"HAHAHAHAHA! You call that horrifying? That sounds hilarious, Penny! And YOU were doing that funny dance too? I can't believe you didn't have anybody up there filming the whole thing! That's a viral video in the making, friendo! You could've blown up all over PikPek!"
Penny grumbled into her phone. "Well, I'm glad you're enjoying my PTSD."
"Awww, don't be such a grumpy-pants," Noni responded through the audio call. "Howzbout this? Once you get back to Paldea and you got all your fancy tech out in front of you again, we can do another big video hangout! I'll totally play that Ultra Fairy Fighters game you love so much to un-gloom-ify your pretty little noggin!"
"Heh-heh. Yeah… yeah, that could be good." Penny rubbed the back of her neck. "Or… maybe we can finally meet up IRL."
"Uhhh—ehhhh!" Noni's voice suddenly stammered. "Ummm, sorry, I'm still—still not super comfy with that idea."
"Oh, I know." She giggled a bit. "Sorry… You sound so energetic and confident all the time, but that's why it makes me laugh whenever I can make you anxious."
"Ohhhh…" Penny heard a humph on the other end. "Well… if my silly antics make you feel entertained and happy, then I have no issues playing that role for you, my sweet gumdrop."
"Heh… Umm, thanks." Penny blushed a little. It really did feel swell to have someone this determined to make her feel good in her life, even if her girlfriend was still just a voice on PokéChat for now.
There was a knock on the door.
"Huh? Come in."
The door cracked open… letting a trickle of light into the heavily darkened room, which made Penny's eyes squint as Juliana poked her head in.
"Hey Penny, I… Ohh. Hee-hee-hee!"
"What? What are you laughing at?" she asked.
Juliana stepped in, rocking her peach polo shirt. She had left her purple jacket, school hat, and backpack hung up in her closet.
"Nothing, I just… Wow, you really made this place like home, huh?"
Juliana had a giggle looking around at the bedroom assigned to Penny. By fitting some of her home-brought blackout curtains over the community center's own blinds, shutting off all the lights, and sitting there on her bed, surrounded by her Veevees, a few plushies, and the bright glow from her laptop, Penny had really turned the place into a dark den not unlike the pitch black cave that was her dorm room back at Uva Academy.
Penny huffed. "Leave me alone, will you? I'm on call with my girlfriend, and you're embarrassing me."
"Who is it? Who is it!?" Noni gasped loudly over the phone. "Is that one of your friends!? I wanna see 'em!"
"Oh… heh-heh, fine. Juliana, this is my girlfriend Noni," Penny told her, holding out her phone. "Say hello."
"Well, hello! Umm…"
Juliana leaned down to the phone with her toothiest grin, expecting to see a pretty face… but was flummoxed to be met with only an icon of a Dedenne.
"You can't see her, but she can see you," Penny explained.
"Hellooooooo, Juliana!" said a very hyper-energetic voice on the other end. "How have you been, rockstarl!? Like… your whole life I mean, since we've obviously never met before."
"Uhhh… I'm… great," Juliana responded. She was picking up a very eccentric vibe from this Noni. "Glad you're helping Penny feel better!"
Have I met this girl before, at like school or something? Her voice sounds… weirdly familiar.
"Oh, for sure! I am a certified expert at lifting people's gloom and doom away! I'll have your adorable friend here smiling wider than a Gengar!"
"Well, I don't know about that…" Penny chuckled. "Umm, sorry, was there something you needed, Juliana?"
"Oh, uhh… mm. Not… really?"
Juliana seemed more awkward than usual, and Penny noticed that she was fidgeting with her fingers a lot.
"I just, umm… I'm just checking around with all you guys. Wanted to make sure you're all doing okay after—all that crazy stuff yesterday."
"Oh, well…" Penny wasn't really sure what to say either. She shrugged and just started petting her Umbreon, who stretched on the bed like the long cat it was and purred. "I think I'm—I'm doing pretty good. I'm glad you were thinking of me, though. I know I got pretty spooked back there…"
She smiled at Juliana.
"But I've got my Veevees with me…"
"Jolt jolt!"
"I've got my cool girlfriend Noni…"
"Yeah-yeah~ !"
"So yeah, I'm all set.
Juliana snickered. "Alright, as long as you're sure…"
Penny nodded. "You can go."
"Cool! Alright, I'm leaving now. Have fun you two!" she smiled as she left, and finally allowed Penny to be shrouded in darkness again.
Vaporeon chirped goodbye, before raising its foot to scratch its ear.
"Well, that was just straight-up goofy!" Noni giggled. "Your pal Juliana still got the dancing jitters or something?"
"Nah…" Penny smiled. "I think she's just really nervous and stalling. I've never seen her act like that before, but if that's how she always is when Carmine's involved, it's freaking adorable."
"I should definitely check on Nemona and Arven next, right? Right!" Juliana muttered quietly.
She took a sharp breath and put on her best smile as she stepped towards the open doorway to the room Nemona and Arven had both taken.
"Awww, but Arvieeeee! I'm bored!" she could hear Nemona whining from inside.
Snickering a bit from her friend's perpetually childlike demeanor, Juliana poked her in, where she could see Nemona laying in bed, waving her arms around as a frustrated looking Arven sat by her bedside waiting for her to stop wriggling enough that he could place a heat pack on her head.
"Just one! Let me just find one Trainer to fight! I gotta see what kinds of strategies Kitakami Trainers use in their battles!"
It was a room with two beds, although either Arven had made that other bed so exceptionally it was like new… or he hadn't slept on it at all.
"Absolutely not!" Arven scolded her like a stern parent. "Even right now, you can barely stand up! And your skin's still cold, just how long were you out there in the dead of night dancing away?"
"Hee-hee! You act like I'm supposed to know that if I was really 'possessed' or whatever you guys are saying!" Nemona giggled. "It felt like it was only a few minutes!"
"Yeah, but you run on like a million batteries, just keep on going forever," Arven fretted. "That's the problem with you sometimes."
Nemona perked her head up and looked at him coyly.
"…Didn't seem like you were complaining about that last night."
Arven's face turned red upon seeing Juliana in the room. Quietly, he murmured, "Nemona, Juliana's here."
"Oh!" Nemona waved excitedly. "Hi, Juliana!"
