Many months later…
"It sure is a lovely night tonight, Mizore? Wouldn't you say that it's the perfect way to end the year?"
Turning to look at Nozomi, Mizore thought that even though the dazzling sky above them was certainly beautiful tonight, especially when observing them atop her house's balcony, nothing could ever match the being of pure splendor that was her girlfriend.
"I agree." she curtly responded. Though she and Nozomi had confessed their love to each other and had been dating for several months now, Mizore still hadn't got over her normally non-talkative tendencies yet.
Another thing to add on her relationship checklist.
"But I think that you're more prettier than even the brightest star shining up there." Nozomi added, impulsively spitting out what came to her mind without thinking through the consequences.
Upon hearing her loved one make such a romantic remark, Mizore had the sudden urge to kiss Nozomi on the lips right there and right now, but refrained from doing so to not infringe on their personal space. Instead, a luminescent blush formed on her face, revealing her true feelings with more clarity than any words or actions could.
"Aww, Mizore." Nozomi happily sighed. "You're so cute when you blush like that. Who could resist such an adorable face like yours?"
"You did." Mizore inwardly thought to herself. It had taken every ounce of her extremely limited social intelligence not to blurt those two words out, even though they had been the truth from middle school all the way up to a few months ago. After all, she didn't want to ruin the pleasant mood she was sharing with Nozomi.
Once again, Nozomi was oblivious to Mizore's true feelings in the moment, instead continuing to be her usual self. "So, any New Year's resolutions or anything like that you want to make, Mizore?"
Mizore already had one etched deep into her heart: staying with Nozomi forever. However, no matter how much she tried to muster up the courage to say those words out loud, her poor social skills dashed any attempts of her actually turning them from thoughts to speech.
"You're still thinking, huh?" Nozomi mused for a moment, then continued on. "Well, my New Year's resolution is to try and keep up with you, Mizore. I know it sounds impossible to do, but I'm going to try my best!"
Mizore processed Nozomi's resolution for a moment, then came to a conclusion. After all that had happened in the previous months, it seemed that she had accomplished more than Nozomi in every aspect of their life that was comparable, from music to Pokémon battling, leaving her girlfriend hopelessly outclassed in those regards.
"Good luck." Though those were the only two words that Mizore could say in the heat of the moment, she said them with the utmost sincerity from the bottom of her heart. However, her flat tone of voice betrayed her intentions, making the wrong impression on Nozomi.
"Was that a little sarcasm I detected there, Mizore?" Nozomi asked, slightly tilting her head. "That doesn't seem like you. Something on your mind?"
"I'm sorry." Mizore quietly responded. Though she was disappointed that her lover had not taken her seriously yet again, Nozomi had got much closer to the mark than she had anticipated. After all, there were reasons that Mizore had invited Nozomi to spend New Year's Eve at her home with her family.
"It's OK." Nozomi admitted, then checked the time on her oversized pink wristwatch. "Look, Mizore! There's only half an hour left till the New Year! Aren't you excited?"
"I am." Her heart thumping, Mizore was currently feeling a blend of nervousness and excitement gathering inside her in anticipation of what she was about to do next. She had been planning this very moment for several months now, and though getting what she wanted had taken several weeks more than what she predicted, Mizore was still overjoyed that it coincided with the beginning of a new year.
Praying to all the Legendary and Mythical Pokémon above (especially to the ones she had met on her journey) before taking several deep breaths, Mizore knew that it was now or never for her to seal her destiny.
Abandoning all semblance of the rational thought that had once dominated her decisions, Mizore dropped to one knee and took out a small box, completely taking Nozomi by surprise.
"Mizore, what-" she began, but was immediately stopped by her lover opening the box to reveal what was inside.
"Nozomi Kasaki, you are my love, you are my life." Mizore blurted out without hesitation. "Will you marry me?"
Nozomi opened her mouth, but no words came out. Until very recently, she had thought of Mizore as simply a friend, though maybe a bit more depending on the circumstances. It was only during that tumultuous period several months ago when Mizore had chosen to add another element of chaos to it, confessing her love right there and then.
Happily dating for a few months, Nozomi seldom wondered about what came next, choosing instead to focus on the blissful present with her girlfriend. After all, they were still young, so there was plenty of time to think about their futures before moving towards any specific direction.
Wanting their moments of joy to last forever, Nozomi subconsciously wished for things to never change again, for fear of having Mizore let go from her again just like what happened after they graduated from middle school.
