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Kieran lightly tapped his foot to keep himself from pacing. He was teasing the lock of hair that would otherwise lightly brush his cheekbone, hoping that splitting the strands between his fingertips would somehow disintegrate the agonizing wait. The fabricated sunray that gleamed over the entrance of the terrarium echoed the midday shine that was warming his face.
The contrast of the dry, summery air of the Savanna Biome made his innards twitch. He wanted to pretend he could lose himself in the illusion, but anywhere else outside of the terrarium was littered with paper hearts, chocolates, flowers, confessions, and kisses that assaulted him into a painstakingly keen awareness. It was a holiday that nauseated him into isolation - an annual reminder of how he had always been a sorry, hollow afterthought that wouldn’t know what it meant to feel included. The reminders of his loneliness would linger over him like clockwork with each passing winter; haunting him, prodding him, casting him away into his desolation until the freeze of the bitter cold passed on by.
But then he met her last summer, and she awakened something inside of him that thawed him away and made him feel alive.
His drumming pulse quickened his breath as he yet again entertained the circular thought: unlike every other year, this Valentine’s Day did mean something. Before he had fully realized, his heart had overflown with an insurmountable adoration reserved only for her. The girl he met back in Kitakami. The girl who went to the Festival of Masks with him, and the girl who reached her hand out anyway when he had pushed her away. The girl who eased him – made him feel like something beyond a sore loser. The girl who had even saved his life with her pokemon back down at Area Zero, back when he was still too tunnel-visioned on a worthless vengeance.
He had realized that even in his lowest low, the twisted sentiment and fixation that remained on her even from afar actually stemmed from admiration; he wanted to be with her, and he wanted to be more like her. Lighting up rooms with radiance, using her brilliance and strength for good, strutting around as a reliable, true hero that attracted all kinds of people and pokemon to her magnetism…it all made him feel star-struck with her serene grace.
He would always remember the day she called out for him in the midst of the turmoil he inflicted on their friendship – the day she pleaded for his help in the strange crystal catacombs, crying out that she needed him. To have someone so ethereal, so poetically valorous beg for his aid? It shook him awake entirely, and it bargained away all of his spite and pride. He apologized after it all – after everything – hoping that there was some way he could have a fresh start to prove that he was worthy of her compassion and forgiveness after all he had done.
And that was when she had struck his heart in a new, incomprehensible way.
His feelings evolved faster than he could handle. By the time he finally came to full terms with how deeply he cherished her, the need for restraint relentlessly tore him apart and made him feel as if his heart would burst through the seams. She had remained at the academy with him and stuck by his side as he reacclimated to the school atmosphere. She smoothed over rough patches he himself was meant to atone to. She would spot him and keep him company as he walked alone in crowded halls and lunchrooms, and her friends quickly became his. He soon learned she was a renowned, notorious hugger, too. As he worked to earn her trust back. She seemed to make a nonchalant habit of squeezing him into an embrace as a greeting – and if he was lucky, he’d sometimes get one as a goodbye, too. He couldn’t even remember the last time he was hugged before her, and her body heated him with an adorned light from her unmistakable touch.
And perhaps his favorite thing of all: she would also sometimes call for him from afar, then drop everything and come running to him with a giddy grin, expressing how happy she was to have found him.
Between that, and that fateful battle with that legendary sleeping under Paldea’s Great Crater, he had never felt more important to anyone else.
And he needed to tell her about how he felt.
The weight of the 14th pressed down on his shoulders with a merciless might. What once was akin to a day that couldn’t be treasured now felt like an evaluation where he had something to lose. But he swore to himself that he would take the leap; it would probably singe him and leave him to tend his wounds. The alternative, though, has done more than sickened him so – it had been his unrelenting punishment for endless months, quietly burrowed underneath his skin.
He had promised her he would do better, and he wanted to make things right. And for her, he’d try to be bold.
Little did he know that would also mean pouring out every fiber of his being and praying to Arceus for mercy on his soul.
“Heyyyy Kieran!”
Kieran took a deep breath before turning around, but his breath was stolen by the sight of a skipping Juliana who was making her way over to him. She was always breathtaking to him, especially in precious moments like this, but he hadn’t expected the treat of seeing her as she was now: dressed up in something other than a school uniform for the holiday.
