Companion piece to this amazing artwork by the radiant @cosmic-seer <3
~~~
Juliana’s heart tightened as Kieran’s words pierced through her chest. The shine from his terastalized Hydrapple highlighted the emptiness in his eyes. The heat from her Skeledirge caused sweat to run down their backs. His sickly thin arms shook with adrenaline and rage.
This wasn’t how she wanted this to go.
When she was given the opportunity to go to Blueberry Academy, she thought that it would be the perfect time to give Kieran a proper apology, maybe even confess how quickly her heart was beating during the festival, how bright she thought his smile was, how tempted she was to look him in the eye and give him the love he so clearly needed.
But now she stood across a battlefield as he released several months of bitterness and overworking himself upon her poor team. The friendship they once had, completely in tatters, ruined the second she decided to lie to him. And made worse now that she’s in position to steal Kieran’s Champion title.
This wasn’t how she wanted to fix things. She just wanted to go back to being friends. She wanted him to take care of himself again.
💌 modern au , non-despair au , kyoko has sleep issues , f!reader , hurt/comfort ;;
🫶 ;;
kyoko never had good sleep. and she certainly doesn’t now, not as she’s making herself tea.
she knows you’d be upset if you knew she was up, but she just couldn’t fall asleep, and she didn’t wanna make you stay up with her constant tossing.
but, her stomach drops a bit at the sound of padding bare feet through the hallway.
“kyoko..?”
your voice makes her frown just a little, loving how sleepy and adorable it sounds, but it just makes her a bit more sad.
“oh, love, head back to bed, I.. I’ll be back soon.”
“uh-uh, darling you need sleep. is there anything I can do to help?”
she shakes her head. always her answer.
no. you can’t help, you’re beautiful and I wanna gaze at you as I sleep but I just can’t fall asleep. I just can’t. my eyelids can’t stay shut. is it nerves? is it my love for you? no that’s cliche, and we both know I’m not that cliche. it’s all annoying, so so annoying.
“my darling.” in her unfocused state, you’d made your way to her, and you’re gently holding her cheek, making her come back to reality as she leans into your touch, tiredly gazing at you. “I can see the bags under your eyes, my love. you really need some sleep. is it the new case?”
she doesn’t respond, and you know you hit the nail.
“darling, we both knew that case was heavy. why’d you go after it?”
she sighs. “I..” you wait patiently for her to answer, and so she does.
“I just couldn’t stand to leave it alone. yes, the case is heavy and difficult and mind-numbing, but.. I just couldn’t help but what to go after it. im sorry, I.. I don’t know if I can even get out of it- like- it f-feels..”
as soon as she hears herself stutter, she pauses. she hates sounding fragile in front of you, or anybody else. the loss of her father, the trouble she’s been through with her old classmates, the constant pressure of her grandfather; it’s all made her so closed off.
but as she looks at your soft, caring expression, she feels her walls breaking down bit by bit, and tears fill her waterline. “I-I.. I just didn’t.. I don’t know if I can leave.. and.. I don’t.. w-wanna..”
the tears start to fall, and you sigh softly, holding her face in both hands and placing a kiss on her nose.
“I don’t wanna d-disappoint.. anybody. not you, not my father, not my.. g-grandfather..”
“shh, shh, darling, no need to say any more. we can call about it in the morning, okay? let’s head back to bed, you need sleep, my love.”
she sighs shakily and nods. “I.. I’m sorry..”
you immediately shake your head and tilt her head to look at you in the eyes. “no, baby, no apologizing. you have a right to emotions, hm? darling it’s okay, tears are always okay. I’ll always be here for you, yea?”
she nods, wrapping her arms around your waist and resting her head on your shoulder. and soon, you hear silent weeping and your oversized tee shoulder wet with her tears.
you give a small sad smile, gently kissing her head as she quietly sobs into your shoulder.
“my darling, hey, shh.. I’m here, it’s okay, you’re okay..” you gently rock her, petting her head.
after about 5 minutes that feel like half an hour, she lifts her head, usually cool and collected eyes and face wet and puffy.
you softly smile, hand resting against her cheek and rubbing your thumb against it gently. “let’s head to bed, okay, darling?”
she nods, kissing your palm softly. “okay, love.. I.. really need it.”
you giggle, kissing her nose and nodding. “yes you do, honey. c’mon, darling, I’ll fluff your pillows extra tonight.”
she gives a gentle smile. “thank you, beautiful.”
you smile, and walk with her back to your bedroom.
the tea, however, was left cold on the counter the rest of the night.
;;
I hope u enjoyed <3
I love kyoko, dearly, and I thought I’d write some hurt/comfort for fun 😋
Companion piece to this amazing artwork by the radiant @cosmic-seer <3
~~~
It wasn’t supposed to go like this. He was supposed to be stronger. He was supposed to be the hero. He was supposed to save her.
And now, she laid in his arms as crystals slowly coated her body. They were almost like little stars that darted across her skin. It’d be beautiful if it wasn’t killing her.
This was his fault. He should never have pulled Terapagos out. He should’ve dragged everyone out when he first saw Juliana’s arm form crystals. But he was selfish. He wanted to be strong. He wanted to beat her. He wanted to save her.
He should’ve been the one to save her. Instead she and Koraidon threw herself in front of Terapagos’ attack, saving him. And now, while Terapagos is running rampant, Juliana and her Kaiju are suffering. All because of his selfishness. Yet all he could do was ask himself.