"Hey, guys," Juliana chuckled. "I just—umm, I just really wanted to check on how you guys are holding up." She was a little confused why Arven was turning his head away from her, but decided to enter anyway. "How are you feeling, Nemona?"
"Oh, I'm muy bien and raring to go! But this big killjoy seems to think I'm on death's door from the plague or something!" she said snidely, side-eyeing Arven for a second. Then she cheerfully pulled up a Poké Ball. "Hey Juliana! Wanna battle?"
"What t—NO!" This caused Arven to sharply turn around again, and he swiped the Ball from her hand. "I thought I confiscated all those!"
Nemona crossed her arms and pouted. "You're being more Salt than Pepper right now! Juliana, can you please tell my big lug here that he doesn't have to worry about me all the time like I'm five years old?"
He gruffed at her and furrowed his eyebrows at Juliana.
"Juliana, can you please tell the Princess of Cabo Poco here that just sitting in a room for one day isn't going to cause her head to explode?"
Juliana looked between the two of them, who were both staring at her expectantly with the same petulant frown, and just broke out giggling.
"I'm so sorry, but… this is what you guys signed up for with each other!" she laughed. "You're like, uhh… how did Mr. Turia put it? An unstoppable force meeting an immovable object!"
"Hmmph," Arven huffed. "Well which one of us is the unstoppable force?"
"Well clearly it's me, because I WON'T BE STOPPED!" Nemona declared, springing up in bed and causing her heat pack to flop onto the floor. "GIMME BACK MY POKÉMON, ARVEN!"
"AHHHH! I, I—Uggh, fine, how about this?" Arven grumbled. "If you promise to at least sit there and eat the soup I'm going to make for you, then… afterwards I'll ask the staff if you can borrow one of their wheelchairs."
"YES! WOO-HOO!" Nemona cheered, holding her fists up high. "See, Juliana? I get some of Arven's amazing cooking AND I get to zoom around everywhere in a chair afterwards!"
"Who said I'm just going to let you fly away on that thi—"
"What I've signed up for is the complete JACKPOT! ¡Estoy emocionada!"
Juliana laughed heartily. "So… so you guys are alright? You don't need anything?"
Arven looked at Nemona, and they both shrugged. "Yeah, I… I guess we're pretty fine ourselves."
"Y-you sure?" Juliana stuttered. "Cause I don't mind! If there's anything you need, like snacks, or… or anything like that! This community center has the most amazing pretzels—"
"Juliana!" Arven said sharply. "We're fine. Seriously."
"Yeah, so…" Nemona gestured with her eyes. "Just go and see her already, will ya?"
…
"T-thanks, guys."
Kieran had picked out a yummy pumpkin-flavored donut from the community center's sweets stand. He held it up to Pecharunt, who was sprawled out on top of his head. Maybe it resonated with Kieran's similarly colored hair.
"Mmm?"
"Peh…?" It tilted its head at the pastry curiously.
"It's a doughnut, Pecharunt!" he giggled. "Do you wanna sha—"
"PECHA!"
Excitedly, Pecharunt scooped the donut out of Kieran's hands and… turned it completely purple with the magic in its glowing wing shells. It then offered the Binding Donut back to Kieran with an eager cry.
"Uhh…" Kieran pushed the donut away with his finger. "I'll pass. Guess we still need to work on some stuff…"
"Hey, Kieran!" said Juliana, popping around the corner.
"Oh, hey Juliana!"
"Hey… …you." She sneered at Pecharunt, still not fully willing to trust this little gremlin.
"Brrb-oo?"
"So, Kieran, I was just wondering—"
Kieran cut her off by pointing to the end of the hallway. "She's in there."
"URK!"
Kieran smiled slyly at her.
"…Thanks," she said meekly.
Juliana started dragging her feet to the room at the end of the hall. With each step, she felt her limbs trembling more and more. She began to feel a bit of sweat on her forehead as well.
Why am I more nervous than I was at Loyalty Plaza… when I didn't even know she was still Mochi'd? She even said she was happy to see me…
But now she's had a whole night to think over the fact that I kissed her without her permission…
Oh no. What if she thinks I'm a creep? Or what if now that she's seen my face, she remembered how angry she was at me and just wants me to go back home? She probably doesn't even have feelings for me anymore, I should just—
-KNOCK, KNOCK-
Juliana flinched. She had started to get so tangled in her mind that she was startled to find herself knocking on the door without thinking about it.
Did my heart just take over from my brain?
"Who is it?" she heard Carmine ask from inside.
Just hearing that voice again, husky but sweet like honey, made a few of Juliana's nerves shrink up. Just a few, though.
She gulped. "…It's… Juliana."
…
Carmine didn't answer immediately, which caused Juliana to start quietly freaking out again.
Please don't hate me. If you want me to go away, I will, just please don't—
"Come in."
She said that in a sweet-sounding tone. Juliana was… a little shocked. But she immediately opened the door, defeating her anxieties right at that moment, and then she entered…
And there she was.
Carmine looked up at Juliana… and smiled softly. She was sitting tucked in bed in her rose red pajamas. Just her natural red-and-black hair, no band to keep it in place. She was holding a cup of her grandmother's hot green tea in her hands.
On the nightstand beside her bed, she had some incense burning, coating the room in a very relaxing cinnamon smell. Ogerpon was in the room too; she had fallen asleep on the rocking chair nearby. But she yawned and perked up when Juliana entered the room.
Juliana was speechless for a minute. She had prepared herself for the inevitably of being confronted with Carmine's beautiful face again but… she was still woefully unprepared for just how… mesmerized she was by her.
To her, Carmine looked like a living portrait, like one of those beautiful ladies you would see in a painting inside a mansion. She was remembering now just how much Carmine's face was always the brightest thing in her vision, the sight that always gave her warmth and made her feel…
Happy.
She was so captivated, she had forgotten to speak for a minute.
"Hi."
…
"Hi," Carmine said back.
The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds. This had legitimately been the first time in two months that Carmine had locked her bright, shining yellow eyes with Juliana's inviting hazel-brown gaze.
Then Juliana's eyes started darting elsewhere in the room, the feelings of awkwardness rising up within her. She smiled softly at Ogerpon, who looked very, very sleepy.
"Has Ogerpon been a great nurse?"
"Yeah…" Carmine glanced over at the monster girl and smiled sweetly. "Yeah, she's been keeping me lots of comfort."