She wore a sunbathed yellow turtleneck sweater with an embroidered patch of a gliding, peppy Ribombee toward the side. Golden stitches of thread were stitched behind it, seemingly implying the Ribombee’s flight pattern. The path of the stitches shaped a heart, which was not only festive, but seemed to be Juliana’s favorite symbol. He had seen her sign her name with hearts on class attendance sheets, and she would sometimes circle his own with them if she signed in after him.
Juliana had belted the sweater with a ruffled, white skirt that had a string of red and green apples on them. Her white sandals were decorated with false light pink and golden flowers, and had a slight arch that nearly rivaled his height. Kieran had known she liked such dainty attire from one of her passing comments, but it was the first time he had seen her dazzle everyone around her with such a sight. As she got closer to him, he noticed her chestnut brown hair was meticulously tied up in a high ponytail, not unlike the one she had donned during the Mask Festival, with some loose pieces framing around her face. It accented the colorful Applin earrings that dropped from her ears and sparkled in the light.
A pink glow was plastered on her rosy cheeks. “Thank you for waiting for me. I hope you weren’t waiting too long!” The heat that flushed his face spread to the corners of his ears as the melody of her enchanting voice bounced in pleasant huffs. Kieran awkwardly opened a space between his arms and body as she swarmed him hurriedly, and he heard quiet clanks from something she had wrapped around him as she pulled him into a hug.
“Ah, yeah, ‘ts no big deal,” he stammered. He took great care to lightly place his palms on her back – slowly, with one hand following the other – as she settled into him for a brief moment. He was still surprised by the effort in her platonic affection – perhaps it was because she still felt pity for him; her hugs with Nemona and Penny were much more brief and infrequent, and he hadn’t really seen her hug Arven…ever. Just light shoulder pats here and there?
I’m still hopeless in her eyes, then.
Kieran dropped his head in a woeful defeat – it was one he wasn’t proud of, but he would be lying if he tried to convince himself that her intimacy wasn’t making him melt from the inside. He heard her giggle muffle against his chest, and his heart fluttered. He closed his eyes and inhaled the dusted fumes of vanilla sugar shampoo that lingered on the base of her head. His lips registered something soft and supple as he shifted deeper into her scent, and as Kieran’s eyes dared to open, he registered how much distance had closed between them.
His lips had accidentally landed on her forehead.
Is that why she was laughing?!
How EMBARRASSING. Utterly mortified, Kieran gasped and buckled backwards. Juliana, in all of her effortless grace, had released him and was looking up at him as if nothing had even happened.
He rubbed his thumb and pointer finger together by his side, tucked away from where she could see. Move on, just move on, that’s clearly all she wants to do.
Kieran pressed his lips together, trying to forget where they were moments ago. “I wasn’t out here for long.”
Or so he said. Their meetup was all he could think about; Juliana had caught him in the League Room the day prior and asked if he would like to have a lunchtime picnic out in the Coastal Biome. Whether it was a coincidence, or perhaps another extension of pity, he wasn’t really sure. But her behavior didn’t fully surprise him - she was the most generous Champion he had known, and she was probably oblivious to how she held his feelings hostage. He had seen the way she could mingle - she’d extend this kindness she was showing him to anyone.
Her second grin made her radiate even more, it undid Kieran and made him feel wobbly. “Look at what I brought!” She hauled up an earthy, heart-shaped woven basket that was decorated with a white ribbon bow on the handle. The source of the clinks he had heard. “My mom just sent this over from home. What do you think?”
Kieran’s pulse had gotten too loud for him to think straight - he had gotten distracted by the speckles of gold in Juliana’s eyes, and the lingering ghost of her touch he wished he soaked in more of. His mind replayed the moment to the point where it felt inescapable, and it drank him up and made him want to hog her for the rest of the day. “I-I’m sorry, do you mean the basket or…the rest of you?”
When Juliana’s eyes widened in response to his error, Kieran spilled out his next words frantically and impetuously, “I MEAN, ‘cause the basket looks nice, but you look better!”
‘Better’? He repeated in his mind, mentally badgering himself. He turned his face away in shame, hiding behind his glove once more by holding onto the lock near his face for dear life. He heard a swirl of giggles next and felt his stomach sink - he was making such a fool of himself.
“Thank you,” her voice was sweetened to a level that rivaled her grace, “You uh, look nice yourself!”
