Fireworks

Dusk had fallen over Nimbasa City. The blizzard had finally subsided leaving the streets covered in a fresh layer of powdery snow. It was just in time for the New Year’s festival. The streets were aglow in the faint light of paper lanterns and the cheery music echoed all the way from the amusement park. Ingo and his twin waited patiently outside of Emmeline’s house. The three had been attending the festival together since they were kids. 

Ingo brushed his fingers over the tiny velvet box in his pocket. His heart beat heavily like the drums of a Rillaboom. Tonight, he was going to ask Emmeline to marry him. They hadn’t been dating for long, but he knew that she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Granted, he had known this for as long as he could remember. He could never find the words to tell her how he truly felt until now. 

Emmeline emerged from the door, a flush warming Ingo’s cheeks. He hid his face behind the long collar of his coat. She was always beautiful, but tonight she was radiant. Though she was bundled up in a fashionable coat and long black scarf, it conformed to her body in the right ways to accent the curves of her body. Her long, red hair spilled out like wreaths of fire. Her rose scented perfume sent Ingo’s heart racing more than it had before. He reached for the box as she padded over to them, a smile spread across her black painted lips. 

“Sorry I’m late,” she said. Emmeline pulled Emmet first into a tight, sisterly hug before she made her way to Ingo. She kissed his cheek before she proceeded to drape herself over his arm. Ingo froze. His heart hammered against his ribs. If she got much closer, she’d feel the box in his pocket! He shifted his body slightly, putting more distance between them. Thankfully, she hadn’t seemed to notice as she asked, “Do you think they’ll still have those little cakes with the strawberries inside? The lines are always so long and they run out so quickly.” Relief washed over him.

“The festival only started an hour ago,” Emmet said.

“And last year they were gone in an hour!” Emmeline protested. 

 “How about we stop at the pastry stand first,” Ingo interjected before they got into another squabble. Their fights were never malicious, just friendly teasing. However, the more time they argued, the more time he lost to make tonight the most magical for Emmeline. Ingo squeezed her shoulder lightly. She stuck her tongue out at Emmet childishly before nestling herself against Ingo again. Emmet laughed, a wide grin on his face. Ingo let a smile slip onto his face as they started their way towards the fairgrounds. 

The festival was in full swing when they arrived. The air was filled with the sounds of laughter and music. Vibrant lights from the rides flashed in bright, neon colors. The smells of grilled meats and fried pastries wafted from the various food stalls. The three walked the crowded streets, careful not to step on the groups of rowdy children that ran by with Chimeco streamers. Emmeline slipped her hand into Ingo’s and squeezed it tightly in hers. “Do you remember when we found that lost Chimeco and all the other kids thought it was a streamer?”

Ingo did remember. Emmeline was the first to notice it, but he had been too nervous to approach the other kids. She stomped her way over in her big snow boots that looked comically big on her tiny 8-year-old legs. With her hands on her hips, she scolded the other children and saved the little bell Pokémon. It hadn’t taken long to reunite the terrified Pokémon with its trainer. Ingo could not forget how she smiled so brightly when the trainer offered to buy them all cake for saving their companion. He always admired her kind heart. Was that the moment he had fallen for her? Heat rose in his cheeks

Ingo had been thinking of this moment for so long now. As they settled into line, he was concocting a plan on how to slip the ring onto one of the cakes to surprise Emmeline. He had seen it done at one of the restaurants he had taken Emmeline to. They hadn’t been dating at the time. She had sighed and mentioned how romantic it was and she would love to be proposed to in that way. It had been an offhand comment of course, but Ingo had made note of it. The logistics of trying to slip the ring onto one of the strawberries was eluding him at that moment though. 

“The line is very long. As expected.” Emmet said, rubbing his chin. Emmeline let out a long sigh. “Should we find something else to do?” He asked. Ingo grunted in response, only half paying attention. 

“I’m fine waiting. If we leave now, they for sure won’t have anything left!” Emmeline whined. Ingo nodded. “See, Ingo agrees with me. We’re staying put. You can go do something else if you want, Emmet.” 

“I don’t think he’s paying attention,” Emmet replied.  Ingo looked up.

