Work Text:
Click. Click. Click.
Elio’s finger furiously taps on the shutter button of RotomDex’s Poké Finder, one eye squeezed shut as the other sharply hones in on the screen’s viewfinder.
He briefly stops, locking in his elbows to steady his hands’ clutch on the Pokémon-possessed device. One finger hovers patiently over the shutter. His bare knees sting with intense pain, digging into the rocky ledge beneath him, but he desperately tries to ignore it. He inhales and exhales, quietly as to not startle his subject.
The wild Cutiefly flits back into view, pausing to sip nectar from one of Melemele Meadow’s many yellow flowers.
Clickclickclickclick, the shutter sounds as Elio’s finger slams the button.
“Okay…” he mumbles, lowering RotomDex. “I think that’s good enough. I’m sure I got at least one good shot.”
“I’m pozzzzitive you did!” RotomDex assures with a grin. “You’ve been clicking away at that Cutiefly for about 20 minutes now, big boy!”
A light blush creeps onto Elio’s pale cheeks. He chuckles, scratching the back of his neck. “S-sorry about that, RotomDex… I didn’t mean to overwork you like that.”
“Zzzt.” The floating Pokémon flaps an arm in dismissal. “No need to apologize! You’re doing me a big favor by taking so many photos of Pokémon for my data! Now…” It drifts closer to its owner and taps one arm on its screen, bringing up the collection of photos. “Let’s take a look at these shotzzz!”
Elio’s dark gray eyes squint as RotomDex flicks through multiple shots of Cutiefly. As he studies each shot closely, his brain soaks in the minute details of each and every one.
“Ooh, this is a good one, zzt!”
“Hmm.” The way the boy’s mouth twists is more than enough of an answer. It’s just slightly out of focus; otherwise, it’d be perfect...
“This one’s pretty sharp!”
“The Pokémon is half-blinking, though…” Elio’s eyes droop in disappointment. Aside from that one detail, the photo is incredibly crisp, with enticing motion blur on the Cutiefly’s fluttering wings and yellow and green bokeh speckling the out-of-focus background.
“Zzzt,” RotomDex buzzes in slight annoyance. “You’re way too self-critical, boy. But I guess that’s part of being an artist, huh?”
Elio shrugs. He wants to retort that he’s way too hard on himself about everything, but he knows that would lead to a long lecture about staying optimistic, and loving himself, and so on and so forth. So, like usual, he decides to keep his mouth shut.
The screen slips to the next chronological shot, and the boy’s heart skips a beat.
“That one!” He jabs a finger at the shot. Unlike the last one, Cutiefly’s brown eyes are open wide, seeming to contain a glint of joy as its long, needle-like mouth slurps nectar from the flower. And this one follows the rule of thirds a lot better, he notes mentally, wondering if he just slightly moved his hands when snapping the shot to drastically improve the composition. “That one is perfect!”
RotomDex taps on its screen, and the photo is replaced with a green check-mark symbol. “Bzzt, then that one is getting uploaded! I’m sure it will get tons of attention!”
“Thanks, RotomDex!” Elio replies, beaming.
“Elio!”
Elio’s heart stops, then picks up again at a speedy pace when he hears the familiar voice. He turns on his heel to find Hau, his close friend, jogging in his direction with a wide grin on his face.
“Oh. H-hey, Hau!” he greets, trying to force an enthusiastic smile through his anxiety.
He and Hau have been good friends for so long, so why does he seem to grow more and more nervous around him? His heart pounds against his breastbone so hard, it genuinely hurts. He braces his arms around his torso to ease his shaking. Damn this stupid schoolboy crush…
Hau comes to a stop before him, his smile never fading. Elio swears that smile will make him go blind one of these days. “Heya, buddy! I was hoping I’d find you here!”
“Really? Did you need me for something?”
“Yeah―well, I mean, not for anything urgent, so don’t get too worried.” Laid back as ever, in stark contrast to Elio’s tension, Hau locks both hands on the back of his head and tucks one foot behind his opposite ankle. His gray eyes stare down Elio, looking thoughtful, and… maybe a little bit hopeful? “My Pokémon and I are worn out from training all day, and I thought I’d see if you’d be willing to hang out? I dropped by your house a while ago, and you weren’t there, and Selene told me you’d most likely be here, so…”
The mention of his younger sister makes Elio visualize her, winking and pointing finger-guns at him, a teasing grin plastered on her face. He isn’t sure whether to curse her or feel grateful to her.