Kieran felt like shrinking now - in all truth he didn’t know how to dress for the occasion in the slightest. It was just a friendly lunch between friends, nothing more, but he had wanted to seize the opportunity to come clean about how he really feels and ask her out. How are you supposed to dress for that in a way that isn’t super obvious? It almost made Kieran wish that the academy enforced stricter clothing policies - even if school was out for the day. But no, he was free to choose his funeral outfit. He had ransacked his dresser at the crack of dawn, trying to find the blend between casual and somewhat eye-catching. After hours of deliberation, he didn’t have the slightest clue on how to present himself in a way that was appropriately gussied. He settled for a light navy hoodie with golden strings that hung over his chest and black shorts that were belted with his fanny pack. His pathetic attempt for a get-up was finished with the touches of white sneakers and his signature hair tie that Carmine and Drayton still made fun of.
Come to think of it, he might as well just look as if he had rolled out of bed…
Oh Arceus, what if she thinks I couldn’t care less?!
“I’m not…uh, I just-”
“No, really!” Juliana insisted, “I like that color scheme on you a lot. It makes you look really handsome!”
Kieran felt a firework erupt in his brain. His thoughts somersaulted into a maniacal display of internal mental gymnastics as he tried to process Juliana’s compliment. As he felt his face redden more from the cursed sunshine, his arms flew up and in front of him out of reflex. He hastily spewed out refutative nonsense, but the sudden chaos didn’t seem to startle Juliana. A honey-toned giggle harmonized in his eardrums instead.
Surely, she was just being kind. Her organic, cheerful charisma could become a unanimous muse for anyone she crossed paths with - Kieran was certain of it. He had realized this after Juliana had snapped him out of his competitive funk; countless students in the academy admired her power and inclusive nature. She was practically born to be their Champion, and she evidently stole the hearts of many with her generosity and bravery.
He had scanned her for signs - any signs - of receiving Valentine’s. But she didn’t have any flowers or Stufful plushies in her hands - let alone cards or chocolates. A naive part of him wanted to pretend that she had no admirers who would intrude and sweep her up off of her feet. Sometimes Kieran even wondered if she was already dating someone, but kept it hidden from him to spare his pathetic feelings.
Juliana looked out to the fields beyond them, then returned her gaze to Kieran, “So…are you ready to go on our special little picnic?”
He almost took too much pleasure from granting her request, “Yes, of course.”
I’d go anywhere with you.
Juliana made a small squeal from behind him. He could see her shadow wiggling as her hands were drawn out like airplane wings to steady herself.
Kieran turned around again, failing to hide his concern. One of his fingers tapped against the base of the basket he had offered to take from her. It was the least he could do. They had a straight path to the beach shore, but Juliana had insisted on taking a detour through the Canyon Biome - for whatever reason, he didn’t know, it was beyond his comprehension. He wanted to walk by her side to make sure she was alright with crossing the uneven, rocky terrain, but she also insisted for him to walk out in front of her.
“We could just cross back over to’ the Savanna Biome, ya’ know. And then go to the Coastal Biome from there…?”
“ Noooo,” Juliana protested with an adorable drawl that made Kieran’s eyebrows twitch. He wanted to wrap her up and tuck her away in his arms from the cuteness overload. His ears perked up at her, continuing her thought, “I said I wanted to take the long way around!”
“Still…” Kieran mumbled, then exhaled as she regained her balance and stepped toward him. “Neither of us brought any ride pokemon. And your shoes-”
“Wa- AH!”
“Juliana!”
Kieran dove in front of Juliana as she lost her footing, reaching out to her as she slipped down the erosion from up above that she was trying to carefully tread down. In a skirt, nonetheless. The items in the basket rattled loudly. He normally wouldn’t worry for her as much when she was in her uniforms, but today he felt especially watchful. She leaned in and clutched onto the hand he had offered. Kieran shifted his body weight and tried his best to keep her upright by grabbing hold of her other shoulder as they squeezed hands. Most of the impact from Juliana’s slip was absorbed by the wall Kieran created with his body.
As Kieran blurted out a panicked, ‘Are you alright?!’, Juliana burst into laughter. Relief washed over him next, but his head nonetheless slumped down as he let out an exaggerated sigh.
“Aww man, Juliana!” He groaned, “This can get real dangerous for ya’! Seriously!”
Kieran felt Juliana’s grip around his hand tighten, and his heart rate skyrocketed once more. He had forgotten that they were holding hands… in a sense.
He tried to push it out of his mind - tried to remember that it was all just circumstantial - but his attention felt divided as she casually talked with him while they were still interlocked in their quizzical positions.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” she teased.
“You almost fell!”
“But I didn’t! You were here to catch me!”
Kieran couldn’t even register whatever she said, his mind was plagued with worry as he thought more about what could have gone wrong. His eyes trailed down to her sandals - the threat to her safety, “It’s the shoes! You shouldn'a worn ‘em! I don’t want you gettin’ hurt!”
“I wanted to wear this outfit to look cute for you, though!”
“You always look cute, though, it doesn’t matter what you wear!”
The outburst escaped Kieran before he had realized it. He pulled away from her and shielded his burning face with his palms - did he actually just say that?!
She erupted into a longer laughing fit, and Kieran wallowed further into his shame. Juliana was extra sunshiney today - and found almost everything he did to be funny.
He must’ve been that much of a laughing stock.
Julia straightened, “Wait! Okay, okay. I’ll make a deal with you.”
Kieran tried to pull himself back to his senses, but the Butterfrees in his stomach remained restless and battered at him as his voice quivered with embarrassment, “Wh-what’s the d-deal?”
Juliana’s pursed lips didn’t hide her smile - each corner of her mouth was pinned to her candy apple cheeks, “We can turn back if I trip again, but-”
“B-but?!” The tremors in Kieran grew as Juliana reached down to his side and interlaced her fingers around his. They were even more intertwined than before, and he felt her soft hand secure on his own.
She inched closer, “It’s only if I trip now, when we’re like this! You can be my walking guide.”
Kieran’s breath hitched as Juliana stepped forward again, this time, by his side. He felt compelled to fall into pace with her - it was what he wanted in the first place, but still.
He hoped his hands didn’t feel too clammy in her grasp. He hoped she wasn’t grossed out by having to rely on him in this way - he was utterly ruining this. He was supposed to be impressing her - he had told her about how he’s at the top of his class, and how he’s already risen the ranks up to rematch Drayton again. He wanted her to see him as strong and capable. He wanted to prove that she could rely on him, but she probably was having a horrible time on this tedious stroll they were on now. He ran through the possibilities…
Maybe she had a real date after this, and she didn’t want to be seen out and about with him. She was conveniently changing courses to more isolated areas any time there were other roaming students around.
Maybe she was disappointed in him, but didn’t want to show it. Maybe she expected him to pick better walkway paths since he’s more experienced and has navigated the biomes for longer, and he failed her so miserably that she had no other choice but to grip onto him to make it through the hazardous area.
No, no, no. This was all going terribly wrong. How could he fix this? How could he turn this around and woo her instead?
Perhaps he could offer to carry her on his back for the rest of the way. Maybe that’s how he could transform into her shining knight.
But could he do it? Could he carry her THAT far?
Kieran tossed and turned internally, almost phasing out from the world around him. The feeling of holding her hand was completely surreal - he almost felt as if they were walking even slower now. Each of the minutes ticked on by, and Juliana spoke to him about a bunch of random things he could hardly keep up with in the midst of his mental wars.
She reminisced about the festival they went to together back in Kitakami, and asked if they could go again this upcoming summer.
Yeah, that’s a no-brainer. Why wouldn’t he invite her back?
She had asked him if she could play a video game he owns in his dorm room sometime.
Yes, of course. She was practically swinging by every weekend now. She didn’t even need to ask?
She asked if they could pair up together on a project for one of Ms. Briar’s classes. It was a long-term project, and it would take a lot of effort. He told her he would always pair up with her if that’s what she’d like - he enjoyed working with her. And to that, she giggled again.
What was he missing here?
It only clouded his mind with more questions, and it made him feel unable to lead the conversation at times. And he wasn’t even leading the way physically, either. He was relying on her to do it in his dazed and flustered state …how pathetic.
It was Juliana’s call that alerted him back to reality.
“Ooh, Kieran! Look over there!”
Kieran snapped back to attention. “W-what?!”
His head ducked around to a bed of white flowers Juliana was pointing at. They were elevated on somewhat of a higher surface, and splashes of centralized yellow seeped through their blowing petals that were dancing in the light breeze. Kieran realized that they were at the edge of the biome now - the ground was otherwise leveling and he could see the Central Plaza they’d cross over up ahead.
Kieran eased his squinting as he identified the flowers. “Oh wow. I didn’t know we had daisies over here.”
Juliana swung their joined hands back and forth as she guided them closer. “I didn’t either, and I love it! Fun fact: daisies grow in a lot of places. They need a lot of water and sunlight, though.”
Kieran turned his gaze back onto Juliana, and he felt some of his tension ease into a calm as he observed her pretty, earthy spirit. He felt comfortably tethered to her now, which was more than relaxing considered how worked up he had felt all day. She was practically glowing - a gleam was reflecting in her eyes as she admired the plants.
He studied her as the wind caressed her hair - some of her layers were loosened as they roamed, and it made her look even more beautiful. Kieran couldn’t help but wonder what her hair looked like if it were completely down. He breathed in and stated an observation as he pondered yet another sign of her intelligence.
“You seem to know a lot about them.”
Her eyes met his, and his heart skipped a beat as she beamed and brightened up his world. “Yeah, they’re my favorite.”
“Oh really? In that case…”
Kieran took the lead mindlessly, then released Juliana’s hand to reach up overhead and climb. He pried himself up the elevated land and pushed his weight into his forearm before examining the flowers. He picked the finest, medium-sized daisy that was most symmetrical, then pushed away and landed on the balls of his feet.
Kieran turned and presented the flower to Juliana. “Here ya’ go.”
It wasn’t much in the slightest, but it was the least he could do for her now.
Juliana’s cheeks were colored with a pink hue as she gasped from excitement. If her eyes lit up before, they were now sparkling as if a hundred strobing galaxies were in them.
“C-can you…” Juliana trailed off.
Kieran braced himself. What did he do wrong? Why was she suddenly so uneasy? Did he pick the wrong flower?
“Can you put it in my hair please?”
Kieran felt his throat open back up. Oh. Thank Arceus. “Of course. Come ‘ere.”
Juliana stepped closer as Kieran narrowed his eye into intense concentration; he wasn’t particularly good at this stuff. Yes, his own hair was long enough to tie back too, but he did that kind of sloppily out of necessity so he could let loose during battles…
He zeroed in on locking the stem of daisy behind her ear and between pieces of hair that would hopefully chain around it and keep the flower from drooping or flying off. His attention shifted to the locks that he witnessed dancing in the wind earlier, and he began to tuck some behind Juliana’s ear for reinforcement. He evened out the other side once he was finished, and then-
Oh. Oh. I’ve been touching her for too long.
Kieran motioned to pull his hand away as he felt another flash of shame enter his mind, but Juliana had snatched his hand as it was leaving her face. She extended it out open to face her directly, and started to examine it. Kieran braced himself again.
Are they dirty?
Are they gross?
Did they look weird or something?!
Juliana was lightly brushing her fingers across his palm as she spoke. “You know, I think your hand is a bit bigger than mine now.”
Before Kieran could respond, Juliana had lined up her open palm against his. She bent them over with a ‘See?’ , and Kieran noted how the nubs of his fingers were slightly more elongated when compared to hers.
Huh. Weird.
She was starting to feel a little smaller to him lately.
He curled the tops of his fingertips out of curiosity - he wanted to see how much he could fold over her. He came out of his trance and into his inevitable shame as Juliana laughed at him again.
She slipped her fingers between his again and brought their joint hands down to their sides. “Funny right?”
“A-ah, ya…” Kieran stammered again, and quickly forgot how to speak English. She giggled into a free fist she brought to her mouth. “Ready to keep going?”
“Ah…yeah…”
They walked through the Central Plaza, and Kieran tried to keep his cool. Some random students were waiving to Juliana, and she waved back. Kieran awkwardly nodded his head as a greeting that definitely didn’t suit him at the moment.
Why are we still holding hands?
Juliana swung their arms back and forth again as they verbally ranked cafeteria foods together.
Why are we still holding hands?
They had even crossed paths with Lacey, who called them cute and said she was happy for them, and Juliana started to thank her. Kieran couldn’t quite understand the conversation, but he still couldn’t fathom his new favorite thought:
WHY ARE WE STILL HOLDING HANDS?!
The question continued to haunt Kieran as he eventually settled into the mercy of a red-and-white checkered blanket. His restless heart did anything but follow suit. They finally made it to the spot Juliana had apparently envisioned in the Coastal Biome - in a patch of grass overlooking the sea, rescued by the shade of a tree that casted a gentle shadow from behind them.
