A/N: Hey, guys! Look who's back XD

First of all, thank you all so very much for still reading this story and still supporting me in writing this story. I'm not sure if I could do it without you. Thank you!

Secondly, I'm so sorry for the long absence, but I'm back again! And I do plan on updating more frequently from now on. Because I've decided to enter a challenge on the Pokémon Fanfiction Challenges forum here on this website, Aiko Isari's Completionist Big Bang! challenge, which consists of two parts. The first part is to write 25 000 words before February 2020. That should be doable, I'd think… The second part is to update consistently until the story is finished, so for chapters of this length it means updating at least every week. That is definitely the more challenging part of this story. Still, I'm going to try XD

And now, onto the new chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or the picture used as cover (though I did edit it).

Days

The day Cilan talks

Cilan

Wednesday, December 11th

Cilan was usually good with words, if he did say so himself. Many people said so. He had a way of softening news, of bringing up compromises and of making other people see his way. It was a skill he rarely used consciously, usually he just tried to keep the peace, but right now, it would be a very useful thing.

Chili and Cress still didn't know about Iris's and his engagement, and he had to tell them.

Cilan sighed, for now still safe in the privacy of his bedroom. It was the quiet time of the morning before business in the restaurant started. His laptop was opened in front of him, with the plan to continue on getting a proper overview of Iris's and his incomes and costs, but he couldn't focus.

Initially, they had wanted to tell his brothers together. But the weather continued to be a mix of harsh winds, freezing temperatures and snow, which was a recipe for hindered travelling. Normal traffic over the road was slow, trains and planes were often delayed or cancelled, and flying with a Pokémon was strongly discouraged, so the only way to get somewhere was either to be patient or to use your own two feet.

And while Iris had no problems with walking, she did have a problem with the weather, not to mention she had a Gym to run and didn't have the time to invest in a long journey to visit him.

Cilan resisted the urge to sigh. They could have waited a bit longer, until the weather cleared up, but his brothers were getting suspicious. Lately, he had been busy with planning things for their future, but with the minimized travelling, there were very few Gym challengers, and Cress had been attentive enough to notice that Cilan was still spending a lot of time 'working.'

Chili was going as far as trying to look at Cilan's laptop when he wasn't paying attention.

Fortunately, with the holiday season coming, the restaurant was busier, which at least served as some distraction. But it wouldn't be long before they would start calling him out on it.

So, Iris had given him permission to tell them on his own.

Three days ago.

As to why he hadn't done so yet... He was just waiting on a suitable opening. Yes, that was it. Big news like this deserved a proper appetizer. And the ingredients had to be mixed very carefully-

"So, whatcha working on?"

Cilan jumped at Chili's voice. The man himself grinned at his brother's reaction as he fully appeared in the doorway of Cilan's bedroom.

Chili quickly made his way over to Cilan, and leaned over his shoulder to look at his opened laptop. The screen was blank, though, and Chili hummed thoughtfully.

"So, what were you working on?" he repeated.

"I wasn't working," Cilan replied truthfully. "Only thinking."

Chili looked at him curiously, crossing his arms.

Perhaps… No time like the present?

"Chili, do you know if Cress is very busy?" he asked, steeling himself, and Chili's face lit up.

"You finally gonna tell us what's been going on with you?"

"You could put it like that," Cilan said carefully.

But not entirely, and that made this whole situation much more difficult.

"You're not as secretive as you think you are," Chili said, looking satisfied with himself.

He felt himself color. "Neither are you," Cilan said, gesturing at his laptop.

Chili shrugged. "If it gets you to talk. Anyway," he quickly continued, "I'll go get Cress. Don't chicken out!"

With that, Chili was gone again, giving Cilan a few moments to think how he was going to go about it. Iris and he had agreed that the pregnancy would be kept a secret, at least until they knew for sure the baby was healthy, so he couldn't tell everything. And it would be difficult to tell a tale which missed an essential ingredient.

"Alright, he's coming." Chili reappeared with a satisfied smile.

Cilan glanced at the open door and then at Chili. He was quite sure his brothers would be happy, but they would have questions.

Cress entered Cilan's bedroom, still wearing his apron. His annoyed expression – probably because Chili had interrupted him while experimenting with a new meal – cleared when he noticed Cilan sitting there.

He took off his apron and sat on Cilan's bed, a glint of worry in his eyes. Chili stood next to him, rolling on the balls of his feet.

"So, tell us," Chili said encouragingly.

