BossCar
Pokémon Trainer
- Pronouns
- He/His
Rosa's Renaissance
Rosa's Renaissance
Rated: T
Genres: Fluff, Slice of Life, Romance, Friendship and Humor
Genres: Fluff, Slice of Life, Romance, Friendship and Humor
Chapter 1: Commission
Whether it's a dimly lit depiction of Kyogre that emphasizes its raw power or a vivid portrayal of a majestic landscape within Unova, the art of the Pokémon world has served as the biggest connector since the dawn of humanity, long before Pokémon laid eyes upon the first example of human civilization. Art transcends time itself, it has showcased the relationships between people and Pokémon. It has stirred the imagination with depictions of legendary and mythical Pokémon, the constructor of space and the architect of time being among its most frequent subjects.
Constructing works that leave those who view it in awe is a dream among numerous individuals. One popular trainer wishes for her name to be listed among the greatest artists of all time. That's why she now lives in Angel City, the crown jewel of the enormous Calvana region. It's a city that attracts trainers, coordinators, painters, musicians, and others who dream of stardom. Fittingly, Kalosians founded what would became Angel City during the Kalosian Renaissance, a slice of the pie called the Northern Renaissance.
A vivacious young woman dallying through a crowd of people and Pokémon, the wind making her long bangs use Teeter Dance. Her Serperior slithers to her left, the serpentine giving her trainer an amused gaze.
As the repetition of beeps and revs from the roads intertwining with the sea of chatter and laughter from the sidewalk, the young woman comes to a sudden halt, her eyes having captured a glimpse of a large canvas that's proudly displayed within a window display. She recognizes this shop as the place her boyfriend usually buys his art prints from.
She turns her head slowly until her eyes fixate on the rough rocky landscape depicted within it. "Serperior, is it okay if I check this out?" Upon seeing her Pokémon nod, she weaves around the crowd as she approaches for a better look at the print, her Pokémon slithering behind her. For her, there's no mistaking what painting this is and who painted it. "The Ultimate Weapon by Raphael Bonfrancischi da Urbinoroti."
Unless one's been living under a Boldore, then they more than likely know this tale. It's been turned into documentaries, historical fiction, plays, films, painting, and sculpture. She places her right thumb and index finger on her chin, remembering when she first read the book 977 BCE. Steven Stone stated that the firing of the weapon was the catalyst of The Darkest Day, and both were likely catalysts of the near collapse of civilization itself. This sequence of misfortune hit its peak in 977 BCE.
Rosa's eyes fixate on the gigantic flower-shaped weapon. The crystalline weapon protrudes into the ominous blood red sky, a bright white beam of energy seemingly piercing the sky into two. The rocky terrain below it is desolate, as if everything was obliterated in an instant. Xerneas is one of only two living being in sight, the majestic gazelle's head bowed down. Its teary eyes stare at the barren wasteland of what was once a lush area. All that remains are tiny splotches of foliage and the decaying remains of trees that once stood proudly. Yveltal flies overheard, its eyes narrowed and its mouth slightly gaping open. It too appears shocked by the carnage that occurred here. You know you've done something really bad when even Yveltal can't believe what happened, much less looking horrified.
She narrows her eyes, feeling a surge of determination flowing through her. One day, her own paintings will be proudly displayed alongside a master of the Ragulian Renaissance. She'll keep charging ahead to ensure it happens. She looks back at her Serperior, exchanging a confident smile with her. Her mouth falls open upon noticing that a trio of fans have spotted her, but are waiting for her to finish. "I'll be with you shortly, kay?" She gives them a thumbs up and a wink, then returns to eyeing the additional prints on display.
Rosa eyes her reflection, folding her her arms and tilts her head back. She looks too good in this top and in her black leggings. She'd gawk at herself more, but there's a time and a place for everything. Unless your name's Rui—Rui rode her bike indoors to troll Professor Oak during her Kanto trip.
As Serperior decides to gawk at herself, Rosa glances behind her, a grin appearing on her face when she sees that a number of additional fans have also spotted her. She fully turns her body to face her fans, feeling that they've waited long enough. "Hiiiiiii everybody!" She sticks her right index and ring fingers up. "Wherever Rosa goes, smiles follow!"
