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The first time Moon meets him is when he's bringing his dog in for a grooming session. He's dressed in a finely-tailored suit, his blond hair immaculately styled. His manner is cold, formal, and he doesn’t seem to know how to work his smile muscles.
At first, Moon feels slightly resentful of the judging stare he casts around the place, but as he fires a whole list of questions at her regarding their services, she realises that he's probably just inexperienced, and anxious about his dog.
Moon answers him politely, showing him around their neat, pretty parlour. Finally, he fills in the form to check his pet in.
Name of Owner: Gladion Aether
Name of Dog: Silvally
Breed: Old English Sheepdog mix
Type: Bathing / Grooming / Extras:
“Any health concerns or other things I should take note of?” Moon asks. The man hesitates.
“He’s a rescue who had been abused by his previous owner, so he doesn’t always react well to strangers,” he replies. “I’ve been grooming him at home for a while, but his coat obviously requires a lot more time and care…”
“I understand.” Moon bends down to greet Silvally, and the dog’s eyes light up. He jumps up at her excitedly, and she laughs. “Doesn’t seem like an issue at the moment, but I’ll keep an eye out for anything that might worry him.”
“Fine.”
He stays to watch her work the first time, observing her every move carefully. His green eyes soften whenever he looks at Silvally, and he seems relieved that Moon can handle him all right.
She brushes Silvally out, enjoying the feel of his long, fluffy fur. Bathing, drying, ear cleaning, teeth cleaning, and another brushing. Silvally falls in love with the cool hair dryer, and she laughs at him pawing her for more. He is definitely one of the most endearing dogs she has ever worked with.
“Good boy, you’re a good boy!” she praises, rubbing his ears affectionately. Silvally licks her face enthusiastically, and she chuckles. As she looks up to announce that they are done, she feels her breath catch.
He is smiling at them.
Oh no. Oh no no. She cannot possibly be attracted to a customer.
But as Mr Aether leads Silvally out, nodding to her in farewell, Moon finds herself hoping that he would return.
---
He does return, and Silvally greets her with a volley of barks and a lot of love. In fact, they become regular customers for the Luna Grooming Parlour. Moon keeps a slot open for them at the end of every month. After the first few times, Gladion (he asked her to call him that) would drop off his pet in the morning, and collect him at night.
Sometimes, he invites her to dinner at the dog friendly restaurant just around the corner. Moon tells herself fiercely each time that this is only because she refuses to accept the hefty tips he offers, that it doesn’t mean anything special. She takes her own dog, a Spitz named Rocky, with them, and the two dogs have a great time in the playground section of the restaurant, while their owners exchange stories about them.
Over the year, they go from a strictly professional relationship to what may be considered friendship. She learns about his family (he is the CEO of the conglomerate Aether Company, and he has a sister named Lillie), he learns about her interest in growing herbs. She hears about Silvally’s rescue from an ex-employee, and how he had taken weeks off work to get Silvally used to him.
She finds out that he lives in a penthouse apartment two streets down from the parlour. They exchange phone numbers, so he can message if he is running late from work, and she can send him hilarious snapshots of Silvally.
But more importantly, she grows to know him. Gladion had seemed remote and standoffish at first, but as he slowly opened up, she learns that he has an acerbic sense of humour, which he occasionally delivers with a deadpan face. He loves Silvally deeply, and gives him all the time he could afford.
He enjoys the outdoors, and had dreams of working as a wildlife biologist as a child, but he was expected to take over the family business. He was not embittered; rather, he accepted the job as his responsibility, and spends much of his attention on the Aether Foundation, an organization set up by his grandfather for the conservation of wildlife.
The slight twinge of attraction that she had felt from the start grows alarmingly. With every minute they spent together, Moon feels herself falling deeper into the abyss she never expected to face. She lives in anticipation of the few hours each month where they would meet. She feels gratified whenever he chuckles at her words, or when he jokes with her dryly, a smirk lingering at the corner of his lips. She yearns to be close to him, to hear his voice, to see his rare, genuine smile.
But there is no way she can ask him out. She is, after all, just the dog groomer.
---
“Hi, Gladion!”
“Hey, Moon,” Gladion greets her, then bends down as Silvally rushes up to him. “Hey buddy. Had a good day?”
“Today’s report: another customer dropped her woolly hat in his playpen and he tried to chew it,” Moon says, hiding a grin.
