Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Morning, as every morning is, is very loud. At least in the Pelekai house. Breakfast being an absolute uproar as Stitch eats everyone’s food earning him a scolding from Pleakley. Nani yelling about being late for work again, and Jumba was explaining his new “super-evil-genius” invention to the uninterested Pleakley. It was a day just like any other, but to Stitch, today was a very special day.

Lilo just opened the door to go to hula class when she felt a furry hand carefully grab her own. Turning at the touch she found Stitch holding a small black duffel bag in one hand and over his shoulder was a dark blue bag much larger than the other one. Having Lilo’s attention he handed over the small black bag.

“What’s in here, Stitch?” Lilo asked as she began opening the bag. Quickly Stitch stopped her.

“Nagga open till after class.” Stitch began his explanation, using as much English as he could manage. “It’s a surprise.”

“Well alright then, I’ll see you after class?” Lilo asked as she slung the bag over her shoulder. Before receiving an answer she ran out of the house not wanting to be late for hula again.

“Ih! Meega wait for Lilo!” Just as Stitch was about to close the door Nani rushed past him almost knocking him over to get by.

“Sorry, Stitch. I didn’t see you there. I need to hurry or Mr. Jameson is going to kill me.” Nani began as she noticed the little blue experiment following after her.

“Stitch need to tell yuuga something.” The sight of him looking so impatient made her stop.

“What is it? Did you break something again? How many times do I ha-“ Stitch quickly cut her off mid-sentence, not wanting to get in trouble.

“Nagga,” said Stitch as he started shaking his head. “Meega have surprise for Lilo. We nagga be home for dinner. Isa special day.” He proudly declared making extra sure to get across that today was special. Nani questioned this for a second then remembering what day it was, told him that it was okay, but just not to be out past dark. She gave him a quick pat on the head before getting into her car, hoping she wouldn’t be fired.

Happy that he had permission to keep Lilo out after school Stitch began his plans. Today must be perfect for Lilo. Oh, I hope she likes what I have planned. We work hard getting all experiments, now it time for us to relax. Deep in thought of all the times he and Lilo spent together, Stitch almost forgot something very important. Quickly running to the lift he heard it begin to whir as it took him up to Lilo and his room. As he reached the top he got lost in thought once again. What if she doesn’t like it? Nagga, she will love it! She has to. Thinking about the evening he was about to put together brought a smile to his face. One big enough that if he wasn’t in his room alone he was sure it would have been very embarrassing.

Running to his cot he lifted up his blanket to find a little tux, just his size, wrapped and folded nicely in plastic. What would I have done if I forgot this? Noticing how late it was getting Stitch quickly went back downstairs and ran out into the forest with his bag of supplies.

A ways away from Stitch, on another part of the island, Lilo arrived at her hula class eager to start dancing. She always loved dancing. She even loved to make up hulas. Not all of them serious of course. She made them for fun. Normally no one ever got to see these hulas. If anyone ever saw me doing that I think I’d die from embarrassment. However, there was something special on Lilo’s mind today. There is Stitch though, I suppose I could always finish that hula for him. Lilo’s thoughts took her back to a few months ago. She had started coordinating a hula when Stitch crept onto her mind. Finding herself unable to think of anything else she changed the hula into something special to show Stitch one day. But before she could finish it Stitch came into their room, not wanting him to see it before she was finished she stopped. Laughing inside Lilo’s thoughts continued to be fixated on Stitch. I wonder what he has in that bag for me. He looked so cute when he gave it to me. She felt her hand tingle slightly when she remembered his hand on hers. That’s weird. What was that feeling? Her heart started to speed up thinking about it.

Before she could ponder further on that feeling, she heard footsteps behind her.

“Oh look, it’s Weird-lo.” Lilo turned around to see Mertle Edmonds and her friends having just arrived.

“Hey guys-“ Lilo began before being rudely interrupted.

“Why isn’t your dis-configured dog here with you? He also go tired of you I see.” Mertle said rather proudly.

“YEAH” was quickly followed by the other three girls.

This may not be as good a day as I thought. Lilo thought, completely forgetting about that odd tingling she had right before her friends showed up.

Quickly preparing for his best friend Stitch had created a very beautiful setting. Near a cliff at the edge of the forest sat a little table for two. A red floral table cloth carefully draped over the dark blue wood with two wooden chairs facing one another. Not too far away was a small bench. The very same bench that Lilo and he sat at, trying to find the perfect hula right before his glitch nearly killed him. He couldn’t help but think how cute Lilo was when she thought her hula was supposed to be of a chicken. Nearly ready, Stitch placed a candle in the middle of the table, and placed a picnic basket filled with food and drinks he made underneath the table. Nothing could be too perfect for this day. Lilo, oh how beautiful this evening will be. Looking at his handy work, he started thinking that something was missing.

Looking towards the forest, Stitch noticed a patch of flowers. The same flower Lilo used as a part of her costume at the May Day Festival. A beautiful white flower, with a pink rim and three pink stems shooting up from the middle. The flowers brought back another memory as well though.

Two months ago.

“Yuuga sure?” Stitch asked looking quite sad.

“Ih. Meega sure.” Said Angel. She was quite heartbroken but knew it for the best. “Meega can tell. Boojiboo no longer meega boojiboo.” Stitch couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Angel was actually breaking up with him. He just couldn’t understand why.

“Gaba? But yuuga boojiboo.” Stitch pleaded, though, as he said the words they suddenly felt foreign to him. What’s going on? Do I really not love Angel anymore? Feeling quite uncomfortable he began to fidget in the picnic table. Angel sat across from him, dreading that this day would come. She just wished it wasn’t so soon.

“Can yuuga truly say yuuga love me?” Angel asked one last time, taking Stitch’s hand into her own. Stitch looked into her eyes. The eyes that used to be able to fill him with so much joy and happiness. But now? He didn’t feel it anymore. Even the feeling of her hands intertwined in his didn’t feel like they used to. A different feeling suddenly took its place. Lilo. As soon as Angel said the word “love” his mind rushed to Lilo. Why am I thinking about her? I can’t love her. She’s my best friend in the whole world. The more he thought about it though the more he knew that that was not the case anymore.

Angel waited for a reply. But could see that she wasn’t going to get one. Saddened by the loss of her love she let go of Stitch’s hands. Tears started to swell up into her eyes and she didn’t want him to see her cry. She jumped down from her seat and started walking away with her ears drooping down when she realized something.

“It Lilo, right?” she asked, not really knowing what to feel anymore.

 Stitch was suddenly taken out of his trance at the mention of Lilo’s name.

“Gaba?”

“I see how yuuga look at Lilo.” Angel began wiping away her tears. If Stitch truly loved Lilo then of course she wanted him to be happy. “It like how yuuga look at me before. I can tell. That why meega okataka.”

“Meega love Lilo?” This time the words didn’t feel foreign, it felt right to say.

“Ih. Yuuga should tell her.”

Angel quickly ran to a nearby bush, grabbing a pink and white flower she ran back to Stitch. She found him deep in thought again.

I do love Lilo! But what would she say. She couldn’t love me… Sure her crush on Keoni ended a long time ago, but I’m a different species than her. We can’t be together. What if she hates me when I tell her? Maybe she won’t. Maybe she loves me. Suddenly, he felt something soft in his hand. He looked down to see a little flower, one he knew so well, given to him by Angel. His ears suddenly pressed down against his back and he looked incredibly sad.

“Meega soka, Angel.” He began. Before he could say more though he could see Angel had begun shaking her head. “Gaba? Gaba wrong?”

“Nagga. Nagga wrong, boo-Stitch.” Needing to correct herself Angel began feeling sad again, but knew she couldn’t let Stitch see her that way. She wanted him to be happy, so she had to be happy. And truthfully, it did hurt her, knowing the one she loved was in love with someone else. At the same time she was happy, she knew Lilo and Stitch would be very happy together. All they needed was a little push to get there. “Meega happy for Lilo and Stitch. But Stitch have to tell Lilo. That why meega give you this. Yuuga give Lilo flower and tell her how yuuga feel.”

Stitch looked at her, he could see the sadness in her eyes, and he wanted to comfort her. But he knew that nothing he said could change her mind. They were officially over. That thought didn’t bring as much pain as he thought it would. Lilo was all Stitch could think about now.

“Okataka, meega tell Lilo. Soka Angel. Takka.” With his thanks said Stitch quickly ran home, he needed to prepare. Everything needed to be perfect.

Over the two months Lilo noticed that Stitch and Angel didn’t spend as much time together anymore. When she confronted Stitch about it, all he told her was that Angel broke up with him, but not why she ended it. When she heard the news she couldn’t help but feel happy. Why don’t I feel sad? My best friend lost the one he loves, so why do I only feel happy about it? At the time Lilo couldn’t tell why she felt that way. It was always in the back of her mind, but just out of reach of her understanding.

Present Day

Stitch realized he was lost in thought and quickly checked the little clock he brought with him. Oh no! Lilo is almost done school. What’ll I do if I don’t finish in time? I can’t have her here without it being perfect. Stitch quickly grabbed a couple more flowers and made a beautiful flower center piece for the table. Not wasting any time he began setting the plates, noticing how the sun’s light shined off the black plate making it sparkle. Just like Lilo’s eyes. Stitch couldn’t help think about her beautiful chocolate brown eyes, something he had lost himself in many times over the last few months. Everything about her was beautiful to him, her raven black hair as it draped down her back, to her soft, tan skin that just seemed to call his attention.

With the table finally ready all Stitch needed was to get dressed. Normally he hated wearing clothes, but today was important. Slipping on his tux he wondered what Lilo would think when she opened up the bag he gave her. Inside he wrote her a note telling her where to go and a bit of what he planned. Of course he didn’t tell her he loved her in the note. That was too important, he needed to tell her that in person. Aside from the note, however, was also a dress. Stitch picked out this dress himself. It would be long enough to reach down to Lilo’s ankles similar to her regular one, but this one was a deep purple without any leaves on it. It had a slight v-cut and would fit to her body a little better than her regular clothes did. He packed matching shoes for her as well as a white flower to be put in her silky black hair.

She will look absolutely beautiful. With everything ready Stitch put on the tiki necklace that Lilo made for him before leaving to pilot the BRB and then lit the candle. All that was left was to wait for his angel to come to him.

Class had just let out and Lilo felt awful. The entire day was nothing but torture from Mertle and the others. Normally Moses would stop them, or Lilo would lash out, but not today. Moses was too busy preparing for the upcoming dance the school was going to put on and Lilo just didn’t have the energy. She completely forgot all the happiness she felt that morning, as well as the feelings she had when Stitch grabbed her hand. All she wanted was to go home and lay in her room. Walking home, her feet felt heavy. She kept the bag over her shoulder thinking she would just open it up once she got home.

I’m sure Stitch won’t mind if I wait a little bit. I’ll just see him at home and tell him about my day. That always makes me feel better. He really is so kind, always listening to me when I need it. His warm fur as he hugs me and his beautiful eyes I always get lost in…. Wait, what did I just think? Well, he is really cute. I did it again. Why do I keep thinking about him like that? And now I’m talking to myself.

Lilo didn’t know what to do about these feelings she was starting to have. She noticed them a while ago when Stitch told her he and Angel broke up but she didn’t pay any mind to them. Now they seemed to be more and more frequent, but today she just didn’t have the energy to dwell on it. Thoughts of the day came back to her as she turned to go up the hill towards their big blue house. Everything that Mertle said and did made Lilo want to cry. Constantly going on about how no one loved her and that they’ll be happier if she would just leave. The entire day was nothing but that and she knew that only Stitch would be able to make her feel better.

Finally Lilo made it home. She opened the door and began heading to her room. Noticing Stitch wasn’t there to greet her, she called out.

“I’m home!”

“Oh Lilo, welcome back.” A voice from the kitchen replied. It wasn’t Stitch’s voice but Nani’s. “I thought you and-“

“It was a bad day today, I’m just going to go to my room okay?”

“Well, alright but-“

“I know, I’ll be ready for dinner on time.”

Before Nani was able to ask why she wasn’t with Stitch, Lilo was already taking the elevator up to her room. Expecting to find Stitch up there waiting for her she suddenly felt sad not finding him there. Putting the bag down Lilo made her way to the bed and pulled herself under the covers. Teary eyed she began to cry a little. All she wanted was for Stitch to be there with her.

After an hour of laying in her room, Lilo lifted her arm up to the ceiling with an outstretched hand. Staring at her hand, all she could think about was Stitch holding it. Those feelings began to creep back up on her as her cheeks suddenly became flushed. Where is he? Normally he’s here waiting for me. Or even if he isn’t he should be home by now. It’s almost time for supper. I haven’t seen him since….this morning. Lilo immediately sat up, thinking back to Stitch giving her the bag.

“Nagga open till after class.”

Suddenly worried she ran to the bag and quickly opened it up. She was amazed to see one of the most beautiful dresses she’d ever seen inside. And it looked like it was just her size. As she picked it up she felt something fall and hit her foot. Looking down she saw a small note with the words “For Lilo” written on the outside.

Putting the dress down carefully, she opened the note. After reading a few sentences she realized she made a huge mistake.

Dear Lilo,

I’m sorry I wasn’t at school with you today. I hope stupid head Mertle didn’t cause too much trouble. You may wonder how this is written so well when I can barely speak English. I borrowed Jumba’s computer so I could get across what I needed to. But I didn’t break it. Something else did. As I’m sure you know today is a very special day. To me it is anyway. Today is the anniversary of the day you first adopted me and gave me a home. So I decided to make you a big surprise. I asked my cousins to help make the dress and shoes you see before you, I hope they fit you well. Since you just got out of class I’m sure you are hungry, so I made us dinner, you can find me by the bench we sat at when trying to figure out your hula. If you had a bad day I hope I can make it all better. I’ll be waiting, I know you won’t be long.

Your Stitch

P.S. I know I probably don’t need to say it, but the dress is to wear for dinner.

“Oh no. What time is it?” Lilo looked at the clock completely devastated. “He’s been waiting for almost two hours!”

Lilo quickly put on the clothes Stitch provided her knowing she didn’t have a lot of time. Before heading down the lift she saw herself in the mirror and she was absolutely stunning. The purple dress and shoes matched her black hair greatly and really accentuated all of her features. Stitch isn’t normally concerned with looks, I wonder why he went to all this trouble for dinner. I don’t have time to be standing around thinking about this!

On her way out of the house she almost ran right into Jumba. Sparring only a few words about needing to hurry, she ran as fast as she could to the spot she hoped Stitch would still be. Begging that she wasn’t too late and that he would forgive her.

Chapter Text

Lilo ran. She ran as fast as her eleven year old legs would allow her. The leaves let only a little light through the canopies of the trees but that didn’t stop her.  Only thoughts of Stitch filled her mind. Oh please be there. I’m so sorry I’m late. All Lilo could imagine as she dashed past branches and bushes was a sad look on Stitch’s face when he realized Lilo wasn’t there when she should have been. Would he be worried that something happened to her? Or would he think she opened the bag and just didn’t care about the surprise for her? These thoughts and more hurt Lilo even more than the insults Mertle used on her. I never want to hurt you, Stitch!

Stitch sat at the table, waiting for his precious Lilo to come to him. He knew that she should be on her way by now. But he couldn’t help but notice how much time had passed. Stitch just sat in his spot, his elbows on the table and one hand holding up his head. His eyes barely leaving the dancing flame of the candle that now had a noticeable amount of wax melted leaving a small puddle around its base. Maybe she had to stay late. Yeah, that’s it. She just late, I’m sure she’s on her way here now. Stitch tried to reassure himself that Lilo was on her way, but as the time went, on he couldn’t help but feel a little hurt. Suddenly he heard a rustling coming from the bushes.

Stitch jumped up with his arms outstretched and a big toothy grin on his face calling out to his friend.

“Lilo!”

“Croak”

“Gaba?”

“Croak”

Stitch looked down to see that out from the bushes leapt a little green frog.

“Yuuga nagga Lilo.”

He went over to the frog, ears lowered, picked him up and started to pet him as he sat back down. Staring over at the empty seat he imagined Lilo sitting there, her pretty face glowing under the low sun as they would talk and eat dinner together. Maybe she doesn’t care….NO! Lilo care a lot about Stitch. Maybe not as much as I care about her…. But she still my friend. She will show. Stitch noticed that more of the candle had melted, signifying the passage of time even more. Just then the frog jumped out of his hands and hopped away.

“Ah, okataka. Good night Froggy!” He waved good-bye to the frog and with a sigh blew out the candle.

“Meega best go home, Lilo probably there anyway.”

With a few tears starting to form in the corner of his eyes Stitch hopped down from his seat and took off his tiki necklace to set it down on the table. Even with the God of strength on his side he didn’t feel strong enough right now. He had all these plans to tell Lilo how he loved her, but now he couldn’t do it. He was just too sad. Maybe it best we just stay friends after all. With that final thought, Stitch left the necklace to sit by his plate and slowly walked back into the forest to go home. He looked and felt just like he did when he first arrived lost in Kaua’i.

“I’m almost there.” Repeated a very exhausted Lilo. Almost falling quite a few times in the forest nothing got in her way as she was dead set to find Stitch. Over and over she continued telling herself she was almost there when finally she saw the opening in the trees. Right there! Stitch will be just beyond there and I can tell him how sorry I am for being late.

Lilo burst through the bushes to find her best friend, but he wasn’t around.

“Stitch?” She said very softly.

She looked around and saw a small table with a red table cloth. She walked up to it and saw the beautiful set up made just for her. She looked down at the plates, empty and cold. Looking into the ebony painted plates she saw her reflection, it reminded her of Stitch’s eyes. Every time she would look into them she would see herself looking right back. The plates didn’t capture the care she always saw in his eyes though. She could see the puddle of wax around the candle with smoke trailing from the wick. If there’s still smoke he must have just left! As she turned around to start looking for her friend she knocked something to the ground. She looked down to see a necklace, the tiki necklace she made for Stitch before he left to pilot the BRB.

“He wouldn’t leave this unless…. Oh no. He must have thought I wasn’t coming.”

As quickly as she had come she ran to the edge of the forest and started shouting for Stitch. Putting her hands up to her mouth as if to create a megaphone so her voice would travel farther, she knew if he was nearby he would be able to hear her for sure. She wanted nothing more than to see him come out of the bushes, like he was playing hide-and-seek and had just won, but no one came.

“Stitch! Please come back! I’m sorry I wasn’t here! But I’m here now! Stitch!” She waited but no reply could be heard. Nothing but a small croak from a nearby frog and the warm breeze flowing through the trees.

Feeling defeated Lilo made her way back to the table, she picked up the necklace and sat in her chair holding the little wooden figure close to her chest. Seeing all the work Stitch went through, just for her, caused new tears to swell up in her eyes. She felt awful. For the first time since Stitch’s glitch she had really let him down. He’d never done anything like this for anyone before. He must really love me. I mean, of course he does. We’ve been friends for six years. That’s more than half my life and all of his. Of course he loves me, we’re best friends. But he didn’t even do something like this when he was with Angel… but he did for me. Oh, Stitch. I’m so sorry, I really let you down.

Lilo couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, she let down her one true friend in the whole wide world. How could I do that to him? How can I ever make this up to him? Knowing she couldn’t stay there forever, she looked down at her plate and saw her reflection. Her tears had left a trail down her cheeks. Quickly wiping them away she began to get up, when a sound caught her attention.

“Happy Anniversary.” said a soft voice from behind her.

“Huh?”

 Lilo frantically turned around to find Stitch. Looking very bashful and very unsure of himself, adorned in a very fancy tuxedo.

“Stitch!” Unable to hide the happiness in her voice Lilo ran to her friend and pulled him into a huge hug. Kissing his cheek, she apologized over and over to him.

Stitch meanwhile was suddenly frozen. Having Lilo suddenly hold him like that was more than he could handle. He grabbed hold of her, smelling the coconut aroma from her hair, all he could think about was how much he cared about her. Then he felt the kiss on his cheek!

“Yuuga not forget Stitch?” He asked a bit apprehensively.

“Of course not. Why would you think I could ever forget you?”

He pushed her off him a little so he could look into her eyes. Again lost in the beauty that was Lilo he told her how he felt when she didn’t come and that he thought she had forgot about him or didn’t care about the day.

“I’m so sorry, Stitch. I just had such a bad day.” Lilo realized how hurt Stitch actually was, in an effort to make him feel better she wrapped her arms around his neck and re-hooked his necklace. She then took his hand to lead him back to the table. “Mertle said some things in class. She actually said a lot of things.” As Lilo continued Stitch was hanging on every word, but he couldn’t pull himself away from the feeling of her hand in his. It felt as though their hands were made for each other, perfectly intertwined, like two pieces of a puzzle becoming whole. Finally reaching the table, Lilo was almost finished her explanation, however stopped when she noticed an odd look on Stitch’s face.

He looks really happy about something. What’s he looking at? She traced his gaze and found herself also staring at it. She was still holding his hand. She suddenly felt nervous and tried to pull her hand away but it wouldn’t listen to her. In fact she was quite enjoying the feeling of his hand in hers but something told her to let go. A little voice in the back of her head saying that if she didn’t let go it would be too late. Suddenly feeling her cheeks flush and heart quicken she let go, releasing both of them from their shared trance.

As they began to sit back in their respective seats Lilo quickly finished her story, “Anyway, after I got home I looked for you and was sad that I couldn’t find you.”

“Yuuga look for meega?”

“Yeah, I really needed to talk to you but you weren’t there.”

Hearing that he wasn’t there for his friend Stitch became sad again. Ears drooping back down Stitch thought that maybe his big surprise wasn’t as good an idea as he thought.

“Meega soka, Lilo.”

“Oh no, Stitch.” Lilo mentally kicked herself for using the wrong words. “It was my fault, if I had just done what I said I would, I would have been here right away. Then we wouldn’t have been sad.”

“Yuuga sad?”

“Not anymore, now that I’m with you.”

“Ih! Meega not go anywhere.” With that Stitch pulled a match from his jacket pocket and struck it, lighting the candle he quickly shook the flame out before burning himself. As he prepared their meal, Lilo just looked on in amazement. Stitch was being so thoughtful and so gentle. Of course, since they’ve known each other Stitch hadn’t been the same destructive experiment that he was programmed to be, but this was something more. He looked completely nervous, like something was on his mind. As he laid out the salad, he made extra sure not to spill anything, and despite being really hungry he made sure that Lilo had everything she would need first. This was her day as well after all. As he started to pull out a sandwich for each of them he accidently dropped the one that he was meaning to put on Lilo’s plate. She saw that he looked absolutely devastated.

He is so cute. Lilo couldn’t help but giggle at her friend and upon hearing this Stitch laughed at his mistake alongside her.

”It okay, meega made more.” Stitch quickly pulled the extra sandwich he had made and placed it on Lilo’s plate before going back to sit in his chair. “Now we eat.”

The meal was absolutely delicious, it was just a simple salad and sandwich but it was one of the best meals they had ever had. Stitch put so much thought and care into making it the best meal he could. Soon they were finished eating and the sun was getting low, the two just sat across from each other talking. They talked about all their adventures together and everything that had happened between them. Lilo made a move to put a stray lock of hair behind her ear and when she looked back at Stitch all she saw was him admiring her. She felt her heart speed up in her chest and her cheeks flush, she looked down as she put her hands on the table hoping that Stitch didn’t notice her blushing.

Stitch did though, the entire time they were talking all he could see was Lilo. There was no world around them, it was like the only thing that existed was the two of them right then and there. He saw how her eyes lit up whenever she laughed and smiled, he noticed how her beautiful raven hair flowed in the slight breeze. He was ecstatic, he knew then that there could never be another girl like her. Everything about her was perfect, at least to him she was, and that’s all that mattered to him right now. He hoped that while they were talking she didn’t notice him fidgeting and blushing as he tried to find the right time and the right words to tell her how much she truly meant to him.  

While Stitch was going through his mental-war, Lilo was having a struggle of her own. She could no longer ignore these feelings she was having. Every time he looks at me I feel like I’m on fire. Keoni never even made me feel like this. But Stitch is my best friend. Could I be falling in love with him? Even if I did he couldn’t love me back. Besides, he’s probably still in love with Angel right? Thinking about Stitch and Angel getting back together tore at Lilo’s heart. No, she can’t have my Stitch. Wait, my Stitch? He isn’t mine…. Lilo began to fidget, playing with her fingers on the table, she was uncomfortable about the thought of Angel and Stitch getting back together. Where are these feelings coming from? When did they start? Lilo began thinking back, back through all the times she and Stitch were together. I suppose it really started back when he saved me from Gantu and I gave him that kiss on the nose. Thinking about all the kisses she had given Stitch over the years, she felt her lips start to tingle. Even though they were always innocent, suddenly, they felt more meaningful. She put one of her hands up and touched her lips slightly, now she knew for sure. Okay, I am in love with him. She felt her heart beat against her chest as a soft unnoticed hand enveloped her own.

Stitch finally knew what he had to do. If he didn’t tell her tonight then he had no right to tell her at all. Even if he didn’t like the outcome at least he told her. I at least know she won’t hate me. Stitch reached out to grab the hand Lilo had left on the table. She looked up to see Stitch gazing at her longingly, seeing him like that made her heart skip even faster and the hair she placed behind her ear fell back in front of her face. She quickly put it back, never once losing eye contact with Stitch.

“Would yuuga like to go for a walk?” Stitch asked knowing exactly where he wanted to confess.

“Um, y-yeah. Sure.” Lilo notice herself starting to stutter. Normally talking to Stitch was the easiest thing in the world, but right now it seemed like the most difficult thing to do. After getting his answer, Stitch leaned over and blew out the candle, and Lilo couldn’t help but smile at the continued delicacy that this “experiment meant for destruction” continued to hold. Having just blown out the candle Stitch jumped down, never once letting go of Lilo’s hand. Now that all the fear of hurting each other was gone she finally got a good look at him in his tux. Thinking about how handsome he is she felt her cheeks redden again but didn’t hide it. Ready for their walk they headed out, Stitch in the lead lightly directing her towards an empty beach. They never let go of each other’s hand the whole way.

“Did yuuga enjoy dinner?” Stitch was finding it difficult to just talk with his friend.

“Y-yeah, it was really good. Did you make it all yourself?”

“Ih, meega make it for Lilo.”

“Well it was delicious.”

“Meega glad yuuga like it.”

Lilo kicked off her shoes so she could feel the warm sand on her feet. The sun was already starting to set. They both knew they would have to go back home soon, but neither wanted the evening to end. Lilo began to run towards the water, hoping the cool refreshing ocean would help calm her down a bit. Seeing his friend run off Stitch could feel the emptiness in his hand now that it no longer held hers. He paid no mind though and chased after his friend. Before she could fully reach the water Stitch jumped, playfully tackling her to the ground. As they began to roll around, each one trying to be on top, they couldn’t stop laughing. Eventually, though, Stitch won.

He was on top of her, his hands on her shoulders. They were both transfixed, staring into each other’s eyes. Nothing hidden, they could see every emotion that they held. All the years they spent together seemed to rush back to them in that moment. Lilo could feel Stitch’s breath on her lips, their faces only an inch or so apart. She didn’t know what she was doing, or what came over her but she slowly closed her eyes and started to bring her lips closer to his. Stitch was doing the same. Both telling themselves that they shouldn’t be doing this. It’s wrong. Our family wouldn’t understand. We’re different species.

I haven’t even told her how I feel yet, I can’t kiss her.

What if he doesn’t feel the same and I force him to kiss me like this.

They didn’t stop there though, all they could hear was the waves rolling on the ocean. The beach was completely deserted except for the two friends. A genetic alien experiment and a Hawaiian girl. About to share their first kiss with each other. No. Lilo thought. Breaking her trance she pulled herself away. I can’t kiss him. I need to know if he feels the same first. Stitch having been broken from his trance realized what he almost did. Not wanting to force her into anything she didn’t want this was the moment he had to tell her. As he got off, she sat up. Both breathing slowly, realizing what they had almost done. As soon as they caught their breath they looked at each other, almost pulled in again as if the world itself didn’t want them apart.

Stitch began his confession, “Lilo?”

“Yes…”

“Meega have to tell you something.”

Lilo’s mind jumped all over the place, wondering what he was about to say. Knowing it could have been anything, but mostly thinking he was upset that she was about to kiss him. She had to reply with something.

“What is it, Stitch?” As the words left her lips, it suddenly felt like time had stopped.

Chapter Text

Lilo sat in the warm sand waiting for Stitch’s answer. Everything around them seemed to lay perfectly still. As if someone had hit pause while watching a movie. The usual rolling blue waves of the ocean lay unnaturally calm, reflecting the setting sun on the water, the entire ocean was a beautiful mix of orange, red and yellow. Never before had Lilo felt such peace on her island. A warm wind came by, making her hair flow slightly. It was then that Lilo noticed she was holding her breath. Letting a small sigh escape her, she couldn’t calm herself down. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest and her breathing was slightly erratic. C’mon, girl, get yourself together. She tried to convince herself that she was sure it would be okay. But thinking back to the entire evening and how Stitch, had been acting she couldn’t help but feel like the next thing Stitch would say was going to change everything. Still worried that he was going to say that he didn’t want to be kissed, she shifted, when she heard him start to talk.

“Lilo,” Stitch began, trying to find the words he was suddenly at a loss, “meega nagga nota how to say this.”

“I-it’s okay. Just take your time.” Lilo said these words but all she truly wanted was for him to just come out and say it. It felt like the suspense itself was killing her.

“Okataka, Lilo, m-meega.” He took a slight gulp. He knew he had to say it no matter what. His hand reached up and grabbed the wooden tiki Lilo made for him so long ago. He could feel strength come to him as he looked up at Lilo. Her beauty astounded him as her silky raven hair blew slightly in the wind. Captivated in her eyes, that he loved so much he knew he could finally do it. This was the girl he loved more than anything in the world.

“Lilo, yuuga the most amazing girl in the world. Meega nagga meet anyone like you before. Gaba meega trying to say isa…” Trying his best to use as much English as he could manage he finally said, “I love you, Lilo.”

“Y-you love me?”

“Ih. More than anything.”

“Oh, Stitch.” Tears started to swell up in her eyes. Stitch thought she was sad but Lilo knew they were tears of happiness. Suddenly everything around them filled with life. Lilo leapt forward, grabbing Stitch they fell back into the warm sand.

“How does Lilo feel?”

“I love you too, Stitch!”

Stitch was filled with more happiness than he ever felt before. He held her firmly in his arms, never wanting to let her go. The two held their embrace as what had just happened came to them. Everything did change now, but it changed for the better. The world could start breaking around them and neither would care or notice. All that mattered was that they had each other and nothing could pull them apart.

Lilo pulled herself up a bit, much to Stitch’s dismay, and wiped away her tears. She looked down at her love, and like before lost herself in his eyes. Stitch was looking at her with such care and love, her heart skipped as she felt Stitch’s hands on her waist. She felt her cheeks flush again but didn’t care. She wanted him to know how he made her feel. Stitch could see the blush in her cheeks, at just a simple touch his body felt like it was on fire. Looking up at her the world around him vanished. All he could see was her beautiful tan skin, sparkling chocolate eyes and raven hair that could make the night sky jealous. Neither one knew who moved first, it was like they didn’t have control over their own bodies anymore. Stitch put one arm around her back and another hand on her head as he slowly lowered her onto the sand and Lilo just let it all happen, never once taking her eyes off of his. Slowly, ever so slowly Stitch began to lean down, he could no longer feel Lilo’s hands on his shoulders, and his breathing began to shorten as he closed his eyes. Neither one stopped it this time, his lips met hers and they lost themselves in their first kiss. Their first real kiss with each other. Lilo was surprised at first, she thought her heart would leap out of her chest, but she too closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his lips on hers.

She moved her hands behind his back and pulled him in deeper, never wanting to let go every touch of his seemed to electrify her body like she never felt before. Stitch caressed her back, moving his hand slowly around down to her waist, he felt like he was melting into her. Like they were becoming one. Something was changing inside him, he didn’t know what it was and he didn’t care. As the kiss continued it filled with more passion, like after it stopped they wouldn’t see each other for years. Holding the other like they would suddenly vanish before them. Lilo could feel the passion from Stitch, and she returned hers, the more he kissed her the more she felt herself giving herself over to him. She didn’t care about it though, all she wanted was to be his. Sadly their lungs begged for air and they reluctantly let each other go gasping for the air their lungs craved.

Lilo was completely awestruck, barely able to hold herself up, all she said the only thing that was on her mind. “That was amazing.”

“Ih.”

“Can we do that again?” Lilo’s smile was so big it could rival Stitch’s mischievous grin.

“All the time.” Stitch replied as he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. Even still every time they touched they felt electricity between them. So much so they thought they could power the lighthouse instead of Sparky.

“We should probably head back home now, shouldn’t we?”

“Ih, before Nani worry.”

The two got up and began walking home, lost in what had just happened between them. Utterly speechless they walked in silence, until Lilo grabbed Stitch’s hand. Looking up at the girl of his dreams he asked Lilo a question she didn’t have the answer to.

“Gaba we tell Nani?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure how she would feel if I told her I loved an alien experiment.”

“Ih, meega nagga nota gaba Jumba say either.”

“Maybe it would be best if we just keep it a secret for now.”

“Secret?”

“Yeah, I know. I don’t want to keep it hidden, but just until we know how everyone will feel about it.”

Stitch thought about it for a moment. He kept his hand tight on Lilo’s as they walked through the forest. The sun was getting dangerously low but they didn’t mind. They knew the forest like the back of their hand and could tell that they would make it home before the sun set.

“Ih, we keep secret. Could be fun.”

Lilo looked down at him, a playful look in her eyes that made Stitch a little hot under the collar.

“Well then, we better hurry.” With that Lilo started to run, pulling Stitch along with her. Together they ran home, laughing and giggling as they thought about all the fun they had, and all the fun they will continue to have now that they were together. Together. Something they had been for a long time, you could even say they were together since Lilo was five. But now. Now “together” meant a whole lot more.

They continued their run till they saw their blue house before them. Stopping to catch their breath they looked at each other. Love in their eyes and hearts. They made their way up the stairs, not knowing what the future for them held, or the changes they were going through. All they cared about was that they had each other, and the secret that they would share between them. With a deep breath, Lilo opened the door and the two walked into the house. Not entirely sure how they should act with one another they quickly quit holding hands before someone found them. Just as they let go they heard a loud voice come from kitchen.

“Ah, little girl, 626, good to see you two are home.” Jumba soon entered the living room seeing that they were both dressed up. “I was not getting a chance to ask you earlier, where were you running off to with such hurry?”

Realizing the question was directed at her, Lilo quickly answered. Memories of the evening rushing back, she of course couldn’t tell them about what happened at the beach but she could the rest. “Um, Stitch had made us dinner and I was late. I’m sorry, I could’ve told you where I was going but I didn’t want Stitch to worry.”

“Ah, it being okay. I’m just as surprised to see my little creation all dressed up.” Jumba began to sit down on the couch noticing that the two seemed a little nervous about something, but paid it no mind.

“Ah, it was anniversary.” Said Stitch as he walked up to his creator. “Today was day meega meet Lilo. Isa special.” Hearing his words Jumba quickly stood up arms stretched.

“My word was that today? Ve need to be celebrating.”

“We already did, Jumba.” Lilo giggled, “But we are kinda tired now, I think it was time we had a bath and go to bed.”

At the mention of bath Stitch suddenly tensed. Hating the water he ran to his room as fast as he could. Lilo quickly ran after him but he made it to the lift too fast. As Lilo turned the corner to go into the hall she ran into a tall noodle like alien.

“Hold it, hold everything.” Pleakley shouted in his usual tone of panic. “Where were you young lady?”

Lilo sighed before answering, “Stitch made us dinner because it’s the anniversary of when we first met, and we just now got home. We’re tired and dirty, and now we need a bath!” She yelled the last part so Stitch would be able to hear.

“Well, alright then. But you missed an amazing supper!”

“I’m sure we did. Hopefully we will be able to try it soon.”

Lilo called the elevator and took it up. Knowing she had a battle ahead of her. Reaching the top she saw Stitch, still in his tux clinging to the ceiling.

“Come down, Stitch. We were laying in sand and need to get clean.”

“Nagga! Water bad.”

“Water isn’t bad, silly. Besides, has anything bad happened in the bath yet?”

“Nagga…”

“Exactly. Now please come down.”

Stitch reluctantly scurried down the wall and gave Lilo a quick hug, she returned his embraced but sighed a bit when he let her go. Not wanting to ruin his tux Stitch began undressing. Noticing this Lilo blushed and turned away. What am I doing? I’ve seen him without clothes all the time. She turned to look again but blushed even harder.

“I’m going to the bathroom, meet me there?”

“Ih.”

She hurriedly took the lift down and checked that the hallway was clear. She didn’t want anyone to see her face so red. They might question it and then things could go bad. Running to the bathroom, she quickly closed the door and pressed her back against it. Sliding down she put a hand to her chest and felt her heart beat. I need to calm down. It’s just Stitch, he hasn’t changed. She was assuring herself that everything was okay when someone knocked on the door. Jumping at the sudden sound she quickly moved away and turned to face the entrance.

“Come in.”

Stitch walked in, no longer wearing his tux. Lilo wasn’t fazed at all by his appearance. I guess it was just the thought of him undressing. Stitch tilted his head noticing the sigh of relief come over Lilo’s face.

“Yuuga okataka?”

“Yes, I’m okay. Now come on. Time to wash up.”

Lilo walked over to the bath tub as Stitch followed. She began running the water trying to get it to a good temperature before they started getting in. Judging that the water okay, Lilo quickly poured a bit of bubble bath soap and then threw in Stitch’s favorite rubber duck. It always helped him feel more relaxed when taking a bath. Happy with the bath set-up, she began taking off her own clothes. Not wanting to just throw the nice dress on the floor she found a nearby wicker basket and put her shoes and the flower in. As she started removing her dress she felt a pair of eyes on her. Turning around she saw Stitch looking at her, his head titled to the side again as he assessed everything. Suddenly feeling embarrassed she turned around hiding her newly flushed cheeks. Stitch, realizing that Lilo was taking her dress off, also started to blush and quickly jumped in the tub. Unable to look at her bare form. What’s wrong with me? We’ve taken hundreds of baths together. This is nothing different. Is it because of how our relationship now? Lost in thought he didn’t notice the water stopped running and the bubbles nearly overflowing. He was taken away from his thoughts as he felt the water slowly rise. He looked over to see Lilo getting into the tub with him. At first they just looked at each other. Both clearly embarrassed to be naked together despite how used to it they were. Quickly though they began to laugh at it all.

The bath went as normal. Both were still slightly embarrassed about bathing together but there was no harm in it. Especially since they had done it before. Soon after they were back in their dome room drying off and getting ready for bed. Lilo put on her regular teal nightgown and tonight Stitch even wore his light blue pajamas. Not really talking the two of them enjoyed just being near each other. Knowing that they had hula class the next day they quickly jumped into bed to be pulled into the land of slumber.

Lilo and Stitch laid in their beds in silence. Going on for about a half an hour one of them finally said something.

“Stitch? Are you asleep?” Lilo whispered. If he was asleep she didn’t want to rudely wake him up.

“Nagga. Yuuga?”

“No, silly. I’m not.” Lilo giggled making Stitch’s ears twitch. The sound of her laughter was like angelic bells to him, ringing deep inside. He rolled over to look at her and to his amazement she was still just as pretty as she was at dinner. Her face seemed to glow in the moonlight, Stitch couldn’t look away even if he wanted to.

“Would it be okay if you come sleep with me tonight? It’s cold.” Lilo tried to make it sound convincing but even she didn’t believe herself. She really just wanted to be held by him again.

“Ih. Of course.” Stitch hoped off of his cot and walked over to Lilo’s bed as she made room for him. He got under the covers and snuggled close to her. Feeling his warmth Lilo quickly threw her arm around him and nuzzled her head against his chest.

“Thank you.” She whispered. Closing her eyes to finally go to sleep she felt her head move up. Stitch was holding her chin with his index finger and kissed her softly on the lips. She returned his kiss in full but kept herself from losing herself in the passion like they did earlier. Satisfied with themselves they broke away and cuddled close finally ready for sleep to take them away.

“I love you.” Escaped Lilo’s lips, but before the warmth put her to sleep she heard a reply.

“Meega love yuuga too, boojiboo.” Stitch fell asleep with Lilo in his arms, and Lilo fell asleep in his, the word “boojiboo” causing her to smile greatly.

Chapter Text

Morning came too quick for the sleeping couple. Still curled up against her boyfriend, Stitch, Lilo winced slightly at the morning sun shining down on her face. Slowly opening her eyes, she found a big black pair of eyes looking back at hers. This was the first time she had awoken to Stitch so close to her. She felt over joyed as she got lost in his, black as night, eyes.

Smiling at his now awoken angel, Stitch gave her a quick kiss and whispered, “Morning.”

“Morning right back.” She replied returning his kiss. “It came too soon, though. You’re so warm. I just want to lay in bed with you all day.”

“There still time. We sleep a little more.”

With a nod, Lilo shifted around, Stitch now to her back, she made sure the window was closed to stop any disturbing light from getting in. Never wanting to detach from her, Stitch wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close. Nuzzling the back of her head, he gave her a quick kiss and felt her breathing return back to a slow rhythm. Happy that she was now sleeping, he held on tighter and closed his eyes. Nothing could be better than this. He wished it to never end.

About an hour later a whirring sound awoke them. Upset at the disturbance Lilo frowned and reached up to turn off the alarm on her bedside table. After a few feeble attempts with her eyes still closed, she finally hit the “off” button. The whirring, however, continued. Confused, she hit it a few more times when realization finally set upon her. Someone was coming up the lift.

“Stitch.” She whispered, not wanting whoever was quickly approaching to hear her.

“Gaba?” Turning around in his grip, Lilo couldn’t help but smile at how cute he was when he was asleep. His ears were pressed completely down against the back of his head as he laid slightly on his arm. She could feel his other hand on her waist, every move she made seemed to make him hold tighter. As if she would suddenly vanish. She knew it had to end soon though, at least for now. The thought of having to leave his embrace saddened her, even more than the worry of being caught. Who knows what will happen if we get caught, though. It’s not worth the risk of losing him.

“Someone’s coming Stitch. You gotta move.” She said while slightly pushing him.

Lilo’s words surged through his head till it finally dawned on him what was happening. He could hear the lift moving up to them. Any second now whoever it was would be able to see him in bed with Lilo, his arm around her. Completely panicked his eyes shot wide-open, his super-computer brain began planning his next move. He couldn’t get to his cot in time to make it look like he was sleeping, and he most certainly couldn’t stay where he was, no matter how much he wished to. His only option was to try his best to get to his cot, at least close enough to make it look like he just got out. He reluctantly let go of Lilo. I will be able to hold her again soon. With a sad sigh, he hopped out of bed and without making a sound, scurried on all fours to get to the other side of the dome as fast as possible.

He made it just in time, not noticing, however, that his night cap was no longer on his head. As he turned around to look like he was getting down from his normal resting place, Nani’s head poked through the little girl and experiment sized hole in the floor. Before the lift fully stopped Nani was already addressing the two of them.

“Wake u- Oh! You’re already awake.” She turned to Stitch noticing he was out of breath. “You okay?”

“Ih. Meega, ah, had bad dream. Ih! Bad dream.” Stitch gave a smile with his comment, trying to feign some innocence.

“Okay.” Nani extended the word noticing Stitch’s odd behavior, but didn’t think too much on it as Stitch acted odd a lot of the time. Turning to her little sister she saw that Lilo was also looking quite flustered. Almost as if she had just walked in on something private. But as far as Nani knew they had just awoken, so she couldn’t have disturbed them. “If you two were up why didn’t you answer when I called?”

She crossed her arms and started to tap her foot waiting for a reply. She didn’t like when anyone, especially her little sister, ignored her and was not going to put up with anything today. “Well? I’m waiting.”

Lilo was the one to reply, knowing it was better for her to say something than Stitch. He wasn’t as good a liar as she was after all. “We, um, we didn’t answer because of, um, the fact that we couldn’t hear you over a bird that was out our window! Yeah, he was really loud. He kept squawking and taping the glass.” Rather proud of herself she looked up at her sister with as much of a genuine smile, as she could make, on her face. Thinking she might be in the clear she threw away the covers and hoped down off the bed. As she did though, something else came down with her. All three of them looked down to see Stitch’s night cap at the little girl’s feet.

Stitch threw his hands to his head, grasping frantically hoping that he was just seeing things, and that it would actually be on his head. Unable to feel it a gasp escaped his lips, his hands shot to his mouth to stifle it hoping that Nani didn’t hear him. Seeing that she didn’t turn around he figured he was in the clear, but he knew they weren’t. They needed to come up with an excuse, and fast.

Nani bent down on one knee and picked the night cap up. Looking at it she had a new question on her mind. “What was this doing with you, Lilo? Didn’t Stitch wear it last night?”

“He did.”

“What?”

Realizing she spoke too soon she snatched the blue fabric out of her sister’s hands and desperately started an excuse, only half formed in her head. “I had a nightmare last night. I couldn’t find Scrump so Stitch offered me his cap to cuddle.”

“But Scrump is right there.” Lilo followed Nani’s pointing hand to see Scrump right on the desk she kept for drawing and planning.

“It was dark?” More of a question than a statement Lilo winced as she placed her hands behind her back, hoping against hope that she was convincing enough not to arouse further suspicion on the subject. Nani just shrugged and left the two to get ready for the day. When they heard the click of the lift Lilo quickly pushed the “lock” button and they both sighed. Falling backwards, they sat up staring at each other for a few seconds before they burst out laughing.

“That close.” Stitch said once he started getting control of himself.

“It was.” Lilo was wiping a tear from her eye from laughing too hard, “We will need to lock the dome before going to sleep from now on.”

“Ih.”

“You ready for breakfast.”

“If yuuga are.”

“Alright. I’m just going to get dressed first.” With that, Lilo got up to get dressed, Stitch followed suit since he was still in his pajamas. Having trouble deciding what to wear, Lilo picked a faded blue t-shirt and a tan pair of shorts. When she was done she took Stitch’s hand to lead him downstairs. “C’mon, boojiboo.” Stitch’s ears twitched at the name Lilo called him, it made his heart leap, and he couldn’t be happier about it.

Reaching the kitchen the young couple quickly let go of each other’s hand. They wanted to spend every minute holding on, but knew they couldn’t, in fear that their secret would be discovered. Breakfast continued as normal. Nani was just as panicked about being late, if not more so, as usual. Pleakley, on the other hand, was rather quiet. When asked about it all he said was, “I missed the new episode of Bake Off yesterday.” Not wanting to question it no one asked him to elaborate. Breakfast was just like every other breakfast, except one thing, Lilo and Stitch were sitting closer together than usual. They always sat on the same side of the table together, leaving Jumba and Pleakley on the other and then Nani would hold the head seat. Today though, Jumba noticed his creation and the little girl were not only closer, but kept looking at each other far more than usual. He made note of if but did not say anything.

Knowing they had little time Lilo and Stitch quickly finished their breakfast. Downing the rest of his coconut cake and coffee, Lilo quickly stopped him from eating the plate and cup. Having just finished her meal as well, Lilo hopped down from her seat and took off at a run.

“Come on, Stitch! We don’t want to be late.”

“Ih. Meega coming.” Stitch ran after her, knowing they would be alone on the way to class.

Just as Stitch had thought they were indeed alone. Happy to have some privacy for the first time since they went to sleep, they walked hand in hand. It was almost as if their hands were glued together. Stitch brought Lilo’s hand up to his face and gave the back of her hand a soft kiss, causing her to blush and smile. I can’t believe we’re together Lilo thought, unable to keep her happiness off her face. I am so lucky. Why didn’t we do this sooner? Just then she remembered that they had to keep it a secret and became slightly sad.

Stitch saw the smile fade from her face, and almost as if he had read her mind told her, “It will be oketaka. We able to tell them one day.”

“I know. I just wish we could now.” The kind words brought the smile back to her face, “I will be okay, and I was actually thinking that I wished we would have done this sooner.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Suddenly, Lilo felt her arm being pulled, “What are you doing, Stitch?”

