Onkalo Heart
Chapter Fifteen: Epilogue
Four years later…
His chest was glowing again.
Rose paused in the middle of buttoning his shirt. He couldn't think of why it was happening until he remembered: this season's championship match was in only two days. Gloria must be training to defend her title.
He had no plans for the morning. Rose finished getting dressed and decided to go on a walk.
There weren't many places around Wyndon to train in private, not with a pokémon as large as Eternatus. Rose took the train to the outskirts of the city and walked until the road ended; by then, he could follow the sounds of shouts and pokémon cries until he came to the abandoned lot.
The frosmoth let out a shriek, flapping its wings and directing a contained burst of ice and snow at its opponent. Eternatus pulled back under the onslaught and growled, but made no move to attack, looking to its trainer for instruction.
"That's enough, Frosmoth!" Gloria called out. "Let's take a rest!"
She walked forward to the center of the lot and patted Eternatus' head when it leaned down to her. "You did good, buddy," she said. "Both of you. C'mon, let's make some curry."
Frosmoth chirped when she said "curry", while Eternatus stretched out across the lot, resting its head on the pavement. Gloria stretched and walked over to her cooking pot, her other pokémon lounging around the lot.
"May I join you?" Rose called out.
Eternatus raised its head. Gloria looked up. "Oh, hey," she said. "Sure, come on over, just watch Zacian over there."
"Ah." Rose glanced at the wolf pokémon, who lay in the grass with the rusted sword beside it. Zacian opened its eyes and watched him carefully as he crossed the lot to Gloria's campsite. Eternatus grunted and put its head back down.
Gloria chopped up a handful of berries and slid them into the pot. "It's been a while," she said as she stirred. "How are you?"
"Fine, fine." Rose gave a headpat to the cradily that waddled up to him. "Since the last time we spoke, I believe the most exciting thing that's happened was my niece going back to school."
Gloria nodded. "Must be nice not having to deal with anything too exciting."
He shrugged. "At my age, I'm grateful for it. How have you been, Gloria?"
"Good. Things have quieted down since last year." She tasted the curry and nodded. "Can you help me serve this to everyone?"
Rose helped spoon the curry into bowls of varying sizes. Gloria distributed most of them to her pokémon and put two others aside. For Eternatus' share, the two dragged the pot over to it, while it lay and watched them.
"You could at least move closer," Gloria remarked. "I didn't train you that hard."
Eternatus snorted. Gloria and Rose let go of the pot and retreated to let it eat.
Rose accepted his portion and sat with Gloria. "You have a battle soon, right?" he said. "This season's championship match? I haven't been keeping up, I don't know who the challenger is."
"Honestly," Gloria said, "I forgot their name. I know Kabu endorsed them, though, and I know they're stronger than last season's challenger–I'll probably get to use Eternatus this time."
"They must be strong for Kabu to endorse them. That holds a lot of weight." Rose tapped his spoon against the bowl. "Have you thought about endorsing anyone?"
"Thought about it, sure, but I don't have anyone in mind." Gloria shrugged. "I mean, I've still got a few more weeks until I'm eighteen."
"You can write an endorsement letter at seventeen."
"Yeah, sure, but it'll look better if I'm an adult." She put a spoonful of curry in her mouth. "I mean, if a kid endorses someone, well, they're just a kid, what does it matter? Even if that kid is the champion."
Rose frowned. "You're not just a kid, Gloria."
"I'm sure not," she said, "but I know how it would look." She paused and looked down at her bowl. "I dunno, Hop got a lot of crap for being endorsed by his brother, even though he really did deserve it. I don't want the trainer I endorse to go through anything like that."
"Well, I can't argue. It is something to be aware of."
A loud clang got their attention, but it was just Eternatus knocking the pot over trying to stick its head in it. It pushed the pot along the ground until it moved near Zacian, who stood up and walked away.
"I'm surprised Zacian gets along with Eternatus," Rose said.
"On a good day, sure," said Gloria. "I mean, we don't know what happened three thousand years ago, but at this point, I'm pretty sure Eternatus didn't mean any harm. It was just too much for Galar to handle." She waved at Zacian, who stared back with a solemn expression. "Most of the time, I think Zacian gets that."
"And on a bad day?"
"Let's hope you don't have to see a bad day."
They both laughed. "Oh yeah," Gloria said. "How's Acacius? Are you still with him?"
"Oh, yes," said Rose. "He's doing well. He went to help his mother early this morning, so I'm on my own until he gets back."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Certainly. What is it?"
Gloria took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "What's it like to fall in love?"
"Ah," said Rose. He put down his empty bowl. "Are you sure you want to ask me?" he said. "Wouldn't someone else be a better option?"
"Yeah, well, I'm asking you."
"Alright then." He folded his hands on his lap. "Well, it's different for everyone…"
He trailed off, searching for words. Gloria mirrored his posture and waited.
"You make space for them," he said, "that you might not make for anyone else. Everyone you meet takes up some space in your life, and when you fall in love, you want to make that space deliberately."
"Like, spend more time with them?"
"Not just that. It's the… the influence they have on you. You want them to change you. You want to be who you are because of them. Even when you're apart, they're still there, taking up that space in your heart, and you wouldn't have it any other way."
"Huh," said Gloria. "And I guess they make space for you, too, right?"
