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Kukui was no stranger to secrets. After all, he himself had quite a few major ones with the whole Masked Royal thing. It also didn’t help that two of the biggest fans of the Masked Royal were thoroughly involved in his life, with his alter ego constantly being on the television and a frequent discussion topic during dinner. Kukui merely smiled, laughed them off a bit awkwardly and did his best to not appear too suspicious whenever he was forced to comment upon either Burnet or Ash’s insistence.
He promised himself he’d find a good time to tell them… eventually.
For now that was a problem he buried deep inside when a new one presented itself. He’d had a couple boarders before between the years to stay at his house and be able to attend the Pokemon school. He’d fallen into a nice routine with them; be as friendly and understanding as he could, keep a professional distance that still cared immensely and do his best to act as a proper guardian.
Now it wasn’t like he wasn’t following those same principles with his newest boarder. He did his best to make Ash feel as comfortable as possible in Alola, showed him around the island, integrated him into his class and set a few rules to keep Ash safe. All perfectly normal, he was just missing one small guideline for himself.
A professional distance.
It wasn’t hard to like Ash. There was something about his charismatic energy, honest words and excitable nature that reminded Kukui of his youth. His wide smile and optimism also seemed to spread around the entire class, lifting up their spirits and bringing adventure and adrenaline into their lives.
Sure Kukui almost had a couple heart attacks stemming from Ash’s battles with Tapu Koko, jumping off the cliff to save Pikachu, and the sheer power he controlled through a Z-ring, just to name a few. Kukui was considering picking up a few pills for his own health. At the same time, despite his worries and panic for Ash's safety (and self preservation skills), it all seemed to fade into the background whenever he laughed at the sheer speed Ash and Pikachu could inhale a meal without choking themselves.
He found himself sharing his favorite shows and movies with them on the couch late at night on Fridays. He found himself explaining the wonders of Alola and his own mischievous stories at the market. He found himself looking at cookbooks for traditional Kanto recipes to try and recreate at home.
Most of all, he found himself a new determination in life.
A new determination to try his best. It wasn’t like this feeling hadn’t been there but it had been re-ignited after spending so much time with someone he wanted to fully protect and raise and enjoy life with.
Wait, raise?
Kukui shook his head with a soft chuckle.
As much as he loved Ash, he wasn’t Kukui’s kid. He’d personally met Delia before and saw a nice charming woman who clearly poured her heart into making sure Ash was happy. His mind drifted back to the nuances between what he was doing and any other familial thoughts before turning off the stove and grabbing a few bowls.
Kukui was still struggling to keep the noodles from slipping off the chopsticks when he heard the front door open and the sound of Ash laughing with Burnet. A smile grew on his face as he saw Ash stumbling in, Pikachu perched on his head and flashing a signature smile at Kukui.
“We’re home!” announced a grinning Burnet as she helped Ash regain his balance after Pikachu jumped off. Ash seemed to stop for a moment, muttering something to himself before looking directly at Kukui and his failing attempt of transferring noodles.
“Did you make ramen?” Ash asked and stars seemed to appear in his eyes when Kukui nodded.
“Awesome! Here, I can help you!” Ash exclaimed, rushing over and gladly taking the bowl that Kukui gave him. He watched as Ash easily plated a bowl and placed it at the dinner table. “You do that and I’ll grab us some water” said Kukui as he walked over to give Burnet a small kiss.
He returned to see the table ready and the smell of ramen floating around the house. Kukui’s smile grew wider as he saw Ash talking at lightning speed to Burnet about something regarding a Lucario…? His mind flashed back to his own Lucario who was probably itching to be out of its ball at some point. He'd let his Pokemon out tomorrow when he had the time.
“Alright everybody, dig in!” Kukui yelled after seeing that Ash had already laid out food for his own pokemon.
“Professor, thank you so much!” Ash grinned while slurping up the noodles.
“I tried making it as authentic as possible but had to substitute a few ingredients with Alolan vegetables. Hope it doesn’t change the taste too much from what you’re used to.” Kukui explained, sitting down to also enjoy the ramen.
Pikachu jumped up to Ash’s lap and Ash said a few words in Kantonese before letting the mouse slurp up a few noodles. He talked a bit more before Pikachu jumped back down with the rest of the pokemon. Kukui only barely managed to understand the words ‘cook,’ ‘mom,’ and ‘good’ and decided on settling for Pikachu's squeal of approval as an accurate translation for their opinions.
