Disclaimer: My name's certainly not affiliated with Pokémon –not unless I want to be sued .
Story: "…Or that's what they want to name the season," his secretary said. Or in which Giovanni is forced onto a dating reality show for PR reasons, and ends up with Ash on his season.
Set after Kalos~
Spoilers: I don't think so.
Warnings: Genderbending, perverts, raunchy humor, weird humor, craziness, etc…
Pairings: Giovanni/Ash: ShatterShipping.
The Bachelor: Italia Amore!
Chapter Twenty-One: The Finale?
Her mind was a mess. An utter mess.
Ash didn't know where her head was because she seemed all over the place now. It seemed like it had become the usual. After a new development with Giovanni, she would become unraveled and stuck in a disarray of thoughts and emotions.
"You alright?"
"Peachy," she muttered dazedly.
"Doesn't seem like it."
"Shut up, Guzma."
The white-haired man pouted, but she wasn't in the mood. Besides, it was his fault for assaulting her on her arrival to Alola. As soon as her boat had stopped at the dock, he appeared and had raucously 'welcomed' her home. That was a few days ago and she was still brooding about her night with Giovanni. She didn't even have Pikachu or Colress since they'd stayed behind in Pallet Town.
"I don't get it," Guzma dropped onto his front on her bed, having successfully finally snuck into the villa she was staying at. "What the hells going on, Ash? Not that I'm too unhappy. You left Alola like…a month ago? It's too long!"
"It wasn't that long," she rolled her eyes.
"It is too! Plumeria thinks I annoyed you away and the rest miss you. Plus, Tupp, Rapp, and Zipp keep pissin' me off about headin' to Kanto and askin' if we can stay for a bit. Or somethin' like that."
"What did Hala tell you?" Ash looked over to him with a fond smirk. "You're clipping your words again."
"Peh, who cares," Guzma grumbled.
She did kind of missed this. Alola had been the last place she'd been before she'd gone back to Kanto, and then had been dragged into this reality show mess. She'd run into Team Skull plenty of times, but they were just too inept and dorky for her to take serious and think they were a real Team. And then she met Guzma, the boss, and he was just a twenty-three year old punk that she ended up growing fond of.
She glanced at his fluffy white hair and idly reached up to alternately run her fingers through it or fluff it more. He blushed but instead of ducking away, he ducked closer to make it easier on her.
"You're such a Momma's Boy," she gave him a lopsided, affectionate grin.
He grumbled at her, but continued to stay in place.
But she did explain to him why she was there, leading to him to snort and try to stifle his laughing.
"Pffft! That's so stupid. Get outta here!"
She tugged on his hair harshly.
"O-ow! Okay, okay! Sorry," he was back to a pout. "So what's your problem?" You like him, don't you?" though he looked unruly at that, his bottom lip jutting out.
"He's the boss of Team Rocket," she shrugged, though that fact made Guzma blink and look at her warily. "Am I fine with it? Can I be with him despite of that? He's also clearly older than me. We have all these issues and we've both talked about it, had even said that it'll be fine…But is it? Will it be fine? And we can say that now, but what about later on? Is that still going to hold through?"
Guzma rubbed his temples. "Goddamn, girl. Gimme a headache. Why don't you just accept you want what you want? Why the fuck care about these dumbass details? If it was me, I'd be all over my girl and give no fucks about anything."
He gave her a quick glance, but she was busy in thought over what he said.
"What if he is thinking the same things though?" she chewed on her lip. "What if he's as bothered by all of this as I am?"
"Then quit your dumbass thinking!"
Ash couldn't help laughing a bit, but then there was a knock on her door and Guzma cursed.
"Ah shit, they're going to put security on my ass again. See you later!"
He jumped off her bed and headed to her window, using the windowsill to propel himself over it and out of her room. He started running as soon as his feet hit the ground.
Her door opened then and Wesley walked in, along with a cameraman.
"Morning," he greeted her. "How are you?"
"A mess," she sighed, plopping backwards onto her bed again.
"But you had a good date with Giovanni yesterday, didn't you?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Yeah. We went around Hau'oli City and acted like tourists. It was fun."
"Then what's wrong?" he raised an eyebrow at her.
"It's me and Janelle," she said morosely. "We're at the end of this thing. She's really pretty," she told him sullenly as she sat up.
Ash tugged at her hair, looking at the strands she held. "I'm okay. And even if she's a real piece of work, she's really gorgeous. She matches with him, you know? They look good together. She's closer in age to him and they'd be able to walk around and be the type of couple you'd think work well."
She looked at the camera before sighing. "You, me, and him know that we also have a complicated history. Our current relationship is equally complicated. And at the end of the day, we're worlds apart –he's a criminal boss and I'm just some young brat that used to interfere with him and his Team. He's older and more mature, and I've got issues that keep me from being anywhere okay with a relationship. It's just…I'm afraid that this won't work out. More than that, I'm afraid that he'll realize that and won't choose me in the end because of that."