A warning text message would’ve been nice, at least, so he could be mentally and emotionally prepared for this interaction…
It is when RotomDex jabs him in the shoulder that he realizes that they’ve been sitting in awkward silence for an uncomfortably long time, and Hau’s patiently awaiting a response from him.
“O-oh! Hanging out would be great! I was just… taking some photos of wild Pokémon, not doing anything too important.”
“Dude, cool! You always take the coolest photos, Elio! Did you get any good shots today?”
Elio shrugs nonchalantly. “A couple…”
“He got some amazzzing ones!” RotomDex swoops toward Hau, an arm already tapping away at its screen. Elio’s heart drops into his stomach.
Leaning close to the screen, Hau’s eyes glisten to match his radiant smile as RotomDex shows him the shot of the Cutiefly. His grin grows even wider when it clicks through the rest of Elio’s photos from the day: a curious Petilil peeking out through the sea of yellow flowers, a smiling Ribombee flying with the endless blue Alolan sky behind it, a hoard of Cottonee drifting over the horizon.
“Wowww!” he says, and Elio’s face feels like it’s about to catch fire. “These are all so pretty! You have such a good eye!”
“T-thanks, Hau… That really means a lot.”
“Hey, I have an idea.” Hau straightens his posture and spins on his feel, facing Elio again. “How about we let our Pokémon out to play, and you can take some photos of them? Wouldn’t that be fun?”
Taking in a slow breath, Elio averts his gaze to his feet, hesitating. I usually only take photos of wild Pokémon, to help with RotomDex’s data, he ponders, but… I really don’t wanna disappoint Hau. And I’d like to try to cherish this time with him... “Sure,” he answers finally, forcing himself to meet Hau’s eyes again. “I haven’t let my Pokémon out to play in a while.”
“Yay!” Hau jumps for joy before reaching into his bag and drawing out all five Poké Balls. Tossing them in the air, he shouts, “Alright, come on out, everybody!”
In a series of pops and flashes of light, Hau’s Primarina, Raichu, Komala, Vaporeon, and Crabominable appear along the ledge. They all simultaneously cry out in happiness upon being released from their balls.
Elio rummages in his backpack and pulls out the balls containing his own Pokémon. He hurls them, releasing his team in a flash of light. Torracat, Comfey, Mimikyu, Drampa, and Stufful smile and call out their names upon seeing their Trainer.
“Hey, guys,” Elio says, beaming, “it’s a beautiful day, so go have some fun!”
His Pokémon cheer in delight before most of them run to greet Hau’s Pokémon. Mimikyu prances over to Raichu and bounces excitedly, Comfey retreats into the field of flowers, and Stufful and Komala immediately start roughhousing, fighting over the Drowsing Pokémon’s log.
Torracat runs to Elio’s leg, soft purrs rumbling in its chest as it rubs against his leg. He crouches down to stroke the top of his starter Pokémon’s head.
“Pzzt, hey.” RotomDex drifts down to meet Elio at eye level, its voice a whisper. “I’m curious to know: why are you being so weird around Hau today?”
Elio’s gaze flits over to Hau in a panic. Seeing that he’s too occupied with greeting and petting their Pokémon and likely can’t hear the conversation, Elio quietly replies, “In case you haven’t noticed already, I, uh―I have a hopeless crush on him. Usually I’m fine around him, as long as I expect to run into him, but today… I didn’t see it coming. I really wish Selene had warned me that he was tracking me down…”
His eyes return to Hau for a moment, watching him run his hands down Drampa’s long neck and praise him with a bright smile, which clearly delights the Normal- and Dragon-type. Elio’s heart skips a beat, and he quickly returns his attention to Torracat, ducking his head to hide the blush creeping onto his pale face.
“I see…” RotomDex muses. “I understand that you’re… not good with people, Elio, but after all you and Hau have been through together, being around him shouldn’t be so hard!”
