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“Still looking?” Hau’s voice drifts from across her. After a few minutes, he himself trots over to the aisle she’s standing at, eyes widening at the selection of hoodies and sweatshirts and turtlenecks, slightly swaying on his heels.
“Oh, um, Moon? I already….got him a sweatshirt.”
“What the heck. I can’t find an original gift, sue me,” she sighs in defeat, taking a quick look inside the boy’s bag and pulling out a thick, dark red hoodie. “This is even the same thing I was looking to buy.”
“Guess great minds think alike, huh?” Hau grins. “Yeah, for starters, Lillie told me a few hints on what he likes. And we’ve also got a picnic at Melemele Meadow planned for his day off after his birthday. But..” His eyebrows wiggled suggestively, “..If you want, we can just leave him alone at your place~”
Moon smacks him with her elbow. “Not happening. We’re talking about Lillie’s brother here, and don’t forget that he’s actually much more shy than his sister. He just chooses to cover it up with a whole lotta emo.”
“Right,” says a familiar voice. The President’s sister walks towards them, accepting her boyfriend’s bear hug and approaching Moon after a full five minutes, also smiling a little too suggestively. “If you’re looking for my brother, he’s at the Paradise, working himself to the bone again. Good thing the next two days are free for him.” Her Ribombee makes light clicking noises in agreement, fluttering around to sit on Hau’s head. “I've got him a hoodie,” he begins, showing her the bag. She smiles in approval, nods and turns to Moon next. “So what have you got?”
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Nothing, Arceus damn it all.
Moon kicks a mound of slush before her. What was she supposed to get?! For Necrozma's sake, she was his best friend! She would know what he'd like as a present, wouldn't she?
Warm hoodies. Check. Hau's got one. A nice book. Wasn't Lillie getting him one? A relaxing day off. They've already planned it. A warm cup of Tapu Cocoa. Wicke must be making dozens already. A great battle. Sun will be waiting at the Champion's Throne.
Maybe she could give him a nice hug to cheer him up. He was secretly still very touch-starved and actually liked being held. But that would give away her annoyingly strong feelings and probably make him avoid her for the rest of his life.
She's still lost in thought when a bunch of hailstones begin to fall on her head, leaving her scrambling for shelter. And she's beginning to wonder if this is some cruel trick Arceus is playing on her, when she finds herself in one of the bright white trailers that signified the localised branches of the Aether Foundation. A few employees stare at her, but then they wave it off when they see the traces of the typical Alolan November rain and hail in her hair.
At the table, she sees a Pokémon wrapped almost entirely in a bundle. Strangely enough, even though it's swaddled in a thick-looking baby pink blanket, it's quaking. It's intriguing her curiosity, and she walks to the table. However, as soon as she reaches out, it cries out in distress. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"
"You might not wanna-Oh, hey, Moon."
Sun strides toward her and pats her shoulder, gesturing to the frightened Pokémon. "She was being bullied by her previous owner even though she was just a baby. Aether personnel and Colress helped rescue her a few days ago. I made sure the guy knew pure hell; he was a messed up little shit. Thanks to him, she cries whenever she's touched too roughly. They're not able to make any progress with her. She doesn't even want to eat or sleep."
Moon winces. She remembers a similar case-when Gladion was taming the second and third Type:Nulls. At first, they screeched, lashed out and scratched the living daylights out of him, but then they soon began to respond, especially with help from Silvally. That time, he seemed to be so calm and collected and patient, even when the slashes had begun to bleed. And when he finally smiled after the second Null let him touch it, her heart had just went Ah, shit.
And finally, the proverbial light bulb in her is shining with a vengeance.
"Sun?" she begins. "Could you get me a bigger blanket?"
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Aether Paradise is quieter than usual. WIcke greets her as soon as she enters and tells her to go to the Conservation Area, and there she finds the person she's looking for, surrounded by curious Pokémon with his sister beside him, presumably fussing over his simple birthday attire: a dark green turtleneck and black jeans. Hau is nearby too, his Primarina playing with a few Corsola in the pool. Sun walks before her, as he steps forward to shake the President's hand and claps him on the back as he winces and Lillie giggles. Hau joins them too, as Wicke arrives with a tray on which there's a plate with a small cake on it and, of course, a steaming mug of Tapu Cocoa. Moon gives the tiny red bundle to her Bewear with careful instructions on how to hold it, and approaches the festivities herself.
Lillie gives the plate to her after feeding her brother some cake, and as she scoops up a piece and lifts it up to his lips-he's almost too tall to do it-she swears he smiles a little brighter, but maybe that's just her imagination. The whole Conservation Area is almost empty except for them, the Pokémon, and a few employees, and Moon thinks that it's a perfect day for a birthday belonging to someone like Gladion, who loves peace and quiet. He really had changed in the last three years since she met him.
After he's done talking to Lillie and Hau and Sun after receiving his gifts, the latter two push him over to Moon, and he crashes into her, leaving both very red-faced, his one visible eye wide and looking at her as if to say, Please kill me. "Her gift's still due, Glads!" the Champion hoots before Wicke pulls them out of the area, leaving the two of them alone.
"So..." he begins awkwardly. Being his best friend and nothing more, she knows that he won't exactly ask for a gift, so she acts first. Gesturing for Bewear to walk forward, she very gently scoops the bundle up and hands it to him, observing his reaction.
First, a white, quivering snout pokes out of the blanket, and he carefully peels away the top of the blanket to reveal a tiny, white and shivering baby Alolan Vulpix in his arms. Gladion stills.
So does Moon. She's never seen him freeze up like this before, his visible eye wide as he lifts an equally tremulous hand and, very softly, touches the fluff on top of its head. It's trembling at the contact but he continues nevertheless, stroking its tiny little head. When she hears the sniffle and stifled sob, though, her face turns sharply upward to focus on him again.
His eyes are now rimmed with red and his face contorted, but he's smiling as he hugs the Pokémon close, his shoulders shaking almost as much as the baby fox itself. Sensing this, Silvally, Zoroark, and Lucario come closer too, sniffing and comforting him. The girl's heart feels oddly warm, and she just thinks, Screw it, as she steps forward and embraces him. Her insides are churning with Butterfree, but she doesn't mind one bit, taking all the risks she'd never take, if it was just for a moment of soul-soothing happiness that can only be associated with him. And it's absolute bliss, she feels, as his arm circles around her in return, with the sunshine, cool breeze and the comfort of their companions surrounding only the two of them. And for a split second in her wildest dreams, she feels his cheek brush against hers, his lips grazing her ear and staying there. Please, Arceus, let this never end-
The interruption comes with the snap of a camera shutter, and the sight of Sun and his Rotom, with Hau and his impossibly wide, toothy grin beside him. Further back, Lillie's about to squeal, her hands on her visibly flushed cheeks, and Wicke dabs at her eyes dramatically with a handkerchief, her hand over her heart.
As the two pull apart frantically with a confused squeak from the Vulpix, Moon notices her own massive blush, trying to cool her face down. "Uh....thanks," Gladion says, clearing his throat and leaning in, his lips brushing against her ear again. "About the picnic...How about we ditch them? Go somewhere..else and talk, but if you don't wa-"
"I'd love to..!" she replies, her voice two octaves higher than before, in a hushed whisper. He smiles that smile again, and Moon's heart goes Ah, shit, here we go again.
But she has a feeling she won't regret it one bit.