The fans run towards Rosa, who pulls out her cell phone. The bright light of the camera flashes several times, her and her fans standing in various poses. Her interactions with her fans catches the attention of an amused young man. He relaxes on a wooden park bench, a book firmly planted in his hands. His Gardevoir folds her arms, a lopsided grin dancing across her face.
"Heh, no matter what she goes, she livens up the place." He peeks over his book, his dark blue eyes narrowly missing meeting Rosa's eyes. "Rosa, your number one fanboy is over here." He faintly laughs. "Did you get distracted by the heat you always emit?"
This voice rings through Rosa's ears. She happily gasps, twirling to face him and his Gardevoir. "Hiiiiii, Valen!" She waves at them as fast as she can move her right hand. "We ran into each other by chance yet again!" She giggles at his slightly slicked black hair and his black Team Skull leather jacket. Leave it to this silly boy to try and be both dashing and a bad boy at the same time.
"Rosa, we agreed to meet up for lunch." She's a silly one, but he's got no room to talk. "I already ordered the lunch," he informs. "That's why I came early."
"That's kay!" Rosa watches her Serperior slither in front of Rosa, greeting Gardevoir with a pleasant cry.
"Heeeey, I'm here too!" A dark brown-haired woman calls out. She runs towards them her Umbreon joining Serperior and Gardevoir.
Valen and Rosa turn their bodies in her direction. Her cheery nature, plus her favorite clothing combination of black waistcoat and denim shorts, are all too familiar to them. Can't forget about the white top and the black ankle boots either. Make way for Expert Trainer Hilda,
As he watches Rosa and Hilda exchange a hug and a high five, he realizes that the fans have noted his presence too. Cousin Jacques makes it a quartet, and Melanie will make it a quintet one day.
"Thank you!" Hilda's grin lights up her fa. "Rosa told me you already ordered lunch!"
Valen gives his fresh-faced friend and girlfriend a thumbs up. "Let's go pick it up." He closes his book, holding it under his right arm.
"Although, I kinda feel bad about not chipping in." Hilda sheepishly grins, scratching the back of her head. "Is there a book that you want that I can get you?"
"I'd like to chip in for something too." Rosa clasps her hands behind her back. "Can we please help you out with something?"
"...I should've expected this from you two." He rubs his forehead, briefly closing his eyes. "I plan to pick up some art pieces."
"We'll chip in for that," Rosa and Hilda respond. "We'll get the lunch and set it up on the table." They see that their Serperior and Umbreon are proudly smiling at them.
"Sure about this?"
"We're sure." Rosa gestures for Valen to hand her the book, pointing to her pink Wallace Kors purse. "I'll keep it in here so it's easier for you to carry them."
Valen nods, handing her the book. "Thanks."
"Anytime, sweetie." She unzips her purse, carefully placing the small book inside.
Crazy wholesome minds, he muses while laughing with his Gardevoir. When someone tries to be wholesome, they'll hit em with a Hyper Beam of wholesomeness in return if they let them. His mind ventures into thinking about how much of a boss Rosa is at art history. He can't say the same thing about himself and painting a piece, but everybody's got their strengths and weaknesses.
Rosa and Hilda hum as they place place food on the wooden picnic table, while Valen makes sure that the art prints are away from the food. There's pizza slices, breadsticks, stuffed cheesy bread, cinnamon rolls, and a trio of colas. Their teams have gotten their own food too, and have already began chowing down.
The with the carefully protected art prints catch Rosa's attention, her eyes slightly widening over smaller print of the the painting she saw in that window display. Knowing him, there's at least three or four prints of Raphael paintings in there.
"That pizza place is on the same street where I get my art prints from." Valen shrugs, sporting a slightly sheepish smile. "Why not pick up something I had reserved in advance, you know?"
"That's alright!" Hilda cheers, placing her right hand over her mouth. "I love seeing people being passionate!"
Valen, Rosa, and Hilda take seats at the table, with Valen double checking if the paintings are kept away from the food. As the trio take a plate each, plus one of each food item, Valen notices his favorite kooks are now eyeing a print of his favorite depiction of Eevee and its evolutions within classical art.
"Adalbert Dürer's version of Adoration of the Eevee from 1505 is still my favorite." Valen takes a bite from his slice. "How can you not love those facial expressions?" He takes a few sips of his cola.
Rosa decides to study the painting, remarking, "I remember when I saw the original piece with my grandpa." As she chows down on her slice, she recalls that grandpa never takes a trip to the Östria region without visiting the original work's home. The Muhr Museum in Vinena City is regarded as one of the world's top museums, and she agrees with that.
