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"Come on, Miss!" Sun blurted out, catching up with Moon. They were at the beach in Melemele Island near Professor Kukui's house. The Saver was walking with the Mixer whilst the latter had a binder in hand and her eyes were focused on it.
"Courier," Moon spoke, her eyes still on the paper attached to the binder. "I only came here to Alola for my thesis. I barely have time to—"
"It's just for a day!" the boy begged and the young doctor reacted with an exasperated exhale. If she kept on declining, she had a feeling that he wouldn't stop bothering her.
"I guess a few hours would do, but—"
"No, no, no!" he interrupted and Moon felt like throwing some sand in his face just like before. "You have to be free for an entire day!"
The girl raised an eyebrow. He had to realize that she didn't come here for a vacation, right? "What do you mean, Sun?" she asked, hoping he could get a hint that she was deadly serious by stating his birth name.
Sun smiled and the Mixer hoped that whatever would come out of his mouth wouldn't be stupid.
"It's a surprise, Moon! You have to wait!"
Moon never liked guessing games but with Sun addressing her first name, she knew that he, too, was also not joking. She gave in and agreed.
It was only for a day, right?
The Next Day
Melemele Island
Hau'oli City
10:00 PM
Moon never liked predicting; she was a scholar to begin with, and she preferred to study, read, or understand the evidence before she could give a definite answer. It wasn't for Sun to be this...secretive too. From what she knew, he stopped doing so the moment he was able to move on from his grief.
Though, she was a tad worried about this little 'surprise' he had in store. If it was a prank, she wouldn't hesitate to shoot his head with her bow and arrow.
"Miss!" Sun waved at her. He was wearing his casual attire of t-shirt and shorts. He wasn't wearing his bucket hat and his short hair was flowing freely with the Alolan breeze. "Ready to go?"
The foreigner just nodded. "Where are we going anyway?"
He grabbed her hand yet he immediately let go. The young scholar could've sworn she saw his face heat up, but it was probably her imagination. "W-Well," he choked, a hand went to his head to scratch it.
"Let's go to the mall and buy some yukatas! I heard there's gonna be a fireworks display later and I was thinking we can view it with a yukata, ya know?"
Moon folded her arms across her chest, as she walked along with him. "Isn't our current attire enough?"
"No!" the teenager immediately rejected, but he lowered his tone, laughing nervously. "I mean, Lillie said we're required to wear yukatas since that place only lets people with yukatas in!"
The Mixer shook her head. He wasn't making any sense, but she guessed she'd just go with the flow. "How about your money? Do you have enough?"
The Saver bobbed his head. "I no longer have to save money to pay a debt, so it's all good!"
They stopped by at the mall and Sun didn't falter taking her to the yukata and kimono section. There were a lot to choose from, but Moon was a woman who didn't like wasting her time. She grabbed a purple yukata, as a saleslady approached them with a smile.
"Would you like to try it in the fitting room, miss?" she gestured to her right, showing the fitting room a few yards away. She then looked at the other teenager. "How about you, sir? Have you chosen which yukata you like?"
Sun blinked. "Uhh, not yet," he answered truthfully. "What color do you think I should have?"
"A golden yellow fits you!" the oldest woman chirped then giggled. "I'll get one about your size while you too go to the fitting room."
The two teenagers just looked at each other and did as they were told. The boy stood outside of the room while Moon took her time to try it. The saleslady came in and gave Sun his own yukata.
As the boy was about to enter the vacant fitting room, Moon came out with the yukata she just tried. She was quite embarrassed; she barely wore these despite the fact that she was 'rich' enough to afford them.
"How much is that, lady?" the Saver asked.
"The whole package is 5500 yen!"
Sun gulped, as his body started sweating and his legs became wobbly. "P-Purple is not your color anyway, Miss! C-Can you try a cheaper one?"
Moon's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Are you serious?"
He nodded, but she could tell that he was only trying to save money. She facepalmed.
"How much is your budget?"
He dropped his head, giving in. "5000 yen."
She knew it. She was aware that his salary wasn't that big and he enjoyed doing small jobs, but he really needed to bring extras, especially when they would buy these kinds of things. Yukatas may be cheaper than kimonos, but they were still a bit costly.
"I'll pay for both."
His eyes widened. "But—"
"Try that on before I refuse to wear these later."
He was silent for a moment, but he ended up nodding.
Moon couldn't help but notice that Sun tried to make it up to her. The moment they finished buying those items, they opted to wear them as they explored the island.
She had been to Alola; heck, she helped save this region from the Ultra Beasts, but she'd never noticed how much things changed for the past six years. There were certainly a lot of food stalls now and while she tried to politely (or harshly) decline Sun's offer to treat her some food, she ended up agreeing just so he could shut up.
She had a feeling that he was doing this to make it up for the clothes and whenever she asked him, Sun could only reply with a smile.
She opted to take that as a yes.
Nonetheless, she enjoyed this simple and stress-free time she had with him. It was a nice change from her thesis.