Was his desire to reach the stars worth the sacrifice?
Companion piece to this amazing artwork by the radiant @cosmic-seer <3
~~~
With a cheeky giggle, Juliana took a small bite out of the caramelised apple, with Kieran staring at her as she did it.
Ever since their meeting, Kieran had noticed many things about Juliana. Her mischievousness, her care for her Pokemon, the way she twirled her braid when she was embarrassed.
This wasn’t normal for friends. His face wasn’t supposed to burn whenever he looked at her. He wasn’t supposed to smile whenever he spoke her name. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way.
He admired her. She was strong and compassionate. He aspired to be someone like her, he shouldn’t desire her. Not like that. She was too amazing. She deserved much better than him.
Her laughter took him out of his thoughts. She called him “cute”. He wouldn’t be able to recover from this.
Juliana slipped the caramelised apple out of his hand. It was the second thing she stole from him.
Companion piece to this amazing artwork by the radiant @cosmic-seer <3
~~~
Kieran could feel his heart beat out of his chest as Juliana held the Teal Mask out to him. The jewels were no longer cracked and the scratches had been painted over. It looked new.
Juliana always had this warm aura about her, like a Ribombee healing him with Pollen Puff. Ever since his accidental encounter with her, while he was running around as Ogerpon and dropped his mask in front of her. He was worried he’d scare her, like he did the village.
But then she called him “cute” and seemed really worried about him after he ran off. She wasn’t like the rest of Kitakami. She was kind, compassionate, and saw the good in everyone, even the little ogre that everyone thought terrorised the old village.
Kieran took his mask from Juliana, his fingers brushing against hers as their cheeks glowed. Juliana was special, he could tell. And from this moment on, he’d do everything he could to stay in her life.
He’d do everything he could to stay with his friend.
Companion piece to this amazing artwork by the radiant @cosmic-seer <3 (will link once posted)
~~~
Kieran furiously scribbled out his writing before scrunching up the paper and throwing it in the trash. Running his hand through his hair, Kieran grabbed another slip of paper and attempted to get something, anything written down.
Kieran thought deeply about what he wanted to say. He really enjoyed the festival last year and really wanted to invite Juliana for the festival this year in hopes of rekindling their connection. That he threw away.
Kieran’s hand flew to his mouth as he coughed violently. As he pulled his hand away he looked at the white-pink petals with traces of blood on them. He threw the petals in the bin with the paper, putting a hand to his head as he tried to nurse his growing headache.
Why couldn’t he write anything? It was just a damn invitation, asking if she wanted to come to Kitakami. But there was too much he wanted to say to her.
He wanted to apologise for how he turned his back on her when he thought she betrayed him. Apologise for how he acted as champion. Tell her how much he values her friendship. How his thoughts constantly turn to her. How he smiles when she speaks. How much he–
Kieran doubled over, his throat burning as he felt something claw up it. When he recovered he got a look at a full flower, an apple blossom, sitting on his desk with his blood surrounding it. It made him wonder…
If Juliana lost him, would that affect her as much as losing her would affect him?
Companion piece to this amazing artwork by the radiant @cosmic-seer <3 (will link once posted)
~~~
Kieran chuckled as Juliana fed him another apple slice. They probably looked like that obnoxiously affectionate couple everyone loves and hates, but he didn’t care right now.
Ever since they first met, Kieran was enamoured with her. Before it was because of her strength, something he wanted for himself. Later he learnt that lust for strength was a mask for his desire for connection, a true connection. A connection that caused him to fight both himself and her. He almost sacrificed everything for his power.
He’d never stop apologising if she didn’t stop him herself.
And now he knew they’d be side by side forever. The lost boy found by her, causing his world to blossom with excitement he never thought possible. As he gazed at the stars in her eyes, surrounded by the festival that wasn’t even for them, Juliana went to feed him another apple slice, only to quickly pop it in her own mouth.
Kieran’s smile beamed as Juliana giggled at her own cheekiness. It was one to the many things she had stolen from him. The first being his heart.
Companion piece to this amazing artwork by the radiant @cosmic-seer <3 (will link once posted)
~~~
Kieran and Juliana stood at the edge of the Festival of Masks. A quiet spot where just the two of them were. Juliana pulled out a Friend ball as she looked at Kieran, silently asking if he was ready.
Kieran swallowed his nerves. He was scared to face Ogerpon, the last time she saw him was when he commanded Hydrapple to blast her with a full power Fickle Beam. He wouldn’t be surprised if the Pokemon he once idolised was uncomfortable with him. But he needed to do this. He wouldn’t feel right if he didn’t.
Kieran nodded to Juliana, causing her to release Ogerpon. The legendary Pokemon looked up at him with a slightly concerned look on her face. Kieran gripped his arm tightly as the words formed and left his mouth. It started slow and careful, but soon he was rapidly sputtering out apologies, admirations, and appreciation for both her and her trainer.
Kieran didn’t know when he started crying, nor when he fell to his knees, but he knew that when he felt a soft grassy cloak wrap around him, he was forgiven.
Kieran clinged to Ogerpon as he let out all the emotions he held back for the past half year. Pulling back, he got to see Ogerpon give him a cheerful smile that must’ve been infectious with how widely he smiled after. Juliana ran up towards them wrapping both of them in her arms as she let her Rotom phone take a picture.
Maybe now would be a good time for him to get a phone.