Wesley sat next to her and took her hand. He gave her a kind smile.
"You're a wonderful person. It's been so obvious from the start that Giovanni saw you and practically no one else. So at least be confident in that."
"I don't know if I'm willing to accept him either," she whispered, having teetered on that decision.
"Then that's something you need to think about carefully," he said gently.
At least she had the rest of the day to think about it, since tomorrow was the day of the proposal.
If he was going to propose.
Giovanni stared at himself in the mirror, fixing his tie mechanically.
It was the day.
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His choice should be so obvious, but it wasn't.
He knew he clearly cared for and admitted he was in love with Ash. That was true and will probably always be true.
But she was young. He would tie her down, whether it was through this fake engagement and ruse he'd drag her through…or a real engagement that he so desperately wanted. He'd never wanted to be married or care to be before…but then this came about and no one else came to mind for it.
If he had a wife, he wanted to have no one but Ash be it.
Giovanni wasn't naïve though. There was still her to consider. Did she want to be married to him? He had been her enemy not too long ago. Their truce began and was because of this reality show. Even if she would give it a try, despite her misgivings of who he was, would she be able to continue to live and be married to the boss of Team Rocket? Could she let herself do that?
He wondered if she was able to even really forgive him for what happened to Unova, much less whatever else he troubled and plagued her with through her life. They'd never really talked about it, especially because of all these damn cameras and rules of separation.
God forbid he think about his and her ages. It made him hate and curse Steven Stone all over again, because he knew the other liked Ash as well and was well closer to her in age than Giovanni.
Were they really just too far apart?
There was a knock and he tiredly called for them to come in. He saw Wesley walk inside, look him over, and then shake his head.
"We'll have you talk to the cameras in the Interview Room soon, but I think you need to talk to someone first," he closed the door behind himself and Giovanni was thankful when he gestured to the camera in the room to back off.
"Listen, usually we leave things to the Bachelor and Bachelorette and let them think it over and make their choices, even if we think it's a mistake," Wesley admitted to him. "But Ash has become a dear friend and even you have, and the fact you're even hesitating is worrying."
Wesley massaged the back of his neck cautiously. "You know, I've even come to like her myself," he further admitted, which caused Giovanni to give him a surprised look. "That's why this is especially important that I help you clear your head. I talked to her yesterday and I know she's as anxious as you are. So think about that, okay? Do you go with what you want in your heart or what you want in your head?"
Which made Giovanni flinched.
Ash was everything he wanted. But Janelle fit his need, exactly what he wanted and needed for the purposes he came onto the show for in the first place. She was pretty and his type physically. She was smart and had a razor sharp wit that could be cutting. He also wasn't stupid and hadn't bought her whole sweet and nice act either, because even if she played it up with him and for the cameras –he was used to those kinds of acts and could see through it easily.
But she'd be useful and fulfill every part of his checklist without the complications and emotions that came with choosing Ash.
"If I did choose her, would she say yes to me?" he asked quietly, becoming deep in thought.
Because if he did ask her and she ended up rejecting him…that would crush him on a level he'd never had to deal with. He was Giovanni, ruthless boss, but this small diamond of a girl could ruin him in a second.
He didn't know if he could handle that.
"That's up to her," Wesley answered honestly. "And you'll have to take that risk if you're willing to for her."
Giovanni thought it over and nodded slowly.
"I understand," he murmured.
He took a ferry to Akala Island and was driven to Janelle at the Tide Song Hotel first. He saw her waiting at the beaches, red hair elegantly tied into a bun at the top of her head as she wore a slim emerald silk dress.
He walked towards her, used to ignoring the following cameras by now. She saw him soon enough and turned to him with a bright smile that was on the edge of being a smirk.
Stopping in front of her, he forced his lips into a small smile as he gazed at her solemnly. Part of it was fake, part of it was not because he did feel bad for what was to come…
"Janelle, as I got to know you through this journey, I found that you and I were alike and as matching as people could be," he said and it wasn't a lie. She was conniving and full of sneers, and she could pretend with the best. He was just better at it than she was, and even better at spotting the act.
"You're beautiful," he continued and again that was true. She was a beautiful woman with her flowing red locks, and he'd always been partial of red heads. "You made my head turn from the beginning and I enjoyed all of our talks." The beginning part was at least true.
By then her smile had faltered and she looked slightly confused, and he knew she probably thought she had this in the bag. He decided to end it already, even if previous Bachelors and Bachelorettes had probably taken much longer with their rejection speeches.
"But I'm so sorry," he told Janelle. "I love someone else."
The tears came and to her credit, Giovanni didn't know whether or not these were real or fabricated.
"I don't understand!" she gasped out, crying while furiously wiping at her face. "We connected so well and I thought you and I were really meant to be together, that you really loved me."
He continued to look apologetic, even as he felt impatient and wanted to move onto Ash already. But he stayed there, soothing and apologizing to her.