Within the center of the painting is a pack of about two dozens cheerful Eevee, plus a lone smug Eevee, surrounding the seven Eeveelutions. Vaporeon and Sylveon have their heads titled back, smugly smirking with their eyes closed. Jolteon looks like it doesn't give a flying Feebas and just wants to eat the fruits within the baskets, while Flareon's grinning mouth makes it look like it's laughing. Leafeon and Glaceon look like they're flipping imaginary long hair backwards. In-between them is a trotting Umbreon and Espeon with confident smiles on their faces.
Having overheard the humans, Hilda's Umbreon sneaks towards the table. She glances towards Valen's Luxray, then glances back at the Umbreon depicted in the painting. Umbreon stands upright and tilts her head backwards, hoping to look just as fabulous for her crush.
Umbreon's jaw drops when she realizes that Luxray's too busy staring at a picture of cheese puffs within a human shopping catalog. Her head droops as she lets out a sigh. She's too nervous to ask Luxray out on a date to that one cool place the humans call a skating rink, and he's too distracted by his cheese puff obsession to notice her. Next time she tries, he'll be distracted by what his trainer calls "the edgelord side of rock music."
Valen's Gengar materializes next to Umbreon from the ground, whispering that he can give her advice on how to get his teammate's attention. In response, a big grin dances across Umbreon's face, but she has to prevent herself from squealing at the last second. Gengar snickers that "this is Salamence and Milotic all over again." Gengar and Umbreon burst out laughing upon hearing Valen's Salamence cry out in embarrassment, which is followed by the giggling of Rosa's Milotic.
Back at the picnic table, Valen stays quiet as he listens to Rosa and Hilda discuss gigs that Hilda could get her, stopping to eat and drink in-between. He listens to Rosa stating that she still wants to become an internationally renowned trainer. As he eats and drinks, he can't help but feeling a bit of inspiration himself. Within the play known as the art world, Rosa wants the role of painter and he wants the role of historian.
"Rosa, there's some good news for you," Hilda informs, taking a bite out of her cinnamon roll. "I've gotten you a painting gig."
"Woo-hoo!" Rosa's eyes sparkle, raising her fists above her head. "Who's the patron?" She takes a bite of her stuffed cheesy bread.
"Hehe, you're looking at her." Hilda places her right hand over her grinning mouth. "I'm going to re-arrange what's in the lobby," she continues. "I'll place the prints elsewhere to make room for works created by my clients, and I'd like you to paint a mural for me."
"What about the black walls?"
"Well, I thought about it-" Hilda closes her eyes, proudly smiling. "I think I can afford to have the lobby be different." She munches down on her slice, taking sips of her cola afterwards. "I like the walls, but I'm also a people person. I want to help everyone who walks through the agency's door as best as I can."
"You're so thoughtful about the agency's clientele," Rosa compliments. "And you make the agency so enjoyable for your employees and everybody else."
"Hilda White's the antidote to dull days." Hilda playfully winks, pointing her right index and ring fingers at Rosa. "Never forget that."
Rosa feels like a bright blub just flickered on within her mind. "I can paint some oil on canvas works." She pauses to finish eating a breadstick. "I can paint in various styles."
"Awesomeeeee!" Hilda clasps her hands in front of her right shoulder. "One thing a time, though!"
"That's okay in my book."
"I'm gonna make you a super duper mega star trainer and painter," Hilda states, tipping her white and pink cap downwards. "My name is Hilda White and entertainment is my business." Whether it's planning events, having Pokémon actors fill various roles, or making talented people renowned, she's got everybody covered. She's just that awesome.
Rosa folds her arms, tilting her head back. "We'll blast away your frowning at the speed of light," she boasts. "Surrender now or prepare to fight."
"We're such a great team!" Rosa and Hilda broadly grin, high fiving each other. "Unovan girls, we're unforgettable! Unovan girls, we're unbeatable!"
Hilda's eyes light up. "Oh, we need to record a Motivational Message!"
"Let's gooooo!" Rosa takes out her cell phone from her pink Wallace Kors purse. She enters the camera app, resting her back up against Hilda's back.
