Parfum Palace was beautiful at night. It stood shimmering beneath the stars, its pale stone and glimmering gilded statues a delight to behold, with little more than a few old-style lanterns to light up the gardens beneath its walls. And on this night, not a single shadow moved, save for the pair of people perched on its parapets.
"Are you still pouting?" Serena asked, her legs swinging off of the side of the wall. Malva, in sharp contrast, was gripping it so tightly her knuckles were white.
"No," Malva said through gritted teeth.
"Are you sure?" Serena giggled at her girlfriend and leaned in close. "I think I see one right here." She poked Malva's cheek. "Yep, that's a pout!"
"Fine!" Malva huffed. "I asked the owner for a private night here dozens of times, and do you know what he told me?"
"Yes, my beloved."
"No, he said no money can buy his domain!" Malva's eyes could have taken down a Skarmory in flight.
"No, I mean..." Serena shook her head. "Well, you know why I could get it, don't you?" A grin was already forming.
Malva rolled her eyes.
"Because you're the ch-"
"Because I'm the champ!" Serena interrupted her, placed her hands on her hips, and thrust her chin into the air. "The reigning, defending, undisputed Champion of Kalos: Serena, baby!"
Despite her best efforts, Malva chuckled. It had taken a long time, but Serena had mastered the art of breaking through Malva's foul moods.
"What possessed me to spend the night with an arrogant whelp like you?" Malva asked, as she pushed her sunglasses up her nose.
"The fact that I'm gorgeous," Serena said, as she plucked the sunglasses from Malva's nose and put them on herself. "And I'm ravishing," She pushed them up so they sat on the crown of her head. "And beautiful, too." She winked.
"Those are synonyms," Malva grumbled, but she was still smiling. That was all Serena wanted. "… But you're right. For all your posturing, you are at least pleasant to look at."
"Ah, Ms Malva! Are you trying to seduce me?" Serena fanned herself with her hands.
"And what if I am?" Malva leaned a little closer to Serena, forcing the shorter girl to look up to meet her gaze.
"Then… You get a kiss." Serena wrapped her arms around Malva's neck and pulled her in. The kiss lasted for just a few seconds, but it left Serena grinning and Malva's heart thumping. "And there's more where that came from."
"A few months ago, I might not have believed that," Malva said, as she steadily turned around on the parapet so her back was facing the gardens and her eyes were on the rooftop.
"What do you mean?" Serena swung her legs to the other side and peered up. "Did you doubt your kissability?" Her fingers shot out to tickle Malva's exposed hip, which earned her a laugh and a glare.
"Me?" Malva scoffed. "I think you'll find I've always been in the top one percent of kissable peoples."
"Definitely in the kissable Elite Four," Serena added. She was going to say that she would still be the champion, but Malva's tone had taken a sincere turn, which was a rarity in their relationship. Even after so much time.
"I'd damn well better be," Malva said. "Now where was I? Ah, yes, the start of our relationship. I trusted you about as much as I did when you were gallivanting across Kalos, conquering Team Flare with nothing more than a handful of Pokeballs and a stylish red skirt."
Serena discretely smoothed down the skirt she was currently wearing, which was exactly the same. Nobody could accuse her of being unoriginal when she looked so good in it.
"And then there was the business with poor Emma, and I stopped wanting to burn your pretty little face off every time I saw you."
Serena once more bit her tongue. She thought it was because she'd thoroughly trounced Malva again during that investigation.
"And then… Well, you're aware of how we got together, and I thought to myself 'what is she playing at?'. An older woman who not only associated with a group of villains who you clashed with at every turn, but who was personally volatile towards you, and the opposite of any desirable traits people tend to look for in a partner, aside from my beauty."
"I like all of your traits." Serena smiled as she said it and took Malva's hand in hers, then brought it up to her lips to kiss the back of it.
"Of course I know that now," Malva frowned at the sky. "But I didn't then. People see my confidence and shy away. They see my anger, which was in some need of temperance, I admit, and back off. And when it came out that I was associated with Team Flare, well, I hardly think I could visit the local Mart without being looked at askance. And that's the time when renowned enemy of Team Flare, hero of Kalos and a generally lovely girl with pleasant facial features decide to court me?"