“Good grief.” Gladion stands up and stares sternly at Silvally. “What have I said about chewing wool, huh?”
“Aw, don’t get mad at him, he was just trying to retrieve it for her!” Moon puts her arms around Silvally defensively. “It’s not his fault if the wool feels all soft and… chewable.”
Gladion shakes his head, but she knows he’s just two steps away from a smile. “You spoil my dog.”
“Like you don’t spoil him too?” Moon retorts smugly. “Look at this new shiny leather collar with polished brass and lambskin padding! Extravagance! You don’t get to lecture me about spoiling furkids.”
“That wasn’t me, my fiancee bought it for him. For his birthday last weekend.”
Silence. A deafening silence, to Moon.
“I… I didn’t know… you were engaged,” Moon says slowly. Gladion shrugs.
“It was arranged by our parents years ago. Nothing much to say about it.”
An arranged marriage for the scion of a rich family. Moon could have laughed at the cliche, if she didn’t feel like crying. Desperately she looks down, blinking away the tears that had risen unbidden to her eyes.
“Moon? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing!” she replies quickly, flashing him a smile. “So, it was his birthday last weekend? Happy birthday, buddy! Congratulations!!”
She buries her face in Silvally’s fur as she hugs him, taking a few deep breaths to compose herself. The ache in her heart that emerges each time she looks at Gladion has intensified, and all she wants is to close shop, go upstairs and cry.
“Thanks.” She feels his intense gaze upon her; can he possibly sense her distress? She swallows quietly and rises to her feet, rearranging her face into her usual smile.
“As a gift, today’s session will be on the house,” Moon says brightly.
“No, you don’t have to…” Gladion begins.
“I insist. A present for our best customer!”
Gladion raises an eyebrow. “You think I’m your best customer?”
“No, I meant Silvally, of course.”
He laughs. The sound of his chuckles is as lovely as ever.
“Let me treat you to dinner in exchange, then.”
---
She should have said no.
But thirty minutes later, she is walking towards the Sunny Go Round with Gladion, Silvally and Rocky. At this hour of night, the place is quiet, with only three or four other customers present. A poodle and a labrador bark at them from the playground, and Rocky barks back in greeting, recognising them. Slipping Rocky and Silvally off their leads, they take their seats at their usual corner.
Dinner, dessert and two cocktails later, Moon is numb and slightly giddy. They sit side by side at the small bar in the corner. The other customers have slowly petered out, and the staff are clearing away the dishes. A smooth bossa nova tune plays softly through the restaurant speakers.
Watching Gladion gaze affectionately at Silvally having a tug of war with Rocky makes her think about how gorgeous his emerald eyes look when they are soft and gentle...
So to distract herself, she asks the first thing that pops into her mind.
"Tell me about your fiancee."
Gladion glances at her, startled. "Platinum?"
"That's her name?"
"Yeah." He drinks. "Not much to say, really. She's the daughter of the Berlitz Corporation. Father and Mr Berlitz were college friends, so our families sometimes spent holidays together in the past."
As expected, a rich lady. "What's she like?"
"I don't know, what do you want me to say?" Gladion frowns. "She's a nice enough person, I guess? Works as a fashion designer. Keeps a horse."
"That's all you have to say about the woman you'll be marrying?" Moon teases. "Nice enough and keeps a horse. How romantic."
Gladion rolls his eyes. "It's not like there's any romance between us."
"...Then why are you marrying her?"
"I told you, our families arranged it. Years ago, when we were young. Her mother thought it was a good idea, my mother thought it was a good idea."
"If it were the olden days it'd probably be a way to merge the two companies." Moon says jokingly.
"As a matter of fact... there's been talk about that in recent years, yes. Stupid, I know."
"Hmm. Guess you'd call it a..." Moon winks at him, "business proposal?"
The look Gladion shoots her is half disgusted, half amused, and she breaks into giggles. Laughter is good. It makes her believe that she is happy.
She takes another gulp. The alcohol is burning on her tongue.
"Don't you wish to marry for love?" she asks.
He chokes on his drink. Coughing slightly, he lowers his glass and glares at her.
"Where did that come from?" he demands, wiping his lips with a serviette from the counter. Moon wonders if the pink on his cheeks are born of embarrassment, or alcohol.
"Hey, it's a reasonable question," she says. "In this day and age, marriages of convenience are no longer a thing for most. People more often dream of love."
