Chapter Text
With Fist of Justice classes on break until the new year, I finally have Ivor all to myself, and it feels so good. His constant presence behind me feels like a hug from the warmest blanket, and it helps that he scares off all the strange men of Lumiose that'd usually try something if he wasn't around. He's like my own personal bodyguard, a bodyguard who's also the warmest, sweetest, kindest boyfriend I could have ever asked for.
We were just on a morning walk together when we passed by Wild Zone 19. "Ivy! Look!" I shouted. A shiny Furfrou was just standing there! It made eye contact with me and ran up as close to me as it could, a Holo-Wall in the way. It followed us as we walked forward, the Furfrou seeming fascinated with us. As we eventually came up to the gate, I looked up at Ivor. "I think he likes me! Should I catch him?"
"Aww, he sure seems like a good pup! You should, bunbun."
"Alright, let me just—" I phased through the Wild Zone's gate. The Furfrou skipped forward to me, sniffing and then licking my outstretched hand, making me giggle "Aww, what a good boy!" I opened up my satchel to search for the perfect Poké Ball to catch him in. "You seem like… a Luxury Ball kind of boy, yeah." Gently, I pressed the ball to the Furfrou's forehead. The Luxury Ball opened, Furfrou letting himself inside. The ball shook once, twice, and clicked. I emerged from the Wild Zone Luxury Ball in hand smiling ear-to-ear. "Aaah! Ivy, I'm so happy!!"
"You should let him out! I'm sure he'd love walking with us."
"Come on out, Furfrou!" I pressed the ball's button. The Furfrou appeared before us in a wave of sparkles. He barked in joy as he ran up to me, licking my hand once again. Eventually, he looked up at Ivor, tail still wagging. He sniffed his hand for a long time, getting used to his scent. The Furfrou didn't kiss Ivor's hand, but still let the man pet him. "Aww, my boys! Look! His tail's wagging!"
"Good boy… What name are you gonna give him, Buneary?"
"Hmm…" I crouched down to look at Furfrou at eye level, a hand already scratching him under his ear. "Dior. His name's going to be Dior! You like that name, huh?" Dior barked happily, jumping up, putting his forward legs on my shoulders. "Aww, good boy!"
"Seems like you two are already best friends. You should battle with him tonight!" Ivor suggested.
"Ooh, great idea! What do you think, Dior? Do you want to be in my Z-A Royale team tonight?" Dior started barking excitedly, hopping excitedly in a circle. "I think that's a yes! Ivy, can you look up where we can get Dior's fur trimmed? I want him looking sharp for tonight!"
He took out his PoryPhone from his pocket. The thing was built like a brick, and nearly indestructible. As Gwynn put it, it was absolutely "Ivor-proof". "There's Café Woof on Vernal Ave. It's like a 20 minute walk from here, bunbun. Wanna go?"
"Yeah! Oh, Dior, you're going to look so cute! I can't wait!"
The interior of the half café-half salon was peak Lumiose, overtly opulent, stylish, bougie, and not at all practical. Seeing a big tough guy like Ivor here, he must look so out of place to everyone, like a Lycanroc in Mareep's clothing.
"Bienvenue au Café Woof!" The girl at the salon side's front desk greeted. "Here we can groom your lovely Furfrou into any style that you so desire, dear customer! What kind of style were you thinking of today?"
"Hmm…" I looked over the pamphlet on the countertop. "How about… the Heart trim?"
"Parfaite! One of our professionals will be with you on the floor in just a moment!"
"Great, thank you so much!" Ivor and I walked by one of the empty stations, and sat down on the plush bench beside it. The salon was quite busy, filled completely with the upperclass women and men of Lumiose and their accompanying Furfrou. I could see Ivor getting in his head about something, he just had that kind of "I'm thinking" face along with a profound silence that's so out of character for him. I scooched my butt closer to him, laying a cheek on his big bicep. "What's wrong, Ivysaur? What's going on in that head of yours?"
That seemed to shock him somewhat, pulling him out of his strange trance. "What? N-nothing, Buneary. I promise..."