"I just thought you looked so cute when you were pouting..." Serena let out a pleased sigh. She could still picture Malva sulking in her throne room at the Pokemon League. "And you looked like you needed cheering up!"
"Yes, you said as much at the time." Malva shook her head and chuckled. "I remember not being quite as pleased to hear it."
"But you did still agree." Serena smirked.
"But I did still agree. And I was nervous as I'd ever been. Not how you might be picturing it – flashes of anger, suspicion, embarrassment over those, and then the entire thing all over again. I thought that you might have been attempting to play a trick on me somehow."
"Um, what's that mean?" Serena asked.
"It means…" Malva sighed. "Everyone was smitten with you. Everyone. You could have had your pick of anyone, any of the thousands of people who adored you, who you flitted among without a care in the world. You'd just smile, or giggle, and skip on through the day after giving a child the best day of their life with nothing more than an autograph. It was like you knew how easily you affected people, how little effort it would take to manipulate, or toy with them, and it amused you."
"I would never do that!" Serena gasped. Just the thought of it was making her stomach churn.
"You try telling that to me then," Malva said. "Or don't, because I did, and I wouldn't listen to a word of it. Just the way you flitted about could drive me mad, whether it was jealousy or just my own inability to understand or the fact that you could do it all so easily."
"I thought that you were being grumpy because you were just getting used to not hating me..." Serena looked down at her lap.
"I was, even if not in the way you were thinking of." Malva slipped her arm around Serena's waist and pulled her close to her side. "And if it makes you feel any better, I did stop hating you very quickly. Your charms did not go unappreciated."
"That's something!" Serena laughed as she nuzzled up against Malva. It was a warm night, but she could have been thrown into the sun and she'd be warmer with Malva at her side. "And I really hope this story has a happy ending, because I'll be very cross if it doesn't."
"So far it does," Malva said. "And I suppose I've already answered your question about what I meant. I was wary and you were pretty and eventually you managed to come into my good graces. Your company did the bulk of the work, and I find myself a little less adversarial in general. Your good influence, no doubt."
"So… I rubbed off on you?" Serena glanced up at Malva.
"Of course you did."
"Oh dear." A frown creased Serena's brow. "Does that mean you've rubbed off on me? I don't want to start threatening people."
"And you wonder why I thought you might toy with me." Malva clicked her tongue. "You might not be malicious, but you certainly like to try people's patience."
"I do not!" Serena reached up to pinch Malva's pale cheek. "I'm as sweet as a Spritzee."
"But much harder to catch." If Serena squinted, she could just about see a blush crawling up Malva's neck. That was something she barely ever got to see. "And I suppose that's why I started monologuing at you. You're a wonderful woman, Serena, and I appreciate all you've done for me. From how you appreciate me every day, to how you've forgiven me for my past associations, to how you're making me into a woman less likely to wish death on her enemies. And it is wonderful not because of fate, but because of you. A lesser woman would gladly have thrown me under a bus and been content with glaring at me every time our paths crossed."
"Well, I couldn't do that." Serena could have kissed Malva right then and there, but that might have meant missing out on more of the splendid things she was saying. She didn't think the way she interacted with anyone was particularly special, but it was nice to hear that someone did. "I wouldn't be able to kiss you!"
"You're right, you wouldn't. And that would be a shame," Malva said. The blush had worked its way up to her cheeks, across her nose, and over to her ears. "And I..." The next word got caught on her tongue. "I..."
"… Have turned bright pink!" Serena interrupted. "Just like your hair!"
"Excuse me?" Malva blinked through the mix of confusion and embarrassment that followed.
"It's like camouflage!" Serena giggled.
"And where, pray tell, would pink camouflage be useful?"
Seran bit her lip as she considered the question, then snapped her fingers.
"Marshmallow factory."
Malva looked down at Serena's supremely smug face and couldn't help but smile.
