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Red is apparently supposed to buy flowers.
There is just one problem.He doesn’t know a single thing about flowers.It’s all Lyra’s fault anyways.If she wouldn’t have made such a big deal about him wanting to propose to Blue, he wouldn’t have start to feel nervous, therefore he wouldn’t have listened to her brabbling about what he could do, which therefore wouldn’t have led him into feeling guilty for not having planned to give his hopefully future-fiancé flowers alongside the ring.When he asked her which flowers he should give Blue, she just said she doesn’t know either, just that he needs some.Asking Bill which flowers he has given Daisy when he proposed was also a dead end, which he could have known before, if he had remembered that it was actually Daisy who proposed to Bill.
The Professor was just as clueless, and even Daisy herself was stumped. She couldn’t even recall her brother’s favourite flowers, if he even had any, and due to Bill’s pollen allergy, she didn’t give him any.Red’s mother told him to buy the ones he feels are right. She also told him to not get stressed over a detail like this. “Your father didn’t have any flowers with him when he proposed to me either, and I still think it was one of the most important moments of my life.”He keeps that in mind, but the more he thinks about it, the more he feels the need to find the right flowers.His famous determination that has helped him beat Blue and become Champion all those years ago, now makes him read all about flower language.There are tons of flowers to say “I love you”, from the classic red roses to red tulips and carnations, and there are tons of flowers to say a bunch of other things Red wants to say Blue, but he just can’t find the right flower.All of this flower nonsense eats him up.It’s spring, and that means there are flowers blooming everywhere, mocking him, making him aware that nature has so plenty of something he so desperately needs.He really wants to propose to Blue. He wants to propose to him so badly.Sometimes, when they go for a walk, he ponders if he should just pick some flowers from the sidewalk and do it.Even Pikachu seems to be fed up with his trainer’s hesitation and overthinking; nowadays he is sitting more often on Blue’s shoulders instead of Red’s, giving him the evil eyes whenever the moment seems perfect for proposing, lightly zapping him when his trainer bails – it wouldn’t surprise Red if Pikachu would one day just steal the Master ball, where Red has stored the ring, and bring it to Blue. He’s always got the Master Ball with him in his pocket, so it’s possible for Pikachu to do that.It’s also the same Master Ball he got when he was eleven. He knows that Blue would say yes anyways, so he likes to think that him using a Master Ball to propose shows that he know what he will say, plus, it’s one – if not the rarest and most valuable ball that exists, so what’s better to use for proposing to another highly skilled trainer?
After a few more weeks of scribbling down, what he wants to say and what the chosen flowers should symbolize, he eventually admits defeat and just goes to the nearby florist, much to the delight of his yellow partner Pokémon. He knows Blue bought the flowers he gave Red for their first anniversary there, so maybe the florist remembers which flowers Blue liked.“Welcome, good Sir! How can I help you?” the young woman behind the counter greets Red with a warm smile. Red nods, pulls out the Master Ball and shows her what’s inside.
“Oh wow, that ring is gorgeous!”
Red nods again. The ring was crafted by Olivia, the kahuna of Akala Island, herself.
The florist looks back in Red’s eyes and grins, “So I assume you want a bouquet that matches the ring’s and the receiver’s beauty?”
Red nods once more.
Clapping her hands and immediately running around her shop, she hums, “Ah, how wonderful!”Red just watches her, not sure what to do other than closing the Master Ball and putting it back inside his pocket.She asks him about their relationship, if there’s something special he wants to tell Blue when he proposes, and Red gives her the list. She reads it carefully, a soft smile on her face, and once she’s done and has handed Red the list again, she declares that she knows exactly which flowers would be perfect.She disappears in the storeroom that’s hidden by a curtain behind the counter and comes back with three round flowers, Red doesn’t know the name of, much to his surprise. They are all the same kind, just that two of them are white and one of them is red.
“Those are peonies,” the florist explains then. “They are said to symbolize love and wealth, plus I think with enough creativity, you could say they resemble Poké-Balls, with the way they are shaped a little bit like a ball.”
Funnily enough, Red has thought the same, the second she came out with the flowers.It’s actually perfect. Even Pikachu makes a happy noise.Red meets the florist’s eyes and nods.
“Okay, perfect! I could try to dye one of them blue and the other purple, if it’s not too much on the nose. I’ve never done it with peonies before, so I don’t know if it would work, but it’s worth a try.”
She looks at the white peonies, probably trying to figure out if it will work. Red scratches his neck and shrugs. The woman squints her eyes at Red, before smiling once more and nodding.
“Yeah, I’ll try it and if it works, I’ll tell you. Sounds good?”
Now Red nods and they decide to exchange numbers.
When he receives a text from the florist a few days later, informing him that it is indeed possible to dye peonies blue and purple, he tells Blue he’s gotten something urgent and spontaneous to take care of, vanishing faster than Blue can ask him what exactly he means.
On the short way to the shop his heart beats faster and faster with each step he takes. He’s going to propose. He’s going to propose in a matter of minutes. He’s going to be engaged in a couple of minutes, and he’s going to cry in a couple of seconds the more he thinks about it all.
Feeling how shaken up Red is, Pikachu tries to encourage him with humming a tune, but it doesn’t really work.He’s a wreck when he pays for the peonies, barely managing to repress the tears that have dwelled up in his eyes.Holding those three flowers in one hand and feeling the Master Ball in his pocket, he feels kinda queasy. He’s excited and happy, but he also feels incredibly nervous.What if he fumbles the words?
What if Blue doesn’t like the Master Ball idea?
What if the flowers aren’t the right ones?As if Pikachu was a psychic type and could read his mind, the Pokémon pats Red on his head, making noises that he assumes are intended to be calming.One second before he opens the door, he takes a deep breath in.Blue will say yes, he doesn’t doubt that.
If he fumbles his words, they would laugh about it just like they laugh about it when it happens to Blue.
If Blue doesn’t like the Master Ball idea, he would tell it Red without making him feel stupid.
If the flowers aren’t the right ones, Blue would still put them in a vase and cherish them.One last motivational squeak from Pikachu, and Red opens the door.“Well that was quick!” Blue yells from their living room in which they both have sat before.
Red brushes his shoes off with his feet, holding the flowers in one hand and the Master Ball in the other.He makes his way to the living room. When Blue hears Red’s footsteps, he turns his head from the couch he half-sits, half-lays on, and his eyes immediately widen.
“Arceus fucking…”
Red chuckles, nearing the man he loves the most in this world, still holding the flowers and the Master Ball.
Pikachu has jumped off of his shoulder, joining Blue’s Eevee on the Poké-bed to watch their trainers.Blue gets up from the couch, covering his face which’s colour now rivals Red’s name.Red gives Blue’s hands a quick kiss, making Blue free his face from them so Red could look in his eyes.He opens the Master Ball and holds it out to Blue, not able to divert his gaze from Blue’s face. They both have watery eyes, so it seems.Blue flings his arms around Red’s neck and presses him close to his own body.“You’re such a sap!” he mumbles into Red’s shoulders.
When he lets go of Red, they kiss, and the feeling reminds them of their first kiss, in the way that this moment sparks a new beginning, even if not much really changes.“Those flowers are beautiful, by the way,” Blue says once they returned to their places on the couch. They have put the flowers in a vase and Blue has put on his ring.“They kinda remind me of Poké-Balls.”
Red grins and gives his fiancé a peck on his cheek.