Archive of Our Own

1
The first time Gladion meets Moon, he doesn't think much of her. He's finished up a disappointing battle and there's still an edge to him. His opponent had joked around too much, hadn't put in effort. It's disappointing, like when he barely has enough food and water, and there's still an urge for him to go out and battle that hasn't been satisfied. His opponent's cheerful voice rings in his ear. “Hey, Moon!” he calls out. “I just got finished battling this guy. He's plenty scary!”

Gladion turns to look at the girl who had just come up. She's plain looking with large brown eyes and black hair tied back in a braid. He supposes that basic politeness dictates that he greet her. Maybe she'll be a semidecent opponent all. “So you're Moon,” he says.

Moon nods. “That's me.”

Gladion can feel a headache coming on at her lack of street smarts. What kind of idiot just blithely introduces themselves? He tells Moon what an idiot she's being and watches her eyes go wide for a split second. Then her mouth is curling up and her eyes gleam with amusement. Gladion feels a stab of annoyance as he wonders what the hell is so funny. Maybe she's laughing at him. His annoyance grows. “Battle me,” he demands. Moon's eyes widen and she sputters, “I'm not a trainer. And I don't have-”

“Do you have Pokemon?” Gladion interrupts. Moon freezes for a moment before nodding slowly. “Then battle me,” Gladion demands again. “I won't take no for an answer.” In the back of his mind he thinks maybe he's being too harsh and should back off. Moon's eyes are wide and she looks nervous and really, what's the point of beating someone who isn't a trainer? But the anger rises again, sharp and unexpected like a wave. He doesn't have a reason to be so angry right now. Sure, his battle with Moon's friend had annoyed him and Moon smirking had annoyed him, but that was no reason for him to be so angry. He feels helpless in the face of it. Battling would help. Battling would let him breathe.

Moon's eyes are still wide and she reminds him of a prey animal and for a moment Gladion considers calling the battle off. But he'd already challenged her. He can't back down now. But then Moon straightens up a bit and squares her shoulders. A calm look comes over her. Gladion wonders if maybe she's bluffing about not being a trainer. He doesn't understand how she can go from looking like a startled rabbit to suddenly calming down. She tosses out a Kanto Muk.

Gladion's eyebrows go up. He wouldn't have expected Moon to have a Muk. He supposes maybe he's engaging in some sort of stereotyping. “You have a Muk,” he states. Great, why the hell is he wasting time making stupid statements? Everyone can see Moon has a Muk. Moon's eye light up and she glances towards her Pokemon. It's impossible not to notice the affection there.
“Sure do!” she chirps cheerfully. “Did you know Muk kills all plant life it touches? I thought that meant it could be used as a weed killer. When I was younger I made the mistake of growing mint in the garden with other plants instead of putting it in a container or growing it in its own section of the garden. The mint took over and ran wild so I thought having Muk lie on the patch would kill the mint and I could start over again. Yeah, turns out Muk killed the mint, but nothing was able to grow in the garden again.” She pats Muk affectionately. “But live and learn, right? Science is all about fucking up. You know that simply touching Muk will cause a fever that will require bed rest?”

Gladion finds himself reluctantly interested. “Are you trying to get out of battling with me?” he demands.

Moon grins. “I'm immune. I've spent enough time with Muk to build up an immunity. Although I have used Muk to get out of school when I was younger and didn't build up an immunity. I'd just pat Muk on the head and then I'd be taken ill with a fever and get to spend the day in bed with my books. But since I spent so much time with Muk I began building up an immunity. So now I'm able to touch Muk without fainting.”

Gladion had never heard of someone using their Pokemon to induce sickness. He shouldn't engage in conversation. He should just curbstomp Moon and leave. But a part of him can't resist. “You never just heard of saying you had a cold or headache? You had to go the extra mile?”

Moon shoots him a grin that makes him instinctively want to grin back. He shoves that thought aside. “I decided to go the extra mile,” she says. “Besides, my parents had a rule that I had to either be vomiting or have a fever before they allowed me to miss school, so it's not like I could lie and say I had a headache. Or that my stomach hurt. One of my classmates used to fake nosebleeds. They would go into the bathroom in class with food coloring and dab it on their nose. One day one of his classmates ratted him out. I have to admire the dedication.”

Don't laugh, Gladion orders himself. The thought of someone applying red food coloring to their nose to fake a nosebleed is ridiculous but also a bit amusing. He swallows the urge to laugh. He shouldn't be amused at tiny girls who liked to babble on about nonsensical things. A thought occurs to him. Maybe this is just a stalling tactic so she won't have to battle. He looks at Muk and tries to debate which Pokemon would be best to use. Null would probably make short work of Muk, but he doesn't want to risk Null touching Muk if what Moon says about touching Muk and getting fever is true. He's sure Null could battle through the fever, but he doesn't want to risk it. Zubat doesn't have as much experience as Null, but Zubat could do long range attacks and maybe being a poison type as well would grant some sort of defense.

Moon's eyes light up. “You have a Zubat!” she exclaims. “I love Zubats. Did you know that Zubats get sick during the daylight hours? But trainer caught Zubat are more tenacious and active during the day, so maybe they'll build up a resistance to the daylight? Kind of like this Roman emperor Mithrades who decided to build up an immunity to poison by ingesting nonlethal doses. Except it backfired when his empire was about to be overrun and he tried to kill himself by taking poison but it didn't work because he was immune. And it's like, okay, but there are other ways to die other than poison. But maybe he just wanted a quick death. But it would depend on the type of poison you took. Cyanide is a quick acting poison, but I don't know if they would have access to cyanide back in those days and even now it's not something you can just pick up at the store. You might have to look at certain plants. Water hemlock is quick acting, but if you survive you could have amnesia. Which I guess is good if you slipped someone water hemlock as an assassination attempt.”

Seriously, is this a strategy? For a moment Gladion is caught up in Moon's babbling and he absolutely does not find it interesting. It's more like that instinct that makes him want to watch an argument or look at a car crash even though he knows he's better off walking away. How the hell does she know all this about poison? Is she some sort of poison fangirl? The stuff she said about Zubat was interesting, but also a cause for concern. Gladion makes note to monitor Zubat's condition in the sun from now on.

“You're stalling.” His tone is flat. Moon's eyes go wide and Gladion wonders if this is all a ploy. But then Moon smiles sheepishly at him and orders Muk to attack. He's pleasantly surprised. Moon isn't a battler. She lacks confidence and hesitates way too often, but at least she knows what moves her Pokemon has and Muk obeys her commands. He supposes with enough practice Moon might be halfway decent. He doesn't tell her that. Gladion isn't good at being kind. Instead he says, “That was pathetic.”

Moon's eyes go wide again. Then they fill with amusement. “I told you I wasn't a trainer. Did you think I was bluffing? Because I wasn't. I usually don't go for hustling people, although if I was going to hustle people, I wouldn't hustle them in a Pokemon battle. I mean, I can shoot pool and throw darts so I could hustle in pool halls, but I don't know if that's an actual thing. I've seen it on TV, but I've seen a lot of things on TV that turn out to be complete bullshit.”

“You can shoot pool and play darts?” Moon's friend exclaims. “That's so awesome.” But then they're interrupted by Team Skull and Gladion debates the pros and cons of murdering them in broad daylight with witnesses.

*
Gladion doesn't bother murdering Team Skull because they aren't worth it. They aren't even worth battling, despite their constant attempts to goad him into one. And Gladion doesn't want to hurt their Pokemon. It's not like the Pokemon can help having total shitheads as trainers. Besides which even if Gladion did kill Team Skull, he'd still have to deal with two witnesses and find a way to dispose of the evidence and it wasn't worth it.

He's clearing his head with training. The sun isn't overly harsh, so he thinks Zubat should be fine. Maybe he should have asked Moon if she had any ideas about how to prevent Zubat from getting sick in the sun. Will Zubat still have the same problems in the sun when they evolve into Golbat? He feels a rush of shame that he didn't know this about his Pokemon and resolves to go to the library. Gladion glances at Zubat again. Zubat looks fine. He isn't flying any slower, or panting, or shaking, or showing any signs of distress. Still, Gladion resolves to watch Zubat closely. He's heard of trainers not realizing their Pokemon were hurt or in distress and he's not going to put Zubat in danger by being unobservant.

Zubat battles the wild Pokemon. With Zubat, Gladion focuses more on agility and the fact that he's small. Null is larger than Zubat and therefore brute force is his go to method with Null. Of course that's not to say that Null isn't fast, but Gladion knows from experience that a tackle with Null can do some real damage. He grins as Zubat takes down and opponent using wing attack. On the whole he prefers to have a variety of Pokemon. It's more fun to work with different types of Pokemon and different attacks. He's not supposed to have fun, he scolds himself. Pokemon battling isn't supposed to be fun-it's about protecting himself and others. But there's a part of him that revels in the thrill of battling, of finding new strategies and new ways to utilize Pokemon attacks. He indulges himself and thinks about what it would have been like if his life wasn't so fucked up, if he'd just been a normal boy going out on a Pokemon journey instead of running away to save Null from the scientists at Aether.

Zubat takes off suddenly. Gladion hurries after him. He finds Zubat perched on Moon's shoulder. Her back is to him, but he can still recognize her braid. Great. He doesn't want to deal with Moon. It's not that he dislikes her, but he just doesn't want to deal with people. And Moon had been around when Team Skull had taunted him about his past. He shouldn't care, but he feels like his past is a giant label. Once people find out about it, he doesn't know if they'll see him or just a victim. And Gladion feels a fresh wave of fury that Team Skull had mentioned his family situation out loud in front of complete strangers. He'd already spent most of his life under the control of Lusamine. Now another aspect of his control had been taken away from him as well.