Carmine bunched her blanket up a little closer to her chin.
"Hey, Juliana?" She was looking away while blushing a little. "Ummm, thank you very much for… saving me from, whatever that thing is."
"You're—" Juliana stopped, she found herself having to swallow some saliva down. "You're welcome, Carmine."
"I still don't really… understand what happened to me, but Kiki tried to explain it as best he could. It all sounds super crazy, but—he also told me what you two did for me, so… yeah."
Juliana nodded back silently, tugging hard on her pink sleeve.
"…I like the new look," Carmine coughed. "It— suits you."
"Thanks." Juliana swept her hair back. "You look… good too."
"Yeah…"
…
…
…
"I'm sorry," they both blurted out at the same time. "Oh!"
Juliana put her fist over her mouth and blushed.
"S'pose I don't have to guess we're apologizing for the same thing," Carmine snickered, brushing her hair back.
"Yeah. I'm really sorry we fought like that… and that I left without saying goodbye to you. I just—I wasn't in the right headspace at all… I was blaming myself and just—throwing all that onto you because I was upset. But you didn't deserve any of that Carmine, and maybe that's why I ran away… to hide from my own guilt."
"You and me both, sister," Carmine said with remorse. "I was just so caught up in my head because of what happened to Kiki. I let my anger all blow up out of control, like I always do…" Carmine could feel she was starting to bristle, but sighed to try to keep herself tempered. "You just happened to be an easy target. So you got the full brunt of my rage. It wasn't fair to you, Juliana. Not at all. So I'm the one who should be apologizing to you."
"Well…" Juliana smirked as best she could. "I accept your apology, Carmine, so long as… you'll accept mine."
Carmine closed her eyes, and smirked back. "…Deal."
"Great." Juliana found herself smiling a little bigger. This was a promising start. "Is it… alright if I sit down?"
"…Won't stop ya," she murmured.
"Okay."
Juliana tepidly, but calmly took a seat in the middle of the bed. Her butt was just inches from touching Carmine's legs, which felt warm under the covers.
…Little did Juliana know that Carmine's blanketed body was heating up even more now.
The girl comfily adjusted herself in, and started thinking about the things she wanted to say.
…Because there was a lot to say. There was a lot that was already said, but… she couldn't be sure if Carmine even remembered any of the raw confessions Juliana made to her dancing form last night.
But then she looked into Carmine's face … and her thoughts stopped dead. She really took stock of the girl's features now. That beauty mark. Her lips and eyelashes, gorgeous even without makeup. That beautiful, luscious hair. And her eyes, so warm and inviting.
So… looking at her strangely.
"Umm, Juliana?" Carmine chuckled nervously. "Your brain still working?"
"Oh! I—S-sorry!" Juliana's face flushed red and she grabbed the ends of her hair in embarrassment. "I really didn't mean to stare… It's just…" Then she sighed. "Darn it… I really am the world's biggest idiot."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It's just…" And then Carmine swore she saw Juliana's eyes twinkling. "You're so beautiful…"
"…!?" Carmine reared back in shock.
"And yet… you look the same as ever. Why was I so dumb…?" Juliana started to reach her hand out. "If I could've just opened my eyes from the beginning, and seen what was right in front of me…"
Her fingers touched Carmine's hair, and almost began to stroke it until Carmine, flustered, nudged her away. "J-Juliana, what are you doing?"
Juliana gasped and pulled her away. "I—I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to—Oh my gosh. I'm being such a fool right now… You're still trying to recover, and here I am putting my hands all over you. I'm so sorry, I should just go."
She started to get up from the bed, but Carmine grabbed her arm to pull her back. "Juliana, wait!"
"Huh?"
"Look, you can stay, just…" Carmine grunted. "Quit pretending, alright? I already told you not to do that."
"What do you mean?" Juliana looked at her confused. "Pretending what?"
"You know what I mean," she looked at Juliana sternly. "Pretending to love me back. I'm really happy to see you too, but I don't need that. It's been so long since we've seen each other, and I… I…"
Juliana felt her heart sink a little, as a terrifying guess to what Carmine was trying to say implanted itself.
"…You don't love me anymore, do you?"
"It's not that, Juliana. I just don't—"
"But—but it's true though, isn't it?" Juliana didn't know why, but she felt the need to press on this. She was really feeling her heart starting to break. "After everything I did to you, it would make sense if—if any feelings you still had towards me have probably all gone away… right?"
Carmine sighed. "You really want to know the truth, Juliana?"
"Please," Juliana silently begged. "More than anything."
She opened her eyes and gazed at Juliana with a forlorn expression.
"Juliana, the truth is even after everything that happened I never stopped loving you. In fact, I'm looking at you now, you look so amazing… So adorable and— and confident. You're like a whole different person. I think—I think I'm more in love with you now than I ever have been."
Now Juliana's wide eyes were genuinely sparkling. "R-really…?" She grasped her heart with both hands, smiling all goofy. "You are?"
"Yes!" Carmine huffed, squinting like it caused her great pain to admit this. "But listen, that's not your burden, okay? It's mine, and mine alone. I know you don't love me back, and I'm the one who has to learn how to deal with it." She looked at Juliana gruffly. "So just stop worrying about me! We can still be friends if you want, and I WILL handle these feelings on my own!"
Juliana sighed. Her heart hurt for Carmine, wanting to pull her out of this web of denial she was wrapping herself in.
"Carmine… everyone I've talked to says you haven't been handling yourself well at all. Kieran, Lacey, your grandparents…"
She scoffed. "Rattata, the lot of them all! Don't worry about me Juliana, okay!? I'm a big girl! I can take care of myself, you know that!" She crossed her arms and threw her head down with a pout.
Juliana grumbled at Carmine's stubbornness. All her expressions of worry were just being bounced back with these "Don't worry about me"s and "I can take care of myself"s.
…And the irony wasn't lost on her.
Is this how I sounded before I started getting my head on straight? No wonder my friends were all so exhausted with me.
"I'll learn to cope, okay? There's plenty of Finneon in the sea." But Carmine could tell from Juliana's expression thar she wasn't letting this go. "Look… if you really understood the depths of my feelings for you, then you'd understand that—all I really want, more than anything, is for you to be happy. Don't act like this isn't exactly what you told me to do on our picnic! Considering other people's feelings?"
You mean our DATE?
