Lavender Ghost Story (part 10 of 23)

a Pokemon fanfiction by Nikolai Mirovich

Back to Part 9
"Guess Who's Coming To Dinner..."

The kitchen seemed full of life as they entered, with Bob hurriedly making last 
minute adjustments to the enormous lasagna he had resting on the island 
countertop, and Frank telling some story or other about his travels as Vivian 
looked on in vague amusement, and a second, shorter woman looked up at him, 
hanging on the cop's every word. All the while the wondrous smell of Bob's still 
congealing lasagna filled the air with it s pleasantly distracting quality, and 
causing Frank's growlithe Bow, sitting politely at the threshold to the kitchen, 
to look on in expectant dismay, whining pitifully every so often.

"Hey, Vivian said 'no'," Frank told her as Miranda and Misty walked up behind 
the sad looking canine, "Oh! Miri!"

"Hi, Uncle," said the courier, her tone a little nervous as her long dark hair 
fell damply across her face when she bent down to scratch Bow behind the ears, 
"Glad to see you made it."

"As promised," her mother chuckled in a tone of mild amazement.

"Hey, have I ever broken a promise... To you?" Frank inquired, quickly adding 
the last as literally everyone, even Bow, shot him a look.

"Not that I'm aware of," Miranda replied, carefully stepping over Bow as she 
went back to staring hopefully at her trainer and looking pitiful.

"Maybe it'd be better just to 'return' her," offered Misty stepping around the 
growlithe with a dismayed look that made the little canine wag her tail sadly.

"I left her ball back at Laurna's," replied Frank with a shrug, his stomach 
growling as Bob hefted the lasagna with a bit of a grunt, "Oh, by they way, I 
believe introductions are in order?"

The woman who sat next to him smiled in what started as a polite smile, but 
became an embarrassed laugh as Frank did something under the table. "Hi, I- Oh!" 
she exclaimed, smacking him playfully on the arm before extending her small hand 
to Misty, "I'm Professor Laurna, Miri's Aunt, but you can just call me Laurna. 
Everyone else does."

"It's good to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you," Misty replied 
sincerely, taking the older woman's hand and marveling at how the two sisters 
seemed alike in some ways and different in others. Where as they both had the 
same once long dark hair, now streaked through the silvery gray of more than 
four decades, and the same mysterious magenta coloured eyes, Laurna's were 
softer, less world wary, almost as though she'd recently woken up for a 
century's long sleep. And the large lensed glasses she wore made Laurna seem 
somehow more friendly, or at least easier to talk to than her sister. 

The Professor was also visibly shorter than her sibling by at least half a foot, 
with a handshake that wasn't as firm or confident, but Laurna had an aura of 
friendliness that her sister Vivian lacked. Still, the two shared the same 
quality of seemingly being able to stare into a person's soul to discover their 
secrets, a quality that seemed somehow less unnerving in Laurna.

The woman nodded with a bit of a shy smile. "Nothing good I hope?" she inquired 
as Bob carefully set down his creation and Bow immediately leapt into the air 
and yelped when she caught a glimpse of it.

"I said 'NO'!" warned Vivian, who'd taken her customary position at the far end 
of the circular table, facing the door and fixing the fluffy growlithe with a  
displeased look.

Bow looked the woman straight in the eye, a sudden glint of determination 
shining in her own dark brown eyes as she gritted her sharp teeth. 'I didn't 
want to do this, lady,' she muttered inwardly, 'but it looks like you leave me 
NO choice!'

The little growlithe let out a long, pitiful whine, just long enough to get 
everyone's attention. Once all eyes had fallen upon her, Bow activated an 
ability she'd known since birth, a technique that released a cloud of pheromones 
into the air, subtly altering the emotions of those in the room, and greatly 
enhancing her own ability to look mind-bendingly cute to a new level that was 
only attainable through the supernatural might of the awakened.