Not that he got where she was coming from –he had never indicated or told her he'd loved her in any form. He'd only said he'd liked any of the women, which was true enough, but he'd never even gone past kissing any of them except for Ash. Not even Janelle in the Fantasy Suite. He'd managed to smuggle in a sleeping pill that wouldn't mix unhealthily with the alcohol and she'd passed out on him, letting him lead her to believe she'd been too tired the next morning.
He'd meant it when he said he wanted to be with only Ash.
"Please let me walk you out," he said regretfully, letting him douse all the sympathy and sorrow he could.
He carefully held onto her arms, directing her out of the beaches and to the hotel's long outside walkway, where he continued to help her to the waiting limo.
"I'm so, so sorry," he told her again. "I hope you will find someone to be truly happy with."
The limo door closed after her and soon the limo was pulling away from the curve. The producers moved towards him.
"Honestly, you're good," Zachary said in admiration. "I thought she'd throw a tantrum."
Giovanni shrugged, heading towards where he knew his limo was. "So did I."
The producers started to gape at him, glancing between him and the fading away limo.
"You…" Roger trailed off.
Giovanni turned slightly to them, even as he kept walking.
"Didn't Ash tell you? I'm just a charming bastard. Most of the time I'm an asshole."
He walked away and Wesley shook his head.
"H-how much of that did he fake?" Zachary gawped, glancing between Giovanni's retreating back and the beaches.
"All of it?" Lisa said faintly. "I mean Janelle did turn out to be a super bitch, who I was stuck with," she twitched as she muttered that part. "So my sympathy is null right now."
"I wonder how much of the show did he fake," Roger face palmed.
"Probably around 90% of it with everyone, and none of it when it came to Ash," Wesley snarked. "Let's get going. We have a ferry to catch and I think he's pretty eager to get to her."
The four of them went to get to their own ride and hope a happy ending was near.
Giovanni felt himself pick up speed as he entered Malie Garden. The moment he entered, he hurriedly looked around to see if he could find her.
His own heart raced rapidly, a strange notion since he'd always sneered and said he didn't have one.
He went further into the garden, almost running as his head swiveled around for a glimpse of her. And there! In the middle of this beautiful place, she stood in a vibrant red dress, the front designed like a toga while the back was a sweeping open drop that showed off the very skin he still remembered caressing…
"Ash," he breathed out and walked towards her with a purpose. "Ash!"
She turned at his shout and looked at him startled. At the last foot in distance, he made quick strides towards her and grasped onto her hands once he was right in front of her.
"I feel like I've been waiting on this day for a very long time," he started, uncaring of how obvious he was. "I tried so hard not to love you, but I do and you know I do. I don't know how I can stand a minute more just standing here in front of you, and not crush you to myself and kiss you breathlessly."
He got down on one knee, taking out the ring he'd had made. Even if it had to be Neil Lane because of the show, he'd stubbornly insisted to them that it be specifically made to what he wanted. Opening the velvet box, he showed her the round diamond cut ring, with the rose-gold floral design on either side of the diamond set prominently onto a sterling silver band.
"I don't want just today or tomorrow. I want forever," he said earnestly and this was the first time he would be so.
Nervousness wracked his body and it was almost ironic that someone like him could be so nervous. But when it came to her, it became such a natural reaction that it didn't matter who or what he was.
With her he was just a man that had found he adored her from the high heavens down to the very earth.
"Sei la mia rosa. Amore ti amo," he took one of her hands again and kissed it. He looked up at her hesitantly. "Please marry me."
For a moment, there was nothing but shock on her face as she looked down at him. But then a smile slowly grew on her face.
"Of course!" she accepted and he himself began grinning uncontrollably, taking the ring out and putting it on her finger.
He tossed the box to the side and grabbed onto her, picking her up and twirling her around.
"Marry me," he said again, voice muffled against her as he pressed his face against her stomach.
"Yes!" she giggled.
"Marry me!"
"Yes!"
She laughed happily as he snickered, twirling her around once more.
Off to the side, the producers watched contentedly.
"They forgot about the final rose," Roger chuckled.
"We'll remind them in a second," Zachary sighed cheerfully.
"One day we'll have a wedding on set," Lisa added, hope and bliss in her voice.
Wesley smiled and nodded. One day.
"Hey, can I go congratulate Ash now?" the white-haired interloper asked grumpily.
"No," the producers said in unison, not even looking at him.
Guzma grumbled, but at least he'd been able to see all of this. Plumeria was going to be so jealous…
Started 10/28/17 – Completed 10/28/17
A/n: Haha, the end! No joking, there's the after the filming stuff chapters too, as well as more confrontations, reactions, etc. etc. Hope you've guys have been enjoying! And for now, I'll think I'll just have a warning at the top of the last chapter, and save the rating upgrade for if I do more mature scenes later on~ Please remember to review!