"If it's reciprocated, yes."
She hummed, looking at the pokémon around her. Eternatus had gotten all the curry it could from the cooking pot and was stretched out in the sun.
"Who is it?" Rose asked.
"She told me not to tell you."
He smiled. "So it is someone in particular, then? I can't think of many who would single me out like that."
Gloria huffed. "At least don't bring it up around her, alright?"
"Trust me, I am not interested in interfering in the lives of teenagers." He stood up. "I should be going. Acacius will be home soon. It was nice talking to you, Gloria."
"Yeah, yeah," said Gloria. "Thanks for coming out here. Don't get lost on the way home."
As he was walking away, Eternatus lifted its head and snorted. Rose stopped and turned around, but Gloria waved him off. "It's just saying goodbye!" she called out. "I'll see you some other time!"
Rose smiled and waved to Eternatus before he left.
The glow had faded by the time he returned home. Roselia greeted him at the doorway with a chirp, but she ducked away before he could pet her. "Are you home, Acacius?" Rose called out, hanging up his jacket. "I didn't expect you to be here before me."
"I didn't expect you to be out," came the response from the other room. "You get lunch or something?"
"Sort of. I met with Gloria while she was training. She shared her curry with me."
Acacius was in the living room on the couch, looking up from his phone as Rose walked in. He shifted positions to allow Rose to sit next to him. "She has a battle soon, right?" Acacius said. "How's she doing?"
"Her opponent's strong. I got the impression Gloria expects a challenge, but it wasn't what she wanted to talk about." Rose put an arm around Acacius' shoulders. "Is your mother doing well?"
"Better than most people her age." Acacius leaned against him. "What did Gloria want to talk about?"
"Well," said Rose, "she asked what it felt like to fall in love."
Acacius made a surprised noise. "She asked you that?"
"I didn't expect it either. I would have thought Leon a better option, considering he's now open about his relationship."
"I guess she could be asking a lot of people." Acacius shrugged and smiled up at him. "So what did you tell her?"
"Just that we make space for each other. I couldn't think of any other way to put it."
"Huh," said Acacius. "I guess that makes sense."
They were content to sit in silence for a whille; Acacius picked up his phone again and tapped on it again while they sat together.
Roselia reappeared, chirping at them and gesturing at the TV across from them. "I'm not turning it on," Acacius said without looking up.
Roselia responded by knocking the remote off the coffee table. Acacius groaned. "Can't we have some peace for once?"
Rose chuckled. "We've had peace for a few years now," he said. "Maybe she's decided it's time for something new."
"Yeah, well, I hope not."
Roselia pushed over a few books, but gave up her efforts when both Rose and Acacius ignored her. While she sulked in a corner, Rose got up to pick up the mess she had made. "Do you want anything from the kitchen, Acacius?" he asked, returning the books to the table.
"Just water, if you're getting up anyway."
On his way to the kitchen, Rose passed by the bathroom. Through the open door, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror.
He paused. His hair looked off, somehow, so he stepped in to examine it closer.
It took a moment to realize the change.
"Acacius!"
"What? Is something wrong?"
Rose nearly collided with Acacius in his rush to return to the couch. "Look!" Rose said, grinning madly and pointing to his head. "I have gray hairs!"
Acacius raised an eyebrow. "Is that a bad thing?"
"Of course not! Don't you know what this means?"
"Not really?"
"It means I'm aging," Rose said. "It means that this–" He gestured to his chest. "–might not actually make me immortal. If I'm aging, I might be able to die, too!"
The thought was exhilarating. He wouldn't have to live for hundreds, thousands of years, outliving everyone he would ever know. He could have a normal, human life, and get to grow old with his loved ones.
Despite the morbid subject, Acaicus smiled, too. "Don't get too excited about it," he said with half a laugh. "I want a lot of time with you before then, alright?"
Rose caught himself. "Of course," he said, tamping down his enthusiasm for dying. "It's just gray hairs, they might not mean anything. Sorry, Acacius, I just–"
Acacius kissed him.
"Hey," he said when they parted, "I get it, alright? It's a good thing, for sure." Acacius' hand went to his own chest, above his beating heart. "I mean, it's pretty certain we're both gonna live a long time, right? Let's try and make the most of it."
Rose nodded and smiled at him. "Of course," he said. "I couldn't imagine wanting anything else. I love you, Acacius."
"Love you too," Acacius said with a grin. "Now c'mon. Maybe we can let Roselia watch her shows to celebrate."
While they sat on the couch, watching Roselia flip through channels, Rose's mind wandered.
He thought of Gloria, waving to a cheering crowd with Eternatus beside her. He thought of Leon, the Pokémon League Chairman, working to better both the Galar region and the people in it. He thought of Bede, transitioning from an insecure child to the Ballonlea gym leader. He thought of Oleana, still staying in contact; his brother, who had extended a hand and welcomed Rose back to his family; Sonia, Hop, Marnie…
And he thought of a thousand years in the future, when the region's energy reserves would run dry.
Once, he had thought it his sole purpose to ensure Galar's lights would stay on for eternity… but after grappling with the possibility that he would be alive to see it, all he wanted was to step back and leave the future to the next generation. Surely, they could solve their problems without his meddling.
Growing old with Acacius was the only future he wanted.
The End