'Feel the power of my "Charm Attack"!' thought Bow as she slowly lowered her 
tail, drooping her furrier than normal ears before looking up at the assembled 
humans with huge brown eyes that looked for all the world to be filled with the 
deepest sorrow as Bow tried her best to pout, filling the room with an almost 
visible field of enhanced adorableness.

Everyone but Vivian glanced at the little growlithe, and immediately felt their 
hearts break. With a collective "Aww..." they all held their hands out to the 
pitiful creature in the doorway, somehow unable to hold any thought in their 
minds that didn't involve helping out Bow in anyway they could.

"Don't make me say it again," came Vivian's harsh, warning tone, snapping 
everyone back into reality as the smell of the food in front of them suddenly 
overpowered the effect of the subliminal emotional attack.  

Bow's deep brown eyes hardened as she glowered at the woman, and Vivian raised a 
single eyebrow. For a moment the two stared each other down, Bow gritting her 
teeth and silently snarling in her annoyance, and Vivian maintaining her look of 
icy calm, unmoved by either Bow's cuteness, or intimidation abilities.

Finally, though, Bow tossed her head into the air with the assembled bits of her 
pride. 'Hm!' she thought to herself as she walked away muttering bitterly in a 
series of low growls. 'You've won this round, lady. But I'll be back in time for 
dessert!"

"Don't worry," called Frank as Bow's tail disappeared from view with one last 
defiant wave, "I'll be sure to save you some!"

"You're spoiling her you know," commented Vivian as Bob reached across the table 
and picked up Misty's plate.

"Yes, that's very true," said Frank with a wary sigh as he rested his head upon 
Laurna's shoulder, "but your sister's worth it."

Everyone but Vivian laughed, and as he shoveled out a square piece of the 
lasagna onto the plate he glanced at Misty with an amused smile. "You get served 
once in this house," he explained as his guest accepted the now heavily laden 
plate with both hands, "And then your family."

Bob accentuated his point by serving himself, but no one else as Frank suddenly 
tried to look innocent, causing Laurna to giggle like a woman half her age as 
Vivian shook her head disapprovingly.

"Um, thanks. I think," Misty replied, suddenly lost in the enormity of the meal 
placed before her. Although its innumerable layers, stuffed with more cheese, 
vegetables and ground up meat than seemed possible, only towered an impressive 
four inches off her plate, Misty had to wonder where she'd ever put it all. 

"Don't worry," assured Miranda, taking her turn at the spatula Bob had provided 
for serving, "We don't expect you to eat it all."

"Yeah, don't," commented Laurna wryly, avoiding her sister's suddenly warning 
glance, "around her ewe don't force people to eat everything they're given. 
Heck, you can even speak without being spoken to in THIS household!"

"Well actually, there was one thing I was sorta wondering," Misty replied giving 
Vivian a quick glance as she smacked Bob lightly on the arm and Laurna suddenly 
jumped as he kicked her lightly under the table.

"Ask away!" the woman assured with a laugh, pretending not to have noticed the 
subtle message her sister had sent her, as she wasted no time devouring her 
meal.

"It's about the Gym I heard you were opening," continued Misty, waiting a moment 
for the lasagna to cool before trying it.

"Did open," corrected Frank with his mouth full, smiling in Laurna's direction.

"I'll be accepting challengers officially as of November 1st," the small woman 
explained, pushing her glasses farther up her nose in the same way Miranda often 
did, making them shimmer all the same, "But if your looking to get a jump on the 
competition, I'm game."

Misty tried some of the lasagna as Laurna spoke, and almost felt bad that she 
had to swallow it, it was so good. "Really?" she asked rhetorically, "that'd be 
terrific. But um, isn't it kinda unusual for a poke'prof to be a Gym Leader as 
well?"

Laurna shot a conspirative look at her niece, who'd been quietly eating and now 
found herself trying not to choke. "Actually, no," she explained in an amused 
tone as a small smile crept across Vivian's face, "There's also Erika of 
Celadon. Did you know that she's a world-renowned para-horticulturalist? Isn't 
that right, Miri dear?"