“Of course I am,” he said angrier than he had intended. Everyone was taken aback, including himself. “Sorry,” he mumbled, embarrassed by his reaction.  The two seemed to have good humor about it at least, and things calmed down. The line was moving rather quickly and it was no time before they were at the front. “Three of the strawberry cakes, please,” Ingo said.

The stall owner frowned. ‘Oh, sorry. We just sold the last ones a few minutes ago,” she said. “We still have some orange-rosemary, lemon-basil, or smoked old-fashioned,” she offered. They had run into this before. While they sounded very appetizing, the bakery hadn’t quite gotten the ratios down yet. They came off with no flavor, too herbal or in the case of the old-fashioned, way too heavy on the alcohol. 

Ingo’s shoulders slumped. “Of course. Next year, perhaps,” he said. They turned away from the stall and started again through the festival.

Emmeline eyed him suspiciously. “Are you okay? You’re acting funny.” 

Ingo snapped back to attention and squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Of course, Dearest. Everything is fine.” 

“If you say so. You seem pretty upset over the cakes,” she teased. Ingo flushed. He thought he was better at keeping his emotions level and face stoic. They had known each other for so long though, she could see through him as if he were made of glass. 

“What should we do now?” Emmet asked. The younger twin looked around, drawn to the flashing lights of the fair rides. “The Ferris wheel perhaps?”

“I would prefer not to.” Ingo muttered. He hated heights, and Emmet knew it.

“Some shopping, perhaps? I have some gifts I need to buy.” Emmet suggested.

“Some shopping sounds wonderful, doesn’t it, Ingo?” Emmeline said. He nodded. At least it would give him some time to think of some new way to propose to her. 

Emmeline and Emmet bickered and laughed among each other as they walked the stalls, but Ingo was in another world of his own. Everything else needed to go right. They were out of Emmeline’s favorite cake, but there was still time to make up for it. There were dozens of other stalls to visit, games to play, shops to browse. He just needed to-

Emmeline shrieked in surprise. Ingo caught Emmeline as something bumped hard into her. “Oops.” He heard a tiny voice say. A young child no older than six stood in front of them, an empty cup of hot chocolate in his hands. Ingo looked down and saw the dark stain starting to set into Emmeline’s pale coat. He could feel her tense up slightly before relaxing. It was only a kid after all.

“I’ll go get napkins,” Emmet said as he scurried off to find something to clean the mess.

Tears welled in the child’s eyes. “It’s okay.” Emmeline tried to soothe. “It was an accident. We can get this cleaned up, don’t worry.” She said softly.

Emmet was quick to return with a handful of napkins. While much of the beverage was able to be cleaned up, the stain would be much more difficult to clean up. It would probably have to be brought to a professional cleaner.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” Emmeline asked.

“N-Nate.” The kid said. 

“Where are your parents?” Ingo looked around, but there didn’t seem to be anyone around looking for a lost child. 

“I don’t know.” He cried. “They wanted to get some photos taken, but there was a stand giving hot chocolate. And now I don’t know where they are, and I spilled all over your coat, and-” He started to cry even harder. 

“Hey, now. There’s no need to cry.” Emmeline said. “We’ll help you find your mom, okay? And I’ll get my coat all cleaned up after the festival. You don’t need to worry about it.” She turned to Emmet. 

“But I don’t know where to go,” Nate blubbered. 

“That’s alright. Emmet and Ingo are great with directions and they can help find your parents.” She soothed. “Why don’t we split up for now? We can cover more ground this way. Let’s also see if we can find security. They might be able to help track down his parents too. If we don’t find them, we’ll meet up in the center square in an hour.” Emmet nodded and trotted off to find security. Emmeline turned back to the child and held her hand out to his. “Ingo and I will help find your parents, don’t worry.”

And there she went in all of her captivating glory. Ingo was falling in love with her all over again. All he could do was stare as she took control of the situation with a softness and kindness he had so rarely seen. It made his heart flutter. Nate put his hand in Emmeline’s first, then looked up at Ingo. The child was hesitant at first, but eventually placed his hands into Ingo’s as well. It was strange like this, but not a feeling Ingo hated.

