I hope you've all enjoyed the story so far. I do still have long covid, and I'm starting to get really exhausted again, even from writing, so the chapter *after this one* will be the last. Thank you for your kind reviews, follows, and favorites. It's been a fun little story to write. And thank you for being here. -V
-Colorblind by Counting Crows-
Chapter 9. Destiny Bond
Juliana carefully heeded the warnings of her friends as she took on the next gym.
Iono, Levincia's Electric Gym leader was unhappy to say the least when she refused to terastallize her pokemon during their gym battle, but because of her fame as a social media personality, they couldn't risk too many fans taking notice.
But she'd gotten through without too much trouble. Now Juliana and Arven sat on a cramped couch in his dad's lab, combing through years of research about tera crystals and theoretical time travel, but there was nothing that was helpful.
"All we know is that he said humans couldn't time travel successfully." Arven's head fell in his hands. "But we have no way to ask him or his AI consciousness why, or for anything that could lead us in the right direction."
Juliana drummed her fingers on her lap. "What about Renata? She admitted that she's been to Area Zero with your mom and dad before."
"That's right." Arven nodded. "She could know something."
He was halfway toward the door when he noticed Juliana wasn't following.
"What's wrong?" he paused. "Aren't you coming?"
She couldn't bring herself to say what she was feeling, and Arven eventually sat down beside her on the sofa and grabbed her hand.
"Juliana… what is it?"
She looked over at him and gazed into his beautiful blue eyes, and everything she'd been worrying about began to spill out of her.
"It's just that since you found out about this… problem with me, you've been keeping your distance, and I just wonder if maybe it changes things between us. So… if you don't want to be with me anymore and want to go back to being friends, I-I just want to know, so I can… get used to–"
Arven cut off her rambling by pressing his lips against hers. Then he leaned his forehead against hers.
"I want to be with you, Juliana." His voice sounded heavier than usual, as if it took everything inside him to hold back. "I want to be with you so much that all I can think about is how to help keep you safe and figure out what's happening to you."
She hiccupped a mixture of relieved laughter and crying. "So you still like me."
"Like you?" His lips found hers once again, and she felt his arm slide beneath her back as they fell toward the armrest. Then he pulled back and she could feel his breath caressing her neck. "I don't know if I can put into words how I feel about you, Juliana, but it's more than like." He lifted his head, and she could see the earnestness in his gaze. "Meeting you - now, in the past, every time I'm with you - it's the best thing that's ever happened to me."
Juliana felt Arven's lips just beneath her jaw, and she shivered. Each kiss inflamed her senses as he moved past the base of her neck, and he paused only when he reached her collarbone. She ran her hands through his hair, rubbing her fingertips deeply into his scalp, and she felt his breath shudder. Hesitantly Arven undid her tie, and ever so slightly he began to kiss lower and lower down.
Their breathing grew heavy, and nervous elation prickled in Juliana's stomach. He began to painstakingly undo the buttons of her uniform, placing a kiss where each button had been.
Juliana slid the vest from off his shoulders and undid his tie, displaying far less reserve in removing his shirt than he'd shown for her. She'd felt the muscles of his shoulders and arms through his shirt before, but seeing his chest and arms now made her rejoice that he loved hiking so often. His physique was incredible, and her lips parted as she took in the view.
"Are you okay?" He peered at her strangely.
A breathy giggle left her lips. "I'm more than okay."
The last few buttons of her top came off much more quickly, and Arven blushed at the sight of her in her bra. "Wow," he said breathlessly.
She pulled him into a kiss, and they began to explore each other's bodies. He was so careful with her, not wanting to push her into anything, so Juliana took the lead, and the pair quickly lost track of time.
Arven was tracing the space around her bra, and Juliana wondered if she was ready for him to take it off, but before she could consider the internal conflict… Arven's phone rang.
His face turned beet red, and he stumbled over, reaching for his phone. Then he sat upward on the couch, still shirtless, and Juliana pressed her fist to her mouth to keep from laughing.
"Penny… hi."
'Is Juliana with you? I think I found something.'
"You think you found something?" He cleared his throat. "That is… great. I'll go get Juliana right now."
There was a pause on Penny's end of the line. '...She's right next to you, isn't she.'
Juliana's muffled giggle gave them away.
"Oh look at that," he said in a terrible attempt at nonchalance. "She's right here."
'Okay…' Penny was probably rolling her eyes by that point. 'Well, I've been looking into the chemical structure of tera crystals and how they were used in both time travel and in terastallizing pokemon. We know there's a physical change in pokemons' bodies when they terastallize, so I'm thinking that because Juliana time traveled using a fragment of the crystal from the time machine so quickly after it had activated, she may have essentially absorbed its power and restructured her DNA, so that every time she activates a tera orb, she reactivates the power inside of her.'
"Okay, what does that mean?" Arven sat down, draping his shirt loosely over his shoulders.
'I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know when we find out more.'
"Thanks, Penny." The call ended, and Arven glanced over.
Juliana had already refastened the buttons of her blouse and was now working on her tie. "So, I guess now would be a good time to go to Renata's." A blush rose on her cheeks, and her eyes flicked over to the open space of Arven's shirt.
"We don't have to go yet…" he suggested shyly, and Juliana hummed with laughter.
"Now that I know where we stand," she climbed over and buttoned up a few of the buttons near his belt line. "There will be plenty of time for that later."
Arven's lips met hers, and Juliana allowed herself to be distracted for a few more minutes.
–
Renata eyed them sternly as they stood at her door, and Arven had the feeling that Renata knew exactly what they'd been up to before they took the flying taxi to Porto Marinada.