Miranda glanced at her aunt with eyes wide with sudden embarrassment as she 
found herself covering her mouth and knocking her chest a few times to ensure 
she didn't choke. "Yes, Auntie, that's correct," she said simply, reaching for 
the tea pot and desperately looking for a change in topic, "but you were saying 
that you'd accept an earlier challenger?"

"Oh yes," her aunt assured with a vigorous nod, seemingly satisfied with 
Miranda's reaction, "As early as tomorrow if you'd like. Tonight's no good what 
with me having to leave early so I can teach the little one's a thing or two 
about the town, but I have most of the day tomorrow free. Until about seven, 
anyway... Say, are you two going to be there?"

"For your lecture? Oh yes, definitely!" assured Misty, suddenly surprised to see 
how much of Bob's lasagna she'd managed to put away without noticing.

"It's not a lecture," corrected Laurna, waggling her finger cautioningly, "It's 
more like a performance! But early in the afternoon would be perfect! Oh, but 
I'll need your help with a few things then, Miri."

"Sure, not a problem," the courier replied with interest, "I'm sure I can round 
up Wraith by then if you need him."

Laurna shook her head and laughed. "Well, that too, I suppose," she explained in 
a tone more befitting her age, "I meant in an official capacity. I want you to 
be my second. Pulling double duty isn't as easy as it looks, Miri. I could use 
some help around my place..."

Laurna's words trailed off Miranda dropped her fork with a suddenly loud clatter 
that shattered the friendly atmosphere and made the kitchen seem somehow less 
inviting.

"Is that what it is was all about?" she asked, her tone bordering on accusing as 
Miranda's stormy gray eyes became just as hard and uncompromising as her 
mother's, "Just another way to try to get me to stay here in Lavender? Look, I 
told you, and I told Mother, I LIKE being a courier. I'm not ready to just sit 
back and watch the world go by, I have to be out there doing something. I'm not 
ready to spend the rest of my life behind a desk. I'm not cut out to be Admin. 
Especially not now."

Laurna nodded as Frank seemed to be the only person still eating. "I 
understand," she said simply, unable to meet Miranda's gaze, "But I'd still like 
you to be there... Frank's going to be busy with all the tourists, and there's 
still some arrangements that need to be made with the Guardian, so I could use 
an extra hand if I'm going to be doing the Gym thing tomorrow."

"Not a problem," said Miranda simply, her tone not betraying the fact that her 
pulse was racing, her heart feeling heavy in her chest.

"Um, if you don't mind me asking," inquired Misty, trying to carefully defuse 
the situation, hoping the question would dispel the tension in the room, "But, 
'The Guardian'?"

Laurna bowed her head and smiled, her cheeks reddening at the thought. "Yes," 
she said quietly as Frank gave her a quizzical look and Vivian pretended to be 
completely enthralled by the fact that the silverware they were using actually 
was made of silver, "He's the gengar who watches over the ghosts in the Tower. 
He's been there since it was built, and he... He helped me out with a problem a 
while back."

"You still haven't told us what happened to you that night," Frank chided 
teasingly, causing Laurna to purse her lips and try to look innocent. A task she 
was well suited to.

"The night you actually spent in the Tower, right?" came Misty's inevitable 
deduction to which Laurna nodded.

"You should keep this one, Miri," said Laurna mysteriously to her niece, "She's 
a smart one!"

"Well, you are famous for that incident," added Vivian, leaning back in her 
chair, and empty plat before her, "And so's Viper."

Laurna nodded, answering the question before it came. "My ekans died when I was 
young," she explained, her tone becoming sad, her gaze distant, "just before we 
came to Lavender Town. I'm sure Miri's mentioned it to you, but he's the reason 
I went into the Tower. I needed to find him. And I did. The Guardian even helped 
him to recover his memories of his former life."

"But she still won't give us the details," replied Frank in amusement, giving 
his fianc?e a sideways glance, as she blushed again.

"I guess some secrets are just worth keeping," Miranda added with a wary shrug 
as Bob's lasagna felt heavy in her stomach.

"Yes," agreed her stepfather, "Secrets like who's going to carry me out of 
here!" 

