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Kieran felt himself marinate in a serene heaviness, effortlessly in tune with a peaceful, almost meditative lull of silence. He was wrapped in an enigmatic cocoon that had slowed time - one where he was free from any demand or thought. His slumbering heart could simply just be, untethered, unhurried, and uninhibited. It deeply nestled into the unremarkable quiet, where only the faint rhythm of his breath synced in tandem with a beloved presence.
The soft beams of a rosy dawn gently caressed his skin. Kieran inhaled graciously as he stirred to consciousness, where meek, soothing colors gradually emitted into his hazy eyes. There was a delicacy to the soft, puffy bedding that had surrounded him, but he immediately gravitated closer to the epicenter of tenderness. He buried his nose into a cascade of chestnut locks, and soon after a small sound escaped the enamored lover he had already intertwined in his arms.
“Mnmm,” Juliana murmured into the crook of his neck. Her voice rumbled against him, massaging his waking bones.
“Not yet,” he lovingly muttered back. He wanted to bathe in this blissful enmeshment for just a moment longer. There was a shift on top of the light pressure that had layered the toasty blankets that covered his shoulders, and the furry touch of another companion grazed his loose and wild hair with its bushy, trilling tail. Their yawning Furret.
Kieran released a breath with an elongated sigh as he invited his body to drift away once more. He melted into the warmth of his wife’s essence - his unyielding sunshine, his devoted partner, his lifelong anchor. His feet glided to become entangled to her own, savoring each and every moment he could spend with her like this. The past, with all its pain, faded into a distant memory, and the future stretched out before the two - limitless, hopeful, theirs.
“I...love you so much,” Juliana whispered, a groggy rasp coating her words. It tugged the corners of Kieran’s lips as he huffed out a laugh. His sandy eyes fluttered open, and he propped his hand on his face to fully admire her beauty. The imperfections of her face were cloudy, as if her beauty was blinding enough to be ethereal. Kieran’s movement alerted their dozy Applin, who had taken refuge behind Juliana overnight. It waddled over the couple to pillow itself against Furret’s coat, which graciously signaled the rousing pokemon against morning rowdiness.
The only gift greater than sleeping with his love was watching his love sleep. His heart was fullest knowing that she was safe and sound - even if she was the most fearless person he had known. One of his hands swept up her back and toward her rounded face, where the nubs of his nails traced around her head to neatly comb her scattered curls. It was a pacifying motion he had learned from her, although she had always executed it much better.
“I love you more,” he quietly cooed, memorizing the already unforgettable angel in front of him. Her tawny, thick eyelashes batted in defiance.
“Mmn-mnn,” she denied as a smile crept on her supple face. She cuddled closer, and his pleasure turned to a light giggle.
“Mmm- hmm,” he hummed back, pressing his lips against her forehead. He sensed how a fire awakened in his wife as her determined, cinnamon eyes shot open.
“That’s not possible,” she dimly countered with swiftness before planting her lips against his own. Kieran’s jaw softened to deepen the sensation, to bring their souls closer. He parted his lips from hers to respond.
“Incorrect. I love you more than anything.” Kieran proudly professed. He enveloped her in a kiss once more, and she pecked him as he pulled away. He couldn’t resist poking her with the same gesture, and their breaths soon danced in laughter together as they repeated the exchanges.
“Happy anniversary honey.” Juliana muttered, more alert. She snuggled her forehead against Kieran, and he felt weightless once more.
“Happy anniversary,” he repeated, stealing one more kiss by pressing his lips against her nose. He would never admit defeat in their battle of love.
Juliana grinned, echoing the morning sunshine that was beginning to peak between the closed blinds in their cozy bedroom. She reached for Kieran’s hand and interlaced her fingers with his own. In return, Kieran secured her hand with a squeeze. His wife’s gaze momentarily shifted to their joint hands before lovingly gazing back at him. “Do you think we could stay in today?”
Relief washed over Kieran’s slacked shoulders. “I knew you’d change your mind.”
His wife playfully pouted at him as she pulled their joint hands to her face. Her kiss tickled the top of his hand. “It’s just so cold outside…we’ll probably get snowed in.”
“Then I guess I have to keep you warm,” Kieran stated, pecking her forehead once more as he slowly emerged from their blanketed heaven. He suddenly remembered their brunch reservations, and got an idea on how to treat his wife to this next best thing.
“Mnn?” His Furret purred, arching his head. Their Applin shook its own as its eyes darted back and forth between its ally and Kieran.
“Oh, Furret-” Juliana began, seeming more alert.
“Stay in bed, sweetheart. I’ll feed them.”
His wife had propped herself up as he spoke, but she quickly plopped back down into their marshmallowy mattress. Kieran’s gaze softened as he stifled another laugh. She was definitely tired.
