Infernape woke up the next morning, excited to meet up with his new girlfriend. He rushed towards the hotel elevator like a child on Christmas Day. He pressed the button to the ground floor impatiently. Once he got there, he burst out of the lobby and ran towards the mansions. He stopped at a flower shop along the way to pick up some daffodils. He was barely able to afford them but it was worth it. He arrived at the mansions and began to patiently wait for his girlfriend.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! I have a girlfriend! I never thought this day would come! Soon we'll be married and we'll have kids and..." Infernape excitedly thought, his imagination going wild. "Hopefully she got my text."
Lopunny was combing through her fur. She was happy, finally she had met someone that she meshed well with. Blastoise was also pleased to see this, happy to see his daughter had found someone. Lopunny picked up her WristOn and wallet and went out the door. She looked around to see Infernape down the street, holding a bouquet of flowers. The sight warmed her heart and she ran over to him.
"Hey, Infernape!" She yelled, waving at him. Infernape visibly jumped and quickly turned around and sheepishly waved back.
"Where did you come from?" Infernape asked. Lopunny just pointed back to Blastoise's home, which confused Infernape. He wanted to question it, but given how Lopunny reacted to him mentioning her parents, he decided to stay quiet.
The two started by going to the Koraru District. Infernape was in awe as he stared out into the coral reef, fish swimming in schools, eels slipping in and out of crevices, and the occasional shark patrolling the less dense parts of the reef. Lopunny watched alongside him, she would never get used to this beautiful sight. They reached a Arrivian restaurant and got a booth. Infernape sighed in comfort,
"Well, I just feel out of place here," he joked. Lopunny chuckled lightly,
"Don't worry about it," She said. A waiter arrived and they gave their orders. Infernape ordered an Alfredo Fettuccine, and Lopunny ordered a Veal Parmesan.
"So I have to ask, how is it like living in a city like this?" Infernape asked as he took a sip of water.
"To be honest, it's kind of a pain. Most people grew up spoiled so you are just surrounded by a bunch of assholes, but I make do with what I have" Lopunny complained, "That's why I'm relieved that I met you. You're a decent guy," Infernape frowned subtly at the response, the memories of his fight with Grotle and Prinplup replayed in his head. Even his argument with Gardevoir played out again. An overwhelming amount of guilt came crashing down on him all at once, but he had to make sure Lopunny didn't know. The last thing he wanted was for her to love him out of pity. Unbeknownst to him, Lopunny frowned at him.
"What about local places, like parks and restaurants?" questioned Infernape, hoping to take his mind off things. Lopunny smiled,
"It's great! There are so many great places to go that it can be overwhelming." she gushed excitedly. "But enough about me, let's talk about you, handsome," she purred. Infernape smiled on the outside, but inside he was panicking.
"Oh god, what do I tell her?! It's fine, calm down." Infernape took a breath. He was deeply embarrassed by something he wished to hide.
"I live in a small neighborhood, it's modest but I enjoy it," he said. Lopunny grinned slightly before she asked him,
"That's sweet. You seem awfully polite. I'd bet you'd be great as a secretary or HR dude or whatever,"
"Umm, YES!" he said, hoping that he wouldn't have to disappoint her, "I was looking into-"
"You don't have to lie to me." Lopunny interrupted softly. Her voice had a hint of accusation within it, but it was mostly obscured behind a gentle wave of sympathy. Infernape was shocked,
"W-What do you mean?" He asked suspiciously.
"You don't think you're good enough for me but you don't want me to date you because I feel bad." Lopunny stated to Infernape's surprise,
"I…what?" He asked, utterly flabbergasted.
"I can figure out if someone is lying by looking into their eyes. I can also find out why they're lying, although that part's vague," She explained, gesturing to her eyes. Infernape was surprised to say the least.
"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag." He weakly joked before sighing and standing up, "I'm not going to waste your time anymore.
Lopunny grabbed Infernape by the arm, much to his shock,
"Stay here, I'm not mad at you" she comforted. Infernape was immediately stunned.
"Why?" he asked, "I lied to your face. On the first date, I betrayed your trust." Lopunny playfully rolled her eyes,
"Don't be so overdramatic," she said. Seeing his confused face, Lopunny elaborated, "Yes, you lied, and under normal circumstances, I would be at least a little angry. But I can see it in your eyes. You asked me out. That's an incredibly brave thing to do, but all of that confidence just disappeared the moment we stepped into this restaurant. I don't know what you went through to make you go back and forth like that, so let me just say this. You don't need to prove anything to be you."
