that?” you asked.
“That a picture is worth a thousand words… Just looking at this tells a better story than I could even begin to describe.”
You found yourself giggling at this. Sometimes he said the cutest things.
“Y’know, you’re absolutely right!” you agreed. “Like just one look at this and you know it’s a love story, no explanation needed.”
Ingo shook his head, but chuckled along with you.
“I’m surprised these developed as quickly as they did,” he added. “I’m not sure. For some reason, I was under the impression these things would take time.”
“Developing photos…” you said with a soft laugh. “Hey, do you remember being able to take photos in an instant?”
Ingo’s brows knit. He folded the picture and slid it into his pocket. “Vaguely, now that you mention it.”
“Our phones… They had cameras and we could take pictures anywhere and share them with anyone,” you reminded him. “I miss it, to be honest. Like, I could take a picture of this view and always have this moment to think back on.”
He slowly nodded. “I’d certainly appreciate having that option at my fingertips these days. There is much I’d like to save to think back on.”
You hummed in agreement. If your Arcphone took pictures, you were certain your internal memory would have been used up with shots of you and Ingo together. If you stayed in Hisui, you wondered if there’d ever be a point where getting casual pictures would be an option. You wish you had paid more attention during history lessons.
“It’s funny, isn’t it?” you continued after a moment. Ingo tilted his head to you. “Reminiscing about the future as if it were the good old days?”
“I… can see the irony in it, I suppose.”
You sighed as you leaned against him.
“There’s so much I miss, Ingo,” you confessed. “It’s crazy what you find yourself missing. Sometimes, I think I’m fine. Others, I swear I’d give everything I have to my name up just to have a slice of pizza and a cold bottle of Soda Pop again...”
Instead of laughing along with you, his face contorted and he dropped it to his hands. The silence from him got your attention. You lifted your head and tore your eyes away from the sunset to catch him as his shoulders began to tremble.
“O-Oh! No, no… I-I didn’t mean…” you stammered upon noticing you had made him cry. Quickly, you took him into your arms. You held his head against your chest and rubbed his back. “I’m so sorry. So, so sorry, Ingo. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Your heart was breaking. Though he always appeared so composed, there were frequent hints that he was taking his amnesia and being in Hisui harder than he wanted to let on. This was just the first time he’d ever cried in front of you. Usually, you were reserved when talking about things of this nature around him, but you had gotten so comfortable that you hadn’t processed what you were telling him until it was too late. The way he wept had you believing this sorrow had been mounting for quite some time, and you just happened to say one silly thing that was the tipping point. You wondered if he had ever given himself a chance to cry at all, or if this was the product of what happens when you internalize it for who knows how long.
“Shh… It’s okay. It’s okay, Ingo,” you whispered. “You can let it out. I’m here for you.”
Instead of comforting him, you only seemed to make it worse. His tears soaked through your top. You felt his fingers dig into your back, gripping you tight as he broke down against you. You squeezed him and pressed your lips behind his ear. He mumbled something, and it took you a few moments to process his words.
“I don’t want to forget you, too.”
The color drained from your face. His words made you choke up yourself. Somehow, it never occurred to you that he was afraid of his memory loss including you. Perhaps it never really sunk in that you meant as much to him as he meant to you. His eagerness to get pictures taken suddenly made that much more sense. At the time, you thought he was only flirting. That photograph was worth more than a thousand words to him; it was his way of preserving your entire relationship. This realization made you feel so helpless in this situation. There was nothing you could say to assure him it wouldn’t happen, as much as you wished you could promise him that.
“Forgive me,” he said, wiping his cheeks and pulling himself upright when his weeping subsided.
“You don’t have to apologize to me… I’m sorry to upset you in the first place. I… I wasn’t thinking.”
“No, no. Please, don’t blame yourself for my… episode.” He reached up to stroke away the tears that were staining your own cheeks. Though his eyes were full of sorrow, he still looked at you with pure adoration. “I’m not ignorant to the fact you have struggles of your own. It’s unfair for you to have to bottle them up as you do for my sake. I do like hearing what you have to say, and what you remember. I enjoy when you tell me these things… It helps me feel more connected to what I had lost.”
Ingo stared off into the distance for a moment, shaking his head ever so slightly. After swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, he allowed himself to glance over to you. He whispered your name, and you whispered his back. He held out his hand for you, and you accepted.
“I… I’ll confess… I truly love you. Though, that’s hardly a secret at this point.”
The slight laugh after he said this brought a laugh from you too. No, if that was meant to be a secret, he had been terrible at hiding it.