"I admit, one would be useful for what I'm about to say." Malva slipped away from Serena and turned to face her. Her long fingers slid into her pocket and retrieved a deep red box. "Serena..." She took in a shaky breath, steeled her gaze, and looked into Serena's eyes as she sunk down to one knee. "Will you marry me?" The box popped open as she popped the question. Inside was a beautiful ruby, flanked by diamonds and set into a silver ring.
A whine escaped Serena's lips as she took in the sight.
Malva, the fiery former Flare, knelt at her feet with a blush on her cheeks and a hint of tears in her eyes.
Serena sat, speechless, staring, scared.
"I..." Serena swallowed. "I, um, hmm." She wanted to look away from Malva, from the sight of the fear of impending heartbreak, but she couldn't do that. She had to be brave. "Malva," She whispered, "I didn't know..."
Malva still knelt, the box in her outstretched hand, and her lips set to stop their trembling.
"I'm not saying no!" Serena said. "I'm not, really! So don't just sit there and think that I'm going to break your heart, because I'm not! It's only that marriage isn't a thing I thought about, ever! It's… My parents, you know? They're not together. And my dad wasn't even around for long enough for me to be mad at him for not being around. But mom was married. And that didn't work out. And she's okay. And I just never thought of it. And I don't know what to say."
Malva's fingers closed the box and her arm swung back to her side.
"I was not aware of that," Malva's voice was hoarse.
"Like I said, it's just never come up. I didn't think… Maybe that was dumb of me? I can be like that sometimes." Serena laughed an empty laugh. "Um, so, yeah. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize." Malva shook her head. "I wish I'd known sooner, but that is no fault of yours."
"I'm sorry." Serena slipped off of the wall to kneel with Malva.
"Although it is interesting how I keep managing to find new ways to get hot in your presence. Fury, passion, and shame." Malva glared at the hand that held the box. "It's a wonder I haven't burned myself up entirely."
"Hey… I still love you, you know?" Serena grabbed Malva's other hand and placed a kiss on her cheek.
"I.. Yes." Malva nodded. "You're right." She let out a sigh. "I simply thought this would go more smoothly. Even your mother seemed to think so."
"Mom did?" Serena blinked. "Really?"
"Quite. Perhaps Grace thinks less of me than I thought," Malva muttered.
Serena stared at the box as images of her mom filled her head. She'd seen her so sad so many times, mostly when she'd thought Serena wasn't looking. She'd even seen the box where she kept her old rings. And then she thought of the things her mom had to say about Malva, all the nice things, kind things, about the fire inside her and how it complimented Serena's.
Then came the memories of Malva smiling, laughing, content in her arms. Then, everything Malva had just told her.
Serena nodded.
"Malva, open that box again."
"Why?" Malva scowled.
"Because I said so!" Serena watched Malva open the box to reveal the ring inside. She held out her left hand. "Now ring me."
"Excuse me?" Malva looked at Serena and got captured by her eyes. They were sharp, focused, just like they were when she was about to step into a duel. And her smile was as sweet as it had ever been.
"Put that ring on my finger, then kiss me, then marry me," Serena instructed "We can wait however long for the last one, but I'm gonna need you to do the first two right now."
Malva's fingers trembled as she took the ring out of the box, cradled Serena's hand, and slipped the ring on her finger. A tear ran down her cheek as she took Serena by the waist and pulled her in for a kiss. When it was over, she just held Serena close.
Eventually, Serena spoke.
"When we get married, I wanna see you in a dress." Serena pulled a couple of tissues out of her handbag to wipe her and Malva's eyes.
"… Is that a deal-breaker?" Malva hadn't stopped smiling since they kissed.
"It might be a deal-breaker." Serena winked.
"Fine. But you have to wear a suit."
"Done!" Serena grinned. "But you'll have to keep a tight grip on me when I do, because I'm gonna get alllll the girls."
Malva tugged Serena a closer to her and secured her snugly to her chest.
"I'm burning anyone who comes within five feet of you."
"What happened to me making you a better person?"
"Oh, you have," Malva said, "that's why I'm settling for first degree burns."