Stitch began dragging Lilo, with little resistance, off of the path and through some bushes. Lilo didn’t know what was happening, but her words had light a fire in Stitch’s heart. Pulling the love of his life only a few feet away from the main road, he found a nearby tree where he carefully but strongly spun Lilo around, and pressed her up against the tree with his hands on either side of her. He looked deeply into her eyes. Lilo didn’t know what was happening, before she knew it her back was against a tree and Stitch was staring longingly at her. She looked back into his eyes, and her heart beat started increasing by the second. She didn’t know why, but she liked the forcefulness that Stitch showed. Something about it all made her excited, as if anticipating something, but she didn’t know what it was. She just continued to stare into his eyes. What’s going on? Why are we here, what’s Stitch up to?

Before she could continue her thought Stitch suddenly put his lips to her. Surprised, Lilo didn’t know how to react, this was new to her. They kissed yesterday but this kiss felt different. Where yesterday’s kiss on the beach was filled with innocent passion this one was filled with all the bottled up love Stitch had for her. Like a dam of his love, just about to overflow, had suddenly burst. After the initial surprise passed, Lilo gave into the kiss, returning in full if not more. Their lips danced upon each other’s with no thought other than to give their loved one all they could. Stitch again felt something inside him. He didn’t know what it was, all he knew was that Lilo was his, and he was going to love her as much as he could. Lilo pulled her hands up and wrapped them around Stitch’s back to pull him closer. She wanted to feel him against her, unable to get away, not that she was trying. She could feel herself pressed against the rough bark of the tree, not caring that any moment someone could come down the path and see them, locked in a forbidden embrace. At the thought of being discovered Lilo was filled with an even deeper fire, she was actually slightly excited by the thought of being caught. They stayed locked in their embrace for several more minutes, only stopping because their lungs begged for air.

Finally pulling away, Stitch saw one of the biggest smiles Lilo had ever made. Looking into her chocolate eyes he saw the ecstasy on her face and was completely satisfied with himself.

Lilo couldn’t move. The wave of emotions still coursing through her all she could do was smile and giggle to herself. That was amazing. I’ve never felt like that before. Every touch of his just sets me on fire.

Still slightly out of breath she needed to say something to him, “Stitch… why did you do that?”

“Meega just wanted to show love for boojiboo.”

“Well, mister, we could have been caught.” Lilo tried to sound serious but all that came out was a playful tone that she and stitch both liked. All Stitch could do in reply was grin devilishly. You little monster.  Lilo had thought. “We had better get going now.”

“Oketaka, boojiboo.”

The two laughed as they quickly made their way to class. Still thinking about earlier, the two couldn’t wait to be alone again. Not even Mertle Edmonds could ruin the mood Lilo and Stitch were in. Although, they had a feeling she would try.

Having just finished changing, Lilo met Stitch in the main room and was about to give him another kiss when Mertle, Yuki, Teresa, and Elena walked in. Before Lilo could even sit down, Mertle tried to push Lilo’s buttons.

“Oh look its Weirdlo. I see your ‘dog’ came with you today.” She was looking down at her fingernails, trying to show that Lilo wasn’t even worth her time. “I guessed he would though. Come here out of pity I mean.”

“Yeah” shortly followed, after Mertle finished her insult, as it always does. If she wasn’t trying to act superior, Mertle would have noticed Lilo and Stitch weren’t even paying attention.

“When are you finally gonna quit class? You aren’t even good at hula, and you’ll never be as good as your mom was anyway.”

“I think I’m a pretty good dancer,” Lilo finished sitting down to wait for their teacher and started to pet Stitch behind the ears, “what do you think, Stitch? Am I good at hula?”

“Ih, ah, woof.” Stitch almost began talking, he wasn’t thinking very well because of Lilo’s attention to his weak spot, fortunately he caught himself. Mertle knew about the experiments, but the others didn’t. After the battle with the Leroys she agreed that she would continue pretending that Stitch was a dog in exchange for getting to keep Gigi. Unwillingly becoming a part of their ohana. An annoying part, but a part none the less.

“See? Stitch thinks I’m a good dancer, that’s all that matters.” With that Lilo looked away from her friends and just smiled at Stitch, seeing that he was enjoying her petting. The four girls just gave her a weird look of disgust. They could tell something was different about the two. Especially since Lilo didn’t blow up over the comment about her mom. Before they were able to say any more though, they heard Moses come in.

“Settle down now girls.” He waved his hands to let them know they should sit down. “Now we aren’t going to be doing any dancing today.” Moses waited for the collective groan to pass before continuing. “I know you are all disappointed, but I have some other news. As you may have noticed I’ve been really busy with a special ‘dance’ project. I’ve kept it a surprise, but now is the perfect time to announce it. We are going to be holding a public dance here at the school.”

Having to be the first at everything, Mertle was quick to make a comment. “We always put on dances here. What’s so special about this?”

“I’m glad you asked. This isn’t going to be a dance you perform, but a ‘dance’ as in a party.”

“So it’ll be like a prom?”

“A wedding?”

“A school dance?”

Elena, Teresa and Yuki all spoke up at once, no one could really tell who said what. Moses had a look of surprise at the sudden increase in enthusiasm from the girls.

“Yes, it’ll be exactly like that, except no one will be getting married.”

Lilo looked over at Stitch and realized one crucial factor of these kind of dances. “So, does that mean we will have to bring a date, Kumu?”

“You don’t have to bring a date, but yes you can.”

“It’s a good thing you don’t have to bring a date or else Weirdlo wouldn’t be able to go. It’s too bad really, it would have been better if she wasn’t there.”

Lilo paid no attention. She was just looking at Stitch as he was looking at her. They both knew what it meant to bring a date. They began fantasizing what it would be like to go to the dance together when Moses came over. He got down on one knee and put his hand on Lilo’s shoulder to make sure he had her attention.

“Now Lilo, I know what you’re thinking.”

“You do?” Lilo’s heart began to race. Have people already figured out what’s happening between me and Stitch?

“Yes I do, and I just want to say it now, there will be no pets allowed. I know he is your friend and on…good days he doesn’t cause any problems. But just for that night could you leave him at home?”

Lilo looked over at Stitch, normally she would see love in his eyes, but now all she saw now was sadness as Moses words sunk into him. He really wanted to go with me. There has to be a way.

“But I promise he’ll be good! Won’t you, Stitch?” Stitch nodded his head profusely. All he wanted was to be able to take Lilo to the dance.

“I’m sorry, Lilo. But we just can’t risk having something happen again.” With that, Moses got up to go continue planning. Leaving behind a very sad little girl and alien experiment.

Meanwhile, in a spaceship hidden within a bunch of trees on a hill, Jumba was working away in his lab. The entire room was pitch black, the only light source was the monitor to the lab’s main computer. Jumba typed away furiously, an astounded yet confused look stuck on his face.

“I am not understanding. Why is it being now?” He spun around in his seat. Bringing his hand up to scratch his chin he began to think out loud.

“I was always planning of this, but to think it would be 626 alone?  What could it be meaning?” Throwing his hands up in frustration he turned back to the computer. Trying all different combinations of variables the same result came up, again, and again, and again.

“This could not be of happening without other subject.” Jumba got up from his computer, shutting it down he turned to leave. I am going to be needed of live sample to test from. As he exited the ship, he looked up at the beautiful afternoon sky.

“I just hoping I am being wrong about this.”

Chapter Text

Class couldn’t have ended sooner for the young couple. After telling Lilo that she couldn’t bring Stitch to the dance, Moses announced that it would be held next Saturday. All the girls were absolutely ecstatic. All of them, except Lilo. Moses felt bad that he hurt the little girl’s feelings, but he knew that it was for the best. Too many times had Stitch caused trouble and destruction, and he didn’t want the school’s first dance to be ruined.

“Alright girls. I’ll let you start preparing for next weekend.” He frowned, he always hated to see one of his students sad. “We will have class, as usual, on Monday.” Finishing his announcement, he left with a heavy conscience.

Mertle and her friends quickly ran out, eager to start their early weekend, taking about playing with dolls and watching movies. Lilo, however, didn’t feel up to running. With her head lowered, she went back to get changed. Stitch saw that she was upset, and he was too. Images of him holding her close as they danced the night away filled his mind. He sighed, knowing that it could never be. If I can’t take her to that dance. Then maybe I can do something else for my boojiboo. Knowing he didn’t have a lot of time, Stitch grabbed his legs and put them in his mouth. Rolling into a ball he moved much faster. Once outside, he followed his nose. Rolling through a few trees, Stitch found his destination. A small grove of flowers lay hidden near the edge of the forest. Looking nearly untouched, he carefully chose a few flowers. Having made a small bouquet of pink and yellow, he needed to hurry before Lilo noticed he was gone.

Running back into the dance room, Stitch spotted Lilo coming out of the changing area. She still had the disappointed look on her face. Awe, my Lilo. I hope this makes you feel better. Before Lilo knew what was happening, Stitch had grabbed her hand and spun her around like an expert dancer. As soon as the spin ended, Stitch dipped her slightly, leaving her to hang, his face only an inch from hers.

“Whoa. Um… hi.” Lilo was speechless. All she could feel was her heart race as she lay suspended in Stitch’s arm. Stitch closed whatever gap there was between them and gave her a soft and gentle kiss. Melting all her troubles away, Lilo gave herself into the kiss. How does he always know just what to do? Feeling the lips below his slowly turn into a smile, Stitch pulled away from the kiss.

“Aww. Why’d you stop?” Lilo brought one of her hands up and placed it on Stitch’s chest, she began playing with his ocean blue fur with a dreamy look in her eyes. “I was really enjoying that, boojiboo.”

“We continue, but first. Meega thought yuuga like these.” Stitch pulled the flowers out from behind his back, giving them to Lilo, her face filled with surprise.

“These are beautiful, Stitch.” Taking them from Stitch, she brought them up to her nose to enjoy their fragrance. “They smell so good!” She gave him another quick kiss as he brought her back on her feet. “Where did you get these?”

“Meega find them in forest. Meega wanted to make yuuga feel better.”

“Oh, Stitch,” Lilo couldn’t help but blush at his sweetness, “I’m sorry I was so sad. Thank you. These flowers really are beautiful.”

“Meega thought yuuga like them.”

“I really do. We better get them home and in some water, huh?” Feeling her spirits brighten, Lilo gave Stitch a hug before they left. Stitch could feel himself blush in her embrace. He was ecstatic to have his Lilo happy again. If it wasn’t for his fur he was sure Lilo would see his cheeks flush magenta. Being so close, he could smell the coconut scent of her hair tickle his nose. Once again, he could feel something inside himself changing. Maybe I’m hungry. It is lunch time. Thinking nothing of it, he just hugged Lilo tighter, much to her enjoyment. She loved the feeling of his warm fluffy fur.

Assured that each other was once again happy, they set off for their home. Being out in public, Stitch walked on all fours slightly behind Lilo. They both wished they wouldn’t have to keep up the charade of Stitch being a dog for much longer, but knew the general populace wouldn’t be able to handle the idea of aliens yet. Only a few people knew what the experiments around the island were, the rest just thought they were strange animals. Wanting to get home faster, they cut into their usual forest paths. Even though they couldn’t be open about their feelings to others, they still just enjoyed being in each other’s company. Listening to the serene sounds of the jungle, Stitch was the first one to break the silence.

“Meega can’t go to dance.”

Lilo looked down at Stitch, confused as to why he would bring the dance up again. “No, you can’t. I’m sorry.”

Noticing his mistake, Stitch quickly backtracked to keep Lilo from being sad again. “Nagga. Meega can’t go to dance, but we can still have fun. Ih?”

“Yeah. What did you have in mind?”

Stitch stood up from his previous position and got in front of Lilo. Being curious, Lilo tilted her head to the side. He brought one hand up to his mouth and cleared his throat, as if he was about to make a big announcement.

“Would Lilo like to go on date with Stitch?” He paused, waiting for a reply. He could feel his cheeks warm from blushing. Even if you could consider what they had done yesterday a ‘date,’ they never actually said it was.

“Of course I will, Stitch.” Lilo couldn’t help but smile greatly. “I would love nothing more.”

“Tomorrow Saturday. We get whole day together.” Stitch threw his arms open, he couldn’t contain his happiness as he began jumping around.

“It’s a date then.” Lilo giggled at Stitch’s display of energy. “Come one, we need to get home, silly.”

Lilo took Stitch’s hand, never letting go the entire way home. She really enjoyed being close to Stitch. She felt that as long as they were together, they could do just about anything. When they finally reached their house, they found it completely empty.

“I guess no one’s home yet.”

“Ih. We get house!”

Before Lilo could reply she heard Stitch’s stomach rumble. “Heehee. I guess you’re hungry, huh?”

“Ih.” Stitch put his hands to his stomach, he was actually able to feel it beg for food. That’s weird. I thought I was hungry earlier.

“Well, I’m hungry too.” Lilo handed the bouquet of flowers to Stitch. “You get these into some water, while I start fixing us up some lunch.

With that, Lilo went into the kitchen, unsure of what she should make. Meanwhile, Stitch went to work. He scoured the entire house, but was unable to find a free vase. Remembering that he broke the last vase a few days ago, he began trying to think of another solution. Looking around for different possibilities, Stitch spotted a discarded glass on the arm of the couch. He picked the glass up and compared the size of it to the length of the flowers. Finding the flowers a little too long, he clipped the ends of the stems with one of his nails. Measuring them again and happy with the results he scurried to the bathroom to fill the glass. Make shift vase filled and ready, he ran to his room to place the bouquet. Stitch carefully placed the glass on the bedside table and put the flowers inside. Stepping away to check his handy work, he frowned. It didn’t look quite right. Using his finger he pushed it an inch to the right, stepping back again he smiled.

“Perfect.”

Stitch’s ears twitched at the sound of a voice calling from below. “Lunch is ready, Stitch!”

Having just called Stitch down, Lilo went into the living room and put the large plate of hotdogs on the couch. Grabbing the T.V. remote she sat down beside the plate and started flipping through the channels. She frowned at the selection. Noon wasn’t a good time for television, but she managed to find a rerun of “Wasp Mummies II” on the horror channel. As she put down the remote she felt a gust of air blow past her. She looked to her left to see Stitch now sitting next to her.

“You sure ran here fast,” she said with a giggle, “what took you so long?”

“Made sure it perfect.” Stitch replied with a smile. “Made sure yuuga love it.”

“I’d love anything from you, boojiboo.”

Alone at last and ready to eat, the two held hands as they ate the hotdogs and watched the movie. For the first time since being on the beach they were finally able to just be themselves. Hand in hand, they continued their lunch till they finally finished off the last of the hot dogs. Not wanting to get up, Lilo put the plate on the floor beside the couch. She didn’t know how long they would be alone so she wanted to make the best of the time they had together. Wanting to be closer, Lilo shifted over to Stitch and cuddled up against him. He looked down at her and smiled. Stitch wrapped his arms around Lilo to hold her close, but both of them were still able to see the television.

The movie was starting to get to the scariest part, but neither one felt scared. Lilo just sighed as she fell into Stitch’s warm and fluffy fur. She could feel his chest rise with each breath he took, his arms around her made her feel more protected than she’d ever been. Stitch was hardly paying attention to the movie. The entire time he kept looking down at the girl in his arms. Never before had he felt so content than he did in that moment. He kissed the top of her head, making her nuzzle back into him in return. Nothing could ruin this moment. After half an hour passed, the movie finally finished. Lilo turned around and looked up at Stitch, she was about ask him what he wanted to do next when she felt herself being pulled closer towards him. She felt his arms around her back pulling her gently. She closed her eyes, waiting for his kiss, but it never came. They two heard the creaking of the door beginning to open. Panicked, Lilo quickly pushed herself to the other side of the couch just as a large, four-eyed alien walked in.

“Little girl! 626! There you are. I have been looking all over for you!”

“What do you need, Jumba?” Lilo asked, a little more than flustered.

“I am be needing to take a little blood from 626.” After saying so, he pulled out what looked like an injection gun with a large needle on one end from his white lab coat.

“Gaba yuuga need blood for?” Stitch became very worried.

“It’s…uh… nothing. Nothing important. Just checking up on things.” He nodded his head profusely, he didn’t want to tell them what he was worried about.

“If it’s just a check-up, couldn’t we just take Stitch to the lab to be scanned?”

“Ah, curious little girl is being correct.” Thinking on his toes, Jumba created a quick excuse, “However, it would take a long time. It better if I just be taking blood sample.”

Stitch looked to Lilo. She saw how concerned he was, and she was worried too. They could tell Jumba was hiding something.

“You promise nothing’s wrong?”

“I promise. If there was being something wrong, you would be first to know.” Jumba got down on one knee, awaiting his creation to come to him. Stitch looked to Lilo again, he saw that she was worried as well. She gave him a slight nod and he walked over to his creator.

“I am knowing you don’t like needles, but you will not feel a thing.” He was right. Stitch didn’t feel the needle going into his arm. Lilo and Stitch watched as the vial filled with magenta coloured blood. Once it was full, Jumba removed the gun from Stitch’s arm. Tucking it safely into his coat pocket and patted Stitch on the head. “Why are you so worried, 626? Nothing is being wrong.”

Jumba stood up and made his way back out of the house, before closing the door he told them that if anything came up he would let them know. The two looked at each other. They knew Jumba wouldn’t need to look at anything if all was okay like he said. Lilo didn’t want to think anything was wrong though. She went over to Stitch to put her arm around him to pet his back reassuringly.

“I’m sure nothing’s wrong. He would have told us right?”

Stitch didn’t reply, he moved towards the door and looked at it. Contemplating what he felt before. Lilo saw his worried, hunched form and didn’t really know what to do.

“Everything’s okay, right?”

Stitch turned and looked at the girl he loved. I have to tell her.

“Nagga. Something wrong.”

“Huh?” Lilo was taken aback.

“Since yesterday. Meega feel something change. Something inside. Meega nagga nota gaba it was. Did not think it important, but now…”

“It’s probably not a coincidence is it?” Lilo looked away. It’s like we can’t catch a break.

“Nagga coincidence…” Stitch turned around to see the sad form of his Lilo. He didn’t want to see her sad anymore. This morning was already too much sadness for his liking. He walked over to her, lifted her chin with his finger, and then gave her a kiss on the lips. After a moment, he pulled her into another hug. “No more sad today. Today be happy. We together. That matter most.” He rubbed her back soothingly. Lilo returned the hug gratefully.

“You’re right,” she said with a sniff, “we are together, and that’s all I care about.”

“Ih. Now, we go have fun?” He asked, more of a question than a statement.

Lilo nodded in agreement, “yeah. I’d like that.”

Lilo quickly packed some things from their room while Stitch ran out to start the buggy. No matter what were to happen to them, there was always one thing that made them feel better. Some fun at the beach. All packed and ready to go they drove to their golden paradise. Lilo’s long raven hair flowed freely in the wind, she could feel the warm breeze on her skin. It felt purifying to her. Stitch felt it too. All his troubles seemed to melt away the moment he and Lilo set off. During the ride, Stitch couldn’t help but steal glances at the girl next to him. She is so beautiful. No matter what happens, I will make sure she is always happy.

Lilo could feel Stitch’s eyes on her. She blushed slightly knowing how he felt about her now. To think, last week I would have thought it crazy to be in love with Stitch. Now it feels like the like it’s the way it was always meant to be. She subconsciously moved her left hand over, wishing to hold Stitch’s, but knew he needed both hands to drive. Looking out at the passing scenery of trees, bushes, flowers, and animals she couldn’t help but feel at peace.

Stitch saw her hand move closer to him out of the corner of his eye. Extending one of his hidden arms, he took her hand into his own. Gasping from the sudden touch, Lilo looked over at Stitch and smiled. In reply, he squeezed her hand slightly, feeling the warmth emanating from her. Nothing in the entire galaxy could ruin this moment for him. He smiled as they continued their drive to the beach.

After getting the blood sample from Stitch, Jumba quickly returned to his lab in desperate need of answers. Inserting part of the sample into the computer, he saw results flood across the screen. Unable to comprehend the results he began punching in equations and variables. No matter what he did, the results continued to come back the same. Toiling in his dark lab he looked back at the bright green screen. On it was a silhouette of Stitch, to the side was the number 626, flashing with numbers crunching beneath it.

“It seems my fears are being realized.” Jumba began to rub his fours eyes as he slouched over the computer panel.

“To think, that it would be being 626, my finest creation to first reach the final program stage.”

Jumba spun around in his chair and stood up. As he moved forward, the lights in the lab sprung to life. Seeing the door at the end of the room, he made his way towards it slowly.

“Why is it that 626 alone is being affected though? Surely one of the other experiments would also be changing.”

Jumba reached the door, looking to the right of it he saw the 9 number key pad. Punching in a code he thought he never would use, the door slid open revealing a near empty room. About the size of the Pelekai houses living room, all that was held within was a red machine connected to two pods similar to the charging pod he made when Stitch had his glitch. On the side of the machine was a computer monitor, the same size and shape as his laptop, and connected to each pod was a small, round platform with a clear dome covering each of them.

“If it is not being another experiment that started this change…. Then who could it have been?” Turning on the computer monitor, Jumba froze with realization. “Oh no…Little earth girl! I must be hurrying before I am too late!”

Jumba ran to the house, hoping that Lilo and Stitch would still be there. He burst through the door calling out for them. When no reply came, he rushed to his room. Changing from his lab coat to his earth disguise, a Hawaiian print shirt and blue shorts, he picked up one of the containment pods and headed out, in search of the couple.    

Chapter Text

Lilo and Stitch continued their drive to the beach. Warm wind blew through their hair and fur; they felt like nothing could ruin their day now. The thought of what was happening to him laid heavy on Stitch’s mind. Every time Stitch thought about it, he would squeeze Lilo’s hand softly. Thinking of it as nothing more than a sweet gesture, Lilo would return it with a smile. That smile. Every time she smiled, Stitch’s heart would quicken. Feeling butterflies in his stomach, Stitch looked back at the road. Noticing their destination approaching quickly, Stitch slowed the buggy down to a crawl and parked it near the rich golden sand.

On her way out of the vehicle, Lilo grabbed her bag from the back seat and ran out onto their golden paradise. Stitch quickly caught up to her as she began laying out a towel for them to sit on. “Youga bring my floaties?”

“Yeah, they’re in the bag.” Lilo said as she stood up from the warm sand. “You can put them on while I go change.” Lilo gave Stitch a kiss on the forehead before running off to one of the beach’s changing rooms. I can’t wait for him to see. He’s going to be so surprised. Watching his boojiboo run off, Stitch couldn’t help but smile. He looked through the bag, thinking back to his first visit to the beach. He absolutely hated the water. Having such a dense molecular structure, Stitch couldn’t swim. As soon as he is submerged in water he sinks like a rock. Stitch laughed at the memory of his initial terror of surfing. After trying it out, he found that he loved it. The rush of cutting down a large wave, the beauty of the sparkling blue water cascading over you as the wave rolls. Stitch loved it. Almost as much as he loved Lilo.

Stitch fastened one of the light blue floaties, that Jumba had made, to each arm. They were designed so he could go swimming and surfing without a worry. The small floatation devices were so buoyant that even Stitch couldn’t sink as long as they were intact. They may look silly, but at least they matched his light blue fur on his chest, and anything that let him swim and surf with Lilo was worth it.

Stitch placed the bag on a corner of the towel to keep it from blowing away. There was only a slight warm breeze, but you never know when it might pick up suddenly.

“You ready, Stitch?” Stitch’s ears twitched at the voice coming from behind him.

“Ih, meega rea-“ Stitch turned around and instantly became speechless. Lilo wasn’t wearing her usual red striped swimsuit. Instead, she had an ocean blue one piece that had white flowers flowing down the back. Her hair was tied into a ponytail askew to the left side slightly, held together by a small, light blue water proof bow. She was absolutely stunning, it made Stitch’s heart beat like a drum.

“Well? What do you think?” Lilo said with a twirl, wanting to show off her new outfit to her boyfriend. Before she could finish the twirl, Stitch took her into his arms. She looked down into his dark black eyes, seeing nothing but herself reflected back in them.

“Youga beautiful, Lilo. Always and forever.” Stitch pulled her close giving her a kiss on the cheek. Lilo blushed at his words. No one ever told her she was beautiful before, not like that. She felt his lips on her cheek as he trailed kisses down her neck. She loved the attention. Each kiss sent electricity through her body, she wished for more but could see that they weren’t completely alone on the beach. A few people, resident and tourist alike, were scattered here and there. While no one was really paying attention to the little girl and her ‘dog,’ anyone of them could look and see stitch kissing her and they would be found out.

“Alright, Stitch. As much as I love that, there are people around.” Lilo pulled herself from the onslaught of kisses and began pulling him towards the water. “Let’s go play for a bit.”

The couple ran, hand in hand, to the cool ocean water. Making it a few meters out, Stitch jumped and tackled Lilo into the refreshing water with a splash. The two came up for air and began laughing. They splashed each other and played around, letting the cool salty water wash away all their troubles and worries. After playing for a while, the two had completely forgot about what was happening with Stitch. Being told that no pets were allowed at the dance seemed like a life time ago to them. All that mattered was that they were together now.

She is so beautiful. I can’t believe it took me so long to notice. Stitch was captivated by the young girl with him. He loved the way the water sparkled in the sun on her tan skin. Her raven black hair flowed out like a veil every time she fell back in the water. Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled with happiness in his company, and he never felt more at peace than when he was with her. He could feel his love for her grow more and more. Every touch of hers sent a fire through him.

Lilo felt it too. There’s something about him that I can’t get enough of. She loved how slick Stitch became with his fur matted down. Without his usual fluffiness he looked a lot thinner. She never noticed before how strong he looked. I wish I could be in his arms. She let the thought leave her as a splash of water hit her face.

“You’re gonna pay for that!” Lilo returned with a splash of her own in kind. The force of her wave sent Stitch back a bit. He used all his strength to dive under water, grabbing Lilo’s ankles he pulled her down with him. They stared at each other underwater for a second. It felt like they were floating in space, just the two of them with no one around. They enjoyed the feeling of being on their own. Somewhere where no one could bother them. After a few seconds, Stitch could no longer resist the buoyancy of his floaties and shot straight up to the surface. With a laugh, Lilo swam the few feet up and joined him. They laughed together as they waded back out of the ocean to sit and relax.

The two looked out on the ocean. Calming waves rolled in front of a slowly lowering sun. There was still a lot of time before dinner, so they had a lot of time to continue relaxing. They noticed that people were starting to leave. Only a few tourists remained here and there. Feeling more confident, Stitch wrapped his arm around Lilo and pulled her close. At first she was surprised, but quickly she relaxed herself in his embrace. Laying her head against his shoulder, she put one hand on his leg and slowly petted his drying fur. It was a sight to behold, Stitch turned his head and smiled at Lilo before giving her forehead a quick kiss and resting his head on hers. They stayed in their embrace for a few minutes longer, soaking in the scenery.

“Meega gonna have to thank Angel.” Stitch said, slightly rubbing Lilo’s shoulder, to her delight.

“Angel? What for?”

“Because of her meega realize feelings for youga.”

“Really?”

“Ih. When she break up with meega, meega not sad. Meega not know why. Then, she told me she think it because of youga. Once she said yougas name, meega knew. Meega knew youga who meega love.”

“Stitch….” Lilo looked up at him, her eyes were sparkling. Both looked at each other, love in their hearts. “I wish I would have known sooner, no, I wish I had realized sooner my own feelings for you.”

“Nagga.” Stitch shook his head. “It perfect as is.”

Lilo was going to say something in reply, but before the words could form, she had already pressed her lips on his. Her body moved on its own, she no longer cared if anyone was around to see them. Nothing in the world was going to stop her from showing her love. Nothing was going to stop Stitch either, ignoring the feeling inside him, he returned the kiss in full. Their lips danced together, each touch felt like fire. Lilo closed her eyes, wishing to feel nothing but Stitch against her. She pushed up against him more, until he was no longer able to support them and fell back. Laying on top of her blue companion, Lilo continued to kiss him with a passion. Stitch wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her close against him. Each touch filled the two with ecstasy. It was like a force was pulling them together, something neither one could ignore. Stitch felt Lilo’s hands explore his body. Moving from his chest, down his sides and round his back. His semi-wet fur parting in the path her hands took.

The passion never ended, but the need for breath came over them quickly. Lilo pulled up and away, absolutely beaming. The two were panting, letting their lungs catch up to them. Lilo hovered above for a second. Looking down at the handsome experiment she loved so much. Feeling the strength leave her arms she rolled over to lay beside Stitch. Stitch titled his head to look at the girl that filled him with so much passion. He saw her face beam and couldn’t help but smile as well.

The couple laid side by side. They could fall asleep right there without a care in the world. Stitch finally sat back up on the blanket and placed his hand on Lilo’s.

“Meega love youga.” Stitch said gingerly.

“I love you too.” Lilo replied with a sigh.

Lilo sat up and was about to give him another kiss when a voice suddenly broke the intimate isolation the two shared, “Lilo! Stitch!”

Turning around looking for the source of the voice, Lilo saw a brown haired girl running towards them. Wearing a white t-shirt and blue shorts, Lilo’s friend Victoria reached the couple quickly. Realizing what Victoria might have seen, Lilo and Stitch quickly stood up and moved a few feet apart, blushing furiously.

“H-hey, Victoria. Back so soon?” Lilo couldn’t hide the panic in her voice. “I thought you’d be at your uncle’s for a few more days.”

Victoria furrowed her brow in confusion. “Yeah, we were supposed to be there a bit longer,” she could tell her friend was acting strangely, “ but my uncle got called in to work so we came back early. I was actually just taking a walk when I saw you and Stitch lying here and thought I’d come say hi.”

Lilo and Stitch let out a silent sigh, thankfully they weren’t discovered.

“Oh, okay. Hi.” Lilo was still completely flustered. Please don’t notice that somethings up.

“Is something going on? Did I interrupt or something?”

Stitch’s eyes shot wide open as his ears lowered. He began looking at anything and everything but Victoria. The less suspicious he tried to act, the more the brown haired girl noticed him acting weird.

Lilo noticed her friend growing suspicious of them and tried to change the subject. “Interrupt? No! Of course not. Anyway I have to tell you what happened in class.”

Before Lilo could continue, though, Victoria interjected. Crossing her arms she looked Lilo dead in the eye, she wanted answers. “Lilo. I’ve known you for years now. I can tell when somethings up. Now tell me.”

“I swear, Victoria, nothing is going on.” Lilo tried to look as convincing as she could, even using a finger to cross her heart. Sadly, to no avail.

“Come on. I’m your best friend. You think I’m gonna back down when something this big is going on?”

“Big?”

“Yeah. Big. You never cross your heart unless you’re really trying to hide something.”

Lilo sighed in defeat. She looked down at her blue companion, wondering if he thought it would be okay to tell her. Stitch looked up at Lilo and saw the concern in her eyes. He nodded, giving his approval. “Isa okataka.”

Victoria looked on in confusion. She never saw them look as worried as they did now. “Are you two okay?”

Lilo didn’t answer her friend, instead she addressed Stitch. “Do you think you could give us some time alone? I think it’d be better if I talk to her by myself.”

“Ih. Meega wait here. Youga go ahead.”

“Thanks.” Lilo gave Stitch a quick hug before she and Victoria walked over to a group of trees to sit in the shade while they talked.

Victoria just sat beside her friend. Both of them sat with their knees brought up to their chests. Lilo was looking out on the ocean, contemplating on what she would say, whereas Victoria never took her blue eyes off of Lilo. She had grown worried from the two’s odd behavior. Not knowing what to expect had happened, however, considering it was Lilo and Stitch, it could be just about anything.

Unable to stand the silence any longer, Victoria decided to say something first. “So-“but was quickly cut off by Lilo.

“Have you ever been in love?”

“W-what?” Victoria was stunned by the sudden question and felt herself blush. Lilo didn’t notice though, all she saw was the rolling waves on the ocean.

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Well. I guess I’ve had a crush or two, but love? No.”

“Do you think it can be wrong to love someone?”

Victoria saw a sad look on Lilo’s face and also turned her gaze out towards the endless water. She had never really thought about it before, so she didn’t really know what to say. They sat like that for a few moments before Victoria finally had her answer.

“I don’t think it can be wrong.” She looked back at her friend and saw that she had a slight smile. “You can’t really choose who you love. I don’t think so anyway.”

“Okay.”

“What does this have to do with what you were trying to hide earlier?”

“Well. I’m in love.”

“What? Really?” Victoria gasped from surprise.

“Yes, really.”

“When did this happen? Who is it? Do they know?” She suddenly had a barrage of questions to ask. Not knowing where to begin. “I sure missed a lot when I was away.”

Lilo giggled at the sudden enthusiasm Victoria showed. “It happened yesterday, and yes he does know.”

“So?” The suspense was killing Victoria, “Does he love you back?”

“He does.” She could see Lilo’s eyes sparkle with delight, and how her voice seemed to ring with joy. She knew that Lilo truly was in love. If she had ever seen someone in love before, then this was definitely it.

“That’s great! So, who’s the lucky guy?”

Lilo hesitated. This is it. I have to tell her, even if I don’t she’ll figure it out eventually. “It’s…Stitch.”

Victoria paused for a second, she couldn’t quite tell if what she heard was right. “Stitch?”

Lilo was looking out at the horizon again. She was bracing herself for the disgust and hate she was sure to come. “Yeah.”

“Now it all makes sense.” Victoria giggled.

Lilo looked over, surprised by the smile on her friends face. “You don’t think it’s weird or wrong?”

“Oh no. It’s very weird.” Lilo became crestfallen, “But, since when have we every cared about being normal? As for it being wrong. If you too love each other, then that’s all that matters.”

Lilo brushed a tear from her eye. “You’re right, thank you.”

“What are friends for?” Victoria smiled at her friend. “Now, let’s go back. I bet you’re boyfriend is wondering what’s going on.”

“Mhmm.”

The two got up and walked back to find that Stitch had already packed everything up in the buggy. Victoria congratulated him on his and Lilo’s relationship before suggesting they all go get something to eat to celebrate, her treat. Driving for a little while, the trio had a few issues figuring out where to go. It took some time, but the three finally decided on a dinner only a few blocks into town. Thankfully, the waiter didn’t question or say that Stitch couldn’t eat with them, and the three were seated in a booth near the corner. Everyone decided on getting a cheeseburger with a side of fries, with a vanilla, coconut, and chocolate milkshake for Lilo, Stitch, and Victoria respectively.

Happy they could be themselves in front of their friend, Lilo and Stitch held hands beneath the table, sitting as close together as they could without rousing suspicion from anyone around. Not that they didn’t get the odd look here and there from Stitch sitting at a table, but it was good that that was their focus and not on how they acted towards one another.

“So tell me,” Victoria began, “how did you two get together? I wasn’t gone that long, and it feels like I may have missed something big.”

The two told her about the anniversary of their meeting, the surprise Stitch had planned for so long and everything. Stitch explained about his break up with Angel, and how he came to realize his true feelings for Lilo, and in turn Lilo explained that she had feelings for him growing since they had met, she just never realized what they were until now. The entire story brought a smile to Victoria’s face, there was no doubt how in love they were. Every time the other spoke they would listen intently, their eyes shone whenever they looked at each other, smiles never fading. Even their voices rang with love, Victoria couldn’t help but giggle at her friends, granting confused looks from the couple.

“You two really are cute together.” Lilo and Stitch looked at each other and blushed. After a second they all laughed together.

Soon their food came and they all ate with relish. Having paid their waiter and not wanting to stay out too late, Victoria bid them all a farewell before rushing home. Lilo and Stitch decided it would be a good idea for them to head home as well. Preparing for the scolding they were sure to get for missing dinner, Stitch yelled out in surprise when a glass prison was suddenly encased around him.

“Gaba?”

“What?”

The couple looked up to see their attacker and were shocked to find it was Jumba. He picked up the container with a struggling Stitch inside and attached it to the strap on his back. No matter how hard Stitch tried he couldn’t get out of the capsule. Lilo ran up to Jumba and started beating her fists on him as hard and as high as she could.

“What are you doing, Jumba? Let him go!”

The large alien was unfazed by the barrage of the little girl’s fists. “I am being sorry, little earth girl, but it is being for your protection. 626 is needing to be kept in here.”

“What are you talking about?” Lilo was in tears, she had no idea what was going on, but she knew it couldn’t be good.

“Little girl. 626 is being in love with you.”

“I know! But why are you doing this?” Lilo screamed.

“What?” Jumba was completely shocked by the declaration. Lilo realized what she had said but didn’t care. Stitch couldn’t be locked up and there was no turning back now. With a new found confidence from her friend, Lilo wiped away her tears and stood strong.

“I know he’s in love with me, and I’m in love with him too.

Chapter Text

Jumba stood there, utterly speechless. Did my ears really just hear that? Little girl, in love with my greatest creation? Lilo was standing before him defiantly, showing that she wasn’t going to let him go no matter what. Stitch continued trying to struggle out of the capsule, but was unable to. Jumba stared deep into Lilo’s eyes as everything began to come together and make sense.

“Little girl, you have truly shown love for my little monster?”

“He isn’t a monster! Stitch is one of the best people I’ve ever met!” She screamed at the large alien. “He’s my ohana. You are too. Why are you doing this to us?”

Us, Jumba thought. He took the capsule off of his back and released Stitch, who quickly ran and pulled Lilo into a hug. Jumba took a step forward, but as he did Stitch suddenly turned to him, holding Lilo protectively against his back, ready to attack if need be.

“There will be no needing of that, 626. I am not going to be taking her. Or you, anymore, for that matter.” At the words of his creator, Stitch relaxed a little, but still didn’t let Lilo go. He held her hand, just in case something might happen. “I am very sorry you too. I did not know the entire situation.”

“Why youga try to take meega?” Stitch spat angrily.

“It was for the protection of little Earth girl.” Jumba replied sitting on the ground. He started to rub his four eyes due to stress. “Ah, what are we going to do?”

“What do you mean? Why do I need protection?” Lilo lead Stitch over to Jumba. Stitch was still weary, but was feeling better now that he knew Lilo would be safe. “Is something wrong with Stitch?”

Stitch’s stomach dropped. He didn’t think about it at first, but Jumba did lock him up to protect Lilo from something. Am I a danger to her? Stitch started to pull his hand away but Lilo held on tighter. Jumba snapped his head up, looking down at the little girl holding his experiments hand. “Yes. No. Well, yes and no.” The two looked at him with their heads tilted, confused looks on their faces, but even more so they looked worried. “Do not be looking like that yet. 626, again I am sorry. I thought that, yes, you may be dangerous, not just to little girl, but to everyone. However, that is thankfully not the case. Not yet anyway.”

The two sighed in relief. Stitch’s ears perked up, knowing he wasn’t a danger made him feel a lot better. However, it seemed they weren’t entirely in the clear. “Gaba mean, nagga yet?”

Before Jumba could give an answer, Lilo piped in with passion. “Stitch would never hurt anyone. Well, at least not me. He’s been so loving all these years, even more so these last few days. He wouldn’t hurt me, he couldn’t. He couldn’t.”

Lilo dropped to the ground. What is going on? I don’t understand. Stitch wrapped his arm around her, holding her, hoping it would make her feel better.

“Lilo.” Hearing Jumba actually use her name made her look up. He never calls me ‘Lilo’. “This is very serious. I am knowing he would not hurt you. In fact, now that I am knowing the situation, it is the exact opposite. You see, 626’s final programming stage has been activated. It seems it’s been it has been activated by you. If we do not hurry, there will be nothing that can stop him from possibly killing everyone around.”

Lilo looked at Stitch, never before had she seen him so devastated. She brought a hand up to his and squeezed it tenderly, but it had no effect. “What’s his final programming stage?”

Jumba stood up and started walking towards the buggy. “I will be explaining in lab. Please you two. Come with me. I am not knowing what could happen if we wait around.”

The two looked at each other and nodded. We can’t let that happen, they both thought. They followed Jumba to the buggy and let him drive them to his hidden spaceship. Rather than staying in the main lab room as they always had, Jumba led them to a door at the end of the lab. When the couple entered, they were awestruck by the machine before them. It didn’t look like the regular alien technology they usually encountered.

“What is this, Jumba?”

“This is machine of my own invention. I made it after I began creating experiment 001.”

“When you made Shrink? What does it do?”

Jumba led them to the computer console on the machine’s side, “In a matter of words, it completes my experiments.”

“Complete?” The two said together.

“Let me start from the beginning. Sit down.”

The couple sat on the floor together, holding hands, waiting for Jumba to begin.

“You see. When I started designing my first experiments, I realized that they were living creatures. Sure, I design and program them, but they are not being machines. They have senses. They breath, they eat, and they live. A big part of life, however, is love.” Jumba motioned towards the two of them, causing the couple to blush. “But love gets in the way of my programming. If they love, they do not cause mayhem and chaos. So what is an evil genius to do? Here I was, creating life, so I could not get rid of this basic living desire. Then I was struck with stroke of brilliance, I give them free will, but I alter their programming. I alter it, so that they do not fall permanently in love, until they receive true love in return. You see, when this final programming stage is complete, their initial destructive tendencies are lost forever. This way, they are far more destructive initially.”

“But then why were we able to turn them all good?”

“Free will, little earth girl. I never thought it possible, but in showing them the good they can do, they all chose for themselves to be good. Even I, super-evil-genius, has found good to be better than evil. It is an amazing gift you have. To be able to bring the good out in everyone you meet. To love unconditionally. To love, even a monster.” Stitch wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close, causing her to smile. “Anyway. That is the final programming stage. Love, true permanent love.”

“That sounds great! So why were you so worried?”

“I put in certain details about the unlocking of final stage. Firstly, it can only happen when true love is shown on both sides. I saw the activation and was being very confused as to why it was 626 alone. That is, until you told me you loved him. Secondly, as the final program takes place the experiment becomes extremely protective over loved one. They will be driven to do anything they need to in order to protect. That is what I am afraid of. 626 is my greatest creation! In order to protect you, what would he do?”

“Meega, do anything.” Stitch looked down out of shame.

“Exactly. That is the danger. As programming progresses that need will increase. Constantly, until one of two things are done. Either, little girl stops loving 626.”

“That will not happen.” Lilo interjected.

“Are you being sure?”

“Yes. Since before Stitch told me he loved me, I realized something. These feelings have been growing, ever since we met. Nothing can separate me from him.”

“Then the only other option is to finalize the programming. This machine here is what I made for all of my experiments. When final programming is activated, my computer is notified. I would then be able to seek out my experiments, and finalize the program.” He said as he gestured to the mysterious machine.

“What does it do?”

“Basically, it locks the bond into their genetic code, and deletes the need to overprotect. In hind sight, I only made that function to cause a tiny bit more destruction, it was very silly. Anyway, I wished for my experiments to only truly love one being, for their whole life. So, I created this function of bonding.”

“Then why didn’t this happen with Stitch and Angel?” Lilo looked to Stitch, hoping he would have an answer.

“Meega nagga nota.” He replied, shaking his head.

“But I do. Little girl, Lilo, it is because of you. 626 has been with you for almost as long as he has been alive. You said that you had these feelings growing since you met, my guess would be that so has he. 626 and 624 were not truly in love, because 626 loved you. That is why their programming did not activate. Back to my evil-genius creation. As I said, it locks in the special bond down to the genetic code. There is no more danger, and the couple gets to live forever in love.”

Lilo stood up, determined, knowing what she had to do. “Then use the machine with me and Stitch!”

“What?!” Jumba shouted. “It was not designed to be used on humans. Only experiments, we cannot do it.”

“But it’s the only way to make Stitch better, and it will be better for us that way. I want to be with Stitch forever, and this is the best way to do that.”

“You are telling the truth, Lilo.”

“Wait!” Stitch shouted while standing up, surprising the other two. “Gaba happen to Lilo if weega do this.”

“Well, to be honest. I don’t know. I never designed for humans, only experiments. It could work exactly the same, or there could be side effects, or it could be a lot worse.”

“Worse?” the two said in unison once again.

“Could result in injury… or death.”

The reality of the situation sank in. Either they risk Lilo’s life, or they risk Stitch hurting everyone around them. Both knew what they wanted to do, and at the same time, they made their own declarations.

“We do it.” Said Lilo.

“Weega can’t do it.” Said Stitch.

Lilo turned to Stitch, completely heartbroken, grabbing his hands. “Stitch! We need to do this. I don’t want you to be forced to hurt anyone.”

“And meega can’t risk youga, Lilo.” Stitch looked deeply in her beautiful chocolate eyes. “Nothing, is worth getting youga killed. Especially not for meega.”

“If it means that you will be okay though, I’ll risk anything.” Stitch only shook his head. Before Lilo could argue further, he turned to his creator.

“Jumba make safe for Lilo?”

“I suppose I can try. She is not experiment, no way to 100 percent guarantee safety, but being the evil-genius that I am, I am sure I can put something together.” Jumba said while scratching the back of his head.

“How long will it take you?” Lilo asked.

“Be giving me three days. By then, it should be ready. Or at least, as ready as it will ever be.”

“Will Stitch be okay, in those three days?”

Jumba couldn’t give an answer. Lilo knew right then and there that three days would be too long. With his strength and abilities, everyone around her could be in danger. Lilo looked over at Stitch and saw now only worry, but guilt. It pained her heart to see him like that. The only time she had ever seen him like this was when he had hurt her during his glitch. She had known him for years, and she knew what he would want to do. As if reading her mind, Stitch stepped forward.

“Jumba, lock me in a containment pod.”

Lilo grabbed his hand and pulled him back to her pleadingly. “Stitch, no.”

“Isa for best.”

“It’s not for the best. For the best would be to use the machine right now, but we can make it through these three days together. I’m sure of it.”

“Evil-genius is thinking it would not help anyway. Nothing I have here could possibly be holding 626 if he believe little earth girl in danger.

“Then dehydrate me.”

“I am unable to do that as well. I designed you so as nothing could be stopping you. I never intended for you to be transported, therefore, you are not able to be dehydrated like the other experiments. No, the only way is for you two to try and stay away from anyone.”

“We can’t do that. Only you and Victoria know about our relationship. If Nani or anyone were to find out, they would try to separate us.”

No one can take my Lilo from me. Stitch thought with pure hatred. Realizing what he just thought and felt, he became scared. Scared of himself. He looked down at his claws, it never occurred to him how sharp they were. He could cut through just about anything. Any human would be nothing to them. He started backing away from the others. He didn’t want to know what he would do, he couldn’t hurt Lilo, but his creator was another story. Jumba isn’t safe, Stitch thought. Lilo noticed Stitch moving away from them, turning to look at him she saw him cowering away.

“Stitch?”

Stitch’s head shot straight up at Lilo’s voice. “Meega soka. Meega nagga safe.” Stitch turned and bolted out of the room. Lilo called after him, but he didn’t stop. As much as it hurt him to be away from her, at least he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone around her. His instincts told him to go back, that he couldn’t be away from her, that running was wrong, but he fought the feeling the best he could. He just ran and ran. Letting his body take him wherever it could. As long as everyone is safe, that is what matters.

Lilo saw him run. “Stitch!” She continued to call out to him but he didn’t stop. Lilo’s stomach sank. “I have to go after him, Jumba. You start on the machine, you come get us when it’s ready. I have to stop him before he hurts himself.”

“Okay. When you get a chance, grab one of Pleakley’s communication devices. I can contact you from here on it.”

Lilo gave him her thanks and a hug, and then ran off after Stitch. No matter what, she had to reach him, she had to be with him. It tore at her to think she might lose Stitch. She looked for him everywhere she could. She thought he might be in their tree house, but found it empty. The house was too, except for her big sister, who Lilo ran into coming out of the kitchen, knocking her to the ground. Getting up and rubbing her wrist from the fall, Lilo continued looking around for Stitch.

“Lilo! What did I tell you about running in the house, and why weren’t you here for dinner?” Before continuing to grill her sister for answers, Nani saw the frantic look on Lilo’s eyes. “Is everything okay, Lilo? You look worried.”

“Huh?” Lilo turned to her, panicked. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Have you seen Stitch anywhere?”

Nani didn’t believe her little sister. She got down on one knee and put her hand on Lilo’s shoulder, hoping it would calm her down. “No I haven’t. What’s going on, Lilo?”

“Umm.” She knew she couldn’t tell Nani what was really happening, but she was stuck now. Nani wouldn’t just let her go until she came clean. She looked into her sister’s eyes, trying to think of something that wasn’t about her being in love with a genetic experiment. “Stitch and I were playing, but I can’t find him. It’s been a long time and now I’m getting worried.”