There was a collective laugh as he leaned back in his seat and made a show of 
holding his stomach. "It's not a good lasagna unless no one can get up from the 
table afterwards," his wife agreed, smiling with a touch of irony as she backed 
away from the table, her electric wheelchair giving her at least one small 
advantage over everyone else.

"Was that a compliment, or not?" inquired Bob with half a smile as he warily 
pushed himself away from the table.

"Well, this is!" replied Frank; suddenly belching so loudly he almost rattled 
the dishes.

Bob took the partial bow his full stomach would allow him and smiled graciously. 
"Thank you, thank you all!" he replied dramatically, pretending to cry as he 
held up the spatula like an award, "I'm so unworthy of your kudos, and only one 
thing could make this moment more complete."

"Oh? And what might that be?" Frank inquired, staggering to his feet in time to 
pull out Laurna's chair for her.

"If someone else would do the dishes?" said Bob hopefully, clasping his hands 
together and giving the others a pleading look.

"Done," sighed Miranda, giving him a wary smile as her stepfather beamed and 
Frank feigned a heart attack, "It's the least I can do after such an amazing 
meal."

"You think so?"

"Yes, absolutely!" replied both Misty and Miranda at the same time causing them 
both to glance at each other with worried yet amused expressions.

"Oh, that reminds me," commented Vivian, catching Misty's eye as Laurna and 
Frank walked arm and arm for the room and Bob put the rest of the lasagna in the 
fridge, "Seeing as you two have the morning free, what do you say we have our 
little 'chat' then."

Misty felt Miranda's hand give hers a reassuring squeeze under the table and 
nodded. "Sure," she replied, managing to keep the nervousness from her voice, 
"No problem.

Vivian nodded as Bob walked up behind her, his hands rubbing her shoulders 
lightly. "She wants me to talk to you at the same time, eh," he added 
rhetorically to Miranda as something of a friendly warning, and immediately 
feeling guilty for the sense of dread that flashed through his stepdaughter's 
eyes.

"No problem," Miranda replied, hearing Laurna call her goodbye from down the 
hall.

"I'm off to entertain the brats!" she laughed as everyone called back their 
farewells that were met by the sound of the Professor/Gym Leader's giggling as 
Frank gave her his own version of goodbye.

"Stay out of trouble!" added Bob, guiding Vivian out of the kitchen, "And if you 
can't do that be careful! And if you can't do that, name it after me!"

"Not without me she doesn't!" laughed Frank to hide his sadness at seeing her 
go, even if only for an hour or so.

"I don't think you have much of a right to jealousy, Officer," Vivian chided 
before the voices of the remaining trio faded as they went into the living room, 
leaving Misty and Miranda alone in the kitchen with the pleasant smell of Bob's 
lasagna still lingering into he air.

Misty leaned back in her chair and exhaled loudly before putting her head on 
Miranda's shoulder. "I've never felt so full in my entire life," she commented, 
hoping to hear the quiet sound of her lover's suppressed laughter, "I think my 
eyes are actually aiding in digestion now... It's just too much for my stomach 
to handle!"

After an awkward silence, broken only by Miranda's quiet chuckle, Misty lifted 
her head and looked Miranda in eye. "Hey, you okay, dear?" 

Miranda sighed heavily and nodded, her gaze looking out the window as the sun 
went down and the sounds of muffled loud music from somewhere across town met 
her ears. "I'll be fine," she replied, smiling sadly and turning to Misty, "It's 
just that I'm sick of this whole make me stay here routine every year. 
Especially now."

"You think that's why she wants to talk to me?" Misty inquired, her tone 
sounding nervous as Miranda's sympathetic arm went around her, "You don't 
suppose she sees me as a threat of some kind? Your mom's probably the last 
person next to you I'd want hating me at this point..."

