Chapter 19: A Proposal
I pulled my pokegear out of my pocket, about to answer it out of instinct before I noticed the caller read "Gold." Eh?!
Should I answer a call from my ex?! I asked Mike exactly that and he just shrugged. We'd just been sitting around talking like we did when there were no challengers.
I sighed and accepted the call, reluctantly pressing it to my ear. I hadn't talked to Gold since the whole televised lovers quarrel, and that had been three months ago… I'd broken up with Gold just shy of a year ago.
"Hello?"
"Si-Silver, hey," he uttered, sounding off. "How have you been?"
I just frowned in confusion, standing there in the middle of my gym with my free arm wrapped around my middle. "Gold, what do you want?"
He sighed softly over the phone. "We used to be so close I thought of you as my other half, now I can't ask how you are?" he asked, sounding hurt.
"We didn't exactly part on good terms," I reminded him. "Now, what is it, Gold?"
"I was just wondering if maybe we could meet for coffee. I just… I needed some closure…"
I could tell he was being sincere, too. "I…" I trailed off, unsure how to answer. "I'll text you that answer…"
"Gotta ask Lance?" he asked dryly.
"Yes, actually. I think I'd be pretty jealous if Lance wanted to meet up with one of his ex's. I need to ask him his thoughts about this, out of consideration for his feelings."
I felt like I was explaining to a five-year-old why it was polite to say thank you. This sort of thing was just basic courtesy, and I was still fairly socially inept.
"Alright. I'll look for your text, then."
I ended the call, frowning. I hadn't exactly tried to step away to talk in private, so Mike had obviously heard everything.
"You two were friends on top of your relationship. It wouldn't be a bad idea to at least smooth things over a bit," Mike offered. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd be livid if my fiancée met up with one of her exes out of the blue. But if I found out the guy was just having a hard time and needed some basic human compassion from someone he thought he loved, I wouldn't stop her. Obviously, anything beyond friendship is off limits."
Yeah, fair enough. I'd ask Lance tonight.
He'd made good on his promise, moving into the mansion completely. He stayed nearly ever night with me unless there was something that came up at work that had him out of town. Honestly, it'd been bliss. Lance seemed happy, too. I loved waking up with him every morning…
I got off work before Lance pretty much every day. He was almost always busier than me. I usually tried to hit the gym after I left my gym, then I'd return home, take a quick shower, and end up reading or playing video games. I'd been hooked on the newest Digimon game on the Switch console.
As embarrassing as it was, Lance and I had turned on location sharing on our pokegear, just so we knew what the other was up to. I loved it…
"Hey," I greeted happily when he'd arrive home, getting up to go meet him. He just tugged me into his arms, placing a soft kiss on my temple. "So, Gold called today," I started with right off the bat.
Lance looked surprised and a bit miffed. "And?"
I sighed. "He said he wants to meet up with me and get some closure," I explained.
"Because he ruined his last chance to do that clearly. Silver, you know I love and trust you, do what you have to."
"You won't be jealous?" I asked in surprise.
"I will be incredibly jealous."
I snorted in amusement. Fair. "I don't exactly want to see him, but I feel like I owe it to him. It'll just be coffee."
"Alright," Lance agreed, "Just don't tell me when and where. I don't think I'll be able to behave…"
He was cute. We headed up to our room so Lance could change into a casual t-shirt and a pair of jeans… He looked great in jeans…
"Hm? What's that look?" he teased.
I just rolled my eyes. "You know exactly what that look is!"
"That I do. To be continued after dinner."
xxxxxxx
I arrived at the coffee shop not too far from my gym, and I found Gold towards the back, gazing out the window. I was actually a few minutes late. It'd taken me a moment to work up the nerve to actually show up.
Gold still looked… like Gold. He was tanner, his hair was a touch wilder, he still had that golden piercing, and he looked a bit thinner, but he was Gold. Honestly, he was as gorgeous as I remembered, maybe even more so, but I wasn't going to voice that. He hadn't noticed I'd walked in, and I hesitated. It felt weird…
But I forced myself to take a seat opposite him. He looked up in surprise, and his large golden eyes widened.
"Hey, Silver," he greeted softly, his voice tight. "You look… amazing."