Nani stared at Lilo for a moment, deciding whether she was telling the truth or not. “Well, is there anywhere you haven’t looked? Some place only you two ever go together?”

“Only us…” Realization dawned on Lilo’s face. “Thank you, Nani. I think I know where he is.”

Before Nani could say anything, Lilo was out the door. Please be there. Please, Stitch, I need you with me.

Meanwhile, Stitch was sitting in darkness. He didn’t know why his legs brought him to his and Lilo’s secret spot, but he couldn’t leave. Looking around him he saw nothing had changed since his last visit with Lilo. There were so many trees in this part of the forest that you wouldn’t know there was a clear round patch, similar in size to their dome room, right in the middle. The canopies of the trees let in a bit of light, creating a pattern of shadows on the ground that moved with each breeze. In their times visiting, they dug up the ground underneath some of the trees, making a perfect shelter they could crawl into if it ever started to rain. Aside from climbing out the top, the only way in to the clearing was by squeezing between two trees that were on the opposite side of the ring, away from the paths. It was the prefect, little tranquil heaven for them. A place where they can be alone and play to their hearts content. It wasn’t very far into the forest either. The two would come here whenever they were sad or wanted to be alone.

These trees can’t stop me. At least I can try to control myself here once the urges become worse. Stitch paced around the hidden spot. He had never been in his and Lilo’s secret spot alone before. It was still calming and comforting, but he could feel the absence of Lilo all around him. He plopped on the ground and laid back staring up into the trees. Every fiber of his being told him to go look for the one he loved, but he was too scared about hurting someone to do it. I stay here. I stay here for as long as I need to.  

Chapter Text

Stitch slowly opened his eyes, with a slight shiver he sat up rubbing his eyes. “Uh, fooboo.” He looked around, confused as to why he was in the forest, rather than his own bed at home.

“Oh, that’s right.” Stitch said as he remembered the events that happened earlier. He scuttled back against one of the trees and hugged his legs tightly to his chest. He didn’t know how much time had passed, but considering the growing darkness, the sun must be setting, if it already didn’t. Every single time he closed his eyes or blinked, he imagined pouncing on Jumba, ready to tear him limb from limb before taking Lilo away to keep her safe. I really am a monster.

Never before had their secret place been so dark. It was like an ink that grew and consumed everything around him. Despite this, the entire forest was filled with life. His advanced hearing allowed him to track each sound made by the hundreds of animals and insects around. Stitch had never been so scared, not even when being close to drowning in water. With each uncontrolled twitch of his ears, he would feel his heart skip in fear, never knowing when he might suddenly destroy everything around him in order get to Lilo.

“Must keep control.”

“Must not destroy.”

“Need to keep Lilo safe.”

“From meega.”

Stitch continued to mutter to himself, his hollow words helping little to calm him down in the never ending sea of noise. Suddenly, a loud truck horn beeped through the night, causing Stitch to jump up and gasp. Sitting back down, he began rocking back and forth, kind words from years ago filling his head.

“Whenever I get scared, I just sing this.”

Imagining Lilo sitting there sitting with him singing as she played her ukulele, Stitch sang along. Rocking back and forth the soft song melted his fears away.

“Aloha `oe, aloha `oe
E ke onaona noho i ka lipo
One fond embrace,
A ho`i a`e au”

“Until we meet again” Lilo sang, as she appeared from the secret entrance.

Stitch looked up in surprise, his heart fluttering as he saw Lilo, the soft light made her skin glow. He started to move forward, wanting nothing more than to hold her, but froze in place when he remembered why he was alone in the first place. Lilo ran towards him with her arms out, but stopped as sadness took over, Stitch quickly turned and scurried up the tree, higher than she could ever hope to reach.

“Aggaba. Lilo can’t be here.”

“Why not, Stitch?”

“Stitch not safe.”

Lilo flopped on the ground, crossing her arms, defiantly. “You are not dangerous.”

“Meega am!” Stitch shouted as he leapt from the tree, landing safely in front of Lilo. “Youga need to stay away. Until Jumba fix machine.”

“I can’t leave you here for three days, Stitch.”

“Please?” Lilo hesitated for a second. Stitch had clasped his hands together, begging for her to follow his wishes. It wouldn’t work though, on the way there, Lilo decided that nothing was going to separate them again. Time and time again, someone or something tries to tear us apart. Not this time. Not now, not ever. Stitch saw her move and became hopeful that she was getting up to leave, but instead saw her turn around, keeping her arms crossed.

“No. If you want me to leave you will have to carry me out.”

With a huff, Stitch sat down as well, crossing his arms in mimic of Lilo. “If youga want to stay then stay.”

“I will.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

The two sat in the ever creeping darkness. Neither one was willing to give in to the other. Stitch had to stay away until Jumba was ready so that he wouldn’t hurt anyone. Lilo had to stay because Stitch needed her more than he would admit, and she needed him more than anything. Completely stubborn, neither one said anything to the other for several minutes. Sitting back-to-back, Lilo could feel Stitch’s warm fur against her. Without realizing it, she moved herself closer to Stitch to feel his warmth. She wasn’t like Stitch, who had fur to keep warm, and the cold night air was making her start to shiver.

Stitch could feel her press up against him, he loved to feel her touch. Need to keep control. Not safe. Lilo began shivering and Stitch could feel every movement she made.

She’s too persistent.

He’s too stubborn.

As time passed it started to cool down more and more. The dirt ground absorbed any warmth that Lilo had, and the trees blocked out any warm light that might come, even through the night. Stitch felt guilty about Lilo being here with him. If she would go home she wouldn’t be cold. If I wasn’t a problem, we wouldn’t be here.

“Meega soka.” Stitch mumbled, not realizing he was starting to think out loud.

Lilo barely heard what Stitch had said, but she knew he wasn’t apologizing for them being out at night in the cold. “Why are you sorry?”

They continued looking away from each other, neither one believed they were in the wrong. Truthfully, neither one was mad, but they still believed that they had to do this for the other. Stitch hesitated, he cursed himself for letting her hear that.

“Meega soka for being dangerous.”

“You’re not dangerous, Stitch.”

“Meega am. Everyone but youga isa nagga safe. Meega could tear everything apart.”

“I know you won’t, though. Stitch, you’re the most caring person I know. You would never hurt anyone.”

Stitch looked down at his claws. “Meega feel it.”

“Huh?”

“In lab. Youga mentioned us being separated. Meega felt so angry, nagga feel like that before. Meega felt like taking youga away, destroy anything in path. Meega feel it growing.”

Lilo didn’t say anything for a moment, she couldn’t. All she could do was look down, she finally understood why Stitch ran off. “But you didn’t.”

“Nagga, but nagga nota how long meega stay in control.” Stitch shuddered suddenly. Lilo was on her knees, leaning over him with her arms crossed over his shoulders, holding him as tightly as she could. Her head lay softly on his head as she snuggled into his fur with a kiss. A simple kiss that spoke more words of comfort than Lilo would ever need to say. The canopies of the surrounding trees began letting in the soft moon light, shining down on the couples embrace.

“Lilo…”

“You don’t need to go through this on your own, silly. We have been together for a long time, maybe not together-together, but we might as well have been. Time and time again, we have faced danger and uncertainty. We made it through it every time, as long as we’re together we can do anything. This is no different. You don’t need to control yourself, I will help you. I will help you, because I love you, boojiboo.”

Lilo’s words penetrated the last of Stitch’s fear and worry. She could feel him lean back into her as he grabbed her hands. “Takka, boojiboo.”

Lilo was beaming. She had her Stitch back with her, no matter what challenge would come their way, they would face it together. Stitch turned around and wrapped his arms around Lilo, slowly pulling her close. “Youga said youga enjoy this right?”

Lilo still had the smile on her face, not entirely registering Stitch’s words. “E-enjoy what?”

She didn’t get an answer, instead she felt Stitch’s lips glide along her neck, sending shivers down her spine. Stitch continued kissing her neck, slowly moving down to her shoulder, then back up to her cheek. Each peck made her heart quicken, and she could feel her cheeks grow red from his touch. Stitch continued to explore Lilo’s neck as he felt her hand reach up behind his ear. He purred from the petting she was giving him, the dog DNA in his genetics enjoying every bit of the attention. Soon, his lips finally made his way to hers as they closed their eyes to enjoy the forbidden embrace in their own private area of the forest. Losing all sense of time, it felt to them like they had been holding each other for hours, but neither stopped as their lips danced together. There was seldom time when they got to be alone, and this was the one true place they would never be disturbed. Stitch softly laid the two of them on the ground, never once moving away from Lilo. His breath quickened as Lilo scratched all the sensitive parts of his ear. Lilo continued to shiver, from both the cold and the experiment that lit a fire in her heart. Stitch cuddled close to her, letting his warm fur be used as a blanket to keep the love of his life warm. The two slowed down their kiss, letting themselves enjoy the moment. For this first time since their first kiss, they didn’t need to worry about being caught. Together, they held each other in the moon light, enjoying the sound of the trees sway in the cool island breeze. The darkness that seemed to fill the enclosed area had completely dissipated, leaving behind a white glow from the moon above them.

“Soka.”

“What for? That felt amazing.” Lilo could still feel the wave of emotions course through her.

“Meega soka for running away.”

“It’s okay, Stitch. I understand why you did it.” She gave him a kiss on the nose, bringing a larger smile to his face. “Just promise not to do it again.”

“Meega promise. Weega do together.”

“That’s right.”

Soon after, Lilo and Stitch made their way home. It was a long way through the forests, so Stitch had carried her with his extra arms, allowing him to run as fast as he could. It took a while to get used to it, but Lilo enjoyed the thrill as the forests swept past her. It’s like flying, she had thought more than once, as Stitch would need to jump over fallen trees and rocks.

Nani was furious at the two, not only were they out way past their bed time, but they were absolutely filthy. Even though they tried to sneak in, a trail of footprints quickly lead the older sister to the two in the hall. She ordered them to clean up and go to bed immediately, but first gave Lilo a hug. Truthfully, she was glad Lilo had found Stitch, she was extremely worried by Lilo’s frantic eyes. Now something else had taken its place, but she didn’t pay any mind to it.

After another, slightly less awkward bath, the two were finally in their warm room. Missing the outdoors, Lilo let half of the dome open up into a clear round window.

“There, now it’s like we never left.”

“Lift locked?”

“Yep. Tomorrow’s Saturday, or I guess I should say, today is Saturday. So we should be allowed to sleep as long as we like.”

“Meega like that.”

“I do too.” Lilo crawled into bed, wearing her usual long night gown. She looked over at Stitch as he sat on the floor, looking up at the stars. “Are you still worried?”

“Ih, but with youga, meega not worry as much.”

“Do you want to sleep with me again tonight?”

“More than anything.”

Lilo scuttled over to make room for Stitch, happy that they could continue where they left off in the morning, before they were interrupted. She cuddled into his warm fur, feeling like it was the one place she belonged. She giggled to herself. All these years I’ve been wondering where all of Stitch’s cousins belonged, I never even thought about myself. Stitch gave her a kiss on her forehead, letting the smell of her coconut shampoo fill his nose. Her giggling peaked his curiosity.

“Gaba youga thinking about?”

“Oh, nothing.” Lilo said as she snuggled closer, letting her hand glide through his blue fur like the ocean. He wrapped his arm around her waist tighter in response. “Do you think the machine will affect me the same way as you?”

“Gaba youga mean?”

“I mean, like how you’ll never be able to fall in love with anyone else. How it’ll be in your genetics to always love me, forever. Do you think it will make it so I can only love you?”

“Naga nota. Isa too soon?”

“No, no, no. I would actually like it that way.”

Stitch looked up at the stars. Contemplating its vastness. Full of galaxies, planets, and people. Not even including the rest of Earth, Hawaii was filled with more people than he could care to count. There could be someone else out there she is meant to be with. I was just lucky to land here, a one in a million chance. If I hadn’t been created, would she be with someone else? Anger began to fill Stitch again, he could feel it swell up inside at the thought of someone, other than him, being with Lilo. No. Need to keep control. What ifs don’t matter, what matters is that I am here, and I am with Lilo. To help keep control he clutched at her night gown, making sure she wouldn’t go anywhere. Lilo could feel the fabric move beneath his fingers and smiled.

“You know, Stitch. I never felt like I belonged anywhere. After my parent’s died and my friends started being mean to me, it felt like there was nowhere for me to go. No place I could fit in. My mom always understood how I worked. Nani understood too, but she had to take so much responsibility at once, it was hard for us to be sisters like we used to. So, even at home it was hard to fit in. I didn’t realize it at first, but when I found you, I found my one true place. That’s why I wouldn’t mind if Jumba changed my genetics, it wouldn’t actually change anything. Being with you, loving you, is my one true place already.”

I’m such a fool. Stitch thought. I am in love with Lilo, and she is in love with me. Nothing, and no one can change that. “Meega love you, Lilo.”

When he didn’t hear a reply, he opened his eyes to see Lilo had already fallen asleep. Her slow warm breath moving his fur ever so slightly. With a smile, he kissed her forehead lightly, letting his lips rest there for a moment. ”Jhua tehrqua, boojiboo.”

Stitch looked back up at the stars again, as he allowed his eyes to close slowly. This is my one true place too.

The couple slept in longer than usual. Only Nani had tried to wake them once, but decided it best to let them sleep after she found the lift locked.

“They deserve some rest. Something must have happened yesterday.”

By the time Lilo had awoken, it was already past noon, she turned over and found that the bed was empty of her blue love. She looked around the dome and couldn’t find him anywhere. Even the dome was closed again, before she could get up and start panicking, she heard the whirring of the elevator.

“Boojiboo! Meega make lunch.” Stitch appeared from the hole in floor, carrying a tray full plates of food. One had two large slices of coconut cake, and the other had a hero sub sandwich cut into two triangles.

“Oh wow, lunch in bed? You are being quite the gentleman.” Lilo said dreamily.

“Meega thought youga might be hungry.” Stitch placed the tray on the bed and sat cross legged like Lilo did.

“Yeah, I’m starving. Thank you.”

Lilo took one half of her sandwich and took a large bite. “Wow. This is delicious. I don’t think Reuben could even make one this good.” Lilo had already finished half of her sandwich before Stitch even picked up his plate.

“Meega glad youga like it. Meega get better at cooking.”

“No kidding. So, did you want to go see Angel today?”

“Ih. Meega want to thank her.”

“I thought you might. Before we go, I need to grab one of Pleakley’s communicators.”

“Oketaka.” Stitch took his plate and threw both of the large pieces of cake in his mouth, gobbling down them without chewing, causing Lilo to giggle. You are too cute. She took the last bite of her sandwich and directed Stitch to take them to the kitchen, while she got changed and went to get the communicator.

Dressed in a light green muumuu, Lilo went up to the shared room of Jumba and Pleakley’s. Lilo knocked on the door, but didn’t get an answer, so with a shrug she entered anyway and found Pleakley modeling a new outfit in front of the mirror. She stood in shock, seeing the noodle alien wearing a long low cut red dress with a wig of long black hair, and three gold bangles hanging off of each wrist. He was just staring at himself, but then he started shaking his hips and dancing to music that was not playing, making Lilo a little more than embarrassed to be there. Turning slightly in the mirror, Pleakley saw the little girl and jumped with a gasp as he turned around in surprise, slightly skewing his wig.

“O-oh, L-lilo. Ho-how long have you been there?” He said nervously as he fixed the black wig on his head.

“Longer than I would have liked…”

“Oh.” He leaned against a nearby chair, hoping to play off that he wasn’t embarrassed. “So, what can I help you with?”

“I need to borrow one of your communicators.”

“A communicator? What in heaven’s for?”

Lilo titled her head to the side, trying to think of an excuse that even Pleakley could believe. “Cell phones are all the rage these days, but we can’t afford to get me one. So I wanted to use one of the communicators to fit in better.”

The tall alien looked at the little girl, for a moment she thought he could tell she was lying. Suddenly, Pleakley ran to his desk and pulled out a fashion magazine, frantically flipping through it.

“Really? Cell phones are all the rage?”

“Yep.”

Unable to find anything in his magazine, Pleakley dropped it with a sigh. “Alright, you can take one. Can’t have you being unfashionable now can we?”

“Of course not.”

Grabbing the round yellow device, Lilo ran out of the room. Seeing he was alone, Pleakley locked the door and went back to modeling in front of the mirror. Lilo ran outside to meet Stitch who was already in the buggy.

“Gaba took so long?”

“Believe me, you do not want to know.”

Stitch looked confused, and Lilo just laughed. With a smile, Stitch started the red buggy and they drove off to see Angel. Lilo heard a beep from beside her and saw that the communicator was going off. She pulled it up and leaned closer to Stitch so whoever was calling could so both of them.

“Ah, little girl, and 626 too! I’m a being glad you got him back.”

“So what’s up, Jumba?”

“I thought I should tell you that I will be able to make machine not kill you.”

“Really? Is it already ready?”

“That would be a no, but I am on schedule as I thought I would be. I am going to go back to work now. I just wanted to let you know that it is not futile. Still, try to be keeping Stitch away from anyone.”

“Don’t worry, we got it all under control.”

Lilo turned off the device as she looked out onto the slow approaching town. The two were happy, soon the machine would be ready, and it would be safe for Lilo to use.

Chapter Text

Angel was busy cleaning her entire house. After the battle with the Leroy clones, she and some of the other experiments had built their own places to live together. Seeing as some of their one true places couldn’t be lived in, like Sparky’s, they needed someplace safe to stay. With the help of Cobra Bubbles and the CIA, a small area, just off of Lilo’s home town, was bought and made into a small experiment community. Angel loved her bright pink bungalow, the white trim on the outside matched her fur perfectly. Even now she still had troubles believing that all the fighting was over for good, that she could finally just relax. Every now and then she would go sing at local restaurants, of course not to turn experiments bad, just for fun.

I never really got to sing for myself until now. It’s really a lot of fun. She continued working while humming to herself. While vacuuming the living room, she accidently bumped into her wooden side table, knocking down a picture frame. She turned off the vacuum and picked it up, wiping some dirt away with her hand, she couldn’t help but give a pained smile as she looked at the old memory. Inside the dark blue frame held a picture of her and Stitch, just a few months ago, before she had broken up with him. They were sharing an ice-cream cone and Angel was licking off some stray ice-cream on Stitch’s cheek. It felt like only yesterday, she could still feel Stitch’s hand in her own whenever she felt sad or alone.

It was for the best. He wouldn’t have been happy with me. Lilo is who he belongs with… I wonder how the two of them are doing. I haven’t seen them in a while. Maybe I’ll give them a call later. She put the picture back on the side table and continued her cleaning. Wiping down the windows she saw a tan yellow experiment walking into his own yellow and white house across the street. Feeling eyes on him, Reuben turned around and waved at Angel, who waved back, before heading into his own home. I really should go talk to Rueben sometime. I wonder why he isn’t with Gantu anymore. Maybe I’ll give him a call too, some lunch and tea would be nice. She quickly shook the thought of her having lunch with Reuben away, feeling her cheeks warm a little.

After a little while, the entire house was sparkling. Having moped, vacuumed, wiped, and dusted, Angel stood in the living room, admiring her work. She couldn’t help but enjoy the satisfaction of making something, rather than destroying everything.

“Felix makes it look easy.” She said while wiping some sweat from her forehead. Normally her fur didn’t make her feel hot, but after running around for a few hours she couldn’t help but need a rest. Grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen, she finally sat down. She turned on her blue record player and started listening to some music while closing her eyes for a little relaxation. Unfortunately, the moment of bliss was short lived, as a knock at the door caused her face to contort in disbelief.

“Just as meega sat down too. Who could it be?” She sighed as she turned off the music.

Putting on a fake smile, she opened the front door, wishing she had a little more time to relax. When she opened the door though, her face grew bright with joy.

“Lilo! Stitch!” Gaba youga doing here?”

“Aloha, Angel.” Lilo replied with a wave. “We thought we should come for a visit, is it alright if we come in?”

“Ih. Come in, come in.” She waved them in with great eager, all previous thoughts of anger completely leaving her.

Stitch kept behind Lilo slightly. Trying to hide as much as he could. In truth, he hadn’t visited Angel’s house since their break up. He actually hadn’t seen her much at all in the two months since. Neither one really knew how to act around each other anymore. Being led into the adjoined living room, Lilo and Stitch sat on the couch as Angel made her way into the kitchen.

“Would youga like something to drink?” Angel called.

“Yes please, some juice would be nice.”

Angel gave the two their drinks and went to sit in the rocking chair in the corner by the book case. Facing the two she noticed something different about the way they behaved.

“Meega glad to see youga again. Gaba youga doing over here?”

“Well actually, Stitch wanted to tell you something.”

“Meega?”

Stitch froze, it occurred to him that he had to thank her for helping him realize his feelings, but she was still his ex-boojiboo. The three sat there in an awkward silence that made their ears ring. Angel was more confused than anything as she saw Stitch shake from his nerves. Her senses suddenly heightened when she saw Lilo grab Stitch’s hand, looking into each other’s eyes he began calming down instantly. What?

“Angel. Meega wanted to say, takka-youga.”

“Takka? Gaba for?” She couldn’t help but notice that they were still holding hands.

“Because of youga, meega realize feelings for Lilo. Without youga, meega never confess.”

“Confess? So then youga?”

“We’re together.”  Lilo exclaimed as she put an arm around Stitch, pulling him in close.

Angel shrieked in excitement, jumping out of her chair. “Meega so happy for youga!” She really was happy for them, but a part of her couldn’t help but feel jealous. Her feelings for Stitch never completely left her, and while she gave up on the thought that she would be with him again, she did wish they had never needed to end their relationship.

She pulled Lilo from the couch and the two began jumping around in celebration. Not paying attention to her surroundings, Lilo bumped into the side table knocking the picture frame down again while falling herself.

“Ow, my arm.” Lilo winced, rubbing the spot she had fallen on. Angel was about to help Lilo up when Stitch jumped between the two of them, shielding Lilo protectively and growling at Angel.

“Stitch?” She tried to step forward to help, but her helping hand was swatted away by an increasingly terrifying Stitch. “Gaba youga doing?”

He continued to growl, anger growing inside him. Seeing Lilo get hurt, he couldn’t hold back what his very DNA told him to do. He saw Angel as a threat and needed to protect his love. Angel backed away in fear. She had never seen Stitch like this before, it was like he was a different person. Before any more harm could be done, Lilo wrapped her arms around him.

“It’s okay, Stitch.” She whispered.

He didn’t respond, his breathing had grown heavy against his control.

“I’m okay.”

Stitch started looking around, beginning to calm down, but still looking at Angel threateningly.

“Don’t worry, Stitch. Angel didn’t hurt me. It was an accident.” She began petting his fur, she could feel his breathing turn back to normal.

Stitch turned around and looked at Lilo, showing nothing but fear on his face. She continued petting the back of his head, giving him a soft comforting kiss on his forehead.

“Stitch?” said a worried voice from behind him. He turned around, seeing Angel looking terrified, confused, and hurt all at the same time.

With great guilt, Stitch apologized to both girls, then excused himself to the bathroom to calm down. Lilo fell back to the ground with a sigh of relief. Seeing Angel look at her quizzically, she began telling her everything they knew. Beginning with how Stitch began feeling something change inside him, and what Jumba had told them about the experiments ability to fall and love and what it would do. While it provided explanation, it still pained Angel for many reasons. To start, she had never had Stitch direct his anger at her in such a way, and because she and Stitch never developed this programming together. I guess he never really did love me. Looking out of the window she saw the little yellow house that mirrored her own, feeling herself blush again. But I guess that means I didn’t love him as much either. Feeling better with her revelation, she helped Lilo off of the floor and checked her arm, judging that it would be okay on it’s own.

Before sitting back down, Lilo picked up the picture she had knocked over. Looking at the image it contained she couldn’t help but feel guilty about what they had done. Maybe we shouldn’t have come and told her. It hasn’t been that long since they broke up.

“I’m sorry, Angel.”

“Gaba for.”

“You really loved Stitch. I shouldn’t have come here and bragged about my relationship with him.” Lilo turned away, placing the photo of the two experiments back in its place.

“Lilo.” Angel began as she placed a tender hand on Lilo’s shoulder. “Isa oketaka.”

“Really?”

“Ih. True, meega still have feelings for Stitch, but meega and him are over. Youga truly love him, ih?”

“I do. I really do. I wish I had realized sooner.”

“Then isa oketaka.” Angel smiled at her friend. “Youga do what is best for youga and Stitch.”

Lilo pulled Angel into a hug that she happily returned.

“Isa there a way to help, Stitch?” Angel asked once their embrace ended.

Guilt pushed aside, Lilo explained about the machine Jumba had made, and how she and Stitch each had a different thought on whether it should be used or not.

“Meega agree with Stitch.”

“I understand why you and Stitch agree, but I’ve seen Stitch lose control. I’ve seen how much it pains him, how much he can fear himself. I wasn’t there for him when he had his glitch, and I’m never letting something like that happen again.”

“Meega understand, but youga must know weega want youga safe too.”

“I know.” Lilo said with a smile.

“So Jumba make machine safe for youga?”

“Yeah. When we were on our way over here he told us it will work, it should be finished Monday.”

“That’s a relief.”

“It is. I’m just worried about how Stitch is taking it. That was the first time he really lost control.”

Both of the girls looked away, neither one really knew what to say after that. Every now and then they would look at each other and smile awkwardly. Mostly though, Lilo would stare down at her hands and play with her fingers. Angel was acting similar, but instead she looked out the window, contemplating her feelings for Stitch, and the feelings she felt earlier while she was cleaning and thinking about Reuben.

Meanwhile, Stitch was in the light blue bathroom staring at himself in the mirror. Taking in every detail of his guilt ridden face as a bead of sweat rolled down his fur. It’s getting stronger. It’s not like the glitch. Then I had no realization of what was happening, now I’m completely aware of what I’m doing. He ran some cool water over his hands and splashed his face with the refreshing liquid. What am I going to do? He let the water drip into the sink. Can I make it through to Monday? Angel didn’t even do anything and I was ready to tear her apart if she even got close to Lilo… He looked down at his hands, seeing his claws gleam in the bright bathroom light. I can do it. For Lilo…with Lilo. What a great thank-you that was.

Stitch stopped the water and dried his face off. Looking back in the mirror he tried his best to wipe the pain off his face. Returning to the living room, he found it very quiet. The moment he walked into view Lilo’s face brightened with a great smile, pulling all his attention to her. She lightened his heavy heart, no longer feeling guilty about what happened.

Taking her welcoming hand, he turned to Angel. “Meega soka, Angel.”

“Isa oketaka. Lilo explained everything. Meega know it wasn’t yougas fault.”

With a slight smile, he turned to Lilo. “Meega think weega get going now?”

“Alright. Is that okay with you Angel?”

“Ih. Meega go back to what meega was doing.”

The two said their good-byes and made their way out to the buggy. As soon as they drove off, Angel went back to listening to her music, starting to fall asleep. A nap would be good. She thought. I’ll give Reuben a call later. Beginning to blush, the pink experiment fell asleep, dreams of a yellow experiment and her having lunch together filled her mind.

 Stitch drove with no destination in mind. Letting the wind take them wherever it wishes to.

“You okay, Stitch?”

“Ih. Meega just need to cool off. Get back control.”

“Hmm. Well, would taking your mind off of it help?”

“Depends what youga had in mind.”

Lilo didn’t answer, instead she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. Stitch rested his head on hers, never taking his eyes off the road in front of them, when he felt her hand on his leg. She slowly petted his thigh, sending shivers down his spine. She slowly moved her hand up and down his leg before making her way up to his chest. Stitch enjoyed the treatment from the girl beside him, but began having trouble concentrating on the road. Finding a road that lead into a bunch of trees, Stitch quickly turned into the cover and parked the buggy.

“What are you do-“ Before Lilo could finish her sentence, Stitch had cupped her face with his hand and pulled her into a deep kiss. Both their hearts began to beat intensely, each trying to take control of the moment. Stitch didn’t even bother undoing his seatbelt, breaking the kiss, he worked his way out of the restraints. He crawled over to Lilo, patiently awaiting him. Putting each knee on either side of Lilo’s legs, he extended his lower arms and gently grabbed her shoulders. Being forced against her seat, Lilo’s breathing began to quicken. She could feel her heart race more and more in anticipation. Stitch could feel his breath mix with hers as he lost himself in her chocolate brown eyes. Noticing a small glint in them despite the slight lack of sun in their hidden alcove of trees. He used his main hands to cup the back of her head, running his fingers through her hair, as the other one was placed on her cheek. His second pair rubbed down her arms slowly, never letting her back leave the chair.

With a shudder and a whimper, Lilo’s lips quivered, wanting to feel Stitch’s pressed against them once again. Stitch continued watching her, he could see her eyes gloss over in anticipation, pleasure, and pleading. He grew a mischievous smile, loving the teasing he was giving his boojiboo. Before she became too impatient, Stitch gave into both of their increasing desires, reveling in the feeling of her soft tan lips against his. Closing her eyes in a gasp of relief, Lilo let Stitch continue kissing her as roughly as he wished, taking pleasure in his lips and his hands. She slowly became little more than putty as she felt herself give into him. Stitch continued his treatment for a few long minutes. All sense of time left him as he finally gave into his programming. Rather than the protective side he could finally feel the passion and love that had been bottled up for years. The blessing of their friends gave them the confidence they needed to truly give in to what they subconsciously wished for for so long.

Stitch pulled away, looking deeply into Lilo’s tanned face as it glowed from the rush. Their breath was short and they could do little more than huff to get air flowing through them again. Having finally calmed down, Stitch took his place back in his seat, turning on the buggy once again. The gentle rocking of the engine stirred Lilo back to her senses. With a long sigh, she stretched as if she had just awoken from the most wonderful dream of her young life.

“So, after the machine calms down your genetics, do you think we can do more of that?” Lilo asked as they took back to the road. “Or, do you think that will be calmed down too?”

“Meega will always want to do that with youga.”

“I’m glad.” She could see a dreamy look come through Stitch’s pitch black eyes. Despite any colour, his emotions always showed clearly. Giggling to herself, she saw they made it into town, a costume shop zooming past them. “Hey, Stitch. I think I just got an idea on how to get you into the dance.”

“Gaba isa it?”

“We could have Mopholomew change your appearance for the night. No one will know it’s you, and we can have the most romantic evening.”

Contemplating it for a moment, Stitch thought about the alternative option. Not going. “Meega would enjoy that.”

“Yay!” Lilo exclaimed throwing her hands into the air, feeling the cool air rush past them. The blush on her cheeks had yet to fade, but she didn’t mind. She had never felt as excited as she had then. “We should go to the mall then for new clothes then.”

“Oketaka.” Stitch spun the buggy around 180 degrees and headed towards the highway to make their way to Kukui Grove.

While the couple enjoyed their day, Jumba continued to toil in his lab. Having not stopped working since the previous night, Jumba could feel exhaustion start to take over. Shutting the welding unit in his hand off, he backed away from his machine, wiping sweat from his brow with his free hand. He removed his four-eyed goggles and placed the welding device with the rest of his tools.

“Ugh. I can’t be stopping now. Any delay could be catastrophic… But I am in needing of a “pick-me-up’, as the earthlings be saying.” He left his lab to reach the kitchen area of his ship. Pouring himself some galactic brand coffee he sat at the round table in the middle of the room. “At least little girl will be being safe once it is over. Where would evil genius be without her?”

Jumba mulled over his life before meeting his new family. All the time spent alone, doing nothing but create, angry at the universe for not understanding his brilliant ideas. A home planet that made him an outcast, family not wanting anything to do with him. Not to mention his ex-wife, thinking about her made him shudder in fear.

“I am just hoping the side effects are not being too severe. Who knows what 626 would do to me if something were to happen to his boojiboo.”

With a newly appointed resolve, Jumba went back to his lab. He was determined to be finished in the three days that he promised the couple. “Please don’t be too severe.”

Chapter Text

Lilo and Stitch had spent some time in the mall, trying to figure out exactly what Lilo should wear to the dance. She was never really one for shopping. She preferred her plain clothes and her colourful muumuus. Where other girls cared about fashion and looks, Lilo cared about what was inside. The only time she ever really dressed up was for her appearances before the Grand Council and when she and Stitch had their dinner just a few days earlier. This time was different, it was special. She wanted to look her absolute best for Stitch on their night, and Stitch wanted the same for Lilo.

Lilo found a fancy dress store that she normally wouldn’t step into. However, after looking at a few of their dresses, she started finding a few that she really liked, putting them over her arm as she found them.  Thankfully the store wasn’t as crowded as the rest of the mall was.

“You feel better in here?”

“Ih. Takka.”

“It’s no problem, there are some dresses here I like. I’m sure we can find something.”

“Nagga worry too much. Youga always beautiful.”

“Awe, Stitch.” She leaned down and gave him a kiss on his head, quickly checking that no one was looking first. “You’re so sweet.”

Stitch’s eyes kept darting back and forth. He wanted to be shopping with Lilo, but with so many people around, it was hard for him to stop from grabbing her and running. Every person became a danger, and therefore he became a danger. To help him cope, Lilo chose this store so they would have more privacy. It was just a bonus that there were actually dresses she liked.

“Hmm.” Lilo pondered as she sifted through the racks of dresses. “I really liked that one you had made for me, but it’s still dirty from the beach, and I want something special for our first romantic dance as a couple.”

“Weega could always make one again.” Stitch was helping pick out the best he could, but truthfully, he had no idea what he was doing. His cousins did most of the work on her dress before.

“No! Your cousins worked so hard on that other one, I can’t ask them to make another.” She kept sifting through rack after rack, until she found a few more that caught her eyes. “Here we go!”

Stitch looked over to Lilo as she grabbed a bunch of different dresses and ran to the changing room. He quickly ran after her to see what she had chosen.

“You wait out here Stitch. I’ll show you each one, and we can pick together.”

“Oketaka.” Stitch waited patiently, he sat on a bench against the wall and began kicking his legs back and forth, looking around at the store. It had a very touristy look to it, with the walls adorned with a lot of Hawaiian imagery, but the clothes they had were some of the best on the island. That also meant they were some of the most expensive.

Stitch’s attention was caught by the pitter patter of claws on tile, similar to his own. He hoped down and crouched on all fours to look beneath the sea of clothing before him. For a second he thought he saw a small white Shih Tzu dog in the mall. Before he could go investigate he heard Lilo’s voice come from the changing room.

“Alright, Stitch. You ready?”

“Ih!” Stitch said eagerly, as he jumped up to see what Lilo was wearing.

She stepped out, wearing a pastel purple dress that went down to her ankles. It was strapless and had a flower pattern along the right side of it in white. Stitch was blown away, he had said earlier that Lilo was always beautiful and he meant it. When Lilo dressed to impress though, she really pulled out all the stops. Lilo looked at herself in the mirror on the wall, a little disappointed.

“It looks great…”

“Ih! Youga butifa.”

“I’m not sure it’s the right one though.”

“Nagga?”

“No. Let’s try something else.”

Lilo tried on dress after dress. Each one left Stitch speechless. Or, to be more precise, Lilo left him speechless. She couldn’t help but giggle at the smile on Stitch’s face every time she stepped out with something new on. I think he’s enjoying this way too much. Lilo continued going through the piles of clothing she grabbed. Hoping something in there would be perfect for her night with Stitch. Pushing aside another purple dress she stopped. Underneath was the second most beautiful dress she had ever seen. Nothing would top the one Stitch had made for her, but this was really close. This is it. Nothing could top this in a million, no, a bazillion years.

“I found it Stitch!”

“Ohhhhh. Oketaka.” Stitch was getting excited, to him, Lilo could have picked any one of the dresses she already tried on and she would be the most eye catching girl at the dance. So, if Lilo was saying this was it, it had to be the dress to end all dresses.

After a few painstaking moments of waiting, Stitch heard the door to the changing room creak open. Stitch’s jaw dropped. Lilo stepped forward shyly, her early confidence was lost now that she knew this was the one she wanted. Please like it. Please. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see herself in the mirror, making her blush and try to hide her face. Why isn’t he saying anything?

Stitch couldn’t speak. It wasn’t like the words were escaping him, he just had no words to say. Nothing he said could convey how Lilo looked to him. Her dark red dress captivated his attention fully. It had a single strap going over her left shoulder, with small frost white frills running along the edge. The top of the dress was form fitting and shined from slight reflective glitter. The bottom of the dress wasn’t form fitting like the top, it fanned out whenever she moved, like every step she took was a dance made just for Stitch.

“Lilo…” He was still trying to find the words to tell her how beautiful she was.

“It doesn’t look good, does it? I should try to find something else.” She started to turn away when she felt a hand grab hers, holding her in place. She looked into Stitch’s loving eyes, she could see a sparkle in them as only she was reflected on the cool dark surfaces.

“Meega luckiest guy in the world.” He gave her a quick kiss, not caring if anyone saw them. It was Lilo’s turn to be speechless. She was so happy that Stitch loved the dress too. She couldn’t wait for the dance to come. She quickly ran back into the room to change as she felt her face grow more and more red. With Stitch being left alone, he looked back outside the store. He could no longer hear the pitter patter of claws. With a shrug, he waited patiently for his Lilo to return.

Leaving the rest of the dresses behind, Lilo and Stitch began weaving through the racks of clothes to go pay for the red dress.

“Nani said to only use this credit card in case of an emergency.”

“Ih.”

“I think this counts. I mean, Nani always wants me to go out and fit in right? I can’t really go to the dance like the other girls without a dress.”

“Ih. Isa oketaka.”

“Right.”

With the dress wrapped up and put in a bright blue bag, they left the store. They didn’t really know what to do next, seeing as they had the rest of the day together. However, Stitch was starting to fidget with all the people around. Looking around the crowd, Lilo spotted a brown haired girl she recognized.

“Hey! There’s Victoria. We should go say hello.”

Running together, Lilo and Stitch made their way towards their friend. Lilo suddenly stopped running, leaving Stitch a few paces ahead of her. Confused, he looked between Victoria and Lilo, noticing that their brown haired friend wasn’t alone. A tall spikey brown haired boy was talking to her. The couple sneaked closer to get a better look, hiding behind a plant they discovered that she was talking to Keoni. Victoria’s face was a bright shade of pink.

“What are Keoni and Victoria doing together?” Lilo whispered.

“Nagga nota.”

“It looks like he’s leaving. Come on, Stitch.”

Just as Keoni got out of ear shot, Lilo approached Victoria who was waving good-bye to the surfer boy.

“Hey, Victoria.”

“O-oh! Hey, Lilo. You startled me.” Victoria said trying to catch her breath from the surprise.

“Sorry about that. So,” Lilo began in a sing song tone, “what were you and Keoni talking about?”

Victoria looked between the two of them before answering. “I guess you told me so I should tell you. He asked me to the dance on Saturday.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“So then when you said there was someone you had a crush on…”

“Yeah, it was Keoni.”

The three sat down at a nearby table. Victoria could see Stitch was fidgeting quite a bit, but before she could ask what was going on, Lilo had her own question.

“So, why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Well…” Victoria hesitated, not entirely sure how to put it. “You always had a crush on him, I thought that if I tried to ask him out, or said anything, it might upset you.”

Lilo smiled at her friend, seeing a sad look come across her face. “My crush on Keoni ended a long time ago, and besides, I have Stitch now.”

“I know. You’re my best friend though, I didn’t want anything to come between us.”

“Nothing could ever stop us from being friends, Victoria.”

Victoria’s heavy spirits were lifted by Lilo. She had a crush on Keoni for a long time, it felt good to have her friend’s blessing on the matter. “So, are you going to the dance?”

“Of course, why?”

“Well. Keoni mentioned that Snooty wouldn’t be able to go. No pets allowed and all. Are you going to go without Stitch?”

Lilo grabbed Stitch’s hand under the table, she could tell he was having a little more trouble with the crowd. Giving it a slight squeeze she answer her friend. “No, Stitch is going.”

“How are you getting him in?”

“We’re going to have Mopholomew change his appearance for the night. That way we can have a nice romantic evening just like everyone else.”

“That’ll be sweet.” Mid conversation a small group of teenage boys made their way past the three’s table. Without meaning to, Stitch grabbed Lilo’s shoulder and pulled her close to him, eyeing down the boys as they walked past. No one around noticed the odd behavior, except for Victoria. “Is everything okay, Stitch? You seem…jumpy.”

Lilo explained the whole issue with Stitch’s programming, and how they have to wait a few more days until Jumba will have the machine ready for her. The whole time, Victoria became more and more worried, but not about Stitch.

“Are you going to be okay?”

“Well, Jumba said it wouldn’t kill me, that’s what really matters.”

“There won’t be any side effects though?”

Lilo thought about it for a moment. She never considered just what might happen to her during or afterwards. She saw concern flash in Stitch’s eyes and felt his hand tighten on her shoulder. Anything is worth it for Stitch.

“Whatever happens will happen. For Stitch, I am willing to try anything if it means he will be better.” She tightened her own grip on his hand, calming him down a little.

“I thought you were going to say that.” Victoria responded with a giggle. “If you two need anything, you can come find Snooty and me. We’ll be happy to help.”

“Takka.” Stitch said while he continued his watch on the crowds. Nothing was going to stop him if someone tried to hurt Lilo. “Could weega go? Hard to keep control here.”

“Sure, Stitch. We got what we came for anyway.”

“Is it all right if I head out with you?” Victoria asked as she got up to grab her bag. “I need to get home soon.”

“Sure.”

The three collected their things and made their way out of the busy shopping center. Not expecting a visit from an unwelcomed guest as soon as they made it out of the building. Making little more than a few steps onto the side walk, a voice from behind caught their attention.

“Well if it isn’t Weirdlo and Weirdtoria.” The three turned around to see Myrtle, looking full of herself, walking Gigi with a hand full of shopping bags. “What are you doing here? This place is way too good for someone like you.”

“I was doing some shopping for the dance next Saturday.” Lilo replied in her normal cheery demeanor, holding up the blue bag to show it off. “I got a brand new dress, and it looks amazing.”

“Please. Anything you would think is amazing is probably the ugliest thing ever.”

Lilo was about to retort, anger forming on her face, but Victoria quickly chimed in before things got out of hand. “Come on guys. Can’t we get along?”

Gigi looked between the two girls, concern on her face. She hated when they fought, but knew little could be done to change Myrtle’s feelings towards Lilo. If need be, she would drag Myrtle away if things became too bad.

“Get along?” The orange haired girl spat with disgust. “Why should I when I am clearly so much better?”

“You’re not better than me!” Lilo was starting to get angry. Stitch could feel it too. Normally he could let Lilo fight her own battles, but Myrtle’s growing insults was starting to itch at his programming. He kept himself back, trying his best not to lash out. Victoria saw this, and put a hand on his shoulder while Lilo handled their “nemesis.”

“Yes I am. I’m prettier, smarter, a way better dancer.” The two were glaring, face to face, only inches away from each other.

“I am a way better dancer than you, and I will look far better than you ever could.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“Then prove it! Saturday night. There’s a vote for best couple, whichever one of us wins is truly the best.”

“Sounds good to me.” Lilo accepted the challenge without fear.

“Ha! It’s gonna be hard for you to win. I’ve already got a date, but who would ever want to go to a dance with a weirdo like you?”

“Well, as a matter of fact, I have a date too!”

“Oh really? Who is it?” Myrtle put her hands on her hips, waiting for an answer.

“It’s…” Lilo began. I can’t say it’s Stitch….

“I’m waiting.”

“It’s a surprise.” Lilo stepped back a bit, losing her earlier confidence.

“I knew it. You don’t have a date. I bet that’s not even a dress in that bag.” Myrtle snatched the blue bag out of Lilo’s hand.

“Hey! Give me back my dress!” Lilo shouted, pouncing forward, doing her best the grab back the dress she picked out to wear for Stitch. Myrtle fought her off though, neither one noticing Stitch shaking in anger. Victoria tried to hold him back as the two girls before them fought, but was finding it harder and harder. Gigi wasn’t paying attention to the blue experiment, her back was to him as she desperately tried to get her owners attention, to no avail.

The two continued their struggle over the bag, eventually though, Myrtle dropped it, pushing Lilo back. Unable to keep her balance, Lilo fell back on the hard side walk cement. With a moan of pain, she saw that her elbow had been scrapped, a small drop of blood starting to trail down her arm. Stitch saw the blood, and all control was lost. Tearing himself out of Victoria’s grip he lunged at the girl who’d been a pain to them for years. Seeing the blue blur rush past her, Lilo felt her heart sink. Stitch?

With a scream of terror, Myrtle was hoisted into the air. “Let me go you stupid mutt!”

Gigi ran at stitch, barking as loud as she could. The sound pained Stitch greatly, but nothing in the world mattered at that moment. The only thing he could think about, was disposing of the one that had cause Lilo, not only years of torment, but current physical pain. He was ready to tear her limb from limb, when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He didn’t need to look to see that Lilo was holding onto him.

“Let her go, Stitch.” Lilo pleaded. No matter how badly she was treated, she knew Stitch wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he hurt anyone. “She’s not worth it.”

Stitch’s breathing grew heavy, trying to get back control. Instead of tearing the mean girl apart, he threw her into a nearby fruit stand. Gigi ran after her, but nearly stopped at Stitch’s comment.

“Nagga hurt meegas boojiboo again!” Stitch declared. Myrtle didn’t know what “boojiboo” meant, but Gigi did.

Myrtle got herself out of the wrecked stand, brushing off dust and fruit juices from her clothes, but was unharmed otherwise. “You’re gonna pay for this you disconfigured dog! C’mon, Gigi.”

The two marched off, leaving the trio behind. Gigi looked back at Stitch as he regained himself. Boojiboo? That would mean they’re together-together! Letting that thought run through her mind, she quickly caught up to her master, hoping she would also calm down soon.

“You okay now, Stitch?”

“Ih. Meega soka.” He turned around and held Lilo as tightly as he could. Victoria rushed over, now that the fighting was over, and took a look at Lilo’s arm.

“It should be okay. It’s just a scratch.”

“That’s good.” Lilo said with a sigh of relief.

Collecting themselves and their things, Lilo checked to make sure her dress was okay. Finding it was, they all made their way to the parked buggy. Lilo and Stitch gave Victoria a ride home before going back to their own blue house themselves. Deciding they had enough adventure for one day, the couple decided to stay at home for the rest of the day. Watching movies and trying not to annoy Nani too much with their usual antics. Night quickly fell on the island, and after cleaning up and getting ready for bed, the two laid in each other’s arms. Thinking about everything that had happened that day. Between the incident at Angel’s and at the mall, Stitch could tell it was getting harder and harder to control his urges. He clutched at Lilo’s night gown again, gaining some comfort from the fabric.

“How about tomorrow we stay in?”

“Huh?”

“We’ve gone out a lot lately, and it’ll be easier for you if we stay home.”

“Youga oketaka with that?”

“Yeah. I just want you to be okay. As long as I’m with you, I’m okay with anything.”

“Oketaka. Takka.”

“No problem, boojiboo.” Lilo gave Stitch a kiss on the nose, before cuddling deeply into his warm fur.

“Meega hope, Gigi nagga hear meega call youga boojiboo.”

Lilo thought about it for a minute. “She probably did, but I doubt she will do anything about it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. She’s ohana. I’m sure she would understand the situation we’re in right?.”

“Youga right.”

The two shared a deep good night kiss. Letting it last several minutes before exhaustion finally took them over.

Chapter Text

Sunday was the first day Lilo and Stitch had to rest in what felt like forever. Because Stitch was getting more and more uncomfortable as time went on, the two spent most of the morning and a bit of the afternoon in their bedroom. Even Nani and Pleakley made Stitch’s programming go hay wire. Lilo did her best to keep Stitch calm, so as not to arouse any suspicion. However, Pleakley couldn’t help but feel suspicious over Stitch’s odd behavior around him, and that they had shut themselves away in their room. Being dragged into helping with chores, Pleakley was drying the never ending flow of dishes.

“I can’t believe we’re stuck doing all this cleaning, and they’re just wasting the day in their bedroom.”

“But you like cleaning.” Nani retorted, without looking at the noodle like alien.

Pleakley paused for a moment. “That’s beside the point. Anyway, don’t you think Stitch has been acting strange this last little while?”