They walked through the crowded streets, looking for Nate’s parents. Concerned stall runners tried to recall if they had seen his parents, but they were coming up short. That was until they retraced Nate’s steps and approached the stall that was serving hot chocolate. The man ladled cups from a big steaming pot and looked up to them in surprise. “Oh! It’s you!” He said as he looked down at the young boy. “Thank goodness you’re safe. Your parents just came by in a big panic with a man wearing a big white coat, kind of like your friend’s here.” The stall-runner motioned to Ingo. The boy’s eyes lit up. “I believe they said they were going towards the clock tower.”

“Great! We’ll start heading over that way. Thank you!” Emmeline said cheerfully. Off they went towards the clocktower. They asked festival-goers along the way, and the lead seemed very promising. Of course, fate seemed to have a different plan. They approached the clocktower courtyard, but as they spoke to security and crowds, Emmet and the child’s parents seemed to have disappeared elsewhere. It shouldn’t have been that hard to spot someone who looked just like Ingo but in a white coat, right? The festival was busier than it usually was though, and the snow did make it rather hard to see people wearing white.

Growing tired of running around the entire festival trying to hunt down leads, they decided it was best just to meet up at the central square and wait for Emmet, security and hopefully Nate’s parents. Ingo cleared off one of the snow-covered benches. They sat and waited. Before long, Nate’s parents showed up. The boy kept up from his seat, tears spilling from his eyes. “Thank you so much for finding our son!” The mom said in a relieved cry. She turned back to her son.

“It was no problem.” Emmet said. The mother started to reach into her purse.

“Please, let me repay you three.”

“There’s no need for that. We are just glad he’s safe.” Emmeline said. The two went back and forth until the mother relented.

“Thank you again.” The mother turned back to Nate. “Don’t you ever do that again!” She scolded as the reunited family started making their way back into the festival. 

“We’ve still got an hour left before the fireworks.” Emmet said, looking up at the big clock tower. Was it really that late already? That unexpected “adventure” really put a dent into the time he had to find a moment to propose. “I’m going to play some games before the fireworks.” Emmet announced before turning on his heel and heading back towards the lantern glow of the festival.

“Wait for me! I’m going to crush you at the Drifloon-dart game.” Ingo stood and followed behind at a distance. She really was perfect in every way. Even in her flaws she was an angel sent down from above. He was glad that she got along so well with his brother too. Emmeline ran back to Ingo, looping her arm through his and pulled him along with her. “Come on, Slowpoke! I have to destroy your brother.”

It wasn’t total destruction, but Emmeline did beat Emmet at the dart game. Rematch after rematch, she was the victor. Even against Ingo she was unstoppable, but soon they grew tired and moved onto new games. Emmet excused himself to play a game that didn’t look all too interesting to either of them, leaving the two alone for the first time in the evening. This was the time. “Emmeline, there was something I wanted to-”

Emmeline grabbed onto Ingo’s arm and squealed. “Oh! Look!” She pointed to an obnoxiously large plush Petlil. “It’s so cute!” Ingo smiled. The game seemed simple enough. Little Wishiwashi swam in an enormous pool to and fro.  All he had to do was catch one and put it into a cup while only using a tiny, flimsy net. He was very good at this game when they were children. He won so many prizes. He had even gotten her a prize one year, but he could not place what it was.

“Do you want it, Angel?” He asked. Emmeline nodded eagerly. “How many points do I need for that?” Ingo pointed towards the plush.

“That prize? You need to catch 20 Wishiwashi with one ticket. You’ll get five nets.”

Ingo placed his coins down in exchange for the flimsy paddle nets. He dipped the net down quickly and started to chase the little fish-Pokémon until he cornered one. He scooped up. The Wishiwashi was firmly in the net until it snapped and the little fish splashed back into the water. Again he tried, managing to get one into the cup, but the next net he tried split apart at the net. He tried again until he was out of nets and only had a handful of Wishiwashi in the cup.

“Oh, sorry. It’s not enough for the prize.” The game-runner said. “Would you like to try again?” Ingo paid for another try. He got closer this time, capturing nine, but it still wasn’t enough. He tried again and again, but couldn’t seem to get handle on catching the little fish.

Ingo didn’t hear as Emmet wandered back to them. “Let me try!” He said eagerly. Ingo paid for another ticket. One after another, Emmet pulled the Wishiwashi from their watery home and into a tiny cup, only to replace them afterwards. Five, ten, he was racking up the points until the game-runner started flashing the bright lights. “We have a winner! Choose your prize!”