Rosa positions her right hand sideways and sticks up her right index and ring fingers. Hilda follows suit, but she does it with her left hand. Rosa presses play, both Hilda and her winking with their right eyes. "It's about you, it's about me!" They cheer and jump around. "It's about hope, it's about dreams!" They switch positions. "It's about never giving up, so hold your head up!" They wink again. "And we will carry on, yeah yeah!" Rosa stops the recording, high fiving Hilda while she goes to upload it to her social media accounts.
Then, they realize that the third person here hasn't barely said a word since they sat down to eat. They rapidly turn their heads, fixating glares at him. However, Valen's unbothered by the glares of his favorite kooks, even thoughF Hilda is his agent and manager too. He says nothing, continuing to chow down on a breadstick.
Their glares vanish when they realize what he's actually doing. They look at each other and faintly laugh. That reddened face is faint, but visible.
Valen narrows his eyes, clenching his fists. "I'm Rosa and Hilda's number one fanboy and I'm proud of it!" He slaps his open mouth with his right hand, his face looking like he ingested Tamato hot sauce. "Um...ah...sorry." He quickly resumes eating a cinnamon roll, acting like nothing happened just now.
"You can't resist us, Val-Val." Hilda titters with her eyes closed, tilting her head rightwards.
"Tee-hee, he can't hide forever!" Rosa exchanges a fist bump with Hilda. "Nooooow-" She inches closer to Valen. "Please finish writing and revising your art history inception book!" She cups her hands together, interlocking her figures, "I want to promote Art History Has History by Valentinus Beauchêne-Barsotti!"
"Relax, it'll get done," he responds. "For now, I'm looking forward to this gig of yours."
"As an aspiring art historian, I expect you to be studying how awesome I am, kay?" she teases. "Don't forget that I went to the prestigious Pokémon Painting & Sculpture Academy."
"As if I wasn't already going to write the most biased argumentative essay ever." Valen laughs, both Rosa and Hilda joining him. Then, his mouth morphs into a broad grin, and his eyes began to glow. "Even more people will wake up and realize that my talented ball of fluff's the second coming of the Old Masters!" He suddenly yelps, his face reddening again. "Oh...uh...ah-" He turns his body away, repeatedly poking two fingers together. "I...uh...got too excited...eh heh heh...heh...heh."
Hilda and Rosa laugh again. "You're such a dork at heart!"
"...Why does this always happen to me?" Valen droops his head, his arms dangling on his sides. "I'll never live these moments down."
"Like I said-" Hilda titters, tilting her head rightwards "you can't resist us."
"Noooooooo, he can't." Rosa's eyelids flutter, placing her right index finger on her lower up. "He's a bad booooy."
The trio share a laugh, then continue to eat and drink. Their Pokémon look on, happy to hear and see that they're enjoying themselves. Of course, it goes both ways.
The late afternoon sunlight's obscured by the curtains of the master bedroom's coupled window. Rosa sits at the mahogany desk within the room, rubbing her right hand on the glossy texture of the pages within the book she's using as research. She loves to read for both pleasure and research but this sight shouldn't fool anyone. Her infinite amounts of energy can make sitting in a sole location for too long very tedious for her.
She briefly peeks at the cover, a placid smile on her face. "From Classicism to Early Impressionism, 1780-1880. Still one of my personal favorites on these eras." She glances at the nine additional books in front of her. "Most of the books were obtained by him, but we're a team." She slides a second book towards her, using it to study color photos of the Romanticism landscape paintings within the first book. She loves the ump that they give, making one feel in awe of nature's raw power.
The artwork she's looking at using both books is Thomas Henry Castelia's depiction of Santalune Forest from 1793. The Caterpie, Weedle, and Fletchling lines make numerous appearences within the piece. On the adjacent page is another depiction of Santalune Forest, this one being Elizabeth Nacrene's depiction from 1795. The Wurmple line, the Starly line, and the Bulbasaur line are the ones that make multiple appearences throughout this piece.
She folds her arms and tilts her back, recalling that one time on her journey where she got to school several know-it-all boys. She can still recite info on these two historical figures like it's second nature. They're known for multiple things, the figureheads of Unovan Romanticism being among them.
Her eyes slightly widen, realizing that she needs to get back on track. She wants to check out at least one of the three Renaissance books among the additional nine as well, since she wants to paint a fresco like the Renaissance masters did. Also among the nine is the sequel to the book she's reading: From Later Impressionism to Surrealism: 1886-1940. She'll get to all of them one by one.