“Strange…” Nani began, letting herself trail off as she thought about the past few days. “You mean stranger than normal?” She joked.

“This is no laughing matter, Nani. He keeps looking at me strange, and I haven’t seen him without Lilo in who knows how long.”

“Pleakley, everyone looks at you strange. The two of them are growing up, it’s normal for them to behave differently, it’s probably just a phase.” She handed him the last dish, taking the cloth to wipe down the counters.

“You might not think anything of it, but I do. Jumba hasn’t left his lab in days, Stitch is acting strange, and Lilo doesn’t leave his side. I think something is up.”

“You’re just paranoid.” Nani brushed his ramblings off.

“It’s not good to stay in your room alone for so long…wait. Paranoid? Yes I am.” He declared proudly. “But between living with an evil genius and living on an island populated with monsters, as much as they are family, how can I not be? At any moment the entire island could be destroyed!” He began flailing his long arms. “What would we do if there’s nothing left? We wouldn’t be fine. We would be the exact opposite of fine. We would be…. Destroyed!”

“You have a point.” Nani agreed, as she threw the cloth in the hamper.

“About us being destroyed?”

“No.” Pleakley’s face dropped. “About staying in their room. It seems no one is busy today. Maybe we should have family fun night tonight.”

“Family…fun…night…” Pleakley thought back to the last time they had family fun night. His head was nearly chewed off by Stitch after he ate the last piece of cake. Shuddering he tried backing out of his earlier statement. “I don’t know, Nani.” He gulped. “Now that I think about it, we should let them be. Like you said, just a phase and all. Heehee.”

“Nonsense! It’ll be fun!” She grabbed the phone and rang David, who was happy to hear from her. After a bit of convincing, David finally gave in and agreed to come over for the evening.

“Well,” Pleakley began with a sigh. “I guess I’ll go let Jumba know.” He left the kitchen defeated and more than a little scared for the oncoming night. Having taken his time reaching the ship, he entered and found the lab entrance closed. Knocking a few times he waited patiently for an answer, taping a steady rhythm on the wall. Letting a few minutes pass he tried knocking on the door again, this time a little harder.

“Jumba?” Pleakley called out, his voice echoing through the halls. “Heehee. Guess no one’s homes.”

With no reply, Pleakley shrugged and started to walk away, tripping over his legs. His flailing arms hit the control pad next to the door causing it to slide open. Rubbing his head, he looked into the lab and found it completely black, no one insight. Nervously, he entered, shaking from the eeriness of the dark lab filled with equipment that all looked evil.

“H-hello? Jumba? Y-ou here?” Pleakley bumped into a trolley of equipment, making him jump and scream. After a second he composed himself, continuing his way through the maze of equipment. “W-where are you, Jumba?”

Some odd sounds were floating through the air of the lab. Following what he could make out, he saw a door on the other side of the lab, glowing every so often in time with the sounds. As he approached, he could tell the sounds were some sort of tools.

He looked down to see the panel beside the door flashing “UNLOCKED” in bright green letters. He tapped on the open button, making the door shoot up, revealing Jumba in lab coat and goggles working on an impressive red machine. He walked in, mouth agape. Jumba heard the door open and the sound of footsteps approach, he stopped what he was doing and, removing the goggles, looked to find his one-eyed companion staring at him and his work. Unable to think of anything to say, Jumba just looked at him, clearly worried.

“What is that?” Pleakley asked.

Jumba stared at him then the machine and then back at Pleakley. “What is what?”

“That! That thing!” Pleakley pointed to his machine for Lilo and Stitch, shaking off a sense of déjà vu.

“Oh, this? This is nothing. It’s a, a, isn’t it obvious what it is?”

Pleakley stepped forward, checking every inch of the large machine. “Well, if I were to guess. I’d say it is a pod machine, designed to alter the genetics of two of your little monsters, to bind them and their love together for all eternity. Most likely in the case of one or both going crazy from the need to protect the one they care about most.” After a pause, Pleakley had one more thing to add. “But I’m no expert.”

Jumba was a little taken aback. How Pleakley figured it out he would never know, but for Lilo and Stitch’s sake, he had to convince him that he was wrong.

“Bah! You know nothing of true evil geniousry.” Jumba laughed. “This is clearly a new, environmentally friendly…uh…. Tanning bed. For two!”

“Really?” Pleakley crossed his arms, something didn’t seem right about Jumba’s answer to him.

“Yes, it is designed to be completely safe for the environment and its user.” Seeing it wasn’t working very well, Jumba tried a new approach. “I’ve been thinking I need a new look, for my, uh, earth disguise. You mentioned something about tanning before so I thought why not?”

“That doesn’t seem evil, or bad.” Pleakley was lowering his defense.

“No, no, no. I may be evil genius, but I would never create anything evil again… well, not so soon.”

“So can I try it?” Pleakley began to open one of the pods, causing Jumba to slam it down, hard.

“No!”

“And why not?”

“Because it is not being done yet!” Jumba said exasperated, this was no time to be explaining anything to Pleakley, he needed to finish as fast as possible. “Who knows what could happen if you used it when it’s not finished. It could be catastrophic!”

Jumba had grabbed Pleakley and began rushing him out of the room. “Now please, let me be getting back to work.”

Pleakley furrowed his brow out of anger. “Okay, okay. You don’t have to push.” Once he was out of the room, he remembered why he was there in the first place. “Oh, yeah. Nani has called a family fun night tonight. So you know the drill.”

“What? Bah! I don’t have time for that. I am not going.” Before Pleakley could respond, Jumba shut the door and punched in the lock code on the pad. Leaving the noodle like alien standing in the dark confines of the lab, alone.

“Nani isn’t going to like that….” Pleakley left to return the news of Jumba’s absence to Nani. Fearing what she might do to him.

A few hours later, Lilo and Stitch were still in their room. They decided the best way to help Stitch and pass the time was to go through their photo albums and make another memory book. They wanted to make a new one for a while, but had been too busy. Now that they were a couple, they wanted a special memory book to just themselves. Relaying memories to each other, giggling at all the times they could have realized their true feelings. Lilo grabbed a picture out of the many scattered across their floor, giggling at the image on it.

Lilo was holding a large net as she sat on stitch’s shoulders with a large, parrot like experiment on her shoulder. He had a red head with a colorful body. Rather than having beady eyes, he had large black eyes like many other experiments.

“Remember this day?”

Stitch looked at the picture and laughed too. “Ih. That was butifa crazy.”

“Yeah.” Lilo looked back at the picture, remembering all the trouble Squawk had caused. “I was so worried he was going to reveal that I said I love you more than anything.”

Stitch looked at Lilo, seeing the smile on her face grow as she thought more about it. “I guess when I think back, I should have realized what it meant. I thought it was cause you’re my best friend, but there was more too it.”

“Well, when experiment force youga to say something without control, youga never really know gaba come out. Whether isa true or not.”

Lilo giggled, putting the picture in the pile of what they were going to use. “Did they make you say anything?”

Stitch got quiet really fast, his face started to grow red and he tried to hide it. Lilo saw though, and it made her curious as to what Stitch had thought about. “You did! Didn’t you?”

“Nagga.” Stitch’s face grew even redder, he could feel the heat grow as Lilo continued asking him about it.

“I knew it! What did Squawk make you reveal?”

“Nagga nota.” Stitch started backing up, crawling away, trying to hide what he had said and done two years ago. Lilo wasn’t backing down, though. She crawled over to him with a mischievous face.

“Come on, Stitch. You can tell me. I won’t laugh.” Stitch felt his back hit the dresser. He had nowhere else to go. Lilo quickly made her approach and trapped him. Leaning over him, she could feel the heat from his cheeks radiate off of him. “If you don’t tell me, I have ways of making you talk.”

Lilo grabbed each of Stitch’s hands and held them down to the floor. Of course, he was strong enough to break her grip on him, but he would never hurt her, he physically couldn’t. In all sense of the word, he was trapped, and he felt his heart race because of it. She brushed her lips, ever close to Stitch’s. He could feel her breath mix with his, and could almost feel her kiss, but she kept it just out of his reach. If he moved closer, she would move back. Unable to fight his programming he needed to kiss her again. He needed to show his love. In all his struggles, nothing he did made Lilo give in and press her lips to his. Lilo couldn’t help but grin at the display Stitch was showing. He is too cute. 626, the greatest and strongest experiment ever made, struggling for my kiss. Her own heart began to race at the thought. She loved giving him a taste of his own medicine after what he made her go through in the buggy. Feeling he may have had enough, she leaned forward, but before their lips finally met she whispered to him.

“I’ll kiss you if you tell me.”

Unable to resist any further, Stitch gave in. “Oketaka. Meega talk.”

With the answer she desired, she gave into him. Pressing herself against him, she let go of his hands and fell onto his chest, never breaking their tender sweet kiss. Stitch wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer into him, almost tearing her red muumuu with his claws. They let the kiss continue, slowly, letting all their love and passion break through as their lips danced together. Lilo petted the back of Stitch’s neck, sending a shiver down his spine. The two continued their embrace for as long as they could manage. After a few minutes, with short breathe, their tender kiss ended with Lilo laying on Stitch’s chest. He gave her a quick kiss on her head, leaving his head to linger as he enjoyed the smell of her hair.

“So? What was the secret Squawk made you reveal? It must be pretty big.”

“Remember youga went on date with Keoni that day?”

“Well it wasn’t a date, but yes.”

“Meega follow youga around, when youga told meega not to.” Stitch tried to hide his red face.

Lilo was a little upset that he followed her, but couldn’t stay made at how cute he was being. “Why’d you follow us?”

“Meega jealous.”

“Oh, Stitch.” Lilo leaned up and kissed him on the nose. “That’s when I realized I didn’t have a crush on him anymore.”

“Ih.”

“Well, I can see why you wanted to keep it hidden, since I told you not to follow us. But why did you seem so embarrassed about it?”

Stitch hesitated, he knew he had to tell her. He did promise after all, but he really wish he hadn’t.

“Pleakley was with meega, and he made meega a disguise.”

“And?” Lilo was very persistent to find out what Stitch was keeping hidden.

“Meega was a baby, meega in a carriage. Pleakley was disguised as meega’s mother.”

Lilo couldn’t help but giggle at the image of Stitch in a bonnet and diaper, being pushed around by Pleakley. I wish I could have seen that. Stitch grew more embarrassed about it.

“So that’s what Squawk made you tell?”

“Ih. Meega worried they would reveal it to youga. That why meega catch Squawk as soon as meega could. Thankfully, they nagga tell youga when weega caught them.”

“I was glad that Squawk didn’t mention what I said either. I was still young, even if I didn’t realize my feelings… “Love” was still an embarrassing thing.”

“Ih.”

They shared a laugh and continued to cuddle for a few more minutes. The sound of the elevator breaking the moment. Getting used to breaking away at a moment notice, the two went back to their photo album. Nani reached their room with a big smile on her face. Lilo and Stitch became worried. Nani only ever smiled like that when something bad was about to happen. At least, what they considered bad.

“Okay you two, that’s enough time in your room. We are having family fun night in ten minutes. I expect both of you downstairs in that time.”

“Do we have to?” Lilo pleaded. “We just want to stay up here.”

“You two have been up here long enough. Now I have gone to a lot of trouble to put this together, so we are all going to spend tonight together as a happy loving ohana.” Nani stressed the word ‘ohana.’ It was the one thing that Lilo always had to comply too. Stitch on the other hand, could still try to get his way.

“Naga-takabah!” He turned away from Nani and crossed his arms, he was determined to stay in his room. He normally caused something bad to happen on family fun nights, and with the way he was now it was sure to only be worse.

“Well, I tried to do this nicely.” Nani quickly grabbed Lilo and Stitch by the arm. Lilo was worried that Stitch would snap, but luckily he didn’t. He was struggling in Nani’s grip, but despite him and her being dragged to the lift, he wasn’t tearing Nani apart. I guess that kiss will keep him cooled him off for a while.

Once the two were dragged into the living room, they gasped. Jumba was sitting on the couch with Pleakley. They both were looking very nervous. Jumba looked at them, his eyes conveying all the apologies he was silently saying for being there instead of in his lab.

“Now all we need is David. Pleakley, will you come help finish some things off in the kitchen?” Nani demanded more than asked.

“Sure!” Pleakley jumped up and hurried into the kitchen. I don’t want to know what Nani did to scare everyone… Lilo thought. Nani could be very persuasive, especially when it comes to family fun nights.

Taking this opportunity, Lilo and Stitch ran to Jumba. They talked secretly in hushed voices so as not to be heard by the two in the kitchen.

“Were you able to finish it?” Lilo asked, hope on her face.

“I am being very sorry you two.” Jumba apologized. “She managed to pull me out of my lab at a very crucial part of the maintenance. I could have had it done by the morning, but now it will take until tomorrow night.”

Lilo and Stitch both became crestfallen, they were hoping that they didn’t need to go to hula class with Stitch still like this. “How she find youga?” Stitch chimed in.

“Pleakley found me in my lab earlier, he must have told Nani where to get me. You know how persuasive she can be being.”

“Wait, Pleakley found the machine?!” Worry shot throughout Lilo. Pleakley wasn’t known to be good at keeping secrets. “Does he know?”

“Know? Hah! I got him believing it is a tanning bed.”

“Gaba a relief.” The two sighed.

“I guess we’ll just have to manage.” She grabbed Stitch’s hand to comfort him. “It’s only one more day after all. We just have to survive tonight…and school…and Myrtle…. And everyone else.”

Stitch felt Lilo’s grip on him weaken, he grabbed her hand tightly causing her to look in his confident eyes. “We do together.”

Stitch’s confidence came through to Lilo. She felt her spirits lifted. “You’re right. We can do it together.” She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. We can do anything if we’re together.

“Alright, enough of the cutesy stuff.” Jumba waved them off. “I am not needing the warm fuzzy feelings.”

The two laughed hand in hand, breaking apart when they heard the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it!” Lilo shouted as she ran to the door. When she opened it, a very nervous David walked in.

“She got you guys too?” He asked as he looked at each of them individually.

“Yeah…”

“Yep.”

“Ih.”

The three replied in unison. David sat on the couch next to Jumba, Lilo and Stitch took their usual spots on the floor, sitting slightly closer together than normal.

Nani burst into the room, clapping her hands together, gaining the combined, scared attention of everyone into the room. “So? Who’s ready for some family fun?”

Chapter Text

Family fun night had started without any issues. Nani had made tons of snacks for the group as normal, however decided that regular snacks would go over better than her usual themed ones. Unable to resist going all out though, it was all deserts. Cakes, tarts, brownies, popcorn balls, and many other delicious goodies were laid out upon the coffee table. Stitch had a hard time keeping himself from eating everything all at once, but a stern look from Nani kept him in place. They all sat and enjoyed their movie, it was Pleakley’s choice so they ended up watching a documentary about Africa.

Jumba’s mind was preoccupied about Stitch, worried he would go berserk at any moment, but ate and pretended to be interested in the movie to keep suspicion off of him. Pleakley kept on the edge of his seat the whole time. Every little detail about the animals and plants of the foreign continent fascinated him greatly. Until a mosquito popped up on the screen and he screamed. Lilo and Stitch couldn’t help but laugh at Pleakley silliness. The two of them we’re lying on their stomachs, nearly pressed up against each other. Normally they didn’t like documentaries, but all the amazing animals kept their interest. Nani noticed that Lilo and Stitch we’re acting a bit different around each other, but couldn’t quite put her finger on what. Maybe Pleakley was on to something earlier. Her thoughts were broken as David yawned and stretched, wrapping his arm around her. She rolled her eyes, but instead of moving it away as usual, she decided to cuddle into him.

The entire night was going smoothly. Stitch was behaving far better than he ever had before, to the relief of both his boojiboo and Jumba. The entire group looked like a perfect little family. The video had finally ended, making it the first time they made it past a movie without something bad happening. Not entirely sure what they should do afterwards, David suggested they play a board game together.

“That’s a great idea. I haven’t played a board game in so long.” Nani added in. She went out into the hall for a few minutes before returning with a copy of Monopoly. “This was the only game we have that we can all play together.”

The game was going well, as well as a game of Monopoly could go in the Pelekai house anyway. Stitch was pouting about losing half his money to Pleakley, Jumba was reveling in all his properties, and Lilo was just happy to have all the red spaces. She couldn’t help but giggle at Stitch’s display, she rubbed his back comfortingly, making him smile. He rolled the dice again and moved his little dog playing piece three spaces, right onto another one of Pleakley’s properties. Stitch couldn’t believe it, he flopped, face first onto the ground.

“Now, now, Stitch. No need to be a sore loser. You’re still in the game.” Pleakley said. Lilo grabbed his money for him and handed it to the boasting alien. The game continued, with Pleakley soon being the obvious winner. Lilo was about to take her turn when Pleakley suddenly remembered something he wanted to bring up a while ago.

“Oh, Jumba!” Pleakley exclaimed. “Why don’t you tell us about that new machine you were working on earlier?”

“What? That?” He replied nervously. “I don’t think anyone would be being interested in listening about that.”

“You’re building something?” David asked, he actually liked hearing the neat things Jumba could make.

“Yeah! He said it was a new tanning bed. For two!”

Now Nani was intrigued. “Really? And it’s safe?”

Jumba sighed, he didn’t plan on taking this ruse any farther than it already had. “Yes. I noticed how long it takes for people to tan normally by sun, and how it, um.”

“Is dangerous?” Lilo chimed in.

“Yes, dangerous. You earthlings who are naturally tanned from being here so long is one thing, but for, um, us the sun is a lot more dangerous. Pleakley mentioned tanning before and that it was dangerous to use the tanning beds as well so I thought...”

Jumba continued to ramble on, making everything up as he went. Lilo and Stitch stopped paying attention, but the other three kept genuine interest. For once, they thought Jumba was making something practical and not evil, something that could better the future... In reality he was, just not in the way they thought.

Everyone was so fixated on Jumba, that they didn’t notice the two on the floor, sitting back, letting their hands overlap one another’s. They enjoyed the slight touch, letting their fingers intertwine. They both sighed with content, it had been a while since they were forced to pretend like nothing had changed between them. Like they were still only best friends. It wouldn’t be too much longer until that thought would be gone forever. Lilo smiled at the thought of the next evening, when she and Stitch would step out of the machine and be linked together forever. Stitch felt her hand tighten on his, he could almost feel her heart beat through them. Lilo looked at Nani, still oblivious to her and her feelings. It saddened her to know that she had to keep all this hidden. She wanted nothing more than to announce right then and there that she was in love with Stitch. What would she say? What would she do? She’s so protective of me. She would probably kick Stitch out, tell me to find a human boy to be with. She looked over at her boyfriend beside her. You are the one I love Stitch. As if he had read her mind, Stitch squeezed her hand, making her giggle. They saw heads start to turn and let go of each other quickly.

“So Lilo,” David began, “anything interesting happen with you lately?”

She was still a little flustered from earlier, cheeks turning noticeably red.

“Interesting? Um….” She thought to the last few days. Every moment filled with Stitch and her together. Trying to think of something that was the truth without telling everything she thought of something she could mention. “Well, my hula school is putting on a dance. Like a dance-dance.”

“Really? That’s exciting. Hey, Nani, remember our first dance?”

“Yes I do, it was embarrassing. I felt like I had two left feet.”

“Awe, don’t be like that. I thought you were cute.” David’s comment earned him a punch in the arm from Nani. He rubbed it, pretending that it really hurt to which Nani rolled her eyes.

Wanting his say in the matter, Pleakley budded in. “So do you have a date? Do you need me to make a dress? I’ve been reading some magazines on young girls fashion and I think I could put together an amazing.-“

“I have a dress.” Lilo said, completely cutting Pleakley off. “And I have a date.” She said without thinking.

“Really?” Nani asked, crossing her arms. “Who is it?”

Lilo and Stitch tensed up. Why did I go and say that? Now what do we do? “It’s a boy I met a few days ago, he’s new to the island.”

“And what’s this new boy’s name?”

Lilo couldn’t think of a name, they were so caught up in everything that was happening, she didn’t think to come up with a name for Stitch’s disguise. If she said it was Kenny she would be even more suspicious.

Thankfully, Lilo was saved by David. “Come on Nani, leave Lilo alone, she’s obviously embarrassed now.”

Nani let her guard down, relaxing a little more. “Alright. I’ll drop it for now, but I have to meet this boy before you go out, okay?”

“Okay.” Lilo said with a nervous smile, feeling a little sweat roll off her forehead. Looks like we’re clear.

“And besides,” David decided to add, “Stitch will keep her safe. Won’t you?”

“Ih! Meega be there.”

“Wow. I’m surprised Kumu will let you go after what you did… last…” Pleakley stopped talking really quick, seeing Stitch glare daggers at him.

Nani saw the look Stitch gave Pleakley, and the sad look on Lilo’s face. “Lilo? Stitch isn’t allowed to go, is he?” She said comfortingly.

“No pets allowed…”

“It’ll be okay sweetie, it’s just one night.”

“Meega going!” Stitch declared. “Meega can’t go in… but meega stay back, make sure Lilo safe.”

Nani smiled. He is a really good friend. I hope this boy knows what he’s getting into. “Okay, good. You keep an eye on her, make sure her date doesn’t do anything bad.”

The two smiled and nodded, which was enough for Nani. Before the game continued she grabbed drinks for everyone. Stitch picked up two more pieces of cake and gave one to Lilo. Nani just sat down in time for the two to finish their cakes. Lilo had some frosting on her cheek that she didn’t see.

“Lilo, sweetie. You got some frosting right there.” Nani pointed to her own cheek, Lilo tried to get it off but missed. Stitch saw the frosting and, without thinking, licked it off. Forcing Lilo to giggle. “Eew! Stitch! Don’t do that.”

Lilo quickly replied to her sister, still giggling. “Its okay, Nani. I don’t mind.”

“You always hate when he licks you though.”

“Hey! It’s my turn isn’t it?” The little girl said, trying to change the subject as she grabbed the dice and started her move. Nani was about to question her again when she felt David’s hand on her shoulder. She looked over to him and saw a serious look on his face, one she wasn’t used to seeing. Instead of questioning Lilo, she sat back and relaxed. I’ve already questioned her enough for one night. She is growing, I guess she’s just getting more mature about things. Even still, Nani couldn’t help but wonder if Pleakley was onto something earlier.

After another hour, the game was nearly finished. They decided to only play until someone ran out of money, and Stitch was getting very close. With a nervous hand, he rolled the dice, and moved his spaces, slowly. Counting each one as he went. Finally, 11 spaces later, he landed on boardwalk. He looked up to see Pleakley smiling. Stitch fell back and pulled on his face, unable to believe he had lost.

“I won?” Pleakley asked stunned. “I won!” He started to jump up and down in joy, unable to contain his excitement. Stitch was about to leap at the tall alien, but a soft hand on his shoulder stopped them.

“It’s okay.” Lilo told him. “You’ll win next time, for sure.”

Stitch sat back down, grumbling to himself. Jumba threw his cards and money on the table. “Bah, this is dumb game. I’m going to be going back to my lab now.”

“It is getting late.” David said, looking at the clock. “I should be heading home.”

“Oh don’t worry about it David. You can stay here tonight.” Nani told him as she started packing up the game.

“You sure, Nani?”

“Of course. Who else would offer to help clean up?”

“But I didn’t-“He stopped short, seeing Nani raise an eyebrow at him, “I mean of course. I’d love to help.”

David quickly started to grab plates and cups, eager to not be scolded by his girlfriend. Lilo watched them and couldn’t help but smile. She wondered if she and Stitch would ever be like that. She stood up after what felt like hours and stretched. “If we’re not needed for anything else, I think Stitch and I are going to be heading to bed now.”

“Alright sweetie.” Nani kneeled down and gave her a hug good-night. “Get a good sleep. You got hula tomorrow.”

“I know.” She said, hiding the worry from her sister. She knew leaving Stitch at home wouldn’t be an option, but it was just as dangerous for him to be out. Stitch was rubbing his eyes, exhaustion clearly on his face. He worked hard to not act out the entire night. The release earlier and the constant closeness to Lilo helped, but he still needed to keep a constant check on himself.

Lilo took one of his hands as he covered his mouth with the other as he yawned. She led him into the hallway where they quickly ran to the lift. Pleakley, still curious from his earlier deductions stuck his head into the hall, seeing Lilo hug Stitch as the lift took them up to their room. He heard her whisper something to the blue experiment, but couldn’t make out what she had said.

“Hmm. They’re definitely up to something.” Pleakley turned his eye to the seat that Jumba had taken until the end of the game. “I wonder if Jumba has anything to do with it.”

He was about to head to Jumba’s ship and investigate when a demanding, motherly voice called from the kitchen. “Pleakley! Dishes!”

“Fine.” He said as he slumped towards the kitchen.

Lilo was brushing her hair, watching Stitch run around the room getting ready for bed. She no longer had to ask him to sleep with her, they didn’t like sleeping apart from each other anymore. To keep from anyone noticing though, Stitch was making it look like his cot had been slept in. He hoped down after ruffling up the covers and de-fluffing the pillow. The two could hear voices coming from below them. Nani and David must still be awake. They couldn’t make out what they were saying, but they heard the words “Lilo,” “boy,” and “dance.”

“I hope we can keep this secret going.”

“Meega sure weega can.” Stitch said, admiring Lilo in the moonlight. He could see the stars reflected in her eyes, making them sparkle more than normal. He smiled his loving smile, one that warmed Lilo’s heart. She loved the way his nose crinkled when he couldn’t hold his grin from spreading across his face.

“You’re right. I think we handled tonight really well.”

“Meega do good?”

“You did great, Stitch.” Lilo got up and put her brush on top of her dresser, carefully moving around the photos they didn’t get a chance to put away. She gasped suddenly, as warm strong arms wrapped around her from behind.

“How good?”

Lilo smiled and wrapped herself in a hug, putting her arms over his. “The best. It was the first time we made it all the way through. I’m really happy we could do this.”

Stitch didn’t reply. He began kissing her back, trailing up to her neck. She could feel each touch of his lips, even through her night gown, and she loved it every time. Reaching the nape of her neck, he stopped, gaining a sigh of disappointment from Lilo. “Youga naga mind when meega lick youga?”

“No-o” She began, losing her voice part way through as Stitch gave her a light lick from her neck up to her ear.

“Meega found youga’s weak point.” Stitch giggled.

Lilo turned with a smirk and tackled Stitch to the ground, the discarded pictures flew around them as they landed with a slight clang. She had his wrists pressed to the ground with her legs on either side of him.

“Don’t act like I’m the only one.” Lilo said as she gave him a deep kiss. She slowly ended the kiss and started to trail pecks up towards his ear.

“Naga nota.” Stitch replied, short of breathe.

“Oh really?” She asked, coyly, making her way ever closer to the tip of his ear. Before he had a chance to reply she started to nibble on the tip. Stitch’s ears had always been extremely sensitive, not just from sounds, but even to the touch. Lilo’s nibble sent shivers throughout his body.

“Ok-etaka.” He gasped. “Youga win.”

“I thought so.” Lilo boasted, helping herself and Stitch back up.

Before she even finished brushing herself off, she heard Nani call from downstairs. “Is everything alright? I think I heard something fall.”

“We’re okay!” Lilo shouted, she looked back at Stitch as he stifled a few giggles. “We’re very much okay.”

They quickly cleaned up some of their mess, so as not to ruin any of their photos. Pushing them aside, Lilo noticed Stitch started to put on his pajamas. She quickly requested that he not wear them to bed. She enjoyed the feeling of his fur too much, and she wanted to be able to cuddle into his warmness as she slept. More than happy to comply, Stitch discarded the clothes onto his cot. The two snuggled together in the warm cocoon of blankets, feeling each other breath. Not a sound could be heard throughout the house.

“Tomorrow’s the big night.” Lilo whispered.

“Ih.”

“Can you promise me something?”

“Gaba isa?” Stitch opened his eyes, finding Lilo staring back at him. His arm tightened around her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible.

“No matter what happens… what happens to me tomorrow? You will still love me.”

“Lilo,” he said tenderly and softly, lightly brushing some of her hair behind her ear, “meega won’t be able to do anything but love youga. Naga matter gaba. Youga will always be youga, and meega will always love youga for it.”

Lilo smiled, tears of happiness forming in the corners of her eyes, making them glisten in the soft light. Even if she didn’t show it, she had been worried since the beginning that something might happen to her. “I’m scared.”

Stitch was shocked. It wasn’t often that Lilo would admit to being scared about anything. “Youga will be oketaka. Meega make sure, Jumba make sure. Naga bad happen to youga. And weega will always be together.”

“And you’ll never go away?”

“Meega never leave youga again.”

Lilo wiped away her salty tears, feeling them start to trickle down her face. “Good.” Her voice was barely a whisper, only Stitch could have ever heard her words. Exhaustion from the day and the sudden rush of emotions, Lilo couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. Quickly, the two feel asleep in each other’s embrace. Letting the gentle rise of their chests rock them into deep and happy dreams. The entire Pelekai house had finally found its peace.

Chapter Text

Lilo awoke to the sounds of birds filling the air, their beautiful song bringing love and joy to the world all around them. She could still feel Stitch’s warm arm holding her waist tightly, she smiled as she felt safe and protected in his embrace. Her eyes were all watery from her peaceful slumber, wiping it away she could see his face just inches from hers. Stitch’s lips were slightly parted and the steady rise and fall of his chest was soothing. She had never before been so close to Stitch when he was still asleep. Normally he would always fall asleep last and wake up first. Something about face seemed more relaxed than it ever was and the soft morning light making his fur glow made him seem more angelic than before.

Thank you shooting star. You really did bring me an angel that day. Unable to move even if she wanted to, she continued to look at her love lay before her, lost in her thoughts. Today is the day. Tonight everything will change. Stitch twitched slightly, moving his arm slowly from her waist up her back. His gentle touch sending sparks throughout her body. She closed her eyes, enjoying his touch. I wonder what will be the same…what will be different? Will I be different… Stitch was beginning to stir more, she could see his eyes darting around under his eyelids, little wrinkles forming in the direction he would look. I wonder what he’s dreaming about. She pressed her lips gently to his still parted lips, feeling his warm breath tickle her face.

Darkness. Stitch was surrounded in a never ending darkness. He was only able to see the barren ground just in front of him, his only source of light from a band he could feel around his finger. Not thinking it out of place, he didn’t pay any mind to it. Darting his eyes back and forth he saw another light off in the distance. Straining his eyes as much as he could, he could see Lilo waving to him.

“Lilo!” Seeing the one he loved through the darkness filled him with joy. He started running to her, slowly at first but speeding up. Not making any distance he dropped to all fours, running as fast as he could.

“Meega coming!” After what felt like ages he finally reached his smiling girlfriend, something he couldn’t make out was on her left ring finger just like him. He went to pull her into a hug, but the moment he made contact she vanished. “Lilo?”

He called out into the darkness as loud as he could. “Lilo?! Where are youga? Weega naga be apart anymore.”

Feeling panicked, he suddenly felt his lips begin to tingle, he brought up a hand to touch them and felt nothing but warmth. It was soothing and calmed him down, suddenly the darkness vanished, and leaving nothing but white and what seemed to be a mist. He turned and could see three figures just a few feet in front of him, looking like one human holding a child and an experiment beside them. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make out who the forms were. Taking a step forward, everything around him started to fade from existence.

Stitch’s eyes shot wide open, he could see Lilo in front of him, kissing him, filling him with that same warm calming feeling that was in his dream. He pulled her close, needing to know she was actually there, that this was actually happing.

“Stitch? Everything okay?” Lilo whispered.

“Ih.” He gasped. “Bad dream.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Stitch shook his head no, then quickly changed his mind and nodded. “Alright. You know the drill.”

After a few moments of preparation Stitch was laying on the bed with his hands over his chest, staring up at the ceiling. Lilo sat crossed legged beside him, wearing large glasses and holding a clipboard and pen, ready to take notes as he explained to her what happened.

“Okay, whenever you’re ready.”

“Oketaka. Meega alone. Everything dark. Meega see youga off in distance.”

“Uh-huh, continue.” Lilo’s pencil was flying across the page.

“Meega run to youga, but meega unable to reach. When meega finally do, youga vanish. Meega completely alone.”

“Hmm.” She pressed the end of the pencil underneath her bottom lip. “This doesn’t seem like you’re regular bad dreams…”

“Meega search all over for youga… but meega unable to find youga.”

“And then what happened?”

Stitch brought his hand up, tracing his lips with his finger. “Meega started feeling tingle in lips.”

Lilo quickly blushed, trying to hide it behind the clipboard. That was probably from me kissing him. She cleared her throat. “A-anyway, what happened next?”

Stitch thought about it for several moments. What did happen next? He put his hands on his head, rubbing his temples, trying his best to remember what happened next. I know there was something else… After a few more moments he gave up. “Naga nota. Meega naga remember. Feel like something though.”

“Alright,” Lilo began, “this dream of yours is very different from your others.” The young girl hopped off the bed and walked over to her desk, pulling open a drawer. Stitch followed and looked over her shoulder, seeing all the drawings she had made of his past nightmares. She grabbed one of him destroying a building and held it side by side with the new one she made. A picture of him surrounded by nothing but darkness.

“You see?” She said as she lifted each picture respectively. “Normally your nightmares are about you turning bad again. However, this time you dreamt about being alone.”

Stitch nodded his head, hanging off of every word.

“It is my professional opinion that you are worried that something is going to happen to me or you’ll lose me.” Stitch’s ears dropped, feeling a hole open up inside of him.

“Ih.” He whispered, he knew what she said was true. Losing her or something bad happening to her was the last thing in the world he wanted. He couldn’t help but feel like there was more to his dream, something he was forgetting.

“But you don’t have to worry.” Lilo’s words snapped him back to the present, she was putting everything away. “I’m not going anywhere. So you don’t have to worry.”

Lilo smiled and shattered the worry Stitch had held in his heart. Leaving behind nothing but warmth and love. He held her, a silent ‘thank-you’ that Lilo could feel from him. She returned his embrace, believing every word she had said. The two rushed to get ready, seeing they had spent a lot of time going over Stitch’s dream when they should have been getting ready for hula class. Not wanting to waste any time, Lilo changed into her hula costume before leaving, rushing out the door with Stitch on her heels.

“We gotta hurry, Stitch!”

“Ih.”

Stitch tried his best to ignore his instincts inside. They weren’t expecting to go this long before using the machine, and despite the previous night of reprieve, his programming was start to itch at him. His faster than a super computer mind contemplated how to dispose of each individual that they ran past. Before he could attack, he would look at Lilo and take a deep breath. Keep control for her. Keep…control for her. Why now? Why when we are so close…?

Lilo could see the struggle Stitch was going through every time she looked back, asking if we was okay every so often.

“Meega oketaka.” Stitch would call. He didn’t want Lilo to worry about him, using the thought that after that day he would never have to worry about it again.

After weaving through the crowds of people, Lilo and Stitch made it to class, not as late as usual. As soon as they entered, the entire room became quiet, Moses was kneeling in front of the girls with his back to the door. Victoria, Myrtle, Theresa, Elena, and Yuki stared at her as she and Stitch approached slowly. Lilo could see Victoria’s eyes flash in sorrow as she looked away. Myrtle, however, had never looked so smug and victorious.

Turning around, Moses addressed the couple directly as he folded some papers and put them in his pocket. “Lilo, I need to speak to you.”

“What is it?”

“Please, come with me.” Lilo was lead back outside where Moses kneeled down to reach her level. “I’m sorry, Lilo, but I cannot allow Stitch to be with us in the class, or around the girls.”

Stitch’s heart sank, he shrank back from the two, feeling a mixed emotion of guilt and anger towards the large man.

“What?” Lilo was devastated. “Why can’t he be in class with me? He’s always been here with me.”

“Myrtle told me what happened yesterday. I can’t have anything that will hurt my students in the class.”

“But Myrtle started it!” Lilo shouted. “She hurt me and Stitch was just trying to protect me.”

“It doesn’t matter, Lilo.” Moses tried to say calmly. “The fact of the matter is that parents have requested that Stitch stay out. I can’t do anything about it. Stitch can stay out here, or he can go home, he just can’t be in with us.”

Lilo looked over at Stitch, she could almost feel the guilt radiate off him as he looked at her with sorrow in his eyes.

“It’s not fair.” She began, trying to stand up for her boojiboo. “He loves class, he loves to dance. Why does Myrtle always have to ruin everything?”

“Now Lilo, she doesn’t ruin everything.” Lilo looked at him, he could see all the memories and pain flash in the young girl’s eyes. He cleared his throat before continue. “Anyway, I’m sorry, but my hands are tied. If you want to continue dancing here I can’t let Stitch back in until the other parents agree that it is okay.”

With that, Moses went back into the dance hall, leaving a crestfallen Lilo and a guilty Stitch behind. Stitch was about to put his hand on Lilo’s shoulder and begin apologizing when she suddenly turned around and hugged him. He could feel tears fall lightly onto his fur.

“I’m sorry.” Lilo whimpered.

“Gaba youga soka for?” He asked, completely shocked. “Isa meega fault. Meega caused this.” He wrapped his arms around her, wanting her tears to fade away.

“No, all you did was protect me and now we can’t dance anymore. I’m sorry Myrtle is ruining everything for us.”

Stitch petted her head soothingly. “Naga.”

“Huh?” She sniffled.

 He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her off him, holding her in place and looking deeply in her water filled eyes. “Meega naga allowed. Youga are. Go, dance.”

Lilo wiped the tears from her eyes. “Stitch, I can’t without you. It’s not fair to leave you out.”

“Meega oketaka. Meega wait here for Lilo. Meega be good.”

“Stitch-“

“Shh.” He put a finger to Lilo’s lips, silencing her words. “Dance is important. Youga so beautiful when youga dance. Meega naga take that away.”

Before Lilo could object any further, he began to push her towards the door. “But Stitch, what about you? Right now it’s best for us to stick together.”

He twitched slightly. He knew she was right, but he knew that even more important than that was Lilo’s love of hula. It was one of the few things she could still share with her mother. “Meega be fine. Meega wait right here.”

“Are you sure?” She asked, filled with concern.

“Ih, youga be just as good as mom!” He replied with a large smile.

Mom. Stitch has always been so supportive of my dance. “Okay,” she began as she turned and gave him a hug. “I’ll go, but if you need me let me know in some way, alright?”

“Ih.” Stitch nodded profusely. She gave him a quick kiss before running into the building. Stitch watched the door close behind her slowly. Through the crack he could see her give Victoria a hug, which she returned sympathetically. The group began to dance just as the door finally closed, separating Stitch from Lilo. He stared at the door, suppressing the instant urge to tear the door down. No! Meega be good. Meega not cause Lilo more trouble. In an attempt to suppress his urges, he looked away from the door. Climbing up onto the roof, he took a seat on the peak of the angled building to stare at the rolling waves of the ocean in the distance. Stitch hugged his knees tightly, he rocked back and forth with the ebb and flow of the endless blue water. Each second started to feel like it stretched forever. He knew long before they reached the school that being apart would be torture, and now his fears were being realized. Please, not too long. He let one claw fall, subconsciously, he started to draw a circle on the roof with his finger.

Just below the blue experiment on the roof, the six girls continued their dance practice. Being a part of the ten to thirteen division of hula, the practice became a lot more intense from when they were still young children. Movements became more complex, pacing became faster, and the need to work together grew tremendously. While most of the girls could work together well, Myrtle was a constant antagonist. Wanting nothing more than to be the absolute best in the group, she continually made things hard for Lilo. Between the constant verbal abuse and the few times Myrtle physically tried to make her trip, Lilo was starting to reach her breaking point. Victoria saw Lilo’s brow furrow as she took a step forward, but managed to reach her before anything happened.

“Wait.” She said as she put her hand on Lilo’s shoulder. “Come on, we get a short break, let’s go get a drink.”

Lilo looked back at Myrtle, arms crossed as if daring her to do anything. Taking a deep breath she turned away and went with her friend to the small kitchen side room to get a glass of water.

“Ugh. I hate her so much.” Lilo shouted. “I just want to take her face, and just, just pound it.” She pounded her own fist into her hand to emphasize her point.

“I know. She would deserve it too. But you can’t.” Victoria handed her a glass of water that she drank greedily. “Normally, I’m sure not much more than a scolding would come from it… But after what Stitch did to her yesterday-“

“That wasn’t Stitch’s fault!” Lilo interrupted her friend. “Myrtle caused all of that, and she wasn’t even hurt afterward.”

“I know that. Stitch knows that. Myrtle knows that. I bet even Kumu knows that. But it doesn’t matter.”

Lilo pressed her back to the wall and slumped to the floor. “He’s been trying so hard.”

Victoria sat down next to Lilo gently. “Has he been any better, did you two get to, you know?”

“No. Jumba was interrupted. We have to make it through the day. I can’t even imagine how he’s feeling right now…”

“If you’re so worried about him what are you doing here then?” Lilo brought her head up, Victoria could see a mixture of pain and happiness radiate from Lilo’s face.

“Because of my mom.”

“You’re mom? What do you mean?”

“My mom was an amazing hula dancer.” Lilo’s tone changed drastically. She talked about her mom in such a tender way, like no bad could ever be said about her. “I know I don’t really talk about my parents much. Really, I don’t remember a whole lot. I was still really young when they had their accident.” She paused for a moment as all the sad memories flooded her. “My dad was the one that taught me the importance of Ohana. Nani says that they really were all about family, even those not related to us were considered a part of it. I guess I kind of got that part of them huh? Mom was the one who started our family fun nights.”

“Oh geez.” Victoria giggled. “We’re they just as crazy back then as they are now?”

“I don’t really know. I can’t remember a whole lot. I just remember feeling like I really belonged. Everyone says I’m a lot like my mom, even Nani says she can see some of her in me. But the biggest thing is dance. Mom was the one who enrolled me in it.”

“Really? I had no idea, I always just thought you loved it.” Victoria thought back to all the dance lessons they shared. No matter what was happening at the time, Lilo would always be smiling greater than anyone when they danced.

“I do. Whenever I’m dancing, I can feel my mom there beside me. I never got to see her dance, nor did I ever get to dance with her, but I know she’s with me. It’s the one thing I know we share, and always will. Stitch knows that. He knows just what dancing means to me. That’s why I’m here, he wants me to be here.”

“I get it. Even if what he did wasn’t his fault, if he had to keep you away from this he would feel awful.” Victoria said in understanding.

“He would. Even before we were together, if he ever did anything that forced me from dancing he would constantly apologize.”

“That sounds like him.” The two laughed together. Victoria now understood how important dance meant to her friend now. She boiled inside knowing what pain Myrtle was causing them all, especially for Stitch right now.

Lilo though, had her mind elsewhere. She was starting to wonder how Stitch was doing alone. The two sat in silence. Lilo thinking about Stitch, feeling her heart quicken, and Victoria about what she had just learned about her friend. Time slowly ticked by, and their break was going to end soon. Feeling they had spent enough time there, Victoria looked to her friend. “I think we should get-“

“You know, this could be the last time I dance.” Lilo stated, rather bluntly.

“What?”

“Stitch and I both understand that things are going to change tonight. Even you mentioned it before, we don’t know what kind of side effects there are going to be on me, or even him. For all we know, after tonight I might not even enjoy hula anymore.”

“I don’t think that could ever happen.” Victoria was about to joke about it, but seeing Lilo’s face turn stone rather than start laughing made her hold her tongue fast. “Could it?”

“We don’t know. We kind of try avoiding it. But I think he knows I could change a lot after tonight. He mentioned my mom because maybe today is the last time I have that feeling of being close to her.”

Victoria was stunned, as much as she wished Lilo could stay the same as she was now, she knew she couldn’t. To make such an important decision so early in life scared her. And here Lilo was, choosing a path that could alter her permanently, even willing to risk death for love. She could feel her own anger rise again, thinking that Myrtle may ruin Lilo’s final chance to spend time with her mom’s memory. Lilo has done so much for all of us. Some they will never know. She doesn’t deserve this. “Well, then we can’t let Myrtle ruin this now can we?”

Lilo looked her brown haired friend dead in the eye. She could feel the seriousness in her stare. Her bright blue eyes held strong, unwavering. “No we can’t.”

They were determined. No longer would Myrtle get away with all the trouble she had caused them. Time to give her some of her own medicine. Mose’s called them from the other room, and they took off at a run. Ready, not only for dancing, but a little payback.

During all this, Stitch was on the roof. Three hours had passed since Lilo started class and he accidently cut a circle into the shingle where his finger constantly circled. Normally full of energy, Stitch could feel his insides tearing away. The programming had started to become too great for him. He could feel sweat flow from his brow, not wanting to move his arms in fear that they would start to pull him towards Lilo. His body started to shake as he continued his internal and external struggle. Please, not much longer.

Chapter Text

Stitch was at his breaking point. Unable to contain himself any further, he jumped off the roof and ran towards the forest. On shaky legs, he ran into the street. Just as he stepped onto the opposing sidewalk a large blue car rushed passed and hit Stitch in the side, knocking him forwards into a convenience store wall. Shaking his head he saw a large koala shaped dent in the car on the street, a man getting out shouting angrily. Just over the top of the hood he could see the Hula dance hall Lilo was still in. His heart raced as the need to get to Lilo started to take control. He stood up slowly, trying to fight the urge to run in. Wobbling forward with each step, he suddenly stopped when a splash of water hit his face. The cool liquid pulled him back to his senses as he looked to see the source. A little Hawaiian woman was holding a spray bottle and looked at him angrily. Before she could say anything he turned tail and ran down the street. The world around him began to slow as his head rang from both the car crash and thoughts of Lilo filled his mind. Trying to be anywhere but there, he made a quick right and ran down to the beach. A trail of chaos lay behind him as he ran right into Angel and Reuben.

Before Stitch ran off, Lilo and Victoria were passive aggressively getting their revenge on Myrtle. Every time she tried to mess with one of them, they would stop suddenly and the other would get in the way of Myrtle causing her to trip instead. In the final moments of the dance, Myrtle tried one last time to trip Lilo. Determined not to be made a fool of. She moved over just a little, placing her foot right in the path of Lilo’s leg as she stepped forward. Lilo stopped again, just in time, leaving Myrtle stunned. As she turned to finish the dance, she didn’t see Victoria behind her. Once she turned the whole way her leg caught Victoria’s and she tumbled off the stage, arms waving wildly in the air. With a soft thud, she hit the ground below unharmed. All the girls, even Elena, Theresa, and Yuki burst out laughing. Myrtle sat up, adjusting the lei on her head.

“Myrtle!” Moses shouted, running over and kneeling near her. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She grumbled, crossing her arms.

“You really need to be more careful, Myrtle.”

“But they’re the ones-“

Before Myrtle could finish blaming them, Lilo interjected, kneeling over the edge of the stage. “Yeah, Myrtle. You really need to be more careful. We wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

“Yeah.” Victoria added, just like the trio normally would. All the girls on stage began laughing, causing Myrtle’s face to turn a shade similar to her hair.

“Settle down, girls.” Moses said while standing up. “That’s it for today. Remember, the dance is this Saturday. Victoria, Myrtle, and Lilo,” stressing Lilo’s name so she was sure to listen, “remember no pets are allowed.”

The girls ran off the stage. Myrtle final stood up as Lilo and Victoria walked past her.

“Yeah, Myrtle. No pets.” Lilo called back. Myrtle only stuck her tongue out in defiance. “That felt really good.”

“Yeah it did. We should probably not do that again though.” Victoria added as the laughed on the way out. “Don’t want to stoop down to her level too often.”

“You’re right. We need to be the better person in situations like this.” They stopped and stared at each other and nodded before starting to giggle again. The two quickly changed from their hula outfits into regular clothing. Victoria into her usual t-shirt and shorts, and Lilo slipped on her red mu’umu’u. They quickly headed outside, Lilo called out to Stitch, but when he didn’t answer or show up she quickly grew worried.

“Stitch? What are youga doing here?” Angel asked. Stitch just looked around, still in utter panic, unsure of what to do or where to go.

Noticing he was acting oddly, Reuben stepped forth, placing a hand on Stitch’s shoulder. “Hey, cuz. You doing okay?”

Stitch shrank at his touch, unsure of what he might do. “N-naga nota.”

“Where’s Lilo, Stitch?” He shivered at the sound of her name. He looked towards Angel as she said ‘Lilo.’ With great understanding, she quickly pulled Reuben back. “Careful.” She stated.