“Pikachu really likes it as well! It’s so good!” Ash exclaimed again before promptly choking and downing his glass of water. Burnet patted his back a few times before Ash got out of the danger zone, giving a thumbs up before the three of them started giggling at Ash’s predictable yet concerning eating habits.
They finished the meal and Ash offered to do the dishes while Rotom debated with Burnet between the Detective Laki movie that they’d all seen 5 times or a new vampire movie that had just come out with questionable reviews from critics.
“Kukui, you decide!” Burnet pleaded, shooting a glare at Rotom who was still vehemently defending Detective Laki’s choices and the odd romance side plot. Kukui stared blankly at the two, knowing that whatever he said would offend one of them, so he took the coward’s option and said “Ask Ash! I already got to choose last week’s movie” before quickly making his escape to busy himself with grooming Lycanroc.
“Ash!” Rotom screeched and Kukui winced at the sheer volume of both Rotom and Burnet’s arguments. He glanced over at Ash who seemed to be debating the same options that Kukui had just been with a blank stare.
“Um, Burnet because I keep falling asleep at the Laki movie” he finally answered and was met with Burnet’s loud celebration and Rotom’s even louder screaming. Tapu, he hoped Ash would still be alive and not murdered by Rotom in his sleep by the time Monday rolled around.
There was little hope remaining for Ash’s eardrums as Rotom’s pestering did not quiet until Burnet pulled up the movie.
They all slipped into their usual positions on the couch, Ash snugged in the middle with Pikachu in his lap, him and Burnet on either side sharing a smile. Rotom floated around before settling on Kukui’s side of the couch, still giving looks at Burnet who merely gave a grin of victory.
The movie started, and true to the reviews, the plot really was all over the place. Kukui discussed a few times with Burnet about how the movie couldn’t decide if it was a romance, horror or comedy and surprisingly, it did well, somewhat balancing the three. Ash made a few remarks here and there but seemed more interested in petting Pikachu and letting his head rest as the main character gave a speech about putting others before themselves.
Kukui glanced back at Ash who seemed to have started ignoring the movie and was muttering something to Pikachu in what he could only guess was Kalosian.
Kukui felt a twinge of surprise at how many languages Ash could speak. Unovan, Kantonese and now Kalosian? He was even starting to pick up a limited amount of Alolan which was impressive considering that Alolan wasn’t commonly spoken in Melemele Island compared to the other islands.
He had a small feeling that the reason Ash switched from Kantonese to Kalosian was to avoid Kukui being able to pick up what he was saying. After all, Kanto wasn’t the farthest place from Alola and he was aware of a diasporic community a bit farther away from the market that Kukui visited regularly. Ash also seemed to have already picked up on the fact Kukui knew some basic Kantonese despite only ever living on Alola. He couldn’t help but feel curiosity and worry at what Ash could be talking about that he didn’t want Kukui to hear.
He turned his attention back to the movie, the main vampire character having sacrificed himself for his new friends and the rest of the time was spent with the friends recounting how much trouble the vampire got them all in.
The movie ended and Ash got up first, yawning and stretching his limbs. “I’m gonna go outside to get some fresh air, I’ll be back in a few minutes” was all he mentioned before opening the front door. Burnet gave a hum of acknowledgement as she opened her phone and seemed to be answering a few emails. Rotom had quietly gone back to its charging station.
Kukui got up and started cleaning up the table and ground where the pokemon had eaten. He wanted to check on Ash but he also knew that him wanting to go outside wasn’t that abnormal for him.
The first few times Ash had gone out, he hadn’t told Kukui and was surprised at Kukui also going out to just sit on the porch and stare at the stars. He remembered the look in Ash’s eyes when he hadn’t noticed Kukui, how they seemed so distant. So unlike the bubbling and wide eyed Ash they saw everyday.
There was an aura of wisdom that seemed to blanket the teenager as he sat with Pikachu. It was a silence that wasn’t supposed to have been disturbed, so Kukui just sat down next to him. For a moment when Ash turned to look at Kukui, he barely schooled his face into something comforting.
It didn’t look like he was looking into the eyes of a child.
It looked like he was boring into the eyes of someone with decades worth of memories. Years beyond Ash’s actual age.
Then they turned away to look at the stars again. The two of them sat in silence for the rest of the night, a million questions running through Kukui’s mind but never daring to voice a single one. It was almost peaceful.
When the sun started to rise, Kukui was the one who got up first. Ash flashed him a smile, more reminiscent of the one he was used to but too strained to be fully genuine. When they both were back in the house, the bubbling boy came back and all Kukui could do was to smile, prepare breakfast and wonder how Ash could seem so young and old at the same time.