"Face it, Juliana. You're never going to be happy going along with my delusions. And frankly, you'd only be insulting me and yourself if you just kept on pretending—"
"But I'm NOT pretending!" Juliana protested. Her irritated expression quickly turned into one of sadness and desperation. "It took me forever to realize it, but… but I do feel the same way towards you, Carmine! I have feelings for you too! I have since—since the very beginning, I think. Ever since we first met."
"No you didn't... Juliana, I know you all too well," Carmine shook her head. "You're only saying all this out of your stubborn obligation to help. Your instinct is to say whatever you think will help me feel better. Saying that you love me, and going on dates with me, will make me feel better, right? That's what's going through your head right now."
But Juliana shook her head even more furiously. "NO! No, I really mean it this time! If only you knew what I've been going through—I almost killed myself because I was being blind and stupid, and I had to learn to stop wrecking my body just to try to please people! All those instincts, all that pressure to try to help everyone—it's all gone now! I got that whole mess out of my head! This is ME now!"
Juliana, getting increasingly wound up, grabbed Carmine's hand and forced her to palm Juliana's heart. Carmine instead felt herself going redder.
"I'm being selfish right now, just like you always wanted me to be! I should be leaving you alone, letting you rest and heal instead of—instead of assaulting you like this!"
"Juliana, get my hand off your chest," Carmine said through her teeth. "You're making me feel like I'm the one assaulting you."
"My heart is free now, Carmine! And it belongs completely to you! I'm not worried about anyone else's feelings anymore, just my own. And my feelings are that I want to be your girlfriend for life!"
Carmine finally forced her hand away, and still looked at her with furrowed eyebrows.
Juliana's head shook again with wild disbelief. "You still don't believe me…" She grabbed at her hair. "Why!? Why would I be going on this long unless it was real? Why would I be LYING to you like this? You KNOW I can't lie for crap, Carmine!"
Her breathing was getting heavier, and once again… she could feel her eyes getting glossy. Carmine could at the very least tell that Juliana was working herself up too hard, and tried to reach her hands out to comfort her.
"Juliana, it's—it's okay…"
But Juliana was so frustrated that she just grabbed Carmine's hands and threw them down.
"Why would I have come all the way back here!? Why wouldn't I have just kept away like you asked and moved on? Because I finally realized how much you mean to me! How much of a terrible mistake I made! That's why I came back to Kitakami! That's why I fought all my possessed friends and their tough Pokémon, went up against that scary purple thing, and why I—why I KISSED you! I just wanted to fix all my mistakes and make things right with you!"
She was grabbing all over the different points of her head now. The tears were gathering in her ducts, and she was on the verge of another panic attack, much to Carmine's concern.
"Carmine, there was—there was a point back there where… where I thought we were never gonna get you to snap out of it! I thought… I thought you were gone FOREVER!"
Juliana grasped her cheeks now. The anger was starting to subside, giving way to forcing herself to relive her despair.
"It was awful…" she blubbered. The tears were pouring down her face in wet blobs now, like someone had just lifted the drain on her eyes. "I thought it was all for nothing, and—and then I started imagining what life would be like without you, if I never got to be with you ever again… and it SUCKED!"
Carmine's eyes flew open in shock. This wasn't… anything like how Juliana had ever acted in front of her before.
"It sucked so much to remember all those amazing memories we had together and to—and to face the reality that you might be stuck that way forever… I—I couldn't bear it! I didn't know what I was going to do! I didn't feel like I could live without you!"
Carmine listened deeply, stunned and increasingly distraught. She was starting to recognize now—this was Juliana's heart speaking. She was hearing it loud and clear for… possibly the first time ever.
"It was the most awful I've ever felt, Carmine…" She sniffled loudly. "I realized just how much you mean to me—because you mean everything to me. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I don't ever want to lose you. Not ever again."
Then Juliana sat there and wept with her eyes closed, trying to huff out all this trauma she'd forced back up to the surface. She hadn't meant to place herself back in that horrible moment from last night, but combined with the anguish of Carmine disbelieving her requited feelings, Juliana felt emotionally wracked.
That is… until she felt a gentle finger on her cheek, scooping up some of her tears. She opened her eyes, struggling to see the past blurs of her saline ocean.
"…Huh?"
"These are… these are real tears," Carmine said quietly. Stunned, she placed a hand over Juliana's other cheek, and gazed deep into the pools of her soft, beautiful eyes, which she could finally pinpoint to be an adorably light brown. "So… you—you actually mean it?" Her lip quivered. "You really… love me back?"
Juliana grabbed Carmine's wrist with both her hands and whined, "That's what I've been telling you this WHOLE time, you dummy!"
Carmine brought her arm back, and the first thing she did was open her mouth and smile ecstatically, as her mind tried to comprehend that this was all real.
"When I told you I didn't feel the same way about you… That was the best lie I've ever told. And I was the one who got fooled by it."
Juliana… actually loved her back.
She loved her back!
For a moment, Carmine's brain started dancing in jubilation. Surely, this was the greatest news in the world. She'd spent the past half a year slowly realizing that she was pining for Juliana like something fierce and that this "outsider" landing in Kitakami had actually been the greatest thing that'd ever happened in her life.
And the more she realized what her feelings were, the more Carmine had realized what it was that scared her the most: that Juliana wouldn't reciprocate her feelings. Fears that were realized the day she finally confessed… and Juliana sister-zoned her into oblivion.
But now, it was like a miracle. There was no fooling, no pretending… Juliana loved her back. She was being super raw about it! And wanted to be with her! Finally! She was getting what she…
…deserved.
"…"
Then Carmine's smile vanished, and she started to lay back again… with a troubled frown.
"Carmine…?" To Juliana's confusion, Carmine shifted her eyes away from her. "What's wrong? Isn't this… great news? Now we can—now we can be a c-couple! Right?"
"I just don't get it…" Carmine murmured. "Why?"
"Why—would I want us to be a couple? Well, I—I…" Juliana stammered. "I guess we don't… have to be? I just thought you—"
"No I mean…" Carmine looked up at her again, with sad eyes. "…why me?"
"Huh?"
"There's so many wonderful girls out there. Just as pretty as me, a lot smarter, a lot… nicer. So why would you waste it all on—on me?"
Juliana's good feelings melted as she stared at Carmine in a quiet sadness. She remembered now—in talking with Kieran and calling up Lacey… both of them had informed her about Carmine's breakdown.