“Whoa. What’s going on here?” Reuben was really confused.

Stitch answered for himself, trying to gain a bit of control. “Meega naga good right now.” He paused, taking a gulp. “Soka. Meega go. Naga hurt youga.” He took off quickly, leaving them behind. They looked at each other before taking off after him to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.

The gravity of how much his programming had progressed quickly dawned on Angel. Running past broken benches and turned over garbage cans, even running through broken fences. Stitch wasn’t actively breaking things. In his fit for control he constantly ran into things by accident, either knocking them down or destroying them from his sheer force of running.

“Stitch!” Lilo continued to call out. “Where are you?”

“Do you think he went home?” Victoria asked, looking around the front of the building.

“No. There’s no way he would have left me. He said he’d wait here.”

The two stopped as they heard panicked shouts come from down the road.

“Oh no.” Lilo whispered. She all but dragged Victoria along with her. As they ran along the destruction and chaos, they couldn’t believe what had happened in such a short time. While nothing seemed to be in complete disrepair, the damage was easy to follow. It didn’t take the two long to catch up to the small pink and yellow experiments.

“Angel! Reuben!” Lilo gasped as she stopped to catch her breath. “Where’s Stitch?”

“We were just chasing after him. I don’t know what happened, he just ran into us and then quickly took off. We’ve been chasing him ever since.” Reuben explained. “Can someone please tell me what’s going on?”

“Naga time.” Angel said. “Lilo. Youga only one who can stop him.”

Lilo nodded in agreement. Angel quickly picked her up and started running full force in the direction Stitch went.

“Here we go again.” Reuben sighed, this was more physical activity than he was used to. Before Victoria could object, he quickly grabbed her and followed after the girls. It didn’t take long for them to find him. Stitch left a pretty distinguishable trail to himself. Reaching the end of the path they were utterly horrified. Before them lay a beach utterly destroyed. Beach umbrella’s torn, snapped or fallen all over. The lifeguard tower was toppled over and beach blankets were left abandoned and torn. It looked like everyone left in mass panic, way more destruction than Stitch could have done in his current state.

Lilo and Victoria were let down and the four of them scoured the beach, trying to find any hint of the small blue experiment. It didn’t take Lilo long to see a crowd of surfer boys and tourists near the shoreline surrounding a small animal, shouting angrily at it. After straining her eyes, Lilo could see through the crowd of legs, Stitch was in the center of them. He was holding himself like he was shivering, as he stumbled back and forth a little. Ears straight down, he was trying not to hear all the shouting.

“I found him.” Lilo called to the others. She ran forward and started calling out to him. “Stitch!”

Hearing the voice of his angel, Stitch looked towards the sound. He instantly started feeling better with Lilo in sight. “Lilo.” He whispered.

“Stitch! I’m here.” As she got closer she felt her arm get grabbed by a strong force. She looked up to see a tall surfer boy holding her back.

“Hold on, little girl.” He said. “That thing is dangerous, you could get hurt.”

“He’s not dangerous!” She shouted, struggling against him. “He needs me! Let me go!”

“I don’t think so. You are going to stay right here, while the others handle this.”

“You don’t understand! Things are only going to get worse if you don’t let go of me!”

The surfer didn’t listen. He was much stronger than her and the others were still on their way over. Stitch struggled to see past the crowd, but when he did the full force of his anger boiled inside him. All he could see was Lilo being held onto by some foreign guy. As she struggled to get out of his grip, Stitch could feel all control he had loosen, and he didn’t care. The threat to his Lilo needed to be disposed of. With a loud growl, Stitch bolted through the crowd knocking everyone in his path down.

Lilo could hear Stitch’s growl. “Oh no.” She tried to escape his grip even harder, but couldn’t. “Let me go now!”

“No way.” He replied, fear tinting his voice. “We need to get out of here.” He began pulling Lilo away, but he didn’t make it far before Stitch was on them. He was like a cannon ball. Launching himself at his foe, as soon as Stitch made contact he let go of the little girl, falling to the ground with the heavy experiment on top of him.

“Naga hurt boojiboo!” Stitch spat in his face, sitting on the man’s chest. The surfer boy was short of breathe, between getting knocked down so suddenly and having the full weight of Stitch on him, it felt like his chest was being crushed. Stitch’s look of anger and disgust terrified him. All he could do was whimper in a fit of terror. Stitch brought a threatening claw up, ready to tear at the one who dared to hurt Lilo.

“Stitch! No!” Lilo pleaded, she could see her voice have an effect on him. However, it didn’t seem like it worked as effectively as it did when he held Myrtle. The other three had finally reached them, unsure of what Stitch would do to them if they got closer. All they could do was stand back and watch the events unfold.  

“Stitch, please!” Lilo shouted, she wrapped her arms around him, hoping that she could stop him. Stitch continued to growl at the man beneath him, unable to direct his anger anywhere else. Victoria looked away, not wanting to see what Stitch might do. Lilo tried to pull Stitch off of him, but couldn’t move him an inch. “Don’t do this.”

Her words reached Stitch, but every time he started to calm down the image of the man below pulling her away surfaced in his mind. No force of nature would stop Stitch from carrying out the destruction of this man. The one who dared touch Lilo, who tried to take her away. His claw came down fast, Angel and Reuben both winced, knowing that it was too late.

“I love you, Stitch.” Lilo whispered.

His claw stopped, just a hair from the man’s throat. Any farther and he would no longer be able to breathe. Permanently. Stitch’s breathing became short and sharp as he started to regain control. Fighting between his need to eliminate the threat, and the need to be good and keep the one he loved happy.  With long, deep breaths, Stitch slowly got off the man, allowing him to breathe once more. Both of them could tell that Stitch was far from okay, but well enough to get out of there.

The three onlookers sighed in relief as Lilo and Stitch made their way towards them. However, they only made it a few steps when the surfer, completely outraged, stood up and stomped towards the two.

“Look out!” Victoria bellowed, just in time for the two to turn around as the man kicked Stitch into the sand as hard as he could.

“What are you doing?!” Lilo started, “We just want to go.”

“This thing!” He spat, pointing at Stitch sitting up in the sand. “Needs to be put down. He caused all of this and nearly killed me.”

“It’s not his fault, I told you to let me go.” Lilo furrowed her brow, eye’s glaring in anger.

“Whatever. It’s just a dumb animal.”

Lilo had had it. She ran up to the man, but before she could do anything he pushed her to the side as he made his way to Stitch. The little blue experiment saw it all happen before him, doing his best to not attack the man once again, watching as he stomped towards him.

Lilo sat up, teeth clenched. She looked over and saw as the man’s foot come crashing down into Stitch once again. “He is not a dumb animal. Get him, Stitch.”

With her permission, Stitch grabbed the man’s foot. Picking him up off the ground entirely, he heard a scream that rivaled Myrtle’s above him. Spinning him around by the foot he threw the man far out into the ocean.

“Aloha!” Stitch shouted as the man splashed down into the water near some fishing boats. Before he could turn around he felt Lilo grab him, kissing the back of his head.

“You okay?” She asked softly.

“Ih. Weega best get to Jumba though. Naga nota how long meega keep control.”

“Alright.” With that, Stitch picked her up, bride style, and started running home. Leaving their three friends behind.

“We should go after them.” Victoria stated, and the others nodded in agreement. Angel picked her up as well and they started running as fast as they could.

“Now can someone explain to me what’s going on, please?” Reuben asked between breathes. “Did I hear Stitch call her his boojiboo? And did she say she loves him?”

“Yes.” “Ih.” The two girls answered at the same time. They looked at each other, realizing they both knew. They began to explain everything that Lilo and Stitch had told them. Starting with when they got together all the way to the present, going over as much detail as they could during the run.

“So let me get this straight. They fell in love, and because of that Stitch has gone all crazy in a need to protect and be with her, and the only way to make this all better is to put them in a machine that may or may not hurt Lilo?” Rueben said exasperated.

“Ih.”

“And you’re both okay with this?”

“It’s the only way.” Victoria shot at him.

“I understand that. But I mean with their relationship.”

“What youga mean?” Angel asked. “Are you upset that they’re together?”

“Of course not. I love ‘em both. But the whole different species thing doesn’t fly well here on Earth, not to mention the existence of aliens being kept under wraps. You see what I’m saying? If it gets let out who knows what would happen.”

“That’s why they’re keeping it a secret.” Victoria stated. “They know full well that Nani would probably separate them if she found out. It’s up to us to make sure it doesn’t happen. For their sake.”

Reuben kept his mouth shut. It’s not Nani I would be worried about. “Well, I’ll keep my mouth shut. Right now I just want my cuz to get better.”

The three continued chasing after the couple. Seeing Stitch just ahead of them. They couldn’t keep up at this point, Stitch was slowly leaving their sight. Knowing where to go though made it easy to follow.

Lilo and Stitch burst through the ship, running as quickly to the lab as they could. Seeing the locked door, they banged their fists against it, needing Jumba to be finished working on the machine. The door slid open to reveal a very tired alien.

“What’s going on? Little girl! 626! I was just to call-“ he trailed off. Seeing Lilo all disheveled and Stitch clutching at his sides as he shook, trying to get control. Jumba instantly understood what was going on. “Are you two both being okay?”

“Yes. But we need to hurry! I don’t know how long Stitch can hold on.” Lilo said with tears forming in her eyes. Just then, Angel, Reuben, and Victoria ran into the lab. All gasping for breath.

“624, 625, and other little girl? What are you-? Never mind. We do not be having of the time. 626 won’t be able to hold on much longer. I am just about done. Everyone hurry inside.”

Stitch could barely walk straight, he felt his control slowly slipping and he didn’t know what to do. The others made it into the room just as the door closed. Jumba ran to his machine, throwing his goggles back on. Sparks began flying from the back of the machine once Jumba was out of view.

“It is almost ready, I just need a little more time. However, we do not have that luxury. From my calculations 626 will lose control any second.” Jumba called from behind the machine. He started directing everyone to their places. “Little girl, 626. Each of you must get in a pod now. It doesn’t matter which. Once they are set, other little girl, please push the blue button on the bottom of the pods. 625, 624. I need you to help keep 626 in the pod. I am hoping you two will be strong enough to hold him.”

“Why do they need to hold him?” Lilo asked as she and Stitch each laid down on the cool metal of the pod. Just as she set her head down, Victoria pressed the button, causing metal clasps to appear locking her wrists and ankles in place. She winces slightly as little needles in each one pricked her skin.

Victoria pressed the button on Stitch’s pod, causing the same thing to happen. Realization set in once he knew Lilo felt the same pain and he began to lash out. Angel and Reuben held him fast, trying to match his strength.

“I don’t know what you were thinking, doc. But I don’t know if we’ll be able to hold him long.” Reuben shouted, using more of his super strength than he ever did before. He was able to hold three thousand times his weight, just like Stitch. However, the state Stitch was in now was just as strong as him and Angel combined. If they let up for a second, Stitch would break free and all would be lost.

After a few moments, Jumba burst from behind the machine and ran to the console.

“It’s finished!” He shouted. “On my mark, everyone clear away from the pods.” He began to type furiously on the keyboard, setting all the code and commands needed to carry out the procedure.

“One.” Victoria backed away, unable to do anything.

“Two.” Angel and Reuben winced and strained as they fought the strength of Stitch.

“Three.” Lilo looked over at Stitch, knowing that this was it. All or nothing. No matter what happens to her, she needed to know he was going to be okay.

“I love you.” She whispered, not sure if Stitch could hear her. She thought she heard him whisper, “I love you too,” but she couldn’t tell over all the sounds around them.

“Now!” Jumba commanded as he hit the final button on the computer console. Angel and Reuben jumped back just as the clear glass of the pods closed, completely encasing them in their own little bubble. With a soft glow and a bit of gas, the two became instantly tired and fell into a deep slumber. “That is it. Now all we do is wait.”

The four walked around to meet each other in the middle of the machine. Some looking at Lilo, the others at Stitch.

“So will Lilo be okay?” Victoria asked as Lilo’s form became harder and harder to see through the soft glow and mist.

“She will survive.” Jumba stated matter of factly.

“Will there be any side effects?”

“If there are, there will be no way of telling what they will be until after. Once the process is done, I will do a full check and see that they are both okay.”

“Both?” Angel said, turning to Jumba completely shocked.

Reuben also turned to him, putting a hand on Angel’s shoulder. “You mean to say Stitch might also be affected by this.

Jumba walked away from the three of them, contemplating how he should put his explanation. “The process was never meant to be done on humans. I only designed it for you, my experiments. From the changes I had to make, they will both come out alive, that is guaranteed. However, what this will do to them, I cannot say. All I know is, their genetics are changing. The bond they formed will be stronger than ever, and nothing will change how they feel for one another. Aside from that, no one can say.”

With that, Jumba left the lab, yawning. The three stayed behind, determined to be there for their friends once they awoke. All mentally agreeing that these two needed them, now more than ever.

“We keep this between us.” Victoria whispered.

“Yeah.” “Ih.” The two experiments nodded in agreement. They all sat against the pods, hoping that their friends could feel that they weren’t alone in this, not knowing how long they would have to wait.

Chapter Text

Lilo could feel herself floating. Or, rather than floating, it was more like drifting. Drifting through space without a care in the world. Am I dreaming? No… She thought back, trying to remember what had happened to her. She couldn’t remember going to sleep at all. All of a sudden she felt a familiar shock. However, she didn’t feel pain. She could feel the shock center around her wrists and ankles. I’m in the machine! Frantic images began flooding her mind. Angel and Reuben rushing passed her to hold a struggling Stitch down. Victoria moving away from her. Stitch struggling with all his might. Then finally, the glass coming down, encasing her. Is Stitch okay? Try as she might, she was unable to move. The shock earlier started to get more intense. What she couldn’t feel at all earlier, quickly started to tickle.

Completely unprepared, she started to feel the sensation spread throughout her body. When, normally, she could feel nothing in her dreams, now she could feel everything.  Then she noticed she was unable to move, trapped in a single position. Even within the vast darkness, her senses heightened. She could feel the metal of the pod against her skin, her clothing draped over her body, the gas that filled the tube blowing around her. Everything. The tickle grew, starting to grow and grow into a sensation she couldn’t describe. Quickly it began hurting, only slightly. She felt like her entire being was slowly being stretched from the inside out. What is this? What is going on? She had thought many times about what it meant to have her genetics changed, but she didn’t think she would actually feel it. As the feelings continued to grow, everything suddenly began to feel tight.

All of a sudden, what was a vast empty void was filled with colours. A mess of a rainbow flowing freely around her. As her senses heightened, she could feel her own heart pump, her breathing echoing throughout the space. The stretching feeling hit a climax, feeling herself pulled as far as she could go. She thought she was about to break when one final shock hit her system and suddenly it was gone. No longer feeling stretched she finally relaxed, wondering if the process was over. Is that it? I hope that’s it.

She felt different, yet the same, but the void didn’t end. She stayed stuck in space. What was once a single heartbeat, suddenly became two beats. A steady rhythm surrounding her. Two breathes forming into one. Feeling more and more in touch with the foreign sound, her own heart began to sync with hers. What’s happening now?

Then, what she least expected to happen did. A voice that wasn’t her own replied back to her.

“Who isa there” The voice asked.

“I’m the one who asked first.” She huffed.

A pause was shared between her and the disembodied voice.

“Lilo?” The voice asked, confusion and concern surrounding the voice. It didn’t take long for her to recognize he tone and voice.

“Stitch?”

“Ih!” He replied, enthusiastically. “Why youga in meega’s head?”

“I’m not. You’re in mine.”

“Naga. Meega in pod… meega thinks… feels like dream. Youga have to be in meega’s head.”

“But I am too. Could we be reading each other’s thoughts?”

Stitch paused for a moment. “Isa must be because of machine.”

“That’s right.” Lilo began. “Jumba said that our genetics would be re written to lock our love for one another. If that’s the case, then that’s what’s happening now. Because of it we are being connected right now and are sharing the experience.”

“Lilo? How did you know that? That’s what I was figuring it was.” They were both surprised. However, Lilo was more surprised over Stitch than her sudden burst of knowledge.

“Stitch. You just spoke English perfectly.”

“I did?” Stitch was shocked at himself. “I am. How am doing this?”

“It must be the machine… right now we’re connected, I know what you know and you know what I know.”

All at once the two were flooded with memories. Their heads burned and rang out, causing them to scream from the sudden rush and pain. It felt like their heads were about to explode as images flooded before them. It wasn’t just the images they could see and feel, it was also the emotions.

Stitch could see the moment Lilo heard of her parent’s death, feeling the udder sadness and despair washing over him. Jumping to all the torment Lilo endured as she slowly lost her friends, feeling the darkness close in around him, unable to do anything to stop it. Then he saw himself, falling from the sky. Feeling hope as Lilo wished for an angel to be brought to her. Then their first hug, back in the dog pound. Feeling the happiness and wonder of finally having a friend. The years rushed by him, as he saw and relived all their time together. The happiness, the worry, the pain, the wonder and excitement. All the way to the moment he told her he loved her. He saw himself on the beach, as the warm sun warmed each and every word, feeling the love inside himself rise at the realization. All the images brought his mind pain, but it also brought him happiness.

Lilo was experiencing the same thing. All the shock and pain racked her mind as Stitch’s memories filled her fast. She experienced the heart ache of Angel leaving him, but the sudden realization of his feelings for Lilo, warming him from the inside out. She saw the care and planning he put in the two months of preparation for the fateful day of when he was to tell her his feelings. The worst and best of all, she felt the pain Stitch went through as his programming took over. She became Stitch, protecting her from Angel, holding Myrtle up out of anger. Finally, she was over the surfer boy, her claw raised ready to tear his throat out in pure anger. She was ready to carry it out, until she felt her own arms wrap around her, and with them, more security than she ever felt in her young life. Then nothing. The pain was finally over.

“Did you feel that?” Lilo asked, strained.

“I did,” he began, regaining himself, “I saw-“

“Everything.” Lilo finished his sentence. They could still feel their connection growing. Quickly Lilo could feel not only everything around her body, but Stitch’s as well. She giggled at the feeling of the fur on Stitch’s body as it warmed her. Able to suddenly smell the other’s scent, they sighed in comfort.

The tingling feeling surfaced once again, not brining pain with it though, thankfully.

“I wonder how long this connection will last.” Lilo stated after a few minutes. She waited for a few moments, hearing nothing but silence. “Stitch?”

When he didn’t answer, she concentrated as hard as she could. “Stitch! Are you still there?” Try as she might she couldn’t hear him anymore, and his heartbeat and breathing were farther away than they were before.

Meanwhile, Stitch was experiencing the same thing. “Lilo? Are youga there?” He paused. “Youga? Meega can’t speak English perfectly anymore…”

While their mental connection had finally been severed, they could still feel one another. Far off, yet close. Everything around suddenly went black. Stitch had a strong sense of déjà vu. No longer floating, Stitch felt his feet touch a cold ground and he began looking around himself frantically. Off in the distance he saw Lilo waving to him.

“Lilo?” He whispered, before calling out to her. He could still see her waving at him and he began running to her.

“Stitch!” She yelled to him. “I’m over here! Can you see me?” She saw him begin running over to her and felt herself fill with joy. Rather than just watching him, she could feel as he got closer. As if something was drawing them together like a strong magnet. Right as he reached her, she wrapped her arms around him only to have them grasp empty air.

“What?” She looked at her empty arms. “Where did he go?”

Suddenly, everything around her went white, causing her to wince. The world suddenly filled with a fog, making it hard to see anything around her. Straining her eyes, she could see a small blue experiment in front of her.

“Is that you, Stitch?” She shouted, however she didn’t receive an answer. She felt something wash over her and she looked down at herself, suddenly taller. In her arms was a small child, face blocked by the fog. She could also feel something clinging to her leg. Despite the foreignness of it all, she didn’t feel like it was out of place. Almost like everything was right with the world. Only one thing was missing. “Stitch.”

She saw the blue figure in front of her take a step forward, causing her to smile. However, he vanished again. Leaving her completely and utterly alone with the two figures she could not see by her. Slowly, everything around her began to slowly fade away until she was once again in a void on her own.

The sound of the two pods opening filled the room. Victoria, Angel, and Reuben rushed over, seeing their friends begin to stir.

“Someone go get Jumba!” Victoria demanded, feeling Lilo’s forehead to check if she had a fever of any sort.

“I’m on it.” Reuben stated as he ran out of the room as quickly as he could. As they heard the door shut they continued tending to their friends. Lilo and Stitch’s eye lids began to flutter open as they tried to sit up. Each one stumbling a bit as they adjusted to being back in a physical space.

Victoria helped up Lilo, holding her around the back to support her weight, as Angel did the same for Stitch.

“Are you okay?” Victoria asked, concern filling her tender voice.

“I think so.” Lilo replied, rubbing her head a little. “Is Stitch okay?”

She could feel Victoria freeze on her, realizing that if the machine didn’t work Stitch would more than likely tear her apart for having her hands on Lilo. Looking over, they saw Stitch shake his head trying to clear it. He slowly blinked as he rubbed his eyes, focusing on the three in front of him.

“Are you okay, Stitch?” Lilo asked as she tried to stand up.

Stitch just looked at her, then to Victoria. His eye’s trailed down Victoria’s arms to the points where they held onto Lilo. Where anger or fear would take over before, now he felt calm. “Ih. Meega feel great.”

Angel and Victoria sighed in relief, but Lilo began to beam. She was absolutely ecstatic that Stitch was finally okay. That in the end, they were able to pull through another trial of their relationship. And now, nothing could destroy their love for each other.

Still on shaky legs, the two girls helped the couple make it over to each other. Slowly, they started regaining their composure. As they got closer, the easier it was for them to walk on their own. They could feel that connection again, that pull like a magnet. Once they could they pulled each other in a strong hug, anyone who tried would never be able to make them part. The sound of the door sliding open quickly grabbed the fours attention.

“Little girl! 626! I am glad to be seeing you awake!” Jumba said as he rushed in with a great smile. He picked them both up and twirled them around in a great hug.

“Heehee. Thank you Jumba. For everything. Now we don’t need to worry anymore.” Lilo stated with a great smile on her face. Jumba set them down and directed everyone out of the room.

“Come now. We need to be doing a full check to make sure you are perfectly healthy.” After shooing the four out, he turned to his machine once again. Going to each pod’s smaller round dome, he quickly opened them and grabbed the object that lay inside. Placing them in his pocket, he joined the others enthusiastically. “Okay you two, step on this scanner.”

Jumba motioned towards a pad in the corner of the lab. It looked like one of the transport devices they’ve seen on ships, only there was no place for a pod to come down. They cautiously stepped on, hoping it wouldn’t hurt. Suddenly, a ring around the pad started to slide up, a bright light shining on them. The two shielded their eyes from the bright light until the ring finally slid back down.

“There. You are being finished.” Jumba told them as they hoped off. “Now I will just be analyzing the data.” He started to type furiously on a nearby computer. After a few moments he stood up triumphantly.

“Ahahaha!” He boasted loudly. “It was being a success.”

“So there’s no side effects?” Victoria asked, over joyed. The other four also started to smile, looking towards each other with great glee.

“Yes. There are some lasting effects.” Jumba stated, bringing down everyone’s morale. “However, it is nothing to be being worried about.”

“What are they?” Stitch asked, putting his arm around Lilo’s waist, holding her close.

“Well, that was one of them.” Jumba pulled over a chair and sat in front of the five small forms. “626, little girl. I’m sure you two experienced a lot while the process took place, yes?”

They both nodded in agreement.

“What you experienced was your genetic code being re-written. However, it was not just being re-written all willy-nilly. In order for the machine to work it re-writes the genetic code with each other. That is how the permanent bond is formed. Normally, that wouldn’t be an issue for experiments, but for a human it could have literally be tearing you inside out. Thankfully I was able to alter it and make it safe, now you two will be being connected forever.” He looked completely proud of himself.

Reuben stepped forward, interrupting Jumba’s rant about his greatness. “That’s all well and good, but you didn’t actually say what the side effects are.”

“Ah, yes.” Jumba replied. “I was getting to that. So. Since your genetics were altered with each other’s, you each have a lasting impression in your DNA. Little girl has a little bit of 626, and 626 has a little bit of little girl. So as you heard earlier, 626’s English is being much better. While not on the level of say 625, you should be as good almost as 624. Also, it appeared that you will now have a growing process similar to that of little girl. While never reaching her in height, you will be getting a little taller.”

“What about me?” Lilo asked. “I don’t feel any different.”

“Of course not, 626 probably does not either. The change is on a molecular level, too small to feel. You little girl have been affected differently. While nowhere near 626 in greatness, your strength and speed are now exceeding anything you could have hoped to reach before. Including reflexes. However, I’m sorry to say your growth will be stunted. While you will grow like normal, your life span is more like that of an experiment. You and Stitch will live just as long. Whether that is good or bad is your decision. However, you will not be as tall as you were when you aged up that one time a few years ago.”

“I think that’s okay.” Lilo stated positively. “I mean, we don’t really have any choice now do we?”

“Nope.” Victoria said as she pulled Lilo into a great hug. “I’m just glad you’re still you.”

“I am too.” She whispered, returning the hug.

“There is one more thing.” Jumba said as he put his hand into his pocket. He made his way to Lilo and Stitch. “Put out your hands.”

They did as he asked and he placed a small object in each of their hands. Looking down they saw he had placed a small ring on their palms. Each was very different from the other. In Lilo’s hand was a small ocean blue wedding band like ring. Around the band was a lighter blue line with a gap at the top. If Lilo titled the ring just right, she could see “626” engraved lightly into the metal. In Stitch’s hand was a thin ring, entirely red with white in the middle, the metal wrapped around up top forming the name “Lilo.”

“It’s Stitch.” Lilo whispered.

“Isa Lilo.” Stitch replied.

Jumba looked between the two as they placed their new jewelry on their left ring fingers. “That is right. A part of the machine is that it creates a ring based off of the ones inside.”

“It’s warm.” The little girl stated as she looked at the ring on her finger.

“Yes. It is because they are being connected to the life force of the one they were made from. They will always be connected to one another, and if you two are ever separated you can follow their pull to find one another.”

“So weega never apart?” Stitch asked, playing with the ring on his finger.

“Exactly. Just make sure you never are taking it off.” Jumba stated.

“Why?” Lilo asked just as she pulled it off. Stitch suddenly yelled as a searing pain shot through his body, making him fall to the ground. “Stitch!”

“Put the ring back on!” Jumba shouted. Once Lilo placed the ring back on her finger, the pain ended, allowing Stitch to start standing back up weekly, clutching at his heart.

“What was that?” Angel shouted, rushing to Stitch’s side just as Lilo helped him back up.

“Felt like entire body on fire. Heart almost felt like tearing.” He panted.

“That is the small price of all of this.” Jumba stated sadly. “You need the rings to complete the process, however they can never be taken off. If you do, you break the connection. It doesn’t reverse the process, but it will greatly pain the individual. If exposed to the pain for too long, they’re heart will completely break.”

“How long?” Reuben asked, trying to do the calculations in his own head.

“I would be giving it about a week.” Jumba told them. “Just never be removing them.”

“I won’t. I’m so sorry, Stitch.” Lilo pleaded, holding him tightly while kissing the top of his head.

“Isa okay. Meega fine now.” He pressed his forehead against her, lovingly.

After several minutes of Lilo and Stitch explaining what it was like in the machine to their friends. Victoria and Angel started yawning and stretching.

“I think it’s time for me to head home.” The brown haired girl said as she rubbed her eyes. “I’m sure my mom missed me after these last few days.”

“What?” Lilo and Stitch shouted together.

“What do you mean a few days?” Lilo asked her friend.

“You two were in there for almost three whole days.” Reuben told them.

The two just stared at them in disbelief. Stitch was the first say something. “Youga stayed with us the whole time?”

“Yeah. We decided from the beginning that we couldn’t leave you two.” Victoria replied while giving them each a hug good-bye.

After Lilo and Stitch were able to give their thanks and said they’re good-byes, their friends finally started making their way home. Hand in hand the two made their way down the trail to their house, wondering what they were going to do if Nani asked them where they were. Or where they got their rings.

Chapter Text

Lilo didn’t make it five steps into the house before Nani quickly ran to her and gave her a warm strong hug. “Oh, Lilo. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah.” Lilo said, a little confused by her sisters sudden embrace. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Brushing a tear out of her eye, Nani moved back a little. “Why? Jumba told me the Grand Council Woman suddenly called you as Ambassador on an urgent matter.”

“He did?” Lilo wasn’t sure what was happening. Did I miss something these last few days?

“Yes. Why are you so confused? Is something going on?”

Lilo quickly realized that Jumba must have made an excuse for her absence while they were in the machine. “No, no. I just didn’t think Jumba would tell you is all. Um, it was nothing. There was just, this uh, meeting that Stitch and I had to go to. All the Ambassadors from all the planets were there.”

“Really? Just a meeting?” She asked, rather doubtful.

“Yeah-huh. It was really boring. But I got to meet this really cool alien. He had an octopus for a head!”

“Well as long as everything was okay. I just wish they would tell us before suddenly rushing you away like that.”

“Sorry, I’ll be sure to let you know next time.” Lilo said, putting on as much of a guilty face as she could. “Or you could come!”

“I don’t think so. Space isn’t for me.” Nani stood up and dusted her rolled up pants off. “But you reek, Lilo. You too, Stitch.” She waved her hand in front of her nose, trying to get rid of the smell. “Both of you. Bath. Now.”

The two began to run to the hall when a glint of light reflecting off of Lilo’s finger caught Nani’s attention. “Wait, Lilo. What’s that?”

Lilo turned to her sister when Nani grabbed her hand to get a look at the ring. She silently hoped she didn’t see “626” printed on it. At the same time, Stitch began ruffling his fur around his ring to hide it from view.

“It’s a ring.” Lilo stated matter of factly while pulling her hand away.

“I can see that. Where’d you get it?”

“I got it from, um, the United Galactic Federation? Yeah. They gave all the ambassadors rings representing their planets. See?” She said while lifting her hand, trying to hide the numbers slightly. “It’s blue because of the oceans on Earth. I guess we have more water than most planets or something.”

“Well, make sure to keep it safe then.” Nani told her.

“I will!” Before Nani could notice the ring on Stitch’s hand as well, the two ran to the bathroom. Lilo, unable to keep control of her speed ran right past the door and stopped herself just inches away from the opposing wall. Stitch stood by the door, amazed at how much faster Lilo was.

“That was close.” He sighed.

“Yeah. It really was. I’m going to have to get used to this.” She stated while looking down at her hands. Stitch motioned for them to get into the bathroom before anyone else came by to question them.

The rest of the evening went smoothly. Lilo didn’t have any issues with her speed and strength. However, she knew she would have to practice keeping it in check. Once they were alone in their bedroom they started to discuss what had happened to them in the machine. Both could clearly remember sharing the same experiences. The instances of memories flooding each other. Essentially they had lived each other’s lives in what seemed like mere moments.

“I guess it wasn’t as short as we thought.” Lilo stated as she slipped on her night gown.

“Naga. It was like it was a dream or something.” Stitch replied getting the room all ready.

“I guess I saw that nightmare you had the other day then too, didn’t I?”

“Ih. Meega felt like I had more control in it, but I also knew what was going to happen.”

Lilo thought about the dream for a moment. She could feel the sense of being alone and loss. Even while she was connected to Stitch, she felt like she was alone. Empty. Like a piece of her was missing. Then a different feeling took its place.

“Everything went white.” She whispered, thinking out loud.

“White?”

“Yeah.” She said more confidently. “Everything was white, then I no longer felt alone. Didn’t you feel it?”

Stitch had to rack his brain to remember. It felt like he was just missing something, like reaching a memory that was just out of his grasp. “I think meega do. I remember…”

It hurt him to think so hard, like his brain was trying to keep him away from it. “Meega remember seeing someone. Or, maybe more?”

“I was holding something. Or someone.” Lilo brought her arms up, like she was holding something precious and fragile in them. Her hand quickly flew to her leg as she felt like something was grasping her. “Then I saw someone away from me. I couldn’t quite make them out.”

“Then the moment I tried to reach them-“Stitch began.

“Everything disappeared.” They both finished, feeling goose bumps run over their bodies. Slight shivers catching them.

“Maybe weega have them again. See more next time.” Stitch stated, trying to shake the odd feeling off of him.

“I still can’t believe we were in there for three days! That must mean it’s,” Lilo began counting on her fingers, sounding out each day. “It’s already Thursday! We missed so much hula.”

“Youga will be okay. Youga are a really good dancer, you know.” Stitch felt her come up behind him and wrap him in a hug. She squeezed him a lot harder than she ever could before, but it didn’t hurt him one bit.

“Thanks, Stitch.” She gave him a kiss on the back of the head. “But I still have a lot to learn if I’m ever going to be as great as mom was.”

Stitch turned in her embrace and wrapped his own arms around her waist. He looked up into her eyes and drifted in for a soft kiss. “You’ll make it there. Only a matter of time.”

“I just wish you could be in class with me.”

“Meega sure I’ll be able to someday. For now, I’ll just have to wait. It’ll be worth it.” He said with an understanding smile that warmed Lilo’s heart.

The two continued their nightly routine, until one more thing crossed Lilo’s mind. “If tomorrow’s Friday, then that means we’re just one day away from the dance!”

She quickly rushed to her closet. Throwing the doors open, she pushed aside her colorful mu’umu’us until she found what she was looking for. A nicely placed blue bag from the Kokui Grove mall. She opened it carefully and pulled out her new dress. Still blown away by the beauty of it, she carefully hung it up so it wouldn’t be wrinkled on the big night.

“Meega suppose we need to get me looking good too.” Stitch’s words sounded slightly worried. In all of the commotion, they completely forgot about making Stitch’s disguise for the dance.

“That’s right! What are we going to do?”

“Meega ask Jumba in morning. Meega sure he can make a photo for Morpholomew to use and make me human.”

“Okay.” Lilo agreed. “Just be careful that neither Nani nor Pleakley find out about it.”

“Ih. No problem.”

True to his word, Stitch confronted Jumba the next morning. He requested an image to be made for his cousin to change him into.

“Number 316? What would you be needing him to change you for?” Jumba asked while taking a bite out of his toast.

“Meega Lilo’s date tomorrow. I can’t go like this though. Weega thought that he would be able to transform me.”

“Ah. Now I am understanding.” Jumba nodded his head as crumbs feel out of his mouth lightly. “No problem. Compared to fixing that machine, this will be nothing. You will be having your picture tomorrow. Any preference on appearance.”

Stitch never really thought of it, his mind was occupied in other places. He quickly decided that he didn’t care what he looked like, as long as he was with Lilo. Right before telling his big creator not to worry about it, words suddenly rushed up in his mind.

“Voting for best couple!” The challenge! I can’t let Lilo lose after all of this. Wanting nothing more than to see Lilo happy, Stitch changed his mind on the matter. “Make meega look amazing. I want to blow Lilo and everyone away.”

“Really?” Jumba’s eyes grew wide. “I am amazed such a thing would matter to you.”

“Myrtle challenged Lilo. Best couple at the dance wins.”

“Annoying earth girl did?”

“Ih.”

“Well then,” Jumba said as he stood up, brushing crumbs off of his Hawaiian print shirt. “We best blow them out of water, yes?”

“Ih.” Stitch’s smile reached ear to ear. His eyes half closed from the smile and from the anticipation of completely destroying Myrtle’s expectations. Stitch heard the three feet of Pleakley start to enter the room, so he quickly made his leave while Jumba feigned innocence by whistling.

Silence washed over him as well as a sigh of relief as he made his way back to Lilo in their bedroom. As soon as the lift reached the top, he saw Lilo turn around in her hula outfit and his jaw dropped. Why have I never noticed before? He was absolutely captivated by her. The sway of the grass skirt, and the lei’s accentuating each movement of her wrists and feet. He had seen her in her hula outfit for years, but even though he loved her dearly, he never really took the time to notice just how beautiful she was in it. The machine unlocked a new part inside him, one that appreciated every little thing in his life. Lilo hadn’t yet noticed him as she was still getting ready, and Stitch could feel his cheeks redden like he rediscovered his first crush.

“Hey, Stitch.” Lilo said without turning to look at him. She was packing away clothes into a small bag. “Did you talk to Jumba?”

“Ih.” Stitch made his way over to her, his heart was pumping so loud he was sure Lilo would be able to hear it. “How did youga know I was here?”

Lilo turned around as she swung the bag over her shoulder, seeing Stitch was just inches from her. She instantly became flustered and wasn’t sure why the feeling suddenly came over her. “I don’t know… I just sort of felt you.”

 Stitch grabbed her hand, tracing his ring on her finger, feeling the warmth radiate from it. A constant feeling that he himself also shared on his own finger from her ring. The connection made their hearts quicken. They didn’t know what kind of affect would happen once they used the machine, but they certainly didn’t hate it.

Lilo could slowly feel herself draw closer to Stitch. Wanting nothing more than to feel his lips against hers. Feeling his embrace, feel his love, feel that passion she knew must have multiplied just like her’s had. Right before their lips were to meet, the alarm on the side table started ringing.

Stitch cursed the clock for stealing away his moment, as Lilo quickly ran to it to turn it off. “We’re late, Stitch. We’re going to need to take the buggy today.”

“Alright.” Stitch said disappointedly, sulking his was over to the lift.  Before he reached the round platform he felt a small breeze of wind rush by as Lilo kissed his cheek and started down the lift.

“There’ll be plenty of time for that later, boojiboo.” She called up to him as he stood there from shock, slowly watching her disappear from his sight.

A new found playfulness coursed through him as his heart began to race again. I really have fallen in love all over again. Shaking himself out of the daze he jumped down the lift, landing with a soft clang, and ran to the buggy as fast as he could. Lilo was already standing there, however he noticed something was off. Tilting his head a bit he got a better view or Lilo, standing there with the door in her hand, no longer attached to the buggy.

“Gaba happened?” He asked worriedly, her face showing a mixture of shock and amazement.

“It just came off.” She stated, her voice matching her facial expression. “I pulled to open it and it just came off. It doesn’t even feel heavy.” To further her point she repeatedly lifted it over her head, swinging it around a bit.

“Jumba was right. Youga did get some of my speed and strength.”

“So this is what it’s like for you? How do you not just tear everything apart?”

Stitch laughed as he took the door from her, letting her sit in her seat before he placed the door back on, using his saliva as a bit of an adhesive until they could get it fixed properly. “Practice.”

He thought back to his first time on Earth, learning not to just destroy everything in his wake. To put love and care into his touch. It didn’t take long for Lilo to push into his mind, standing there beside him all those years ago, teaching him to be a model citizen. “Motivation doesn’t hurt as well.”

“Motivation?” She asked. Stitch giggled at the confused face she was making. She’s too adorable.

“Don’t worry about it, boojiboo. Weega make sure you get used to it.” He quickly hopped into his seat and then they were off to class. Once again they were enjoying the cool breeze rush past them.

“Good. Because I certainly don’t want to break everything by accident.”

Lilo hadn’t really thought about it, but feeling the cold Hawaiian air flow through her hair made her realize that she felt a lot different. It wasn’t just strength and speed that was new. Her senses were heightened. Everything feels so wonderful. She thought as a shiver ran down her spine from the new sensations. Wonderful tropical smells wafted throughout the air. Each flower, tree, and fruit reached her and brought beauty to everything. I’ve lived here all my life, and I’ve never really noticed all of this. The rays of the sun warmed her body, giving her the feeling of a soft blanket warming her on a cool day. Normally the heat would make her at least a little uncomfortable, but this was different. It wasn’t hot, it was just there. That was the best way she could describe all the feelings. Sound, smell, touch, and sight. Everything made her feel and see the world around her differently, and the best way to describe it was that it was just there. She could truly see the world for how it was, in all its beauty and wonder. So is this how Stitch has always seen and felt everything? I hope this never ends.

Lilo was waving her hand through the air. Letting the wind pick it up and carry it with a will of its own. She could feel her hand cut through the air, as if she were swimming in water. A new sensation filled her body, one that surprised her, yet brought a great feel of familiarity. She looked over and saw that her other hand was being held by Stitch. The new sensation wasn’t new at all. She had just never been able to feel it like this before. The warmth could rival that of the sun. The brush of the small fur tickled slightly, but it gave her the same comfort that it always did when she cuddled him. The touch warmed her from the inside out, making her suddenly feel embarrassed. What is this? It feels like that day on the beach… but more. All she could do was giggle to let the feelings out.

It didn’t take long for the two to reach the Hula dance hall. Stitch held back, remembering what felt to them like only yesterday. Sitting on the roof, as he slowly lost control. Lilo could feel it to, she experienced it alongside him in the machine. She wished she could give him some comfort, but new she couldn’t do much for it now.

“I’m sorry you can’t come in.” She said, pulling him into a deep hug. Closing her eyes as she momentarily lost herself in him.

“Isa okay. Meega will wait here. This time, I promise not to go anywhere.”

“Okay.” She whispered in his ear. Before she let her embrace end, she gave him a quick kiss. She felt it like never before, and hoped she would soon experience it again.

Stitch watched as the door closed before him once again. It wasn’t something he would get used to, but it was one he could deal with now. He could feel the ring react to her nearby, and new that she would never be far. If they ever did separate. I will find her.

As soon as Lilo entered the hall, she had a strong sense of déjà vu. Moses was on his knee, folding a piece of paper and placing it into his pocket. He stood and approached Lilo, but not alone this time. Victoria looked confident and smug as she walked beside him. Leaning to the side, she could see Myrtle on the other side of the room. Her arms were crossed and she was positively fuming. Lilo thought she could almost see steam shoot out of her ears.

“Alright, Lilo.” Moses began, looking back to his regular and happy self. “Stitch is allowed to join us in the hall again.”

“What?” Lilo was shocked. After everything that happened she was sure Stitch and she would be in a lot more trouble. “But I thought?”  

Victoria piped in this time. Explaining everything. “I talked to my mom. I was there the whole time remember? I explained how Myrtle caused it all and had hurt you, and Stitch was just trying to protect you. Since she wasn’t actually hurt or anything, my mom talked to the other girl’s moms and they all agreed that as long as Stitch didn’t actually hurt anyone, they don’t see any reason he can’t be here.”

“Really?” She was so happy she felt like she could explode. “Even Mrs. Edmonds said it was okay?”

Victoria giggled. “When she heard what had actually happened, she gave Myrtle a huge scolding. Apparently she lied about what had happened. And ‘lying is not something a young lady should do.’” Victoria did her best to imitate Mrs. Edmonds. Her failed attempt made the two girls laugh.

“Thank-you so much.” Lilo grabbed her best friend and did her best not to break her in a hug. “This means so much to me.”

“I know.” Victoria said softly, as she returned the embrace, rubbing Lilo’s back. “Now, go get Stitch.”

“Yeah.” Lilo didn’t have to be told twice. She quickly ran out and told Stitch the good news. She could see the immense happiness on his face when she told him. He always loved being able to see her dance, and now he could again. And he just couldn’t wait, they both burst through the doors of the dance hall, eager to start once again.

Chapter Text

The dance lesson had been wonderful. Lilo was so happy to have Stitch there with her that not even Myrtle could have ruined the day. Myrtle didn’t even try. She had felt completely defeated when Victoria ruined her lie. However, she was not one to just roll over and give up.

“I’ll get both of you back for this.” She muttered under her breath. An evil idea came to her suddenly, a devilish grin spreading across her face. “You’re gonna wish you never went to that dance.”

No one had heard her mutterings. Instead, everyone was completely focused on Lilo. Despite being absent for a few days, she was dancing beautifully. Better than ever before. Her movements were absolute grace. Every turn, every wave of her hand, and every step had a force behind it that none of the little girls had seen before. Even Moses was amazed. He had never seen such an amazing dancer in the younger age divisions.

“Wow, Lilo.” Moses began once the dance had finished. “That was beautiful. You’ve come a long way, and I’m sure that your mother would be proud.”

“Thank-you.” Lilo said, smiling greatly.

The other girls had congratulated her as well, making her slightly embarrassed, as happy as all the praise had made her, she truly only cared about one thing. Stitch was watching her. All through the lesson she could feel his gaze on her. He was sitting on the floor before them all, legs crossed and hands on his feet as he leaned forward intently. No matter what, he wasn’t going to miss a single part of her dancing.

Knowing he was watching her constantly made her excited, but also made her nervous. She knew how much he loved to see her dance, and she wanted more than anything to make him happy. The goofy smile on his face told her that she was doing just that. Still though, she could feel herself blushing constantly from his loving stare.

Once the hula lessons were over and Moses dismissed them all, Myrtle quickly took her entourage and left the building. She was eager to start preparing for Lilo and Victoria’s humiliation. That left the two girls alone in the changing area, free to talk amongst themselves while they got into their regular clothes.

“That was amazing, Lilo.” Victoria still wasn’t over just how beautiful Lilo’s dancing had been. “Where did you learn to move like that?”

“I didn’t.” Lilo giggled in reply. “I don’t know where I learned it all. It just sort of happened.”

“I wonder if it’s a part of those side effects that Jumba mentioned.”

“It could be.” She thought about it, she had felt a lot of changes already, it wouldn’t be too farfetched if her increased movement and senses helped better her dance. “It makes sense. I have felt a lot of other things change too.”

“Really?” Victoria asked as she finished tying her sneaker. “Like what?”

“It’s hard to describe…” Lilo thought about how she should put something that’s really a sensation. “The best way to say it is that all my senses are more livid. Aside from the strength and speed, my sense of touch, smell, sight, and hearing are all amazing. On the way here I could smell all of the plants and flowers, it was simply magnificent. The world feels like a completely different place. Filled with beauty you couldn’t even imagine.”

“Wow. Well, what is it like right now then?”

“Right now?” Lilo closed her eyes and thought about it. “Well, I can feel a slight breeze coming through the walls, and I can hear Stitch tapping his claws on the floor out in the main hall. Also, I can really smell the pomegranate in your hair.”

Victoria blushed a bit at the last comment, embarrassed that she was in the list. Pulling her pony tail around, she smelled the long hair. “Does it smell bad? I can barely smell anything at all. I heard Keoni likes pomegranates so I changed shampoos.”

“Don’t worry, it smells great.” Lilo couldn’t help but smile at Victoria trying to impress Keoni. “I’m sure he’ll love it.”

“I hope so.” She giggled. “It’s really expensive.”

After Lilo finished slipping on her red mu’umu’u, they made their way back the main hall. Once she saw Stitch she ran to him and tackled him into a hug.

“How was I, Stitch?” She asked giving him a kiss.

“Youga beautiful.” He replied.

Victoria made her way over to the two, giggling at their display of affection. After asking Stitch how he was feeling, after what happened a few days earlier, and finding out that he was doing well, she quickly headed home in preparation of the dance. Not really sure what to do for the rest of the day, Lilo and Stitch decided it would be best to help Lilo get adjusted to her new abilities.

After a short drive they found a completely deserted part of the island. A nice section high up in the mountain with a crystal clear stream surrounded with tall trees, giant rocks, and a rushing waterfall that caused a beautiful rainbow in the bright sun. It all gave them a bit of déjà vu.

“It kind of reminds meega of where Gantu’s ship was crashed.” Stitch commented when they walked out onto the side of the stream.

“You’re right, it does.” Lilo kneeled down and put her hand in the running water. She quickly pulled it out in a sudden flash of freezing pain. “Ow! It’s so cold.”

Stitch quickly ran to her side and looked at her hand, sighing in relief that she was okay. “Meega guess you’re still adjusting to the changes.”

“Yeah. I didn’t tell you before. I’m not just faster and stronger. My senses have increased too. Until now it wasn’t a problem, but I wasn’t expecting my sense of touch to be so sensitive to the cold.”

“Meega sure youga get used to it. I’m still adjusting too.”

“Really?” She asked, she felt slightly bad for not realizing that anything else might have changed with him.

“Ih. Destructive urges completely gone. Meega always been holding them back, now I’m free. New emotions taking over. Feel, more human. More normal.”

“Oh, Stitch. I had no idea. I’m sorry I didn’t notice.”

“Isa okay.” He said with a reassuring smile. “Isa feel good. Very good.” His ears perked up as his smile grew. “But now weega get you used to your changes.”

“Right.” She said, a determined look taking over her eyes.