He was clearly uncomfortable, and I didn't know why… but maybe it wasn't the best to talk about it right now. Instead of pressing on further, I just took ahold of his hand, whispering a soft "I love you" to him.
"I know. Love you too, Buneary." He pressed a kiss onto the top of my head, holding my hand back like it's his lifeline. Whatever's making him uncomfortable must really be hurting him. Dior tried licking Ivor's free hand to cheer him up, but even that wasn't working.
A few minutes passed until our stylist approached us. "Bonjour! My name is Louise, and I'll be styling your Furfrou today! May I ask that you and your Furfrou follow me to our washroom to get started?"
I stood up and followed her a few steps before realizing Ivor wasn't next to me. I took a step back and faced him. "Ivy?"
"I'll stay here, bunbun… Just… think I gotta be by myself right now." I frowned… but I understood. I nodded towards him before Dior and I joined Louise.
After a quick shampoo and condition, we left the washroom. Immediately I saw what was making Ivor so unlike himself. On the other side of the salon was Jacinthe, overlooking her stylist trimming her own Furfrou. Sitting in the corner was her assisstant, Lebanne. I know something of a past between them? At least, only what Ivor himself told me when we had to battle at Le Super-Tournoi de Jacinthe. He's never elaborated since. I sat down next to him as Louise started trimming and dying Dior's fur, squeezing his hand much like I was doing before. "You're going to be okay, Ivy. I promise." He leaned into my touch, resting his head on mine.
Naps with Ivor were common. The man often woke up at 4am just to catch an early morning workout, so by 4pm, he'd start crashing. Luckily, naps with him were the best thing ever. Curled up together on his bed as it gently snows outside the window. A movie is playing softly in the background, and an incense burner is eminating a pleasant but mysterious aroma, Gwynn's favorite. His chest makes for the most perfect pair of pillows, his body the best weighted blanket. The addition of Dior snoring curled up by our ankles makes the scene even more serene. Eventually, the clock ticked to 6pm, and tonight's battle zones went live. "Ivy…" I pawed up at his chest. "Ivy… wake up… it's Z-A Royale time…" My sleepy voice slurred.
"Five more minutes… Need my Buneary…" He squeezed me tighter to his body
"Okayyy… mmm…" My body melted back into his.
Dior let out a tiny woof before walking up to our faces. He sniffed around for a second before he started to lick Ivor's face. "Dior, please…" Ivor complained.
"I think he needs to go out for a walk… come on, Ivy, we should go."
"Okay…" He pouted as he rose from the bed. He quickly dressed in some weather-appropriate gear for a long night of battling. I joined him, slipping into a warm cardigan and a cute skirt. Dior jumped off the bed, trotting on up between my legs, excited for his first night in the Royale. "Buneary?" Ivor questioned.
"Hm? What is it, Ivysaur?" I tilted my head towards Ivor as I applied some blush on my cheeks.
"What if we… don't do well in the Royale tonight?" He turned to face me, worry clear on his face
"Why would you say that? That's not going to happen. We're like, two of the highest ranked trainers in the city, we'll be fine!" I tried to reassure him. Dior walked up to him and started kissing his hand, trying to cheer him up. Luckily, that seemed to work. Ivor snapped out of his worried mindset almost suddenly… strange. He lifted up Dior high above the floor, Dior's little paws wiggled and squirmed all around as Ivor pressed a kiss right on the heart-shaped fur on his forehead. "You ready to show everyone your new trim, yeah? Good boy."
"Aww! You two are too cute for your own good, you know that, right?"
The smile on his face when I said that… that's what it's all about, isn't it? His smile was the kind men would fight wars over, the kind to just absolutely blind you in it's radiant beauty. My handsome man.
We were about to leave the apartment before we noticed Canari sitting on the couch by herself. "Sup." She waved nonchalantly, not moving her eyes from her phone.
"Hey, Canari…? What are you doing here…?" When did she even get here? I looked up at Ivor in confusion, but he seemed even more confused than I.