Honestly, Lance I had gone shopping a couple weeks ago. I'd had fun, and I'd bought this outfit with him. The outfit was black, assassin like in nature except for the yellow uniform trim of the shirt. My heavy belted black boots went to my mid-calf, my pants were black, and I wore a black long sleeved yellow trimmed uniform shirt, and the final layer was an open black short sleeved duster with a high collar, billowing out behind me. My black gloves and large belt fastened over my middle finished the look, and honestly, I felt attractive and confident. I could see why Lance loved capes, although it was more of a dragon tamer thing. I guess I had a thing for open high collared dusters…
"Thanks," I stated simply. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
He sighed softly and motioned towards the front counter. "Let's at least get some coffee."
It didn't sound like a bad idea. It was a cool spring day. We headed to the counter together, and I was surprised when Gold ordered for both of us. "Is a caffé dolce okay?" he asked curiously after the fact.
I bit my lip but nodded. Well, yeah, we had dated for seven years… of course he knew what I liked. Lance would have still asked me though, if just to be polite or see if I wanted to try something new. Neither Gold nor Lance were wrong, but… different flavors I'd learned. My heart ached dully.
We collected our drinks, and a sip of the white mocha latte swirled with rich, creamy caramel was amazing… I sighed happily, enjoying the soft buzz of the coffee shop, and the smell of coffee brewing. Gold's eyes were fixed on me I noticed when I glanced at him.
"After everything, I headed to Hoenn to try and give you some space. You looked so… hurt and broken, honestly, it scared me… I adventured around the region and battled against some of the gym leaders. It's a beautiful region, Silver. I think you'd enjoy it. I uh, well, I uh tried to fool around with some girls I'll admit. I was pretty rusty, though, and well, you know my odds usually aren't the best. When I finally convinced one to fool around… I actually… um, couldn't manage. So, I tried fooling around with a guy and that didn't really work out either."
Well, my coffee couldn't improve this situation. How the hell could Gold be mad at me when he'd been going to out of his way to sleep around?!
He looked nervous, but he kept going, sounding like he'd practiced this speech a hundred times. "So, I… I knew I was still pretty hard in love. I just couldn't forget about you, Silver. So, I came back to Johto, and I don't know, I just convinced myself you'd be waiting for me. If I felt that way still, I was sure you did, too. When I saw you with Lance, I, I just… Well, you were there for that part."
"Gold," I stated firmly, frowning, "I was assaulted, and I nearly died. I woke up to Lance, not my boyfriend. He said you'd be there soon, and he defended you all he could. I was already so hurt, traumatized, and so scared. You showed up like I was an afterthought. I can't forgive you. Lance stayed at my side the entire time I was in the hospital, even when they were sedating me, and he knew I wouldn't be waking up. He only left me to kill almost every last person that tried to hurt me. Have you seen the destruction he caused? He obliterated the whole group of them."
It wasn't like he'd had to worry about criminal charges, either. No one could prove he'd killed any of those traceless criminals. The league wouldn't touch that incident with a twenty-foot pole. Gold swallowed, likely cowed by my boyfriend's wicked power.
"Of course I chose him to take comfort in! He's the one that loved me, he's the one that has always been there for me, and he still let me love you and live my life even when I didn't pick him."
"I know," Gold admitted softly. "I'm beyond outclassed. I knew he loved you… why do you think I was always so jealous? And you're right, he didn't hit on you. He's a better man than me by leagues. You deserve him. I'm happy for you both… I was terrified you were going to close your heart to the world after everything that happened, and yet Lance managed to stop that from happening. He's amazing. I was too scared to face you after I failed to keep you safe, I did everything wrong. I just wanted to see if maybe I could do something about these feelings for you. Silver, I love you so damn much still. Anyone I touch feels wrong."
He took a deep shaky breath and laid a golden pokeathlon metal on the table between us. "I picked this over you. I was too scared to see you barley hanging onto life, but I do know how to compete with my pokemon. I thought you'd be proud of me bringing you home the winning prize. I don't have the right to use the word love. I tried to compete in the second three weeks and I just had a breakdown and withdrew. I couldn't even do that right. But it has been almost a year…"
Ah… he felt so guilty he couldn't move on… I felt my eyes soften. I didn't want Gold unhappy, I didn't want him in pain. "Gold," I stated softly, "I don't hold ill will. I had an amazing seven years with you. I'm happy. Haven't you seen me? I've been doing things I've never done, and I've gotten so strong. That stab wound is a smooth red mark now. I've moved on, you should, too."
"I uh… I did see that magazine," Gold admitted, and he left it at that.
I just smirked. "We look hot, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," Gold sighed dismissively.
"Honestly Gold, I don't regret my years with you, but I don't think we were meant to be. You want kids, I don't. You want someone submissive, I'm not. Gold, I feel so confident and sexy now. Lance just fits better. I know he can beat both our asses into the ground, but he just supports me and lets me be me."