That high of listening to Juliana's confession had worn off and Carmine's euphoria came crashing down. Now she was sobering up to all the negative things she'd been impounding in her mind for weeks now.
You're a villain. You have no control. You're going to hurt everyone around you. You don't deserve this.
"I'm… I'm no good for you, Juliana. You… deserve a lot better than me."
"What!?" Juliana looked distraught, and grabbed Carmine's hands. "Carmine, what are you talking about? Why are you saying these things?"
"Because I'm… I'm poison to you! I hurt you real bad. I just… I can't control myself. I don't know to not be mean and hurt people! And if you keep hanging around me, you're just—asking to get hurt again."
Juliana shook her head as Carmine talked, not understanding where any of this was coming from.
"That's what happens to everyone who gets close to me, is I just get too comfy—lashing out or hitting them. Even my own brother! Someday, I'm going to hit back on you so hard that…" Carmine started huddling her knees together. "That you'll hate me and never want to speak to me again."
Juliana scoffed. "That's—that's ridiculous! Didn't you hear all that stuff I just said about how I don't want to lose you again? If you try to push me away, from now on I'm only going to pull back even harder!"
"Easy for you to say," Carmine sneered. "You don't know what you're getting into, you haven't seen me at my worst."
"Well, I'm ready to see you at your worst, because whatever it is will never make me not want to be with you at your best!" Juliana stubbornly insisted. "Look, I don't know what kind of dumb nonsense things your brain has been telling you, but it needs to leave my pal Carmine alone!"
Juliana sighed heavily. She could feel more tears coming—at this point, she felt like her eyes haven't been dry in over a week—but this time they weren't tears for her, but for Carmine.
"Carmine… you're a good person. If there's anything I've learned about you this whole time I've gotten to know you, it's that. You're not a bully, or some terrible monster. You certainly aren't—like that Pecharunt thing, stuffing actual poison down people's throats."
That remark made Ogerpon giggle a bit.
"Do you get really short with people sometimes? Yes. Do you talk with your fists sometimes? Also yes. And are there some uhh… anger issues that you do need to work on a little? Probably."
Carmine huffed. "I thought you were trying to make me feel better."
"But…!" Juliana raised her voice. "You're also one of the most compassionate people I know. You're a really, good loyal friend. You can't stand to anyone be mistreated, and you didn't make yourself a villain! You toughened up so that you could be a hero and stand up for people like Kieran and, even me back in the day, who couldn't stand up for ourselves. Everything you've done was to help others!"
Carmine turned her head over, trying to face away from Juliana… for whatever irrational reason, trying to hold on to this anger. She could justify a million reasons for it—she was still unwell. She was worried about Kieran and her grandparents. She was trying to save Juliana the heartbreak she insisted would come.
But of course, Carmine's head was at least clear enough to know that was all bullshit. Really, she was just seeking solace in being stubborn.
Really, she was scared. And she knew it. And she knew Juliana knew it. But it was honestly rattling her insides that she couldn't think of anything to argue with Juliana.
She was building her walls up, but Juliana was only responding with a bigger hammer.
"I wish you could see yourself the way I see you, Carmine. The way that Kieran sees you. You're still his hero. That's never changed with him at all! And your friends… they all care about you too. And so do I. I see you for the selfless person you really are, Carmine."
This made Carmine turn her hair-wrapped head back, where her eyes lit up a bit to see Juliana's so watery like that. She still wanted so strongly not to agree with what Juliana was saying… but she couldn't deny that she wanted to hear more.
"You were there to help me relax on my first day at Blueberry when I really needed it. You agreed to be my understudy for the BB League challenge! You won all those battles for me—just because of how important you knew it was to me. You saved my freaking life, when I fell down that chasm!"
"I was just… returning the favor," she muttered, shrugging her shoulders.
"You said you didn't think before you jumped down to do it! You were willing to die if it meant trying to save me… How can you call yourself a bad person after that? Especially after I heard about how— how you lied to Kieran about his Furret pillow… just so he wouldn't be mad at me. You cared about our friendship."
"…Kiki…" she heard Carmine mutter regretfully.
Juliana gulped. She looked down for a few moments, and then back up again.
"You're his tall guardian too, Carmine. Every decision you made while we were together in Kitakami… you were always thinking about him, trying to protect him. You wouldn't let anyone else talk bad about him… And remember what he said down in the bottom of Area Zero?"
"What do ya mean?"
"He said that he wanted to be just like you, remember? … You're his hero, Carmine. You always have been."
Carmine absorbed Juliana's words, and tried her best to process them… but the voices in her own head were still throwing a gauntlet down.
"But what you said about me was still true…" She clutched her blanket over her knees. "That I was being overprotective of him…"
Juliana shrugged. "So?" Carmine whipped her head back up at her, a little surprised at the brazenness. "You just gotta… get to know the new Kieran, with his funny hair!"
For the first time, she finally made Carmine snicker a little.
"He's grown up so much, Carmine. Especially last night… When he stood up against Pecharunt, and helped save us all from doom… I think once you see what he's capable of now, you'll be really proud of him."
"…It's funny. Kiki actually came to see me, before you were awake."
"Really?" Juliana smiled at that. The two siblings reconnecting with each other played the chords of her heart like a soothing harp.
"Yeah… He was lecturing me about a bunch of stuff, like how badly I was taking care of myself and… and actually yelling at me, telling me to 'knock it off' with all my whining. If I knew what was good for me, he said!"
"Well, he had a good teacher," Juliana chuckled.
"Ugh. He even showed me… this stupid thing and made me put a coin in it!" Carmine fished out a jar from the bottom of the nightstand, the same "Blaming ourselves" jar Kieran had presented to Juliana yesterday. "Like, what is he even on right now? Why did he keep this dumb old swear jar I used to torment him with, and write all this dumb crap on it?"
Juliana tried to hide her snickering, but seeing Carmine getting this wound up again and acting more like her old self was sending her emotions on high again.
"But, to tell you the truth…"
Carmine, despite herself, brushed her hair back gazing at the jar and Juliana actually saw a hint of a warm smile.
"I feel like... I'm seeing him for the first time in ages."
Juliana grinned to hear her say that, and she heard Ogerpon crying out in agreement from the chair.
"Pon-ponn… Gee-gee!"