Just then, Gwynn appeared from her bedroom wearing a cute cropped DYN4M0 hoodie and some comfy shorts that showed off her countless tattoos she normally hid away. She practically ran towards Canari, jumping onto the couch with palpable excitement… then she noticed Ivor and I were there too. "Please just pretend you didn't see anything… the embarrasment of knowing you saw me like that is eating at me already."
Ivor, Canari, and I all just started laughing. Canari's arm wrapped around Gwynn's shoulder. "Come on, G-Volt! You don't gotta be embarrassed to see me!" She roughed up her hair playfully.
"It's not that! It's…" Gwynn made eye contact with Ivor for just a second before looking away. "It's nothing. Just go already! It's our movie night, go, go!" she spluttered. Ivor, Dior, and I followed her directions, leaving the apartment to them.
Once in the hallway, "What was that about?" Ivor was so puzzled.
"I don't know… maybe she's embarrassed of being like you!"
"Like me? What about her gives that off?"
"I mean, come on. She loves to think of herself as your total opposite, but the way she ran up to Canari? That's how you run up to me… frankly, it was really cute. You two are more alike than you think."
"More alike than we think… Hm…" He looked down at the floor as he thought about it, hopefully in a positively introspective way and not in his anxious brain.
"Alright, let's go! The Royale awaits!"
From his apartment, we made our way to the familiar red Holo-Walls of the battle zone nearby Wild Zone 8. Ivor grumbled something to himself, probably about how Zone 8 used to be a park for all in Lumiose, now barricaded off, unsafe to go into without a strong partner Pokémon.
"Alright, you ready, Ivy?" I took out my RotomPhone, pairing it with Ivor's PoryPhone to sync us as a team.
"Yup! Let's show everyone some justice!" He struck his signature Fist of Justice pose with vigor. Dear Arceus, he's such a dork, I love him.
"How 'bout you, Dior? Are you excited for your first battle?" Dior let out an adorable little woof of joy; He looks absolutely adorable in his new trim.
Ivor released his trusty Falinks from it's ball as we walked into the battle zone. We took a few steps in when we noticed two trainers standing shadily by the nature mint stall. "Quiet…" I peeked around the corner. "Okay, coast is clear." They're leading with an Aggron and a Gyarados. As silent as I possibly could, I sent out Dior to hit the Gyarados with a super-effective Thunder Fang, fainting it instantly. Before it's trainer could even really notice, Ivor's Falinks was already up in Close Combat with the Aggron, defeating it in just a single massive strike. The trainers threw out their other Pokémon, a Slowking and a Lucario, the Lucario Mega Evolving as soon as it hit the field. Lucario seemed to have only one target in mind, Dior. An easy target with it's subpar defenses and weakness to it's charging Aura Sphere.
"Falinks!" Ivor clutched at his Key Stone before punching through the air "Time to Mega Evolve! Justice WILL win the day!" Falinks glowed a familiar prismatic aura as the troopers and brass took on their ultimate battle formation. Just in time, Mega Falinks shielded Dior from the Aura Sphere, saving him from certain fainting and creating an opening.
"Dior, Thunder Fang the Slowking!" I commanded. Dior rushed behind the Slowking, charging electricity through his sharp teeth, biting down hard on it's exposed tail, taking it down.
Meanwhile, Ivor and his Mega Falinks were in an intense 1v1 with the Mega Lucario and it's trainer. Lucario charged forward with a Bone Rush, but dealt minimal damage to the No Retreat boosted Falinks. "Let's end it, Falinks! Hit it with a Close Combat!" The Pokémon listened, charging forward with it's mighty lance aimed straight at the Lucario, dealing massive damage to it. One extra hit is all it needs.
Think fast, think fast! "Dior, U-turn!" Dior charged up briefly before striking the Lucario with one final hit, winning us the battle. "Ah!!! Dior, you did it! Good boy!" I ran up to him with a hug, his tail wagged with delight.
Ivor ran up to us in a few long strides. "You two did great! I'm so proud of you two!" He beamed down at us before scooping me into a tight hug.
"Ivy!!" I giggled. My legs squirmed as I struggled to find footing.
"Oh! Sorry, lemme just—" He lowered me down until my shoes hit the pavement. "Got excited…" He chuckled nervously.
