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Kukui had fallen asleep to the lulling sound of the ebbing tide, as he always had done for his whole life on the island. He had been so ready to get a full night of sleep, a rare luxury of the household, but of course the Tapus would have it that he wake up in the middle of the night for no reason.
Settling with his unfortunate fate, he rolled to the other side of his bed. Of course Burnet was there, breathing in and out peacefully. He really wanted to envy her for getting sleep, but he knew she needed it as much as he did.
He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and got out of bed. He was already feeling better about waking up thanks to Burnet, she just had that effect on him. The covers were messed up so he fixed them to tuck his wife back in, knowing she liked it warm even in Alolan heat. He smiled to himself as he went to open the door, hoping to take in the night rather than let it go to waste. Only the door stopped a foot out with a thud and an “Ow!” from the other side.
Kukui didn't have time to think about what in the world happened because Ash revealed himself as the unfortunate door stop, rubbing his hand on the back of his head. "Ash? What are you doing?" He whisper-shouted at the poor boy standing in the hall.
"Sorry, I was sitting there," Ash whispered back. Kukui looked over his shoulder at Burnet to make sure she was still sleeping, and motioned for Ash to follow him to the main room.
"Why were you sitting there? It's the middle of the night!" He asked once they were far enough away.
Ash shrugged. "I couldn't sleep, so I don't know, I just went there."
Kukui sighed, there was no use trying to guess what went through Ash's mind. "Well, is your head okay?"
"Oh yeah, I'm fine," He responded as they made it to the kitchen. He stayed on the other side of the island watching Kukui grab milk and a pot for the stove. "Whatcha doin'?" He asked, leaning over the counter slightly.
Kukui glanced up at the boy, curious as always, and had to smile. "I'm making us some warm milk so we can go back to sleep," He explained, Ash’s face scrunching up.
"Oh, actually-" Ash started, only to be interrupted by his Professor.
"Ash, if you think I'm letting you stay up, you're crazy."
Ash let his shoulders slump instead of arguing, so Kukui kept heating the milk. He had it ready in a minute, all the while Ash watched him silently. He set down Ash’s mug in front of him and went to take a sip from his own.
"Now, I know you don't have school tomorrow, but - hey, what's the matter?" Kukui was about to lecture Ash, but the boy hadn’t even touched his milk.
Ash kept his eyes focused on the floor as he spoke, "Well, I know you just want me to go to bed, but I really don't like warm milk,” He brought his hands up and flopped them back down to his side, becoming frustrated. “And it's not like I'm trying to stay up, but, you know - it just happens!"
Kukui cursed himself, the poor boy wasn’t trying to make him upset on purpose. "Sorry, Ash. You tried to talk to me and I didn't listen, my bad," Ash looked back up at Kukui with wide eyes.
"It’s okay," he smiled, and Kukui felt worse for making the poor boy put up with his fatigued state.
"Here, why don't we go sit outside for a bit? " He offered, hoping he could make up for his behavior. Maybe that will work better than the milk, too, he thought to himself.
"Oh yeah, sure!" Ash accepted, setting his mug back down on the counter. Kukui breathed out in relief and let Ash lead the way to the front porch.
As soon as the door opened Kukui could smell the salty breeze. It was unusually chilly for Melemele this time of year, but he liked the way the air felt on his skin. Ash seemed to enjoy it too, leaning over the railing with his eyes closed, breathing in the atmosphere. Kukui joined him on the railing, maybe a small part of him wanted to see a glimpse of what Ash saw instead of the same old ocean front he had known for forever.
"Professor?" Ash broke the silence, turning to face Kukui. "How come you couldn't sleep?"
"Oh, you know, it's one of those things,” He shrugged. “I was sleeping fine one second and then, boom, I wasn't."
"Hmm..." Ash turned back towards the water, deep in thought.
Kukui was about to ask him the same question before Ash interjected. "Hey, I know that one!" Ash pointed towards the sky. He followed his finger out to the stars, recognizing the constellation immediately. "It's...ugh, I can't remember!” Ash groaned, face palming his forehead.
"Why so upset?" Kukui asked gently.
"You see, my friend from Kalos is super smart, and he taught me all about the stars and stuff. But now I can't remember this one, even though it's, like, super famous," Ash waved his hands about, sighing in defeat.