The Paldean girl smiled at Ogerpon too, and just looking at the ogre's starry-eyed face brought another memory to her head.
"Hey, that's right! Ogerpon's another great example!"
"Hmm?"
"Don't you remember, when Ogerpon said she wanted to come with one of us and then Kieran and I got all nasty and started fighting over who gets her? It was… you who got us to see the light, and—forced us to think about Ogerpon's feelings and let her choose. I think that's why she chose you, Carmine! She saw how selfless and responsible you were and… I don't know. Maybe you reminded her of her old partner."
Carmine lit up again, surprised at a comparison like that, and glanced at Ogerpon.
"Ogerpon…"
"Pon-yo?" Ogerpon replied, perking up at her.
"You wanted me to be your partner so bad, but then I—I couldn't figure out how to make you happy. I left you in such a restrictive environment, I was never in the mood to battle or play with you… And I snapped at you too."
Carmine let her head rear back a bit, closed her eyes, and took a breath, allowing herself to think a bit more… thoughtfully.
"Knowing all the ways I ended up doing you wrong, if we were back on that day again, Ogerpon… where I asked you to choose." Carmine couldn't help but stare at her with an insecure expression. "Would you—still have chosen me?"
"Pon?" Ogerpon seemed surprised at being asked such a… philosophical question like that. "Mmm."
…Then she got up off the chair, and hobbled out of the room.
"W—Well you didn't have to be THAT blunt about it!" Carmine seethed.
Juliana broke out in a soft laugh. "I don't think that's why she ran off. I wonder what she thought of…?"
"She's probably just realizing that I truly have gone off the deep end…" Carmine shook her head.
But then Ogerpon eventually strolled back in, looking excited. She hopped right up onto the bed, crawled over to Carmine, and started fishing for something under her cloak.
"Huh?"
Carmine was curious—and then surprised, when Ogerpon pulled out…
A poppyseed bagel.
Carmine took the bagel in her hands—and stared at it in curious awe, as the significance of the bagel started to return to her memory.
"Here, Ogerpon… let's swap."
Juliana just looked back and forth between Carmine and the bagel, a little… confused as to what was happening. And why Carmine was starting to tear up.
"Naw, don't worry about me! I like poppyseed now! … Honest!"
"Pon…?"
…
"…Heh. Heh-heh! Ha-ha-ha!" And then… Carmine broke out cry-laughing. "Ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"
Juliana was absurdly confused now. But… she was even happier to see Carmine finally crack, and started laughing alongside her.
I missed her laugh so much…
"Ohhhh, Ogerpon!" Carmine, feeling a renewed sense of glee, scooped up the little ogre in her arms in a sweet embrace. "You know just the right things to say to warm up my cold, frosty heart, dontcha?"
She started tickling Ogerpon's tummy affectionately, making her giggle. "Yeee! Pon-yeeee-pon!"
Carmine smiled deeply, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I missed you so much, Ogerpon."
"Pon yo…!" Ogerpon gurgled. "GER-PONN!"
Logically, Juliana should be asking why Ogerpon simply handing Carmine a bagel accomplished what she had been struggling to with words from the heart. But the logical part in her brain was outvoted by what her non-logical brain wanted to do.
Carmine's cathartic giggling was broken up by the sight of a Juliana slowly rising up behind Carmine, pushing her lips upward in an exaggerated, goofy smile to lighten Carmine's mood up even more.
The Kitakamite girl tried to look annoyed with her childish antics, but as Juliana smiled and squinted her eyes, Carmine's lips couldn't help but loosen, and she found herself involuntarily bursting out giggling again.
"Yay! I finally made you smile today!"
"Yeah, yeah…" Carmine admitted defeat through her giggles. "For how much I started out hating that dopey grin of yours… I really missed it a lot."
"I missed your smile too, Carmine," said Juliana, smiling all big for real now.
"PONYO!"
"I missed… everything about you. Your beautiful face, your sense of humor, how fun of a battler you are… How sweet every night that I got to spend by your side was."
"We only did that like… once, silly," Carmine chuckled.
"Well I want to make up for that then!" Juliana took Carmine's hands in hers, making her final appeal. "Carmine… these past several months being friends with you has been the most amazing experience of my life. I got to see literally every single side of you. I saw you for all that you are…"
"And—and you still love me?" Carmine choked up, starting to cry.
Juliana nodded. "I love every part of you. I want to be with every part of you. You're perfect just the way you are, Carmine. I don't want you to change a single thing about yourself." She was beginning to cry too. "I'll get hurt by you a thousand times over. Because, every single day… that I wake up, knowing I get to see you again, will make all that pain worth it. Because as long as I'm with you… you're the only painkiller I'll ever need."
"Oh, Juliana, you're—you're so cheesy. I…" Carmine's lips swirled, and her eyes glistened at Juliana's. She felt like the protagonist in the last chapter of every trashy romance manga she used to read. She wanted this fairy tale ending so bad, but… she still hesitated. She didn't even know why. "I—I don't know…"
"Seriously? Do I have to do… this again, just to convince you?"
Then Carmine gasped as Juliana grabbed her face and forced Carmine to lock eyes with her as she began to lean in.
"Juliana, what are you—!"
But she was interrupted by Juliana's lips, and Carmine's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
She could only remember bits and pieces of when Juliana had apparently kissed her before, like a half-forgotten dream. But this was more real and more arousing than any of the dreams she had ever had about Juliana. Juliana's kiss was very gentle. Her lips slid with Carmine's like soap.
Her breath was entering Carmine's mouth. It tasted like hot pretzels. But the feeling was like swimming in an eternal spa. Carmine felt completely relaxed and assured as she leaned in to reciprocate, tilting her head and letting her arms stretch over Juliana's shoulders.
This was still better than all the girls Carmine had ever kissed. It felt so much more passionate. All those other kisses were out of lust, this one was pure love.
Then Juliana let go. Carmine wished she wouldn't, she wanted more. It wasn't fair.
"Like I said Carmine… I'm never letting go again. I'm with you to the end."
Carmine took her arms off Juliana's shoulders, and Juliana relaxed herself again, but still holding Carmine's hands.
"Just… give me a chance. Please. I'll be the best girlfriend you could ever ask for."
"Juliana…"
Carmine hated it. She was smiling like a dope. She felt like she was on a drug high. And it really was an addiction, she wanted to kiss Juliana a thousand times over.