“Moon.” Moon whirls around at Gladion's voice and how dumb is she? She doesn't even have a Pokemon on guard when there's wild Pokemon roaming around. He knows she's not a trainer, but her damn Muk knows how to attack. Then Gladion's eyes see a glint of silver and his gaze is drawn to the knife Moon is holding out in front of her. His eyebrows go up. So maybe not so defenseless after all. “Hi,” Moon calls. “I promise I wasn't trying to kidnap Zubat. I think Zubat just wanted to make friends. Does Zubat approach people a lot?” Gladion gestures for Zubat to return to him. Moon gives Zubat a quick pat and Zubat nuzzles her for a second. Then he returns to Gladion's shoulder.

“What were you going to do with that knife?” he asks. Moon looks at the knife in her hand and laughs. “Don't worry. I was just harvesting a few plants. By the way, those Team Skull twits called you Gladion. Were you named after the gladiolus flower?”

“What?” Gladion snaps. He's completely nonplussed. Why the hell would he be named after a flower? He's never heard of the gladiolus flower at any rate.

“The gladiolus flower,” Moon elaborates. “It's a really pretty flower. It has tall flower spikes and large colorful blooms. They look great in bouquets. They need about six to eight hours of sun daily and they do best in well drained soil that's moderately fertile. And you usually plant them in spring and depending on the variety it can take sixty to ninety days to bloom. And you should place a two to four inch layer of mulch around them to keep the soil moist and prevent weeds. My favorite breed is the dwarf grandiflora hybrid since they can be used in containers and they're pest resistant. They're called sword lillies because of their blade like flowers. In fact the word gladiolus comes from the Latin word gladius, meaning sword.”

Gladion doesn't know how to react. He supposes Moon must be a florist, but he's not about to ask her any more about her life. Why the hell would she think he would care about any of that? Gladion supposes on the whole flowers is a harmless thing to talk about. And the stuff about gladiolus also being called sword lillies was a bit amusing. Maybe his parents did name them after the flowers. He dismisses the idea. Neither of his parents had shown any interest in botany.

“Shit, I'm rambling,” Moon says. She laughs a little bit. “I'm sorry. And I'm being rude. What are you doing here?”

“Well, I was training. But now I'm looking for a rock to bash my brains in because it's preferable than listening to annoying girls ramble on about shit I don't care about.”

Moon grins back. “No rocks here, I'm afraid,” she snarks back. “But I can swing my backpack at you and see if it'll knock you out. I'm carrying some heavy stuff in there. Or I could choke you out. Or we could find a Pokemon that knows sleep powder and it'll put you to sleep, but that might take a minute or so depending on how potent the powder is.”

Damn it, Gladion should not be getting amused. He doesn't want friends. He doesn't need friends. He doesn't even want acquaintances. He doesn't want to like Moon, but the stuff she said about Mithrades and Muk was interesting. He likes how she just doesn't give a shit when he's being blatantly rude instead of yelling back and crying.

“You seem way too eager to knock me out,” he snarks. “Should I be worried?”

Moon pretends to think. “I don't know,” she says thoughtfully. “What are the chances you're carrying a big wad of cash on you? I suppose I could sell you on the black market. You're cute and I'd probably get a good price for you.” She grimaces. “But your attitude, though. Might be a deal breaker.”

He's having fun. He's having fun and he can't have that. That's a distraction. He can't be distracted. He has to go. But before he does, he asks, “Would Golbat have any problems in the sun as well? And is there any way to prevent Zubat from getting sick in the sun?”

“Well, like I said, trainer caught Zubat are more active and tenacious in the sun. And it's really all about building up a resistance, like endurance training. Kind of like how I ingest poisons so I can become resistant to them and so I can test out antidotes. But in answer to your question about Golbat, no, they don't have issues with the sun. What you'll be dealing with is Golbat sucking blood. It feeds on both human and Pokemon. And they're gluttonous so they can drink up to ten ounces of blood in a single sitting. But you should be able to train Golbat out of that. But if you want I could make you some pills that will help you and your Pokemon with the blood loss.”

So now he has to deal with a vampire Pokemon. He wonders what random facts Moon knows about Crobat. He almost wants to stick around and find out. But he can't get any closer to Moon. He's gotten the information he'd come for. Gladion turns to go. “You should probably see about training your Pokemon instead of gathering useless weeds.” He throws the remark over his shoulder. Moon yells something about plants versus weeds, but he ignores her.

2
Gladion groans. He can barely move. His entire body is reduced to sharp stinging sensations and aching ribs. A wave of pain washes over him and he grunts. Null whimpers. Gladion wants to tell Null that it isn't its fault. Gladion doesn't blame Null for having a night terror. His hand dangles off the end of the bed and brushes against Null. Null whimpers again. “It's okay,” Gladion says again. His head rolls back on the pillow. He can barely think with the pain. His hoodie is dry and stiff with blood. His ribs ache when he moves and Gladion hopes they aren't broken. Maybe he can muster up the energy to call the motel clerk. The motel he's staying at isn't the worst motel he's stayed at. Gladion likes how they didn't ask questions and mostly leave him to his own devices. He can call for help. But they'd want to know how he had these slash marks on his body. Gladion can barely hold on to consciousness. Suppose they take him to the hospital? He doesn't turn eighteen for another few months. Suppose they call Lusamine? Would they be able to track her? It's so hard to think. He and Lillie had been kept out of the public eye so no one would make the connection between them and Lusamine.

But suppose the hospital tries to contact his guardians? Lusamine could find him. She could find Null. Gladion grips Null as tightly as he can. Lusamine was going to kill Null. She'd tried to make it sound more humane by using words like terminating the experiment, but Gladion knew what it meant. And Gladion is barely hanging on to consciousness as it is. If he calls the motel clerk and they take him to the hospital and he passes out, he'll be completely vulnerable. No, he has to take care of these wounds on his own. He struggles to sit up, ignoring how the movement sends pain lancing through him and how his breath comes in short pants. It feels like he's run a marathon just sitting up.

He needs..(it's so hard to think through the pain) Gladion just wants to flop back on the bed. But he needs...bandages, he thinks muzzily. He'd gotten cut. He needs to bandage himself up. And...shit what else does he need? All he wants to do is sleep. Maybe he'll just allow himself to pass out. Maybe after that he'll have the energy to do something. His head is already spinning. But then the door is opening and Null is leaping to their feet and growling and Gladion feels a split second of panic because who the hell is coming in and he'd left the door unlocked and he's completely defenseless and maybe the motel clerk is a sicko and is coming to kill him.

But then a familiar voice rings out. “Sorry, I got the wrong room. I must have inverted the numbers because I'm such a dumbass. Wait-Gladion?” Moon steps further into the room, frowning. Then her eyes widen and she hurries over. But Null steps in front of her, growling. Moon takes a slow step back, raising her hands to show she doesn't mean any harm. “Hi,” she says. “Are you a new Pokemon of Gladion's? I don't think I've seen you before, but there are probably lots of Pokemon species that we haven't discovered as yet. Personally I'm still waiting for the day we discover a poison eveelution. Look, I know you want to protect Gladion, but I promise I won't hurt him.”

Gladion snorts. If he had the energy he'd tell Moon that a tiny little thing like her couldn't hurt him. But that argument probably wouldn't hold water since he feels like he's about to pass out. He doesn't want her seeing him this weak. Bad enough she already knows shit about him being homeless, now she'll have to see him injured and bleeding and on the verge of passing out. He doesn't need her seeing his weakness. “Get out,” he orders.

But Moon is frowning at him. Gladion wonders how bad he looks. His face is probably pale and his hoodie is in tatters, but the hoodie is black and Gladion doesn't think it'll show blood. But then Moon's gaze goes to his hands and he sees he has blood on them from where he tried to staunch the bleeding. And it looks like he's gotten blood on the sheets as well. “Get out,” he orders again, because he isn't about to be vulnerable in front of her.

Moon looks at him steadily. “Do you want me to call a doctor?”

It's so hard to stay conscious. Gladion's head swims. “Get out.”

Moon moves slightly closer. Null still watches her warily, but doesn't stop her. “You need help,” she says. “I have medical training. I can help you.”

“No. I don't need your help.” The rational part of Gladion says he's being stupid. He needs help, Moon is apparently capable of helping and is offering to help. He should accept it. But the idea of being vulnerable and in debt to people makes his skin crawl. He doesn't know what Moon will ask in return. And maybe there's a spiteful part of him that wants to prove he can make it on his own with Lusamine's help.

Moon just looks at him steadily. “Do you have magic powers?” she asks calmly. What the hell is this bullshit? Can't Gladion just pass out in peace without worrying about dumb girls asking him stupid questions? Moon correctly interprets his glare. Or maybe he's just squinting from the pain. “So you don't have magic powers,” she states. “And you don't want me to call a hospital or a doctor. So would you like to explain to me how you're going to cure yourself from your injuries? Simply be all, I command myself to be healed, like how I say I command myself not to be sick when I'm coming down with something. Spoiler alert, it doesn't work. Or like when Blair was having a pregnancy scare in OG gossip girl and she was all, I command myself not to be pregnant. I stopped watching because it wasn't like the books. I am totally that asshole who is like this didn't happen in the books.”

Passing out might be a mercy. He'll be saved from her rambling. Moon is still staring at him. “So you may as well let me help you,” she says. “I won't ask awkward questions and I won't charge you like a hospital would. Besides, you clearly need help and you should really stop being an idiot and accept help when it's freely given. Pride isn't going to cure your injuries.” Gladion bristles at that. But Null is shooting him a look and Gladion can't deny Null. And he hates to admit it, but Moon has a point. His injuries aren't going to go away by him being stubborn. And he needs to be healthy in order to take care of Null. “Fine,” he huffs.

His energy fails him and he slumps back on the bed. Moon hurries over. “It's okay, Gladion,” she says. “I'm going to take care of you.” She brushes his hair back. Brushing his hair back won't do shit for his injuries, but it's such a simple, caring gesture. Gladion hasn't been touched gently in months. Or touched at all, if he's being technical. But Moon brushing his hair back had felt nice. Stop it, Gladion orders himself.

“Okay, let's see what we're working with,” Moon says quietly. “I don't know if it'll be easier to cut off the hoodie. I mean, it's pretty much in tatters. I'm better at sewing people up than I am clothes, but if you want I can give it a shot.”