It seemed that Mizore had other plans.
Finally managing to recollect her thoughts again, Nozomi couldn't deny the truth that had been in plain sight all along anymore. Looking Mizore directly in her lustrous eyes, Nozomi uttered the words that were now a part of who she was. "Yes, Mizore Yoroizuka. You are my other half, and always have been. I will marry you."
Though this was the response that Mizore had been expecting, her eyes still widened upon hearing those words come out of Nozomi's mouth. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and she dropped the box she was holding before leaping up and embracing Nozomi in a big hug, taking her fianceé by surprise.
Wrapping her arms around Mizore in response, Nozomi could also feel her eyes get a little bit moist as well. Not only would Mizore stay with her forever, she would now do so not as a close friend or a girlfriend, but as her wife.
After a while that seemed to last for all eternity, the happy couple finally broke off their hug, though both wished that it could have lasted for just one second longer. Picking up the box the Mizore had dropped, Nozomi looked inside to see a ring embedded with a Key Stone and an unknown Mega Stone nestled within light blue velvet the color of her eyes.
Without any words, Mizore gently took the box from Nozomi's hand and plucked the ring from the indent in the velvet that held it in, before slipping it onto Nozomi's left ring finger. Upon closer inspection, Nozomi saw that the ring had her name engraved into it with pink letters in both English and kanji.
"The ring you are currently wearing forms a matching set with mine" Mizore stated, showing the ring on her left ring finger, which also had Mizore's name but in light blue letters. "I had these custom-made a month ago. Do you like them?"
"Mi- Mizore. I don't know what to say." Nozomi finally felt her voice returning to her again, though she was quavering a little. "All this time… I didn't know you thought of me like this all along. I mean, I could accept you being my friend. Girlfriend? Yeah, sure! But wanting to stick with me forever? That's… That's beyond even my wildest dreams!"
"Are you… are you doubting me?" Mizore questioned. "I've always wanted to be with you, Nozomi. Everything I did, I did it for you. From playing the oboe to accompanying you all across the region, I've only had you in my mind every step of the way."
"No, Mizore, I'm obviously not doubting you." Nozomi reassured her. "It's just… I can't believe that we're already at this stage in our relationship. I know we're moving very fast, but I don't want to stop, because that's the only way I'll have any hope of catching up to you."
"I understand." Mizore responded. "That's why I decided to give you another gift aside from the ring, which was also in the box."
Giving the box to Nozomi, Mizore silently hoped that all this effort was worth it in the end. The Mega Stone was the most difficult object to source, and it had involved calling in a few favors from people she knew, but only Nozomi was capable of using it to its fullest extent.
Taking a closer look, Nozomi saw that the Mega Stone was pink in color, with the exception of a section in the middle which shone white and blue. Though she had only seen this particular stone once before when she was loaned it for a battle, there was no mistaking what it could be.
"Is this… Is this Altarianite, Mizore?" Nozomi tentatively asked her fianceé. "But… how? I can't believe that you would go this far for me."
"It is." Mizore confirmed. "The idea for this gift first came to me back when we saved those Quagsire and Wooper from the collapsing dam. When you were glide down on your Altaria's back, you were the most majestic and regal person ever in that moment."
"Originally, this was supposed to be your birthday present." Mizore explained further, unable to stop the torrent of words from washing out of her mouth, expressing her innermost desires. "But due to some complications, I only managed to obtain it last week. It is my only wish that by using this gift, you can finally stand by my side, no matter where we go."
"Can I… Can I try it out, Mizore?" Nozomi was internally ecstatic at the prospect of being able to be regarded as an equal by her love, but couldn't find a method to express her feelings externally.
After a small nod from Mizore, Nozomi took out one of her Pokéballs and sent out her Altaria Elo. Spreading his wide wings out for a moment and flapping them in the air, Elo then made an attempt to perch on Nozomi's left shoulder.
For a brief moment, Elo's endeavour seemed to be a success. In that miraculous instant, Mizore thought that Nozomi looked absolutely handsome, with Elo's white plumage and blue skin perfectly complementing the blue bomber jacket and pale yellow scarf that Nozomi was wearing. It was simply a stunning sight to behold.
However, due to how big an Altaria was, Nozomi immediately lost her balance afterwards, stumbling towards the left before managing to regain her footing. In the chaos, Elo jumped off from Nozomi's shoulder and managed to gracefully glide towards the ground, doing a perfect landing before folding away his wings again.
