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"Why not stay in Lee's room?" Hop had said. "He never uses it, anyway."
As she lay there in Leon's bed, willing herself to sleep, Sonia was beginning to question whether taking Hop up on his offer had been such a good decision after all.
Long story short, Gran was having the house retrofitted while she went on a well-earned retirement trip. Sonia had been at the lab looking up hotels between research tasks when Hop—always eager to help—had come to her with an idea.
To tell the truth, she was amazed Leon didn't mind. But Hop had assured her she wouldn't have to worry.
The only thing weighing on her now was the thought of Leon himself.
Leon. Her childhood friend and rival.
Not rival. She had to let that go. It was embarrassing, really, when he'd never seen her as one.
But enough. Her unfinished Gym Challenge was a thing of the past. She'd since uncovered the true story of the Darkest Day and become a Galar-renowned author. What could he say about that?
What did it matter how Leon saw her, anyway?
Leon. That was the problem with this room. Everywhere she turned was Leon.
His stacks of magazines. His exercise equipment—or was it for training? The shirt she had on. His shirt. Oversized and faded, with the League logo on the front.
No, not like that. She'd borrowed (okay, taken) it upon opening her rucksack and finding that after planning out everything she was going to wear each day, she'd forgotten anything to sleep in at night. Leon didn't have to know.
His cap collection. Which had gotten a tad out of hand over the years. One thing was for sure. That was the last time he'd make fun of her makeup hauls.
…Of course it wasn't. But she'd give it to him straight back.
When he was around, that was. He really needed to drop in on his brother at the lab more often.
And her, too. Might as well, while he was at it.
Though knowing Leon, he'd high-five Hop and walk right on by her. Then play with Yamper for a bit. And then maybe acknowledge her existence eventually, after she'd thrown a book at him or something.
Not to get his attention. Just because he deserved it.
Leon. He was infuriating.
Leon walked the path to his house with laboured steps. So he'd overdone it in the Wild Area a little.
He'd meant to finish up much earlier. If he'd thought to let Charizard lead the way, he could have. But he'd made a wrong turn somewhere around the Giant's Cap. (Or was it the Giant's Seat? He'd never been able to keep those straight.) And now it was past midnight.
On the bright side, he'd wound up not far from home.
He'd decided to spend the night. Grinning inwardly, he swung open the front door, careful to be quiet about it. Just wait till he surprised his family the next day. It had been some time.
As he entered his room, he kicked off his boots, then tossed aside his cap and jacket. Never mind the mess. He could deal with that in the morning. What he needed right now was rest. His bed. Bed sounded great.
He unbuttoned his shirt and added it to the pile, and had almost started on his trousers when he noticed.
There was something there.
No, someone.
A Yamper leapt up from the floor, bounding toward him in an enthusiastic hello.
Sonia's Yamper.
He flicked on the lights at once.
Sonia woke up with a start. Leon was home. And he was—
"Why are you taking off your clothes?" Her hands flew to her eyes in an instant.
"Why are you in my bed?" The surprise in his voice outmatched even hers.
"I'm staying here, remember? House being redone? Gran on holiday?" She lowered her makeshift blindfold to find Leon with a blank look on his face. Didn't he know? "Hop told me it was fine!"
Laughing, Leon shook his head. "I think Hop forgot to tell me."
Sonia felt a blush come over her as the reality of the situation sunk in. She was in his room. Not only that. His bed. Leon was undressed from the waist up. And to put it mildly, that exercise equipment had done its job.
Don't. She wasn't going to stare at his Champion body.
Well, not Champion. Not anymore. Technically speaking. But one glance and—
Just don't. She could be mature about this. They were adults, weren't they?
Then why was he staring at her?
"Is that my shirt?"
Oh. Oh no. He didn't think—
"I left some things at home, all right? This was in here." She motioned to a chest of drawers, more frantically than she meant to. "You don't mind, do you?"
"What if I do?" He raised an eyebrow.
What did he mean by that?
"You'll just have to deal." Sonia faked a casual shrug, like this wasn't awkward in the slightest. "So what are you doing home so late?"
"Sleeping, I thought."
Right. She got up from the bed.
"No way." Leon's words were harsh, but the way he said them was anything but. "I'm not gonna kick you out in the dead of night."
"It's your room."
"It's fine. Just throw me a pillow."
It was not fine.
At least when Leon camped in the Wild Area he could seek out a comfortable patch of grass. But crashing on the floor? There was no right way to go about it.
So he rolled over for the hundredth time, trying and failing to find a position he wouldn't wake up from with a backache for days.
And then something occurred to him.
"Did you go through my stuff?"
"No." Sonia stifled a yawn. She'd been almost asleep, and then that.
"You went through my stuff. I just know it."