Stitch trained Lilo on controlling her speed and strength. They decided she would need to get used to her senses on her own since they couldn’t do anything about that at the moment. They decided to begin with Lilo’s speed, because the first problem they encountered was when Lilo almost ran through a wall. They began by finding out how fast she could actually run. Clearing a path right down along the stream, both of them took off as fast as they could. Stitch clearly outran her without trouble, but she managed to reach his still form only a few moments after he stopped running.

“If only I had this speed when we were capturing experiments. I could have been a lot more help.” Lilo was still amazed at her ability. She didn’t even break a sweat despite running so hard.

“Nonsense.” Stitch replied. “Youga did amazing as you were. Meega couldn’t have done it without you.”

She couldn’t help but smile at his kind comments. She placed some hair behind her ear as they decided the next step to take. Since they now had an idea on her speed, they could then train her on stopping. While practicing sudden stops, Lilo accidently tripped over herself, causing her to crash into the nearby foliage. She was completely fine with only a small scrape on her knee. Stitch offered to stop for the day, but Lilo was determined to continue. She wasn’t going to stop until she knew she could control herself.

After finally getting a bit of a hang of running at speeds she never imagined, she wanted to tackle her strength. Earlier she had pulled the door right off the buggy, however she was much stronger than that. Nowhere near capable of lifting three thousand times her own weight, she worked her way up from small rocks to larger rocks and boulders. Throughout the tests, Stitch told her to keep in mind that she needed to be delicate to other things. He lived every day with the ability to destroy everything by accident, and that it takes more concentration to hold back as well. Quickly, Lilo got a grasp of what he meant, accidently throwing a rock into the air instead of just lifting it up. It came crashing down on a nearby tree, she laughed sheepishly. After a couple of hours of training she became more and more excited. Even though she couldn’t be as strong or fast as Stitch, she had never felt so much freedom in what she could do. It would take some time, she would still mess up along the way as she slowly adjusted, but for now she would have some control over her movements.

“Nothing could get better than this.” She said as they sat on a large rock while watching the sun set. Their hands overlapped with their fingers intertwined. They could feel each other’s heart beat in unison as the world enveloped in a beautiful warm orange glow. Lilo traced the small wound on her knee, wincing slightly at the pain. “I guess I’m not indestructible like you are, huh?”

“No. But you are perfect the way you are. You always have been.” Stitch tightened his grip on her hand. “Weega just need to be careful.”

“You’re right.” She said with a smile. She laid back on the warm rock, staring up at the sky. A mix of warm oranges and cool purples lined the slow moving clouds. The colours had never been so vivid and clear before to her. Must be because of my sight now. A few stars began poking out, getting ready to take over the night with magnificent wonder and light. “It doesn’t feel real yet, you know?”

Stitch laid down beside her, looking up at the same sky as it stretched before him. She could feel the tickle of his warm fur as he pressed up against her arm. “Naga. It doesn’t. Meega know it is though. Meega really couldn’t be happier.”

“A life with you by my side forever?” She replied with a soft and tender voice. “I couldn’t be any happier either.”

The two stayed together in that position for a few moments that felt like a dream. They closed their eyes and let the world around them continue as it pleased, allowing them to just exist and enjoy. Doing their best to revisit the feeling of floating in space together in the machine. They never imagined it would feel so amazing to be connected like that, and they wanted to feel it again. Lilo could feel Stitch’s fur move slightly with every breath he took, and Stitch could feel Lilo’s long hair start to dance in the warm wind flowing by. Smiles quickly stretched across their faces as the feeling of being one together took them over.

“I love you.” Escaped their lips and was caught by the wind, to be flown wherever the world should choose.

Before long, they found themselves back at home, eating a warm home cooked meal with their family. They acted as normal as they could, however, they couldn’t shake the gaze of a lone eye that watched their every move. Lilo was about to take a bite of her meatloaf when a high pitched voice took over the dinner table.

“So?” Pleakley began. “Tomorrow’s the big dance right?”

“Right.” Lilo stretched the word, she still hadn’t thought of a name for Stitch’s new disguise. She put down her fork, pretending to wait for the tall yellow alien to continue. Her one hand met Stitch’s under the table, while she started thinking of names that sounded natural.

“Well, I’ve been looking up fashion for preteens and I just have a ton ideas for a dress for you I would be happy to make.”

Lilo was a little stunned. She really thought that he was going to ask about her date, or really anything else other than her dress. “I already have a dress. I told you guys that before didn’t I?”

“I know, I know. However, I read these fascinating articles, and I think I can make something that will knock the socks off your date and all the boys of the dance.”

“Why is she needing to be knocking of socks off?” Jumba chipped in. “I’m sure she will be looking great as is.”

“Jumba, Jumba, Jumba.” Pleakley replied patronizingly as he patted the larger alien’s arm. “I can’t expect you to understand earth fashion with your mind filled with all that evil geniosry. Remember now that I am the Earth expert here, I think I know what I’m talking about.”

“Bah! I know lots about Earth too you know.” Jumba retorted. “I’ve been living here just as long as you have.”

“But have you spent countless days working at understanding the continually growing culture of this planet?”

“You mean watching day time television?” Nani mumbled with her mouth half full of food.

Pleakley could feel his cheeks redden from the comments as Lilo and Stitch began to giggle at his expense. “Well someone has to do it. Either way, I know what I’m talking about here.”

“I’m sorry, Pleakley.” Lilo said as she regained her composure. “But I really like the dress I have. It’s really beautiful. I can’t wait to show you all tomorrow night.”

“Hmph. Fine, I can see when I’m not wanted. My talents are clearly being put to a waste here.” Pleakley got up from the table and walked away in a huff. No one paid much mind to him, knowing he would be back to finish his meal once the dramatics had passed.

“Speaking of your date,” Nani began, “when will I get to meet him?”

Lilo’s eyes quickly darted to Jumba, seeing him wink she returned her gaze to Nani before she could become suspicious. “He’ll be here tomorrow night. He’s going to pick me up and we’ll be walking down to the dance together.”

“You sure you don’t need a ride?”

“N-no!” Lilo said a little too fast. “I mean. It was my idea, I like walking under the stars.”

“Well alright then. Stitch!” Stitch’s head shot up when he heard his name, he looked at her trying to hide his worry. “I’m expecting you to keep an eye on her alright?”

“Ih. I’ll keep an eye on her. No worries.” He squeezed Lilo’s hand beneath his as he nodded in assurance to her older sister.

“Wow, Stitch. That was really good. It sounds like you’re finally getting a handle on English, huh?”

“Um, ih. Isa slow, but I’m getting there.” Stitch laughed nervously at the comment, but Nani took it as embarrassment and left it at that.

After a short time Pleakley returned to finish his meal. Still noticeably annoyed that he wasn’t going to be making a dress for Lilo, but he didn’t bring it up again. Thankfully, the rest of the conversation topics stayed clear of Lilo and Stitch’s personal lives. It still pained their hearts to know they had to keep it a secret from three quarters of their immediate family, but they knew they had to continue the secrecy. The fact that they had such accepting and helping friends and family kept their spirits up that one day they could let it be known to the world. For now though, they were content with just finally being with each other with no worries of anything getting in their way. Once they were all done their meal, Lilo and Pleakley helped put dishes away as Jumba sneaked off into his lab with Stitch in tow.

“I hope you will be liking this form, 626.” Jumba stated as they walked into the lab.

“Um, Jumba?” Stitch asked hesitantly as he grabbed at the large aliens pants.

“Huh?” He turned around and looked down at his greatest creation. “What is it being, 626?”

“Meega was wondering, it’s just, meega no longer the same destructive experiment anymore right?”

Jumba was shocked at what he was seeing and hearing. Stitch was being so delicate and looked like a small child that was just begging for approval from their father. “No, you’re not. You are now truly complete. You are no longer the little monster that I created all those years ago. Why?”

“Well, do youga think you could call me ‘Stitch’ then?”

“U-uh.” The creator looked at his creation completely stunned. He had always referred to his experiments by number, ever since they were initially created. Not that there was anything wrong with the names they were given by Lilo and Stitch. It was always just that by number, they still felt like his. Like they were his children. He spent years, blood, and sweat in their creation, and he had trouble letting go of the past. Here before him stood his finest creation he could ever hope to make. One that surprised him on more than one account, wanting him to call him by name. “I suppose you truly aren’t the destructive ‘626’ anymore.” Jumba got down on his knee and put his hand on Stitch’s shoulder. “To me, you will always by ‘626.’ The finest creation I will ever make… But, you are Stitch. If that’s what you want me to call you, then by all means I will.”

Stitch’s ears perked up as his face grew a giant smile. He lunged forward giving Jumba a hug that nearly broke some bones. “Takka.”

“N-no p-problem. Just don’t b-break me.” Jumba huffed trying to gasp for air. Once he was free, he took Stitch to his large computer system. “Now, as I was saying, I hope you will be liking this form.”

He pressed a few buttons and on the screen popped the image Jumba had made for him. Stitch’s eye’s shot wide open in surprise. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Lilo was going to love it, and so would he. With this, they were going to win that challenge for sure, but most of all, they were going to have the best date ever.

“Isa amazing, Jumba.” He whispered.

“I am glad you are liking it, Stitch.”

Chapter Text

The day had finally arrived. Stitch had laid in bed, holding Lilo until her eyes finally fluttered open. After a slight wince from the brightness of the room, her eyes found Stitch’s and she couldn’t contain herself anymore. Before he could even begin to say good morning, her lips were locked tightly against his as she tugged on his fur to bring him closer. At first, Stitch was surprised by the sudden onslaught, but after a few moments he let his eyes close as he melted into her. Lilo didn’t even bother to check and see if they had locked the lift before going to bed, frankly, she didn’t care. The whole world could come into their bedroom and find them kissing and it wouldn’t ruin the fact that the day they waited over a week for was finally on them.

Lilo had a fire inside her that she hadn’t felt in a long time. It felt like forever since she felt Stitch’s rough lips against her. The only time they had alone together the previous day was when they were training, and they were far too busy to really get a chance to kiss passionately. The days before that they were completely out cold in the machine, and before that Stitch had finally lost control. This was the first time in almost an entire week where they could finally let loose and just let their emotions truly flow.

Their lips continued to dance together, completely inseparable. Stitch grabbed her and rolled onto his back, bringing Lilo on top of him. Her hair fell down around him like curtains, strands tickling his face. He didn’t bother pushing them aside as he felt Lilo start to nibble on his bottom lip. He could feel every nerve in his body respond to her touch. Wrapping both sets of arms around her he pulled her into him as close as he could. His hands rubbed her back up and down, sending shiver after shiver down her spine. After several long magical minutes of continued kissing and nibbling, Lilo began slowing down, trailing kisses down his neck to his collar bone.

“Hehehe, Lilo.” Stitch giggled. “Stop it.” He was unable to hold his fit of laughter any longer. “That tickles. Please.”

“No way.” She said with a mischievous grin, continuing even as Stitch began writhing beneath her touch. “Not. Until. You. Give. In.” She said with a ticklish peck between each word.

Rather than give in so easily, Stitch decided to try a different route. He flipped them over so that he was on top, gaining a surprised gasp from Lilo. He used two of his hands to hold her wrists to the bed, not enough to hurt her, just to hold her in place. With his knees on either side of her, she was completely trapped.

“Now isa your turn.” He said, seeing her eye’s grow wide in terror as her mouth already began to smile in anticipation for the tickles. Using his free hands he began running his fingers tenderly along her sides. After only a single touch she had already began laughing, squirming under him, trying her best to get out of his grasp. Try as she might though, she couldn’t move. He had her pinned and clearly he wasn’t going to stop any time soon. Tears started to form in her eyes as her mouth began hurting from smiling and laughing so hard.

“Well? Youga give up?” Stitch asked. She could see from the glint in his eye and the toothy grin on his face that he was enjoying this. She continued to resist as he increased his efforts, she was at the point where sound wasn’t even coming out anymore. All she could feel was his fingers on her sides and her lungs crying for air. She continued to resist, determined not to give in. The longer she held out, the more Stitch tickled her. Trailing his fingers up and down her side and over her stomach, hitting each sensitive spot.

“Yes! I give up.” She shouted reluctantly. Sweet relief washed over her as Stitch finally stopped, instead holding her sides with his strong grip. Her chest rose and fell like a balloon as her lungs finally got the air they desired. “I’ll get you next time.”

Stitch just smiled in response, leaning down to kiss her once again, which she was happy to receive. “Good morning, boojiboo.”

“Good morning.” She replied. Nothing in the world could have felt better to her than it did right then.

The rest of the day the two couldn’t keep hold of their excitement. The entire household could feel their energy and quickly got caught up in their combined rhythm. Even though he wasn’t making the dress, Pleakley couldn’t wait to see how Lilo and her date looked together. It took him some time, but eventually he had found his camera, ready to take the picture of Lilo’s first date. Not wanting to be ‘under dressed’ for the occasion, Pleakley locked himself in his room to try on different clothes and wigs to look perfect for the evening.

Still completely wiped from all the restless days and nights working, Jumba had fallen asleep on the couch with an untouched cup of coffee beside him. After he had shown Stitch the design for his human form, he had to finalize the image for Morpholomew to use. On top of that, he also needed to make a new device to amplify the experiments abilities. Just changing Stitch’s form wouldn’t be enough, his voice needed to be changed as well. Thankfully, it wasn’t as difficult a task as changing the function of the machine, but Jumba was tired from a nights worth of work none the less.

Stitch didn’t leave Lilo’s side for a second. The hours ticked by slowly. Painstakingly slowly. Like watching a pot boil his eyes constantly darted to the clock to see the time. The two tried to pass the time with games and playing, but their hearts weren’t in it. They just wanted to be at the dance more than anything. Soon the time had come, they had to start getting ready for their evening. When Nani wasn’t looking, Stitch snuck out of the house and headed to the local costume shop, picture and device in hand.

I guess I’m not the only one needing a change today. Stitch thought as he looked at the long line up going down the street from Morpholomew’s costume shop. Not wanting to be seen, he ran down the street to reach the building from behind. Climbing up top he waited on the roof, hoping that the line would die down fast. Having waited for what seemed like forever, Stitch’s ears perked at the sound of a bell ringing as the door below him opened. Looking down, he saw a tall man with wavy hair walk out of the shop wearing a fancy tuxedo.

“Thanks for the new suit.” The man said as he began strutting away. Stitch looked up and down the street bellow, and saw no one was around anymore. This is my chance!

Having a long day now behind him, Morpholomew started turning the open sign on the door around to say closed. Suddenly, a large blue creature fell from the sky right in front of the door, its face obscured by the now swaying sign. He jumped back from fear and surprise, shutting his eyes tight and cowering as the door opened silently. He slowly opened his eye a peek when he didn’t feel any attack come. He let out a sigh of relief, seeing that Stitch was standing there looking confused.

“Youga okay, Morpholomew?” Stitch asked, rather concerned about his cousin’s current state.

“Oh, Stitch. Isa only youga.” He stood up straight but slightly embarrassed, letting the fear wash from his system. Having not seen his cousin in a while, he quickly pulled Stitch into a hug. “Gaba youga doing here? Youga feel different.”

“Different?” Stitch asked, wondering just how he felt different from a hug.

“Ih. Naga nota gaba isa is.” The small reddish experiment pondered, quickly brushing it from his mind. “Anyway, how can meega help youga?”

Stitch gave a nervous laugh before replying. “Meega was wondering if you could change me. There is a dance that meega can’t get into unless human.”

“Well…Meega just finished closing up for the night.” Morpholomew began, seeing Stitch’s ears quickly drop as sad realization took over. Feeling bad for him, and thinking of all the times Stitch had helped him, he quickly changed his mind. “But for youga, cousin? Meega can do it.”

The excitement quickly returned to Stitch as he pulled the reddish experiment into a hug and jumped around, nearly crushing Morpholomew in the process. Escaping Stitch’s grasp he shook off the dizziness, wondering just why he got so excited from all of this.

“Come this way.” He said, beginning to lead Stitch to the viewing platform. There weren’t any clothes around, all that was in the room was a small round pedestal to stand on and a lot of mirrors for viewing from every angle. “Now, gaba can meega change youga into?”

He started pulling out his book of pictures when Stitch started telling him he had his own design. “Use this.” He said as he handed his photo over.

Morpholomew took one look at the image and grew a giant grin. “This must be something important for youga to look like this. Youga said isa dance, ih?”

“Ih.” Stitch said, nodding his head profusely.

 “So, isa youga going with a saari?” Morpholomew asked innocently.

“Ih. Meega have a date. Meega have to look good.”

“Meega thought so. Don’t worry, youga will look butifa. Meega just glad to see youga back on youga’s feet after Angel.” He put away the book of images, getting ready to change Stitch.

“Ih. Ohhh. One thing.” Stitch quickly slid the small ring like device onto Morpholomew’s finger. “Jumba made this so youga can change voices too.”

“Really?” Morpholomew’s face began to beam from excitement. “Meega always wanted to do voices. Alright. Youga ready?”

Stitch simply nodded as he saw his cousin’s finger begin to glow. With a single touch, Stitch felt his body begin to shift and change. Quickly the world around him became a bit smaller as he grew in size. With a flash of light, the change was made. He looked at his new self in the mirror, unable to hold his excitement. Finally ready, and with a great thank you to his cousin, Stitch headed back home to pick up Lilo.

While Stitch was out getting ready, Lilo was also busy preparing. Nani had offered to help Lilo do her hair, and she couldn’t have been happier to accept. The two sisters didn’t get a lot of chances to really act like sisters. Nani was always busy with work and Lilo always had some extraterrestrial emergency going on in her life. Even though things had finally calmed down, they found that they didn’t have a lot of sisterly bonding moments. For the first time in a while, Nani was finally getting to be the big sister she always wanted to.

The two were alone in Nani’s room, sitting on her bed. Lilo sat in front of Nani, allowing Nani better access to her hair. They were finally talking like sisters as Lilo’s hair was brushed and braided.

“So, Lilo. Are you excited?” Nani asked, feeling rather excited herself.

“Yeah, but I’m also really nervous.” Lilo replied truthfully.

“I was too.” Nani whispered and then she giggled. “But if I learnt anything from my experiences, it’s that you shouldn’t spend too much time thinking about being nervous. You’ll have a lot more fun if you just go with it.”

“Is that what you did when you went with David?”

“Oh, I didn’t go with David.”

“What?” Lilo exclaimed while trying to turn around. Nani pushed her right back where she was, putting her head back to the right angle to braid the left side.

“Stay where you are, Lilo. I don’t want to mess this up.”

“Sorry.” Lilo said feeling a little embarrassed. “Didn’t you say before that you and David where dancing together?”

“We were, but I didn’t go with him. I actually went with someone else, but my date ditched me. Oh, I felt like a stupid head. Then David came up to me and asked if I wanted to dance.” Nani trailed off for a second as she remembered the first night she had seen him. He still wore his silly grin, but he took her breath away none the less. She remembered thinking he was so handsome, even though he didn’t wear his suit jacket. Something about the way his hair moved when he walked, and his eyes sparkled in the light, before she knew it she was on the dance floor with him. “Anyway.” She began again with a happy sigh. “He had asked me and I said yes. I was really nervous to dance, like I said before I really do have two left feet.”

“But you’re such a good surfer, you must be great at dancing too.” Lilo interrupted.

“Heehee. I don’t think that’s how it works, sweetie. Like I was saying. I was really nervous, and I’m pretty sure I stepped on his toes on more than one occasion. He didn’t mind, though. In the end, I actually had a lot of fun. So I know you’re going to feel nervous, but try your best to have fun anyway.”

“Okay.” Lilo said, actually feeling a lot better after Nani’s story. “I will. Thanks.”

“No problem, Lilo.” Nani finished braiding the one side and moved onto the other. “Besides, it’s all in the company. I’m sure your date will help make it a lot of fun.”

“He will.” Lilo said, not really minding her words. “I know he will, St-“she had almost said Stitch’s name. Nani tilted her head when Lilo suddenly paused. Now having to think of a name fast, Lilo decided on the first name that came to mind. “Styles is a lot of fun.”

“So Styles’ his name huh? You know I’ve been really patient with this, and I am letting you go out with him tonight. Do you think you could tell me a bit about him? Like, how did you meet?”

“How we met?” Lilo thought back to the day at the pound. She was looking for a dog to have as her friend, but instead found Stitch. It was a moment that changed her life forever. That was Stitch though, not Styles. “We met last week on the beach one evening.”

“Oooh. That’s romantic. And he just, swept you off your feet?”

“I suppose you could say that.” Her face grew a dreamy smile at the memory, unnoticed by her older sister. It was more like tackling me into the sand, but still. “He’s really nice and gentle. Always puts others before himself and has a strong sense of what’s good and bad.”

“Even, so. Stitch better keep an eye on him. No one’s going to hurt my little sister.”

“Don’t worry, Stitch will keep a real good watch over him.” She couldn’t help but laugh at the situation. “Besides, I know he would never try to hurt me.”

“So, is this Styles going to be around long? You said he’s new to the island right?”

“He is. I don’t know how long he’ll be here. He has family here now, so even if he doesn’t, he can always come back any time he’s free.”

“That’s good. So where’s he from.”

“Maui.” Lilo said the first thing that came to mind again. She was deep into this lie now and needed everything to sound natural. Despite this, she hoped she wouldn’t have to keep it up for long. Especially when her sister was being so nice about everything.

“Then I expect him to be a true Hawaiian gentleman.” Nani made some final touches on Lilo’s hair. Making sure the braids were done just right, and after brushing some stray ends she leaned back to take a better look. “There. All done.”

“Can I see now?” Lilo asked filled with excitement.

“Not yet. Close your eyes.” Lilo covered her eyes with her hands, she was starting to get impatient. She felt Nani get up from the bed and walk over to her dresser. The creak of a drawer and shuffling of objects filled her with curiosity, wondering what Nani had planned for her.

“Now?” She asked again. Nani could hear the impatience in Lilo’s voice.

“Not yet, sweetie.” Nani replied. Lilo could hear a little sadness from her, as well as the sound of a quiet sad sigh that her sister tried to hide. After a moment to herself, Nani closed the drawer. Lilo heard her light footsteps slowly reach her and then a slight tug on each of her braids before she no longer felt them resting on her shoulders. “Okay, you can open them.”

Lilo opened her eyes and saw a mirror before her. She couldn’t believe her eyes with what Nani had done to her hair. She kept moving her head around, trying to see herself from every angle. A braid came down from her hair on each side. The left one was shorter than the other, as it lopped down below her ear then back up to the side of her head where a clip held it in place. The right braid was held in a similar fashion, wrapping around the back of her head to be clipped in place as well. She had never worn her hair like that before, but the most stunning part of it was the clip. A beautiful large flower that was light blue with dark red trim around the sides and matching stems.

Nani could see Lilo’s captivation with the flower clip, happy that she liked it. “It belonged to mom.” She said softly.

“To mom? But how?”

“I had found it in the rubble after the explosion from Jumba’s blaster. It was a little damaged, but I managed to get it restored.”

Lilo didn’t know what to say, she was completely overcome with different emotions. Most of all, she felt happy. Happy that she would have part of her mother with her on this evening. She suddenly lunged forwards, wrapping her arms around her sister’s waist in a hug. A few tears began forming in the corners of her eyes. Nani returned the hug, feeling just as strongly as Lilo did.

The tender moment was quickly interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing through the house.

“That must be Styles.” Nani said, wiping a few tears from her eyes. “You go get ready, I’ll keep him in the living room.”

Lilo quickly hurried to her bedroom, leaving her sister to answer the door. She could hear Nani greet him as she ascended the lift. Please don’t figure out that it’s Stitch. Lilo got ready as quickly as she could. Changing into her dress and a nice pair of shoes, she took one final look at herself in the mirror. She couldn’t help but smile. Tonight is going to be perfect.

As soon as she reached the bottom of the lift, she could already hear Nani giving Stitch the once over. Making sure he understood the curfew and to treat her well. Lilo never once heard, Stitch say a word. Of course he can’t, his voice wouldn’t have changed. A little worried that they might be found out, she quickly made her way into the room and froze, completely breathless.

Standing before her, near the door, was a very handsome boy. A boy she had never seen before, but she knew instantly that it was Stitch.   

Chapter Text

The moment Lilo walked into the room, Stitch’s heart leapt.  Every day her beauty never ceased to amaze him, but something about the atmosphere and the way her dressed swayed when she walk completely captivated him. Nani was still talking to him, but suddenly the world was quiet, only Lilo was still left. He could see her blush slightly, not sure if it was from him seeing her or from his new appearance. Either way, he didn’t care, all that mattered was that she was there, and their night could begin.

Lilo was feeling a similar captivation. It felt like the world around her vanished once she saw the boy that was and wasn’t Stitch. He stood tall, about a half foot taller than her. His skin was slightly tan. Nowhere near deep as hers, but still evenly tanned. Hair of a dark ocean blue that was reminiscent of his regular fur casually hung around his head. Some of his bangs fell in front of his face, bringing her attention to his crystal blue eyes. He flipped his hair back into place, making Lilo swoon a bit. He even had little marks on his ears, just like his real ears. She was mostly amazed by his full tuxedo. She knew that he hated to wear them and was just as surprised now as the evening he confessed his love for her. The suit was near black, and he had a tie that matched the colour of her dress perfectly. Everything about him seemed perfect, even his skin was flawless. Every part was amazing, right down to the finger with his ring on it. His ring!

Lilo lunged forward, wrapping herself around his arm, covering his ring with her hand. He looked delightfully surprised by her sudden embrace. He found himself staring down at her, still captivated by her.

“Awe.” Nani said, making Lilo slightly embarrassed. “Now did you hear what I said, Styles?”

Stitch didn’t respond, not realizing that Nani was addressing him. Lilo give his hand a slight squeeze, bring him back to his senses. “Huh?”

“Did you hear what I said?” Nani repeated slightly aggravated.

“Don’t worry-“Lilo began, thinking that Stitch wouldn’t be able to answer. However, he stopped her, much to her surprise.

“I understand.” His voice was like an angel to her. It wasn’t deep, but it wasn’t high pitched like it normally was. Just a perfect medium that rang through her. “We’ll be back before curfew. I’ll make sure she’s returned safely.”

“Good.” Nani said with a nod of approval. “Now you kids go have fun.”

The two were about to bid their farewell and head out to the dance, when a shrill voice from the hall called out to them all, waking Jumba up on the couch.

“Hold it! Hold it!” Pleakley shouted, running into the room out of breath. Everyone cringed slightly at his appearance. His black wig was askew slightly, and his red dress hung a bit off of his shoulder. He was wearing matching lipstick, but a trail was drawn across his face from his lips. Pleakley quickly noticed the odd look everyone was giving him. “What?”

“Nothing.” Everyone said at once, looking away from him, trying to stifle their laughter.

Pleakley scratched the back of his head, feeling that his wig was slightly off. Furrowing his brow he fixed it back into place. “Haha, very funny everyone.” His demeanor quickly changed back his cheery demeanor. “We need to get a picture to commemorate the occasion.” He held up his camera happily.

“Do we have to?” Lilo asked, eager to get going.

“I think it’s a great idea.” Nani said as she pulled them over to the kitchen entrance. Lilo held onto Stitch’s hand as best she could, hoping that neither Nani or Pleakley would notice that his ring had her name on it. “Alright, Styles. Put your arm around her.”

Lilo reluctantly let go of his hand. Thankfully, no one pointed out the ring on his finger, which now sitting right near her face.

“Everybody ready?” Pleakley asked. “Say freeze!”

“Freeze?” Stitch whispered through gritted teeth as he attempted a smile.

“Just go with it.” Lilo replied as quietly as she could.

With a flash of light, the two began rubbing their eyes as they started to see spots everywhere. After a few moments they finally got their bearings, seeing that Pleakley had left them while in their dazed state. Unable to hold back any longer they quickly made their way to the door, hoping not to be stopped again. The hope was short lived when Nani held Lilo back one more time.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you?” She asked. Less than secretly she really wanted to. More than anything, she wanted to know that Lilo was going to be okay. As much as she felt comfortable knowing Stitch would be watching over the two of them, she still worried.

Lilo and Stitch were surprised to see that Jumba was the one to put his hand on Nani’s shoulder.

“They will be fine.” He said confidently. “Lilo has been through harder things.”

“He’s right.” Lilo added, wrapping her arms around Nani’s waist in a tight hug. “Besides, Stitch will be watching over me. As well as mom.”

Nani couldn’t say anything after that, she knew they were all right. It was hard for her to see her little sister go off on her first date. She’s growing up so fast. She’s already done so much. Been through more things than a girl her age should have. I know I can trust her, she’d tell me anything.

With a slight nod, she let them go. Watching their forms slowly disappear into the night through the window. “It’s hard to see them grow up.”

“Yes. It is being hard. But we are unable to be stopping it.” Jumba said as he flipped on the TV.

“Did you ever have kids?” She asked, sitting down on the other side of the couch, running her fingers through her hair.

“N-“He was about to tell her he hadn’t and truly he didn’t. Truthfully, he did not ever have any children or planned to. However lately he has begun thinking otherwise. “Yes. Six hundred and twenty eight to be exact.”

The time it took the two to reach the hula hall was minimal. Aside from running as quickly as they could manage in their fancy clothes, they were too excited to notice the distance. As soon as they reached the stairs of the building, they stopped, suddenly nervous. They could hear the muffled sounds of music radiating from inside. Lilo felt a knot in her throat, all the excitement she held changed into butterflies, floating in her stomach. She took a step back, second guessing if she should go in. Stitch saw her move out of the corner of his eye, and turned to her, seeing a mixture of fear and doubt drawn across her face.

“Something wrong, Lilo?” He asked, taking both of her hands into his.

“I don’t know. I just feel nervous suddenly. I really don’t know why.” She looked up into his eyes, a sparkle from the stars filling them. She was normally used to falling into the large black pools of his gaze, not an ocean of clear blue. It felt foreign, but it still felt right. “What if I make a fool of myself? What if we don’t win after all I said?”

Stitch gave her a smile that could melt even Slushy. “Youga won’t make a fool of yourself, Lilo.” He gave her forehead a kiss before resting his own forehead against hers. “Besides, nothings every stopped youga from being yourself before. It one of the many things meega loves about youga.”

Lilo felt herself smile at his words. He’s right. I’ve always been myself without caring what anyone thinks. Now’s not the time to start. “Alright. Let’s go.”

The moment they opened the door they were blown away. Lilo couldn’t believe how different the place could look in just a matter of a day. The usual open hall had a long table on either side, showcasing food platters, desserts, and a large variety of drinks. The walls had chairs lined up against them, some filled with kids, others with bored parents or chaperones, but most of them were empty. On the stage, where she had danced for years, were large speakers standing tall on both sides, and a man controlling the sound system in the middle at the back. The biggest change was the colour. All the lights were either dimed or giving off a blue light. With reflective stars hanging down from the ceilings and decorations on the walls, it looked like the night sky on the beach. A disco ball hung in the center of the room, representing a full moon. There were kids everywhere. Most were Lilo’s age, but some were older. They were either dancing, eating, talking, or just standing by themselves. She couldn’t see Moses anywhere, but didn’t think about it after the initial thought.

Lilo was still looking around when she suddenly felt two arms wrap around her as she was almost tackled to the ground.

“You’re here!” Victoria shouted. It took her a second but she eventually found herself looking at Stitch and became a little speechless. “Stitch? Is that really you?”

“Ih.” He replied with a smile.

“You look really handsome.” Lilo rose her eyebrow at the girls comment. “You both do!” She told them after seeing Lilo’s look at her. The both laughed, knowing that Stitch was for sure Lilo’s, and that Victoria would never try to take him. “You’re going to beat Myrtle for sure.”

“You look great yourself, Victoria.” She was wearing a tan yellow dress that reached down to her ankles and the straps tied back around her neck. Rather than having her hair tied in a ponytail like usual, it was combed straight with slight curls at the end. “So where’s Keoni?”

“He’s over at the drink table getting some drinks.”

The trio left the entrance and found a comfortable place to stand while they waited for Keoni to return. Meanwhile, Myrtle was fuming from the other side of the room by the snacks.

“Wow. Lilo looks amazing, doesn’t she?” The blonde haired girl stated.

“Shut up, Elena.” Myrtle spat.

“And her date is really handsome.” Theresa added dreamily.

“I said, shut up!”

“Her dress is really amazing too.” Yuki looked between the four of them, rather disappointed. “I thought we were all going to wear our princess dresses. Why are you wearing something different, Myrtle?”

“Because I need to win.” She had instructed her friends to wear their princess costume dresses from Halloween a few years back, while she wore a shiny white dress that could rival the hanging disco ball. “And nothing’s going to get in my way.”

Myrtle stomped passed her date who was stuffing different treats from the table into his mouth, making her way straight over to Lilo and her date.

“But my mom made me a new dress and everything.” Yuki said with a sigh. Theresa rubbed her back sympathetically before they followed their leader.

Keoni had just arrived and gave Victoria her drink. After the round of compliments on how everyone had looked, Lilo introduced him to Styles. Lilo had never seen Keoni in anything but his regular street clothes, the tuxedo didn’t really suit him, but the lack of tie and the undone jacket helped. Keoni and Stitch started talking while Victoria and Lilo continued their conversation.

“Hey Weirdlo.” Victoria interrupted.

“Hello, Myrtle.” Lilo said a little aggravated. “You look nice tonight.” She tried to be at least a little polite, not wanting to ruin the night.

“I know.” She replied, stroking her own ego.

“You look amazing, Lilo.” Elena said genuinely. The other two girls also agreed.

“Thanks, guys. Why are you all wearing your costumes?” The three just glared over at Myrtle and then Lilo understood. How low would she stoop to win?

Deciding not to dwell on it any longer, Yuki asked who Lilo’s date was to only be instantly pushed to the side by Myrtle.

“Yes, Lilo. Who is your date?” She asked, emphasizing Lilo’s name oddly.

Stitch thought it was funny that he kept getting introduced to people he knew. Only Lilo and Victoria were the ones who knew who he really was. They all silently laughed at the situation.

“This is Styles. He’s new to the island. He used to live in Maui before he moved here.”

Stitch was about to say hi but Myrtle didn’t even give him a chance to talk. “Well, Styles. I don’t know if anyone’s told you, but Lilo and Victoria here are the local weirdos.”

“Really?” He asked patronizingly, sounding genuinely concerned.

“Yes, and if you don’t want to catch their weirdness, I suggest you hang out with a more normal, prettier crowd.” She started pulling him towards the dance floor. “Like me.”

Stitch looked back at Lilo who was almost doubling over from laughter. He thought about leading Myrtle on a little bit more, but decided against it. He pulled his hand out of her grasp gaining a sound of surprise from her.

“I’m sorry, Myrtle. I’m going to stick with Lilo.”

“What? But she’s weird.” She was absolutely shocked. First Victoria, and now this guy would rather spend time with Lilo than her. What is going on?

“You’re right.” He said as he wrapped his arm around her. “It’s one of the best things about her. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to enjoy the dance.”

Stitch suddenly grabbed Lilo’s hand and pulled her towards the dance floor, she instinctively grabbed onto Victoria who in turn grabbed Keoni. They made their way to the middle of the crowd and started to dance the music. There were a little more people than Stitch would have liked, but he kept his focus on Lilo and Lilo only.

It wasn’t quite the same as her hula dancing, but she was still beautiful none the less. They continued dancing together like they always did, letting the music just flow through them and letting their bodies do what they will.

Myrtle watched on from the side of the dance floor. She was livid from not being able to steal Lilo’s date. The other three girls whispered a few words behind her back. With a nod of agreement, Elena and Yuki pushed Theresa forward almost shoving her right into Myrtle.

Theresa cleared her throat, gaining the orange haired girls attention. “Um, Myrtle? As much fun as standing against the wall is, we’re going to go enjoy ourselves.”

“What?”

Without giving an answer, the three girls ran out onto the dance floor, finding a trio of boys to dance with. Myrtle was frozen in place. What is happening? Her date suddenly walked up with a plate full of goodies, mouth still half full as he was talking.

“Did I miss anything?” He asked with crumbs falling out of his mouth.

“Ugh.” She looked her date over. Sure he was handsome, but she wasn’t as sure that they could beat Lilo with the guy she was with. She knocked the plate of food from his hand angrily.

“Hey! I was eating those.”

“Come on. We’re going to dance.” Basically dragging him against his will, she pulled him onto the dance floor. She couldn’t make it to the center of the crowd like she had hoped, so instead she settled for part way in.

After a few dances, Lilo and Stitch were starting to feel tired. They couldn’t stop though. The excitement and the atmosphere kept them going. They were having so much fun, they wished it would never end. There was a slight pause between songs, and they were wondering what was taking so long. After a few moments they heard a tune that was very familiar to them.

A slight remixed version of the song they were using for their hula years ago began playing. They looked at each other for a second before giant smiles spread across their faces. Rather than dancing like they were before, the started into a duet hula. It took a few moments before Victoria saw that the two had begun a hula dance together and stopped Keoni so he could see.

“Wow. That’s really cool.” He said, noticing others around them also stopping to watch.

It didn’t take long for a ring of people to form around the hula dancing couple. Everyone watched on as they danced together perfectly. Having practiced this dance so much when they were younger, it felt exactly like riding a bike. Every move was familiar and felt perfect. Back then, love had meant something a little different to them. Now it had a lot more feeling, and they both truly felt like they could say they would love each other always. They could feel the stares of all the kids and young teens around them, and Lilo felt a little embarrassed. She couldn’t stop though, every time she looked at Stitch the world around her would melt. It felt like she was back in time to when they were kids, dancing just for fun. She didn’t get to watch Stitch hula as much anymore, and she was happy that he stilled enjoyed it just as much as she did.

Myrtle didn’t understand why everyone had suddenly stopped dancing, but it didn’t take her long to see the reason. She was so angry that Lilo was getting all of the attention instead of her.

“They’re really good.” Said the boy beside her.

“Puh-lease. Obviously you don’t know good hula if you think they’re good at it.” Her response didn’t get any reaction. No one was paying her any attention. She even saw her friends cheering on the couple on the other side of the room.

Fed up with everything she quickly stormed outside. Muttering to herself, she kicked a rock and it flew into a tree, bouncing off the truck it knocked off the lid of a large box. Myrtle looked at the box she had prepared just in case she didn’t get her way. With an evil grin she grabbed the two tubs that were inside the box and ran around to the other side of the building. Looking around to make sure no one saw her, she entered the side door and placed one tub on either side of the stage. Her plan was now set in motion.

The song soon ended and Lilo and Stitch finished their hula. Everyone in the crowd cheered making them feel rather embarrassed, but happy that everyone enjoyed it. The crowd quickly dispersed as they went back to doing their own thing. The young couple looked at each other and smiled before continuing to have fun with each other at their first dance, not realizing that Myrtle had planned something to ruin Lilo’s night.

Chapter Text

The dance continued perfectly, just as the two had dreamed it would. After a few more songs, Victoria was starting to get tired. Needing a break, she asked Lilo, Stitch and Keoni if they could step aside for a little while. Once they made their way out of the crowd, Stitch and Keoni offered to go get some snacks and drinks.

Victoria sat on one of the chairs against the wall, completely exhausted. Lilo kept standing, looking around at the crowd with a giant smile on her face. Her friend wiped some sweat from her brow, seeing Lilo gaze amongst the crowd. “How are you still standing? We were out there for over half an hour.”

“Were we?” Lilo asked, slightly shocked. She finally sat down beside her friend. “I didn’t even notice, I still have lots of energy.”

“Yeah, I guess you would, huh…” She remembered suddenly that Lilo wasn’t the same anymore, at least not physically. “So has everything been okay with you? You know, with your abilities.” She whispered the last words, not wanting anyone to overhear.

“Yeah, we-“Lilo was cut off. The music suddenly skipped with a loud screech. Most of the people winced at it, but Lilo doubled over, covering her ears. “Ah.”

“Are you okay?” Victoria’s voice was distant. She could feel her hands wrap around her back, shaking her slightly, begging for an answer.

Lilo couldn’t answer though. She wasn’t expecting such a loud noise and her advanced hearing amplified it even more. It felt like an explosion inside her head. She pressed her hands to her ears even harder, trying to block out all the noise until the deafening ringing stopped. Victoria looked around, not really sure what to do. She could see some of the chaperones starting to eye them. Knowing that Lilo wouldn’t want to be questioned, not that she could answer in this state anyway, she led her to the nearest exit.

As soon as Lilo hit the cool night air, she started feeling better. Her ears were starting to feel better, so she hesitantly took her hands away from them. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she could smell the ocean from a few blocks away. The slight breeze let her relax until Victoria’s words finally reached her.

“Lilo? Are you okay?” Victoria’s voice cracked with worry. Her eyes wavered in concern, not entirely sure what to do.

“Yeah. I’ll be oaky.” Lilo finally managed to say. “It was just really loud all of a sudden. I wasn’t expecting it.” Lilo shook her head, finally the ringing had stopped.

“Whew.” Victoria let out a sigh of relief. “I was really worried for a second. I guess I got my answer though.”

Lilo chuckled. “Yeah, I suppose so. Some things are really good, others I’m still getting used to.” After a few moments, Lilo felt back to her regular self. At least, her new regular self. “Alright. I’m okay to go back in.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll be fine.” Once they got back inside, Lilo was instantly hugged by Stitch. Is this going to happen every time I enter this place? Keoni ran up behind him, looking to Victoria who gave him a look that said not to worry.

“Are youga okay?” Stitch asked. Pulling away from the hug, he kept his hands on her arms and looked deeply in her eyes with worry. When he returned and found that Lilo wasn’t there he got really worried. He could feel she was nearby, but before he could continue looking for her, she had already returned.

“I’m fine. I just needed to step out for a moment.” She could see the concern he held, and just how much she had made him worry. “I’ll be okay, I’m just still adjusting.”

While Keoni didn’t know what she had meant by that, Stitch had an idea of what she was talking about. He knew there wasn’t anything he could do, and that Lilo would tell him if something more was wrong. He finally let his worry go and his smile returned. “Okay. You still hungry?”

“Yes!” Both girls announced at once. The guys led them back to where they had left the snacks. Enjoying a little relaxation together after all the dancing was revitalizing. The food was even pretty good, although the desserts were just a little sweet for Victoria’s tastes. After a short time, Teresa, Yuki, and Elena came over and complimented Lilo and Stitch on their hula.

“Where’d you learn that hula, Styles?” Yuki asked, still amazed by their performance earlier.

“Yeah. Wasn’t that your hula back from the May Day Festival, Lilo?” Elena added, noticing that Teresa kept looking off to the side.

“It was…” Lilo trailed off, her voice growing weak as she started to worry that their lie might unravel soon. “You see, um…”

“You danced it beautifully together.” Yuki chimed in again. “It was like you two had danced it for forever or something.”

Stitch was also starting to feel panicked. He looked between Lilo and the questioning girls, mouth agape. His mind worked and worked at a solution. There was no logical answer for Styles to have known that hula. With nothing to lose, he decided to play a more romantic approach. “I don’t know how I knew the steps. I just looked at Lilo,” he said while placing his arm around her, “and my body started moving on its own. Like we were meant to dance it together.”

The three girls awed at his comment. Even Lilo felt herself flutter a bit from his words. She felt like he wasn’t lying about it. They hadn’t done that dance in a really long time, but it just came to them, and they did better than they ever had before.

“That was so sweet.” Elena said, batting her eyes lashes.

“I wish I had someone who thought about me like that.” Teresa said.

“What about that boy over there?” Yuki pointed over at the spot that Teresa kept looking. Everyone looked over at once, seeing a boy suddenly get nervous and turn away. He pretended to be doing something else while the girls all snickered.

“Who’s that?” Victoria asked, curiously. She had never seen the boy before.

“That’s the boy Teresa was dancing with.” Elena whispered to her. “I think they like each other a little.”

“Hey!” Teresa shouted, turning noticeably redder. “I don’t like him.” Her words became a mumble, drowned by the music.

“What was that?” Yuki asked, teasingly.

“I said I don’t like him!” She said, a little louder, her face a completely different shade than it was before.

The girls giggled at her protests. Lilo saw that the boy in question had shifted a bit closer. She didn’t know if he heard Teresa say she didn’t like him, but she was determined to help them out a little.

“You like him.” Lilo said, standing up.

“W-what are you doing?” Lilo started pushing Teresa towards the boy. She tried her best to stop, but found that Lilo was surprisingly strong. “I-I’m not ready for this.” Why does this keep happening to me?

“You’ll be fine.” Lilo whispered in her ear. “Take it from me. Just say it and get it over with, and then go dance with him some more.”

Before Teresa could protest any further, Lilo pushed her right up beside the tall boy. He turned and nearly jumped, seeing that Teresa was right by him. He started sweating and fidgeting slightly, and Teresa was too. Both of them were sporting an incredibly flush face. Lilo quickly returned to the group finding them all watching intently.

Only Lilo and Stitch could hear what they were saying. Elena was right, Teresa did like the tall boy. Her confession brought a smile to his face. Lilo could see relief wash over his light skin. He fixed his light brown hair into place as he told her that he liked her too, quickly asking if she would like to dance again. Teresa nodded without saying a word, her face still red, but smiling greatly. She looked back at her friends as she was dragged off to the dance floor. Elena and Yuki mocked her with kissy faces but everyone was genuinely happy for her.

Stitch grasped Lilo’s hand, squeezing it tight. He felt his spirits lighten at the memory of his confession to her. Lilo felt a small jolt from his hand, sparking her into wanting to dance again with him again.

“I think Styles and I are going to go dance some more too. Anyone want to join us?” Lilo asked as she started shifting away from the group.

“I’m still too tired.” Victoria complained. “You can go if you like, Keoni.”

“Nah. I’m cool staying her with you.” Victoria smiled at his comment, also feeling a little flush.

“Elena? Yuki?”

“I think we should go find Myrtle.” Yuki stated with a slightly defeated look. “I haven’t seen her for a while, she’s probably upset that we ditched her.”

“Do we have to?” Elena said, flopping into a chair with her arms crossed. “I’m still mad at her for making us wear these stupid costumes.”

“Come on.” Yuki pulled Elena out of the chair. “You know how she’ll get if we leave her.”

“Fine.” Elena was defeated. She followed Yuki as they went in search of their supposed leader.

 Lilo and Stitch went off on their own. The dance floor had died down quite a bit.  Only a couple handfuls of people had remained. Stitch enjoyed dancing like this a lot more. Without the crowd, he didn’t feel as cramped and it was easier to focus on his girlfriend. Lilo on the other hand, preferred when they were dancing hula together. She felt a strong connection to Stitch when they danced their dance of love. She had always believed that love was more powerful than death, and she could feel that love in her now more than ever. The dancing was cut short when the music suddenly stopped. The DJ grabbed his microphone to make an announcement.

“This one is for all the couples out there.” He said in a soft voice.

With a flick on his mix board the building was filled with music again, however, it was a completely different mood. A slow song rang throughout, one that was meant to be danced together as a couple. The part that drew Lilo in the most though, was that it was Elvis.

Lilo and Stitch looked around and saw that couples had begun to slow dance. The floor quickly lost those without partners, and even some of the adults joined in. Victoria and Keoni had joined the group of dancers, as well as Teresa and her new date. Lilo looked at Stitch, who was offering his hand to her and her heart began to race again.

“I’ve never slow danced before.” She said a little embarrassed, she wasn’t expecting this at all.

“Neither have meega.” Stitch replied simply. He took her hand and placed it on his shoulder, while taking her other hand in his and wrapping his free hand around her waist. He pulled her close and whispered into her ear, “Let’s learn together.”

With Stitch taking the lead the two began to dance in their loving embrace. Lilo couldn’t help but look down at her feet, trying her best not to step on Stitch’s toes like her older sister had years before. Unable to see Lilo’s face, Stitch kissed the top of her head, bringing her attention right back up to him. He smiled greatly, Lilo noticed that even in human form, Stitch’s nose would scrunch up when he really smiled. It reassured her that everything would be okay.

“Just be yourself.” He told her for the second and last time that night. Lilo let herself go, getting swept up in Stitch’s love and the sweet voice of the king. She felt like she was flying again, like that night that Stitch had carried her home. With confidence filling her, she started to get the hang of moving in time with Stitch. To her, it was a lot like hula, only in an embrace. What really amazed her was how well Stitch was dancing, for never having done it before.