"Let me guess, he's amazing in bed?" Gold asked dryly.
I just smiled happily, not falling for the taunt. I was used to Gold's attempts to rile people's emotions after our years together. "Of course. He's mine." I loved my dragon…
Gold sighed and averted his gaze, pink tinging his cheeks. "Honestly, I don't know why, but hearing you're happy makes me feel better."
"Move on," I stated easily, simply. "Find your soulmate, or sleep with half of Johto, whichever you prefer. Maybe one day we can work on being friends again."
Gold smiled and nodded, holding up his fist. I shared a fist bump with him, grabbed my coffee, and decided to head to my gym to train a bit. My eyes were burning on the way there, and I just kept blinking to keep the tears at bay. I was happy, but I could be sad, too. I knew it was okay, but I still didn't let any tears fall.
xxxxxxx
I flushed at Lance's one year present of flowers when I woke up. I was surprised he'd managed to sneak out of bed to either buy them or retrieved them from wherever they'd been hidden. He just smiled happily at me. They were pretty… There were beautiful while lilies and red roses, the traditional symbol of love. It was a simple and appreciated gesture. Honestly, Lance wasn't that big on gifts I'd learned. He didn't really like to have too many things, minus clothes, specifically capes anyway. So, most gifts were practical or temporary in choice, like foods or flowers. I'd gotten him a really nice scotch for his birthday back in November, and he'd taken me out to the most amazing restaurant I'd ever been to for my birthday back in December. He'd had to pull some strings and favors to get us into the Christmas Eve meal whose reservations had been long closed, but it'd been completely worth it.
Honestly that might have been one of my favorite nights in my life between the wine, food, snow, and Saffron city sprawled out before us where we made love in the nicest hotel in the city. We'd been far too drunk to get home and getting a hotel on Christmas Eve was not easy, so we'd just thrown money at the problem and ended up getting the penthouse for the night since it'd been literally the only room left.
Honestly the year had flown by for me. I wondered if it had for Lance, too. We'd settled into gentle routine and comfort, but we did things, too. We had trips planed for pretty much all next year, from a cruise all the way out to Alola where we'd get to stop at all the islands, to a trip out to Galar to see gigantimax in person. I was pretty pumped for the year ahead. We'd also entered into a battle tournament in Unova I was pumped for, a few gym leaders and elite four were going with us to represent Kanto and Johto.
And there were still fun day trips, or weekend getaways to keep things fun, too.
Topaz was over a year old now; he was running around causing trouble. It was exciting to see him grow. Every time I saw him, I was amazed how much bigger he got. I felt like he'd gone from being a baby to walking and talking overnight.
I ended up taking a shower with Lance, and we shared a light breakfast together.
"What are you doing today?" I asked curiously.
I was surprised when he adverted his eyes, looking uneasy. "Probably something at the league," he stated softly.
He didn't exactly have to feel bad about working on our one-year anniversary, it wasn't like we'd made plans. It was just a day we could smile about. I loved him just as much today as I had yesterday.
"But," he uttered quickly, "I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner after work?" He sounded shy, or nervous, I wasn't sure which. For some reason it was making my face feel hot. Lance didn't really get nervous about anything, but I could see the flush on his face.
"I'd love to," I answered softly, easily.
He nodded. "It's a date, then. I'll grab you about five this evening?"
I nodded, and we went to go brush our teeth and finish getting ready for the day. Lance left me on his dragonite's back after we shared a gentle, intimate kiss. I was just going to walk to my gym, a much less dramatic exit.
Spring was drawing to a close, the snow had been completely gone for over a couple months, and the air was still thick with the scent of blossoms. It was the best time of year for just a feeling of love. I paused in the street. Around this time last year, I'd been in Lance's bed confessing my love for him… The month prior to that hadn't been the best, but this past year at least had been nice. I absently touched the center of my chest, my wounds were just scars now. I'd pretty much completely recovered minus the occasional pain from the wires used to fuse my chest back together.
Maybe we could head to the beach this weekend… Snorkeling sounded fun, too… If it was a warm weekend at least. My water types would enjoy a trip to the ocean.
My day at the gym was impossibly long. The challengers wouldn't stop, and each battle felt like it took hours. Mike and I took lunch together at a local deli and he just looked me over. "So, you seem like you might be in a bad mood."
"I'm just amazed it's only noon," I admitted. "All the challengers today are a pain."
"You've fought three. You alright?"
