Chapter Text
“It’s been ten years!” Selene exclaims, slamming her hands on the table. Why aren’t they listening to her?
“And? There’s no need! Other people-“ Hau begins, before Selene cuts him off with a glare.
“There are no other people, Hau! I’m the first person to be Alolan Champion, and I… I think it’s time for me to step down.”
An audible silence passes across Selene’s kitchen table. Hau crumples under her stare, while Gladion remains as stoic as ever. Why she chose these two to break the news to is anyone’s guess, though of course her parents were the first to know.
With the two of them moving back to Kanto, it’s time for Selene to move on too. This departure from the League has been a long time coming regardless of anyone else’s plans. Battling doesn’t give Selene the same thrill as it did before. What she’ll do instead is still to be decided, but at least she knows she’ll not be as bored as she is at the minute.
“If you don’t want to do it, why should you stay?” Gladion says eventually.
“That’s not helpful!” Hau retorts. “Especially not when you hate working at the Foundation. You’re just a hypocrite!”
“You know I have no choice in the matter,” comes Gladion’s cool tone. “If my mother were to return to Alola, I would gladly hand over the reins to her. For now, the Aether Foundation stays in my hands.”
“You’re about to become a kahuna,” Selene explains slowly, looking at Hau. “Gladion’s new plans for the Foundation are taking off. I’m… stuck. I’m doing the same job that I was when I was eleven, and I don’t…”
“You don’t want to become stuck permanently,” Gladion supplies. “Who will take over, then?”
“I don’t know,” she says honestly. “You’re the only one that’s come close to beating me in a battle, apart from maybe Kukui, and neither of you can do it. That just leaves… maybe a prodigy, or something. One of this year’s eleven-year-olds?”
“Unlikely,” Hau says. “There’s no one from Melemele going this year. There will be a few next year, and Kukui’s oldest the year after.”
“There are still three other islands,” Gladion points out.
“Numbers have been low across the board,” Selene says. “It’s been hard for us to even fill Trial Captain positions over the years. The Elite Four have been fine – when people age out of being Captains or they’re bored of being Kahunas, they can move up there. But none of them want to be Champion either, because they all have their own lives too.”
“And you don’t?” Gladion asks as Hau opens his mouth to ask the same question.
“No,” she replies, barking out a laugh. “When you’ve grown up doing this job… I don’t have a life. I only talk to you two and my parents and Kukui.”
“It seems you’ve made your mind up,” Hau mumbles. “Will you be at the festival in Iki Town?”
“I wouldn’t miss it. Even if someone does beat me between now and then, I will come as a spectator instead of as a Champion.”
“Weird to have a festival for the Island Challenge when no one from here is going, isn’t it?” Gladion asks, only to be met with two looks of disdain.
“It’s Hau’s… coronation?” Selene asks.
“Initiation,” he corrects. “When I’m formally recognised as Island Kahuna.”
“Oh. Well, good luck with that.”
“You won’t be there?”
“Sorry,” Gladion says, shaking his head. “Nights are busy all week with the new baby Pokémon from Poni Island.”
“Shame,” Hau says. “I was looking forward to having a battle with you for the exhibition match.”
“I’ll try to make it,” Gladion sighs, pretending that the challenge didn’t spark excitement. “For now, it’s back to the Foundation.”
“Don’t go telling people about what we discussed, either of you,” Selene warns. “It needs to stay quiet until I figure out how to find a replacement.”
Not even twenty-four hours pass between Gladion sitting in her kitchen and Selene heading to see him at Aether Paradise. In the past few years, they’ve struck up an unlikely friendship. While they got on most of the time between Lillie leaving and now, something changed between them at some point along the line, which neither of them has ever been able to figure out.
She lets herself in – none of the scientists will bother the Champion, even if it’s clear from her attire that she’s not there on official business. Regardless of whether or not she’s there to see Gladion, Aether Paradise has been a relaxing place ever since Lusamine’s departure ten years ago, and somewhere that Selene has frequently sought out.
“Hey,” she greets, hovering by Gladion’s office door. He sits on the floor, as he often does, back to the wall, book in his hands. “Working hard?”