The entire time Stitch smiled, he secretly was making sure not to step on Lilo’s feet, or accidentally lead them into another couple. He saw the confidence in Lilo grow, and it lit a fire inside him. After a few moments he too caught onto moving together in sync. To anyone who was watching them, they looked like they had been dancing together their whole lives. Stitch rested his forehead on Lilo’s, both closed their eyes as they let the music, the moment, and their movements bring them closer together once again. Feeling that connection, like they were one.

Myrtle stood on the sidelines, face distorted in anger. She heard murmurings around her about how cute and adorable everyone thought Lilo and Styles were. She looked over to her date, sitting in a chair against the wall, getting even angrier.

“Really? You’re not going to ask me to dance?” She spat at him.

He rubbed his full stomach, letting out a small burp. “Nah. I’m too full, I can’t even move.”

“Ugh.” Myrtle stomped off, putting her face in her hands. “Why is tonight going so wrong?”

Meanwhile, Lilo and Stitch were off in their own world. Picturing themselves back in that empty space where they could feel each part of the other. The soothing voice of Elvis filled the area with them. They opened their eyes as one, looking deeply into the other. Stitch loved the way the lights shone on Lilo. If her smile didn’t already light up the room before, it did now. Her eye’s sparkled like a million stars. He closed the distance between them, holding onto her tight. The sudden shift in space took Lilo by surprise. She wrapped her arms around his neck, as his arms wrapped around her waist. She slightly missed the second pair of arms he could normally hold her with, but the warmth he normally radiated was still there. Ultimately, he was still himself, even down to his smell, and she loved it.

“This night has been amazing.” She whispered.

“It has. Meega really happy we could come tonight.” He replied softly, feeling her dress shift slightly under his touch.

“You’re human form turned out better than I could imagine. No one has any idea it’s you.”

“Do you really like the way I look now?”

“Of course. You’re so handsome, you look really amazing. I love it, silly.”

Stitch felt his heart drop a little. “Would…youga prefer if meega stayed this way?”

“What?” Lilo asked completely taken aback. “Why would you ask that?”

“If meega stay like this, weega no longer have to hide.” Lilo could hear the concern in his voice, she could tell he was being completely serious. “If meega were human, there would be no problems. Youga no longer have to hide it from Nani.”

Lilo could hear his words, but it was like it wasn’t processing quite right. Like the whole idea was off. For a long time she had fantasized about telling her sister, about letting everyone know her love for Stitch. He was right though. If he was Styles, they wouldn’t have any problems. No one would question them, it would be completely normal. Normal. Something she had never been, something she thought she could never be. That was until Stitch came along, and showed her that being herself was more important. To accept her for who she is. While the offer to stay as Styles clearly had its benefits, what would happen to Stitch? The little blue companion she had come to love. He would basically be gone forever. Sure, Styles was Stitch, but it wouldn’t be the same Stitch. I can’t ask him to do that. I want him to be him. It doesn’t matter if it would be easier, I want him as he has always been.

Stitch waited for Lilo’s answer. He was almost sure she would want him to stay human. Who wouldn’t? All the secrecy, lies, and problems would be solved. His heart lifted as he saw Lilo’s head begin to shake.

“No.” She said, the word filled with so much love and care. “I want you to be yourself, Stitch. Just like how you want me to be myself.”

“Are youga sure?”

“Yes. I love you just the way you always are. I fell in love with my little blue Stitch. That’s how I want to be with you forever. I love you Stitch.”

“Meega love you too, Lilo. My boojiboo.”

Not caring who was around, Lilo leaned up into Stitch, pulling him into a kiss. A lot of kids looked away out of disgust, but there was a general collective awe from the crowd. The room could feel their love for each other wash over them. It was a magical moment that filled the two and lit up the room. The kiss lasted for several moments as the song slowly came to an end. With the sounds of the music slowly fading away, Lilo and Stitch pulled away, already missing the feel of each other’s lips. With faces glowing from smiles and a red tone, they breathed as one.

“That’s it!” Their glasses wearing foe snarled. Myrtle quickly found Elena and Yuki, not bothering to try and round up Teresa after she saw him with some boy. She told the two what they were going to do for her, surprised yet again to gain resistance from them.

“Do we have to?” Elena said, completely devastated.

“Yeah, Myrtle. This seems like too much.” Yuki added, looking really worried. “I don’t think Lilo deserves something like that.”

“And why not?” Myrtle crossed her arms as she stuck her nose up, looking at them with squinted eyes through the bottom of her glasses. “You two haven’t ever had issues making fun of her before.”

The two girls looked at each other, filled with guilt. She was right, but this was different. Yuki stepped forward first. “This isn’t just making fun of her though.”

“Yeah.” Elena said, sounding a little weaker than her friend. “Teasing is one thing, but I really like Lilo.”

“I do too.” Yuki added.

“You like her?” Myrtle’s words were like poison. “But she’s weird.”

“Yeah, but she’s also really nice. She’s never done anything wrong to us.”

Myrtle started counting on her fingers. “She’s bit me. Hit me. Licked me. And humiliated me, all on numerous occasions.”

“Yeah, you. Not us.” Elena told her off as she crossed her arms, finally getting some courage to stand up to her friend.

“And you started all those things first.” Yuki added in afterwards.

Myrtle gritted her teeth. “I’m going to forget you two said any of this, and you’re going to help me. Or else.”

“Or else what?” They asked in unison.

Myrtle didn’t answer. Instead she just looked at them through cold squinted eyes. Glaring daggers at them, she sent a shiver down their spine. Instantly, all their courage washed away as they gulped in fear. Myrtle took a few steps towards them, willing to make her friends fear her, scaring them into submission, if it meant that she would get what she wanted.

A weird shiver ran down Lilo’s back, feeling like someone was talking about her. She pushed the thought out of her mind as she held onto Stitch’s arm. The music had completely stopped and now Moses finally appeared on the stage, microphone in hand.

“Hello everyone. Thank you all for coming. This dance has been a wonderful night hasn’t it? It is now time to do the voting for best couple. Everyone who would like to enter, please meet me at the desk near the front of the room for a picture and your names.”

Lilo and Stitch nodded, knowing that this was finally it. They were the first in line, however not a lot of couples were entering. Once the entry submission was finished there were only four couples who had decided to be a part of the competition.

The board read: Lilo and Styles, Victoria and Keoni, Teresa and Kanye, and finally Myrtle and Ano. Lilo and Stitch casted their votes, and then decided to wait for the results.

They talked with their friends for a little while, enjoying more snacks and drinks as the voting continued. They all decided to keep who they voted for a secret. It felt like forever, but eventually Moses returned to the stage, a card in hand.

“Attention everyone. The votes are all in. Thank you all who voted and entered. We will be going in reverse order, starting with third, then second, then finally first place and the honorable mention.” Moses waited for the murmuring to finally die down. “Now then, third place couple is-“

Chapter Text

All the couples waited in anticipation as Moses withheld the names for a few moments. Victoria had her fingers crossed, wishing more that Myrtle’s name wasn’t called than her own name being called. Looking out onto the waiting crowd, Moses took a deep breath before finally revealing the names.

“Teresa and Kanye.”

Teresa’s eyes went wide in surprise, she wasn’t expecting it at all. She and Kanye made their way up to the stage where Moses presented them with handmade lei crowns. There was a light applause from the crowd as the two just blushed and held hands. Feeling a little more than embarrassed, Teresa and Kanye returned to the group in front of the stage, receiving a lot of congratulations from her friends.

Teresa looked around, unable to see her other friends with them. “Where are Elena and Yuki?” She asked no one in particular.

“I don’t know.” Lilo said as she too looked around.

“I haven’t seen them since they went looking for Myrtle.” Victoria added.

For Myrtle… Teresa felt worried, not knowing if it was a good or bad thing that they didn’t see the two girls around.

“Alright everyone. It’s time for second place.” Moses continued announcing, as he shuffled to the next card. “The second place couple is… Victoria and Keoni!”

Victoria’s arms dropped in surprise. She wasn’t even planning on entering until Keoni suggested that they should.  She stood, stunned. She felt Lilo’s arms wrap around her in a hug, congratulating her. After a few moments she finally got control of herself, taking Keoni’s hand as they left the crowd. On her way up the stairs to the stage, she realized what exactly this meant. Either Lilo or Myrtle are going to win. Her eye’s darted around, looking for Myrtle in the audience. It didn’t take long for the girls blazing orange hair to be spotted amongst the crowd.

It was difficult to see from the distance and the lack of light, but it looked like she was smirking greatly. Looking both confident and satisfied with herself. Perfect. This couldn’t be going more beautifully. Myrtle grabbed her date’s arm and pulled him to the front of the crowd.

“We’re going to win this, I can feel it.” She said, confidence oozing from her.

“I don’t understand why this is so important.” Ano stated, quickly shutting his mouth once he saw the look Myrtle shot at him.

“It’s important, because I can’t let Weirdlo win.” She tugged on him harder, pushing people out of the way as they moved by. “What do you care? You already got your gift card to my daddy’s store. All you needed to do was stand there and make me look better than Lilo.”

Ano shrugged his shoulders as he was pulled away by her. Myrtle reached the front of the crowd just as Keoni and Victoria reached their friends. They too were wearing lei crowns, slightly more extravagant than Teresa and Kanye’s.

“It really suits you.” Lilo told her as she gave her another hug.

“Really?” Victoria picked at it, trying to get it into a comfortable place. “It doesn’t look weird?”

“It looks great.” Keoni said as he put his arm around her shoulder. “And yours smells really good too. Kind of like pomegranates.”

Victoria went flush and her eyes went wide from embarrassment. “Really? That’s funny.” She said with a nervous laugh. Lilo covered her mouth slightly, suppressing a chuckle. The mood was short lived once Myrtle finally made her way to their group.

“I guess it’s just down to you and me, Weirdlo.” She announced, putting her hands on her hips. “Which means that it’s really just down to me.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Lilo retorted, looking towards the stage.

“You really think you have a chance?” Stitch stepped forward, putting his arm around Lilo’s waist. “I suppose with Styles I could have expected you to maybe get third. But clearly now I’m going to win.” She flipped her hair around as she too faced the stage. Everyone just rolled their eyes, deciding it was best to just ignore her for now.

“Okay everyone.” Moses said, as he tapped the microphone. “We have come down to the final two coupes. Would Lilo, Styles, Myrtle, and Ano please come to the stage?”

The four made their way up. Once up top, Myrtle stole a quick glance behind the stage walls, seeing Elena and Yuki on either side. They were both holding a plastic tub. The two hid until Lilo and Styles were no longer looking in their directions. They stood at the ready, completely devastated about what they were going to do. Yuki was about to back out when Myrtle’s eyes caught hers. I guess I just need to get this over with. She sighed sadly, waiting for her cue.

The last two couples stood on the stage, everyone’s eyes on them. Seeing that they were ready, Moses shuffled to the final card.

“Looks like everyone is ready. I will now announce the winner of best couple.“ Moses paused before finally revealing the winner. Lilo and Stitch looked at each other, lovingly. Stitch smiled a reassuring smile as he wrapped his arm around her, holding her close. “The winners are-“

Myrtle began stepping forward, already sure that she was going to win. “Lilo and Styles”

“Thank yo-“Myrtle began before completely freezing. “What?”

Lilo’s heart nearly stopped. She couldn’t believe they actually won. She felt Stitch’s hand squeeze her shoulder, and she looked into his shining blue eyes. “We won?”

“We won.” He told her, seeing the excitement slowly come to her face. Their mouths grew into giant smiles, taking over their faces completely. With tears starting to fill her eyes, she grabbed onto Stitch. He picked her up and began spinning her. The crowd applauded, happy for the young couple. No one clapped louder than Victoria and Keoni though, who even threw in a whistle for them. Stitch let Lilo down, and pulled her into an extremely happy kiss.

Most of the young kids in the audience turned away, disgusted by the display of love. Myrtle also turned away from the two, anger boiling her blood. “Ugh.” She crossed her arms. Completely and utterly defeated. A second later, an evil smile came across her face. Since she had lost, her plan was now set.

Lilo and Stitch started to step forward for Moses to present them with their prize. Lilo saw Myrtle’s grin, but didn’t think anything of it. To her, she had finally won. She had truly beat Myrtle. After all the years of torture, she could finally hold something definitive above Myrtle Edmonds. With another sad sigh of defeat, Yuki and Elena opened their tubs.  Stepping to just the edge the back of the stage so that no one could see them, they each tossed what was in their tubs towards Lilo.

The couple stopped walking, they could suddenly smell something they didn’t before. Lilo could feel the change in the air as something was coming towards them. Reacting more than thinking, they both dived to the side. Landing on the stage hard, Lilo looked back to where they were standing just a moment before. A giant gob of white glue flew by. Immediately after, a combination of leaves, dirt, and dead flowers flew through the air. With Lilo and Stitch out of the way, both projectiles flew right towards Myrtle.

With a look of sheer terror, she brought up her hands in a pathetic effort to block her fate. Everyone wince as she was pelted, and in looking back, saw her completely covered head to toe. All the dirt. Leaves, and grime was held in place by the glue, completely matting her hair and ruining her shiny dress. Everyone in the crowd couldn’t help but laugh at how Myrtle looked now. Looking down at herself, Myrtle screamed loudly. She had never been humiliated so badly. No longer thinking, she started backing up, not watching where she was going. Yuki and Elena were blown away at what had happened, secretly satisfied that it did. Even Moses chuckled a little at how Myrtle now looked. Stitch rushed to Lilo’s side, making sure she was okay. Telling him that she was, he then helped her up.

Lilo looked over at Myrtle, seeing that she was really close to the edge of the stage, near the large speaker. “Myrtle! Watch where you’re going!”

“Don’t look at me!” The mess of the girl shouted, covering her face from the crowd. She went to run from the stage, but caught her foot on one of the cables connected to the speaker. Like she did earlier in the week, she started to fall off the stage, this time bringing the cable and speaker down with her.

“Oh no.” Lilo whispered. The sound equipment was much larger than the young girl, if someone didn’t do something, Myrtle could be severely injured. “Stitch!”

With a nod, the two moved into actual action for the first time since the Leroy battle. Not caring who saw them, they ran at full speed, reaching the floor beneath Myrtle before she did. The young girl screamed as she landed on the floor with a loud thud, flinching as she waited for the impending heavy weight to fall on her. A crash of metal followed instantly after, everyone in the building stopped laughing as they realized something horrible had just happened before them.

Yuki and Elena looked at each other, also seeing what had just happened. They threw their respective tubs and ran out of the back of the building. They hoped that no one had seen that it was them that had thrown the stuff at Myrtle.

Myrtle slowly opened her eyes, realizing that she wasn’t crushed. Looking above her, her eyes went wide seeing that Lilo and Styles were holding the speaker above them. “Wha…”

“You okay?” Lilo asked, showing real concern for the girl that had caused her more pain than anyone. Myrtle quickly got out from under the speaker, unsure of how long the two could hold it. They leaned it up against the side of the stage, dusting off their hands afterward. Moses and Victoria rushed over, checking to see that the three were okay.

“You saved me.” Myrtle stated, more surprised than anything. “Why did you save me, when I?” She trailed off, shutting her mouth at the light snickering she heard from behind her.

“When you what?” Stitch asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We only did what we had to.” Lilo stated, still wondering if Myrtle was actually okay.

Moses got down on his knee, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Myrtle, are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine.” She said, looking away from everyone. Moses took his hand off of her, strands of glue coming with it.

“Eww.” Victoria said, scrunching her nose in disgust as a few pebbles fell from Myrtle’s shoulder. Victoria shook her head, remembering why she rushed over in the first place. “Lilo, Sti-Styles, are you two okay? That was amazing.”

“Yeah.” The two said at the same time.

“We’re fine.” Lilo added in.

Once Moses was sure that the three of them were okay, he looked at the speaker then back to Lilo. “Lilo. How did you two lift this? Its way too heavy for kids your size.”

“It’s because they’re freaks!” Myrtle shouted, suddenly. She saw an opportunity to expose Lilo’s weirdness to everyone for good and she took it. “I’ve been saying it for years. This proves it.”

“Myrtle.” Moses shot a glare at her, shutting her up.

“It was probably adrenaline.” Victoria said quickly. “I read once somewhere that when someone you care about is in trouble, people do amazing feats.”

“They’re still freaks!” Myrtle said again, wiping some sagging glue away from her mouth.

Moses addressed Myrtle once again. “Myrtle. I think there is something you should say to Lilo and Styles.”

“Humph.” She huffed as she turned away, seeing the snickers of the crowd once she was facing them. “I have nothing to say to these too.” They completely ruined my night.

“Myrtle.” He said sternly. “They helped you, now what do you say?”

Myrtle stayed quiet for a few moments. Why do I have to thank them? They didn’t do anything for me. She thought about what could have happened to her if they hadn’t done anything, though. Ugh. Fine. “Thanks.” She said in spite of herself before running out of the building to go home.

Once everything had calmed down, Lilo, Stitch, and Moses returned to the stage. Moses presented them each with an extravagant handmade headdress, as well they were given a gift card redeemable for a free meal for two at any restaurant in the town.

Once Lilo and Stitch left the stage, Moses had one more announcement to make. “Thank you everyone who came out this evening. We had a few snags, but it was a really great evening. Congratulations to our winners, as well. I hope we will be able to have you all here again next year.”

With that final announcement, everyone started to clear the building. Lilo and her friends had one last drink together before they finally made their way outside to say their good-byes.

“Would it be okay with you,” Kanye began nervously, rubbing the back of his head, “if I walked you home?”

Teresa blushed, hearing the childish snickers from Lilo and Victoria. “S-sure.” She felt her face continue to grow warmer as he took her hand. “See you later, Lilo. Bye, everyone.”

“Aloha.” They all said together as they waved them off.

“Well. I think it’s time I headed home too.” Victoria said, giving Lilo a hug good-bye.

“I’ll walk you home.” Keoni stated right after. “See ya, Lilo. Nice meeting you, Styles.”

“You too.” Stitch said with a smile. “Have a good night.”

Once their friends were out of sight, Lilo and Stitch looked at each other lovingly.

“I suppose meega should take youga home too.” Stitch said with laugh.

“Why thank you, kind gentleman.” Lilo replied. “Are you going to be able to come home tonight?”

“Ih. Morpholomew will change meega back at his house.”

The two walked home together. Enjoying the end of their night. With everything that had happened, being outside in the cool night breeze felt good on their skin.  Neither one spoke, in fear of ruining the beautiful atmosphere. Lilo enjoyed the sound of night on the island. It was very distinctively different from the sounds she heard in the day. She had never been able to appreciate the beauty and change her home made when the sun set. The insects and nocturnal birds sang their songs that filled the air, she felt like she could hear the entire island still filled with life. Every so often she would hear the sound of a car pass by on the close highway, then an animal make a sound in response.

Lilo suddenly felt an urge to run, run as fast as she could. She wanted to feel the wind through her hair. Feeling a sudden disappointment in her inability to run fast in her dress, she stared at the ground, sadly.

“Youga okay?” Stitch asked, noticing the sad look on his girlfriend’s face.

“Yeah.” Lilo said with a sigh. “I just wish we could run.” A smile came to her face as she imagined that feeling of flight she experience before. She skipped forward with a twirl. “I love feeling like I’m flying through the air. It’s so magical.”

Stitch smiled, loving that she enjoys her new abilities. It’s something he always wanted to share with her, and now he could. “How about this?”

“Huh?” Before Lilo knew it, Stitch was at her side, he brought the bottom of her dress up, tying it around her waist. He turned her dress into a makeshift pair of shorts, giving her at least a little more mobility.

“Does that work?” He asked, looking up into her now beaming face.

“Only one way to find out.” Lilo instantly took off, leaving Stitch kneeling on the side of the road. He chuckled before running after her, catching up to her in nearly an instant. The two flew through the streets and the forest, taking the long way around to their home. I’m never going to get tired of this. Lilo thought as she weaved through a few trees. The adventure was short lived as Lilo noticed it was getting close to her curfew. Knowing she could continue her fun any time now, they quickly ran home.

Meanwhile, Nani had been waiting in the living room the entire time. Her eyes would dart to the clock every so often, even though she knew Lilo still had time to get home. She took a sip from her cup of coffee, pulling back as she burnt her tongue. Her knee shook as she took another look at the clock, seeing that it hadn’t moved.

“Five more minutes.” She told herself, flicking on the television, hoping to take her mind off of everything. “She’s fine, she’ll be okay. Stitch is with her.” Not that that has really kept her safe before. She thought about all the times they had been in danger. All the trips to space, all the attacks from Hamsterveil. She shook her head. “It’s just a dance with a boy. A date. That’s all. Nothing bad can happen.”

Her attention was quickly drawn to the door as it creaked open.

“Lilo!” She shouted as she pulled her younger sister into a hug, knocking off Lilo’s headdress in the process. She didn’t notice Lilo’s dressed tied around her legs.

“Nani.” Lilo said with difficulty.

“Yes sweetie?”

“You’re crushing me.”

“Oh.” She let go of Lilo, grinning nervously. “Sorry. I was just… never mind. So? Did you two have fun?”

“It was amazing. We won best couple!”

“Really? Congratulations. And you got home just in time, good job, Styles.” She addressed the disguised Stitch.

“It was no problem.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well. I should probably be going.”

“Do you need a ride home?” Nani offered, grabbing her car keys of the bookshelf by the door.

“No!” Both of them said at once. Nani raised an eyebrow, about to question the sudden outburst.

“I don’t live too far away.” Stitch quickly added, seeing Nani’s suspicion grow. “I like walking, too.”

Nani just shrugged. She put the keys back and then leaned against the wall, letting the two say their good byes.

Lilo quickly gave him a hug ‘good-bye.’ “Don’t be long.” She whispered in his ear.

“I won’t.” He whispered back, leaving the house immediately after.

Once the door was closed, Lilo started telling Nani about the evening. Once Lilo was done, Nani asked where Stitch was. She gave the excuse that Stitch was making sure Styles made it home okay. While they were talking, Stitch quickly ran to Morpholomew’s home. Once he was changed he thanked his cousin once again, not mentioning that his date was Lilo. Before returning home, he first stopped by Jumba’s spaceship. He dropped off his headdress for safe keeping. Giving it one last smile before hiding it away for good. He returned home, being asked by Nani if Styles made it home okay.

“Huh?” He was slightly confused, closing the door slowly. Seeing Lilo signal him to go along with it, he quickly understood what was happening. “Uh, Ih. He home safe.”

“That’s good. It’s getting late now. I believe it’s time that you two should be getting to bed.” Nani said, pushing Lilo towards the hall. She watched as the two, ascended the lift. For a second she thought she saw them holding hands, but shook if off as being a little tired from worrying so much. She returned to the living room, feeling relieved that her sister was safe at home.

Lilo and Stitch laid in bed, slowly falling asleep. It had been a busy day for the two. Really, it had been quite the busy week. They talked about all the things that had happened to them, and how excited they were for the upcoming memories they would make. Before finally falling asleep, they shared one last sweet tender kiss for the evening. Lilo reveled in being able to feel the real Stitch again. She thought about his question from earlier. About him staying in human form.

“I never want you to change.” She whispered between kisses.

“Meega never want youga to change either.” He replied softly.

Once they finally parted, it didn’t take long for sleep to take Stitch. The final run to the other side of town and back had taken a lot out of him. Lilo laid awake just a little longer. Looking at his chest slowly rise and fall as he breathed through parted lips. She couldn’t get over just how cute he was, again wishing that she had realized her feelings sooner. I love you exactly how you are, Stitch. Now nothing will ever be able to change that. She gave his nose one last kiss, giggling at the smile that quickly grew on his face from her touch. This is really just the beginning of the rest of our life together. With that final thought, sleep finally took over her, bringing her sweet dreams of a perfect life of being with Stitch.

Between Us; Rings – Programming Arc End

Chapter Text

It had been four years since Lilo and Stitch had first confessed their feelings for one another. Somehow, they had managed to keep their relationship hidden from most of the world as well. Lilo wished that she could tell her sister, but she knew she wouldn’t understand. While Stitch was the first one to have his final programming begin, he didn’t end up being the last. It didn’t take long for the bonds of the other experiment couples to grow strong enough for it to begin.

As soon as Jumba was notified of the active experiments, he, Lilo, and Stitch would go and try to explain to them what was happening and then help them. The first ones were Angel and Rueben. A couple weeks after Stitch’s episode, Rueben confessed his long time feelings for Angel, which she happily returned. Lilo and Stitch were happy for them, they really did make a cute couple. Since they had already known about the machine, it was easy for their bond to be permanently set. Some of the other experiments proved a challenge though.

A trip to Pleakley’s home planet proved more difficult then they initially thought. Mr. Stenchy and Mrs. Sickly made it nearly impossible for the trio to step on the planet. Even the home inhabitants, who normally loved the smell, began finding them repulsive. Out of protection of the other, they started secreting a smell that would drive away anyone. Surprisingly, it was even harder to find them then they initially thought. The two hid out in a cave, trying their best to stay away from any civilized areas. Not that anyone was trying to get close to them. Once they were put in the machine though, the smell went back to normal.

The most difficult experiments to help were Yin and Yang. Having hid themselves away on an island of their own creation, they protected themselves with a flurry of magma and water. It became a state of emergency for Lilo and Stitch. They had been held off for a few days and the longer they couldn’t get to them, the worse they would end up becoming. With some help from Angel and Rueben, they were finally able to get to Yin and Yang and explain what was happening to them. After explaining, the two kept control long enough to get into the machine.

Most recently, Noise and Sample’s programming was activated. Thankfully, their abilities made them easy to locate, and Lilo and Stitch were more than capable of handling them physically. Once they saw the strength that Lilo possessed, they were more than willing to listen to what they had to say.

Because the machine was initially created for the experiments, they didn’t experience the same changes that Lilo and Stitch had. Lilo’s change in genetics was most noticeable after entering high school. When all of her friends began having their growth spurts, Lilo had only grown a little. It was something they had prepared for, and truly she didn’t care. She was only a few inches shorter than Victoria after all. No one questioned Lilo’s lack in growth, thinking she would just be on the shorter side. Like Jumba had predicted, Stitch began to grow at the same rate that Lilo did. Originally, none of the experiments were designed to grow or show age, Stitch was the only one who would ever show signs of aging. No matter what change had come before them all that mattered was that they were happy in love.

Despite having to keep their relationship a secret, the two of them couldn’t be happier. The secrecy had even kept it more exciting. Lilo had explained to Nani that Styles had returned to Maui, but that he would come visit whenever he could. Nani had offered to take her to visit him if she liked, but Lilo declined the offer. Whenever they felt like Nani or Pleakley were starting to suspect something was up between them, a surprise visit or date with Styles made the two think Lilo would have a happy relationship with the boy. As for Lilo’s abilities, her strength and speed continued to grow a little as she aged, making it something she still tried to get the hang of. Her senses also continued to heighten, but after the incident at the dance, she focused on adapting and managed to get completely used to it.

Shortly after the dance, Elena and Yuki confessed what they were meant to do to Lilo. Lilo, much to their surprise, forgave them. They had continued to be Myrtle’s friend over the years, but the continued abuse was making it more and more difficult for them to continue that way. Teresa and Kanye’s relationship didn’t last, but they had fun while they were together. Whereas Victoria and Keoni’s relationship stayed strong. Recently, they decided to reveal the entire truth of Stitch and the experiments to him. He had been surprised at first, but quickly got used to it. He was even supportive of Lilo and Stitch’s relationship.

Life on the little island of Kaua’i was truly paradise for everyone. However, it wasn’t only Lilo, Stitch, their friends, and cousin’s that had a love that flourished.

Four months before Lilo and Stitch’s fourth anniversary.

“Are you sure we have time for this?” Nani asked as she checked her watch. It was starting to get late, and Nani didn’t want to make Lilo worry.

“Oh it’ll be fine, Nani.” David said, driving to a secret destination. “It’s not every day we get to have a night like this together. Let’s just enjoy it.”

“Well, maybe you’re right.” Nani rested her arm out the open window. Despite it being fall, the wind had been warm the last few days.

“I am right.” David said cheekily. He had already let Lilo in on his plan. She and Stitch were already in place, ready for their cue. “You know, she’s become very reliable now. She isn’t the same little girl she once was.”

“I know.” Nani thought about how much her sister really had grown. She was given a lot of responsibility at a young age. Despite being hot headed and childish at times, she was really turning into a fine young lady. “She’ll always be my little sister though.”

After a little more driving, David finally pulled off to the side of the road, coming to a complete stop. “We’re here.”

Nani got out of the car, looking around and seeing nothing but an empty beach. The ocean was completely still, reflecting the moon and stars on its cool dark surface. “Where’s here?” She asked, confused as to what David was planning.

“Our own little private slice of ocean.” David said, pulling two surfboards out of the back seat.

“David. It’s late.” Putting her hand on the hood of the car, she started tapping her fingers against the metal body. “And besides, look.” She directed to the water before them. “There aren’t even any waves.”

David planted the two boards in the nearby sand. While Nani wasn’t looking, he turned to the trees on the other side of the road, a little blue head poked out from behind the foliage. David gave Stitch a thumbs up, telling him it was time. Stitch swung around back into hiding, getting on his communicator he told Lilo it was time to start.

“Okay, Cannonball.” Lilo said, giving him a slight push. “Time to do your thing.”

With a happy laugh, the large bottomed experiment hopped out into the ocean, completely out of sight from the beach.

Back by the car, Stitch poked his head out again. Switching between his night vision and regular vision he signaled to David that the waves would be coming shortly.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Nani.” He said, grabbing his board. “Sometimes, you just gotta wait.” Just like he planned, the waves started rolling towards them, breaking the smooth mirror like surface of the water. “Come on! It’ll be fun!”

David ran towards the water, pulling off his t-shirt and shorts, revealing his swim trunks underneath. Nani rolled her eyes, she saw that in the backseat of the car was her bathing suit. With a sigh, she grabbed it and the surfboard and quickly changed in the nearby changing area.

David waited a few yards out on the water, slowly rising and falling with each wave as it passed. “I see you decided to join after all.” He said as he heard splashing coming from behind.

“You’re just lucky the waters warm, you know that?”

“I’m lucky for many reasons.” He said to the side, just barely loud enough to hear.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” David said, brushing off her question. “Let’s go have some fun.”

The two paddled out together as the waves started rolling in more frequently. Once she got into it, Nani couldn’t stop. She caught every wave she could, loving the feeling of cutting up and down the sparkling wall of water. The wind blew her salt filled hair, captivating David with every move she made. At points he forgot that he was supposed to be surfing as well. With a splash of water to the face, David saw that Nani had already pulled up beside him. Giving him a kiss on the cheek she motioned for him to join her, which he happily accepted. Both of them caught the next wave together, Nani above David. As they rode the wave, they fought for who would come out on top. Being the more skilled of the two, Nani took it with ease. David on the other hand, wiped out as the wave crashed down over him, just like he had hoped.

Having seen David go under, Lilo addressed the shark like experiment wading in the water. “Okay, Sinker. It’s your turn.”

With lightning quick speed, Sinker swam straight to David who was keeping himself out of sight. Once he reached the man, he revealed the small plastic baggy in his mouth. David grabbed the bag and put it in his pocket before returning to the surface. With Sinker’s return, Lilo informed Stitch that it was time for them to head home. Cannonball also finished creating waves, calming the sea once more.

“David! Are you okay?” Nani asked as she paddled over. “That looked like it really knocked you one.”

“Ah. I’m fine.” David replied, brushing it off as nothing, despite it actually hurting a little. He put his hair back in place once he was up on his board, seeing that the ocean had stilled once again.

“I guess that’s it for tonight. Huh?” Nani scanned the horizon, looking for any sign of another wave.

“It’s not everything.” David said, gathering as much courage as he could.

“What do you…” Nani looked at him, finding him looking only at her. The look on his face that told her that nothing else in the world mattered but her. “…mean?”

David shifted his board so that he was facing her directly, taking in her shining eyes completely. “Nani. I’ve known you for a long time now. We’ve been through a lot together. Some things more unexpected than others.” He was specifically remembering the time he was surfing and a giant spaceship landed right behind him. “But there’s one thing I’ve known since the moment I met you.”

“David?” Nani had a feeling what was happening. The spontaneous romantic evening was something she was used to with him, but this entire night felt like something was about to happen. “What are you saying?”

“I’ve loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you.” David pulled out the baggy from his pocket. “I don’t have much to offer, but I would give it all for you.” He opened the plastic bag and took her hand. Turning the bag on its side, a small silver ring with a single small diamond gently fell into her palm. While the ring was light, it felt like it weighed the world. “Nani. Will you marry me?”

Nani didn’t know what to say, or what to do. She was completely frozen. Despite the ocean lying flat, she felt like she was rocking all over the place. The man before her, the man she loved, was asking to be with her forever. Despite all the craziness that surrounded her family, he wanted to forever be a part of it. She brought her hand up to cover her mouth, stifling the gasp that finally wanted to escape her lips. She could feel tears start to swell up in her eyes. As they trailed down, they mixed with the salty water slowly drying on her.

“Well?” David asked, bringing Nani out of her daze. She suddenly realized that she had forgotten to breath and finally let air back into her body.

“Yes.” She said, placing the ring on her finger. “Yes, David. Are you lolo? Of course it’s a yes!”

Neither one really remembers the next few moments after Nani had given her answer. Only a blur of images and the faint feeling of water engulfing them filled their minds after, was how they would tell the story. When Nani finally returned home, she told the family the big news, to which Lilo and Stitch pretended to be surprised. The wedding was set for eight months exactly from that day.

Present Day

“Hurry up, Lilo!” Nani called from the hallway below the dome room. “You’re going to be late for school.”

Not likely. Lilo thought as she pulled her red t-shirt on. Pulling her long hair out through the hole, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her red shirt had a few white flower prints along the bottom, and as per usual, she was wearing tan knee length shorts. She still preferred wearing her mu’umu’u, but it didn’t let her move as freely when she had to run fast. Considering school was starting in twenty minutes, she would need to run as fast as she could. Maybe I should start getting ready earlier. She looked to her still unmade bed, all ruffled from her and Stitch sleeping in it as they always did. Nah. I’d much prefer sleeping in with Stitch.

“Remember, Nani.” Lilo yelled out, running to the door, grabbing her backpack along the way. “Stitch and I will be home late tonight!”

“I know!” She called from the kitchen. “Just don’t slam the-“Lilo slammed the door shut, not hearing what her sister was about to say. “Door.” She placed her hand on the wall, stopping the picture that was hung from falling. She moved her hand away, revealing a photo of their family back after the Galactic Federation allowed them to keep Stitch. In front was her little Lilo, hugging the strange and new addition to their family. “It’s hard to believe that it’s been nine years since then.”

“What was that?” Pleakley said, walking in with his feet completely covered in dirt and mud.

“Pleakley!” Nani shouted at the sight of him leaving a trail all over the floor. “I just mopped there!” I guess some things don’t change.

Once Lilo was outside, she spotted Stitch waiting for her at the bottom of the steps.

“What took youga so long?” He asked as she slid down the banister to him.

“A girl needs to look good on her anniversary you know.” She stated, looking away from him in a mock pout.

Stitch smirked at her comment and act. “Youga always look beautiful.”

“And you’re always handsome.” She replied as she kissed the top of his head. She liked that he was growing with her. He was always just a little more than a foot shorter than her, just like when they were still kids. She could smell a bit of coconut and strawberry coming off of his fur. “Smells like you also wanted to look good today.”

Stitch blushed at her comment. He had hoped she wouldn’t notice, but knew it was inevitable anyway with her sense of smell. He laughed guiltily and flashed his big toothy smile. “Aren’t youga going to be late?” He asked, trying to change the subject.

“I don’t think so.” She stated simply before starting to walk off. Stitch followed behind, seeing that she wasn’t headed for the road, but the forest to the side of their house. “A little exercise is just the right way to start the morning off.”

Once they were out of sight, they instantly took off at a full run. Having walked the trails of the mountainsides and forests for years experiment hunting, the two started to know the paths like the back of their hands. Every curve, every rock, every branch was engraved into their minds. Once Lilo had been able to keep up with Stitch, they started to use the buggy less and less to get around. It was much faster to just cut through the trees rather than going around. The two smiled and laughed as they grabbed onto a tree branch, standing tall. Through the foliage, Lilo could see the top of her high school in the distance.

“Almost there, Stitch.” She told him. “See, I told you I wasn’t going to be late.”

“There is still a chance.” He said, jumping from the branch, making it rock back and forth. Lilo’s balance had also improved over the years, extending from her talent at hula dancing. She truly wished she had been able to do all these things back when they had to fight off Gantu and the experiments.

Lilo followed suit, quickly catching up to her little companion.

A couple hundred yards away, a large bald tourist wearing shorts and sunglasses sat on a rock. He was watching a colorful bird on the ground before him, kicking up the dirt with its talons. He took a lick of his mint chocolate chip ice-cream, feeling the sting of his sunburn. It was a completely peaceful moment, and he was happy to finally get to finish his favorite ice-cream. He heard some rustling and the sound of laughter coming from the distance. He froze, just about to take another lick. No. He thought. A moment passed and a blur shot past him. All he could see was a shine of blue and red. The small bird panicked and flew away, knocking the tourists hand as it flew passed. The ice-cream scoop fell to the ground with a plop. The man just stared at it, unable to believe that it had happened again.

“Hey!” Lilo called out to Stitch. “Wasn’t that the?”

“Ih.” Stitch replied.

“He lost his ice-cream again.”

“Meega sure he’ll get it one day.”

“He just has the worst of luck.” She said as they finally reached the edge of the trees. “See. Not late.”

The two walked casually to the front of the building, like they didn’t just run the length of a marathon in the span of ten minutes. Lilo gave Stitch a hug good-bye. Everyone still thought of him as an animal, so he wasn’t allowed in the building on regular occasions. There wouldn’t be any point in him enrolling either, seeing as he was already smarter than the education system.

“I’ll see you later?” She asked, wishing she didn’t have to go to school.

Stitch nodded. “Meega be here when youga done.” Stitch saw that no one was nearby, so he gave her a kiss before they finally had to part. “Besides.” He began. “Youga always know how to find meega.” He traced the blue ring on her finger with the tip of his claw.

“I know.” She said with a light smile. “I better get going.” Lilo turned and walked up the steps to the door. Just as she grabbed the handle, she heard the school bell ring, signaling the start of classes. “Don’t say a word!” She called out to Stitch, who had started to laugh.

Once the door closed behind Lilo, finally blocking his view of her, he turned around, seeing the beautiful island lay out before him. “What to do on such a beautiful day?” He asked himself. He got down on all fours, wondering what he should do to fill the hours before he would be returned to his love.

Chapter Text

Lilo stood outside her classroom, staring at the number on the door. The sixth classroom on the second floor in the sixth and final wing of the school. 626. Heh. Fitting for me. And it’s science no less. Getting up the courage, she slowly opened the door, trying her best not to make a single sound as she entered. The eyes of her classmates were on her as she slowly made her way to her desk. The teacher had her back turned, writing on the board. As soon as she reached her desk near the window, she heard the clang as the board marker was placed on the metal railing.

“Ms. Pelekai.” The stern, old voice announced. “You’re late. Again.”

Lilo slid into her chair as her teacher turned around, checking a book on her desk at the front of the classroom. “That’s the…third time this week.”

“I know, Mrs. Carnes. It won’t happen again, I promise.” Lilo pulled her text book out of her backpack before placing the bag next to her desk.

“Be sure that it doesn’t. Or else it will be to the principal to you.” Mrs. Carnes turned her back to the class, returning to the board again. “Not that that seems to do anything to you.” She muttered, bitterly.

No one knew why the Principal let Lilo by so many times without punishment. In truth, it was because she had helped him out with a few different experiment problems. The most notable was when experiment 326, Pannix was activated in his very own office. He had confiscated a bag of marbles from a student that was throwing them at others in the halls. He had accidentally activated the experiment when he knocked his coffee off of his desk. With a flash of light, a small, burgundy, rodent like animal had suddenly appeared. It immediately scurried off, and like a sudden plague, panic ensued. While Jumba had created most of the experiments to cause chaos and destruction, this little one was literally panic. It would create small squeaks that actually affected the brains of those who heard them, causing panic receptors to go off. It was the worst day the school had ever faced, far worse than any lockdown or drill they had gone through. Thankfully Lilo and Stitch, with the help of Yaarp, were able to catch it. Yaarp used his ability so the people in school could no longer hear Pannix squeaks. Afterwards, he was easy to catch, after they found him cowering in the boy’s locker room.

Despite being a panic inducer, he was actually quite scared of most things. Being so small it was understandable. After that, they found that his one true place was actually as a companion to the Principal, who had lost his own pet mouse at a young age. The school had actually faced a few experiment problems, but Lilo and Stitch solved them all. Because of this, Mr. Kame, the principal, let Lilo get away with things like being late from time to time.

All through class, Lilo had troubles paying attention. Her mind was elsewhere as she thought about the evening plans with Stitch. She found it hard to believe that they were a couple for four years already. She continued to stare out the window, watching the trees wave in the strong breeze. A sudden thud to the back of her head, broke her concentration. She turned to look around for the source, seeing a scrunched up piece of paper roll away on the ground.

She turned back, trying to pay attention to Mrs. Carnes lecture on the reproduction of cells, but kept at the ready for if something else came flying at her. Like she predicted, she felt the air shift as something came towards her. With lightning reflexes, she turned and grabbed another ball of paper, still not seeing who had thrown it. She turned back, paper in hand, to see the hawk like eyes of her teacher on her.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Pelekai?” She asked as she marched her way over to Lilo’s desk.

“No, Mrs. Carnes.”

“What is this in your hand?” Before Lilo could answer, she grabbed the ball of paper from her hand. Unfolding it revealed just the words ‘Dinosaur Carnes’ scribbled across. “Throwing notes around I see.” Mrs. Carnes slowly shifted towards the front of the room again, this time, addressing the entire class. “Could someone please tell me the rules about notes? Myrtle?”

Lilo’s childhood tormenter sat straight and proud at the very back of the classroom. She fixed her blue glasses back into place before answering. “Notes are to be taken, not given or passed around.”

“Very good.” She said with a smile that Lilo thought might accidentally crack her face. She turned her attention back to Lilo, face showing nothing but spite. “Since you seem to have trouble following this rule, I think twenty minutes of detention after class should do you some good.”

“But I wasn’t even-“She tried to argue, to no avail. Mrs. Carnes slammed her book shut, silencing the snickers of Lilo’s fellow classmates as well as herself. Great. Just what I needed today.

The great mood Lilo was initially in was completely ruined. She didn’t understand why Mrs. Carnes always seemed to have it out for her. She thought it was funny, the girl with a family filled with genetic experiments, would be hated by the science teacher. Once she was out of the classroom, she felt instant relief wash over her.

“Thankfully that’s out of the way now.” She said to herself.

“Bad start to the day?” Asked Victoria, who seemed to pop out of nowhere.

Brushing off the initial surprise, Lilo was happy to have her friend there with her. “Yeah. As usual, I’m in trouble and Myrtle gets praised.”

The halls started to fill up with other students, making it hard to talk, so they decided to walk to their next class together.

“It can’t be that bad. You’ve dealt with worse.” Victoria reminded her.

The two were getting close to the resident bullies on campus. A group of four preppy girls that thought themselves better than anyone, with attitudes that even outweighed Myrtle’s. Only three of them were there today, but it didn’t stop them from their usual antics. Lilo wasn’t afraid of them. Whenever they saw them picking on anyone, she would interfere, putting a stop to it no matter what. Victoria on the other hand was terrified of them. She may be brave, but she wasn’t stupid, she knew messing with those girls would be a nightmare for the rest of the time she was in school. As they got closer, she held tighter onto her books, she saw them eye her as they walked passed. Lilo didn’t even look their way. The fact that Lilo was the only one not to show them any ‘respect’ annoyed them greatly.

“I suppose you’re right.” Lilo said as they turned the corner. “But I’d rather take on Hamsterveil before science class any day.”

“Well, hopefully tonight will help you feel better.” Victoria’s heart finally stopped racing. “You and Stitch have anything special planned?”

“Of course.” Lilo said with a giggle, feeling her heart flutter at the thought of Stitch. He instantly filled her mind, making her feel better instantly. “We’re going to be out really late tonight.”

“Oh. Ooh la la.” Victoria said mockingly. Lilo responded by pushing her lightly while rolling her eyes.

Meanwhile, Myrtle was also heading in the same direction as the two, with Teresa and Yuki in tow. The group of bullies saw Myrtle heading their way and shared a grin. With a nod, one of them stepped forward, stopping the girls from advancing.

“You’re… Myrtle? Right?” The girl who had stepped forward asked. Everyone knew who she was. Myrtle was a fan of their group, she always wanted to join them. The one who addressed them was Lea. She had long wavy black hair and piercing jade eyes. Second only to their leader, who wasn’t present.

“M-me?” Myrtle stuttered in response.

“Yes you. We want to talk to you.”

“Of course.” She turned to her friends, telling them to go on without her, excitement clearly filling her to the brim. Once the two ran off, she turned back to the group she idolized. “What can I do for you?” She asked, trying to sound professional.

“We heard what you did in that dinosaur Carnes class today. How you got that girl in trouble.”

“Weirdlo? Yeah, I did. How did you know I did that?”

“We have our sources.” The short girl leaning against the lockers finally spoke. Myrtle could barely see her face, it was blocked by her straight fiery hair.

“Anyway.” Lea continued. “Weirdlo, you called her? I like that. She’s been a pain to our group ever since she got here, you’re the only other one that seems to feel the way we do about her.”

“You do feel the same. Right?” Myrtle didn’t notice the third girl had made her way behind her.

“Y-yes, of course. She’s been ruining things for me since we were little.”

“Good.” Lea stated, coldly. “Then you want what we want. To see her utterly humiliated and ruined for good.”

Myrtle was astonished, she always thought that she was the only one who disliked Lilo so much. “You said she’s been a pain. What do you mean?”

“She’s and odd one, something is very off about her and we don’t know what it is. She’s always standing up for others. She thinks she’s so good, better than us. Able to go against us.” The other two girls stood behind Lea again. “Well. We’re the top dogs here, and we’re determined to expose whatever it is that’s odd about her and then take her down a peg or two.”

“That won’t be easy.” Myrtle blurted out. “I’ve been messing with her for years, nothing can ruin her spirit.”

“Well that’s just the thing.” Lea said with a tone that cooled even Myrtle’s blood. “Getting her in trouble, calling her names, as good as they are, is just small kids’ stuff. More needs to be done.”

“More how?”

“Sam is ready to let you join us. If, you do what we say and help us destroy Weirdlo Pelekai.”

Myrtle’s face twisted into an excited yet evil grin. Like she had always wanted, she was being offered a chance to be with a group that actually understood her. It was the chance of a lifetime for her. She took it in a heartbeat.

School continued like normal. Since science was over, Lilo’s terrible morning was at an end. However, she found it difficult to concentrate on studies, knowing that Stitch would be waiting for her at the end of the day. It wasn’t until gym class that she finally felt free and was able to let out some of her pent up energy. To most other’s amazement, she was quite good at sports, and despite her shorter appearance, she proved more than physically fit. Running, jumping, playing. It all let her feel free in the constraints of the brick building. Of course, no one but Victoria knew why Lilo was so adept to gym.

“It’s not really fair.” Victoria huffed, doubled over, trying to catch her breath.

“It’s not like I can help what happened when we were kids.” Lilo replied, standing strong, not even breaking a sweat. “And it’s hard to hold back you know.”

She watched the other girls continue the laps around the field. Their teacher, Coach Barley, always had them run laps at the beginning and end of class. The high sun always made it that much harder on them. Victoria punched Lilo in the arm at her comment.

“You could be done these laps by now, you don’t need to wait up for me.” The years of hula dancing helped Victoria along, but long periods of running always gave her trouble, especially in the allergy season.

“I’d rather run with you. Besides, we’re almost done. Just one more lap around. I know you can do it.” With Lilo’s encouragement, Victoria started running again. By the end of the laps, all but a few girls were either hunched over, or laying on the grass, completely spent.

“This is torture!” One of the girls on the ground declared.