“Cut it,” Gladion manages to grunt.

Moon nods. As gingerly as possible, she begins to remove the hoodie, cutting away a few pieces. “May as well just cut the shirt as well,” Moon remarks. “You've got other shirts, right? Or have you just been wearing the same clothes all this time and just washing them when you felt like it?” Gladion doesn't have much in the way of clothes. He'd run away with nothing but the clothes on his back and he'd been more worried about other matters to think about clothes. But he did buy a loose shirt and a pair of sweats that he can use as pajamas. He gestures weakly at his bag in the corner. “You have something in there?” Moon asks. She goes over to look and nods in satisfaction. “This will work,” she says. “I'll be back in a minute.”

A weak part of Gladion wants to yell out for her not to go. He's still in pain, but having a semi friendly face around had been a small comfort. He doesn't like being this vulnerable. The seconds seems to stretch on until Moon comes back in the room carrying a bowl. “Sorry about that,” she says cheerfully. “Let's clean up these wounds.” She begins cleaning the wounds. Gladion feels a mixture of tenseness and relaxation. He tenses every time Moon's hand makes contact with the wounds. He feels like a child at the doctor afraid to get a shot. He's too old to be flinching like this. Gladion tries to control his reactions.

Moon is gentle as she possibly can be. When she finishes dabbing water on one of the wounds, she brushes his hair back. It's a completely useless gesture. He assumes she's trying to comfort him. If he had the energy he'd tell her that he doesn't need to be comforted like a small child and he can handle the pain. But it's been so long since someone touched him gently and Moon's fingers are soft and warm. He never thought he'd be the type of person to enjoy physical touch, but he supposes it's like when Null nags at him to eat because he hasn't eaten in a while and it turns out he's hungrier than the thought. Maybe it's possible to miss things he didn't think he'd miss. So his muscles relax for just a split second when Moon's fingers card through his hair and for a moment he feels safe and cared for.

“You ever hear of CIPA?” Moon asks quietly.

Gladion grunts a no.

“It stands for congenital insensitivity to pain with andhidrosis. It basically means you can't feel pain.”

“Sounds like fun.”

Moon looks concerned. “Are you doing okay? I'm almost done cleaning the wounds and then I'll mix you something to numb the area while I stitch you up. Good news, I don't think your ribs are broken. I heard broken ribs are a huge pain and it's really hard to move and I think I heard stuff about puncturing a lung. But anyway, CIPA really isn't as cool as you think it is. I mean, I know most people don't want to feel pain and whenever I go to the dentist I'm like, give me that numbing cream. But there's an advantage to pain. Pain tells you that you need to stop. Like take you for example. If you had CIPA you wouldn't have felt these injuries, which I'm sure you think is a good thing. But since you didn't feel them, you wouldn't have sought out help and you could have collapsed. Your wounds could have gotten infected. I was reading this one book about a woman who had CIPA and she stepped on a nail or got bitten by a snake. At any rate, she was injured really badly and didn't realize because she couldn't feel the pain. And then her ex's kid got kidnapped so she had to help find her for reasons I do not recall. I know she wasn't in law enforcement but a lot of these thriller books have characters who aren't in law enforcement investigating crimes. Actually, I think she just came back to help with the search party, which isn't technically illegal.”

It's only because he's weak and tired that Gladion finds Moon's rambling soothing. She has a slight accent, he realizes. She finishes up washing the wounds and brushes his hair back one more time. Gladion fights the urge to tell her to do it again. It's just because he's injured, he tells himself. That's why he's showing such weakness. Still, the stuff about CIPA was interesting, and it was a good point about how pain was necessary for survival.

Moon rummages in her bag and begins removing things while Gladion watches her.

“What happened to the kid?” he asks.

“She was rescued,” Moon replied. “It was a good book. Not a book I liked enough to reread, which my mom thinks is weird. That I like to reread, I mean. She thinks that when books are finished you should just toss them because you already know what happens. Except I find something comforting in already knowing what's going to happen. And it's fun to reread the book and see if there was some clue you missed. And some words just strike a chord in you. It makes you feel seen, like someone has reached into your head and took out your darkest thoughts and deepest desires and made you feel like you weren't alone, that it wasn't wrong to feel the way you feel, that other people thought it as well. Of course this doesn't apply in all situations, like harming a child. Harming a kid is not a good thing. Actually, harming others usually isn't a good thing. Unless the person has a pain kink but then you guys would have to go over safe words and hard limits and stuff like that before getting to the pain.”

Gladion is loopy from his injuries. He feels the urge to laugh. Moon begins mashing herbs and berries in a mortar and pestle before gently applying it to his skin. “This should numb you,” she explains quietly. “But if it hurts at all, let me know. Or you could squeeze my hand.” Gladion musters up enough energy to glare at her for such a stupid remark. She applies the numbing cream to his skin. Gladion's stomach drops when she takes out her needle. It's okay, he tells himself. Getting attacked by Null hurt worse than this. He tries to mask his nerves. Maybe Moon will be stupid enough to think that his grimace is just because he's in pain.

“So I read this case where this guy poisoned some people,” Moon says conversationally. “And he got caught and went to jail and was a model prisoner. I can't do air quotes since I'm stitching you up right now, but imagine I'm doing air quotes when I say the words model prisoner. Anyway, he got released on parole and got a job with access to more poison shit because the prison people didn't mention that he was in there for poisoning people as part of his rehabilitation. And I guess technically if you're out of jail that means people believe you paid your debt to society and you're cool. But that guy was just faking rehabilitation, so probably not the best idea to have him around poison.”

The numbing cream does its job. Gladion can feel pressure but no pain. He wants to ask how Moon learned to make stuff like this, but it's been so long since he wasn't in pain. He doesn't have the energy to ask. Besides, Moon might think he's interested in her if he asks about her. So he allows Moon's voice to wrap around him. “Did he poison anyone again?” Gladion asks. He realizes it's a bit hypocritical to ask what happened next after he just said he wasn't going to ask more about Moon, but this is different. This isn't a personal story. And even though Gladion knows that he isn't in pain, there's still a slight tenseness in him as he anticipates pain while Moon stitches him up.

“Yeah, he poisoned more people,” Moon replies. “I think about seventy. But he wasn't caught at first because he wasn't poisoning enough to kill them, and the symptoms of poisoning look like illnesses. I think for the most part if someone gets suddenly ill, people usually jump to the conclusion that they're sick, because a lot of the times they are and the simplest explanation is usually the right one. Maybe if someone who was healthy suddenly got really really ill someone might suspect poisoning, but healthy people can get sick as well. But anyway, dude finally gets caught.”

Gladion makes a questioning hum. He's only interested because he likes crime drama. Besides, he's bedbound for a few hours and hotel television sucks, so listening to Moon's ramblings is the closest thing he's got to entertainment. Moon interprets the hum correctly. “He made the classic serial killer mistake. Well, one of them. He got too invested in the case and tried to insert himself in the case. I guess it's some sort of compulsion. So people got suspicious about why he was so interested and it finally got out that he killed people by poisoning them before. So they go to his apartment and they find his journals about how he's been poisoning people and all the poison he's been hoarding.” Moon's tone turns delighted. “And guess what the guy said in his defense?”

“Don't make me play stupid guessing games while I'm injured,” Gladion grumbles.

“He said it was for a book he was writing,” Moon says gleefully. Gladion takes a moment to digest that. Maybe the numbing cream Moon gave him is also giving him auditory hallucinations. There is no way in hell someone would say something like that. “Name,” he demands. The second he has enough energy he's looking up that killer because what the hell kind of defense was that? Did he honestly believe that someone would buy that bullshit? Wait, did they? He makes a noise to indicate that Moon should continue. It dimly occurs to him that maybe she's trying to distract him while she stitches him up. He feels a twinge of annoyance that Moon is coddling him like this. But he hasn't had anyone to look after him in so long, and he supposes being mauled by his Pokemon might warrant some coddling. He decides to let it slide.

“I think most people thought it was bullshit,” Moon continues. “Dude was out here saying how much doses he was going to give his victims and if he'd allow them to live or die because he likes playing God. And it's like why the hell would you write that shit down? What kind of idiot just writes down their crimes? It would be like me poisoning people and writing down which plants I used and how I got rid of the bodies. Then again, maybe dude thought he was a scientist and I guess it's important to document your scientific experiments. I know I do. Granted, I don't poison people as part of my experiments. But anyway, guess how they nailed the guy?”

“They waved his diaries in his face and told him he was a dumbass for writing that shit down?” Gladion asks.

“No. Well, yes.” Moon grins, wide and excited. Her eyes sparkle and Gladion feels a spark of excitement in response. “They'd cremated one of the victims,” Moon explains. “So they couldn't test the stomach for poison. Remind me to tell you about how tests for poison were invented later. But the guy fucked up. He used thalium and thalium isn't organic.” Moon cackles. “So the poison didn't melt and they were able to test the ashes for the poison and he went to prison. Or was hanged. Or both. I can't remember. Whatever, the point was he was caught, thanks to the power of science. I should have a shirt made. It will say, “Science, Nailing Criminals Since...shit, I should come up with a date. Also do you think the words nailing criminals brings to mind sexual implications?”

It's a little cute how Moon is getting off topic. Enough, Gladion scolds himself. He doesn't need to be thinking Moon is cute at all. But she has such a delighted look on her face when she tells him about the thalium. Gladion finds himself grinning back. The idea of someone catching a criminal by analyzing their ashes is amazing. It's something that would happen in one of the detective shows he watches, where the criminal almost gets away but then the detectives find the evidence they need to take him to jail. He always gets such satisfaction at those scenes, at seeing an arrogant criminal brought down. It lets him pretend that the world can be just and criminals would be punished for their crimes. “That's pretty baddass,” he says.

