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Leon gets the feeling Gloria’s mother doesn’t like him.
Sure, Mrs. Taylor greets him cheerfully and welcomes him in, but whenever Leon turns, he feels her eyes judging him. She knew that Gloria had nearly died because of him, right? She had to know.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Mrs. Taylor says. “She’ll be ready in a minute.”
Gloria steps downstairs a few seconds later. She’s wearing his uniform — no, it’s the Champion’s uniform, which means it’s hers now, he has to remember that. She has a cap like his, but hers is pink and silver instead of black and gold. The outfit suits her dark skin the way it suited Leon’s. For a moment, he almost feels like he’s looking in a mirror.
(When he’d come home after the championship match, he found a tear in his uniform, on the right shoulder. It was the first time he could remember actually damaging it, and it was right after getting beat twice in a row. Talk about metaphors.)
“Hey, Champion. How are things?”
Gloria meets his eyes, then looks to the side. It’s a habit of hers, he’s noticed. It always makes her look like she’s checking for a dialogue option.
“Hi,” she says. “Where’s Hop?”
“He’s on his way. I just wanted to come a little earlier, because… well, you know, in case I got lost.”
She nods.
They sit in the living room. Mrs. Taylor brings them tea.
Gloria puts three sugar cubes in hers. (Funny enough, that how Hop likes his, too.)
“So, Champion, how are you holding up? Is there anything I can help you with?”
Her gaze is trained on the steam rising from her cup. “In the Circhester gym, when you pass a floor, you get to see where all the traps were behind you.”
(She and Hop really do share a brain cell, don’t they?)
“I remember that, yeah.”
“After the Darkest Day, when you were recovering, I kept thinking of how close I’d been to danger this whole time. But it wasn’t even me who was in danger for most of it, was it? It was you.”
“I… don’t think I get what you’re saying there, mate.”
“Chairman Rose was using you, the same way he was using Bede. You were a kid, and he endorsed you and supported you, but when it came down to it, he was perfectly willing to risk you dying against — that thing. Because you were the unbeatable champion, and you acted like you could do anything.”
(When Leon rushed in the tower, Rose had smirked. “So the hero comes to rescue the princess from the dragon, hm?”
“Rose,” Leon had said. “What the fuck.”)
Leon puts a hand on her shoulder. “Grown-ups are weird. You don’t have to worry about Rose anymore, though. He’s in jail now, remember? Besides, I was unbeatable — up until you, of course!”
Her expression can be best described as unimpressed. “I know you let me win the championship match.”
“...what?”
She looks at him, unflinchingly meeting his eyes. “You were limping when you walked on the pitch. When you threw your pokeballs, you didn’t stretch your arm out all the way. You got hurt, didn’t you? You weren’t at full strength and you knew it.”
Wouldn’t that be a convenient excuse. But that’s not how being the unbeatable champion works.
“Gloria, I chose to battle you because I was sure I could give you a champion match. I wouldn’t insult you with anything less.”
“I know… but when we were battling, I kept seeing your injuries. And I kept thinking… if I lost, and you kept being Champion, you would feel like you had to keep diving headfirst into Galar’s problems, right? And it was only a matter of time until you got worn down or caught off guard and something went bad.”
It’s funny. He doesn’t remember her ever talking so much.
She’s not done, either: “When you were in the hospital, Hop was so worried about you. You were out cold, and we didn’t know if you would ever wake up.”
She drinks her tea, a long sip. Leon sees tears forming in her eyes. “Everything turned out fine, but… I’m looking ahead, and all I can think is… how many more pitfalls are there, where I can’t see?” Her voice cracks. “I — I’m scared, Leon.”
Perhaps overhearing Gloria’s words, Mrs. Taylor appears from the other room. She takes a seat next to her daughter and hugs her. She and Leon make eye contact.
He wants to apologize. He’s not sure how.
It’s at that moment that there’s a knock on the door, and Hop bounces in without waiting for an answer.
“Hey, Gloria! How’s — oh.”
Leon puts on a smile, waves him over. Hop comes close, then, hesitating, climbs on the couch between Leon and Gloria. He’s half-sitting in Leon’s lap, but that’s okay.
“Cuddle pile?” Hop says.
“Cuddle pile,” Gloria replies.
Oh, Arceus. They’re so young.
When Leon had imagined losing — as a hypothetical, sometime in the far future — he’d always pictured losing to Raihan, or someone like him. Someone grown, someone with the maturity and experience to be able to handle themselves as a regional icon and guardian.
Instead, Galar’s new heroes are a couple of kids still young enough to enjoy cuddle piles.
Leon watches as Hop and Gloria whisper in each others’ ears. He wonders what they’re talking about. He doesn’t try to listen in, though. Instead, he leans back, lets himself get lost in thought.
He’s healing well, but what next?
He’s not Champion Leon anymore.
He has no official responsibility toward Galar.
But he’s still big brother Lee, and he resolves to be there for these kids.
“Hey,” he tells them, “You guys keep growing and getting stronger, yeah? If you fight together, you’ll never have to worry. And if you ever need anything — I’ll be there for you. I’ll fight for you.”
Hop nods. Gloria wipes the tears from her eyes.
Yeah, they’ll be okay.