“No,” he says honestly. “I’m taking a break.”
“Time for coffee with your favourite Alolan Champion?” She asks. Gladion rolls his eyes, but sets the book down and makes his way behind his desk, where the kettle sits. It says a lot that Selene has a mug here – not one brought by herself, but one purchased specifically by the CEO.
“You won’t be able to use that line soon,” Gladion points out.
“I’ll have to come up with something else,” she muses. “What about ‘the most beautiful person in Alola’?”
“I think Olivia would have a problem with you using that one.”
“I’m hurt! You think Olivia is more beautiful than I, Sir Gladion?”
“No,” he says honestly, keeping his back to Selene lest she spot the blush that takes over his cheeks. “But she would think that she is.”
Selene has no response to that other than to turn bright red herself. So much for being silly around him – usually the two of them can exchange banter like that for hours. It’s been a change from before, when they exchanged terse, serious conversation for years before either of them relaxed.
Gladion hands her coffee in her green mug, and she tries not to stare at him. He’s changed his hair recently, or maybe he’s gotten a new piercing. He looks different somehow, and she can’t quite put her finger on it.
He moves past her, back to his spot on the floor. She hovers by the desk until he pats the carpet beside him, and she scampers over, settling beside him. They sit in silence, as they so often do, both of them sipping at their coffee. Gladion reads his book, and Selene stares round the office at all the stuff he’s got hanging on the walls.
“Why are you really here?” He asks eventually, sliding a bookmark in near the end of the book.
“What do you mean?”
“You always want something when you come here. Information on rare Pokémon, or something. And it’s like you can’t ask me straight up, so you try to butter me up with a cup of coffee first.”
“That’s not true!” Selene splutters. “Gladion, I come here either to clear my head, or to hang out with you. All the rare Pokémon stuff is just… conversation.”
“Oh.”
“I like hanging out here. With you.”
“And it makes a good nap spot,” Gladion points out, rolling his eyes.
“You’ve read my mind!” Selene gasps in mock surprise.
This is another habit of theirs. Gladion will lock the office door and turn off the lights and procure two blankets from a locked cupboard under his desk. To anyone else, it looks suspicious, but Wicke has all rumours surrounding the two crushed under the heel as soon as someone mentions it. Neither of them get enough sleep thanks to their jobs, and a late afternoon nap is usually just the ticket.
“I would’ve napped at home today, but my parents are finishing packing,” Selene says, tucking her blanket neatly around her legs.
“When are they leaving?”
“Next week. The Iki Town party is kind of a farewell for them, too.”
“Ah. Is this you trying to guilt trip me into going again?”
“No! Hau already managed that.”
She grins at him, and though he rolls his eyes, there’s a hint of a smile there too. Feeling brave for once, Selene shuffles a little towards him and rests her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes in preparation for her nap.
“What are you doing?” Gladion whispers, voice strained.
“Trying to nap.”
It becomes clear to him that she has no intentions of moving - and he sighs, and tilts his head slightly so that he is leaning against her too. It’s surprisingly comfy, he finds, and locks that memory away, just in case. With Selene warm against him, it doesn’t take Gladion long to fall asleep.
When she awakes a while later, Gladion is gone, and her head is instead supported by Gladion’s blanket. How he moved her into that position without waking her she doesn’t understand, but when she breathes in, all she can smell is that familiar scent of her closest friend, bringing her comfort despite the fact that he’s gone.
By now, Selene thought that she might have been good at press conferences. But as she sits in front of the League’s official backdrop, many cameras in her face, she feels sick to her stomach. This is the end of her career as Alola League Champion, and all she can think about is how much she’s letting everyone down.
There are only three news channels in Alola, and all three of them have sent a camera crew. All the newspapers and magazines are here, with cameras and journalists. She saw the headlines this morning – even just calling the press conference sparked rumours.
“Hello,” she begins eventually, willing her mouth to make the words she wants to speak. “I have called everyone here today to announce that I intend to retire from my position as Alola League Champion.”
Cue hundreds of camera flashes and questions. Selene has already stated that she won’t be taking any questions, but that doesn’t stop reporters from trying.