"Silly Elo, you're not a Swablu anymore." Nozomi playfully chided her first Pokémon, then thought of something. "Mizore, do you have a way for Elo to hold the Altarianite? It may be possible to place it inside his plumage, but I don't want something so precious to fall out all of a sudden."
Mizore wordlessly undid a bracelet on her left wrist and handed it to Nozomi, who realized that it had a metal portion that could fit a Mega Stone.
"Did you also plan this in advance as well?" Nozomi was curious, to which Mizore simply nodded. Affixing the Altarianite to the bracelet, then tying it around Elo's neck, Nozomi stepped back before letting her feelings take over. Though she had already Mega Evolved Elo once before, it was during a major emergency, so Nozomi couldn't really slow down and process what was really going on in that moment.
During that brief interval of bonding between Trainer and Pokémon, she couldn't really described what she experienced, but she instinctively knew that the positive memories she shared with Elo were part of them. From back when he was just a Swablu chosen by Nozomi to be her first partner to helping land the finishing blow on a Legendary Pokémon when Mega Evolved, Nozomi saw it all in that instant.
When she returned back to reality, it was clear that the Mega Evolution had succeeded. Elo's body had grown much larger, and his now baby-blue skin was covered by even more snow-white feathers, with his head now topped off by a tuft of them. Dazzled by Elo's sheer majesty, Nozomi went closer to him and noticed a detail she had overlooked the first time around.
"Elo's now large enough for two people to ride on him." Nozomi informed Mizore, then quickly came to a conclusion about what she could do with this fact. Or rather, what Mizore had planned for her to do with this fact. Hopping onto Elo, she then stretched her arm out. "Do you want to ride with me?"
"Gladly." Taking Nozomi's outstretched hand, Mizore let herself get pulled on before naturally falling into her love's warm body. With a call from Nozomi, Elo flapped his cloudy wings and took to the skies, carrying the lovestruck duo on his back.
As the ground beneath them got smaller and smaller, the only thing that remained constant from Mizore's point of view was Nozomi's beauty, acting as a focal point for her eyes to fix on. It seemed that this was also the case for Nozomi as well, and the pair stared into each other's eyes for a timeless moment until they could hear some noises coming from down below.
"Looks like it's almost the new year now." Nozomi realized, checking her watch to confirm the fact. "Elo, can you descend a little to where we can see the fireworks?"
With a melodious coo, Nozomi's Altaria tucked his wings in for a moment before spreading them back out again, his soft down preventing either Nozomi or Mizore from feeling any sort of impact after the change in altitude.
The chants down on the ground growing louder and louder, so did the rush of adrenaline going to Mizore's head from the events of this beautiful night. Forgetting to think for what seemed like the billionth time again, what she said next was the culmination of everything she had felt tonight, summed up in three little words.
"I love you."
"I love you too." Nozomi thoughtlessly responded, though no amount of brainpower was necessary for her to express her true feelings.
Immediately after those words escaped from her mouth, Mizore sealed them back in again with a kiss on her lips, taking Nozomi by surprise before she returned the favor wholeheartedly.
The entire world seemed to melt away between the two lovers soaring in the sky, their bond finally affirmed and consolidated permanently as the New Year was rung in beneath them through fireworks and cheers, as if to celebrate their moment of joy.
A/N: I lied. I posted this chapter on December 31st, the day before New Years, so I technically broke my promise.
More to follow here after January 1st, so stay tuned!Originally, I was planning to release a normal chapter on Thursday, but Taka (no. 1 Nozomi stan) informed me that she had commissioned a fanart of Nozomi with an Altaria right after my laptop was fixed. The reason this was special was because I had suggested to her earlier that a Pokémon Nozomi would have was Altaria, one of my personal headcanons that I later integrated into this fic.
Since that fanart was based off of my idea, I decided to write this special chapter as a tie-in to ring in the New Year, right when that artwork was released. Set after the main story ends, it can also be read as a standalone along with the other Nozomi/Mizore chapter and serves as a continuation of that story.
Anyways, now that I'm done talking here, go follow Taka ( takasakinozomi) on Twitter if you haven't done so already and have a Happy New Year!
The next chapter of To Be A Solister will release on Thursday January 9th as usual, so stay tuned and watch Liz and the Blue Bird!