Butterflies fluttered around Infernape's stomach. For a few moments, he was rendered totally and utterly speechless. He couldn't barely even register what she had said. Somehow, someway, she had effortlessly taken his worries and laid them to rest. Safe. That was the best way he could describe it. After eight years of regret, fear, and guilt, Lopunny made him feel safe. With that, he told her the truth,
"I'm unemployed. Haven't had a job in a while. I've been living off unemployment checks for a while." He lamented, Lopunny listening intently. "Those flowers cost me damn near everything I have on me right now." Lopunny's eyes widened in surprise. She knew he was hiding something about his career but she never imagined that. Perhaps his lack of confidence stemmed from that.
"Infernape," she said, "it's okay, I'll pay for today."
"You don't have too." Infernape fretted, shaking his head.
"I know, but I want to." insisted Lopunny as their food arrived. Infernape took a bite out of his fettuccine and squealed in delight,
"This is so good!" Lopunny laughed,
"You really enjoy that dish, do you?"
"Yeah, I never had food this good in my life! Compliments to the chef, goddamn." Infernape gushed excitedly. Lopunny found it adorable to see Infernape so excited. The two continued to eat and converse at the same time.
Eventually, the conversation arrived at the subject of the growing crime rate in the city. Infernape was surprised to hear the uptick in crime,
"Are you serious?" he asked, "Here?"
"Yup. Just the other day, I had to beat down two corrupt cops. Whenever the cops start beating, there's a bad guy worth defeating." Lopunny remarked. Infernape raised an eyebrow,
"A corrupt officer doesn't mean there's a crime boss, does it?"
"No, bit it does mean that someone with a shit ton of money wants control," said Lopunny. The notion reminded Infernape of Rosie Azalea, who was an crime boss in the UR who practically controlled the country, hypnotizing the overly optimistic 1920s populace with her beauty and stardom in old films. That woman had so many people on her pay, she could probably murder someone in broad daylight, and no one would arrest her. This sort of crime didn't happen often.
Infernape had more questions,
"Who do you think is responsible?" he asked as he finished a drink. Lopunny looked out the window,
"Don't know, but Grandpa's been working with some secret group of Senshi. From what I've heard, it sounds big," she answered.
Little did they know that, across the restaurant, two Pokemon were having a discussion surrounding that big thing that Lopunny was talking about. A blue and red frog figure and a purple scorpion sat down with spaghetti. The blue frog was laid out on the seat, his hands resting behind his head, legs crossed on the table. The purple scorpion told the frog,
"We've got a lead, Toxicroak, rumor has it that some pawns have moved into a defensive position." His words were a code for something. Toxicroak nodded as he took a large spoonful of spaghetti and shoved it into his mouth. While eating, Toxicroak said,
"Right, chess stuff. That should mean that they are protecting t3, right?" Drapion nodded,
"Yes. We believe that they are attempting a king's opening to eventually allow the queen to put us in checkmate."
"Is our queen there?" Toxicroak asked. Drapion looked around and spoke in more code,
"Queen to t3." Toxicroak smiled as he stood up and whispered to Drapion,
"Stay with Blastoise. Rook to t3."
Infernape and Lopunny paid for their food and left. They went back up to the surface and arrived in the city center. A circular plaza with a statue of Blastoise at the center.
"Wow, it's a lot bigger than I expected." Infernape said in awe as he looked up at the statue.
"Yeah, He didn't want it, but he had to agree to get them to leave him alone." Lopunny explained. Infernape raised an eyebrow and asked himself,
"How does she know that?" At that point, they heard a song playing in the background and the two saw a crowd watching a Sawk breakdancing. Lopunny appeared to get excited and Infernape noticed,
"Do you want to dance?" He asked knowingly. Lopunny nodded and the two went to watch. Once the Hawlucha finished, Lopunny volunteered to go next.
She started with a few side steps, going back and forth to get a rhythm going. She then backflipped, twirling through the air and landing on her hands. She began to windmill, rolling her body in a circular path while twirling her legs in the titular windmill shape. She smoothly transitioned into a head spin and used her arms to shoot herself upwards. She landed on one hand and stabbed her legs into the air before transitioning into chair flares, swinging her legs in continuous circles while balancing between her arms. She created an ice mist to accent her movement, wowing the crowd. Infernape decided to get a chant going,
"LOPUNNY! LOPUNNY! LOPUNNY! LOPUNNY!" he chanted. The crowd began to chant alongside him. Lopunny was too focused on her dancing to notice. She ended her display by ending it with a hollow back freeze, balancing on her head. The crowd cheered as Lopunny stood up. Infernape ran up to her and hugged her,
"You were amazing out there!" He praised happily. Lopunny smiled,
"Thank you."
The two were sitting on a cliff, the same one where they dueled. Bpth were watching the clouds, pointing out the shapes that appeared. Infernape looked over to see Lopunny staring into the clouds and thought now was the time to ask the all important question.