“Some have stated before that I am unfair as a Champion, that I won’t let people win. This is why I have stayed for ten years. I also believe that the Island Challenge does not fully equip people to take on the Elite Four and Champion, as that is not what it was designed for.
“As such, we will be opening up the Alola League, on this one occasion, to trainers from all regions. Equivalents to the Island Challenge Amulet will be taken at registration for the League, such as eight gym badges. In my final weeks as Champion I will be working with the Trial Captains to incorporate more battles into the Island Challenge in an official capacity. Whoever beats me next will become the next permanent Alola League Champion.”
There’s a written statement too, ready to go as soon as she steps off the stage. And that she does – short and sweet, just as she planned. There are more cameras flashing as she steps away, a cacophony of questions from the reporters. She keeps her mouth firmly in a straight line, but one questions almost makes her stop in her tracks.
“Does this have anything to do with the Aether Foundation’s President?”
Sometimes when the intercom buzzes and someone tells Selene that there’s a challenger, she doesn’t even bother to prepare. There’s a certain tone in the receptionist’s voice that she’s learned to recognise over the years, one that denotes a particular challenger.
She moves from her office into the main room, and waits patiently as the four lights that denote each member of the Elite Four light up. In her ten years as Champion the top of Mount Lanakila has changed dramatically – now closed in, with a battle stage that’s roof comes off, and a small office off to one side.
Eventually, Gladion makes his way up the stairs, still in his Aether Paradise uniform. Usually he changes before challenging her if he’s here during the week. Something must be up, Selene reasons. She doesn’t bother with her usual speech – she did it once and he laughed at her (the first time she heard him laugh) and she never bothered again.
“Everything okay?” She asks, not sure if she wants to hear the answer.
“Yes. Well, with me anyway. How are you, after all of that yesterday?”
“You came all this way just to ask me if I’m okay?”
“Yes,” Gladion answers, suddenly aware that he may have overreacted, just a little.
“Do you want to battle?”
“I want to know how you are.”
“I’m fine,” Selene dismisses. “Do you want to battle?”
“No, not really. I just want to… make sure you’re actually okay.”
“Coffee, then?”
There’s not really any rule about actually having a battle, so Selene leads Gladion through to her office. It’s a lot more cramped than his space in Aether Paradise, but Gladion still manages to take a seat as Selene buzzes around, making drinks for both of them.
“What if you have another challenger?” Gladion asks. “Do I have to just hide out in here?”
“Probably, but we’re hardly going to have any. It’s been dead around here recently.”
“The receptionist doesn’t seem to like me.”
“That’s because you’re the only person she sees,” Selene points out. “And I’m really not joking, look.”
She turns a heavy book around to him, with the names of every challenger scrawled in Selene’s handwriting. The last seven challenges all belong to him, and he doesn’t even visit the League that often.
“Wow.”
“I know!”
Selene sets a mug down in front of Gladion, hot coffee, as much to his taste as she can manage with just instant coffee. He gives her a look, one she can’t quite figure out, before shifting his eyes away.
“I’m still not convinced that everything is okay with you,” Selene says gently.
“I… I’m just a little frustrated that I can’t do more to help here.”
“It’s hardly your fault. You have other stuff on. Besides… would you even want to be Champion? For yourself, and not for me?”
“Probably not,” Gladion admits. “All the spotlight, public pressure… I don’t like that. It’s bad enough where I am at the minute.”
“I just wish there was someone else like you,” Selene laments. “A you that is better at battling, and more sociable, and not busy.”
“So not me, essentially. I didn’t think I was that unlikeable to you.” He says it so seriously that Selene can’t tell if he means it or not – and he hides his face behind his coffee mug.
“I like you a lot, Gladion.”
He looks at her over the top of his mug, raising an eyebrow. Suddenly Selene realises how embarrassing she sounds, and promptly shuts her mouth, feeling her face flush an impossible shade of pink.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It was.”
“Anyway… if you need anything from me while you finish up here… let me know. I’d like to be able to lend a hand where I can.”
“You’re not a miracle worker. I don’t think there’s much to be done, other than hoping that someone will challenge us and win.”