Kieran slipped on a pair of navy blue slippers and gently treaded into their kitchen. His surroundings were a nostalgic mirage; a homage to his childhood home back in Kitakami. Kieran continued on through the haze as he reached for the crinkly bag of pokemon poffin kibble. Despite his body feeling slow and sluggish, his mind was lovestruck with gleeful energy. He thought of gathering Torchic eggs, and a second later he had them scrambled and steaming. He then thought of strips of sizzled, smoked bacon, and they too appeared on porcelain plates. Kieran thought of the sweetness of Juliana’s laugh, and buttery pancakes drizzled with hot maple syrup stacked onto the plates as well.
His footsteps echoed through the halls in between the beats of their kitchen clock. The same one that his grandparents’ had bought. As he passed through a hallway, his peripheral vision noted a wall of framed photographs. He thought of viewing them, but doing so was a fleeting thought. Instead, moomoo milk flashed into his arms instead. Kieran paused on his way to the bedroom as he noted how his wife had ventured to the couch with their pets - their Furret curled into itself on the cushion above Juliana, and their Applin, unsurprisingly, in her lap. Kieran wished he was there instead.
His examined his lover. Juliana was now dressed in a white tank top and gray lounge shorts, her hair now tightly woven into her old signature braid - the one she would sport when they were kids. She perked up from her Rotom phone she was entertaining herself with and her attention darted to the meals his hands were full with. “Oh, you made breakfast?”
“Sur-priiiise!” Kieran sang, approaching his love with enthusiasm.
Tears were welling in her eyes. “Honey! You didn’t have to!”
“I wanted to.” Kieran assured. He stretched his arms out and hugged her tighter than a Bewear, collapsing into the couch as he held her in an embrace. The musical melody of her laughter filled his ears, and his grip around her became tighter.
“I’m so glad we made up,” he professed, melting into her. “I was so lost without you.”
“Oh! Look,” Juliana gasped, seemingly zoned in on something else. Kieran blinked, and everything had flashed once more so he held her on his lap instead. When he gazed down, he felt the plushness of his light brown, Teddiursa-like crew neck. It must be what their Applin loved so dearly as it nudged itself in the crook of his forearm. Their Furret’s paws lightly patted his shoulder blades as Kieran mindlessly clutched his wife’s waist. His bangs still covered a section of his sight, but it was nice to have his hair up now.
The screen of her Rotom phone emitted a memory that was perfectly crisp and clear. It was a photo of Kieran, Juliana, and his sister Carmine donned up at the Festival of Masks. There were strobes of festival lights and streaks of ribbony colors that lit up the starry, summer night. Kieran’s eyes darted between the preteen version of himself and his wife.
His heart swelled. “You still have that?”
“Of course I do.” Juliana beamed. Her finger swiped the screen, and now a photo of her younger self was dressed in her white Blueberry uniform, holding their Applin with flushed cheeks.
“Ah,” Kieran mused. “This was the day I traded you Applin.”
Juliana turned her head to look up at Kieran. “And the day we first started dating.”
Kieran reveled in the endless joy of the memory. He couldn’t recall it, but his fondness for Juliana was more than enough. She continued to swipe through more photos, saying sweet nothings about their wedding that also seemed to fade from his mind. Kieran rested his chin against her head as the weight of sleepiness washed over the equally endless haze that progressively blinded his vision. His heavy eyelids lifted as his wife scolded someone. Kieran realized she had received a text message when he tried to make out her blurry screen.
“Drayton is spending too much money on the kids! I told him the trip to Unova and the Castelia City fair was more than enough.”
“He’s a good uncle…” Kieran mumbled as he felt himself drift to his dreamlands.
As his eyes opened, more of his surroundings faded to white. There was a low pitch that was building, as if it was erasing everything each second it became louder. It swelled a new feeling in him - as if he was being pulled away. Only his loving wife remained.
She cupped one of his cheeks and placed her lips on another. “Please remember that I love you,” she asked calmly and nonchalantly.
Kieran’s eyebrows twitched as a surge of energy was rising throughout his limbs. He felt his body leap forward as the ring ceased everything around him into one giant, white flash.
Why would he ever forget?
.
.
.
.
.
.
Kieran snapped awake, lunging forward and sitting up without hesitation. He felt a cold sweat bead over his forehead and aching muscles as he recallibrated himself to the messy, dark room before him. The low hum of electric generators bounced off the walls after he angrily shut off the alarm on his Rotom phone. He reoriented himself as he rapidly shifted his attention to the scattered sheets of paper he had written with battle strategies to counter Juliana’s team.
Because Juliana had come here, to Blueberry Academy, and now threatened his crown.
She had taken down all of the Elite Four except for Drayton, and she was challenging him today.
His time was running out, and he couldn’t afford any more than four hours of sleep. He rose to his feet despite the groans of his burned out body, his frustration brewing as his mind wrestled with discarding the vivid dream he had just had.