Miranda shook her head. "No," she assured in a quiet tone, conscious of the 
quiet laughter that issued from the living room as her parents talked with Frank 
and tried to recover from the meal, "My mother's not petty. She wouldn't hate 
you for keeping me away from home. And I'm sure she just wants to see what 
you're really like. Just to make sure of the things that I already know. And 
even if, for some reason my mother disapproves of you, it doesn't matter. I love 
you, and no even my mother can change that."

Misty nodded, feeling grateful for Miranda's loyalty despite her anxiety about 
the coming day. "Well, at least you only have to talk to Bob tomorrow," she 
teased, "I'm going to be out numbered."

Miranda chuckled, holding Misty closer for a moment. "Aunt Laura doesn't count 
in that regard," she replied, receiving a peculiar look from her beloved, "She's 
not the interrogation type. Most likely she'll just be there to make sure you 
don't try to lie or anything. Not that you would."

"She's good at reading people then?"

The courier laughed, shaking her head in dismay at the distant memory that the 
thought sparked. "She's better than that, I'm afraid. Aunt Laurna's a bit 
psychic."

"How much is a bit?" Misty inquired, suddenly dreading the next day a little 
more.

"Not enough that you need to worry or anything," assured Miranda dismissively, 
"She can't do TK like Zack, and her mind reading abilities are weak in 
compression to Wraith's, so you're in luck there. Precognition's actually her 
specialty. Lavender Town's previous Poke'prof was all into astrology and what 
not, but Aunt Laurna could actually 'see' things. So she'll probably just be 
there to read your tealeaves or something. I wouldn't worry about it."

"What about your Mom, though?" 

Miranda shook her head in dismay. "Just don't let her intimidate you," she 
cautioned, soliciting a chuckle from Misty.

"The only things that intimidate me are bugs and ghosts," the trainer replied 
with determination, "And I intend to get over the ghost thing before I leave 
Lavender Town."

"Early New Years resolution?" teased Miranda.

"Just making sure you don't get bored of me," Misty replied with a wary smile.

"Never," assured Miranda, kissing her gently in the forehead, "But if you want 
some practice fighting ghosts, I'll see if one of Laurna's crew can find Wraith 
for me once she gets back."

"That'd be great," said Misty pensively, desperately trying to make herself 
believe the words.

"Hey," laughed Miranda, "You have a fifteen foot long gyarados who hasn't 
stopped growing yet on your side. One who's already kicked Wraith's butt once, 
so I don't think you're the one who should be afraid."

Misty smiled at the thought. "That was before I caught him," she replied, 
thinking fondly of the enormous scaly serpent, "And besides, if I were to use 
him, I'd need a fairly large open area to let him out in."

"There's the greenhouse," replied Miranda with a shrug, "We don't use it for 
anything since my grandfather died. Don't worry, natural causes. So it's just 
kinda there, full of weeds and a few wild rattata's Aunt Laurna comes for from 
time to time."

"For those budding Lav'Brats who want them," chuckled Misty, idly wondering if 
Nezumi had been there as well.

"Err, that too," Miranda replied, her tone a little nervous as she moved out 
from behind the table, finally able to stand without feeling weighed down.

"That too?" inquired Misty, wincing as she recalled that raticates had a dozen 
or so children at a time.

Miranda nodded, leaving out the fact that many larger predators hunted rattata's 
for food. And since trainers from Lavender occasionally left pokemon with her 
Aunt, Laurna more often then not fed them what they'd eat in the wild, sharing 
Miranda's distain for store bought, preprocessed pokemon food.

"So, um... Dishes?" she suggested briskly, causing Misty to perk up and smile 
all too happily.

"Ah! Yes, good idea!" the trainer replied, thankful that her aquatic crew tended 
towards eating mundane varieties of fish and plants for the most part, even if a 
gyarados could eat anything organic, or at least would hold still long enough, 
"Dibs on washing...!"

***

Frank chuckled as Bob stood and made a show of holding his stomach as he waddled 
from the room. "I'll be back," he promised in a bad Austrian accent before 
disappearing out of one of the two open doorways.

"You know, Viv," Frank commented, idly petting the snoozing growlithe in his lap 
as he looked around the spacious, yet crowded living room, "It's amazing how 
little this place has changed."