“Then why does it feel like it is?” The uncharacteristic firmness in Elio’s voice takes RotomDex aback. His hand slips from Torracat’s head to its neck before falling into his lap; the Fire Cat Pokémon’s face falls, its yellow eyes filling with concern as it gazes up at its Trainer.
Elio tucks his chin closer to his chest, trying to hide his face from his two Pokémon companions. He gulps, trying to keep his voice stable. “Feeling this way for Hau is so stressful. You have no idea how much I wish I could just relax around him…”
“Well, maybe… it’s hard becauzzze you make it hard?”
Slowly, Elio turns his head to look at RotomDex. His dark gray eyes look like storm clouds, and his cheeks are still flushed a pale shade of pink. “What do you mean by that?”
“You want to feel relaxed around him, right? Then relax!” The Pokémon-possessed device throws his arms outward in emphasis. “Trust me, Hau thinks the whole world of you, so when he’s around, just breathe and be yourself!”
They sit in silence for a moment. Elio sucks air in through his nose, then releases it out of his mouth, slowly. Torracat rubs its forehead against his hand, chirping softly, tickling him with its soft, red-and-black fur.
Anxiety still sits in his chest, but its burden is much lighter now. Its bind around his lungs loosens. The tension leaves his shoulders as his muscles relax. Just breathe, he reminds himself.
“You’re right. I-I’ll try to relax.” He manages a small smile. “Thank you…”
“Anytime, zzt!”
Torracat purrs happily, its face stretching with its smile.
The calming moment turns out to be short-lived, as a crashing sound and a duo of yelps from Hau and Primarina interrupt.
Elio’s eyes shoot up. Hau and his Primarina are nowhere in sight, but just a few feet away from the ledge, a shower of yellow petals drifts into the air from the flowery field, fluttering away in the wind.
“Hau!” Adrenaline rushes through Elio’s veins, and in a millisecond he finds himself jumping from the ledge into the sea of flowers, eyes scanning all around for Hau and his starter Pokémon. The flowers are so abundant that searching for anything in them is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. “Hau! Primarina! What happened?!”
Uproarious laughter catches his attention, and Hau’s head pops out from the sea of yellow. Primarina follows a second later, a flipper covering its face as it giggles alongside its Trainer.
“Are you two alright?!” Elio shuffles through the field, carefully as to not crush the flowers or step on any wild Pokémon in hiding. “Did you fall or something?”
Hau’s cackling ceases long enough for him to answer. “Nah, we jumped.”
Elio’s eyes bulge. “Why…?”
“Well―” Hau pauses to catch his breath after all the laughing. “I was looking out at all the flowers and thought, ‘Wow! It looks like a golden ocean! I feel like I could just dive right into them!’ Then, I thought, ‘There’s so many flowers, I’m sure they’d cushion the blow if I actually dove into them.’ And Primarina thought the same thing, apparently. So…” He giggled, a wide grin breaking out on his face. “We went ahead and did it! Turns out we were wrong about the flowers breaking our fall, though. It still hurt.”
Shoulders sinking, Elio heaves a sigh. “Jeez, Hau… Don’t give me a heart attack like that.”
“Hehe, sorry! Won’t happen again!”
As Hau averts his attention to Primarina, checking to see it’s not injured, Elio loses himself in his thoughts. Swanna-diving from a five-foot ledge for no reason other than “just because” was… ridiculous, and pretty dumb. Even if I had considered doing that, Elio thinks, I would’ve stopped myself, knowing that I would end up getting hurt. But Hau just gets an idea, and goes right ahead and does it, huh?
But, he tells himself, that’s one of Hau’s greatest strengths. He doesn’t fear taking risks, or failing, or getting hurt. That same “don’t worry or dwell on things, keep trying until I succeed” strategy of his had brought him far since the day Elio first met him―it brought him through the entire Island Challenge and the Pokémon League, and despite losing the title of Champion to Selene, he never stops training and challenging her to rematches. That mindset transformed him into a skilled, powerful, competent Pokémon Trainer.
Elio inhales, slowly through his nose, and exhales through his mouth, chanting his new internal mantra, Just breathe.
I really envy that about him… I need to tell myself to remain calm, and facing difficult situations takes even more thought. For Hau, it comes to him so easy, he probably doesn’t even have to think about it…
“Elio! Elio! Look, look, look!”