She cleared her throat. For as much as she wanted to just let go of her vices and embrace the chaos, she took a deep breath and knew she had to retain at least some of her dignity.
"…I'll think about it. Okay?"
"Really?"
Carmine almost expected her to be disappointed, but instead Juliana was elated.
There she goes again… that same stupid, irritating smile. I hate it so much.
"Yeah… For right now, I just need to rest and—and think about whether I'm ready for a relationship. Okay?"
"Oh yeah. No, that's totally understandable." Juliana tried to speak as normally as she could, but that kiss was honestly making her heart dance around too. "I… probably should've just let you rest from the beginning, instead of getting this off my chest, but I'm—I'm glad I did."
"I'm glad you did, too," Carmine admitted, brushing back her hair from in front of her still-red face. "I… I'm feeling a lot better now, so… thank you. You and Ogerpon both."
"Pon-pon!"
"Come on, Ogerpon," said Juliana, motioning to the ogre sitting on Carmine's lap. "Let's let our girl take a good, long rest."
Ogerpon nodded, and hopped off the bed.
"See you later, Carmine."
Juliana stood up off the bed and prepared to leave… but couldn't. "Hmm?" Carmine was refusing to release her left hand. "Umm… Carmine? You know if you want me to go, then you—have to actually let me go, right?" she chuckled.
"Yeah, I know. It's just…" Carmine couldn't bring herself to let go for some reason. "I don't know, I just—I…"
…
"Screw it."
"Huh? Carmi—EEP!"
Carmine suddenly forced Juliana back in by pulling her arm. Juliana fell back on the bed, her body hovering over Carmine, as her face landed just inches from Carmine's. She was breathing heavily, and so was Carmine.
"I—I don't even care anymore! I need you, Juliana!"
And before Juliana could say anything else, Carmine grabbed her by her shirt flaps and initiated another kiss.
Somehow, Juliana didn't even feel shocked, like she knew it was coming. And in an instant, she couldn't feel anything besides the bliss of Carmine's hot passion on her lips. Her body temperature felt like it jumped up to 1000 degrees.
Carmine wasn't as gentle as Juliana, her kissing was more intense and involved. Juliana felt Carmine's cherry lips on hers, and it was the most delicious, most intoxicating feeling in the world. Juliana didn't understand until now just how badly she wanted this, but she was loving it bad.
She felt her whole body relax on top of Carmine's, wanting to die in bliss and be buried in this moment forever. But Carmine wasn't satisfied with lying down. She sat up in her bed, letting the blanket that was covering her drape away, as she and Juliana huddled together, sharing their bliss as one.
Juliana dug into Carmine's shoulders with her fingers, while Carmine touched Juliana's hair all over with hers. She was letting Juliana know she was hers and hers alone, while Juliana pushed her tongue through Carmine's mouth, just as willing to take control and let Carmine drown in her saliva until she cried uncle as her hands drifted from Carmine's shoulders and onto her hips.
Time wasn't a construct anymore. It felt like a million years had passed, but also like time hadn't moved at all anymore. The only thing that finally made them stop was both girls desperately feeling deprived of oxygen.
Juliana and Carmine both withdrew at the same time, gasping for breath as they looked into each other's wet eyes. They were both gazing at each other like breathless idiots, their hands still on each other's bodies.
"That was… amazing," said Juliana.
"I know, right?" Carmine laughed. "For someone who's never really been in love before… you love like an experienced fighter, Juliana. That dumb little kid at the bus stop probably wouldn't have kissed for shit, but you're like a whole new woman now!"
Juliana let her eyes gush themselves out. Her heart had been racing like something fierce, but came back down again… All the love and passion it had been yearning for, had at last been wholly satisfied.
"Carmine…" Juliana sniffled. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
Carmine couldn't help it. She snorted and giggled like a little girl. There was no more doubt, no more excuses she could drum up… this is everything she'd ever wanted, and she couldn't force herself to be a big enough idiot to turn it down.
"Hmmm. A very tantalizing offer," she said smugly. "I don't do this for just anyone, but… you're very pretty. So sure. I'll be your girlfriend."
"REALLY!?"
"On just one condition," she said, raising a finger.
"Anything! What is it?"
Carmine grinned at her mischievously. "Oh, nothing much… You just have to become one of my grunts. And do every little thing I say."
Now Juliana was the one who burst out giggling.
"Hee-hee-hee, okay! But I'm going to have to insist on it being equal terms! Meaning YOU have to listen to everything I say too!"
"Hmmm, no can do. That's not in the fine print… and you sealed your little contract with a kiss, sweetheart."
"Oh, really?" Juliana rolled her eyes with a grin. "Well, I'll just have to re-negotiate."
"Well, my shop's closed today," Carmine snarked. "So I don't know how you can—"
But Juliana responded in her own sweet little way: with just a small, gentle peck on Carmine's forehead, shutting her up completely.
"How about I just do that as many times as I want instead?"
Carmine snorted.
"Alright… it's a deal. You little twerp."
"YAY!"
Juliana hugged her new girlfriend, and Carmine sweetly returned the hug. Their first hug as a couple, and it felt warm like being inside a wooden lodge with a snug blanket and hot chocolate.
Then they embraced each other's shoulders again… and laughed. They laughed and let their foreheads touch each other, relieved and happy.
They closed their eyes and just enjoyed each other's company in silence… until they heard clapping and a collective, "Awwwwwww."
Juliana and Carmine both whipped their eyes open to see they had gathered a peeping audience outside the door for… who knows how long.
Nemona, Arven, Penny, Kieran, and Ogerpon were all poking their heads in, gushing at the adorable scene.
"THAT'S MY GIRL!" Nemona shouted. "Woo-woo!"
"Congratulations, you guys!" Arven smiled for them.
"Pon-pon-yo-pon-neeee!"
Penny coughed. "That was… that was really hot."
Carmine scoffed at Juliana. "Those two girls are your friends too, right? Your little power trio you always talked about? They're all squares just like you."
"Yeah," Juliana smiled. "I wouldn't have had the courage to do all this without their help."
"Awww, how sweet! Well, since they're your friends, then I have no problem with saying… SCRAM, YOU LITTLE PERVS!" she suddenly shouted with venom. "Haven't you city kids ever heard of a little thing called PRIVACY!? Get out of here before I beat you all silly!"