“Yeah, science is baddass,” Moon agrees. “You should rest now. I'll help you change into your shirt and get you something to eat. Or do you want to take a nap first? You look beat.” Gladion mumbles something. Maybe it's because he's as safe as he can be and patched up, but he can't keep his eyes open anymore.

*
When Gladion wakes up, he hears the sound of breathing. He freezes. He recognizes Null's breathing. He struggles to a sitting position and looks around. Then he sees Moon curled at the foot of his bed, fast asleep. One hand is resting on Null. Gladion frowns. How long had he been asleep?He should kick Moon out now. She'd patched him up and there's no reason for him to stay. She shouldn't even be in his room in the first place. She'd just come in here by mistake. A lucky mistake, Gladion thinks, but it's time for Moon to go. But still, she had patched him up and she does look tired and she's not in his way. Maybe he should just let her be. But Moon must be a light sleeper because she wakes up.

“You're awake!” she exclaims. “Did you have a good sleep? You were fast asleep for a long time, but a long sleep is the best cure for all sickness. Do you feel any better? I ran out to get you something to eat and made you pain medicine. I didn't lock the door. Sorry about that. But I told your Pokemon if it didn't hear the secret knock, tackle anyone who came to the door. Or growl at them.”

It takes Gladion a minute to comprehend. “You taught Null a secret knock?” he asks incredulously.

Moon nods. Gladion doesn't have the energy to deal with this right now, so he lets it go. He remembers the more pressing things Moon had said. “You brought me food?” he asks. He hadn't been hungry for a while now. On occasion he'd had to go without food when he didn't make enough money battling. But the thought of food has his stomach growling. He should decline. He doesn't need to be in Moon's debt any more. But damn it, his stomach feels like it's collapsing on itself and even though he feels better, he doesn't have the energy to get up and have a battle. But people can last for days without food, so he should be fine. Wait, Moon is already taking the food out. He can smell it. Shit.

He thinks over his options. What does refusing to eat really accomplish? He doesn't think Moon will drug him, even though by now he's pretty sure she's capable of mixing something to knock him out. He doesn't like Moon, but he doesn't dislike her either, so he won't have the satisfaction of denying her something. All refusing to eat will do is make him be hungry for longer. Maybe he should refuse to eat. It was actually kind of funny seeing Moon glare at him and put him in his place. But it's been a long day and Moon had helped him when she didn't need to, so he guesses he can hold off on bothering her. In any case, he's hungry. He makes a note to pay Moon back later.

“So, how'd you learn how to do first aid?” he asks as he eats.

Moon replies, “My mom's best friend is a nurse. She babysat me when I was younger and taught me everything I knew. First aid was always drilled into me. I think that's so important. I mean, kids are going out on Pokemon journeys at ten in Kanto and I think they can start their journeys at eleven here, right?” Gladion nods. “And kids are dumbasses that get injured a lot,” Moon continues. “And sometimes you aren't near any Pokemon centers or anywhere near help, so you'd best have some supplies to treat you and your Pokemon just in case. And you should know how to use your environment, like which plants are edible and which plants can be used to render first aid. I also may have been influenced by survival stories. I have a weakness for survival stories where characters get lost in the wilderness. I read one where this girl was on a boating trip with her parents and then a tidal wave came and the girl managed to grab the first aid kit and she got washed ashore to a deserted island. But the book kept switching back and forth between her and her cousin on the mainland, but I skipped her cousin's parts because I didn't give a shit about her. Like I signed up to read about a girl surviving on a deserted island. I'm not reading about her cousin who gets mad at everything. Reading about characters like that is exhausting.”

Moon pauses to eat some more. “Did the girl survive?” Gladion asks.

“Oh yeah. I skipped to the end to find out. I usually don't do that, but the girl got a dog and if that dog died I was gonna be like fuck this book. I don't do animal or Pokemon deaths in books. Or love interest deaths, especially when the love interest has had a shitty life and is finally going to be happy but then they die. No, thank you. I read books for unrealistic happy endings. I mean, I know it doesn't work that way in real life, but I want things to work that way in my books. But yeah, the girl tried to row off the island with a boat she found.”
“How the hell did she find a boat?” Gladion interrupts.

Moon flaps a hand. “There was an abandoned village,” she replies.

“Why was the village abandoned?” Gladion asks. Part of him is curious and another part just likes seeing the flicker of annoyed amusement on Moon's face. “I don't know,” she says. “The author exercised her right to keep things a mystery for the sake of the plot. So she gets in a boat with her dog and they start rowing but then the boat sinks but then there are people on a cruise around or something like that. Point is, the girl and dog get saved.”

Moon eats the rest of the food in silence. It's weird sitting in a motel with a girl he barely knows, but it's kind of nice. Moon isn't the worst company ever. At least she has interesting information to share. He feels like he needs to offer her something. He doesn't really have a lot of money and he thinks just saying thank you wouldn't be enough. He has to give her something in return, but he doesn't know what. The only thing Gladion can do is offer a piece of himself in return. “I like Hatchet,” he says quietly. He shouldn't feel like telling Moon a book he likes is exposing a personal secret. But Gladion has always been a private person. Still, Moon had treated his wounds and bought him food, so he supposes telling her a book he likes is the least he can do.

Moon's eyes light up. “I love that book!” she exclaims. “We had to read it in school. I think we were doing a survival unit. Another school assigned book we read was The Cay. But I liked Hatchet better. Did you know that there were sequels to Hatchet? I think either the fans or the author thought it was a bit disappointing that Brian got rescued before winter set in.”

This is intriguing news. Gladion will have to find the sequel. For the rest of the night he pretends he's a normal person just hanging out with an acquaintance. They finish their meal and Moon checks over his wounds once more. Gladion waits until she's done going over medical care before ordering her to get out. “Have a good night,” she says, not even blinking. “I'm in room 37 if you need anything.”

“So you're just going to tell me what room you're in? Do you have a death wish? Haven't you seen shows where a woman invites a guy into her hotel room and he kills her?”

“I think it's sweet that you're worried,” Moon says. “I'll be fine, though. Oh, but speaking about women inviting men into hotel rooms.” She's going to start rambling again. He knows it. Gladion should tell her to get out. But maybe he could indulge her one more time since she's helped him out so much. He isn't interested in the story at all.

“I was reading this book where this woman found out this guy was taking girls to hotels and killing them. So she decides to play honeypot and send a message to the guy. And her plan is to go in the room and snap a picture of the guy and run.” Why does Moon enjoy reading books about morons with no sense of self preservation? “Why didn't she go to the cops?” he asks.

“I don't know. Maybe she didn't have enough evidence. People don't go to the cops or proper authorities in these books, you know that.” True. “So anyway, a kid steals her phone and she decides to still go ahead with her plan to trap the guy.”

“So she decides to go to the hotel room despite knowing that the guy has killed and knowing she doesn't have a phone? Again, why did she have to be the hero? And what if the killer was faster and stronger than her?”

Moon mock glares. “Don't bring logic into this,” she orders. “So she goes to the hotel clerk and asks her to bring up a bottle of champagne to the room in five minutes and don't bother knocking, just use the key. But then clerk gets distracted by her crush hitting on her and she goes off to have a quickie.”

Why the hell are people so stupid? Gladion wonders. He takes solace in the fact that it's a book, but there are probably people just as dumb in real life. “So the killer snatches her and manages to subdue her when she goes to the hotel room.” Gladion schools his face into a blank mask. “What a shock. Did she live?”

“Yeah, the teenager who stole her phone snuck back to the hotel room and knocked the guy out because he murdered his sister.”

“That sounds like some convoluted bullshit. It's no wonder you have such shitty survival instincts after reading that,” Gladion taunts.

Moon gives him the finger. “You need anything else before I go?” she asks.

“No.”

“Okay, have a good night. Bye, Null.” Moon leaves. Gladion definitely doesn't miss the sound of her rambling.

3
It's all gone to hell. Gladion can barely comprehend it. His mother has fused with a Pokemon alien thing and gone off to who knows where after telling him and Lillie they were always disappointments. And now there are ultra wormholes and Pokemon aliens (ultra beasts, he corrects himself) and it's like the movies where there's a damn alien invasion. He doesn't know how to deal with this. How is he supposed to deal with this? Part of him is hurt at what Lusamine had said, and it's ridiculous that he could still be hurt by her. But she's gone now and Gladion doesn't know how to get her back. He has to..what does he have to do? He has to go after Lusamine. She wasn't a good parent, but he doesn't want her dead or lost in space or wherever the hell she'd gone. It's just so hard to focus. His body aches, but it's a distant throbbing.

Moon is babbling. Gladion focuses on that. She'd gone along to help him and Hau rescue Lillie. Hau had gone back to Hala to see what they could do about the Ultra Beasts, but Moon had stayed with them, treating as many injured people as she could. She has a Comfey now, he notices. “It's weird that you and Lillie are siblings,” Moon says as she bustles around the kitchen. Gladion thinks maybe he should scold her for that, but he doesn't care that much. Besides, he'll need energy to face whatever comes next and if Moon is able to fix a cup of coffee, she can go right ahead. He focuses on the sound of her voice.

“I mean, it's not weird that you guys are siblings,” Moon continues. “It's just sort of a funny coincidence. I kind of thought you guys looked similar, but I didn't want to say anything because I could have been wrong and maybe I just assumed you guys were related because of the blonde hair, which is shitty. But it's just so weird that I met Lillie and then you and it turns out you guys are related. It's almost like destiny that we all met. It's like Holes, where Zero threw the shoes off the bridge and it hit Stanley on the head and they both ended up at Camp Green Lake and it turns out Stanley was the descendant of Stanley Yelnats the first and Zero was the descendant of Madam Zeroni and Stanley had to carry Zero up the mountain and inadvertently ended the curse. We saw the movie when I was in fifth grade. My class went on a field trip. Funny enough, we didn't read the book before seeing the movie.”

As she's going on, Moon is bustling around the kitchen and fixing odds and ends into a meal. Gladion debates asking her if making a meal out of random shit people had around the house is one of her skills. But it's nice to listen to her talk. Gladion thinks that it's only because he's exhausted from the battle and what had happened. Listening to Moon ramble is a moment of normalcy he'll allow himself to indulge in for a moment. Moon sets down coffee in front of him and Lillie. “So what's our next move?” she asks.