"What do you need this time?" she deadpanned and let them into the house.
They explained Juliana's situation, and Renata looked wholly unsurprised, but then, Arven wasn't sure her facial expression ever changed. Once they'd gotten through Penny's theory about DNA restructuring, her eyes narrowed slightly, and she heaved an exhale.
Renata turned to her bookshelf and began to rifle through a collection of dusty books on the shelf. Then she pulled out a book entitled, 'Pokemon of the Kalos Region'.
"There is a phenomenon similar to the one you're facing that happened long ago in the region of Kalos." She leafed through several pages. "It occurs when a trainer and a pokemon create a bond so powerful that they begin to resemble one another and can even communicate telepathically."
"But this isn't linked to a pokemon," Arven rubbed the back of his neck. "The same thing happened to a Luxray she'd only battled with a few times."
"Yes," Renata shrugged. "This time the bond isn't between trainer and pokemon, but between trainer and the terastal power she wields."
"So Penny's right?" Juliana frowned. "My DNA changed?"
"Highly unlikely," the woman replied shortly. "The more likely scenario is that you inadvertently consumed one of the Great Crater's sacred herbs, thus creating a binding agent inside of you." She shut the book and tapped on the spine methodically. "There were five sacred herbs that were once grown in Area Zero. Having any one of them in your system could have caused the crystal to bond to you, but they're so rare. The odds of you finding even one…"
Arven's heart sank. "You mean the Herba Mystica?"
"You've heard of them?" Renata turned with surprise.
"We found all five of them." He turned toward Juliana desperately. "We ate all five of them."
Renata dropped the book she'd been holding.
"We were trying to heal Arven's Mabosstiff," Juliana explained. "The medicinal properties were supposed to help."
"Oh, they did, I'm sure," Renata trailed off thoughtfully. "I'm sure they were excellent in whatever manner Arven prepared them. It's a fascinating coincidence that you traversed Area Zero so soon afterward."
"Does that mean Arven's at risk too?" she said with worry.
Renata threw Juliana a sharp glare. "Arven didn't reach for an activated tera crystal after a time transference, did he…"
Juliana stared at the ground and shook her head.
"Who cares about me?" Arven threw his hands forward. "What does it mean for Juliana?"
"Well, nothing harmful," Renata scoffed.
It took him a few seconds to really register what she'd just said, but once he realized… relief filled him like a balm. "So she'll be okay?"
Renata picked up her book off the ground. "It means she'll have a powerful bond with any tera crystals, shards, and terastallized pokemon she comes into contact with. And she and her tera orb can essentially feel each other's presence." She turned to Juliana. "I take it terastallizing your pokemon is easier than it used to be for you?"
"Yes, actually…" Juliana blinked with surprise. "I just thought it was because I was older."
The smirk that formed on Renata's lips looked strangely out of place on the usually stoic woman. "You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who can handle a tera orb with the finesse you do, my dear."
"So… I'll be okay." Juliana breathed. "I'm not in danger."
"Not from anything other than public scrutiny, though it was probably wise for you not to utilize that bond when you battled Iono." Renata's face fell back to its normal grimace. "One can only imagine what her hoard of fans would have done with you. At any rate, you're not in any danger, so don't let me keep you any longer."
–
Euphoric didn't come close to expressing how Juliana felt as they left Renata's house. Arven spun her in circles on the street, and she let out a cry of excitement, falling into his arms. Passersby looked at them oddly, but Juliana didn't care. This had been weighing on them for days, and she crashed her lips into Arven's out in the street for everyone to see.
"I want to show you something," Juliana breathed ecstatically once she'd pulled back. Running with his hand in hers, she brought him to the auction area and stood right next to one of the booths.
Arven looked bemused, but Juliana closed her eyes, inhaling deeply.
"This is where you were standing the first time I saw you three years ago." A contented smile settled on her face. "You didn't know who I was. You thought I was a fan of Professor Turo."
He laughed, "I was stupid."
Juliana shook her head. "You weren't stupid." She led him to the beach next, where they'd had their picnic. "You know where this is."
"This is where we sat and talked on the beach a few days later."
Her eyes glistened with emotion, and she nodded. "The first time we sat here, I realized that I cared about you more than almost anyone." Juliana let go of his hand and brushed his hair to the side, resting her palm on his cheek. "The second time we were here, I realized I loved you more than almost anyone."
"Love?" Arven's mouth fell open.
Juliana nodded, her eyes never leaving his. "I'm in love with you, Arven." It was so easy to say, she could have laughed. "And I don't need you to say it back. I just want you to know that I don't think I could ever go another year without you, and I just want to thank you for helping with everyth–"
"I love you." His eyes were wide, as if it surprised him to say it out loud.
Juliana blinked several times. "What?"
"I-I love you." He laughed and said it again. "I really do. So much."
Her brain short circuited, and for a moment, she forgot how to speak. "You–" The upturn of the lips was as slow as her own realization that Arven loved her too, but once the smile was there, she couldn't get rid of it.
He seemed just as amazed by the revelation as she had been, but as the shock wore off, a new feeling took its place.
They flew back to the Academy in a daze, hand in hand as they walked up the steps. Arven kissed her and wished her a goodnight once they'd gotten to her door, but Juliana wasn't ready to say goodbye.
Tugging him inside, she slid the tie off of her uniform and quickly pulled off Arven's. Their shirts quickly followed, and soon, all of their clothes were in heaps on the floor.
Juliana had waited for Arven for three years. She wasn't going to waste another moment.