"I'm not big on turning my life upside-down just because the universe decrees 
it," the woman replied, sipping her tea and glancing sadly at the rather 
impressive collection metal swords displayed artfully upon one wall.

"Well, it's reassuring, is all," continued her guest who was sitting on an old, 
but unbelievably comfortable blue/gray couch that was at least ten years his 
senior, "After being gone for so long, it's good to be 'home'."

"About that," said Vivian, setting her tea down upon the scuffed coffee table 
that had been nearly new when she'd first met Frank, "There's something I've 
been meaning to ask you."

"Oh boy," he muttered, accepting the inevitable as he warily looked off into the 
crackling fire in the fireplace, "I should have seen this coming."

"Indeed," Vivian agreed smugly, "Now then, Franklin, one simple question. Why?"

Frank cringed at the sound of his proper name, as the weight of the inevitable 
pressed heavily upon his shoulders. "Why, what, Viv?" he inquired 
conversationally, looking up at the portrait of the Lavender shipyard over the 
mantle as opposed to meeting her piercing magenta eyes.

"You know perfectly well, Officer."

Frank shivered. Even before Miranda's birth, even before she'd so much as agreed 
to marry his best friend Nicholas, Vivian had had a certain mother-like quality, 
gained from too many years of trying to be a mom to her younger sibling. It was 
a skill Vivian had honed to a hard edge, and Frank only regretted that she 
wasn't more like Lydia, Miranda's paternal grandmother. A woman whose infectious 
smile and kind demeanor let Frank and Nicholas get away with far more than 
Vivian ever let Miranda get away with...

"Frank?" came Vivian's voice, her tone more of a statement than a question, "I'm 
waiting."

Frank took a deep breath as Bow yawned widely, showing off her gleaming white 
teeth before being lulled back to sleep by the unconscious motion of her 
trainer's fingers through her soft reddish fur.

"Look," the cop said at last, his tone a far more serious one than he liked to 
use, "I'm not going to mess around here. I'm not going to give you the same 
brush off I gave Miri. You'd see right through that, 'cause you were there, Viv. 
You know what happened, you saw it all. And you know where I was when you and 
Nicholas were attacked..."

Vivian nodded thoughtfully. "I know," she said quietly, her fingers linked 
together contemplatively as her elbows rested on the arms of her chair, "You 
were with Laurna that day. But that's understandable. She'd sent Miranda off to 
bed, and you came over, that was normal. That was why we weren't planning on 
heading back home too quickly."

Frank nodded slowly, his mind racing as the memories of that evening returned to 
him with frightening clarity. "Yeah," he replied, "We were right here, you know. 
On the couch where we wouldn't wake Miri. Me and Laurna acting like we always 
did, like a couple of newlyweds on our honeymoon... And that's why I didn't hear 
it. Treant bangin' on the front door, practically bringing the house down around 
us, and me too 'involved' with your sister to freakin' care..."

Vivian moved her chair closer, aligning it with the side of the couch before 
reaching out and taking Frank's hand sympathetically. "Frag, Viv," he went on, 
lowering his voice even as his eyes began welling up, his curling fingers into a 
fist, "all I was paying attention to was Laurna. What if something bad would 
have happened to Miri? I wouldn't have noticed that either, ya know? And while 
I'm thankful every day that I draw breath that she was safe in her room that 
day, I just can't get over the fact that it took me at least ten minutes to 
realize there was someone at the door. That weird, high-pitched noise those 
'bells make was Treant tryin' ta get my attention. Trying to tell me that a 
bunch of freakin' Rocket goons were killing my best freakin' friend in the whole 
world and I didn't care! All I cared about was fulfilling my own selfish need, 
Viv... 

"Do you know what that's like? To know that if you weren't so stubborn and 
single minded you could have saved you someone you cared about? Sorry, Viv... I 
know it's worse for you... I- I'm outta line."