Now he's being thrown for a loop. “What is this we shit?” he demands. “You aren't getting involved.”

Moon looks at him steadily. “You guys are my friends,” she says. “I'm helping you guys out.”

“We're not friends.” It's probably not the right time to say it, but it's the truth. He and Moon aren't friends. They're acquaintances at best. And he isn't going to ask a friend or acquaintance or anyone else for that matter to get involved in his family's drama.

“Lillie's my friend. So that means we took an oath that stated the moment we signed up as best friends her bullshit became my bullshit and my bullshit became her bullshit. The worst I've ever done to Lillie is make her watch while I poisoned myself and recorded the symptoms, but I can help her with this world ending bullshit that's going down. You guys are going to need medical supplies. Or moral support. Definitely medical supplies. And I'd like to point out that neither of you guys have any legal authority over me nor are you my dominants, so technically speaking you don't have the right to forbid me.”

“It's dangerous,” Lillie warns. “This doesn't involve you. Lusamine is our mother.”

Moon grasps Lillie's hand. “It's not up to you to fix your mom's mistake. But I'll help you fix it.” Lillie slumps a little in her seat, but she shoots Moon a relieved look. Gladion feels a twinge of jealousy that she's able to comfort Lillie. Lillie is his sister. He should be the one comforting her. But when has he ever been able to do that? He'd been angry at Lillie for not standing up to Lusamine and trying to keep the peace. He'd left her alone with Lusamine. The guilt churns his stomach. Gladion had thought that Lillie would be fine. Lusamine wasn't as harsh with Lillie as she was with him. Or maybe he just couldn't see past his own anger and hurt. Gladion vows that he'll be there for Lillie from now on.

*
Gladion finds Moon in the kitchen later that night, poring over some notes. She glances up as she sees him. “So, the Ultra Beast is called Nihilego,” she announces. “I'm trying to see if there's anything of use in the notes the scientists took. “The code name is symbiont, so I guess that means it has a symbiotic relationship with the host. I'm not sure how it will work with Lusamine and if the separation will hurt. It looks like Nihilego is a poison type. Sounds like my kind of Pokemon. It's too bad we found a Nihilego under such shitty circumstances. I'd like to experiment with one. But let's see, I can try to mix up a poison antidote. I need to mix pecha and remeyo berries. Pecha berries and remeyo berries can be used to cure poisoning. I don't think it'll be enough to fully cure Lusamine of her poisoning, but maybe it will allow her condition to stabilize. I'm not sure how the separation will affect Lusamine. And I don't know if she'll want to be separated from Nihilego. No offense, but she was kinda....” Moon waves a hand. “So maybe the best bet is to knock her out. It looks like Nihilego uses neurotoxins. Glutathione would kill neurotoxins, but where the hell am I gonna get that? I have to make a copy of these notes. Do you mind? The doctors will need to know about Nihilego and the neurotoxins to help Lusamine. Neurotoxins kills nerve cells, so that means information to the brain to other parts of the nervous system can't be transferred. Did you know that alcohol is a neurotoxin?”

Moon's rambling is more disjointed than usual. He sees a half filled cup of coffee next to her. He understands Moon is nervous, but she's the one insisting on involving herself, so he doesn't feel too much sympathy. But he hadn't been as sympathetic to Lillie as he could have been and he regrets it. “Your coffee's gone cold,” he says. “I'll heat it up for you. And you were saying something about remeyo and pecha berries?”

Moon flashes him a tired smile. “I'd appreciate that.”

Gladion stares at her seriously. “You know you don't have to help us, right?”

“I know. But I want to.” Gladion doesn't know how to deal with someone being casually kind. He heats up Moon's coffee and retreats.

4
Gladion slumps in his bed. They'd done it. Lusamine had been rescued. She's in the hospital in critical condition, but she was alive. At least he and Lillie know where she is now. It had been exhausting battling Lusamine, but Gladion still can't sleep. Lusamine is still in critical condition. What if he goes to sleep and Lusamine doesn't wake up? What is he supposed to say to Lusamine? That's if she wakes up, the cruel voice of reason taunts. Gladion ignores the voice. Lusamine has to wake up. She has to wake up so they can-can what? Gladion isn't particularly interested in reconciling with his mother. If this whole disaster with Nihilego hadn't happened, he wouldn't have anything to do with her. But now since Lusamine almost died (Gladion shoves away the voice that says she might die) he feels like he should make amends. But what is he supposed to say? He hasn't forgiven his mother. His stomach still burns when he thinks about what she's done. But he doesn't want her dead.

Staying awake won't help Lusamine recover. But it just feels selfish to sleep when Lusamine is in critical condition. It feels like he isn't taking the situation seriously enough. Suppose there's an update on Lusamine and he's asleep? Suppose she dies while he's sleeping? Besides, every time he closes his eyes he sees Lusamine fused with Nihilego. He doesn't want to close his eyes.

A restless sort of energy fills him and he goes to Lillie's room before he can think better of it. “What's Moon's number?” he asks.

Lillie looks startled. “Why do you want to know?” she asks. Gladion feels a twinge of annoyance, but pushes it aside. He can't blame her for being curious. “She babbles about bullshit,” he tells Lillie. “I can't sleep. Maybe she'll babble on about something so boring it'll put me to sleep.” Lillie looks amused but rattles off Moon's phone number. “I didn't realize you guys were friends,” she teases.

“We aren't friends,” Gladion says. “She's just a-” He pauses. He doesn't want to call Moon a friend, but acquaintance seems too casual of a word considering she'd stabilized his mother. “She's an ally,” he settles on at last. That's a decent way to describe Moon.

“So you call your allies up at one in the morning because you can't sleep?” Lillie asks, unconvinced. His reasoning was flimsy, but Gladion remembers how he'd been comforted by Moon rambling on when she'd tended to his wounds or how the world had seemed normal for a moment when she was going on about Holes after Lusamine had fused with Nihilego. He just doesn't feel like explaining that to Lillie. Thankfully, Lillie decides to change the subject.

“Do you think Mom will be alright?” Lillie asks. Shit. Gladion should have expected the question. How is he supposed to answer? He doesn't know. Is Lillie asking for reassurance or does she want his honest opinion? If he says that Lusamine will be okay, does that mean she'll be okay? Don't be ridiculous, he scolds himself. Me saying something isn't going to make it true. He doesn't want to lie to Lillie. But he wouldn't be lying, he doesn't think. But he honestly doesn't know if Lusamine will be okay. He decides to go with the truth.

“I don't know. She was injured pretty badly.”

At the look on her face, Gladion thinks maybe he should have gone for comforting instead. “But the doctors said Moon's potions stabilized her,” he adds. “And people recover from horrible injuries and poisonings. It's not an impossibility that she'll survive.”

Lillie smiles weakly. “Thanks, Gladion.”

“I didn't do anything,” Gladion points out. “I just said it's not impossible that she'll live. You just have low standards when it comes to being comforted.”

Lillie shrugs. “Well, you suck at comforting so I had to lower my standards.” Gladion snorts.

“Tell Moon I said hi,” Lillie orders.

*
Calling Moon is a stupid idea, Gladion thinks as the phone begins to ring. Why is he calling her? Friends call people in the middle of the night. They aren't friends. “Hello?” Moon asks hesitantly.

“I can't sleep,” Gladion announces.
Moon doesn't say anything for a minute. Then she asks, “Do you want me to sing you a lullaby? Actually, I can't sing. But then again, my singing might be so bad you'll suffocate yourself to get away from it. Passing out is form of sleeping, right?” She's holding back laughter, he can tell. He feels his mood lighten. “Passing out does not count as sleeping,” he argues.

“It totally does,” Moon insists. “If you don't want me to sing to you (good choice, by the way) I could make you a sleeping potion. There are lots of herbs to help with sleep. Or I could throw sleep powder in your face. It's late, but I can get a ride Pokemon to drop me by your place. I can't believe Kanto doesn't have ride Pokemon. We just rough it through the harsh terrain. You Alolans are just wimps.”

She's goading him and Gladion allows it. He can feel his mood lightening. “I think you're just mad because Kanto people were too stupid to realize you could use the Pokemon as a taxi service.”

“Remind me to flip you off the next time I see you,” Moon orders. Her voice softens. “Why are you having trouble sleeping? You aren't having nightmares, are you?” Gladion stiffens. He hasn't been sleeping well and he has had nightmares, but how the hell would Moon know that? “Did Lillie tell you that?” he demands. Maybe it's unfair of him to blame Lillie, but he can't figure out another reasonable explanation.

“You called me at one in the morning saying you can't sleep after a bunch of shit went down. I just took a shot in the dark,” Moon explains. Gladion deflates. It's weird having someone being able to read him so well. Part of him wants to get off the phone, but talking to Moon is nice, and Moon had already seen how fucked up his family is. He supposes it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have someone see him. At least Moon is still sticking around. He takes a deep breath. “It's nightmares,” he admits. He feels like he's just peeled a part of himself off. It's thrilling and terrifying at the same time. He continues. “I just-I don't want to sleep. I'm afraid-”

“That something could happen while you're asleep?” Moon fills in quietly. There's something in her tone. “You've been in this position before?” he asks.

“Grandpa had cancer. It was a waiting game. We didn't live in the same region and every time the family would call, I would assume they were calling to say he'd died. I felt like I didn't have the right to go out and have fun or do anything because suppose I was out with my friends and he died?”

Gladion should say something comforting. At the very least he should say he's sorry because that's what people did. The circumstances were different and obviously Gladion isn't happy that Moon's grandfather is dead, but it's nice not to feel alone, to have someone put words to things he's feeling. He wonders if that makes him selfish.

“Did you get along with your grandfather?” Gladion asks. He would assume her grandfather would have wanted Moon to be out enjoying her time with her friends instead of worrying about him dying, but he doesn't know the relationship.

