Well, here we are at the penultimate chapter of this fic. I would once again like to thank you all for all of your support during the 6 months it took me to write this damn thing. I may have already said this, but if it wasn't for the support, this would've been put on an indefinite hiatus long before now. So thank you. Anyway, on with the show.
Chapter 14:
Worry and Relief
The twins were immediately brought to the nearest hospital by Nemona and Penny. Florian was given a quick checkup and it was deemed that he had suffered no major injury or lasting damage, a was discharged the next day. Both Penny and Florian's mother were there in the reception when he was released, and the three of them went out to celebrate his return that night. But of course, it didn't feel right to either Florian nor his mother, as Juliana was still in the hospital. Her injuries were a lot more severe than Florian's. They supposed that since she was gay as well as an immigrant, they considered her an even worse offender than Florian, and treated her worse as a result. She suffered severe head injuries, and the doctors found traces of sedatives in her bloodstream, signifying that they'd drugged her. The combination of the 2, coupled with the other signs of abuse across her body, was the the reason why she was still unconscious. According to the doctors, it could be some time before she wakes up.
Meanwhile, the rest of Paldea was taking swift action against Team Eclipse. The rest of the group were quickly hunted down and arrested for their crimes. While the police managed to track down most of them, some of them managed to get away. So, Geeta went and interrogated Gina about whether or not Team Eclipse had any hideouts. But, after Gina found out that Geeta was gay, she refused to say anything to her. So, they had to bring another officer in to question her. At first, they thought she'd be tight-lipped, and refuse to give away anything about her group. But instead, she sung like a Jigglypuff, giving the police all the locations she knew, as well as all of their names. She also tried to convince them that she wasn't to blame for the incident, and that the others forced her to do it. Of course, no one believed her, as she was the one who sent the messages about the twins in the first place. So, she tried to bribe them. That only got her in more trouble.
After Gina's confession, the rest of Team Eclipse was rounded up in no time at all. Due to the fact that they were rich, and as closed minded as their kids, their parents tried to push for a trial, and for one that will end in an acquittal. Florian and all of his friends, and much of the region, waited with bated breath as this was debated. In fact, just the thought of this occurring made Nemona feel sick to her stomach. Thankfully, the courts ruled against this, and each member of the group was sentenced their dues, with Gina getting life for attempted murder. Uva Academy held a celebration in honour of this ruling, with Florian and Penny as the guests of honour. Team Star headed the organisation of the party, and really threw a banger for everyone involved. Unfortunately, Carmine and Kieran had to return to Unova to finish their school years, but they wished everyone well and told them to enjoy themselves on their behalf.
But, not everyone was in a celebratory mood. Throughout all of this, Nemona never stopped worrying about Juliana, who still hadn't woken up yet. She spent every second she could beside Juliana's hospital bed, in the hopes that she'll be there when she wakes up. When she's not by Juliana's side or in class preparing for her final exams and graduation, she was in her room, reciting exactly how she was going to confess her feelings for her. At this point, she went through several different scripts, but none of them felt right. She was so wrapped up in this spiral that she almost didn't attend the party in Uva Academy celebrating Team Eclipse's imprisonment. But Arven stepped in to make sure she came along, and she ended up enjoying herself for the first time since Florian first vanished nearly 2 months ago.
After that, she went back to fretting over her confession. Eventually, Florian and Penny came to see her right before she was about to visit Juliana. "Hey," Penny called, "are you off to see Juliana?" Nemona nodded, her cheeks flushing red as she did. Florian and Penny both smirk at this. "Are you also going to try confess to her if she wakes up?" Florian asked. Nemona hesitated, unsure if she wanted to admit that to her 1st real rival about his sister. "I want to," she finally admitted. "But I can't get it to sound right. I want it to be perfect when I finally get the chance to tell her, you know?" At this, Penny put a comforting hand on Nemona's shoulder. "It's never going to sound perfect if you keep rehearsing it," she told her. "If you want it to be perfect, go in there unprepared, and say the first things that come to your head. Remember, Florian didn't have any speech prepared, he just handed me an Applin and it conveyed everything he wanted it to." Florian nodded in agreement. "If she wakes up today, look her in the eyes and just say those three words," he told her. "Trust me, she's been dying to hear them for almost 5 years!" Nemona hugged them both and thanked them, then ran off to the hospital. "I think that is the most you've ever spoken in one conversation" Penny pointed out. Florian shrugged and laughed at that, before waving his hand in a way that said, don't get used to it.
