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dipplinshipping-week-2024 · 1 year ago

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A very late fic entry for Dipplinshipping Week 2024 (damn you migraines).

Day 6: Festival

“Fireworks”

CW: fluffy fluff, Ogerpon regrets nothing, some smoochin’, Carmine and Kieran bicker a little

The Festival of Masks was in full swing. The crowd was abuzz with excitement as the minutes ticked down to the fireworks show. The scent of fried food wafted through the air, enticing many a visitor to pick up a treat on their way to the festival plaza. Children ran between the sweets stalls and the games, holding their treasures aloft for their parents to see. The mask sellers were hawking their wares the loudest – it was the last night of the festival, after all, and for five bucks you too could attend the big finale in style. Nothing said reverence to the village’s masked protector quite like a cheap plastic copy of her mask.

Kieran flipped the toy mask around in his hand. Its mediocrity was slightly less offensive in the dim lighting of the overlook. “They really skimped on the paint job this year.”

Julie nodded in agreement. “For real. You’d think they’d at least try to get the colors right.” The copy they were studying was more green than teal, and the orange used for the mouth was bright enough to see from space. There had been an attempt to replicate the Tera jewels’ shine with glitter on white paint. Half of said glitter currently resided on Julie and Kieran’s hands.

It was, as their friend Drayton said about many things in life, mid.

“I’d have happily let Ponpon model for them if they wanted to.” Julie tried to brush off the stubborn glitter on the pants of her jinbei. “I’m sure she wouldn’t have minded.”

“True.” Kieran sat the offending mask on the bench and tried to rid himself of the glitter as well. “As long as she has a candy apple to munch on, she’d be happy doin’ anything.”

Julie laughed softly. “Too true.”

In the year since they first met the tiny ogre, Julie and Kieran had observed Ogerpon – lovingly nicknamed Ponpon by Julie – come out of her shell. Where she’d been too afraid to leave Julie’s side amongst the townspeople last year, she now mingled happily in the crowd. Children adored her; she’d made many new friends playing in the plaza. Curious adults asked Julie and Kieran about her, and they were happy to share her story.

Ogerpon also acquired a new hobby: sampling festival foods. The shaved ice had been her least favorite, causing her to shiver and hide her face. That made sense; grass Pokemon weren’t exactly fond of ice moves in battle, so icy snacks were low on her list. The fried noodles sat at a comfortable second place. Julie had managed to serve her about three bites of the meal before the little Pokemon dozed off in her arms.

At the top of the list sat the king of sweet treats, at least in Kieran’s mind: candied apples. Ogerpon had fallen in love at first bite with the treat on the first day of the festival. He estimated that since then, he and Julie had bought her at least 5 apples apiece. It was a good thing they were cheap, he mused.

Ogrepon had gotten into some mischief earlier in the day by sneaking two apples from the snack stand while the seller wasn’t looking. Julie had smoothed that over by paying double for the stolen goods while Kieran ran after the wayward Pokemon. He’d scooped her up before she could make off with a skewer of candied Rawst berries. He’d dropped a handful of cash on the counter to purchase the treat properly, and walked away from the line of food stalls before she committed another heist.

“Honestly, Ponpon,” he sighed, “an’ I thought I had a sweet tooth.”

The little Pokemon smiled at him serenely, belly full and heart content. Red candy coating and bits of berry clung to the fur around her mouth. That’d be a sticky mess for him and Julie to clean up later. But for now, they’d let her have her fun.

He couldn’t help but smile at her content little face. “Y’know, you don’t have to steal stuff anymore.”

“Pon?” Ogerpon’s eyes were wide with curiosity. And perhaps a little bit of sugar rush.

“You’re the guest of honor here now. Everybody here knows the truth now, an’ they love you. If you want somethin’, you can just ask for it.”

She seemed to consider this option silently, and solemnly took a bite out of the candy apple in each hand. (Paw? Sleeve, maybe? Kieran wasn’t sure exactly what to call them. Hand would do, for now.)

“But,” he said with a note of sternness in his voice, “you can’t just walk off with stuff that isn’t yours. You gotta let me or Julie pay for it first, ok?”

Ogerpon nodded, a sticky smile spreading on her orange fuzzy face. “Pon!”