She had flooded his mind more than ever before since reappearing in his life, and he hated it. There was an odd, tingly feeling in his unsettled chest as he recalled the way he had envisioned her in his dream.
He can’t believe he dreamed of her. He had to shake it off of him.
Kieran quickly dressed himself and scoffed at the photo he had left out on his desk. It was the same one that haunted his dreams. Because of course he found that while looking for more spare notebooks.
He slumped his jacket over his shoulders, aloof to the way they drooped down. He thought of ripping up the photo, but his shaky hand hesitated after he had reached for it. He pivoted on his heel for the door instead.
He should probably eat. It’s too bad he ran out of granola bars - he could’ve saved some time for extra training instead of wasting time visiting the campus store. Kieran marched down the halls with a purpose, and scoffed as his mind once again returned to the ridiculous details of his nightmare.
Why would he ever give her his Applin? He had it specially bred. It has the perfect IVs, and could make an excellent replacement for his Hydrapple with enough training. Perhaps it should be his objective for the day.
Kieran gasped as he collided with something in his haphazard and jerked state. He stumbled back into place, but the smaller force he had bumped into tripped over and fell to the ground as their belongings spilled all over the floor. His mouth opened to scold whatever student would turn the corner of a hallway without remaining alert, but his tone quickly switched to shock as he registered who was before him.
“J-Juliana!” He blurted.
“Oh! Kieran, uh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,” she apologetically smiled.
He hated how sincere she attempted to look, and he felt his face twist up as he clenched a fist. It was awkward to stand as she collected scattered looseleaf notes and notebooks off of the ground. Kieran scoffed and bent into a squat, swiftly collecting various pens and pencils that slipped out of a case he stuffed them back into. “You should really watch where you’re goin’, ya’ know. Why are you even up?”
“I accidentally fell asleep in the League Room,” she softly admitted. He quickly looked at her, but then looked away. The fake sweetness in her voice had matured during their time apart, and it was extremely deceptive.
Kieran reached for an eraser after he had finished gathering all of Juliana’s writing utensils. He twitched in surprise as Juliana’s hand also reached for the eraser, making accidental contact with his own.
Kieran pulled his hand back as he suddenly felt the heat of the halls rise. He briefly locked eyes with Juliana, and she was uncharacteristically meek and flushed. It made the tingly feeling in his stomach rise to his throat, so he quickly focused on grabbing something else.
“D-heh,” Juliana breathed, “How come you’re up?”
“No reason,” he quickly responded as his hands sloppily crumpled one of Juliana’s papers. His attention shifted to what was revealed underneath it, and Kieran’s heart skipped a beat.
“Y-You still have this?” He queried, attempting to sound as stoic as possible. Perhaps even slightly disgusted.
Juliana’s hand entered his line of vision, and he followed it as she calmly picked up her copy of the photograph they had taken at the Festival of Masks.
“Of course I do.” She confidently asserted with ease.
Kieran was flabbergasted and frozen in place. She had said the same thing in his dream.
Her serious gaze was focused entirely on him now, and there was a weight to her words that messed with Kieran’s head. She seemed to study him for a moment, and for some reason, his fist seemed to become more lax.
“Are you…okay?”
Kieran inhaled sharply as he was pulled away from the strange comparisons he had unknowingly started to make between Juliana, and well… dream Juliana. He rested his hands on his knees and shot up, cocking his head away.
He kept his voice level, and started to move in the opposite direction at a quick pace. “You should go back ta’ bed.”
“R-Right. I hope you can t…” he heard her trail. He trucked on ahead, hoping that the distance would stop these weird feelings she seemed to bring out of him each time they would see each other.
“Kieran!”
Kieran halted in place, hitching on a breath. He slowly turned around, and forgot to muster up a scowl.
Juliana’s shoulders rose closer to her ears, then retreated back down as she exhaled. “I hope you can have sweet dreams tonight.”
His finger twitched.
“Mmm,” he grunted. He wasn’t sure how to respond, so he jerked his head back forward and marched forward once more. He didn’t even know why she would want him to sleep.
Kieran turned another corner, making it one step closer to the campus store. He ignored the drum that was his beating heart, which rallied for no good reason at all. The thought he was suppressing in his mind stepped into the spotlight as he couldn’t help but replay the encounter in his head. But the dream was merely a weird coincidence because of her return, and nothing more. After all, the Juliana he knew was a liar and an enemy. Not a girl he would ever come to love.
...So why did her soft smile make him feel…?
No.
Kieran shook his head furiously, not aware that he had halted in place once more.
Juliana? His would-be lover and eventual wife?
It was a farfetched theory.
Kieran pushed forward, trembling at the warmth that never left his fingertips from the encounter with his rival.
It just had to be.