Cilan opened his mouth, the story ready on his tongue. Iris and he had been dating in secret for a while, he had freaked out when they had shared a bed, but the fiasco had turned out for the better, because now they had decided they would get married.

That was what he was going to say. But it would be a half truth, maybe even less than that – and the words wouldn't come.

"Cilan?" Chili asked, standing still and now he looked worried as well.

He wished Iris was here. He blinked in realization. How would Iris do this?

Cilan grinned. "Iris and I are going to get married."

"What?!" Chili burst out immediately, actually jumping in the air. "Really?!" He looked at Cress and then at Cilan, and Cilan's grin widened, nodding in response. "Really really really? Wow!"

Chili then proceeded to almost throw over Cilan when he hugged his brother.
"Congratulations!"

He released Cilan and continued to walk excitedly around the room.

Cilan took the moment to look at Cress, who had an uncertain, almost disbelieving smile on his face. "Really-"

He was interrupted by Chili. "But I never knew you two were dating! You should have told us! Wait! You told us about that you slept with her and that you fixed it, but you mean to say that with fixing it you actually got together?"

Chili stopped his rambling when Cress got up and put a hand on the youngest brother's arm. "I think we both want to know the story there."

"I've been in love with Iris for years," Cilan said. That was no lie. "I proposed to her about two weeks ago, and she said yes."

Chili was beaming and it seemed like he had to restrain himself not to hug Cilan again. Cress still seemed like he was thinking too much about it and was going to ask difficult questions.

Cilan quickly continued. "We wanted to tell you together, of course. But the weather makes it very difficult to travel." At this, Cress nodded in understanding. "And since I had the feeling you two were noticing I was working on something-"

Chili nodded and looked at Cress with a grin. "We totally did."

Cress looked satisfied and maybe even a bit smug when he nodded. But then he started to frown again and Cilan knew he needed to distract Cress from the marriage-

"So Iris and I decided that it was time to tell you," he quickly continued. An idea struck him. "And as to what I have been working on… that would be looking for a house, among other things." Cilan sighed dramatically. "But it is a lot more complicated than I had thought…"

"A house…" Cress mused.

"Yes." Cilan nodded. "We need a place in between Striaton City and the Village of Dragons, and not something too expensive…" He trailed off, seeing the telltale gleam in Cress's eyes. Bingo.

"So that would be Undella Town, maybe Lentimas Town," Cress said thoughtfully. "Yes, yes, I can understand why it would be difficult…"

Cilan hummed in agreement, having to stop himself from smiling in satisfaction. Out of the three of them, Cress had always been the most interested in the restaurant, creating the right atmosphere and making sure the style and decorations were perfect. Even when it came to their shared house, Cress was the biggest factor in deciding how the furniture would be placed.

Now Cilan could only hope that this would be enough to evade the questions until he could be completely truthful.

Chili's bouncing around the room finally distracted Cress from his thoughtful murmuring, and when he looked up Cilan couldn't stop his smile. Cress smiled back and put a hand on Cilan's shoulder. "I'll admit it's a surprise, but congratulations, Cilan."

Chili grinned. "We all knew it was going to happen, anyways." He put an arm around his other shoulder. "Congrats, bro."

Words escaped him again, and Cilan could only smile.

A/N: This was nice to write, though I had some difficulty with deciding how and what Cilan was going to tell his brothers. I switched ideas a few times, but I hope this one was nice and believable. Thank you very much for reading! Your thoughts are very welcome, please let me know in a review! And see you next week!

Thank you!

Recommendations:

Pokémon: Canon Rape by Bittersweet Romanticide. FFN. RATED M! This is a finished collection of, well, let's call it one-shots, featuring everything that can go wrong when one writes a Pokémon fanfic, and how to prevent these mistakes. Thank you, anjumstar, for the recommendation!

Pokémon: Channel by ibuberu. FFN. Thanks to inklaced for the recommendation! This is a short, sweet and amusing one-shot from Kouki's (Lucas's) point of view as he sees the relationship between Hikari (Dawn) and Jun (Barry). TwinleafShipping!

Harry Potter: The Fire in His Heart by Alohaemora. FFN. For all Neville-lovers out there. This is a one-shot about what's perhaps Neville's biggest moment, killing Nagini, and what lead up to it. Really great.

Because I'm now trying to update faster, that means that the Recommendations section might become shorter. I'm going to try to do this as well, but updating on time has priority. Still, if you have a story you want me to recommend, let me know and I'll have a look at it :)