“Good.” He patted her head gently. Ogerpon trilled happily, enjoying all the attention. She went in for another bite of each candy apple. As far as she was concerned, life was good.

If he could go back and tell his past self that in a year’s time, he’d be holding the ogre in his arms and feeding her snacks, the old him would have probably freaked out. It felt like an impossible dream back then, but here he was now, holding the now drowsy mythical creature in his arms like a child.

Julie ran up to them, holding a candied apple in each hand.

“There you are!” She held out an apple to Kieran, a small smile on her lips. “I got some apples for us. I figured you were getting hungry too.”

He took the apple gratefully. Warmth crept into his cheeks as his hand brushed hers. “Thank ya. I appreciate it.

“I made sure to pay for these, unlike a certain someone.” Julie scratched Ogerpon’s chin lovingly. The little ogre purred, regretting none of her previous actions.

“Was Mr. Fuji ok? He sounded kinda mad.”

“Yeah, he’s fine now. I think he has a new sales pitch now.” Julie swung out her arm dramatically. “Fuji’s Finest Apples, Ogerpon’s favorite snack! Get yours before they’re all gone!”

Kieran laughed. “Glad it all worked out.”

“Me too.” She smiled warmly at him. “Thanks for watching over Ponpon.”

“A-ah, yeah, of course!” He felt the Butterfree stirring in his stomach. “She’s no trouble. Well, not too much trouble anyway.

“Yeah.” Julie took another bite of her apple. Kieran followed suit, savoring the sweetness.

A comfortable silence fell between them as they looked back at the crowded food stands. It was nice to be away from the hustle and bustle for a moment.

Kieran glanced back at the girl beside him. The light from the lanterns sparkled in her eyes. She wore a contented smile, lips lined in a red lipstick he’d not seen her wear before today. His eyes lingered on her lips, then darted away.

If he could go back and tell his past self he was spending time alone with Julie like this, his old self would definitely freak out.

And if he could tell him what he had planned later that night, he’d probably faint.

Which leads us to the current moment.

Kieran was keenly aware of how close they were sitting on the bench. And how nice the view would be when the fireworks began. And how they were alone on the overlook. And how dry his mouth was at the thought of saying what he needed to say tonight.

He rubbed his sweaty palms on the pants of his jinbei once more. If there had been any glitter left on his hands, it was gone now.

Alright. It was now or never.

“H-hey Julie.” His voice wavered ever so slightly.

“Yeah?” Her smile was as radiant as ever. He couldn’t meet her gaze.

“Uhm, s-so…I wanted to t-talk to you about somethin’.”

“Oh yeah? What’s up?”

“Uh, well… I was thinkin’…that…um…”

This was not going how he’d hoped. The words he’d practiced over and over were failing him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t say it. Not out loud. But he wanted to, so badly.

He felt tears sting his eyes. This was just another failure in a long line of failures. This was nothing new for him, of course. He was just going to make a fool of himself and make Julie hate him. Or embarrass her. And himself. And-

Kieran forced himself to take a long slow breath.

No. That wasn’t true.

Julie had reminded him time and again in the past year how thoughts like that weren’t worth listening to. It wasn’t easy to tune them out, but he’d gotten better at it with time and practice. When he couldn’t do it alone, Julie had been a patient listener while he talked out his spiraling thoughts.

Right now, he needed to be as patient with himself as she had been all those times before.

All this panic was just him getting in his head again, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to-

Julie placed her hand atop his.

That was enough to snap him out of it.

“Kieran, are you ok?”

He looked up at her, finally meeting her gaze. For a moment, time stopped. He wasn’t sure if it was the lantern lights or his overheated imagination, but she looked more beautiful than ever. Her eyes sparkled in the lantern light, her hair was lightly blowing in the breeze, her lips – oh wowzers, he wanted to kiss them. Right here, right now.

He wanted to tell her he loved her, he wanted to hold her, he wanted to kiss her, and Arceus willing he wanted to be with her from now until he was old and gray.

But first, he had to tell her how he felt.

“Julie, I’ve been thinkin’ about this awhile, an’…well, I really have enjoyed gettin’ to know you and spendin’ time with you and all this week. And all this past year, really. And I got to thinkin’, I…I really like you. I didn’t want to come on too strong and scare you off, but I’m serious when I say I want to be with you, if you’ll have me. And, well, I know we traded Applins and all awhile ago, but… I want to ask you out properly.”

