Hana's Game: A SequelShipping Story: Epilogue

    A year had passed since that day.  Hugh and Rosa sat on a couch in the middle of the office room.  Sunlight was peeking through the blinds of the window, caressing the two with their golden touch.  Shades of every color highlighted the room as the light filtered through the stained-glass lampshade on the left side of the couch.  There was a distinct scent of lavender incense wafting through the air.  Yet, as relaxing as it was, Hugh kept fidgeting with his hands, feeling about as uncomfortable as possible.

    “Can you at least pretend that you want to be here?” Rosa asked him.

    Hugh stopped fidgeting and forced himself to look relaxed.  “I still don’t see why we need to do this,” he said, “We could do just fine on our own.”

    “Aren’t you the one,” Rosa began, “Who always says it’s not worth doing if it’s not worth going right?”

    “Yes,” he admitted, “But I’m also the one who says if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.”

    “Oh, would you just relax?” she asked, “All the reviews I’ve read say that this guy is the best wedding planner in all of Unova.  He even did Elesa and Skyla’s wedding a few months back.  Remember they had that big wedding that made headlines all over the region?”

    “That’s because,” Hugh began, “They were both girls, Gym Leaders, and no one knew about their relationship besides us until then.”

    “But how was the wedding?” Rosa countered.

    “…Amazing.”

    “Exactly,” she said, “So would you just give him a chance?”

    “All right, fine,” Hugh surrendered, “But I’m still kind of iffy about this.  Who is this guy anyway?”

    As if on cue, the man in question came out from the curtained-off room in the back of the office.

    “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said while looking down at his clipboard, “I was dealing with another client, and she was being a bit of a Bridezilla.”

    The two teens were too stunned to say anything.  They both recognized him.

    “Cress?” Rosa asked, “Is that you?”

    “Wow, small world,” Cress observed, “If it isn’t Unova’s power couple.  I was wondering when I might see the two of you in here.”

    “Us?” Hugh began, “What about you?  I thought you were running the restaurant in Striaton City with your brothers.”

    “Well,” he explained, “If you must know, that’s more of my day job.  My real passion is in planning weddings.  I just love to see the magic unfolding as the bride and groom take their first steps toward a new life together.”

    “As if we didn’t think he was gay already,” Hugh muttered.

    Rosa jabbed him in the ribs.

    “Anyway,” Cress continued, “I promise I’ll do everything I can to make your day as special as possible.  Now, what is it that the happy couple wants?”

    “Well, to be honest,” Rosa explained, “We haven’t really discussed that much yet.  All we really know is that we want to get married on May 11.  We were kind of hoping you might be able to come up with something.”

    “Not a problem,” he assured her, “That’s exactly what I’m here for: to help you figure out what you want.  Now would you like to have the wedding locally, or would you like to travel?”

    Hugh and Rosa looked at each other, and a sort of silent understanding passed between them.

    “We want to travel,” Hugh answered, “Rosa’s too famous in Unova, and we want to have the wedding somewhat secluded from the press.”

    “Of course, I understand,” Cress agreed, “Now as for the ceremony, would you like an indoor or an outdoor wedding.”

    “I’ve always dreamed of having an outdoor wedding,” Rosa admitted, “But the reception could be indoor or outdoor.”

    “All right,” he said, “I’ve got a few ideas right off the top of my head.  First of all, when I think of weddings, I think Lumiose City.  Picture this: a night wedding bathed in the glow of Lumiose’s iconic Prism Tower and then retiring to the banquet hall of Hotel Richissime where you will enjoy a fabulous dinner prepared by the legendary master chef, Siebold.”

    “I don’t know,” Hugh began, “Kalos at this time of year?”

    “Yeah,” Rosa agreed, “That sounds a little too far out of our price range.”

    “No problem,” Cress assured them, “We can certainly find something that can be within your budget.  How about this?  A beautiful beach wedding just off the coast of Lilycove City in the Hoenn region as the sun rises over the waves and casts a glow over the happy couple.”

    “Well,” Hugh began, “That does sound kind of nice.”

    “But is something like that wheelchair accessible?” Rosa asked, “Whatever we do, we’ll have to be able to have Delta with us.”

    “Right, I forgot about that,” her fiancé sighed, “It’s such a pain to accommodate her now that she’s paralyzed from the waist down.”

    “Well whose fault is that?” she countered, “Mr. I’m-Going-To-Jump-Off-A-Cliff-For-No-Good-Reason.”

    “Touché,”

    “All right then,” Cress interjected, “So you want something a little more reasonably priced and able to accommodate everyone.  Well, I have one more idea to run by you.  If you don’t mind waiting until the thirteenth, the S.S. Aphrodite will be leaving port in Olivine City on a course around the Tohjo Falls.  It’s a cruise ship designed with weddings in mind, so they have a spacious banquet hall for the reception.  And, for the live entertainment, the band The Fairy Guardians 23 will be on board to play classic love songs such as “Wildfire”, “Delta Dawn” and “Reunited”.

    “The Tohjo Falls?” Hugh asked, “Haven’t you heard what happened to us the last time we were there?  I don’t think that’s the best place for us.”