Vivian shook her head slowly, her expression tightening as she contained the 
emotions she felt, the old habit dying hard even as tears streamed down Frank's 
face. "No," she replied, "It's alright. I understand. I have no right to deny 
you your grief. My only consolation is that I did everything I could, I've gone 
over it a thousand times in my head, and I don't think there's anything I could 
really have done differently and actually made a difference."

Frank looked up at her as a strange smile crossed Vivian's lips. "That way, at 
least I know you won't hate me," she glanced up and met Frank's gaze, causing 
him a moment's confusion.

"M-me? H-hate you?" he inquired, a bit of a smile crossing his lips as well, "As 
if. I'm the one who's worried that you'll hate me, Viv. Not the other way 
around."

"No," assured Vivian, giving Frank's hand a squeeze, "I don't blame you for 
showing up when you did. You got there as fast as was possible at the time. 
Especially with what they did to the staircase. Heck, I'm amazed you got down at 
all! No, never think I hate you for that, Frank. You did everything you could 
that day. But I think I understand now why you left."

Frank nodded, feeling as though at least half the weight of the world had been 
lifted off his heart. "Yeah," he explained carefully, "I know it's dumb and lame 
and all that crap, but after the incident, it was just hard for me to look 
Laurna in eye. And every time we were together, I kept feelin', ya know... 
Guilty. Like somehow if I didn't pay attention to everything around me, 
something bad was gonna happen. Especially since Miri still had her dratini. 
Every time me and Laurna tried to make love, all I could think about was another 
mob of men in black bustin' in here, looking to steal Umi, and not carin' who 
they hurt to get at her. 

"It was, uh... Kinda distracting if you know what I mean... But when Miri became 
a courier, and left town, I kinda felt empty inside. Like somehow she didn't 
need me to protect her anymore. And since every time I so much as kissed Laurna, 
I kept getting these flashbacks to what I saw when we entered the cavern. I- it 
just got to the point where I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm sorry, Viv, but 
I had leave."

"But you came back, that's the main thing."

Frank nodded. "When I met Miri in Cerulean, I saw just now much of my life had 
passed me by. I thought about Laurna, and how every morning I ranted to this 
poor woman who owned a coffee shop about how much I still loved your sister, and 
how great Laurna was and all that. And I realized that even if I couldn't ever 
kiss her again, it didn't matter. All I wanted was to live in the same town as 
her. Even if I got back here and Laurna hated me, it didn't matter. I just 
wanted to see her at least one more time, cause if I didn't my entire life would 
a been for nothin'... 

"Look, Viv, I'm in love with your little sister, and there ain't nothin' that's 
gonna change that. Not even if the Tower falls on me and sends me to an early 
grave. And so long as she's willin', I'd like to keep my promise to marry her."

Vivian smiled with sudden amusement. "Are you asking my permission, Franklin?" 
she teased, chuckling as he cringed.

"No, ma'am," he replied with a smile, "I'm tellin' ya. But seein' as you're the 
closest thing she's got to a parent, I suppose I'd better..."

Vivian's chuckle was humorless. "How much has she told you about our parents?" 
the woman asked, her tone becoming serious once more.

Frank shrugged. "Enough," he replied, "Enough to know that I'd die before I'd 
let them at either her or you."

Vivian sighed warily. "My mother is long dead by now," she replied, looking 
thoughtful for a moment, "and you know how my stepfather died."

"Viper," said Frank dryly, remembering what Laurna had told him with no small 
degree of anger, "He died to save her, but he took that bastard with him. I'm 
just glad that Laurna found that serpent again, even if he was a ghost haunting 
the Tower. A friend like that's not the sort you just wanna leave behind. He's a 
noble poke, I'll give Viper that."

Vivian nodded, finding some small solace in her tea once more. "Just promise me 
one thing, Frank," she said after an uncomfortable silence that ended with the 
sound of Bob staggering helplessly back from the bathroom.

"Anythin', Viv. Anything."

"Don't leave her again. If you do, I'll kill you myself..."

Onwards to Part 11


Back to Lavender Ghost Story Index - Back to Pokemon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction