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They were supposed to spend the weekend in Undella Town for a date.
It had been Juliana's idea to go stargazing at the beach, talking about constellations and photo opportunities. Kieran didn't understand much, but he was excited to see Juliana so happy over a date plan that wasn't just their usual walks and picnics around the Terarrium.
But unfortunately, a flood of new students had suddenly decided to come up and enroll in the League Club at the last minute, leaving its champion to approve all of their paperwork.
Even if they couldn't make it a formal date, Kieran still had the weekend cleared, and he still planned on spending it with Juliana, if only to try and brighten up the hours she would waste hunched over a desk.
The League Club room was empty, besides himself and Juliana. The simulated sun of the Terarrium had set, only living the simulated night sky flickering in through the windows. It was technically late, but Juliana was determined to finish her paperwork before the next morning, and Kieran knew he wouldn't be able to dissuade her.
He swung his legs as he sat on the table, the heels of his shoes occasionally hitting the legs of a chair as he stared blankly out the window of the room. The only other sound besides his quiet ‘thump’ing being the messy scribbles of Juliana's pen on the other end of the table.
He tried to look out at the Terarrium sky, trying to see if any of the stars matched the ones Juliana had wanted to show him, but the intermittent flickering of the screens, only to restart from the position it had been in a few seconds prior made him think that maybe the dome wasn't that well synced with the outside world above.
Still, Kieran tried his best to make out shapes and objects that he could at least show his girlfriend in passing before they left for the night. Eventually, he got tired of staring at the same loop of the same sky over and over, so he turned his head over to Juliana.
She was still hunched over her papers, ruining her once great posture that came with her natural athleticism (one of the many things Kieran had been jealous of before). Total, she was about halfway through the stack, scribbling her signature over and over in all the places her approval was needed, but Kieran wasn't really paying much attention to any of that.
Juliana was wearing her League Club uniform. Not unusual for the club champion. But the constant movement of her arm had caused one of the tank top straps to slip down her shoulder, and suddenly Kieran was paying a lot more attention to her skin than he probably should have.
She was covered in freckles, some scattered across her nose and her cheeks, but most had made their way onto her shoulders and her back and down her arms, and other places he probably couldn't see. Only ever interrupted by the discolored scars that run along her arms and shoulders. But even the small breaks in the patterns that sprinkle her skin felt more beautiful than whatever mimicked galaxy the Terarrium had to offer.
The thought gave Kieran an idea.
Carefully, he pushed himself off the table, walking the few steps over to Juliana's chair, and grabbing a stray pen that was lying there. He's standing up behind her, leaning over her shoulder as he watches her sign her squiggly signature on every dotted line.
Kieran lightly pokes her shoulder, and Juliana immediately straightens up to look up at him. She looks tired, and it makes his heart hurt.
“How much more do ya got t’ do?” He doesn't know why he whispers it when there's no one else in the room, but with how late it is, he can't seem to help it.
Juliana just sighs just in response, lazily flicking through the stack of papers she still had left. Mumbling something along the lines of “too much”. Kieran nods and lightly taps the pen against her shoulder in a rhythm as she hunches back over her papers.
“Can I draw on ya?” He hopes the request isn't too weird, he had drawn on himself plenty of times before, but he had never really drawn on another person.
Juliana nods, still not moving from her hunched over position, and Kieran immediately gets to work.
There's an uneven ring of freckles right on the back of her shoulder, and Kieran takes the opportunity to connect each of the dots. Once the basic outline of the constellation is made, he starts truly drawing it, adding details and lines to turn the small circle into the image of an Applin.
Kieran's not the best traditional artist in the world, he knows that. His grandfather had taught him a bit of woodworking, but it was a bit hard to channel that talent onto a flat surface. It didn't really help that most of his lines were wobbly as Juliana continued to write. He couldn't blame her, in order to write, she needed to move her arm, but the constant movement of her muscles made it a bit harder to work with.
As time went on, Kieran connected more and more of her freckles. His own private night sky made out of the one thing he loves most. More Pokémon appeared along the visible parts of her back, a Sentret, a Trapinch, he had even made a very wonky looking Kingdra. Mixed in with a few berries, and even one of Ogerpon's masks.
Almost all of her visible back was covered in ink from his small drawings, some of the pictures even spilling down a little onto her arms. Kieran stepped back for a moment, admiring the work he had done. He knew the drawings weren't great, but he couldn't bring himself to care about the quality of his art. Not when he had a canvas like Juliana. He was certain this little game of dot-to-dot he had played was better than any replicated sky made by the Terarrium, or even the true sky that hung somewhere above them now. They both felt like nothing compared to this.
He didn't have long to stare though, as Juliana immediately leaned back, pressing into the chair. She groaned as she slammed her pen on top of her finished stack and papers, and she slowly started to sink down, until her head hit the back of the chair.
Kieran laughed a little, and carefully wrapped his arms around her, hugging her a little awkwardly from behind. Juliana tilted her head to look up at him, and Kieran couldn't help but lean down to give her a quick kiss. She was tired, evident by the way her voice carried itself, and how her eyelids drooped. But as soon as he pulled away, she leaned up and kissed his cheek. Her voice was soft, almost a whisper in the middle of the night, but it still made Kieran smile as she him a promise.
“We'll go to Undella next weekend.”