So when Ash went out again, Kukui hesitated.
It wasn’t like he was going to do anything bad, or wrong, or dangerous. Maybe he really was living up to the ‘Papa Kukui’ nicknames that had spread like wildfire around his circle but something inside him implored him to go check on Ash.
He hesitated for a few minutes, letting the feelings of guilt and worry soak up until all he was left with was an undying determination to go make sure his kid was alright. A good 15 minutes passed of Kukui twisting and turning around his own thoughts. Thoughts of how Ash had already learned to be on his own for years, he had a biological mother, that it wasn’t Kukui’s place, everyone needs alone time—
It stopped when he remembered that one pensive night in particular.
With a heavy sigh, he put on his sandals and walked outside the front door. Why was he nervous? Just a quick peek to see if Ash needed some company, that’s all. Well the excuse was bullshit because Ash always had Pikachu and the two stuck together like glue but Kukui shook away those thoughts and opened the door.
A cold breeze immediately sent shivers down his spine as they swept through the night air, the moon barely a sliver of curved white and the ocean silently coming up the sand before wading back out.
A bit out in the dirt path sat a silhouette of a small boy. As Kukui closed the door and made his way over, he couldn’t help but wonder how someone so small could make such a big impact in the lives of nearly everyone he encountered. He’d even forgotten how short Ash actually was compared to his large personality that stretched everywhere in any room he stepped into.
Kukui stopped when he stood right next to Ash. He didn’t look down, only stared at the ocean right ahead of them. They stayed like that for a few minutes, just taking in the night sky.
“Thank you. For everything really. I don’t know how exactly to put my gratitude into words,” Ash reached up to scratch his hair before continuing, “but thank you for letting me stay here.”
“Really I should be the one thanking you” Kukui responded to which Ash immediately lifted up his head in what seemed to be a surprise. Maybe even a little bit of shock plastered over his face.
Kukui paused to let Ash respond if he wanted to. He was met with silence and Kukui took that as a sign to continue.
“You've brought so much change into our lives. The good kind. I can't thank you enough.” He turned to look Ash directly in the eye. Ash looked away.
“But why?” Ash whispered, so quietly that Kukui barely managed to catch those few words.
It was a question that made Kukui stop. How could Ash not know the positive impact he had to everyone he encountered? The life changing steps forward and accomplishments were all in part, related to Ash and his actions. Kukui took a deep breath before continuing.
“Well for starters, you're the one who really pushed me to propose to Burnet” Ash looked at Kukui again, his face neutral with only a hint of surprise this time, although Kukui had a feeling that he was just good at hiding his emotions. “Being stuck all this time, just worrying about it being perfect and when it would be a good time, your head strong attitude really just gave me that spark, you know?”
“As well as you bringing out the best in people. My class was already pretty tight knit but you somehow brought them all closer together. I’m very grateful for how you’ve worked with Lillie and helped her accomplish so much. How you got Kiawe to open up and let him relax a little bit. How much you’ve really encouraged and fueled Sophocles, Mallow, and Lana’s dreams with you every step of the way.”
Kukui didn’t miss the way Ash’s eyebrows arched up, or the way Pikachu nuzzled closer with a grin and eyes that conveyed so much more than Kukui could ever fully understand. He also didn’t miss when Ash turned to look at the sea again, his grip tightening on his knee.
“But what about all the bad things? I put you all in danger so many times,” Ash whispered, “just like I did to everyone else. Why stick around me?”
“Because you're worth it.”
Ash’s eyebrows furrowed at that comment, his gaze ever questioning and his mouth barely open as though to say something.
“Ash, look at me.”
The boy looked up, his eyes meeting Kukui's and Kukui couldn't fathom why Ash looked so confused at his words.
“These past few months since you came to Alola have been some of the best in my life. Nothing can compare to watching you fully enjoy your time here, and causing so many people to push themselves and achieve things they never thought were possible. Sure there's been some crazy events and I never want to see you in danger, but if life threatening beasts from another dimension are the price to have you stick around then I'd gladly take them on myself.”
Kukui looked back to a gaping Ash. Pikachu had climbed onto his shoulder with a similar expression directed to Kukui. Then slowly, a small smile wormed its way onto Ash's face.
“Thank you.”
Ash's eyes were shiny looking up at Kukui. He couldn't help but crouch down and wrap his arms around his boy. A choked sob tore through the air as he felt Ash's arms also wrap around him.
Kukui just squeezed tighter, letting Ash cry his heart out under the Alolan moon.