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"As much as I hate to say this, you sometimes have the stupidest ideas imaginable, Gladion."
"You know this is not my fault."
"Well, then it must have been some ghost that dragged me into this closet!" At a hand's distance from him, he hears her sigh irritably. He can see her crossing her arms through the small crack of sunlight filtering through the not so closed doors.
Gladion himself hates to admit that this might have been his fault. Moon and him had been hanging out in his house, doing actually nothing incriminating. In fact, he's sure they were probably talking of cookie recipes – and consequently arguing over which recipe was best. He truly likes trying to one-up her at anything considering she is unbeatable at Pokémon battles already.
And in the middle of their lukewarm discussion, the front door to the Aether Mansion had clicked open and Gladion, ever so attentive and quick on his feet, had all but graciously grabbed her arm and rushed to a closet in the closest room possible, which had been, alas, Lillie's bedroom.
As Lillie had come back from Kanto a few weeks ago, the space was not full of clothes yet. Most of her stuff still remained in Kukui's hut for her to pick up in the future.
When Moon had recovered from her stupor and Gladion had closed the doors, all she had done is very fairly question his motives. It's not like whoever had come home had caught them making out or having a sword fight.
Which led to the current problem.
When the knob had twisted, he had known that it would probably be Lillie coming, and her seeing them alone in the house would have unraveled a torrent of tease and questions from the ever so curious girl. Gladion just wanted to save himself from that embarrassment.
So now here he is. Alone in a very tight closet with the Champion of Alola. If he stretches his arm, he will probably be able to touch the other end of the space, right where Moon is leaning.
Moon sighs again. She shifts a little to peep through the little crack between the doors. "Who could it be?"
"My best bet is Lillie. I think she went out shopping earlier." There's resignation in his voice, making her think this is more of a problem than a hobby.
Moon giggles under her breath, just loud enough for only him to hear. "I remember she was always dying to go shopping during my Island Challenge." Her shoulders sink in remembrance. "It's good to see some things don't change."
The other agrees with a small smile of his own, crooked to a side in knowing fondness. Then, his eyes open to peer at the girl in front of him, their bodies brushing with every breath they take. Damn his luck for picking the smallest closet in the room.
Moon has barely changed ever since the Island Challenge, at least physically speaking. She still keeps her hair short, combed enough to look neat but slightly disheveled to reflect that chaotic nature of hers. Her eyes are big and expectant, deeply charcoal with subtle hints of gray and brown scattered in her irises that glitter under the subtle sunset outside the closet. The scent of her floral perfume wafts and mingles with his inside the closet, roses and almonds mixed with sandalwood and mint.
She is still as cute as he remembers her. He has always been painfully aware of how attractive she is, but the subtle changes in her personality make her even more appealing to his eyes– and, more importantly, to his heart, even though it has taken him a long time to admit that to himself.
Where there once were chunks of sarcasm and a pinch of ego, a poised dignity and a trace of snarky attitude rest now. She is still childish to a fault, but the maturity in her actions and decisions give light to a very clever but impossibly odd woman.
No wonder he has thrown them to a closet. He would not have done this if she hadn't infected him with her antics. Her accusing him of being ridiculous is terribly ironic.
He hasn't realized that Moon is staring back at him pointedly, an eyebrow arched and a smirk tugging at her lips. "See anything you like, President?"
His jaw squares itself into mild embarrassment at that name, which she uses fairly often to tease him. She doesn't know it pleases him greatly to be addressed with such high nickname, but it also does terrible things to his judgment and cheeks, stinging them faintly.
Moon seems to see this through what little light that makes it into the closet and a chuckle escapes her. "Is me being so close that bad for you? I swear I showered this morning."
If he admits that he knows because has memorized the scent of her shampoo things will get worse, so he doesn't answer that part. "I'm just… not used to all this proximity." Gladion exhales shakily. "Not that I'm complaining, though."
Judging by the heavy pause in the air, she doesn't know how to react to this, and honestly nor does he. Such honest and blunt things rarely escape him unless she actually triggers what little flirting abilities he has, and that had been a completely uncalled for compliment.
But she doesn't seem annoyed by it. Mirth and mischief twinkle in her dark eyes, barely visible under the line of sunlight that falls across her face. "Didn't know being one step or two closer to the almighty President of the Aether Foundation would make him blush like that."