"It's okay! We really ate that up, huh?"
"We sure did!" He cheered, hyping all of us up. "As a team, we're unstoppable!"
The night stretched on, as nights in the Z-A Royale tended to do. We're only one win away from having a Challenger's Ticket… we can do this. We went up to the battle zone near Hotel Richissme, so there's tons of SBC members everywhere, much to Ivor's dismay. All of his Pokémon look quite tired too… all those Fairy and Flying types the SBC uses must be hard on them.
"Just one more win, Buneary…" He heaved.
"Don't worry, Ivy. We got this. Look! There's some trainers over there, we can totally sneak up on them." They had a Glalie and a Scrafty, totally easy for his Falinks and my Florges to take out.
He whispered with a yawn "You make the first move… I don't wanna drag you down…"
"Drag me down, what? Ivy, what do you mea—?" I absentmindedly took a step forward, rookie mistake.
"Bonsoir entraîneurs!"
Oh no.
Without a second to waste, a Jacinthe zone was created around us, the holographic purple walls locking us in. There's no escape from her, there never is.
"At long last! I truly thought we might never get to battle again. Alors, my dearies, it's time to give it our all!" Jacinthe monologued. Lebanne followed closely behind her, Great Ball in hand. Ivor seemed completely frozen in shock, like a Froslass' Ice Beam hit him head on.
"Come on, Ivy! We can do this!" I yelled as I threw out my Mawile.
Jacinthe threw out her Carbink with a quick kiss to it's Luxury Ball, and Lebanne lead with her Noivern. Something about her seemed off. She didn't dare speak a single word, uncharacteristically quiet, as was Ivor. He hasn't even sent out a Pokémon yet.
"Ivy, please, I can't do this alone. I need you…" His gaze caught my own, my eyes staring up at him with immense love and care. My small hand brushed up against his large one. "Please…" His frozen state of shock seemed to thaw just a bit, but still, not a word. He threw out his trusted Heracross… against a Rock type and a Flying type?
Before I could even question his dubious decision, Jacinthe's Carbink had already hit his Heracross with a critical Stone Edge, removing half of it's health. Meanwhile, Lebanne's Noivern charged up a four-times super-effective Hurricane, defeating the poor Heracross before Ivor and I could even realize what was happening.
"Ivy, come on! We can still do this. Mawile, it's time to mega-evolve!" Thrusting my mega ring into the air, Mawile began to glow with a prismatic aura, cloaked itself in a crystalline chrysalis, and shattered it, revealing it's huge power. Mawile rammed into Carbink at mach speed with a shattering Iron Head, making it faint on the spot. Ivor sent out his Gallade, ready to hit Noivern with a powerful Plus Stone Edge. Gallade readied it's blade-like arms, preparing it's attack; but as it readied, Noivern fired off a Plus Hurricane aimed directly at Gallade. Time slowed down as the powerful gusts homed onto Gallade, taking it down with it's overwhelming force. Vengeful for her fallen comrade, Mawile crashed into Noivern with a brutal Play Rough. Lebanne recalled her fainting Noivern back into it's ball.
The SBC duo released their next pair of Pokémon, a uniquely-styled Furfrou, whose fluffy ears resembled Jacinthe's lavender curls, ever the egoist— and a terrifyingly giant Alpha Garchomp. The beast of a Garchomp soared right in front of my Mawile, and crushed the very ground beneath her in a tremendous Earthquake. She was unable to take the hit, and returned to her ball in a beam of thin light.
"Dior! It's your turn!" Dior's Luxury Ball hit the field, and sparkled on entrance. Jacinthe's eye twitched. A twinge of jealousy, perhaps?
"Bunbun!" Ivor pulled me aside in dramatic fashion. "We need to double up on the Garchomp! It's our only chance to take them down!"
"Got it!"
"Alright, Falinks, don't fail me now…" He hesitantly sent out his prized Falinks, mega evolving it on the spot. In response, Lebanne mega evolved her own Garchomp into a Mega Garchomp Z, levitating above the ground menacingly.