“I don’t remember much of my life before, but I believe in my heart that you are the only one I’ve ever been in love with like this…” Fresh tears began to fall as the quivering of his voice increased. “And the mere thought of losing what we have to time… It frightens me.” He shook his head a bit as he spoke, and there was a frantic look in his eyes as they looked at you. “Often, I wake in the middle of the night, panicked at the thought that we may be torn away from one another. Those nights when you’re by my side are precious to me, yet bittersweet. I want to hold you and never, ever let you go. You mean so much to me. I don’t want to ever lose you- physically or mentally. I don’t want to lose your smile, or your laugh, or how happy… you’ve made me…”
His head fell to your chest again. He gripped your sleeves as he choked up once more. You laid your head on his shoulder, fighting off your own tears and failing.
If you were being honest, you didn’t believe you or Ingo were ever going to return to the world you knew. The rift had long since closed and both of you were still here. Who knew how many Pokémon were left to seek out, or if you’d even get sent back after completing that task? However, you found it didn’t bother you as much as it did originally. Of course, you missed your friends and family and Pokémon team; you missed modern luxuries and conveniences. It hurt somedays, but ultimately, you felt like you were living a healthier life now. You’d struggled with finding a purpose for a good portion of your life, and you had a difficult time seeing your own self-worth in comparison to those around you. In a world that was much slower, with much less exposure to things that were designed to hurt your confidence for profit, you found yourself able to heal. You’d accepted that Hisui was your home now, and with Ingo around, you were more than okay with it. Even if you found yourself exiled again, you’d find your home in Ingo’s arms. Where ever he was, you’d be content.
That said, you’d give it all up in an instant if you could keep Ingo happy. You’d sacrifice everything if you thought it would benefit him. If you had a wish, you’d send him home to his family and Pokémon with all his precious memories returned. If you had two, you’d follow him back. You wanted nothing more than for him to be able to keep that picture in his pocket, and you in his heart. In a perfect world, his memory of you would never fade because you’d always be by his side. You couldn’t promise him these things, but you hoped for his sake that the times the two of you shared wouldn’t be lost.
“Ingo,” you started when he had calmed down a bit. “I’m so sorry I don’t have the words to say to ease your pain.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” he said with a sniffle. He pulled you in and kissed your temple. “You ease my pain just by being with me.”
With your head against his chest and his arms around you, you closed your eyes. You let him hold you like that for longer than you realized. When you opened your eyes again, the sky had darkened.
“… I think we missed the sunset,” you said.
“I’m afraid so,” he replied. “If you don’t wish to turn in, perhaps… we can watch the stars?”
You blushed, but quickly nodded.
“Yes,” you said. “Yes, please. I’d love that…”
Ingo let you go to remove his coat and laid it out behind where you sat. Before you could ask why, he stated, “It’s better if you lay down to view them.”
“Will you lay with me?” you asked.
He gave you a nod. “I’d love nothing more.”
You laid down onto Ingo’s coat, and he laid at your side. Your hands linked, and the two of you stared straight up at the night sky as stars began to twinkle in it.
“I know it’s the same sky, but it seems so much bigger out here,” you mentioned after moments of silence had passed.
Ingo glanced over at you. “What do you mean?”
“I dunno,” you said. “I guess I was always used to so much more being in the way.”
“Ah… Yes, I know what you mean. I do recall cluttered skylines. Beautiful in their own right, but nothing compared to this.”
“Yeah…”
A chilly breeze came by, a true indicator than night had fallen in the Coronet Highlands. You inched closer to Ingo to share body heat. He must have read your mind, because he pulled you closer to hold you again. A dreamy sigh left your lips as you cozied against his chest.
“My dearest?” he whispered.
“Hm?”
He waited for you to look up at him before he continued.
“Thank you for making me feel like my time here isn’t for naught,” he said to you. “No matter what happens to us, at least we can enjoy what we have while we have it.”
His words made you emotional. You wanted to thank him in a way that words couldn’t. You lifted yourself up enough so you could reach his lips. Your fingertips combed through his sideburns and you took a moment to appreciate those bright eyes before you lowered your mouth to his. You kissed him as if it’d be the last time that you’d ever get the chance, and he kissed you back just as fervently.
Your futures may have been as uncertain as your purpose in this strange land, but there were two things you were more sure of than anything- you’d still love him whether centuries separated you or not, and he’d love you just as much. It didn’t matter if he remembered you or not, the love you shared was not something that would go away so easily.