She places a Hydreigon-shaped bookmark into the first painting book and shuts it. Then, she slides a book on Renaissance art closer to her. She flips to a random page, her eyes meeting a color photo of a painting that depicts a trainer and his six Pokémon enjoying a lavish dinner. Her eyes move from left to right, from the stern-looking female Pyroar on the left to the smiling Gallade on the right. "Lorenzo Da Vinci's The Supper Before Battle." She notices that the adjacent page contains a color photo of Raphael's The Ultimate Weapon.
Since the black wooden door is partially open, Rosa can hear what Valen and Hilda are discussing regarding his own ventures. As she reads, she recalls how gloomy and self-degrading Valen had become not too long ago, which stung her heart like a Twineedle. For him to be discussing re-entering the pro circuit and aiming for the Calvanian Grand Performance with a voice that emits confidence, how could she not be proud of him?
Then, she hears an intense mixture of guitars and drums coming from the room across the hallway. "It seems Luxray's listening to his music again." She can enjoy all types of music, and rock's no exception. However, the type of rock that Valen's Luxray, Melanie's Absol, Hilda's Umbreon, Silver's Zoroark, Gladion's Sylveon, and Gladion himself listen to is too dark and edgy for her. That being said, she loves how the brooding Pokémon hosts singing gigs for themselves whenever they're together.
Within that medium-sized bedroom, the blaring music doesn't phase Valen's Luxray or Hilda's Umbreon as they sit together on a large bed with a mahogany frame, a half-eaten bag of cheese puffs lying on a large napkin. Luxray loudly hisses that he's "a proud feline, not a cute kitten" and he doesn't "give a Muk if they don't like my brooding" into a microphone. As Luxray continues what the humans have dubbed hiss singing, Hilda's Umbreon squeals like a fangirl, her eyes sparkling with adoration.
Rosa now's relaxing in the living room, her head resting against the armrest of one of the snowy white sofas. Fittingly, a rug with a Raphael painting print is in between the sofas. She's looking forward to this task, but this is her biggest painting project yet within this region, and she hopes it goes more than well. However, what if it doesn't go well?
Suddenly, Rosa jerks her head from side to side. She has to remain her usual strong and confident self so she can get this awesome commission done. This is her big break, and she can't back down.
Her train of thought's interrupted by her Serperior, who's looking at her with a worried frown. She smiles, leaning in to kiss Serperior on the head. "I'll be fine." Serperior smiles, nuzzling her face into her trainer's arms. Valen's Gardevoir appears in front of the sofa via Teleport. She begins to caress the top of Rosa's head and Serperior's head. She's the motherly big sis of this house, and this applies to Rosa and her team too.
She recalls one of the stories that inspire her the most—Raphael Bonfrancischi da Urbinoroti went to Roma City when he was in his twenties, having gotten his biggest commission yet. The patron was Champion Francesco Romano himself, who had been impressed by one of Raphael's earliest works. The end result of this commission was the original work of the artwork on the rug, and Raphael managed to impress both the champion and king. Pietro Vasari, author of the monumental The Lives of Artists, stated that the champion was a big fan of epics like Arceus and the Jewel of Syramos. One artist in particular, a legend in his own right, was saltier than the ocean. To make matters worse, Raphael beat him in a Pokémon battle afterwards. Then again, Michelangelo Bellincioni's grumpiness could give Silver a run for his money.
Rosa's eyes fixate on the rug again, which depicts Dialga, Palkia, and Arceus. "Space, Time, and Creation." She decides to study the rug's print to distract herself from the doubt that's plaguing her normally confident self.
She loves how Dialga's blue sphere has a gold mechanical clock in the background, while Palkia's pink sphere has the contrast of the blackest of night skies with the brightest of stars. Those two take up the bottom half, with Arceus taking up the whole top half. Arceus has a similar mechanical clock too, while the sky is evenly split between blue, pink, and black.
She hears footsteps getting louder and louder. Rosa sits up, leaning back against the headrest. "About time, sweetie."
Valen notices that Rosa looks a little down. "Please talk to me." His voice emits a worried tone. "I don't want you to be sad."
He relaxes when he feels Gardevoir caressing his right cheek. Serperior nuzzles her face into Valen's right side. He means so much to her trainer, so it's the least she can do.
Valen pats both of their head, then leans in to kiss Rosa on the lips. "Please tell me if there's something on your mind."