Elio doesn’t even have the chance to gain a grip on reality when Hau grabs him by the shoulders, spinning him around. Hau presses himself against Elio’s back, hand resting on one shoulder and chin placed on the opposite one, as he jabs a finger to a point in the distance.
Feeling the heat of Hau’s body against his own and his breath against his skin, Elio momentarily forgets RotomDex’s advice and how to focus his eyes. Just breathe… Breathe…! He calms himself enough to notice his Torracat prancing through the flowery field, paws swiping at his Ribombee in the air―the scene that Hau is indicating.
He debates intervening, assuming the Fire-type is bullying his other Pokémon as per usual.
Torracat pounces once again at Ribombee, who flits up further into the air out of reach. The Bee Fly Pokémon bursts into giggles when Elio’s starter Pokémon growls up at it in frustration. Oh, good… They’re just playing around. If anything, it’s Ribombee that is being the bully for a change.
Hau laughs at the scene, pulling his body away from Elio’s while still remaining close. “Isn’t that cute?! It’d make a really good photo, wouldn’t it?”
“Y-yeah…” Elio nods, but his mind lingers on how he misses feeling Hau’s body against his own.
For once, the contact had felt comfortable. It felt… nice.
Then, he returns to following through with Hau’s request. “Ay, RotomDex!” he calls out. “Fire up the Poké Finder!”
“I’m on it!” RotomDex zips from its place on the opposite side of the field and into its Trainer’s waiting hands. The display screen, with the Poké Finder open, shows the scene before them placed inside a three-by-three grid.
Elio takes a couple steps toward Torracat and Ribombee and lowers himself to one knee, fitting them inside his viewfinder. Dark gray eyes focus sharply on the two Pokémon. He waits, one finger patiently resting on the shutter button.
Torracat crouches low to the ground, rear end sticking upward, tail wagging in the air. Then, it leaps up, its paws drawn back in preparation to strike at Ribombee.
Clickclickclickclickclick. Elio pounds away at the button.
“How’d it turn out?” Hau excitedly runs to his side, bouncing in anticipation. “Lemme see!”
“Okay, just a sec…” Elio pulls up the shots on his screen and swipes through them. Hau watches with a giant grin and shining eyes as he watches the sequence of each action frozen in time: first, Torracat flying toward the air at Ribombee; then the Fire-type swinging at the Bug- and Fairy-type, who calmly drifts to the side to evade. Each shot that follows shows the aftermath of the failed attack: Torracat’s wide eyes, which transition to a furious glare as Ribombee pulls its tiny black hands to its mouth as it begins to laugh at the descending Fire Cat Pokémon.
“So cool!”
“Thanks,” Elio replies, blushing. “Action is hard to capture on camera, so I’m glad each shot looks so clear. But I’d have to say… this one is my favorite.” He swipes the photos on-screen back to the one showing the exact moment when Ribombee calmly evades Torracat’s mid-air attack.
“That’s my favorite, too! Looks like it should be in a magazine!”
Elio’s face grows redder; he turns away slightly and covers his face with his hand. “You’re too sweet, Hau…”
“Komala!”
Hau’s sudden scream, and the fury clinging to the name of the Pokémon he was calling, makes Elio nearly fall over in surprise. Panicked eyes glance at Hau, then follow his glaring gaze across the meadow.
In a tiny clearing amidst the flowers, Hau’s Komala is stumbling after Elio’s Stufful, chasing it in circles and swinging its log and crying out in rage. Whatever is transpiring, Drampa appears to be trying to defuse by slipping in between the two smaller Pokémon. However, this just seems to irritate Komala more , and the Placid Pokémon just narrowly dodges the log attempting to uppercut its head.
“Komala, knock it off right now!” Hau shrieks, and he takes off toward the scuffle, leaving Elio behind in his daze. “You’re going back in the ball if you can’t calm down! Hey―don’t you dare―!”
Before Hau can finish his warning, Komala’s log hammers down atop Drampa’s head with an ear-shattering crack.
The entire area seems to grow quiet after that―the other Pokémon stop playing, the wild Pokémon lurking nearby seem to vanish into the woods, and even the wind seems to have calmed in an instant.
Even from a distance, Elio sees the fire emerge in Drampa’s beady pink eyes.