Taking Florian and Penny's advice, Nemona arrived at Juliana's room in the hospital with absolutely no idea what she was going to say to her when she woke up. When she walked into the room, Juliana was still unconscious. Nemona sighed and sat next to her. Then she began to mentally prepare herself. "It's ok Nemona, when the girl you've had the biggest crush on for 5 years now wakes up, you're going to look her in the eyes and tell her exactly how you feel!" she thought to herself. "No big deal, just look tell it straight to her adorable face... No no, not that! OK, just look at her and tell her you like her!" As she thought that part to herself, she looked down at Juliana's sleeping form and blushed madly. Even when she's unconscious she looked like a goddess. "¿A quién estoy engañando?!" she said to herself. "I can't do this! She's too pretty, too amazing. She'd never fall for someone like me!" Thinking she should probably leave before she caused herself to become anymore of a gay mess, Nemona got up to leave. But before she could, she felt someone grab her wrist.
Turning to look at who grabbed her, Nemona suddenly found it very difficult to breathe. Juliana was finally awake, and staring at her with the most adorable smile in the whole world. "Stay, please," she said weakly. "I like hearing your voice." Nemona immediately threw her arms around Juliana and sobbed with relief into her shoulder. "Oh thank Arceus you're OK!" she exclaimed. "I was so worried you were... that you'd left us!" Juliana patted Nemona on the back affectionately, but also rather desperately. "Nemo... can't breathe... Need air!" she said. Nemona apologised and got off of her. OK, this was it, this is the moment where she confessed her feelings for the girl. "Come on Nemona!" she thought to herself. "Tell her how you feel! Tell her how you feel! Tell her how you feel!" She tried to do so, but whenever she opened her mouth no words came out. Juliana saw this and found it increasingly awkward to be lying in a bed while the human equivalent of a goddess stood over her. If Juliana hadn't felt Nemona's skin, she would've been certain she was in Heaven right now. Eventually, she sighed and said, "You can leave if you want Nemona, I won't keep you if you don't want to stay."
That got Nemona's brain working. Immediately after Juliana said that, Nemona blurted out, "I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!" She immediately slapped her hands to her mouth as she realised what she just said. Looking at Juliana, she saw tears prick at the sides of her eyes Immediately fearing the worst, Nemona turned to leave, apologising for saying that. But Juliana stopped her again. "Nemona wait!" she said. Nemona stopped and turned to look at her. "I'm in love with you too," Juliana replied. "I've been since we first met!" Nemona felt like she needed to pinch herself, because surely she was dreaming. "R-really?" she asked. "Really," Juliana replied. "You are the most amazing girl I've ever met. Honestly, when I first met you, I couldn't believe Florian had fallen for someone like Penny when you were his rival." Nemona blushed furiously at this. "So, then... do you want to be my girlfriend?" she asked nervously. Juliana smirked at this. "Does this answer your question?" she replied, before pulling Nemona down and kissing her on the lips. At first, Nemona was taken by surprise, but she quickly melted into the kiss, which lasted nearly a minute. "Crikey!" she said when they broke apart. "Yes, yes it does!" Then, she went down for another, which Juliana was all to happy to give her.
OK, with 10 minutes to spare, I managed to get this out on time! Go me! Sorry if Nemona and Juliana's confession felt a bit rushed, but I felt that I didn't really have anything else I needed to add to it. It tried to go into more detail with the kiss, but I had no idea how to do that, and trying to think of any more details made me feel a bit icky, so I left it there. Now, if all goes to plan, in two days time I shall be publishing the last chapter of this story. I would like to day one last thank you to everyone fore sticking with this fic despite the slow upload schedule, and I'll see you very soon for the last chapter!