Eh? Only three? "I guess I'm not," I admitted, laughing nervously. "I think I'm just excited for tonight. It's Lance's and my first full year together tonight. I wasn't expecting anything, but he was acting nervous this morning asking me to dinner. He probably has something kinky planned."
Mike hesitated mid biting a chip, his eyes wide.
"Sorry," I offered, flushing. Maybe that had been a bit much to admit…
He put the chip down. "Oh, no, it's not that," he laughed, waving off my apology. "I genuinely hope there's awesome sex in both our futures. I was just wondering if I might have left the stove on."
I stared at him in dismay, "Should you go check?"
"Texting the fiancée now," he responded. "Also, what the hell is a cucumber sandwich anyway?"
I rolled my eyes and tore a piece off my sandwich for him to try. "It's about the only thing my vegetarian ass can eat off the menu."
He laughed, apologizing and realizing deli meat was a stapple in most delis. I didn't honestly care, I liked cucumber sandwiches in summer… "Holy shit this is good," he uttered in surprise. "Today I learned."
"The tea here is good, too," I stated, offering him a sip of the prickly pear cactus and hibiscus tea I'd grabbed.
"This is also amazing. Alright, it's decided, my fiancée wants me to eat healthier anyway. I'll just get what you get—minus the chocolate chip cookie anyway."
I scoffed. I wasn't sharing my cookie!
The day passed much faster after I'd managed to get my mind off what Lance had in store for me.
A dragonite touching down outside the gym was my cue.
"Good luck getting laid," Mike called after me.
"You, too," I laughed, not looking back.
Lance offered me his hand and tugged me up onto his first pokemon, coaxing me in front of him. Twister was definitely jealous of his senior's power. He'd been battling and training hard, but I knew becoming a dragonite was quite a feat. Their evolution level was incredibly high, and he was still so young. I just told him not to rush.
I brushed my hand over Dragonite's soft but armor like scales. He felt just like my dragonair, although the scales were larger and thicker. "Ready?" Lance asked softly, kissing the side of my neck.
"Yeah." I flushed at how Lance pressed his body against my back to encourage my center of gravity forward. I gripped the pokemon as he took off, but usually I just clung to Lance. It was different being in front.
"Dragonite flies at a different angle when I'm on his back, it's harder on him. Naturally he flies with his head pointed down more, but the wind sheer would make it difficult for us to hold on. So, he helps keep the wind off us a bit. When he's battling with me on his back, I just crouch to move with him better."
"Have you ever fallen off?"
He laughed. "Yeah, a few times when I was younger. Usually it's when he takes off and I'm not ready. I dislocated my shoulder that way once. Fun times. I haven't been stupid about that in a while, fortunately. Although once I was so tired, I totally passed out and just fell off. He caught me, don't worry."
Dragonite grunted, clearly remembering.
"Hey, I said I was sorry," Lance scoffed.
I smiled. Lance and Dragonite were like Weavile and me, inseparable. Our first pokemon were our most treasured partners. We were flying over the Tohjo mountains, likely on our way to Blackthorn.
"Mind if we grab a show before dinner?" Lance asked softly, his mouth by my ear so I could hear him over the wind.
"Sure," I offered, confused.
Dragonite flew straight into the den, and it was pitch black! Usually there were torches lit all along the walls. I was surprised when I felt Dragonite land. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face it was so pitch black. My eyes were trying to adjust, but there was no light for them to use period.
"Silver," Lance whispered softly. "I know it's still a bit too soon… but I… Hold on, it's dark."
No shit! I was surprised when he reached down and took one of my pokeballs off my belt, and then golden light came from Twister's orbs under his neck and on his tail as he was released… then… the whole den lit up. It was amazing, like a sea of fireflies. I could only sit there breathless, not even realizing Lance had jumped down and offered me his hand.
Wait. Was he-
I flushed as I took his hand and sure enough, Lance took his left knee once I'd slid to the ground, his head bowed. "Silver, I wanted to wait, but honestly, I can't stand it. I know it's you. Will you marry me?"
"Of course," I uttered, taking his hand, so surprised and utterly happy as he placed a gentle kiss on the back of my hand. This was… amazing.
Lance rose up and wrapped me up in his arms, holding me tight. I clutched him back, so, so happy!
AN: When Silver was dying, he stated "I wish I could have married Gold, I wish I could have seen Twister evolve, I wish I could have seen Topaz grow up into a young man, I wish I could have visited some more regions in the world…" So I made a parallel to that in this chapter with Topaz turning one, all the trips planned with Lance, Twister trying hard to evolve, and well... now marriage planned, but maybe not to the person he'd originally anticipated.