He smiles at that, a small tug at the corner of his mouth. Selene realises that it’s his hair that’s different. He changes it frequently – at the minute it’s shorter and he’s cut his ponytail off. He looks better that way, she thinks, though she’s not going to tell him that.
“Why are you staring at me?”
“I’m just thinking that we need to be at Iki Town in an hour!”
“Oh, yeah. Shall we go together, then? No point in taking two Charizard Rides.”
“I guess. Off we go, then.”
Gladion ignores how Selene insists he sits in front of the Charizard Ride. He ignores how she presses her cheek into his shoulder blade. He ignores her hands, warm around his stomach, balancing herself against him so she doesn’t fall. He shouldn’t be thinking such things about Selene – it’s unprofessional, he argues.
Still, when the Charizard lands in Iki Town to cheers from the gathered crowd – everyone loves the Champion – he slides off first and offers her his hand. She takes it, and practically steps straight into his arms. There’s a look in her eyes that makes Gladion want to hold on, but he remembers the rumours about them and abruptly drops her hand and walks staunchly in the other direction.
There may not be any trainers this year, but one of each of the traditional starter Pokémon scamper about the platform in the middle of the town. Gladion seeks out Hau within the crowd, and is disappointed to find that Selene has got there first. While it would be normal and expected to see the three of them together, Gladion finds himself wanting to avoid Selene at all costs.
The interview she did sticks in his mind – he was mentioned, when it had nothing to do with him. The people at the Aether Foundation all think there’s something going on between them. The receptionist at the League hates seeing him coming because he’s there so often. And okay, maybe he does have some sort of feelings growing for her, but that doesn’t mean that everyone else needs to blow it out of proportion.
Instead of spending time with her tonight, he finds Nanu, there to see Hau’s initiation goes smoothly. He’s been Kahuna for longer than anyone else now that Hala has stepped back to just being an Elite Four member, and has earned himself the honour of conducting the ceremony. He and Gladion get on well, Gladion likes to think, because neither of them feel the need to have a lot of conversation.
Unfortunately for Gladion, Nanu disappears when the ceremony is about to begin. Even worse, the empty spot by his side is replaced by the Champion herself, latching onto his arm in Hau’s absence. His whole body stiffens, but when Selene smiles up at him, he finds himself able to relax, just a little.
They’re joined by Professor Kukui and his two children. On the other side of the square, Gladion can just about make out Burnet, talking animatedly to Olivia about one thing or another. Burnet makes her way over to them when Olivia gets up on the stage beside Hapu and Nanu.
Gladion regrets being beside Selene when Hau takes to the stage himself, as she begins to clap and cheer, almost deafening him. It does mean that she’s let go of him however, which comes as somewhat of a relief. He can barely pay attention to the ceremony with her presence (nothing to do with Burnet and Kukui trying to wrangle a five-year-old who won’t stand still).
When everything is done, exhibition battle included, Iki Town slowly empties. There is food and dancing, but it’s the end of a working week, and most people are keen to get to their bed. Hau teaches Lei and Noelani a traditional Iki Town dance, and both of them struggle greatly, much to Gladion’s amusement. It’s more for Burnet’s enjoyment than anyone else’s – she films the whole thing on her phone, tucked under her husband’s arm.
“Walk me home?” Selene asks Gladion, her voice barely above a whisper. Iki Town is empty now, with Hau having given up for the night, and Burnet trying to catch Noelani, still on a sugar high even though her older brother had already crashed.
“You only live ten minutes from here,” Gladion excuses. It’s a little more than that, but truthfully, he just doesn’t want to be alone with Selene.
“Please? It’s dark! You should never let a woman walk home in the dark.”
“Fine.”
Gladion knows her house well, having spent much time sprawled out on her bedroom floor over the years. Thinking back on it now, he does have to wonder if her parents ever thought something was up with them. They could never have dated as teenagers though, even if they wanted to – both of them had full time jobs. Both of them still have full time jobs, he reminds himself.
“Something on your mind?” Selene asks quietly, hanging onto his arm once more.
“No,” he tells her.
“You know you can tell me anything?”
“I know,” he tells her. He just doesn’t want to.
“You’ve been weird today,” she points out, and when he’s brave enough to glance at her, he spots her pout.