"There are way more things in life to worry about than love," Gladion says.
"But humans are social creatures. We can't live without love."
"I've got Silvally." Automatically, he looks out across the room at his dog. As usual, the sight of him brings a smile to Gladion's face, and Moon's heart squeezes. "He's got more than enough love for anyone. And there's my sister. And... Mother, too."
Moon notices and wonders at the slight hesitation in his words, but he doesn't elaborate.
She drinks.
"And you've never... Never been in love with anyone? Never felt... that you could learn to love someone? With all your heart, mind... and soul?"
Their eyes meet, and Moon can hear the thumping in her chest echoing in her ears. She knows she shouldn't have asked, but she longs to hear his reply. She has no idea what she's expecting from him, when there is absolutely nothing he can give to her at this point.
She doesn't even know if he wants to.
"Why do you ask?" Gladion says at last, his voice quiet.
She stares at him in silence. What should she say? What can she say? A hundred different replies run through her mind, each with its own catastrophic result that confirms why the whole thing is a bad idea.
But he's still watching her, waiting for her reply, an indescribable look on his face that sends shivers down her spine. The voices in her head crescendo to a climax, and, unable to stand them any longer, she bursts out.
"Because I'm in love with you."
And with that, the voices disappear. Moon is left with nothing but the creeping emptiness in her heart, and Gladion's stunned face.
"You... what?"
She smiles. Slowly, sadly. "I've been in love with you for nearly a year now. Since you brought me that French sorrel cutting from your mother's garden."
"...Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Moon laughs. "I don't know. Maybe I wasn't sure of my own feelings. Maybe I wasn't sure of yours." She bites her lip. "Maybe... I was scared... that once you found out, you wouldn't come back. So I told myself that seeing you once a month with Silvally was enough."
He swallows, looking away. Then he turns back to her. "Moon... I..."
"I know," she interrupts him. She doesn't want to hear him say it. "I don't... I'm not expecting anything. You're engaged."
"Yes."
They both drink, draining their glasses swiftly. Moon stares at her empty glass, at the light reflecting off its rim.
"If... if things were different..." Moon, stop! "Do you think... you could have loved me?"
Gladion closes his eyes and sighs. She holds her breath, waiting. It feels like an eternity before he looks at her again, his brow furrowed.
"I don't know," he says. Moon's heart plummets. She turns away, shoulders trembling, her eyes blurring with tears.
"But I would have liked to try."
The tears spill then, dripping down her cheeks. They stare at each other, neither saying a word, but each speaking of the might-have-beens. She sees the anguish in his eyes, the flush on his cheeks, the tension in his jaw. Reaching out, her fingers grazed his cheek lightly, and he shivers at her touch.
"Thank you," she murmured. Then she's leaning in, closer, closer, closer... until her lips meet his in a soft kiss.
She pulls back, her hands dropping, and she smiles at him.
It is farewell.
"Damn!"
Suddenly, his arms are around her, his lips crushed against hers. Moon gasps, sliding her hands around his neck as he pulls her closer. Her lips part, and she sighs into his mouth. This is the worst idea they've had all night, but she can't seem to stop, and neither can he.
He brushes kisses over her cheeks, then returns to capture her lips. She tastes salt, and alcohol, and bitter regret in the desperate movement of his tongue against hers. Everywhere their skin touch burns at the contact, and she's gripping his hair tightly, so tightly that it must hurt, but he only groans into her mouth, angling her head to bite at her lip.
Gradually, the onslaught softens, and their mouths gentle, until they're no longer grasping at each other in frustration. Only sorrow is left, sad, sweet sorrow, breathing out in every kiss. She can feel the tears trailing down again, and she sobs.
He whispers her name softly, over and over again, as his lips coax her to relax. He holds her, comforting and firm, one hand splayed on her back, supporting her. Slowly, her cries still, and she returns to kiss him one last time.
His lips are soft. Warm. Loving.
When they part, he is breathing as heavily as she, his green eyes almost black in the dim light. He reaches up and wipes away her tears, his fingers lingering at her chin.
"Moon."
"Goodbye, Gladion."
She turns, heads towards the playground to pick up Rocky. Silvally jumps up at her, but she pushes him away. Confused, he whines at her, but she avoids his gaze, clipping Rocky's lead on.
As she exits the restaurant, she hears his voice behind her, low and tremulous.
"...to find you a new groomer, Silva..."
She runs.