Juliana was humming and unpacking the sandwiches she prepared, and Kieran had to look away from her hands. He wasn’t quite ready to move on from the affair just yet - it gave a poor part of himself false hope…
Juliana slumped forward onto her knees and leaned to her side. Kieran felt his body tense as her shoulder lightly pressed into his forearm from beside him.
She dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin after she finished a bite of her sandwich. “I also have a surprise for you.”
Kieran wasn’t sure what to do with himself - he felt drawn to the sandwich she had prepared as he tasted it; it was delectable, filling, full of flavor, and incredibly thought-provoking as he imagined Juliana packing each of the ingredients together one by one. On the other hand, his crush was speaking to him again, and might give him something?
His heart stirred, but his mind suppressed its wildness. She’s giving things out to everyone today. It’s definitely just a platonic gift…if it’s a gift.
Kieran found the courage to speak, “Uhhh, a gift?”
He almost chewed with an open mouth. Where are his manners?!
Juliana either didn’t notice or ignored it in a well-disguised disgust - he didn’t know. She was rummaging through the basket, then presented Kieran with a wrapped, mostly circular but not item. The pink wrapping was decorated in the same red hearts she often scribbled - she must’ve drawn them on herself.
Kieran felt his cheeks heating up again. “W-what is this?”
Juliana was trying to suppress a giggle. “J-just open it, silly! Hehe!”
Kieran carefully removed the handmade wrapping - he wouldn’t tell her, but he would store it away as compensation for his upcoming embarrassment. He needed to confess soon, he was running out of time…but. He also wanted to enjoy the little time he had left with her like this before he ruined anything.
His eyes widened with surprise as he uncovered one of Juliana’s mythical homemade sugar cookies. He was lucky enough to have them once, for Carmine’s birthday, and he snuck away a few extra for himself when no one was looking. In fact, he was pretty sure he ate the most of them out of everyone. She would decorate each of them with little frosted designs, which packed them with even more flavor. Kieran loved them, and would probably eat himself sick if he had access to a whole batch all at once.
The one before him, though, was a replica of an Applin.
Juliana somewhat squirmed beside him, her cadence ready to burst from excitement. “What do you think?”
Kieran felt his stupid pulse drumming up again, and his throat was closing up. “T-thank you!”
Juliana was giggling again, but Kieran was too far gone to soak in the bouncy melody.
“Remember how you traded me a real Applin the other day? Well here, now you have one back!”
He was mortified. MORTIFIED.
Today wasn’t the first time he tried working up the courage to confess. No, there was one other time. And it was a few days ago - he had planned to ask her out early, hoping it would be easier to ask her to be his Valentine later. But in all truth, he also just really wanted to be with her as soon as possible.
But he couldn’t do it right.
He tried telling her wordlessly - he wanted the trade to speak for itself. But he had a massive oversight - she was from PALDEA, not GALAR. And he knew that! He really did! But he thought she would’ve known what trading Applins meant!
Kieran tried to wash away the memory throughout the next coming days, but Juliana kept popping up everywhere. And then she was hugging him, nudging him, giggling. Kieran was seconds away from spontaneously combusting because of how easy she felt to love, and her sudden jolliness wasn’t making it easy to hold himself back from ruining their friendship at all. He asked her about her mood out of conflicted exhilaration, and she said something along the lines of how Penny “made everything click for her” and how she “was on the same page” as him.
Kieran didn’t get what she was saying at all, but she slammed him with a request to have the very picnic they were on now before he could ask for clarification. And how on Earth could he say no to THAT, even if she just wanted to hang out as friends??
And now his failure was here to mock him.
She clearly didn’t know what Applin trades meant, still. She was just being nice, returning the favor.
Kieran deflated in his defeat - he had definitely lost to the friendzone. He covered his eyes as he felt his eyes start to sting, his chest feeling crushed into bits.
This was hurting more than he thought.
The bright light of the sun blinded him as Juliana pried his hand from his face. He almost jerked, but her other hand had wrapped around his face and held it firmly. Something was blurring into his vision and growing big-
“Mwah!”
Kieran felt Juliana’s lips tenderly press into his cheek. Her golden touch lit up everything inside him as his eyes shot open with shock. His mind was swirling in utter confusion as she pulled back. He looked into her starry eyes, but his jaw was dropped to the ground. He was paralyzed, ditsy, and beyond bewildered.
Kieran tried his best to vocalize anything. ANYTHING. “Wh-wh-...”
Wowzers.
Juliana giggled again - this time more high-pitched and slightly unnerved. She nuzzled into his shoulder and apologized. She was shrieking into him before his eyes, “I’m s-sorry, was that too fast? I can go more slow if you want…”
“M-more slow?” Kieran repeated, still lost in his daze.
He almost wanted to punch himself to test if he was truly awake.
She just kissed me! She just kissed me on the cheek! Am I dreaming?!
Juliana started again, meekly, “Y-yea-”
Kieran finally had a jolt of energy, and he expended it all at once. He twisted around and grabbed her by the shoulders, and blurted out his next thought in a blinded fury, “Do you kiss all your friends' cheeks?!”
Juliana’s face twisted up in perplexion. “Wha-? Why would I do that?”
“You just-!” Kieran couldn’t even finish the thought. His entire face felt piping hot - he must be so red…
She had sent him entirely into overdrive - he couldn’t think right, he couldn’t see right, he couldn’t feel anything but that KISS. His heart leapt up to his throat and climbed out of him - it spilled out all over everything at once as he stumbled over his words.
“B-because! Y-you’re kissin’ mine! And I just can’t, Juliana, I can’t! Be friends anymore! I like you TOO dang much, it makes my head spin! And I just wanna make ya’ mine forever - no one else!”
As Juliana’s eyes widened, Kieran felt his own do the same. But the damage was already done, he might as well double down since he was ripping the band-aid off.
He grabbed her hands and clasped them together, then hunkered down within them and dropped his head to the ground. He let everything pour out of him all at once, every gallon of feeling inside of him crashing waves that emptied each bottled up part of him.
“I know ya’ probably don’t look at me like that, but I really, really, really do like ya’ so, SO much! So…” he huffed and squeezed her unflinching, still hands, then spoke more calmly as he caught his breath, “So if there’s any part of you that just wants to …give me a chance… I promise I’d try really hard. I know I’ve messed up so much with us, but you are everything I adore and more, and just, i-if you don’t feel the same way-”
“Kieran.”
Juliana’s tone cut through him like a dagger, he was crashing down hard. Nothing could prepare him for the rejection that was about to tear him apart.
Juliana peeled away at his barriers once more to face him directly - and a part of him almost wanted to be immovable. But she could get anything she’d want out of him, even if it meant…well, this.
His face was twisting up and he was trying his best to hold himself together as her kind eyes met his.
If you’re nice to me when you let me down, this might just make things worse.
“Kieran uhh, we’re already on a date?”
Kieran shot up.
“WHAT.”
“You…didn’t know?” Juliana was covering her own mouth now - unfair.
And this time she was definitely trying not to laugh at him!
“Wh-wh-” Kieran felt himself spazzing about and glitching like his Porygon-Z, “Since when was this a date?!”
“Since I asked you out, after you confessed to me?!”
Kieran’s mouth opened, but Juliana cut him off as the color of her face started to match his own. “Y-you did confess to me, right? With the Applin?!”
“I-YES, BUT…h-how did you know if you didn’t?!”
Juliana shot up closer to him, almost crawling into his lap. His arms caught hers out of reflex, “Penny told me! I thought you meant…!”
This was a dream.
“I DID…BUT!”
“But what?!”
There was NO way…
“But…I! I didn’t ask you out the right way!”
Juliana’s fists balled up as her own face contorted in ways he hadn’t seen before. “I asked you out, Kieran! This is a Valentine’s Day date! S-so, will you-?”
Kieran closed the distance between himself and the beautiful girl before him - he felt a gusting rush of an all-time high. He was confident now, confident for the first time he had ever felt about something. It was a feeling he thought he had once before, but it wasn’t meshed with a desire to win or conquer. It was meshed with a desire to love.
He crashed his lips against hers, but eased into a gentle kiss as she kissed back and cupped her hands around his face. He pulled back a moment later, leaving Juliana breathless. He almost felt kind of bad - he must’ve stolen her breathing away from her in the heat of the moment, but…it was worth it.
Her hands were still on him, and he rested his on her own. Kieran breathed into their shared air, then looked her in the eye with all the love he could finally start to express.
“Will you…be my Valentine?” He fought a stutter to convey his question, “A-and my girlfriend?”
Somehow, he nearly fumbled his request anyway.
He was almost tugged by his self-deprecation again, but then she huffed out a magical laugh. Kieran couldn’t help but grin wildly.
“Yes. Of course. Now eat your cookie.”