“Drampa, don’t―!” he starts, lurching forward.
A light blue, rippling beam of energy shoots from Drampa’s gaping jaws, scorching Komala at point-blank range. The Drowsing Pokémon releases a high-pitched wail of pain and surprise as the blast sends it flying back several feet. Komala’s limp body crashes on the ground in a cloud of dust, ribbons of smoke rising from several patches of singed fur on its body.
Elio’s body tenses. “Oh, Arceus. Hau, I’m so sorry about that; Drampa tends to get―”
“Hey, it’s fine!” Hau replies, whipping around to face Elio with a wide grin and a hearty chuckle. Seeing this sight, Elio’s heart briefly stops. “Didn’t you see what Komala did? Drampa was just defending itself.” He shrugs, then pulls Komala’s Poké Ball from a pocket on his backpack and directs it to the knocked-out Pokémon, a red light summoning it back inside.
“Y-yeah, I guess you’re right…”
“Hey, remember what Drampa’s Pokédex entry says, zzzt?” RotomDex pipes in, still grasped in Elio’s hands. “It says that Drampa are usually very compassionate Pokémon, but if someone it cares about is bullied, it will find the bully’s house and”―its voice suddenly drops several octaves, speaking in a gruff, almost demonic tone that was very uncharacteristic of the Pokémon-possessed device―“burn it to the ground!”
Elio nearly drops the device out of shock. “RotomDex, what was that voice?! I’ve never heard you talk like that before…”
A loud snort escapes Hau’s mouth before he explodes into laughter. Unlike the uproarious laughter before, after jumping off the ledge with Primarina, his cackling was close to having no sound and accompanied by heavy intakes of breath. He nearly doubles over, catching himself by clasping his hands on his knees.
“W-wow, RotomDex,” Hau manages to say between giggles and gasps, “that’s so freaking dark!”
Elio blinks, watching in puzzled confusion as his friend laughs hysterically for what feels like forever. The display is so excessive, so dorky, so… Hau, that Elio couldn’t help but smile. Inside his chest, his heart constricts from the overwhelming warmth at seeing someone who means so much to him, being so happy and carefree.
He glances down at RotomDex in his hands, noticing the Poké Finder still open. He takes a breath, letting it out slowly, before raising the device in front of him.
Hau is standing upright again, wiping a tear from the corner of his closed eye. He’s still laughing, but with more sound now as his lungs begin to refill with air.
Elio fits the sight of Hau’s wide grin, flushed cheeks, and squinted eyes into the viewfinder and clicks the shutter button. Okay, one shot is enough. I’d die if he caught me…
But then, Hau runs a hand through his green hair. Elio mashes the shutter again.
And again, when the sunlight peeks out slightly more from behind the clouds above, bathing the boy in a golden light that complements his smile, his personality, his laugh, everything about him.
And again, when he calms down from his laughing fit enough to open his eyes, exposing his glistening gray eyes from behind his eyelids.
And again, when he opens his mouth and turns to Elio and―whoa wait.
“Hey, Elio!”
“What?!” Elio drops RotomDex―who is startled but quickly catches itself mid-air, returning to floating beside his Trainer after shooting the boy a glare for releasing it without warning.
Elio gives Hau his full attention. As if he wasn’t already doing that, except with the Poké Finder in front of his face. Oh, Arceus, taking photos of him like that was such a creepy thing to do...
Fortunately for him, Hau doesn’t seem to notice―or, if he does, he doesn’t care. “I’m getting pretty hungry. How about we head back to Hau’oli City and grab some malasadas for us and our Pokémon? I’ll even cover it, to make up for Komala hurting Drampa like that.” He giggles lightheartedly.
The other boy’s smile eases Elio’s nerves, and he manages a simper in return. “That’d be great, actually. But… you don’t need to pay for us or anything, really!”
“C’mon! I insist!”
“Well… how about we compromise: you can pay for yourself, your Pokémon, and my Drampa? Paying for every single one of us would get expensive…”
“Okay, deal. Except I’ll be paying for you, too!”
“Aww, Hau, you don’t need to―”
“It’s my treat! Plus, you bought me malasadas soooo many times when I was broke before. It’s time I return the favor!”