Sometimes she just couldn't with Leon. "Why would I go through your stuff?"
"You went in my drawers," he shot back.
"One drawer. One."
"How'd you know to look in that drawer?"
She let out an exhausted sigh. It was going to be a long night.
Leon shifted restlessly on the floor. This was not going to work.
"The moment I leave," he said, "you're gonna go through my stuff."
"Relax, Leon. I don't care about your stuff."
He didn't buy it. "That's exactly what you'd say if you were planning on going through my stuff."
"I'll put you up in a hotel," Leon offered. "Tomorrow, if you like."
"Seriously?" Sonia was tempted, with him showing no signs of quieting down. But she had to wonder... why?
"How do you feel about the Budew Drop Inn?"
"Dunno," she said. "Kinda far from the lab."
"The Rose of the Rondelands. Five stars."
"Even farther." She laughed to herself. Typical Leon. Zero sense of direction.
"Come on, Sonia. It could work."
"It's in Wyndon. Do you have any idea where that is?"
"There are these things called flying taxis," he informed her jokingly. "You might have heard of them."
The more he went on, the more it nagged at her suspicions. "You really don't want me going through your stuff, huh?"
"It's your desk, isn't it?"
Leon stiffened, but he kept his voice calm. "What about it?"
"The drawer on the bottom right."
He sat up straightaway. "I knew you went through my stuff!"
"I didn't. You just haven't taken your eyes off it, that's all."
She said it like she'd won. It was maddening.
"I wasn't aware you'd been watching me all night," he countered. "Am I that good to look at?"
"I think you'd look better with a pillow in your face."
Thwack.
Leon rubbed his forehead. Bloody hell. Sonia wasn't messing around.
"Now that you mention it…" He threw her pillow back harder, then his. If she wanted a fight…
But she didn't, and Leon lay uncomfortably on the rigid, now pillowless floor.
Maybe he ought to have kept one.
"…Sonia?"
"What?"
"Pass me another pillow?"
She'd thought he might ask that. "Too bad. I'm using them."
"No worries. I got it."
"Hey!"
Before she'd known what he was doing, Leon had yanked the pillow right out from under her head. The nerve.
"Honestly," he mock-scolded her. "Are you trying to wake Hop up or what?"
Honestly. He was one to talk.
"So how is Hop?" Leon wondered out loud.
He was proud of his brother, Champion Cup or not. But coming to realize you weren't going to make it all the way had to be tough.
Sonia would know.
"Full of energy," she answered. "Same old Hop. And learning a lot."
"Good on him."
"It's been great to have his help. Especially after what happened with that other assistant…"
He could imagine what she was thinking. "Don't beat yourself up over it."
"Thanks," she said.
"And look out for him for me, all right?"
"I already do."
Well, there was something Leon could relax about.
"So what's in the drawer?" Sonia persisted. If Leon thought he'd changed the subject…
Silence.
"You're not asleep. I can tell you're not asleep."
More silence.
Sonia stepped out of bed, daring him to stop her. "If you're so fast asleep, then maybe I'll just go open it, shall I?"
Leon caught her by the ankle, much to Yamper's dismay.
"Not asleep. Told you."
"Let me guess. More caps."
Leon could almost picture Sonia rolling her eyes as he replied. "You can never have too many caps."
"The key to the region of Galar."
"Could be fun."
"Self-help books," she guessed again. "How to deal when you're an insufferable ex-Champion who—"
"Took on the League and won, helped ward off the Darkest Day, and launched the Battle Tower we all know and love?"
"Gifts from your fangirls. Naughty ones."
"Nah." He grinned. The things that went on in her head. "Those I keep on me at all times."
"Ew."
"Gotcha."
"It has something to do with me, doesn't it?" As it dawned on Sonia, she felt wide awake. Once her curiosity got going, she was hard to stop.
"…Don't be ridiculous," he said.
But he'd hesitated.
"You're never home," she reasoned. "So whatever's in this drawer has been there a while."
"So?"
"Anyone could've opened it, and you wouldn't have been around to stop them. But now that I'm here…"
Leon chuckled, seemingly to himself. "This is why you're a professor and I'm not."
"Leon, I've been thinking," Sonia interrupted his restless sleep once more. "I'm not going to look in the drawer."
He exhaled in relief. It was about time.
"It was really nice of you to let me stay here," she said. "And I want you to know that I respect your privacy."
But wait. "Is this a trick?"
"No." And then the laughter came. "Maybe."
"You know what, Leon?"
"What?"
Sonia had arrived at a theory, and Leon wasn't going to like it. "I think deep down inside, you actually want me to look at your stuff."
"I think we both need some sleep."
He sounded downright knackered. She almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
"You didn't have to mention it," she pointed out.
"I wish I hadn't."