Moon flutters her eyelashes innocently and he backs himself further against the wooden surface by instinct. Gladion knows she is just teasing, skating over the thin layer of flirtatious quips they have at some point established for their private meetings. It's nothing serious, nothing he should be reacting so badly to.
But he gulps. And curses her for being so collected and almost smug when he is so tense about her proximity. It might be because this means nothing to her yet it's a big deal for Gladion.
Next thing he knows, she is leaning forward a little and slanting her hand by his shoulder, her chest moving against his as she looks up at him with a vibrant smile, leaning towards smugness and a pinch of evil. Gladion has grown a bit in recent years, enough for him to be good inches above her.
"You can be so annoying sometimes, Moon," he says, regretting the lack of punch in his statement immediately. In their position, with him backed up and her leaning a bit too close, the sunlight doesn't hit her that well anymore.
"I know," she admits, not ashamed in the slightest. "Is it really that bad that I'm a bit closer now?"
She is like a fisher, throwing baits over and over that he has always refused to bite into. Their flirtatious demeanor is less one-sided than what may seem, with her being much more forward in her ways and him being more subtle and unexpected in his. Whenever she takes the step to flirt with him, he usually dismisses it as her being merely playful.
But never in those occasions was she this close. This daring. As if it was not a game. And he realizes abruptly, with her staring at him so recklessly, that two can play that game. Even if it requires breaking a rule or two.
Gladion clears his throat, and when he speaks again, he sounds much more resolute than he feels. "So what if it's a big deal? It's not every day that a girl like you corners me like this, Moon."
The comeback clearly takes her aback, her body twitching and eliciting a smirk out of him. It takes her a bit to come up with an answer, to scramble herself back to confidence and pride. Taunting, she presses herself a bit closer to him. "Oh? A girl like me? What do you mean with that, President?"
A girl as pretty, as confident, as stupid, reckless and childish as her.
"A girl as obnoxious as you," he deadpans, but the shake of his body betrays a certain thrill as she clearly doesn't believe that lie. She knows him so well it's scary at this point.
"Your cheeks are very red for this obnoxious girl you speak of, though," Moon murmurs, almost in a daze. Unbeknownst to her, she is just as beet red (or more) as him, bright eyes diving into his.
"Are you calling me a liar?" She slowly nods. "You still seem very interested in a liar like me."
"What can I say? My judgment is severely flawed."
Gladion gulps at how easy she goes along with it, at how her warm body is touching with his in a way barely classifies as platonic anymore. He feels her tug at one of the strings of his black sweater, rolling it around her index finger.
"If your judgment is so skewed, maybe you should pull away," he whispers, eyes falling to take a glimpse of her lips in the dim darkness, catching the color of pink and her teeth biting into her bottom lip. "I wouldn't want you to do something you might regret."
A well-paced warning. A path for her to walk away. For her to not push him any further before he gives in, because she surely does not know what she is doing to him in this moment.
"Oh, yeah?" Barely a breath. A sigh, almost lustful, teasing. "And what are you gonna do if I don't pull away?"
Gladion gazes at her with cloudy intensity, his resolve shaking as she leans an inch closer. It'd be easy to wrap his arms around her and pull her close, to give in, to throw away all the rules he has put himself through to not break the fragile platonic state of their friendship.
An impatient shaky hand rises, hovers over her hip. Shy but firm hands press on his chest, coal eyes staring at him in the darkness and inviting him to follow her, to break this silent pact of theirs.
Heavy breathing, her name in a stutter, his hand brushing her hip before a door opens somewhere in the door and they are shaken out of their lust-induced daze as a recognizable female voice talks to somebody.
"Yes, I just got home. Thank you so much for helping me take the bags to the ferry, Hau." It's Lillie. Bags are thrown to her bed. Gladion and Moon share a panicked look as steps come closer to the closet. "I'll be leaving all of these in the small wardrobe– yes, I'll call you again when I'm done!"
A hand on the handle of the wardrobe. A shared gulp, because bursting into sight and remaining there to be busted will have the same effect on the long run.
Light streams into the closet, doors splitting open. A blonde with a phone in her hands is smiling before she sees the couple pressed a bit too close, and her phone falls to the carpeted floor in shock and absolute unbidden confusion.
Gladion's voice comes as a mutter.
"This is not what it looks like."