As the two boys playfully bicker amongst themselves and recall their Pokémon, RotomDex falls back, watching with a small smile. Then, its eyes glint mischievously as it pulls up the photos on its own display screen. He taps a few times, until his screen displays a green check-mark symbol.
“Posted~!”
“Elioooooo!”
Entering his home that evening, Elio is met with the obnoxiously loud voice of Selene before even seeing her face.
He finds her on the couch with Lillie, the TV in front of them playing a scene where a girl swings from obstacle to obstacle using her ridiculously long, blonde hair as a rope. Selene takes up the majority of the sitting space by stretching her legs out over the cushions, slouching with her head and back pressed up against her girlfriend.
Meanwhile, Lillie sits with perfect posture, knees bent at a perfect 90-degree angle, socked feet planted on the floor, and her hands caressing the cream-colored fur of their pet Meowth, who is fast asleep on her lap. This position is typical for Lillie, but it’s not like she has many choices on how to sit when she’s squished between Selene and the couch’s armrest.
“Hey, Selene. Hey, Lillie,” he greets as he shuts the door and proceeds to kick off his red sneakers. “What have you guys been up to today?”
“A Disney movie marathon,” Lillie says. “You can join us, if you’d like!”
“Yeah, but first…” Selene slams on the pause button on the remote. Her dark gray eyes lock with Elio’s matching pair as she simply commands, “Spill.”
“Spill… what?”
“The details, dummy! Tell us how things went with Hau today!” A smirk plays at her lips, and her eyebrows perform a strange, wave-like ripple along her forehead.
“Well, uh, today was…” He pauses, analyzing the events and emotions of the day and trying to find a word to perfectly describe it all.
At first, he was very anxious upon seeing Hau so unexpectedly. RotomDex helped him to relax and “just breathe,” and while things were still a little awkward, the interactions between him and Hau left him feeling like he was on cloud nine.
Finally, after months of shying away, he opened up to Hau a little more that day.
“Today was... great,” he finally finishes.
“Just great?” Selene replies, pressing.
Elio shrugs. “Overall, yeah. Things were a bit awkward at first, but then… we had a lot of fun together. I took some photos of our Pokémon playing, then we grabbed some malasadas, took a walk by the beach, and he walked me home.” His heart flutters as he recounts the events of the day. If the joy he was feeling didn’t feel so powerfully real, then he would’ve likely dismissed everything that happened as a very vivid dream.
“Awww, that’s so cute!” his sister drawls, and he cringes at the slight mocking tone of her voice.
“Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun!” Lillie adds, beaming. “We were looking at the photos that you posted a while ago, actually. Every single one was so beautiful! Both of us loved the ones you took of Hau!”
Elio’s emotional high immediately dissipates. “Wait… what did you say?”
“The photos you took of Hau. Where he looked like he was laughing?” Lillie’s smile gradually fades, her tone questioning as she realizes that he’s genuinely confused.
He has the feeling she can sense his impending panic attack, too.
Meowth hops down from Lillie's lap and scurries away, either sensing the tension in the room or growing bored after it stopped receiving attention from her.
Smartphone already in hand, Selene’s fingers tap furiously at the screen before she hands it to him. “These are the ones she’s talking about, bro.”
Sure enough, there are the collection of photos he took of Hau earlier that day, posted on social media for all friends, family, acquaintances―and most importantly, Hau―to see.
The hand holding the phone begins to tremble violently, along with the rest of his body. His heart pounds one mile per minute inside his chest, ready to break free from his ribcage.
“I-I didn’t post these…” he says, voice weak and hoarse. “No one―nobody was meant to see these…”
“Wait, so… you didn’t post them?” Lillie inquires. “Then, who…?”
“RotomDex.” Elio’s low voice comes out as a growl.
On command, the device pops its head out from the top pocket on his backpack. “Yes, zzt?” It peeks over its Trainer’s shoulder and sees the photos of Hau on the phone’s screen. “Oh, uh…”
Elio’s hard gaze looks back at RotomDex. “You did this… didn’t you?”
“Zzrt . Uh, well―whoops, my battery is dying! Gotta get some sleep, good night!” Panicking, it speaks at a rapid speed before vanishing back inside its pocket in a flash.