"...Well-" Rosa sheepishly smiles, rubbing the back of her head. "I'm a little bit nervous."
"You're a talented painter." Valen rubs her right cheek. "Painting a fresco is difficult, yet you've pulled it off several times."
"I know...but this is my first big commission within Calvana, and-"
"This isn't the Rosa that I know." Valen places his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes with a loving gaze. "The Rosa that I know takes pride in her skills."
Rosa's mouth curves into a loving smile. "Right, that's one reason why you call me 'the Second Coming of the Old Masters.' It's your way of encouraging me."
"You stood by me in my darkest hour, and I'll never be able to thank you enough for that." His eyes gleam with affection. "It's my turn to stand by you as you travel down the road that leads to your dreams."
He engages in a brief kissing session with her. It's time to roleplay as royalty again. Those kind of moments always manage to cheer her up. He clears his through, saying, "Bonjour." He playfully laughs as he gets on one knee, gently grasping Rosa's left hand with his right hand. "Ma belle reine." He kisses her hand, just like the kings, princes, and knights in her favorite fantasy movies. "Le roi et chevalier is here."
Rosa faintly smiles, teasing, "Thy queen's pleased." She knows what he's trying to do. No matter how big and bad he tries to ask, he's a ball of fluff himself deep down.
He feels like several lightbulbs in his head just went off. He knows exactly what to do next. "I have more evidence to prove it." he winks. "You managed to pull of Caravaggio's style of dramatic lighting extremely well, you managed to capture the spooky feeling of many of Rembrandt's painting.
Rosa closes her eyes, her grinning mouth exposing her clenched teeth. "Oh, stop it." She makes a playful scoffing sound, waving her hand at him.
"Let me see," He playfully taps his chin. "You can go from Romanticism to Impressionism like a Ninjask using Agility." He leans closer to her right ear. "You're also got the most powerful Sunny Day among contemporary artists, the most effective Cute Charm among contemporary artists, and you're one of the two most wholesome influencers on the planet."
Rosa gently nudges the top of her head against his forehead, her face having reddened. "I'm blushing now, thanks to you." She wraps her arms around his neck. "Thank you."
"Hey, when was the last time we told each other stories?" Valen places his right hand on Rosa's back, playing around with her brown hair with his left hand. "I thought we didn't care how many times we told each other the same story?"
"I know why you're doing this, silly." Rosa winks, kissing him back. "Don't forget that it's a two-way street." She wags her right index finger. "We'll chat about this later, but I expect one in return afterwards."
"Do I look dumb to you?" He earns himself a bop to both cheeks. "Does bopping mean yes or no?" Once again, he can't stop earning himself bops. "Speak up, you kook."
"Yes, you bumbling Spinda." Rosa giggles again, wagging her right index finger. "You're a lovable idiot," she teases. "Emphasis on the world lovable."
"Your name belongs alongside greats like Raphael and Monet." Valen wraps his arms around Rosa's midsection. "Nobody can convince me otherwise." He hoists her upwards. "Not even you."
"You're spoiling me with praise." Rosa bops his forehead with her forehead. "Maybe I should spoil you in a different way." Her smile becomes coy, her eyelids fluttering. "Can you handle me, hmmmmm?" She places a finger on the tip of her lower lip.
"Don't test me." Valen whispers into her right ear. "Don't make me use Seismic Toss."
"I'd prefer if you use Submission and Bind on me instead." Rosa tackles Valen into the sofa. "And you're the one who shouldn't test me."
A quick glance towards the antique wall clock reveals that it's almost dinner time, but they have enough time for a kissing session. They hug again, then they press their lips together with a strong intensity, a surge of heat and passion flowing through both of them.
Valen and Rosa set up the table, placing silverware, plates and glass cups with apple juice in them on opposite ends. Within the center lies porcelain bowl of garlic parmesan pasta, the porcelain plate with spring rolls, and a napkin with fudge brownies on it.
Both sit down in the chairs on the furthest right, placing pasta and spring rolls within their porcelain dinner plates. Rosa wastes no time in twirling a bunch of pasta with her fork, only to blush when she realizes she can't eat so much of this at once. If that wasn't bad enough, she barely avoids getting some of the sauce onto her black leggings, the edge of the table acting like a shield.