Kukui shouldn't have been surprised to find out it was a simple reason as that, but of course he was. "Hey, it's alright. I'm sure your friend wouldn't mind if you forgot," He tried reassuring him.
"I guess so..." Ash reluctantly accepted what he said, becoming quiet once again. It was so unusual for Kukui to see the kid who bounced off walls during the day so reserved, yet he had to have known that he had a quieter side to him.
Kukui wasn't going to let him stay in his little slump though. "So...have you always known stars? Or was it just your friend that taught you?"
Ash thought about it for a second, "Both, honestly. Traveling as long as I have been, you gotta take a look at 'em. Especially when you're sleeping outside," He shivered at that last part.
Kukui chuckled. "You've been camping for a while then?"
"Oh, totally. Me and Pikachu have been at it since Viridian Forest all those years ago. It was so much fun getting to travel everywhere and meet a bunch of new people, you know?" Ash paused, as happy as he seemed going through his old memories, his smile was hinting at sad. "I kinda miss it, now that I'm thinking about it."
Kukui panicked internally. Ash? Leaving? So soon? He wanted to say something, anything to protest him leaving, as selfish as it was. Ash must have been able to read him though, and beat him to the punch.
"Don't worry, Professor. I'm not gonna leave Alola just to travel somewhere else. I like it here too much to do that!"
All he could do was let his mouth hang open as he processed what Ash had said. He realized how stupid he must of looked and shut his mouth, his paranoia still knotting his stomach.
"Really?"
"Of course! The Pokemon School is so much fun, and so is the rest of Alola. All my friends are awesome, and I even get to live with you and Burnet!" Ash answered, definitely more sure of himself than Kukui felt.
He blinked at Ash, feeling his throat get tight. Oh gosh, why did he have to get emotional right then? "I'm glad you think so," He choked out, going to leave it at that, but he thought he should say what he wanted to while he still had the resolve in him. "Burnet and I are happy that you get to stay with us too, Ash. I really love having you here."
Ash stared at him blankly for a second, and Kukui could feel the paranoia creeping back up inside him. He started to turn away, but he was stopped with Ash charging against his middle, squeezing him tight. Oh, he's hugging me .
His thoughts finally caught up, he returned the hug in full force.
"Thank you, Professor," Ash said, muffled from his face in Kukui's chest.
"Of course, Ash. Anything you need, I'm here."
They stood like that for a few more seconds before Ash let go and stepped back. He was about to say something until he yawned instead. Kukui stifled a laugh, this was Ash after all.
"Ready to go to bed now?" He asked, Ash nodded and started yawning some more. He laughed out loud this time and let Ash lead the way back into the house. He stopped and watched him sleepily climb the ladder to make sure he didn’t hurt himself. He made it up fine, thankfully, and turned back towards the professor to wave.
"Night, Ash. Don't forget what I said out there, alright?"
Ash gave a thumbs-up over the edge of the loft. "'Course, Professor. Love you.”
Kukui didn't think Ash realized what he said at first, but his ever-growing grin was proof that he did know, and he meant it.
Kukui’s heart was about to jump outside of his chest.
He wanted to be upset that Ash had beat him to saying it, but his happiness was more than enough to just want to say it back. "I love you too," He said, the words feeling like the most natural thing in the world as they came out of his mouth.
Ash smiled again. "G'night," He waved one last time before disappearing behind the banister.
As soon as Ash was gone, Kukui felt his giddiness leave and his fatigue return. He figured it was a good time as ever to head back to bed with Ash already doing just that, so he followed suit.
He crept back down the hallway to his bedroom door, taking care to open it slowly. That didn't stop it from creaking, however, and he could only hope it wasn't loud enough to wake Burnet. He opened it the rest of the way to see her stirring in bed.
"...'Kui? Is that you?" She mumbled.
"Yeah, sorry for waking you." He said, climbing under the covers.
She immediately pulled him closer and wrapped his arms around her torso. "Eh, it's okay. I think my intuition told me that I needed to see my husband."
"Is that so?" He asked, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips.
He let the two of them fall back asleep in each other's arms, not before figuring out his own intuition woke him up for just the same reason, only for a different someone.