“Yeah.” Moon's voice is wistful. “I baked apple cinnamon muffins at his wake. Those were his favorite. Mom didn't know that.” There's silence on the other end and Gladion has a moment of panic when he thinks he might have upset Moon. Aside from the fact that he's absolutely shit at comforting people, he has no reason to make Moon upset. But then Moon speaks again, her voice a little more cheerful. “Why did you call me if you couldn't sleep?” she asks. “Don't get me wrong, I don't mind you calling, but you're the one who said we aren't friends, but joke's on you because I consider you a friend, but I guess you don't consider me a friend, which is fine.”

Shit, she remembers the we aren't friends thing? Should he tell her he didn't mean it? Should he say he considers her a friend? Does he? Moon is something to him, but Gladion doesn't want to complicate things by defining the relationship. But maybe saying they weren't friends had hurt her feelings? Gladion holds back a groan. He doesn't have time for this. He needs to get back on familiar ground. “I thought you could ramble on about something unimportant and I'd get so bored I'd fall asleep,” he tells Moon. Talking shit to her is normal.

“Give me a minute and I'll get the most boring book I can find and read it out loud to you,” Moon promises. “You know the stories where people hide secret information? I don't know why they don't just hide it in a boring book. Let's be honest, people make it way too obvious when they hide something. They have a bunch of chains and a bunch of warnings, but people don't listen to warnings. Like you can touch the book and it'll psychically send you images of all the people who have died touching the damn book and the book will be wrapped in human skin and have a bunch of chains on it and people will still open it because it's human nature to see something forbidden and go running towards it. You know, it's really a miracle that humans have survived for so long given our love of running towards danger. But if someone sees a book with something really boring like crop rotations in the 1800s, I think they'll just put the book back. Unless that person happens to be a gardener and a history buff and they're writing a historical romance, but chances of that are slim.”

Gladion feels himself settling as Moon talks. She keeps talking. “Did you know that toxicroak and seismitoad are related? Toxicroak can churn the poison stored in the poison sac on their throat for more potency by croaking. And the poison can knock you out or kill you. But the poison can also be diluted into a tonic after mixing it with a bunch of wild grasses and cooking it for about two days. It's really amazing how something can either be a poison or a medicine, depending on the dose. There's such a degree of precision in working with poisons. It's like you have to give the right dose at the right time. Like I said, some poisons could be used to treat diseases if given in small enough doses. But if you were going to kill someone, you'd have to give them the correct dose so they actually die. But if you just wanted to incapacitate, you'd have to take the dosage into account as well. And then you also have to take into account how the dosage is being delivered. The potency can be affected depending on whether the dosage is in liquid form or powder form.

But you know that the lumps on seismitoad's head can shoot out a paralyzing liquid? I wonder how that will compare to stun spore? I'll have to try it sometime, but seismitoad aren't native to Alola. They can be found in Kalos, though.”

Gladion feels himself settling as Moon talks. “So you're going to a new region just so a Pokemon can paralyze you?” he doesn't bother to keep the amusement or judgment out of his voice.

“What can I say, I have weird ideas when it comes to vacation.”

“I'm sure they have other shit to do in Kalos,” Gladion insists. “Like food. Or buildings. Can't you just go sightseeing like a normal person?”

“I would be sightseeing,” Moon argues. She's laughing.

Gladion sighs. “Going to a region so a Pokemon can paralyze you does not count as sightseeing.”

“Just think of it as thrill seeking,” Moon argues. “Some people go to places to bungee jump, others go to places to rock climb or scuba dive or dive into volcanoes or sky dive. This isn't any different.”

“You're a dumbass,” Gladion tells her.

“They called all the great visionaries dumbasses before realizing they were right,” Moon declares flippantly. “Besides, my plans distracted you, didn't they?” She's right. Gladion feels lighter after listening to Moon talk, even if she does have a worrying interest in poison and really shitty ideas of fun. He doesn't want to admit that she made him feel better. “If you are dumb enough to go to a new region just to get yourself paralyzed, I'm coming along just so I can annoy you and you can't do anything about it.”

“Good night, Gladion. Trust me, if you came along I would find some way to swallow a lethal dose of poison rather than be around you.” Her voice softens. “Can you get to sleep now?” she asks. It's easier when Moon is rambling on about weird facts or bantering with him. He wants her quiet care, but he's afraid of wanting it. He deflects. “You have the shittiest taste in bedtime stories,” he says.

Moon giggles. “Have a good night. Call me if you need me.”

*
Apparently calling Moon in the middle of the night has given her ideas. Now she thinks she can just come into his office whenever she wants. Gladion stares at Moon as she barges into his office brandishing a plant. He looks at Silvally, who looks quite unperturbed at the intrusion. “Attack,” he orders flatly. Silvally just trots over to Moon and nudges her hand until she pets it. Gladion glares at his Pokemon. “You are the worst guard Pokemon ever,” he scolds. “You're supposed to keep intruders out, not beg them for pets.” In response Silvally just lies on the ground. Gladion massages his temples, but he has to hide a smile at how Silvally likes Moon.

“Pokemon are excellent judges of character,” Moon says.

“Sometimes Pokemon can be fooled,” Gladion replies. “In fairness, neither Silvally and I believe you're a threat. You're just annoying.”

Moon gives him a mock frown. “I can't be upgraded to threat. I got Pokemon that would take you out in a heartbeat.”

Gladion looks unimpressed. “That makes your Pokemon the threat, not you.”

Moon's eyes are shining. “What if I coat my knife with poison and throw it at you? Would you consider me a threat, then?”

It's so easy to slip into banter with Moon. “So you're going to attempt to kill the president of a very influential company and your best friend's brother? Can you even throw knives?”

“Yeah,” Moon says. “You want to see? You can come over to my house and I'll show you. I could teach you how to throw knives, by the way. I think you'd like it. Oh, I suppose you're wondering why I brought you this plant.”

“Is it an assassination attempt?” Gladion asks.

“No. This is an aloe vera. Do you have any idea how dull your office is? It needs brightening up? I don't think you'll go for plaques with inspirational sayings. Actually, I'm pretty sure you'd just use those plaques as kindling. And I get the minimalist vibe. Less things to dust. But it's been scientifically proven that plants increase happiness and productivity in the workplace, and you want to be productive, so I got you an aloe plant. And aloe plants do really well with a bit of neglect, so it's perfect for gardening beginners. I don't like to use the word green thumb. It kind of implies natural talent and while it's true that some people take to things more naturally than others, gardening is about patience and troubleshooting and figuring out what's wrong with your plant. And aloe vera are really useful. They can be used to heal cuts, eczema, and burns.”

Gladion lets Moon's babbling wash over him. It's a nice background noise. He stares at the plant Moon is holding out to him. “You're giving me a plant for my office?” he asks.

Moon rolls her eyes. “I just went on a whole spiel about that,” she complains, but there's no heat in her tone.

Gladion smirks at her. “I tune you out all the time,” he teases her.

Moon gives him the finger. Gladion examines the plant. “You're sure I wouldn't kill this plant by mistake?” he asks.

“Are you asking me a question? I thought you tuned me out when I talk,” she teases.

“Unfortunately your voice is like nails in my eardrums. I can't tune you out no matter how much I try.”

Moon smiles. “It's not that hard to take care of an aloe.” She indicates a spot. “It'll get decent sun there. And I took the liberty of putting the right soil in the pot and getting a pot with drainage holes. And aloe is a pretty useful plant to have. If you get injured you can just dab some gel on you. Do you want to get lunch? I heard from your secretary that you haven't eaten. And seriously, do you have to be a cliché? I know all the stories are about presidents being workaholics, but damn it, you need to eat. Unless you think you're a plant and you're going to produce food via photosynthesis. If you do pass out because of hunger I'm totally laughing at you.”

“I'm only going to spare myself the indignity of fainting and you mocking me for it,” Gladion says, getting up.

Moon shoots him a mock affronted look. “I'd get you help before I talked shit,” she says. “I want you to be fully healthy so you can fully focus on me telling you what a moron you are.”

“You have the worst bedside manner I've seen. I'm buying lunch.” Gladion tosses it out like a challenge.
Moon's eyes go wide. “You don't have to do that,” she says. “I have money.”

“I didn't say you didn't.” This is so hard. Gladion tries to get the words out. “You brought me lunch before. I'm just repaying the debt.” Moon's forehead scrunches up. “It was when you found me in the motel,” he prompts impatiently. “You bought me food.”

Realization dawns on Moon's face. “You were injured!” she protests. “It's not like I expected you to fork over money to pay for your food.”

That might be true, but it's a matter of principle for him. Moon had helped him out when she didn't have to, so he has to repay her. Moon studies him closely for a few minutes. Gladion wonders what she's thinking. It's nerve racking and a little bit thrilling how easily she can read him. “Is this important to you?” she asks quietly. Gladion nods.

“Okay, then let's go!” Moon says cheerfully. “Did you have a place in mind?”

*
Moon makes it a habit of barging into his office whenever she feels like it. His secretary and Null are completely useless at keeping her out, so Gladion just resigns himself to it. Lillie had pointed out that he could just lock his door, but Gladion had argued that people who weren't Moon might need to drop off documents to him. Lillie had just given him a smug look and since when had she learned that look? She never would have looked at him like that before.

As if on cue, Moon bursts into his office. Gladion scowls at her, but she's unperturbed. She clearly has a shitty survival instinct. “Guess what?” she announces cheerfully.
Gladion holds up a hand. “Let me finish up this email before you tell me whatever bullshit you want to tell me.” Moon falls silent and curls up on the floor next to Silvally. Gladion proof-reads and turns to Moon with a long suffering look. “What?” he asks, putting as much annoyance into his tone as possible.

“The recon team caught a new Ultra Beast! It's called Poipole. It's a poison type, so you know it's totally up my alley. Apparently it can learn human speech if it's around humans long enough. And unlike Nihilego, it has an adhesive poison, which it fires from the points on its head, instead of using neurotoxins. So I don't think Poipole poison would cause someone's behavior to change.