He took her hands in his and looked her in the eyes.

“Julie, will you be my girl?”

And there it was, out in the open.

His mind was racing. Did that sound too corny? Was it too much? How gently was she going to let him down?

His heartbeat thudded in his ears as he waited for her response.

He didn’t have to wait long.

She was grinning ear to ear.

“I’d love that.”

All his doubts floated away in an instant. He felt lighter than air.

“R-really?”

“Yes, really.” She squeezed his hand. “I mean it.”

“Oh wowzers.�� He felt a little lightheaded, but in a good way. “I’m-“

Suddenly, a loud shriek pierced the air. Julie screamed in fright. Kieran pulled her close against him with one hand and reached for his Hydrapple’s Pokeball with the other. He scanned the area around him for where the sound had come from. There was nothing obvious: no people, no Pokemon, no nothing. Then what had that been all about?

A loud boom rang out, and an explosion of color filled the sky above the plaza. Red, blue, and yellow sparks of color hissed and crackled, then slowly melted away into the night sky.

Oh. Right. In all his excitement, he’d completely forgotten about the fireworks show tonight.

Julie sighed in relief. “Well, that’s one way to get the show started.”

“Yeah,” Kieran laughed shakily. His words were failing him again, but this time he didn’t mind so much. He was keenly aware of how tightly she was holding him and how warm she was against him. Her head rested on his chest, and he was sure she could hear his heart thudding away beneath her ear.

He thanked his lucky stars he’d hit a growth spurt in the past few months; she fit neatly in his arms like she belonged there. And in his mind, she did.

They fell into a comfortable silence once more, watching the fireworks fill the night sky before them with light. The light show meant the end of a week of celebration, and soon they’d have to part. Julie would be leaving for Paldea in the morning, and Kieran and Carmine would be heading back to Unova the week after. The summer had gone by way too fast.

But for now, they were together. That’s all that mattered.

But there was one more thing Kieran had to do before the night ended. He waited for a lull in the show to ask one last question.

“Hey Julie?”

“Mhm?” She sounded drowsy. It was nearly midnight, so it made sense why she would be getting sleepy. The thought of her falling asleep in his arms was a delicious one. But that was getting ahead of himself.

“You awake? Sounds like you’re dozin’ off a little.”

“Mhm, yup, totally…” Here she paused to yawn. “Totally fine.”

Kieran laughed softly. “Right. Um so, I wanna ask you somethin’ real quick.”

“Go ahead.”

“…May I kiss you?”

What he expected was for her to jump back in shock at his boldness, maybe even stammer out an excuse to run back towards the community center and out of his life forever.

What he didn’t expect was for her to drape her arms around his neck. She gave him a cheeky smile that only made him want to kiss her more.

“Go right ahead.”

Before he could overthink it, he leaned forward and his lips met hers.

Warmth bloomed in his chest as he savored the moment he’d been dreaming of for months. She tasted sweet like candied apples, with a hint of mint lip balm. The faint scent of roses wafted up from her hair and skin. Without exaggeration, this was the closest to heaven he’d ever felt. He held her close and deepened the kiss, not wanting to let go just yet.

As if on cue, the fireworks finale began. This time, the shrieking of the rockets launching in the air didn’t make them flinch. A rainbow of color filled the sky as dozens of fireworks exploded all at once, silhouetting the young lovers in a wall of light.

Kieran gently pulled away from Julie, lightheaded once again from pure joy.

“Was that ok?”

She looked up at him, a sparkle in her eyes and a dazed smile on her lips. “Oh yeah.”

He felt her hand touch the back of his head. The feeling of her hands in his hair sent a pleasant shiver down his spine. Suddenly, his hair flopped down against his neck and face, and noticed his yellow scrunchie was now wrapped around her wrist. She gave him a look that stirred up the Butterfree in his stomach once more.

“My turn.”

—— Some time later…———

Carmine glanced at her phone once more, feeling more annoyed by the second. It was 12:45, and her brother was still not home. The fireworks show ended thirty minutes ago, and it took all of five minutes to walk to their house from Festival Plaza. She tapped her foot as she peeked out of her bedroom towards the front door. Where on earth was he?