“Here you are, Emmeline!” Emmet smiled as he handed her the giant plush. She smiled so wide and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you Emmet!” she said cheerily. She hugged him tight before accepting the plush of a cherished Pokémon.

Ingo frowned, feeling utterly dejected from this loss. Jealousy burned through him, followed immediately by guilt. They were brothers, after all. He knew in his heart that Emmeline loved Emmet, but it was nothing more than a sisterly-love. Why was he feeling this way?   

“Excuse me,” he said as he stood and left the game stalls. Emmeline was quick to chase after him. They walked in awkward silence side by side for what felt like forever. They stopped near the open fields for the viewing of the fireworks.

“Tonight sure has been eventful.” She said, trying to ease his emotions. “We can go home if you’d like. It just seems like you’re not having a good time.”

“I’m having a good time, dear. I always have a good time when I am with you. Besides, I want to see the fireworks. I just have a lot on my mind.” He pulled her in and kissed her forehead.

“We should go find some seating for the fireworks then, before all the good spots are taken.” Emmeline said softly. She tried to pull him towards the open spaces in the snowy grass, but Ingo stood. His steely gray eyes were fixed on the Ferris wheel. He was terrified of heights. Emmet and Emmeline had always teased him about it, especially after they became the subway bosses. But he could be brave this once. If it was for her, he would do anything. She tugged at his arm again.

“I have a better idea,” he said as he whisked her away towards the giant wheel. The line was much longer than usual. They fair-goers all probably had the same idea as him. He just prayed to Arceus that he had timed everything right. Nothing had gone right on this night, but he had to try for her.

“Ingo, what has gotten into you?” Emmeline asked. “You’re not acting like yourself and it’s scaring me. Are you mad with me? Did I do something wrong?”

Ingo blinked. “What? No. Of course not.” He said soothingly. “You’ve always wanted to go on the Ferris wheel during the festival, right?” Ingo smiled softly.

“Yeah, but you hate heights, and I didn’t want to upset you.” Emmeline pulled away from him and crossed her arms. “Why are you acting so weird, Ingo? Talk to me!”

“Please, just-” He was struggling to find the words to say. “Just trust me, Angel. I’m not mad at you. You’ll see when we board.” Ingo could tell that Emmeline was upset, but she nodded.

They boarded the Ferris wheel car and sat apart from each other. The door closed and a few moments later, the car was rising high into the sky. He checked the clock tower for the time. The fireworks would start any second now. His nerves were utterly shot. Emmeline must have sensed his anxiety, as she placed her hand on his and smiled. “You didn’t have to do this for me. Emmet could have come instead.”

Ingo shook his head. “No.” Ingo sucked in a deep breath and knelt before Emmeline. It was now or never. “Dearest, I have loved you for a long time. No words will ever be able to express my feelings for you.” He reached back into the pocket of his coat for the velvet box. “When we are together, the world is vibrant and beautiful. You bring life and joy and beauty to everything you touch. Your beauty is like a flame, and like a Mothrim, I am drawn into you. You are an angel in the flesh, and I have willingly fallen under your spell.”

In a smooth motion, he pulled out the velvet box and opened it to reveal the ring inside. The glittering red gem in the center had been cut to look like a rose. Small diamonds were set into the band that twisted and curved like leaves on a vine. “Please be my wife, Emmeline. I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you,” he said. Emmeline looked star struck. A huge smile spread on her painted lips as tears welled in her eyes. Emmeline nearly leapt out of her seat as she threw her arms around him. Her lips pressed to his over and over again.

“Yes,” she said weakly through her tears. “Yes!” She repeated, kissing him again.

The clock tower bell rang loudly. Fireworks boomed behind them, an array of colors and shapes that danced in the sky for a brief moment before fading into darkness. Ingo slipped the ring onto her finger. They sat back onto the seats, watching as the sky lit up.

“I am sorry tonight wasn’t perfect,” Ingo said as they exited the car.

“What are you talking about?” Emmeline asked giddily. Her eyes did not leave the ring on her finger. “It was more than I ever could have asked for.”