I have to go see the effects of the poison. But I'd have to find the right dose so it doesn't kill me. But I should also classify the poison. Did you know there are different classes of poison? There's corrosive poison, which causes inflammation at the site of contact and includes strong acids. So Bellsprout poison would fall under corrosive poison because they use acid. And irritant poisons cause irritation, pain, and a bunch of vomiting and they can be broken down into inorganic and organic. And mechanical poisons fuck up the gastrointestinal tract. And neurotic poisons affect the central nervous system. Cardiac poisons affect the cardiac system. And asphyxia poison causes asphyxia to cells or tissues. I'm betting Poipole poison will either be a corrosive or an irritant. The poisoning symptoms might differ depending on how the poison is delivered.”

Moon is actually really good for knowing random facts. It makes her really interesting to talk to. Gladion likes the way she looks at the world, likes how she's so eager to explore the world's secrets. Of course he'll never tell her any of that, so he puts on his best unimpressed face. “Is there any reason why you had to bore me with that?” he asks.

Moon rolls her eyes. “You know you can just admit you were interested, right?” Why the hell is Moon never fooled by him? But Gladion has to admit he likes how Moon is unflappable and takes everything in stride. But he supposes if she exposes herself to poisons on a daily basis she can deal with guys with poor social skills. He really shouldn't be encouraging Moon, but... “Does Victreebel or Weepingbell use acid?” he asks.

Moon's eyes light up. “Yes! I should have done an experiment to see which one had the more powerful acid before I left Kanto, but I didn't think of that. Bellsprout's acid can melt iron and I don't remember reading that Victreebel or Weepinbell spitting acid strong enough to melt iron. Wait, Weepingbell can melt the prey with internal acid. And Victreebell can do the same. Well, Weepingbell paralyzes the prey with poison powder and Victreebell entices the prey with sweet scents. Maybe I should go back to Kanto. I could get Bellsprout and evolve them into Weepingbell and Victreebell and see which acid is the most effective. I could probably use iron as a test subject.”

Gladion sighs. “Have you ever considered going to a place to do something fun, not weird experiments?” he asks.

Moon looks at him blankly before smirking. “First of all, I doubt you know what fun is. Second of all, science experiments are fun.”

“Don't you have friends to visit in Kanto?” Gladion demands. “Or childhood hangouts? Or can't you grab a bite to eat?”

“My friends in Kanto would totally be a part of the experiment,” Moon informs him. “I mean, they'd help me collect data and formulate theories. I wouldn't be killing my friends to see which acid dissolved their body parts faster. And I can totally eat after I take notes for the experiment. Let me tell you, nothing works up an appetite than a hard day of sciencing. Mostly because while I'm sciencing I forget to eat. It's like my body goes on pause and decides you're not going to feel hungry so I can focus on my work. Which I guess isn't super great, because I'm pretty sure going hours without eating and drinking isn't healthy, even if I do feel fine.”

Gladion rolls his eyes and gets up. “Come on, then,” he tells Moon. “We can see how Poipole's poison works and then we can go to lunch.” Moon's eyes light up. Gladion tells himself he's only going because it's important to know about Pokemon attacks so he can defend against them.

5
Moon has the ridiculous habit of laying on the floor in his office. Gladion had gotten annoyed by that and had bought a beanbag chair so Moon can sit on that like a civilized human being. Moon bursts into his office and twirls dramatically before flopping on the beanbag.

“Do you want to out on a date?” she asks. “With me, I mean, not do you want to go out on a date in general. But would you want to go out on a date with me? Or maybe not out. I know you don't like to be among the public and neither do I. But we could go to my house and netflix and chill. Okay, I don't actually have netflix, but I have a TV and we could find something on it to watch. But when I say netflix and chill, I mean actually doing that. This isn't code for making out. Although I'm not opposed to that. Eventually. But I honestly have no idea what the hell people do on dates. I asked my parents, but it was a different generation so Mom said they went to parties, but neither of us likes parties and I don't know where the hell to find a party. And I know I might not be the first choice and you could totally do better, but you could do a lot worse. I'm not a serial killer or anything. Which I know is a really, really low bar, but a low bar is still a bar.”

Gladion takes a moment to digest the words. Moon wants to go out with him. It's not like he hadn't thought of dating Moon before. Somewhere between her treating his wounds and barging into his office to talk about the most random but still fascinating things she'd become important to him. Gladion has no idea how it had happened or when the shift in their relationship had occurred. She'd snuck up on him like arsenic. It's probably not the most romantic comparison, but Moon had been going on about how arsenic takes around ten minutes to take effect and how it was odorless, colorless, and tasteless, so the victims would have no warning before dying a horrible and violent death.

Moon may have babbled when she asked him out (and Gladion isn't going to admit that he found it cute) but she regards him steadily now. Gladion likes how she doesn't shy away. He tries to hide a smile. “I suppose I have nothing better to do,” he says. Moon beams. “Great! Tomorrow night, then?” Gladion nods.

Then Moon goes back to her normal habits. “Salazzle's gas can be diluted to make a perfume. I wonder what the perfume would smell like and what other scents I could combine it with. I guess it would obviously depend on the scent. And Weezing gasses can also be used to make perfume, but you would have to dilute it to the highest level. I wonder what would happen if you combined the two diluted gasses together. Actually, it might be too overpowering. You don't want perfume to be too overpowering. But Kantonian Weezing creates more potent toxins than Galarian Weezing, which is totally a flex. I wonder why that is. I know Alolan Muk had the regional changes because you guys got rid of trash and tried cleaning up the environment.”

“I suppose you want to go to Galar now so you can compare Galarian Weezing poison to Kantonian Weezing poison?” Gladion asks mockingly.

“Obviously,” Moon replies. “People backpack around countries when they go on vacation. I can do the same. I will travel across different regions so I can compare poisons. It'll be like a vacation.” Gladion hides his smile.

*
Gladion has no logical reason to be nervous for the date. He knows Moon. She's his...well, if he agreed to go on a date with her, he supposes he could consider her a friend at the very least. He just won't admit it out loud to her. “Hi!” Moon greets him cheerfully. “I got your favorite takeout. I don't know what movie or series you wanted to watch. I totally can't bingewatch series. I lack the attention span. Which is weird, because I can spend hours in the garden or researching or doing experiments, but put me in front of a movie or TV screen and I can't look at it for more than an hour. I suppose I could have just invited you to be my lab assistant, but something tells me you'd cop an attitude.”

His nerves melt away as Moon chatters on. She'd tugged him inside her house and to the kitchen. She did get his favorite takeout and Gladion feels a surge of warmth. He'd never actually outright said that this was his favorite takeout, but Moon is good at observing. He supposes it's the scientist in her. They head to the living room. Moon begins to talk. “So there's this beetle called the blister beetle. It was used as an aphrodisiac. And there was this guy who wanted this one girl and her friend. So he grinds up the beetle and puts it in her dessert and her friend's dessert so he can get them in the mood. And the beetle has a chemical inside it that's a blistering agent, so when they ate the dessert, their insides burned away. Well, the girls' insides burned away. The guy lived. And guess how many years he got?”

“Do you really expect me to eat after you just told me that?” Gladion asks. Moon gives him a playful look. “I don't have any of the blister beetle on me,” she tells him. “And even if I did use an aphrodisiac on you, that wouldn't be my first choice. I don't know if aphrodisiacs actually work. I've eaten chocolate plenty of times and never once felt anything romantic. And I don't know the correct dosage for the beetles, so odds are I'd end up killing you, and you're kind of well known, so people would wonder if you disappeared. And Lillie knows that you were coming over, but I guess I could lie and say you left, and then I could stage a mugging, but that's too much effort. That's why I'm not a criminal. Way too much effort to cover up a crime. But seriously, you have to guess how long the guy got.”

“I like how you aren't going to kill me because you're too lazy and practical to do it,” Gladion says, taking a bite of food. Being with Moon is so easy. He feels like he can relax and breathe around her. “Ten years,” he guesses. “And have you considered talking about stuff other than beetles burning away people's insides on the first date?”

“Well, think of this as a test. If a guy goes running for the hills when I bust out my poison talk, he's not worth it. I'm a poisoner for life.” Moon's eyes widen and a sheepish smile spreads across her face. “Does that make me sound like a criminal?” she asks.

“Yes,” Gladion says bluntly. “Seriously, though-how much time did the guy get?”

“Five years,” Moon answers.

“What? He killed those girls!” Gladion sputters angrily. “How the hell did he only get five years for murder?”

“I don't know. Maybe he got a lighter sentence since he didn't mean to kill them?” Moon suggests. “Or maybe the laws were different?” Gladion grumbles about it. He and Moon settle on watching a crime documentary. Moon curls into his side. Gladion doesn't get how people can be so casually affectionate. It's not that he doesn't want to touch Moon-he just doesn't want to cross any lines. In any case, touch had always something that was scarce in his family and now Gladion has no idea how to initiate it.

Moon's hair is down and it's really distracting. He's so used to seeing it in a braid. It's ridiculous, but he has the urge to touch it. Gladion tentatively reaches out. Moon's eyes flicker to him, but she doesn't make a move to stop him. Gladion runs his hand through Moon's hair. It's so soft. Moon still doesn't stop him. “Is this okay?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Moon says. “It feels nice.” Now that he has permission, Gladion's fingers find their way back to Moon's hair. He plays with it throughout the documentary and Moon curls even closer.

“I had a nice time,” Moon says when she walks Gladion to her door. She doesn't say anything else.

“This wasn't the worst date I've been on,” Gladion says.

Moon looks amused. “I'm glad you had a nice time. Do you want to do it again?”

Gladion had never realized teasing someone could be so much fun. “I didn't say I had a good time. I just said this wasn't the worst date I've been on. But yes, I want to do it again.”

Moon doesn't bother trying to hide her smile. “And despite the fact that you didn't have fun, you still want to go on a second date with me,” she teases.