"I wouldn't have even known about it."
But Leon wasn't listening. "Can we sleep now? Is that too much to ask?"
Nighttime had come and gone, and Leon could see the dim beginnings of a sunrise forming outdoors. Well, so much for sleep.
There was no end to this. Unless he brought an end to it himself. And Sonia had said something that had made him think.
About what he wanted, deep down inside. As she'd so melodramatically put it.
He glanced over at her, tangled up in his sheets. He knew all too well what he wanted.
But damned if he was going to let on.
It was what it was. They'd grown up competing. In a way, they still were. Coming back home to greet everyone but her. Feigned indifference in return. Not him again. An ongoing battle—who could care less?
She was one move away from winning. He wasn't about to give in.
And for what?
Just months ago, Galar had narrowly avoided another Darkest Day. It had a way of putting things in perspective. Of making you realize what was important.
Not only that. After years as the Unbeatable Champion, he'd finally met defeat. And it had felt fine. Freeing, even. It was no great loss to lose. Perhaps he'd come to grow as a person.
…Pillow fighting aside, that was.
Leon rose from the floor with resolve. He was tired of thinking.
No, he was just tired.
They'd been playing this game long enough. Well, game over.
"Get up. I'm opening the drawer."
Here went nothing.
Sonia was up right away. Truth be told, she hadn't been sleeping.
Leon took a nondescript box from his desk and sat down on the bed beside her. Instinctively, she found herself twirling a lock of her hair around her finger—a nervous habit she could never quite shake.
"Is that from your fangirls?" she joked, trying her hardest to lighten things up. "Because I'm not in the mood for—"
He handed it to her with a smirk. "Kind of."
She thrust the box back at him.
"Open it. Trust me for once."
It wasn't very heavy. She lifted the lid and came face to face with… her face?
Her old League Card. The first one she'd ever printed.
At the Pokémon Center in Wedgehurst, not long after they'd begun their journey as trainers. His Charmander—how far it had come since then—had defeated her Yamper in a practice match.
You win this time, she'd scribbled on the card. But watch out!
So optimistic, she'd been.
That wasn't all. She'd made a lot of League Cards, back in the day. Leon had found it amusing—naturally. She'd had a tendency to get distracted by the shops (still did, if she was being honest) and there was always a new look to put to paper.
She waved from the streets of Motostoke, having survived their first disastrous trip into the Wild Area. You'd be lost without me.
Literally, she'd added in brackets.
Anyone could guess what had happened.
"You kept these?" she asked. "After all these years?"
Leon's expression was hard to read. "You weren't wrong."
Don't choke in the Champion Cup, she'd written with a smiley face, once he'd come out on top at the Hammerlocke Gym and qualified for the final hurdle. And she hadn't been able to resist an addendum.
P.S. You're lucky we don't have a Victory Road. I'd hate to lose you forever.
"Harsh." He laughed.
There was one more. She remembered it well—it had been her last. Right before she'd given up on the Gym Challenge for good.
She stood beneath the lights of Wyndon Stadium. Not to compete, just to watch. She hadn't made it quite that far.
But Leon had emerged victorious, and the crowd had gone wild for him.
It would never be the same.
Better not forget me now that you're Champion! The message was obvious. She'd hoped not everything would change.
"You didn't forget me." Her voice was faint with disbelief. "Clearly."
He'd gone quiet, leaning back against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling. Head in the clouds as usual. Or was the great Leon… embarrassed?
"Pass me my purse, will you?"
He obliged without a word. Sonia unzipped an inside pocket and carefully retrieved a card of his. Just one.
Leon had never had much time for League Cards. Too many battles to fight, too many things to learn. At least, until he'd risen to stardom and the League had started printing them en masse. Champion Leon, posing heroically in a logo-adorned cape.
But this one was different.
If he'd held the title of Champion then, it didn't show. He was Leon and nothing else, back home in Postwick for a few days of rest.
She'd taken his advice to heart. Don't let the Gym Challenge get you down. You'll find your way.
An incredulous grin spread across his features. "Hey, that's rare, you know. And you just have it sitting around in some bag."
She leaned back beside him, closer than she'd ever been. "I carry it with me. Always have."
Leon awoke to sunlight streaming through his window and Sonia at his side. They'd fallen asleep like that somehow, her head resting on his chest, his arm around her shoulders.
Which was all fine by him. If she wasn't going to get up, then neither was he.
And a loud, incessant knocking…
"Sonia?" Hop called through the closed door. "Are you coming to the lab or not?"
What time was it, anyway?
"Not," he whispered on instinct, and Sonia met his gaze, smiling conspiratorially.
"Take the day off," she called back, unmoving from him. "I happen to know you'll have a surprise visitor."
Leon closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him once more. They weren't going to get up.
Good.