Her embarrassment turns into shared laughter between the duo, with Rosa putting a bunch of the pasta back into the center plate. She uses a large napkin to wipe the sauce off the table, then she picks up her fork again.
Valen watches Rosa ingest some of the pasta. "What's my score?" He twirls his fork within the pasta on his own place and begins to munch down.
"Ten out of ten!" Rosa's eyes sparkle, feeling as if the creamy sauce is making her mouth dance. "This is soooo yummy!"
"Heh, neither of us have changed." Valen smirks, briefly closing his eyes. "I'm glad that you still like my cooking."
"Rosa's still Rosa, sweetie." Rosa takes a bite out of a spring roll, letting out a melodious hum over the bell and green peppers inside. "Believe me, we ladies love a guy that can cook." She winks as she lifts up her glass of juice, the cool beverage making her feel extra refreshed as it goes down her throat.
"It's fitting how a film buff like you had a real life plot twist." He munches on a spring roll too. "Modern art broke away from tradition, but you broke away from modern art." A proud smile comes across his face. "Either way, I'm proud of you."
Rosa lovingly smiles, placing her right hand over her heart. Whenever he tells her that, it goes right there and stays there. "I'm proud of you too, Valey. " She knows it's the same for him. "Personally, there's a good chunk of 20th century art that just doesn't do it for me," she confesses. "Maybe being super extroverted influenced my tastes?"
"I can see why a people person would like art with realistic depictions."
"Regardless, art is art." She pauses to consume more pasta. "I know you feel the same way," she says. "My personal taste isn't an excuse to disrespect talented people."
"That's one of your best traits," Valen compliments, taking several sips from his glass cup.
"I know you feel the same way," she points out. "Of course, there's a good chunk that does do it for me." Rosa drinks more juice before continuing. "Abstract Expressionism is still my favorite among art within the last fifty to sixty years." She finishes up her first spring roll, then places another on her place. "I love the unconventional methods employed by action painters."
"Color field painting is really interesting," Valen comments.
"Yeah, it's cool how a few colors can evoke so much awe."
"And you've managed to paint some really good examples of it." Valen finishes eating his first spring roll.
"Of course I have, silly." She wags her left index finger. "Don't forget who you're talking to."
"Yes, mother."
"Don't be a wiseass."
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" He ducks and catches the rolled up napkin Rosa just threw.
Rosa shares a chortle with Valen, then she glances towards the painting prints on the other end of a table. Fittingly, there's an example of color field painting among them. "Bernard Newman's GSC." She studies the metallic gold rectangle, its corners finished with metallic silver diamonds. The diamonds are connected to each other by a straight and thick line finished in crystal blue.
Rosa notes that there are multiple other painting prints on the table as well, depictions of Kyogre, Groudon, and Pinwheel Forest among them. Woo-hoo, she was right! Raphael's The Ultimate Weapon is here, as is The School of Artists and Scholars. Space, Time, and Creation is peeking out from underneath the latter. As her mouth falls open, Rosa points her right hand sideways under her chin and sticking her thumb out. She already saw those prints, but there's more than she thought. Just how many did he buy?
Upon seeing this, Valen sheepishly rubs his forehead. "I didn't show you the other paintings earlier." He stops to take more bites of his pasta and another spring roll. "I decided to wait after lunch, but then it slipped my mind...kinda wanted to surprise you with the Raphael prints too...eh heh."
"Silly boy."
"Uh...by the way...are you going to record yourself?"
"I'm going to call it Rosa's Renaissance."
That's an awesome name!" He blurts out, only to blush seconds later. "Why can't I ever control this side of me?! Why am I so dorky?!"
"I love you so much." Rosa giggles, her tone slightly higher pitched and her face glowing. "Your dorkiness is amazing, and it makes you more endearing too."
Valen and Rosa's gazes meet, and the look deep into each other's eyes. No more words need to be said when their bond's stronger than diamond.
Gardevoir and Serperior watch from the living room, the grinning mouths of their trainers making them smile. Valen's Gengar and Luxray joins them, feeling happy over seeing the duo sharing a moment. Then, Luxray realizes that the other three Pokémon are inching closer to him, causing his face to redden. Serperior, Gardevoir and Gengar want to know how the date went, causing Luxray to shriek. Only how does he realize that they were also laying a trap for him.
Valen and Rosa are enjoying the banter, but they need to finish up eating dinner. There's still brownies ready and waiting for them.
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