"Eep!" Arven jumped. "Come on guys… when that girl threatens you, she really means it!"
He pulled Nemona and Penny away, but not before Nemona squeaked out one last, "Happy for you, Julieeee!"
Kieran shied away from the door, but Ogerpon stood in the middle of the doorway, looking sad. "…Pon?"
Juliana laughed. "No Ogerpon, not you! Of course you can celebrate with us!"
"PONEEE!"
Ogerpon excitedly hopped up on the bed again and expressed her jubilation with the most excited noises the two of them had ever heard from her.
"Well someone's sure happy!" Carmine giggled.
"GEEE!"
Then Ogerpon grabbed both Juliana's hand and Carmine's arm… and put them together, beaming happily. Exactly like she did at the foot of the Dreaded Den.
"Awwwww! Carmine… Do you think—that day when you asked Ogerpon to choose her new partner, that… that whole time she was trying to say she wanted both of us to be her partners?"
"…Oh!" Carmine's eyes flared up at the realization. "Is that true, Ogerpon?"
"Pon! Guh-pon!" Ogerpon nodded eagerly.
"That's so sweet!" Juliana gushed. "She must've wanted to see you and me become a couple before anyone else!"
"Pon-eeee!"
"Yeah, well…" Carmine started to fret. "If you could've just said that you wanted us to be co-parents from the beginning, Ogerpon, we might've avoided a whole lot of trouble!"
"Ponnnoooo…" Ogerpon sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.
The two girls laughed along with Ogerpon, and they heard a third voice laughing alongside them. They turned to see Kieran was awkwardly standing in the doorway.
"Ummm, sorry. But… you two are done being all gross now, right?"
"Kikiiii! Are you ever NOT going to ruin a good moment for me!?" Carmine seethed. "When I told everyone to buzz off, I meant it double for you!"
"Yeah, well… I got stuff to say, now that you've finally stopped being such a sourpuss. So you're just gonna have to listen."
Carmine growled. "…Fine."
"Kieran…" said Juliana, feeling self-conscious now. "Is this… okay? I don't—want to make things awkward between us…"
"What, you kidding?" Kieran chuckled at her. "I'm happy to see you two finally stop being idiots and admit how much you were both falling apart without each other around!"
"Heh-heh, yeah… I guess nobody else got to see us both be a mess like you did."
"But I got a lot of things to say to—to you, Sis." Kieran's hand started fidgeting. "I realized that I've apologized to basically everyone else about all my rotten behavior except—except you. And you were the one who got the worst of my ugly side."
Carmine's eyes drifted down a bit, saddened.
"The truth is… I didn't just feel angry at you because I thought you stole Juliana and Ogerpon from me when neither of you were mine to begin with. I also just…. hated all your constant bossiness and—and ordering me around and makin' fun of me so much that I—I thought I didn't need you anymore…"
Her lip hung open a bit, as Kieran sighed.
"I wanted t' be so strong and so independent that I wouldn't always have to rely on my big sister for everything. I said… something back there, at Blueberry, about feeling like your servant, didn't I?"
"Kiki… I'm so sorry for all of—"
"No! I'm the one who should be sorry, not you! Cause the truth is, from the very beginning, you were lookin' out for me, and always wanting to see me be big and strong too. You gave me my first Pokémon, and it was thanks to that that I finally became a Champion! But instead of thankin' you, I just… acted like a complete jerk."
He hung his head down in shame.
"Last night… when you and everyone else were all possessed by Pecharunt, I remember feelin' so scared, and—and wishin' that I could take back everything. And I even tried to be brave, but—inside? I was more scared than ever, 'specially scared that I wouldn't get my sister back. If Juliana weren't here, I—I don't know what I would've done. I just felt… really scared without you around."
Carmine stared at him now, completely entranced.
"I guess what I'm tryin' to say is… no matter how much I grow up, and how much braver and stronger I become… I'll always be your little brother. And I'll always—need you. One way or another. So… I'm sorry for everything nasty I ever said about you. I hope that we can put all this stuff behind us and—"
But Kieran was interrupted as he felt his sister's arms wrapping below his chin. Carmine had stood up from the bed, and was now resting her chin over his purple locks as she rocked his body back and forth with a smug expression.
"Awwwww, Kiki! So you needed your big, strong sister to look out for you after all, huh? Hee-hee-hee! I'm so glad to have my little bro back!"
"Ughhh… sis! Knock if off! You're messing up my hair!" But Carmine only responded to that by aggressively ruffling Kieran's hand just like she always used to. "Grrrrr. You're so annoying!"
"Yeah, but you just said you'll never complain about it again," she said with glee.
Kieran looked at Juliana and grunted. "Well… thanks a lot, Juliana. She's totally back to her old self—warts and all."
Juliana just giggled. For everything else that changed… watching two siblings bicker like this was still one of the highlights of her night.
The rest of the night at the Mossui Town community center passed without any further incidents.
Arven and Nemona fell asleep in each other's arms. Penny and Kieran hung out in the living room together for a while, playing games and catching up on the episode of The Mighty Hero Palafin! they had both missed, before Kieran got tired and went to bed.
…Penny stayed up for another two hours.
And Juliana? Well… she decided to sit with Carmine for a little while longer, as the two of them talked and talked and talked. They were both so relieved that the drama was all done, that everything in their minds that had kept them from just being together like this had finally been defeated.
Nothing else mattered. They had each other now.
And although Juliana had meant to go back to her own room eventually, she decided to stay and watch Carmine fall asleep… before ending up under the covers too, spooning her girlfriend as she fell asleep too.
It was the greatest night of sleep either of the girls had in their whole lives.
The main storyline of "Sweet and Sour Umeboshi" finally ends here. The last six (possibly seven?) chapters of this fic will basically be "bonus" chapters, an extended epilogue where I'll be tying up all the rest of the loose ends and adapting a few ideas for Juliana/Carmine oneshots I had that I decided worked better as part of the coda to this. Since I'm not going to be as strict about having each chapter come out exactly a week apart, they'll probably be spread out a bit more now.
So whether you decide to stick around to see how Juliana and Carmine's whole journey pans out or this was a satisfying enough ending for you, I want to thank everyone who's read "Sweet and Sour Umeboshi" up to this point, left really awesome reviews, and stuck through with my crazy plans from happy beginnings to sad middle parts.
Thank you so much. :)