    “No wait,” Rosa began, “It’s perfect!  What better place to say ‘I do’ than the place where we first said ‘I love you’?”

    “Oh yeah,” he agreed, “I never thought about it like that.  That’s a good point.”

    “That sounds like a great idea,” she told Cress, “Go ahead and book it.”

    “Fabulous,” the Water-type Gym Leader chimed, “I just have to confirm the travel arrangements, and then we can go over the guest list.”

    With that, Cress disappeared behind the curtain again, leaving the soon-to-be-married couple alone once again.

    “See?” Rosa began, “I told you this was a good idea.”

    “I suppose,” Hugh sighed, “You may have had a point.”

    Rosa huffed.  “Why are you so against this?” she asked, “Don’t you want your wedding to be special?”

    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he told her, “My wedding’s going to be special no matter what.”

    “Huh?”

    Hugh smiled at her.  “As long as I’m marrying you,” he explained, “It’s already going to be the greatest day of my life.”

    “Aww Hugh,” Rosa gleamed, “That’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

    The two lovers kissed, their arms wrapped around each other.  While this was going on, Hana spied on the two of them through a hidden camera in the desk lamp.  She smiled to herself as she stroked her Liepard, which was purring contentedly in her lap.

    “This is perfect,” she said to herself, “I just knew this would happen.  They were just made for each other, and now, thanks to my brilliant plan, they’re finally together.”

    “Need I remind you,” Qwerty interrupted, “That the plan nearly fell apart on itself due to your obstinacy and single-mindedness?”

    “Oh, shut up,” Hana told her computer, “It worked out, didn’t it?  You can’t argue with results, after all.”

    Qwerty said nothing.  Hana continued to watch her brother and his fiancée making out on the screen.

    “I love you Hugh,” Rosa told him, “I can’t wait until I can finally have you all to myself.”

    “So why wait?” Hugh asked, “Why don’t we just do it right here and now?”

    Rosa giggled.  “Right here?  In Cress’ office?  You naughty boy!”

    Hana’s heart raced.  Was she really going to see the two of them making love right before her eyes?  This was even better than she was hoping for.  Hugh and Rosa lay down on the couch, making out while doing so.

    “You know,” Hugh said in between kisses, “Now that we’re getting married, I feel bad that Grace won’t be able to be there for us.”

    The smile faded from Hana’s face.  Who’s Grace?  Why did he refer to her so familiarly?

    “Oh right,” Rosa agreed, “I almost forgot about her.  Hana’s older sister, right?”

    Now Hana was confused.  She didn’t have a big sister.  Did she?

    “Remind me,” Rosa continued, “What happened to her again?”

    “She was spying on us,” Hugh explained, “She had this whole supervillain lair thing set up to try to control us.  I feel bad about what happened to her though.

    “Right, I remember,” she said, “But you can’t blame yourself.  It was her own fault.  You had no choice but to kill her.”

    At this point, Hana was getting more and more terrified with every word.  She had a sister that her brother killed for doing the same thing she was doing?  What would happen if they found out about what she was doing?

    “I know that,” Hugh sighed, “I’m just worried I didn’t seal up that little hideout of hers well enough.  I hope that Hana doesn’t find it.”

    “Well if she does,” Rosa began, “You’ll just have to take care of her the same way you did Grace.”

    “That’s what I’m afraid of,” he told her, “Maybe I should check that hideout one more time to make sure it’s hidden.”

    Hana nearly shot to the ceiling.  Her Liepard woke with a start as her mistress began to panic.  If her brother found out about her lair, she was as good as dead.

    “Or instead,” Rosa said, “You could always look at the hidden camera in the lamp you little sneak!”

    Hana froze.  When she looked back at the screen, both Hugh and Rosa were glaring at the camera.

    “You knew all along!?” she asked knowing full well they couldn’t hear her.

    “Delta told us everything,” Rosa said, “We know that you’ve been plotting to get us together for the past year and a half.”

    “You’re in big trouble, little lady,” Hugh added, “I’ve already told our parents, and they should be home any moment now.”

    Hana was stunned.  She should have been angry or afraid for her life, but at this point, all she could do is laugh.  Even though she had been caught in the end, she still won anyway.  She didn’t care if she got in trouble for it.  Hugh and Rosa turned their attention away from the camera.

    “I have to say,” Hugh began, “I’m kind of impressed that she was able to orchestrate this huge scheme.”

    “Obsessive-compulsive runs in the family, I guess,” Rosa agreed.

    “Hey,” he protested, “I’m not obsessive-compulsive.”

    “Two words:” she argued, “Team Plasma.”

    “…Good point.”

    Rosa laughed.  Hugh couldn’t help but to laugh right alongside her.  When they calmed down, they gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes.

    “I really do love you,” Rosa repeated.

    “And I love you Rosa,” Hugh told her, “Hundreds of years from now, that will not change.”

    The two of them kissed once more.  As they were making out, Rosa grabbed one of the pillows and used it to cover the hidden camera in the lamp so that they could finally be left alone, if but for a moment.