Selene rises from the couch and approaches her brother, hands outstretched. “Hey, Elio. Relax,” she says in a voice like honey, very unlike her usual loud, demanding tone. “Everything’s fine. Take a look at the comments and you’ll see that.”
“Comments?” Elio looks down at the phone again. He can’t get his hand to stop shaking, but he can make out the indicator at the bottom of the post that shows there’s eight or nine comments―he can’t make out the exact digit.
Right beside it, another states that there’s over 100 likes.
Oh, Arceus. His heart drops into his stomach. A shaking thumb hovers over the “Comments” tab, hesitating to click.
“My brother commented something rude,” Lillie quietly states, “just to warn you. Don’t pay him any mind!”
“It’s just Gladion being his usual snarky self, that’s all,” Selene adds with a laugh.
“And you just had to go and egg him on, too, didn’t you…?”
“What can I say? He’s fun to screw around with.”
After a minute, Elio finally summons the courage to click on the tab. The comments pull up on the screen.
Gladion
That’s a fucking weird looking Pokémon
Selene
it’s a wild Hau in his natural habitat!
Gladion
I bet the only move it knows is Splash :/
Selene
actually he has an ultimate z-move and it’s called “bein a fuckin ray of sunshine” and it’s super effective every time
Gladion
K but judging by Elio’s photos it looks like it makes a sound like a dying Seel so not worth catching imo
Hau
HEY. Rude :(((
Gladion
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hau saw it?! Elio’s stomach churns.
He swallows as he scrolls down to continue reading.
Hau
Omg I didn’t know you were taking photos of me! XD I love these photos almost as much as I love you, my incredibly talented friend ♥ Can I use one as my Trainer card photo pretty please??
Love…? His heart picks up its normal pace again, and his body stops shaking. The comment was oddly enough to reassure him and calm his anxiety.
“Oh… he’s not weirded out or anything…?” The phrase rolls off of Elio’s tongue sounding like a question.
With a smile, Selene shakes her head. “Nope! He loves them. Almost as much as he loves you!” She winks.
Elio chuckles slightly, handing her phone back to her. “As a friend…”
“Jeez, you’re dense.” He barely catches a glimpse of his sister rolling her eyes before she whirls around and throws herself back on the couch, plopping her head onto Lillie's lap. Lillie giggles as one hand runs through her girlfriend’s dark, silky locks, the other daintily pressing “play” on the remote to resume the movie.
Elio pulls his own phone from the pocket of his shorts, quickly opening the site and looking through the comments again. He taps “reply” beneath Hau’s comment.
What do I say…? His fingers dance as they hover over the on-screen keyboard.
Hesitantly, they begin typing a response:
“Of course you can! I’m so happy that you like them :)”
Thumb hovering over the “send”button, he pauses. Words from RotomDex, Hau, and Selene echo in his mind.
“Trust me, Hau thinks the whole world of you!”
“I love these photos almost as much as I love you, my incredibly talented friend~!”
“Jeez, you’re dense.”
Elio’s mind can’t help but focus more heavily on Selene’s words, and the way she rolled her eyes as she spoke those words. What does she mean by “dense”? Is she implying that… Hau likes me back?
Lost in thought, his thumbs move back down to the keyboard. He inhales, then exhales, as he furiously types away.
He doesn’t even consider all of the potentially bad outcomes as he presses “send” on the comment.
Hau
Omg I didn’t know you were taking photos of me! XD I love these photos almost as much as I love you, my incredibly talented friend ♥ Can I use one as my Trainer card photo pretty please??
Elio
Of course you can! I’m so happy that you like them :) You looked so adorable in that moment, I just couldn’t help but snap a few photos of you ♥
Rereading his own comment, a smile stretches across his face. Regret doesn’t overwhelm him, like he expected after taking such a risk. It’s Hau, so he just feels safe and warm.
He pictures Hau’s child-like face lighting up with his blinding grin, pink painting his tanned cheeks, his gray eyes shining like the sun filtering through rain clouds.
That’s how Elio imagines Hau would react when seeing the comment. Rather, he knows, because that’s how Hau is: carefree, understanding, and loving.
Elio decides, as he shoves Selene’s legs aside to settle onto the couch, This is a risk that I’ll be so glad I took.