She leaned against her doorframe, debating whether or not to go out looking for him. Surely he wouldn’t be going up to the Dreaded Den anymore, now that Ogerpon was with Julie. The cleanup crew would tidy up the plaza in the morning, so that wasn’t it either.

A thought occurred to her, one that raised her eyebrows, but she brushed it away quickly.

Nah, she thought. He’s not that bold.

A soft squeak of hinges and the click of the lock told her that Kieran was finally home. There was a slight clatter of wooden sandals against the floor as he took his shoes off.

Finally, she thought, took you long enough. She opened her mouth to tease her brother for dillydallying, but then she paused. She listened, wondering if she could believe her ears.

He was singing to himself. It was a happy tune, and one she recognized as he walked closer. A love song.

It had been a long time since she’d heard him sing like that. Years maybe, she thought sadly. Years of teasing and bullying at school had robbed him of his joy, and…yes, she admitted she had been part of the problem, too. Being a better sister was something she was actively working on now. She was doing her best to be supportive and kinder to her little brother, even when the temptation was real to tease him. Like right now.

Instead, she settled for spooking him as he walked by.

“Hey,” she said quietly. It was enough to make Kieran jump.

“Whoa, you scared me!” He paused to collect himself. “Thought you’d be asleep by now.”

“Yeah, me too, but someone had to wait up for you. Where the heck were you?”

“Uh, well, y’see, Julie and I went for a walk after the fireworks show, an’ uh…we just lost track of time.” He grinned nervously. “I walked her home too. Er, well, to the community center that is. No way I’d let her walk back in the dark alone. That wouldn’t be very gentleman-like, would it?”

Carmine narrowed her eyes. He was rambling, and she knew he rambled when he lied. She flicked the light on in her room, curious if her hunch was correct.

Kieran blinked against the sudden flash of light. “Good grief, sis, warn me first before ya blind me.”

Carmine’s mouth dropped open. The first surprise was that his hair was down for the first time in ages. His scrunchie was nowhere in sight, and somehow his hair was covered in glitter. The second surprise was that his face was covered in red lipstick. The vast majority of it was on his lips, smeared here, there, and everywhere. Lighter kiss marks covered his cheeks and forehead, and one sneaky trail went down his neck to his collarbone. The faintest sent of rosy perfume hung in the air, and she knew it wasn’t her signature scent.

Maybe he had been bold enough to go for it, after all.

Kieran squinted against the light. “What’s wrong? Looks like you saw a ghost.”

“Nope, just you. Ya finally got enough sun this year to not look like one.”

Kieran stuck his tongue out at his sister. Even at sixteen years old, he wasn’t above acting childish if the moment called for it.

“Say, uh, random question,” Carmine began. “Did you ever get around to askin’ Julie out?”

His face lit up, grin broad and eyes sparkling. “Yeah! And guess what, she said yes!”

Carmine couldn’t help but smile. It was good to see her brother happy again. “I figured you did.”

“Wait, how did you guess?”

Carmine bit her lip to hold back her laughter. “Just a guess.” She waved him away. “Alright, it’s nearly one in the morning. Go wash up and go to bed. You’re smelly.”

Kieran sniffed the front of his jinbei, suddenly self-conscious. A soft smile graced his face for a moment. He then remembered where he was and who he was with. He cleared his throat. “S’not that bad, just a little sweaty.”

Aha, Carmine thought. So it was Julie’s perfume.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s bad enough for me, I could smell you at the front door.” She ruffled his hair, just like she had done when he was small. The only difference was that now he was nearly eye-to-eye with her. “Go on and shower before Grandma wakes up and gets nosy.”

Kieran nodded and turned to leave.

“Oh yeah, one more thing.”

“Mhm?”

“Makeup wipes are in the blue bag in the right-hand drawer.”

Kieran stared at her in confusion. Carmine gave him a serene, if smug, smile.

Then slowly, it dawned on him. His ears and cheeks flushed to match the shade of the lipstick all over his face.

He mumbled a thank you and rushed down the hall towards the bathroom. Carmine listened as he fumbled with the lock, and laughed to herself as he gasped at his reflection in the bathroom mirror.

She laughed, then shut the door to her bedroom. He’d be there awhile.

#dipplinshipping #dipplinshippingweek2024 #kieran x juliana #kieran pokemon #juliana pokemon #kay writes #dipplinshippingweek #reblog #pokemon juliana #pokemon kieran

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