"Why are you living in Blastoise's home?" Lopunny turned over to him, looked into his eyes and answered,
"He's my father-"
"YOU'RE HIS DAUGHTER?!" Infernape yelled in disbelief. Lopunny shook her head,
"You didn't let me finish, he's my adopted father." Infernape couldn't help but feel bad for the rabbit,
"That... that must've been quite a shock." He comforted. She briefly glared at him before relaxing.
"No, It's the earliest thing I can remember." Lopunny reminisced, staring forward into the clouds. Infernape was intrigued and listened as Lopunny began to tell him her story.
"All I can remember is me walking through a forest, crying, screaming for my parents for what felt like hours. Then Blastoise found me, I still remember exactly what he both said. 'What are you doing here by yourself?' he said. I couldn't stop myself from crying. So he took me in, raised me, trained me, taught me everything I know. During all that time, he did everything in his power to find my parents but he couldn't find anything." Lopunny curled up, the fur on her ears enveloped her up to her neck like a parka. Infernape shuffled over to hug her. She accepted the gesture and leaned into the embrace. Lopunny looked into Infernape's eyes and asked,
"What's your story?" Infernape let go of her and scooted away, which deeply concerned Lopunny.
"A-are you okay? I'm sorry, I just thought that it was only fair." Infernape didn't answer, which scared her even more. She noticed that he was looking at the sky, the sun was beginning to set. Lopunny was dead confused,
"What are you looking at?" she questioned.
This was so much more personal than telling Garchomp. Lopunny was someone who he wanted badly, so why was this so difficult? Perhaps he viewed it as some sort of curse? Maybe Lopunny had heard the story before and was going to abandon him, refusing to date a murderer. But he had wanted a girlfriend for a very long time. Someone to comfort him in his worst of times, that idea was one of the very few things that kept him going through those eight years, hoping that eventually, he would find the woman of his dreams. But even that died out. In truth, had Infernape not gone with the group to Boltein,
This story would have a very, very different ending.
"I'm sorry," said Infernape, "It's nothing." Lopunny shook her head,
"No, there is something wrong. That isn't something you can just play off." Infernape didn't want to answer but he decided to tell her.
"There was a reason I was scared to tell you about my life. The fact of the matter is that I don't have one. These deputized Senshi quests are the closest things I've come to having one." Lopunny frowned,
"Don't say that," She politely scolded.
"It's true," he said somberly. He sighed before continuing, but try as he might, he couldn't get the words to come out. They were trapped in his throat. Unwilling to leave. Lopunny's concern grew more and more as Infernape just sat there in silence.
He couldn't bring himself to do it. As much as he loved her, he was too scared. It would happen again. Everything he had earned up to this point would be taken from him, stolen in the tornado of misfortune that befell him that fateful day. Unlike before, he would have nothing to look forward to tomorrow. No reason to get out of bed. No reason to wake up.
But he had found a reason to wake up in the morning.
Infernape had surprised himself with that thought. Just a few months back, that idea would've never crossed his mind. Even if it did, he would've just pushed it down. Now, he was giving such a nonsensical idea a shot. He had been on this massive adventure. He had bled, he had cried, he was beaten within an inch of his life, but had finally been given a purpose. One that hadn't been taken away from him through the sadistic mistress that is fate. Eight years ago, he had everything taken away from him. Eight years later, he had his purpose back, and fate had done nothing to take that away from him.
So, he told her.
He told her everything. From the accusation, to his argument with his friends, to his mother abandoning him. Everything.
For Lopunny, there was a lot to take in. So much had been done to this poor man that it had broken him. So much so that he had trapped himself in a cage to hide from demons made from his greatest fears. But there was one thing he hadn't lost. Something he didn't even realize he had. Hope.
Lopunny gently guided his face so they could make eye contact. She wordlessly smiled and used her ears to create a small private space for the two of them. Infernape created a small flame to be able to see. Lopunny slowly pulled Infernape closer, their foreheads pressed against each other gently.
"You haven't lost everything, you have your friends, you have your bravery," she then closed the gap between them and kissed Infernape. He noticed her lips tasted of vanilla before he stopped thinking and simply enjoyed the experience. His past, his fears, his insecurities, they all vanished into the pure bliss he was experiencing now. Their lips parted with a tiny little pop,
"and you have me." she finished. Infernape hugged her tightly, crying into her shoulder. Lopunny patted his back to comfort him as the sun began to rest beneath the horizon.
Who's to say how long their relationship would last? It could last until death do them part, end violently, or some other option in the middle. The only thing that's certain is that no matter what, Lopunny would help Infernape if he needed it. Because she knew that when someone is lost, they need a guiding light.
A/N: Cards on the table, romance is not my strong suit. Some of the romantic scenes may come off as cringey or awkward and I don't have an excuse for it. Remember, this story was written to completion before it was published. I started writing it around mid to late 2019, so part of it does come from a younger, cockier me, but still. If you have an issue with the way anything in Pyrophant has been written, let me know. I can only improve from here. I'll see you all tommorow