The battlefield became a cacophany of commands and cries, as if this battle were life or death.
"Dior! Ice Fang!"
"Falinks, use No Retreat!"
"Garchomp, hit 'em with a Draco Meteor!"
Jacinthe however—"Furfrou, stay right here, you're doing great." —stood there in near silence, watching with glee as chaos unfolded before her.
The double targeting Draco Meteor hit both of our Pokémon for some good damage, but it's still 2v1… until Jacinthe inevitably joins in again. Ivor's No Retreat boosted Falinks struck the Garchomp with a powerful blow from it's lance, leaving it reeling. Dior ran in with an Ice Fang, taking the monster down.
Annoyed with Lebanne's defeat, Jacinthe switched out her Furfrou for her signature Mega Clefable, not about to let her pup be defeated by an army of six little dudes. Lebanne threw out her final Pokémon, her ace Dragalge, somehow still having enough Mega Energy to mega evolve once again. The Dragalge immediately targeted Dior, it's Sludge Bomb being too strong for the pup to handle. All I had left was my Florges… not a great matchup…
"Come on, Florges! We can't give up now!" I yelled desperately, throwing her out of her Heal Ball. It's not looking great… the noxious Dragalge is already haunting behind Florges, and Clefable's overwhelming fae energy is completely negating any meaningful damage from Falinks' STAB moves. With a wave and a blast of light, it was over. We lost. The look on Ivor's face as he recalled Falinks… it stung. The face of utter defeat and failure. He looked just about ready to fall over and sob like a little baby. I've never seen him quite like this before…
"Oh-ho-ho! It seems I win this time! How delightful! Alors, bonne nuit, mes amis !" Jacinthe turned off the lavender walls and sashayed away to Hotel Richissme, Lebanne following close behind her. Maybe I was just imagining it, but I swear I saw Lebanne look over her shoulder at Ivor with a twinge of regret.
"Ivy… are you okay?" I rushed to his side.
"I'm fine. I'm fine… I just…" He took a deep breath, lost in his own mind. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Let's just go home, Ivy… I'm sorry. I love you." I can't help but feel like I caused this, like I pushed him too hard, and now he's crashing like a speeding car with no one behind the wheel.
"I love you too, Buneary… I love you too." He whimpered.
"There you two losers are! I was starting to think you wouldn't come back until sunrise!" Gwynn chuckled to herself and Canari. The two were clearly high and having a good time, the packet of edibles still being on the table. "Come on, take a gummy with us!!" She was so strangely lively and sociable like this, it's like Ivor and Gwynn completely swapped personalities.
"Not now, Gwynn…" He didn't even turn his head to look at her, instead storming off to his room.
"What's his problem?" Canari joked as she crunched a few tortilla chips.
I didn't respond. I feel like if I did, I might have snapped at her, making everything worse. Instead, I followed Ivor to his room, locking the wooden door behind me. "Ivy… I'm really sorry…"
"You don't have to be, Buneary… I just… I don't wan't to talk about it right now." Even now, he wouldn't look at me in the eye, like he thought he wasn't worthy of me.
"That's okay, you don't have to… I just want you to be okay." My smaller hand brushed up against his large paw.
"I will be… Can we just go to bed? I wanna hold you."
"Can Dior come on the bed too? Pleeeaseee." My eyes shone up at him, sparkling in the subtle moonlit bedroom.
"Yeah, bunbun, he can." He responded dryly as he flopped down onto the bed, shedding off all layers of his clothing until he was left in some burgundy boxers.
While he did that, I let Dior out from his ball and started changing. The tired Furfrou jumped up onto the bed, settling in by Ivor's feet in a little ball. Now in some pajamas— which was just one of Ivor's old t-shirts, a pair of comfortable panties, and some socks, I joined my boys in the bed.
As soon as I layed down, Ivor's hands pawed at my waist. "Come here…" His fingers gripped around my hips, pulling me tight to his body. My head nestled comfortably in his large chest. "My babygirl… my little Buneary… mine…" He sleepily mumbled as if trying to affirm to himself. The mumbles slowly came to a stop as his soft snores began to lull me to sleep.