“Sorry. Just a lot on my mind. Work stuff,” he’s quick to clarify. “I have a weird feeling too. Like something is going to happen soon.”
Selene looks up at him. The moon twinkles in her eyes – fitting, considering her name. If Gladion has his way, the thing that’s going to happen is him kissing her, but he resists. But that’s not what he’s really thinking about – it’s a weird sensation in the pit of his stomach that hasn’t gone away for weeks.
“I hope it does,” Selene mumbles, stopping in her tracks. Her eyes stay on his, gauging his reaction as she lets go of his arm and puts her hand into his jacket pocket to hold his hand instead. He keeps his face as neutral as possible, but doesn’t pull away – and she keeps her hand there too.
Together they walk, hand in hand, along the seafront, Selene’s house looming in the distance. This is her parents’ last night in Alola, he remembers, and he’s stealing her last minutes with them. But she doesn’t seem too worried about that as she tightens her grip on his hand, and smiles at him.
He waits at the bottom of the porch as she puts the key in the door before turning back to him. She’s still smiling, but she’s not saying anything. Should he be worried? He can feel his heart beating out of his chest, prays that his cheeks aren’t as red as they were the other day in his office.
“Thanks,” she says eventually.
“No problem.”
“See you soon?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Good night.”
And then the door is closed in his face, and Gladion is left standing at the bottom of the porch, wondering what on earth all that was about.
Gladion’s expressions from the party in Iki Town dance through Selene’s head all weekend, and when she returns to work on Monday he’s still there in the form of his name scribbled in her book of challengers. She closes the book to forget about him, or more accurately, how she made a complete fool of herself on Friday night.
She grabbed his arm all evening, anchoring herself to him through a period of change in her life. It felt natural at the time, but Gladion looked uncomfortable, which mars her memory of the evening somewhat. And even worse, she held his hand. She held his hand. She brazenly stuck her hand in his pocket and held his hand.
And he was unreadable. That’s what bothers her most. Sometimes, she’s absolutely certain that he shares her feelings. She’s taken quite a fancy to him in recent months, but she’s been too busy to ever date anyone before, and flirting doesn’t come naturally to her. All she has to go off is her own feelings, and if she feels like she should be holding hands with Gladion, that’s what she will do.
Aside from the odd compliment, Gladion is never so brazen with his affections. If he has them, he keeps them much better guarded than she does. When she held his hand, he didn’t have any sort of reaction at all. Selene holds her head in her hands, cursing herself and her stupidity. She hasn’t heard from him at all since then, and she doesn’t have to think too hard to guess why.
If she wants to be optimistic, she can say that Gladion’s fingers curled around hers in response, hands surprisingly warm. She always thought he would be cold, but when she thinks about all the times that she’s touched him, he’s been warm, like he is from the inside, so different from how he seems on the outside.
“Elite Four, Champion, a challenger is approaching,” the receptionist’s voice comes over the intercom.
Selene stands up, her thoughts about Gladion wiped from her mind with work on the horizon. There hasn’t been a challenger in a while, at least no one other than Gladion. And Selene can tell from the receptionist’s tone that this is not Gladion. This is someone else, and she can’t help but feel a little excited. This is what she’s good at, and it’s finally her time to shine.
Of course, whoever this mystery challenger is needs to beat all the Elite Four before making it to the pinnacle of Mount Lanakila. But Selene stands at the far side of her desk, slinging her Pokéball belt around her waist as she watches the four lights tick on, one for Olivia, then Hala, Hapu and Kahili.
Part of her still expects Gladion, though she knows he’s working, and has absolutely no intention of actually challenging the League. So when a pair of striking green eyes appear at the top of the steps, Selene’s breath catches in her chest for a moment before her heart almost stops.
Because it’s not Gladion. There’s prettier green eyes, and a thick blonde braid over one shoulder. The challenger is dressed in white, and smiles, and Selene feels almost sick, because of all the challengers in the world, she never would’ve expected her.
“I have eight Kanto badges. I hope that’s okay,” the challenger says, blinking slowly. It’s fine, of course, but Selene can hardly answer with that.
“Lillie?”