They made it to Melemele Meadows and Moon didn't notice how time passed by quickly. Everything was starting to dim, indicating that it was nighttime, but the girl couldn't help but adore how beautiful the flowers were.
She was always the 'serious' one between her and her sister. After all, she never laughed at her sister's best friends' jokes. Her sense of humor was beyond their understanding and she believed that, mostly because of her vast intellect.
She lowered her body and let her knees touch the ground whilst tucking her feet under her legs. She inspected the flower and smiled. "This is interesting," she mumbled.
Sun perked up and stood behind her.
"With enough research, this flower could be used for medicines," she rambled and went on and on and on about it. Sun was just there, watching her. What she didn't notice was his genuine cat-like smile. She was aware, though, of her constant ranting.
She shut her mouth and blushed from embarrassment. "I talk a lot when it comes to this," she excused.
He smiled and it almost imitated an Alolan Meowth's grin. "That's okay, Miss!" he reassured. "I couldn't understand what you said!"
Moon's face fell. Her lips formed into a pout, as her veins pulsed in her temple. She wanted to shove some flowers in his mouth but tried her hardest not to. She did owe him for giving her a stress-free day and despite his annoying replies, she did enjoy spending her time with him.
They barely spent time together and this moment made it extra special.
Sun was about to open his mouth, but the fireworks cracking and lighting up in the sky interrupted him. Moon stood up from her seat and fixed her eyes at the horizon.
Different colors of the fireworks exploded and some even formed into Pokemon-shaped like a Pikachu, a Litten, a Rowlet, a Poplio, and so much more before dissipating. She was a tad bummed that there weren't any Poison types, but she appreciated the show.
"Say, Miss," he called, but the girl just hummed with her still viewing the sky. "Can I tell you something?"
The Mixer was curious, so she looked at him. "What is it?"
He was nervous and that was a dead giveaway, but Moon let it slide. "The fireworks look nice, huh?"
Her brows furrowed.
What was he trying to say? It sounded so anticlimactic and of course, she liked the fireworks! She knew how to acknowledge such! "They do," she replied, hoping she didn't sound rude or irked. "I barely see them, though. I'm always busy studying or reading references for my thesis."
"All you do is study!" Sun laughed and Moon swore she wanted to smack his face with her hand. "Ever tried having fun?"
She rolled her eyes and grumbled. She was absolutely offended. "I do have a sense of humor."
The boy laughed and Moon was so close to grabbing her bow and arrow. "Really? Moon? Having a sense of humor?" he chortled even louder and she was beyond vexed. "What world am I living in—Ow!"
He rubbed his shoulder while closing his left eye. It didn't hurt that much, though. Moon was just teasing, but maybe she elbowed him a bit harder because he was beyond infuriating.
"And you're still the same cheapskate I know. You don't even have a debt!"
"I know!" Sun happily chirped. "But I got used to it, ya know?"
Moon wasn't insulted this time; she just giggled with Sun cackling with her.
"It's really nice to be here in Alola again," she addressed. "I always knew I'll go back here to work on my thesis."
"I remember you mentioning that you don't like it here."
"That was before," she corrected with a smile; a rare one in her standards. "I made good friends here. You, Lillie, Hau, Lana, Kiawe, Mallow, and even Gladion. It's not so bad here after all."
He bobbed his head and they were silent for a few moments until Sun took a deep breath. If Moon were going to be honest, she never had this kind of conversation with Sun. If anything, she surprisingly enjoyed it. It felt nice.
"Since you like it here so much, why not stay?"
She blinked at his sudden offer but shook her head. "I couldn't. I need to—"
"No," he interjected with a smile. "as in stay here from time to time."
She was baffled. "What do you mean?"
The boy threw his head back and laughed. "Man, I feel so stupid," he chortled. "You see, Guzma said—"
"Guzma?" she asked, raising her voice. "I thought you two don't get along?"
"He's cool now!" he defended, but she didn't buy that excuse. Nevertheless, she let him continue.
"He said I should be smooth or tough but you know what, I can't do this anymore!"
She was beyond confused. What was he even talking about? To her immense shock, he smiled and placed both hands on her shoulders.
"I like you, Miss. Like, like like you," he confessed and Moon's cheeks couldn't help but turn red like a Tamato Berry. She turned her head, scoffing.
"All of this for a confession?"
Sun withdrew his arms, as one hand rubbed the back of his neck. "I tried."
She ended up giggling.
Frankly, she did appreciate him and developed some feelings for him during that six-month of isolation in Ultra Space. She shrugged it off, for she had to focus on her thesis but somehow, her childhood crush returned for this...handsome nuisance. She smiled for the first time. "You did okay."
The boy's smile converted to a grin. He draped one arm around her shoulder, as she leaned her head on his shoulder. Both watched the fireworks together, but neither paid attention and went back to conversing with each other.
Moon returned to Alola for her studies, but she guessed this was another good reason to come back here from time to time.