Gladion smirks. “Have a good night, Moon,” he says.

+1 Gladion
Gladion hates hospitals. He supposes people don't usually have good memories associated with hospitals. The only good memory associated with a hospital is if someone was having a child, but this isn't the case. His hands curl into fists. He digs his nails into his palms, focusing on the pain. It's better than focusing on his thoughts. Lillie's soft sniffles break the silence. He should comfort her. Moon is her best friend and she's his sister. But what the hell is he supposed to say?

Lillie's face is pale and her eyes are red. Gladion really should comfort her, but he wants someone to comfort him. If Moon were here, she'd be comforting Lillie, but she's not here. Gladion clenches his fists even harder. He can feel the rage bubbling up. It's even more potent because there's no target for his rage. The Ultra Beast that had attacked Moon had been captured. It's not like Gladion can challenge it to a battle. And there's enough rational thought in him to recognize that the beast was probably just scared and Moon was just unlucky enough to be at the wrong place in the wrong time. But it would have been easier if what happened wasn't just a shitty stroke of luck. If Moon being hurt was intentional, at least he'd have a target for his anger.

You're being a selfish dick, Gladion scolds himself. His mind keeps drifting back to the glimpse of Moon he'd gotten before they'd rushed her to surgery. There'd been so much blood. Gladion hadn't even been aware how much people could bleed. He should have been with her. He knows that Moon isn't a trainer. Why didn't he go with her? But he had stuff at Aether to do and he'd let Moon go off by herself.

You weren't aware of any Ultra Beast around, Gladion reminds himself. And she could have been attacked by a random Pokemon. What were you going to do-wrap her in cotton wool? It was just a horrible accident, Gladion reminds himself again, but that doesn't do anything to make him feel better. She'll be fine, Gladion tells himself, as though he could will it just by thinking it. Lusamine recovered and even though their relationship isn't repaired, at least Lusamine is alive and they have the option of repairing the relationship. The hospital is too quiet. He misses Moon's chatter.

“She'll be fine,” he tells Lillie, mostly for his own assurance. Lillie looks at him like she isn't sure if he believes that, and he isn't sure. But he knows that since the doctors haven't come out as yet, they can pretend things will be okay.

*
Moon won't die, but she isn't awake. The doctors say some medical terms, but the main thing is Moon is alive. Everything else is secondary. But it turns out everything else isn't secondary. Gladion knows he should be grateful. In the grand scheme of things he'd been lucky. He and Lillie had managed to escape with Silvally and Nebby, despite the fact that they could have died. He'd managed to rescue Lusamine from Ultra Space without dying, and Lusamine had survived. Moon had lost a lot of blood and the doctors had mentioned she'd died on the operating table, but she'd lived. Gladion still can't (actually he refuses to think about it) comprehend Moon dying on the table. She's alive, he reminds himself. He has to keep reminding himself off that.

But Moon is so tiny in her hospital bed. Gladion is aware she's tiny, but she looks tiny than usual in the bed. He's used to her being awake and filling the space with her ideas. She's alive, he reminds himself.

*
He has a nightmare about Moon dying. Before he realizes what he's doing, Gladion is dialing Moon's number. Maybe she'll have a random fact to share with him. Who is he kidding-of course she will. But the phone keeps ringing and Moon usually answers right away. Then he remembers. She's alive, Gladion reminds himself. But his room is too quiet and Gladion doesn't know how to get away from his thoughts. He gets out of bed and grabs a book. When Moon wakes up, he wants to have something to talk to her about. He stares at the book, but all he really wants to do is call Moon. His room is way too quiet.

*
Gladion throws himself into work at Aether. He sees the employees give him sympathetic looks. He and Moon hadn't outright said they were dating, but Gladion goes out to lunch with her and allows her into his office and goes to see her when she's doing experiments to remind her to eat. It doesn't take a genius to work out that there's something there. He tries his best to ignore the looks, although part of him recognizes that the others are worried about Moon as well. She'll be pissed to see how much she missed at Aether. So Gladion takes careful notes as his employees discuss using Paras mushrooms in an antidote and how they're trying to improve the quality of soil because the soil in Alola sucks. Gladion researches which plants grow best in Alola. Moon would find that interesting. He tries to focus on the reports, but he keeps glancing towards the door as if expecting Moon to come bursting in, all excitement as she tells him her latest fact. Silvally glances at the door sadly. “I miss her too,” Gladion says. “But she'll be fine. She just needs to rest.” Silvally nuzzles Gladion.

She'll be fine, Gladion keeps saying that like a mantra. He learns that tochukaso from Parasect's back can be used as an aphrodisiac. Moon probably already knows this. This is up her alley. When she wakes up he'll joke about how he'd rather eat a mushroom than a beetle if he was going to eat an aphrodisiac. And Moon will babble on about Parasect and the difference in quality between Alolan Parasect and Kantonian Parasect and Gladioin won't even say anything sarcastic.

*
Moon wakes up. She's still weak and she'll need painkillers and she'll have scars, but she's alive. She's alive and Gladion has no words. He sits by her bedside and holds her hand. Moon's face is pale and he can see the scar peeking up from her hospital gown, but she's gloriously alive. Gladion isn't happy to have understood what people mean when they say they went limp with relief. “How are you feeling?” he asks.

“Okay.”

Gladion eyes her suspiciously. “You'd tell people if you were in actual pain, right? Because I seem to remember you telling me I was an idiot for not taking medical aid when it was offered, but I guess you medical people are a bunch of stubborn hypocrites. And if you are more hurt than you're admitting, that means you aren't getting proper care, and if you don't get proper care, you'll suffer a relapse, and then you'll have to come back to the hospital, and you'll miss all the cool things going on at Aether. We're combining rawst berries with aloe vera gel to help with burns. My plant hasn't died, by the way. Did you know that when a pharaoh died in ancient Egypt the mourners had to bring aloe vera as a gift? And we started trying to grow Paras mushrooms. I heard the soil in Alola isn't good so the mushrooms on Paras here are poor quality, but we're going to add fertilizer and nutrients to the soil. And Poipole has an evolved form and I know you want to see if the poison in the evolved form is different than Poipole, but you can't do that unless you actually let the people here take care of you.”

The words rush out of Gladion before he can stop them. He hopes relying on logic and tempting Moon with the fun things going on at Aether is enough to convince her. Whenever the things at Aether were happening, he'd think, “Moon would love this.” Moon smiles at him weakly. “I didn't know that you were so good at making speeches,” she jokes.

Gladion eyes her sternly. “Are you in pain?” he asks.
Moon nods. Gladion brushes her hair back. “It's not a sign of weakness to admit that you're in pain,” he tells her quietly. “I know it's totally hypocritical coming from me. Or maybe it's not. Think of me telling you this as a sign that I've learned from my mistakes and I don't want you to repeat them. I probably could have reached out to people after I ran away. I knew Kukui had taken in Lillie. I could have asked him for help. I could have admitted Lillie was my sister and traveled with you guys, although I probably would have tried to murder Hau. I could have asked for help because I didn't want to be seen as weak. And because I had to protect Null, but I hated the idea of being in debt to someone. But I would have been fucked if you hadn't found me that night in the motel and Lusamine would have been fucked if you hadn't helped her, so...”

“Well, I guess if your stubborn self is admitting asking for help isn't weakness, I should be fine,” Moon murmurs sleepily. She's here. Moon is alive and awake and talking and the feeling completely overwhelms Gladion.

*
When Moon gets out of the hospital, Silvally curls up next to her. Crobat perches on her head. Gladion keeps glancing at Moon to make sure she's real. He had another nightmare about her dying last night. But she isn't, Gladion reminds himself, as he watches her stroke Crobat. She's alive and safe in his office. “Be my girlfriend,” he demands. Wait, he's pretty sure girls don't like guys demanding them to be their girlfriends. Oh, well. Moon knew what he was like and she'd still chosen to ask him out.

Moon looks up, startled. “What?” she asks.

“Be my girlfriend,” Gladion repeats. “I don't think we've officially defined the relationship, but I haven't gone out with any other girls since we went on our first date. And I know you always come into my office and I know we got out to lunch and I don't know if that's considered dating and we've actually been dating all this time and we've been too stupid to notice. Relationships aren't my strong suit. And I don't want you to think I'm only asking you to be my girlfriend because of what happened with that Ultra Beast, although that is a huge part of it. Hopefully I would have gotten my shit together and asked you to be my girlfriend soon, but you being attacked by an Ultra Beast put things in perspective.”

Moon is just staring at him. “You want me to be your girlfriend?” she asks.

He nods.

Moon looks hesitant. “You know that I'm weird and like to ramble about the weirdest things, right?”

Is she kidding? Moon had been doing that since the day they'd met, but now that Gladion wants to call her his girlfriend, she's insecure about it? Damn it, sometimes he doesn't understand Moon's logic. Gladion tries his best to comfort her. “You know I have mommy issues and shitty social skills and I'm stubborn and I won't tell you anything nice, right?” he asks.

Moon looks amused. “I've known that for months now,” she says with a laugh.

“And yet you still asked me out.”

“That's because you're a good person,” Moon says matter of factly. Gladion doesn't have time to digest how that makes you feel.

“And I've known you liked to ramble about weird things since I met you,” Gladion continues. “Your personality isn't a secret to me. I'm kind of into it.”

Moon smiles shyly, but Gladion can see the delight in her eyes. “I'm kind of into your personality as well. I'll be your girlfriend.”

Elation sweeps through Gladion. “Just so you know, I will be a really shitty boyfriend. We are not doing PDA in public. You aren't allowed to take my hoodie. I refuse to call you any cute nicknames and I will forget our anniversaries and Valentine's Day, and your birthday, and the birthday of your favorite scientist because I just know you're the type of weirdo to have a favorite scientist and celebrate their birthday. Now that I think about it, you might want to back out of the relationship.”

Moon grins. “Yeah, nice try. You're stuck with me.” Warmth shoots through Gladion. He settles back and listens to Moon discuss her latest experiment.