“Oh come now. Stop being so dramatic, Tiffany.” The coach announced, clip board in hand. Her dark blue jumpsuit made the students hotter just by looking at her. “It builds strength, stamina, and character.” She looked out on the group before her. She saw that while most of the girls did seem a little over worked, Lilo was wistfully watching some birds play off in the distance. “It seems not everyone would agree with you.”

Feeling the gaze of the group on her, Lilo brought herself back to reality. “What?”

“You should all strive to be more like Lilo!”

“I-I wouldn’t say that. I’m not anything special.” She tried to get the attention drawn off of her, but she could see a few of the girls glare at her, like it was her fault that they had to run laps every day. The rest of the class, Lilo tried to make herself as little as possible. Not to stand out in any physical aspect, or get in anyone’s way. After the session had ended, Coach Barely had pulled Lilo to the side to ask her a favor.

“Are you sure I can’t convince you otherwise?” She asked, one last time.

“I’m sure.” Lilo told her again. “I really have no interest in any clubs or sports.”

“You’d be such a great addition though. I really believe that with you we could take this school places it’s never seen.”

Yeah. Like outer space. “I’m sorry, Ms. Barley. I’m not going to join the team.”

Barley sighed in defeat, but she was determined not to give up. “Well, school clubs are going to be starting up soon. If you reconsider, please come let me know. You can find me in my room. I truly believe you would be a star.”

With a final word, Lilo quickly hurried off. She didn’t want to be late for lunch again. Unfortunately, staying behind those few short minutes made the lines for food longer than she had ever seen. With little choice, Lilo decided to go on without lunch, instead quickly finding Keoni and Victoria to sit with. The couple had actually anticipated her lateness, they had bought her some lunch, to which she thanked them dearly.

“I’m sorry I’m late guys. Thank you for the lunch.” She said, digging in immediately.

“It’s no problem, Lilo.” Keoni told her, brushing off her thanks. “Vicky here told me you were held back, so I grabbed some extra.”

“Thanks Victoria.” Lilo redirected her thanks to her longtime friend.

The rest of the school day went by without trouble. Neither Myrtle nor the group of other girls had crossed Lilo’s path. The last few subjects were survived and Lilo became more and more excited as time went on. It felt to Lilo like the clock had stopped. Every time she would look at it, it would appear to have not moved an inch. It was clear to everyone that she had had something planned, and the moment final bell rang, Lilo was off.

Dropping some things off in her locker, she weighed the options on whether to take her science homework or not. There’s no hurry in it. I can just do it before class tomorrow. She closed her locker and spun the lock wheel. Nothing could get between her and Stitch now. She truly believed it, until she felt a chill run down her spine.

“Going somewhere, Ms. Pelekai?” The gritty voice rang through the halls. Lilo slowly turned, ready for her fate. “I hope you were just on your way to my room for detention.”

“But-“

“But what?”

“I was wondering if I could serve detention tomorrow. I have important plans tonight you see.” Lilo tried to reason with her, hoping to play at Mrs. Carnes heartstrings.

“Something important?” Lilo saw a flash in her teacher’s eyes, like an old memory coming to the surface. “Well in that case.” She paused, considering the options of letting Lilo go. “No.”

Lilo’s world shattered around her, of course she could easily get away, but that wouldn’t do her any good in the long run. Reasoning wasn’t going to work with Mrs. Carnes. As far as she was concerned, Lilo was guilty, and that is all that mattered. Lilo dragged her feet towards her science classroom, wishing she had some way to let Stitch know. Instead, she thought about how he would be standing there, waiting for her, not sure of where she was or what she was doing. Please don’t worry, Stitch. I won’t be long.

Chapter Text

Lilo marched a few paces behind Mrs. Carnes. I can’t believe this is happening. The stares of the students and faculty burned a hole right through her. It felt like a long walk, the worst part was climbing the stairs to the next floor. Each step felt like it was taking her farther and farther away from Stitch. Down the hall, she could see Myrtle, Elena, Yuki, and Teresa walking towards her. When they crossed paths Lilo thought she could see a smirk from Myrtle out of the corner of her eye.

Lilo looked back at the group, seeing the three followers giving her a sympathetic look. Myrtle didn’t… Thinking about it all for a moment it didn’t take long for her to realize what had happened. She did. That little…ugh. She held her anger back, slowing her pace down slightly as a result.

“Come now, Ms. Pelekai. Don’t dawdle.” Mrs. Carnes said with triumph.

Once they reached the classroom Lilo had to sit in her desk and watch the clock tick by for twenty minutes. She could see her teacher watch her. Daring her to try something. Anything at all. Guess I’m not getting out of this. Lilo let her head fall to her desk with an audible thud. The frustration of it all left her feeling no pain in her forehead. The light brown wood was a far better sight than the wrinkled face of her teacher.

Stitch stood by the entrance of the school, waiting patiently for Lilo. Slowly, the amount of students coming out of the building dwindled down to nothing. He sat in the shade of the overhang that jutted above the stairs, thinking she would only be a moment.

Too much time had passed and Stich was starting to get worried. Any amount of time for her to be late on their anniversary was too long. He sat there, his hand on his chin, wondering where Lilo was. His eye spotted the red and white ring on his finger, and he decided that he waited long enough. Come on ring, lead me to her.

He felt the pull of their bond leading him towards his beloved. Climbing the wall of the school he jumped onto the roof, looking around to find the right direction. He felt a slight pull to his right and instantly followed it.

The ticking of the clock started to drown out Lilo’s own thoughts. Mrs. Carnes wasn’t even paying attention to her anymore. Instead she had her pointed nose in a book. Does she really have nothing better to do? Tick. Tock. The sound reverberated through her, telling her she was wasting time she could be spending with Stitch. Once the ticking sound started to get more frequent she stared at the round device. For every movement of the second hand, she could hear at least three ticks. Stitch! The extra ticks were the sound of Stitch’s claws as he ran on the building towards her. Mrs. Carnes was unable to hear him coming, but Lilo could. It was only a few more moments until she heard a light knocking on the window beside her.

Her eye’s quickly darted to her teacher, making sure she wasn’t looking. Seeing that the coast was clear, she looked back to Stitch.

“What are you doing, Stitch?” She whispered, hoping Mrs. Carnes wouldn’t hear her.

“Youga late. Meega wonder what happening.”

“I’m sorry.” She looked to the front of the room again. “I got in trouble. I’m stuck here for-“The sound of Mrs. Carnes book shuffling stopped her midsentence. She sat up straight and her eyes darted back to the side to see that Stitch had vanished.

“Is there a problem?” Her teacher’s voice continued to dig into her. None of the spite was held back when they were alone.

Why does she hate me so much? “It’s a little warm in here. Would I be able to stick my head out the window for a moment?”

“I suppose so.” Before Mrs. Carnes finished, Lilo was already at the window. As soon as she opened it she stuck her head down and looked around for Stitch. He was sticking to the wall right below her.

“Meega sorry. What happened?” He said, curious as to how Lilo could get in trouble.

“Myrtle did it. I got blamed.”

“Stupid head?” He spat. Stitch didn’t like how Myrtle continued to treat Lilo. Especially after what they did for her at the dance all those years ago.

“Yeah, but it won’t be much longer.”

“I think that’s long enough.” Mrs. Carnes announced from her desk. “Please close the window and return to your seat.”

“I’ll be out soon. I love you.” She closed the window, seeing Stitch mouth that he loved her too. The last few minutes of detention went by easier. She could feel that Stitch was still just outside the window, waiting for her. She never took her eyes off the clock, knowing that the exact moment the hand reached the four, she would be out of there.

“Alright.” Her teacher said as she put her book down. “I hope you learned your lesson young lady.”

“I did, Mrs. Carnes.” Lilo stood, keeping her back straight, trying to look like the wait was anything but an unnecessary bore. “I won’t be passing notes ever again.”

“Good. Do you need a hand out?”

“No.” Lilo said as she swung her backpack over her shoulders. “I’m running a little late now, I think I’ll just take the window.”

Before Mrs. Carnes could question her, Lilo was already half way out the window. Without hesitation she jumped, feeling Stitch follow right behind her. Her teacher stood there stunned, unable to believe what she had just witnessed. The moment Lilo felt her legs hit the ground, she quickly ran out of sight. She was tired of waiting and knew no one would believe Mrs. Carnes when she told them she had just jumped out of a two story window. When Mrs. Carnes did come to her senses, she ran to the window beside her and looked for what she was sure would be an injured body, however, she couldn’t see anyone around. It was like Lilo had just disappeared.

Once they reached the main streets, they slowed down to a walk. Saying hello to some of the locals tending their shops, Lilo began explaining to Stitch all that had happened that day.

“So that’s why I think stupid head Myrtle did it.” She told him, kicking a rock out of her path.

Stitch growled in response. “Meega can’t believe her.”

“I can. I wish she would just leave us alone!”

Stitch could hear the anger in her voice. Not wanting anything to ruin their special day, he quickly pulled her into a thin alley they were near.

“Wha-“Lilo’s surprise was stifled by Stitch dipping her close to the ground and pressing his lips against hers. Once the feeling settled she finally let herself relax into the kiss. Her eyes closed as the tingle spread throughout her body. Stitch could feel Lilo’s body relax into his grip. The pitter patter of feet just a few meters away from them added to their excitement. Shadows hid them from view, but at that point they wouldn’t notice if someone had come up behind them.

“Stitch…” She gasped his name as their lips continued their forbidden dance, daring to be caught.

“Yes?” He asked, biting her bottom lip ever so lightly, sending a shiver down her spine.

All sense of control left Lilo. She let herself fall back against the wall as she pulled Stitch against her, wrapping her arms around his warm furry back. Stitch could feel her passion fill him, her tongue took a slight lick at his lips. His lips parted, just enough to allow her in. He could feel her tongue wrestle for dominance as she ran her hands up and down his spine. Her familiar taste filled his mouth as he tried to take back the control of the kiss. Stitch ran his hand down her neck, following all along her arm as it left him till their hands finally met. Their fingers interlocked perfectly, Stitch could feel her warm ring as he brought her hand to his chest. His kiss slowly died down, getting one last taste of her before pressing her hand to his heart.

Gasping from a shortness of breath, Lilo rested her head against his shoulder, a single bead of sweat running down her cheek. Funny. I run all day and nothing. But a few minutes of kissing and I already feel spent.

The two froze by the sound of a garbage can being knocked over. Unable to move from their position they traced the source of the sound. A small black cat walked out from behind the mess, meowing at them like it had been their fault.

“That was close.” Stitch said with a nervous chuckle.

“Yeah. Wanna do it again?” Stitch could see a twinkle in her eye. He knew from her look that she was completely up for another session, but they had a place to be.

“Tonight.” He said lovingly, feeling his heart beat hard in anticipation.

The two made their way home. Stitch ran Lilo’s bag up to their bedroom from the outside. Meanwhile, Lilo ran around to the back of the house to grab something they hadn’t used in a while. A few months before, Jumba noticed that their hovercraft had become too small for the two of them to use. Knowing they still got use out of it, he made a brand new larger vehicle for them. It was in the same design as the old red one Stitch had, but now it had a slightly more earth friendly design.

Opting for small wings that jutted our behind the door allowed them to glide through the air, using less power than his previous design. Sustaining power allowed them to travel longer distances without worry of powering down. To top it off, Jumba had included a few weapons and shielding to the craft. When they asked him why he said, “Just in case of something happening.” Since it was designed specifically for them as a couple, he had painted two white stripes down the middle instead of just one. “It even has drink holders!” Jumba announced proudly when he had shown it to them.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get as much time to use it as they had hoped. Nani didn’t make it any easier, wanting them to keep out of sight at the warning of Cobra Bubbles. He had stopped by to check up on them and congratulate Nani and David on their engagement. When he saw the inconspicuous space vehicle behind their house, he warned them again of the risk it could cause.

“I promise we’ll only use it in an emergency.” Lilo told him, crossing her fingers behind her back.

The two decided together that their anniversary was the perfect time to take it out for a spin. Lilo felt bad that she wasn’t helping Nani prepare for the wedding, but one night off wouldn’t hurt, and they did have permission.

Lilo pressed the button and felt the hovercraft lift her into the air. The familiar whir of the antigravity engine purred like a dream. She called out to Stitch, not realizing Nani might catch them using the hovercraft. Thankfully he hurried along to her, and she didn’t see or hear a word from her sister. Maybe I lucked out and she’s at work.

Once Stitch and she were strapped in, she lifted them off. While running and jumping through the mountains and forests felt close to flying, nothing beat the real thing.

“It’s nice to be back up here.” She said as some birds surrounded their flying craft. The wind blew her long raven hair behind them, blowing all her troubles away with it.

Stitch sat back and closed his eyes. The wind ruffled his fur, and he knew he’d need to put it back in place once they landed, but for now he didn’t care. Instead, he enjoyed the ride, grabbing Lilo’s hand tightly in his as she flew them to their destination.

It wasn’t a long trip. Just enough to enjoy the flight. Lilo set them down on a beach near a cliff on Ni’ihau. The two had only ever been on the forbidden island once before, while trying to catch an experiment. Lilo was certain that they hadn’t been seen, and the surrounding cliffs would make them hard to spot should any of the locals come by. It was really the perfect secluded spot for the two to enjoy some time alone together.

Stitch laid a blanket across the warm white sand. The sound of the water hitting against the rocks was surprisingly soothing. The surrounding cliffs trapped in the air, Lilo could almost taste the salt of the ocean on the breeze. Once Stitch had set a rock on one corner of the blanket so it wouldn’t blow away, Lilo placed down their picnic basket. Like the evening so many years ago, they would spend their anniversary with a homemade meal, and watch the sunset on the beach if time allowed.

“So what did you do today while I was stuck in school?” Lilo asked, handing Stitch a sandwich he had made earlier that day.

“Meega went for a walk.” He said, downing the entire sandwich in one bite. Lilo handed him another one with a giggle.

“Did anything happen on this walk?”

“Yeah. Meega actually ran into Angel and Reuben.” The two ate in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the compliment of their food with the salty wind. Reuben had given Stitch some pointers on making sandwiches, and it turned out to be worth it. Normally, Stitch wouldn’t take any help from anyone, but when it came to doing something for Lilo he would do anything.

“So what are they up to?” Lilo finally asked, her curious nature getting the best of her. “We haven’t seen them for a while now.”

“Weega haven’t. It was funny. They seemed really happy about something. But they wouldn’t tell meega. They said they wanted to tell us together.”

“Huh.” Lilo finished off her sandwich. Stitch had made a lot, but it was mostly for him. He still ate like a garbage disposal. “I wonder what it could be.”

“Don’t know. Should we go visit them this weekend?”

“Yeah. I don’t think we have anything planned…” Lilo thought about the promises she made. Nothing jumped out at her for things she needed to do on the weekend, but she felt like she was forgetting something. “Yeah. Let’s go visit. Maybe we can all do something as a double date!”

Once the meal was done and packed away, the two propped themselves against each other on the blanket. Staring out at the ocean while the sun slowly set was always a joy to them. Anything peaceful they could find in their chaotic lives was a treasure to them. Nani was going crazy over the wedding. Every night Lilo would help her plan it just a little more. I guess that’s one of the perks of being maid of honor.

Lilo let herself fall into Stitch, his fur warming her from the cool breeze. The atmosphere reminded her greatly of the evening four years ago. She felt herself taken back to the beach that day. Stitch mustering up the courage to confess his feelings, the warm sand beneath her, and how time just seemed to stand still. “I can’t believe it’s been four years.”

“What do youga mean?” Stitch asked as he rested his head atop Lilo’s.

“We’ve been happily together for four years. It just feels like the time flew by.”

“Youga right.” Stitch kissed the top of her head, bringing a warm smile to Lilo’s face. “Meega can’t believe we’ve kept it hidden so long.”

“Yeah…” Lilo trailed off. Four years of keeping a secret. Nani trusts me enough to make me her maid of honor and I’ve been here keeping this hidden from her. “Lying for four years.”

“It’s not really a lie.” Stitch defended, knowing how she felt about the subject.

“No. But it’s also not the truth.” Lilo sat up from him, bringing her knees to her chest. “I’ve been thinking…”

“What is it?” Stitch rubbed her back for support, brining memories of earlier to her mind. She pushed the urge to pounce him, bringing up the thing she’s wanted to discuss with Stitch for a while now.

“Do you think we’ve been stupid? Not telling I mean. All our friends have accepted it as it is.” Stitch stayed quiet, unsure of what to say. “I know Nani wouldn’t be as understanding, but could anything bad really happen?”

“Meega doubt it. If youga sure you want to tell her, weega can.” She brought her eyes to meet his, seeing he was completely sure of himself. His unwavering black pools reflected her own confidence.

“We’ll tell her after the wedding then. She has a lot to deal with right now.”

“Okay.” Stitch wrapped his hand around the back of her head and pulled her into a kiss. Having decided to reveal their secret in a few short months, they already felt better about the situation. Now that the guilty topics had passed, they lost themselves in each other. Falling softly into the blanket, the two enjoyed the anniversary of their shared love. Smiles, laughter, and love filled the hidden beach until the sun had finally set and the two flew home.

Chapter Text

On Turian Prison Asteroid number seventeen, Dr. Jacques Von Hamsterveil paced around his cell as he did every day since his capture. An alien dinosaur like guard passed by the cell, making his rounds to check on the prisoners.

“Report. Gerbilveil check.” The guard said into a communication device on his shoulder before moving onto the next cell.

“I am not gerbil like, I am hamster like!” The small rodent alien yelled out.

Completely ignoring the small criminal, the guard continued on. “Report. Leroy clone number 001 check.”

“Ugh. Why must I stay here with these insufferable imbesciles?” Just when he thought it couldn’t get any worse, the prison sound system started to roar to life. As they did every night, some of the Leroy clones hacked into the sound system to play Jailhouse Rock.

Making his way to one of the cell walls, Hamsterveil starting banging his head, trying to keep the song out. “Must you be playing with this song every night?!”

“Hehehe.” A low laugh emanated from the other side of the wall. “Weega enjoy it.”

While the clones had already began jumping around and dancing, the original Leroy leaned his back up against the wall of his cell. While he didn’t particularly like the song, he did like the torment it caused his creator.

“Leroy!” Hamsterveil said in his high pitched shriek. “It has been over five years! Why are you not making with the breaking of us out yet?!”

“There isa naga reason to break out without plan.” The evil red experiment spat. “How isa that plan coming?”

“You little-“Before continuing the sentence he coughed, not wanting to upset his creation. “I will tell you when you are needing to know!”

Hamsterveil turned away from the wall to return to his pacing. The song hadn’t yet finished but it soon would. Either from it just ending or the guards shutting it down. He hoped it was the latter. Continually pacing around the room, he tried to come up with a new plan to finish off Lilo and Stitch once and for all. Then galactic domination would finally be in his grasp. The problem was that he had been utterly defeated last time. Not even an evil army of Leroys was able to finish them off.

The song finally stopped with a scratch, a female voice came over the intercoms instead, much to his appreciation. “For the continued disruption of the peace, and the continued destruction of prison technology, lights out will now be an hour earlier each day. Good night!”

The lights cut out. Leaving the entire cell division in complete darkness. The original Leroy returned to his bed, staring at the empty ceiling. As he did every single day, he thought about the cause of his imprisonment. Stitch. I will get my revenge. And it will be so sweet. Just you wait. With an evil grin, he closed his eyes, the sounds of the murmuring clones all around him filled the cell block with a satisfying buzz.

Back on Earth, Lilo and Stitch were using the cloud of darkness to secretly return themselves and the hovercraft home. Lilo gently flew the vehicle back to its original resting spot, making it look like it never left. As long as no one went around back while they were gone, no one would know.

“There. Safe and sound.” Lilo said as she took off her seatbelt.

“Like weega never even took it.” Stitch commented. “It’s too bad our night had to end so soon.”

“What do you mean?” Lilo turned in her seat to face him better. “The night’s not over yet.” With a grin she leaned over to Stitch a pulled him into another kiss. The two almost fell over but Stitch kept them propped up with one of his arms. It was so dark that Lilo could barely see him, but it didn’t matter, she was able to feel him. Lilo felt more love for the blue experiment every day, nothing in life was better than getting to show him how she felt.

The sweet moment was short lived, however. They froze at the sound of a twig snapping under someone’s weight nearby. “Lilo? Stitch?” A voice called out from the stairs to the house.

“Nani!” Lilo whispered, pulling herself away from Stitch and turning to see her sister.

“Lilo!” Surprise and anger filled her older sister’s voice

“I’m sorry, Nani. I can explain everything,” Lilo began to plead. She couldn’t believe after so long they were finally caught. Right after they decided to tell her too.

“Oh really? Don’t try to make excuses, Lilo. And Stitch, I’m surprised at you!” Stitch looked away, even in the darkness he could see the anger drawn on her face. She looked utterly betrayed.

“Don’t be mad, we just-“Lilo was immediately cut off by her sister.

“You just thought I wouldn’t notice?” Nani strongly put her hand on the hovercraft. Lilo flinched at the sound of the thud it had made.

“I know we should have told you, but we thought you’d say no to it.”

“You’re right I would have said no.” Lilo’s face fell. She had thought all along that Nani wouldn’t be supportive, but to actually hear it was soul crushing. Stitch grabbed her hand supportively, completely unnoticed by the furious Nani above. “Honestly, Lilo. You know you’re not allowed to take the hovercraft without permission.”

Wait, what? Lilo’s head snapped straight up in confusion. She’s not mad about Stitch and me? No. Did she just not see? Her eyes quickly darted to Stitch who shared her look of confusion. “So you didn’t see…?”

“I didn’t see a hovercraft when I got home this evening. Since everyone else is in the house, it wasn’t hard to figure out you two must have taken it without my approval again. I heard you two come back and instantly came out. Why? What should I have seen?”

“Nothing!” Lilo quickly replied, letting go of Stitch’s hand before she became more suspicious. “I just thought you might have seen us flying or something.”

“It’s way too dark right now for that.” Nani crossed her arms, trying to think of a punishment. “Now get inside you two. It seems we can’t just have this thing out anymore.” Lilo and Stitch quickly hoped out of the vehicle and ran straight to the stairs. “Oh! And you can consider yourselves grounded till Friday!”

“But-“

“No ‘buts.’ I’m being nice because of what day it is. You two are lucky I don’t call Cobra.”

Lilo was about to complain about being grounded again, but Stitch held her back. Instead he called out to Nani. “Weega sorry. Weega never do it again.” Stitch then pulled Lilo up the stairs before they got in more trouble.

Now what to do with this thing? Nani thought, staring at the large hovercraft. It was much too big to hide in her car like the last one. She would need an even better hiding spot so they wouldn’t go finding it any time soon.

The next day Lilo rushed to school early. Instantly regretting leaving it behind, she tried to do her science homework as quickly as possible. Thankfully, science was one of her best subjects. Having an evil genius like Jumba in the house, Lilo had learned a lot of things over the years. After being in the machine, Lilo took an interest in science and how the things Jumba made worked. Of course, she learned mostly about alien technology, but the same principals applied to Earth. Unfortunately, she ran late again and didn’t finish the last part of the homework. With nothing else she could do, she handed her homework in as is. It’s not like doing perfect is going to get Mrs. Carnes to like me anyway.

While Lilo was at school, Stitch was going to go set up plans with Angel and Reuben. The two discussed what plans they had made and couldn’t think of anything important happening on Saturday. Stitch was surprised to find their house empty. Looking through the window he couldn’t see a trace of the two. That’s not like them. Not wanting to break his promise with Lilo, Stitch went to the town in search of his cousins.

Back at school, Lilo was asked to stay back a few minutes after class.

“Wait.” Lilo was utterly shocked. “You want me to join the science club?”

“I don’t want you to no. However, Mr. Kame has requested that I ask you to join.” Mrs. Carnes looked like she was about to blow. In no way did she agree with the Principal request, but she was forced to.

Why does everyone want me to join a club? “Why would he ask you to do that?”

“I suppose…” She began as she wiped down the board in preparation of her next class. “He feels like you would excel in it. I’m not going to lie, Ms. Pelekai. I am completely against it. I do not think you would benefit us in anyway.”

“Am I not doing that well in science?”

Mrs. Carnes put the brush down and after a slight hesitation finally spoke. “You’re doing overly well in my class.” It pained her to say, but she had to admit that Lilo was excellent at science. “I just don’t think you’re a good student. You are constantly late, hand in half completed assignments, and when you are here you hardly pay attention.” How you manage this and still score well I will never understand. I actually hate it!

“Well then you’ll be happy to know that I’m not interested in joining any clubs.”

“Really?” Mrs. Carnes couldn’t hold back the actual happiness in her voice. “I mean. Alright. I shall inform Mr. Kame of your choice.”

Lilo quickly left the classroom, eager to get to the next class. She was really confused as to why she kept getting asked to join clubs and hoped it would stop soon. It wasn’t that she was against it, she just really wasn’t interested in any that she had seen or heard of. She was in such a hurry, she wasn’t being careful as she ran around a corner.

With a loud thud, Lilo ran right into someone, knocking them into the wall. “Sorry!” She shouted as she continued running down the hall, not wanting be late. The girl who was just shoved, brushed off her jacket and fixed her skirt and hair. “Ugh. Lilo.” She spat. “You will be sorry.”

Feeling a sudden chill run down her back and hearing someone say her name, Lilo looked back down the hall. However, there was no one to be seen anywhere. That’s weird. I thought I heard… Her trail of thought was broken by the sound of the bell. “Not again!” She ran to her class, hoping that Mrs. Carnes holding her back would be a good enough excuse to not get in trouble again.

Stitch sat on top of a café in town. Watching the people enjoying their coffee and sandwiches below, he wondered where Angel and Reuben had gone. I really thought that they would be here. Stitch had checked every shop and place he could think of. He ran from rooftop to rooftop hoping he would spot them. Normally their pink and yellow fur would stand out from the crowds.

Unable to think of any other place to go, Stitch decided to head back home. He would check their house one more time before Lilo got out of school. Walking up the steps to the house his ear twitched the sound of laughter coming from the trail to Jumba’s ship. “Reuben? Angel?”

“See?” Reuben said as he put his arm around Angel. “I told you everything was fine.”

“Youga right.” She smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Meega just worry.”

“I know. I’m sorry, I’m just so excited.”

“Me too.” Reuben placed a gentle hand on her cheek and stared lovingly into her eyes. “I love you, Angel.”

She touched his warm hand with hers, loving the feelings it sent through her body. Without meaning to, or rather, like a force of nature they both became drawn together. Reuben wrapped his hand around her back and head, pulling her into a deep kiss. Their lips danced together under the warm sun, heating them up even more. After a few more moments, Reuben dipped Angel to the ground. The sudden rush clouded her mind.

“Careful.” She whispered.

“Sorry.” He replied with his sheepish grin. “I just got carried away.” They were about to continue their moment together, when Stich suddenly burst through the bushes.

“Reuben! Angel!” He exclaimed, arms out. “Meega been looking for youga.”

The two quickly recomposed themselves. They hoped that Stitch didn’t hear what they had been talking about. They wanted to keep it a surprise until they could announce it for both him and Lilo to hear.

“What are youga doing at Jumba’s ship?”

“We were just, uh.” Angel was still shocked. She wasn’t expecting someone to just burst into their moment like that. Stitch, however, was always good at dropping in unexpectedly.

“We had a checkup with Jumba.” Reuben said honestly. Angel tightened her grip on his hand, hoping he wasn’t just going to outright tell Stitch what was going on.

“A checkup?” Stitch suddenly became worried. Neither he nor any of the experiments have ever needed a checkup before. “Are youga okay?”

“We’re fine, cuz.” Reuben said leaving Angel’s side. He put his arm around Stitch’s shoulder and began to lead him down the path. “Jumba just wanted to make sure everything was fine with us. Since we were the first ones to use the machine after he tampered with it to work with Lilo.” He could still see the concern on Stitch’s face. “Don’t worry, everything turned out ‘a’ okay.”

“If youga say so.”

“I do. Hey, shouldn’t Lilo be home from school soon? You should be there for her.”

“Youga right.” Stitch said, about to take off. Reuben started to return to Angel when Stitch suddenly remembered why he was looking for them in the first place. He quickly asked if they were free to talk about what they mentioned the day before that weekend. Discussing it for a few minutes, they decided to meet up at Angel and Reuben’s house on the upcoming Saturday afternoon. Once everything was arranged, Stitch then ran home, eager to tell Lilo he kept his promise.

“That was a close one.” Reuben said as he wiped his forehead. “I don’t think he suspects anything though.”

“Good. You handled that really well.” Angel said with a sly grin.

“What can I say?” Reuben was blushing, Angel’s smiles always got his blood pumping. “I guess I got good at lying while working for Hamsterwheel.”

Angel pouted playfully, putting her hand on his chest. “I hope you don’t use that lying ability on me.”

“Never.” Reuben pulled her into another kiss, feeling Angel’s lips turn from a pout into a grin under his touch. They stayed there for several minutes. They were in no hurry to return home.

Thankfully, school had gone better this day than the day before. Lilo was relieved that aside from the classes they shared, she didn’t once run into Myrtle. After figuring out that it was her fault that she got into trouble, Lilo was expecting some sort of bragging to follow soon. Instead it was a completely quiet day. Victoria and Keoni met Lilo at her locker and the three decided to head out together.

“I guess the clubs are starting to advertise.” Keoni said as he pointed out the tall student handing a poster on the bulletin board.

“Don’t remind me.” Lilo replied exasperated.

“What’s got you tired of things already?” Victoria was surprised, Lilo wasn’t one to cut anything out without trying it at least once.

“Both Coach and Mrs. Carnes asked me to join their clubs.”

“Really?” Victoria asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I can understand Coach wanting you in track.” Keoni stated. “But isn’t Mrs. Carnes the one that hates you?”

“Yeah.” Lilo said with a nod. “It was at the request of Mr. Kame.”

“Woah. The principal?” Keoni was stunned, no one had ever heard of the principal getting involved with student clubs. Lilo just silently nodded in reply.

“So are you joining either of them?” Victoria asked as they passed the board. She tried to take a look at the posters, but they had gone by too fast to really take any of them in.

“No. I’m just really not interested.”

While the three continued talking about clubs, Myrtle watched them from down the hall. She was eager to rub it in Lilo’s face that she was the one to get her detention. However, she kept missing her chances. Now, she was ready, and nothing was going to stop her. She took a step forward when she felt a hand on her shoulder hold her back.

“Hey! What are you-“She said as she turned around. She quickly shut up once she saw who it was. “Oh. Hey, Lea.”

“Hi.” She said in her usual uncaring tone. “So. Are you ready to meet Sam?”

“O-of course.” Myrtle looked back, seeing that Lilo, Victoria, and Keoni were already out of sight. “Wouldn’t miss this chance for the world.”

“Good. This way.” With a hair flip, Lea lead Myrtle off through the rushing students. It was hard for Myrtle to keep her excitement. The only time anyone got to meet Sam was when the group was tormenting people. She, however, was getting to meet her to become part of the group. Bragging to Lilo was long from her mind. Now, she had something even better to do. Her dreams were quickly coming true.

They passed Elena, Yuki, and Teresa along the way. The trio just watched as Myrtle didn’t even bat an eye at them. They shared a concerned look, and quickly discussed if they should do anything. Seeing their leader not even acknowledge them quickly made their minds up for them.

“You ready?” Lea asked, knowing that Myrtle would have to be either way. Even though she was asked to join, Sam could change her mind at the drop of a dime.

“Born ready.” She replied, confidence and arrogance filling her more now than ever.

Chapter Text

Lea opened the door that led outside. It was a part of the building Myrtle didn’t see a lot of. The second bike rack lot was claimed as the hang out area of Sam’s gang. None of the student’s dared to go anywhere near it anymore. There were short brick walls on either side, closing the area in, with the bike rack being up against the left wall. The grass looked barely touched, only walked on by a few people, but was littered with garbage here and there. Over the right wall, Myrtle could see the school’s field, eerily empty. The rocky pavement leading from the door to the sidewalk, like a red carpet at a movie premier. She thought it was odd that the sidewalk also had no one walking home on it, school had just let out moments ago and everyone should be rushing home.

After her short scan of the area, her eyes finally caught the three girls leaning up against the bike rack. Once Lea and Myrtle stepped forward, the murmurings of the three came to a close. The girl with fiery red hair pointed out the two approaching. After readjusting her jacket, the girl Myrtle knew as their leader, Sam, walked towards her.

The girl’s jean jacket and designer top and skirt were high end clothes that Myrtle always wanted to have. However, she never had the money to afford it. Instead, the best she could do was knock offs. Her current t-shirt and ripped jeans looked like garbage in comparison.

When Sam walked, she walked with confidence. There was nothing in her path that could get in her way. Except Lilo. Her long dirty blonde hair flowed freely behind her as she moved, like a veil blowing in the wind.

“Hey, Myrtle.” Sam said like they had been friends forever. Her cheery demeanor was a huge contrast to the attitude the other girls showed. “I’m, Sam.”

“I-I know.” Myrtle had trouble hiding her excitement, finally the moment she’d waited forever for had come. “I’ve idolized you for, like, ever.”

“Idolized huh?” Sam looked back at the others with a smile. This is going to be easy. “I like the sound of that. So then, as you probably know, that’s Lea. Our short firecracker is Abby, and the tan beauty leaning against the wall behind the two of them is Jen.” The three girls nodded as their names had been said. “I expect that Lea explained why we want you in our group.”

“Yeah. I want what you want. To ruin Lilo.” Myrtle said with an evil grin, but the confidence she had quickly left her. Is it always going to be because of Lilo? “I just don’t know why you’re asking me to join you. Couldn’t you do it on your own?”

“Yeah.” Sam said simply, returning back to her group. “But.” She turned on her heel once she made it to the rack. “Every now and then we give someone the opportunity to join us. Since you hate that girl as much as us, we’ve decided to give you a chance.”

“What happened to the others?”

“They weren’t quite up to snuff.” Jen stated as the other girls laughed.

“But I’m sure you can handle it. I get a good feeling from you.” Sam ran forward and grabbed Myrtles hands. “Now come on.” She started to pull Myrtle along before running ahead on her own.

“W-where are we going?” Myrtle said as she regained her balance.

Abby walked by her, eager to catch up with Sam. “If you’re gonna hang with us.”

Lea quickly came up her other side. “You’re gonna need to look the part.”

“Look the part?” Myrtle saw the girls get into a black car, Jen was the one opening the driver’s door.

“Get in!” Sam said, sticking her head out the passenger window. “We’re going shopping!”

Without hesitation, Myrtle instantly ran to the car to let herself in. She had just met Sam, and she could already tell that they were going to be great friends.

Since Lilo and Stitch were grounded for the next two days, they had nothing to do but sit at home. Immediately when Lilo got home, Stitch told her he wanted to talk to her. Lilo started putting her thing from school away as Stitch explained meeting up with Angel and Reuben outside of Jumba’s ship.

“That’s odd.” Lilo said with her brow furrowed as she threw her backpack against the wall. “We’ve never done check-ups on any of the experiments before. Did you talk to Jumba about it?”

“Yeah. He said it was nothing.” Stitch was looking out the window, towards Jumba’s ship. He felt like something was being hidden from them. Something big. Before he was excited about what Angel and Reuben had to say, now he was downright curious. “Jumba bad liar.”

Lilo laughed at Stitch’s comment. “He always has been.” She looked at the ship too, then grabbed Stitch and flung him onto their bed. She jumped in after him and they wrestled around for a few long moments. Finally settling into each other, Lilo continued. “What are we going to do about it?”

“Meega guess we can only wait until we see them Saturday.” Stitch said, rubbing his hand along Lilo’s side.

“Or.” She said with a mischievous smile. “We sneak out and take a peek at Jumba’s records to find out for ourselves.”

Stitch gasped at her suggestion. “Lilo. Weega could get into more trouble if we’re caught.”

“Then we just have to make sure we don’t get caught.” Lilo sat up, full of excitement. “Don’t you want to know what’s going on?”

Stitch followed her up, crossing his legs to sit better on the soft bed. “Weega find out Saturday.” Stitch was always more than eager to sneak out, but they had just gotten in trouble with the hovercraft. If they were caught, the punishment would be far greater than being grounded for a few days. However, the old itch to break rules suddenly scratched in the back of his mind.

“We don’t even know if the two things are related.” Lilo was getting more and more excited at the idea. They hadn’t done anything like this in a long time. She suddenly jumped up and ran to the board on the other side of the room. It was completely covered in the photo’s she had taken over the years. She had never stopped taking pictures of tourists, and she wasn’t planning on ever stopping. The photos weren’t what she was looking for though. Lilo flipped the board around, revealing a clear white board, ready to make up a plan.

Myrtle stood, staring at herself in the mirror. She was completely amazed at how she looked. The tight designer blue jeans, yellow loose shirt, and thick yellow belt was a style she didn’t know she could pull off. Her glasses didn’t even look out of place anymore.

“Wow, Myrtle.” Sam said, sitting on a bench with the other three girls. “It’s like a whole new you.”

“Yeah.” She used the mirror to look at herself from every angle. “A whole new me.” She continued to look at herself and Sam could see the joy in Myrtle’s eye.

“So?” Sam said as she got up. “Are you going to get it?”

“I’d love to, but…” Myrtle looked at the clothes one last time. “It’s way too expensive. There’s no way I can afford this.”

“Really? It would be a shame to let such a nice look go.”

“Yeah. But we’ve already bought so much.” Myrtle gestures towards the bags on the floor by the mirror.

“This is the best one, though.” Lea said from the bench.

“You can’t let this one get away.” Abby added.

“Totally.” Jen spoke for the first time since they arrived at the mall.

Myrtle looked at herself in the mirror again. “This does look really good.”

Sam simply smiled. “Are you sure there’s no way for you to get this? Imagine. Walking into school with us like you own the place in this.”

“That would be amazing.” The rush was starting to get to Myrtle. She could feel her blood pumping as she imagined looking large and in charge again. Something she didn’t feel for a long time. “I suppose I could use my credit card. I’m only supposed to use it in an emergency though.”

“Well.” Sam put her arm around Myrtle’s shoulder, grasping on tight. “I would say this counts as an emergency.”

Hesitantly, Myrtle pulled her wallet out of her bag. Inside was her mom’s credit card. The one she promised she’d never use unless she had to. She had second thoughts about using it for the clothing. Then she saw herself in the mirror again. Standing beside her idol, being where she had wanted to for so long. “I’ll take it.”

Lilo looked over the plan on the board. Darkness had already fallen and they kept their room lit with a single desk lamp. Stitch had scribbled Jumba’s ship as well as the way to the computer they would need upon the board. Their path was set, all they needed to do was to get out of the house without being seen or heard.

Lilo stepped forward, into the light. She was wearing her dark sweat shirt and sweat pants. Her long dark hair was tied back and covered by her black toque. She memorized the path they needed to take through the ship as she slipped on her black gloves. “You ready, Stitch?”

“Ready.” Stitch was wearing similar apparel to Lilo. The only different was that he kept his hands and feet uncovered in order to climb the walls.

“Good. Time to start operation: info grab.” Stitch tilted his head. “What? I know it’s not the best name, but I couldn’t come up with anything better.”

“Okay. Okay.”

Stitch climbed down the elevator shaft, being careful not to make a sound. Keeping to the roof, he looked into the living room. Nani was still awake, watching TV. He looked down the hall and saw that Jumba and Pleakley’s door was closed. He looked the best he could but couldn’t find David anywhere. Figuring it wasn’t something to worry about, Stitch opened the kitchen window and climbed up to the dome room window.

“Coast clear, Mutant Dog?” Lilo asked as she crawled out of the window. They had decided to keep code names for their secret operation. Stitch still didn’t understand why they used them, but he loved the fun that Lilo got out of it.

“Couldn’t find, Surfer. He must be out still.”

“As long as we’re quick, we should be done before he gets back. How’s Big Sister?”

“Watching TV, just like youga said. Noodle and Genius are asleep already as well.”

“Then we are good to go.” Lilo climbed from the dome onto the roof, careful not break anything or step too hard. Keeping her balance, she slid down to the back side of the house before she jumped to the ground.

Stitch silently followed her. Knowing they were safe for now, the two headed through the trees. The path wouldn’t be safe to take. Jumba had questionable sleeping habits, at any moment he could start heading up to his ship and find them. Instead they took the back route, keeping in the forest until the back of the big red ship was in sight.

Jumba’s ship had a couple of entrances, but he didn’t know that Stitch knew about the secret one by the tail fin. Stitch scaled the side of the ship until he found a loose panel. Carefully removing it he snuck inside and Lilo finally lost him from view. She knew it wouldn’t take long for him to double back to the door she was waiting at. That’s why she became worried when she sat there for ten minutes without a sign from Stitch.

“Mutant Dog. Come in.” She said into her walkie-talkie. “Mutant Dog. This is Black Raven. Do you copy?”

Inside the ship, Stitch was trying to stifle the sound of the communication device as Jumba walked right underneath him. Stitch clung to the ceiling as best as he could while holding the speaker against his shirt. Jumba stopped, thinking he had heard something. He looked above him, but saw nothing and headed back towards the lab.

“Phew.” Stitch let out a sigh of relief from the room vent right beside where he was hanging only a moment ago.

“Mutant Dog. Where are you?” Said Lilo’s voice from the walkie-talkie.

“Mutant Dog here.” He said. Lilo let out a sigh of relief, she was worried something might have happened in the unpredictable walls of the ship. “Weega have a problem.”

“What is it?”

“Genius is still here.” There was silence on the other end. Stitch waited a moment but didn’t hear a reply. “What do youga want to do, Black Raven?”

“We have to continue. We’ve come this far.”

Lilo waited only a few more moments. Suddenly the door swung open with Stitch on the other side. “Then weega better hurry.” He said to her, helping her up into the ship.

The two ran through the winding halls, being sure to keep away from the lab. Since Jumba was still inside, they wouldn’t be able to access the backup computer in the lab. Instead, they were going to need to hack into the main computer system.

“Do you know how to get there?” Lilo asked as they headed up a utility ladder.

“Of course.” Stitch said as he looked back and forth down the hall way they just climbed to. “This way.”

Stitch ran down the hall, stopping suddenly at a small panel in the wall. The words, “Do Not Open,” were written in red on the metal plating. Stitch used a single claw to pick at the lock until he heard a click. Once the panel was open, a small note gently floated to their feet. Lilo picked it up and stifled a giggle.

“What is it?” Stitch asked as he already began to hack into the computer.

“It says, ‘That means you too, Pleakley.” Lilo said making him laugh too.

It didn’t take long for Stitch to gain access to all the files in Jumba’s ship. Scanning through the roster of experiments, he finally found the numbers “624” and “625.”

“Found them.”

“Good.” Lilo tapped the note back to the inside of the panel. “What does it say about them?”

“Nothing new.” Stitch scanned all the files pertaining to them both and individually. “Their powers. The files of them being put into the machine. Nothing about a check-up.”

“So they were lying?”

“Wait.” Stitch came across one file. It had been entered that day. “Meega found something from today.”

“What is it?”

Stitches hands were a blur on the keyboard. The moment he tried to enter the file he was shut out. A few more attempts and still nothing new had happened. “Meega can’t get in.” He tried to gain access to the block, but the moment he tried to get around it, “Nala Kweesta” appeared on the screen. Stitch’s entire access was blocked and he was shut out permanently for the night.

“No good?” Lilo asked, slightly hopeful that Stitch had one more idea.

“No. Meega got nothing.”

Slightly disappointed that they didn’t get what they were looking for, the two quietly made it back to the house. Stitch looked through the window and saw that Nani was still lying on the couch. However, he could see that she was starting to nod off. They were going to need to hurry before she called up to wish them a good night.

Lilo grabbed onto Stitch as he started to climb up the side of the wall. Their movements stopped once they heard the metal ting of the garbage can below them.

“Hey guys.” David said as he dropped the black bag into the metal can. “Little late for climbing. Don’t ya think?” The two just laughed nervously as they hung there.

“David!” Lilo exclaimed like nothing was going on. “When did you get back?”

“Just now. I saw that the garbage needed to go out.” He said, wiping his hands on his shorts. “Wasn’t expecting to see two spies though. Does Nani know you’re out?”

“No. Do you think you could keep this a secret?”

“Aren’t you two supposed to be grounded?” He looked at them suspended fifteen feet from the ground. “You look anything but grounded right now.”

“Weega just had some…information to get.” Stitch said, not looking at the surfer below them.

“Uh-huh. You know I have to tell Nani.”

“Please don’t.” Lilo pleaded. “Just this one time? We just really needed to get out and stretch.”

David thought about it for a few moments. Lilo really thought he was going to turn her in, until he started laughing. “Alright. But get in quickly. Don’t want Nani to catch you.”

The two quickly made their way back up the house, jumping into their room just in time to tell Nani goodnight. With “operation: info get” a complete failure, Lilo started to erase their plans from the board while Stitch put away their spy clothes.

“That was a bust.” She said as she flopped onto the bed.

“Yeah.” Stitch added while crawling in next to her.

“What was that file called anyway? It must have been really important.”

Stitch just shrugged. “Meega don’t know. It was just labeled ‘gen II.’”

Chapter Text

The next day at school, Mertle did exactly what her new friends told her to. She walked into the school, in her brand new wardrobe, like she owned the place. Eyes were on nothing but her, giving her the satisfaction that she had always wanted. She could hardly contain herself as she walked the halls. It finally overflowed when she ran into her friends at Teresa’s locker.

“So? What do you guys think?” Mertle asked as she struck a pose. She had no regard for the conversation the three were having. They were used to being interrupted, having learned long ago that everything always had to be about Mertle. It used to seem like it was always just about making fun of Lilo. It didn’t occur to them until they got into their teens that that wasn’t the case. Teresa was the only one of the three to not look towards Mertle, she grit her teeth and continued getting ready for the day.

“Wow, Mertle. You look amazing.” Elena looked her up and down, genuinely amazed by her new outfit.

“That looks really expensive.” Yuki added in.

“Yeah, well…” Mertle hesitated. It was really expensive, she didn’t want her friends to know she didn’t have the money for it though. “What’s some money when it comes to looking so good?”

Teresa suddenly slammed her locker, making the other three girls and those around them jump. “Where were you yesterday?” She suddenly snapped.

“What do you mean?”

“You were supposed to be helping me finish our report. So where were you?”

“I-I was with Sam, Lea, and the gang. We were out shopping.”

“Oh? Since when is hanging out with them more important than helping me do our homework?”

Mertle was surprised, Teresa had never taken a tone like this with her before. “They are my friends. Are you actually mad at me?”

“Very.” Elena and Yuki backed away a bit. The school hallway became really quiet as Teresa continued her rant. A few people quickly grabbed their things and left. “Because of you, I had to skip my hula practice. You’re lucky I’m even letting you take credit for this still. Though I don’t know why I am.”

“Look, Teresa. I just forgot.”

“Yeah I’m sure. You know I don’t get to go to hula as often anymore…last night was supposed to be a little break for me.”

“I know, I know.” Mertle was too excited to really see what she had done to hurt Teresa. “Listen, I am in with Sam. Do you know what that means?”

“You’ve finally got everything you’ve wanted.” Teresa said, completely unimpressed.

“Exactly! I can finally get back at Lilo.”

Teresa looked into Mertle’s eyes. They were completely unwavering and excited, she saw no hint of regret in them. “Fine.” Teresa slung her bag over her shoulder. “You owe me.” She walked away before anything more could be said.

“What’s her problem?”

“Well, ever since her dad got sick she’s been taking a lot of his shifts at their store.” Elena said, hoping to finally get through to Mertle.

“And with how little we get to practice during the school year, she gets even less now because of that.” Yuki added.

“None of that’s my fault.” Mertle was going to continue to argue, but an arm around her shoulder pulled her from one world into the next.

“Hey, Mertle.” Sam said with her glaring white smile. “There a problem over here?” She glared to the two girls who quickly ran off. “Huh. Why’d they run off?”

“I don’t know, I think they’re still mad at me.”

“How could anyone be mad at you? Come on. Let’s go meet up with the others before classes start.” While Mertle was being led away by her new friend, she couldn’t help but wonder if what she had done was really wrong. She never cared about hurting others before, but she also never seen her friends so upset with her.

///

During school, Lilo’s thoughts stayed mostly on Angel and Reuben. She was really confused as to why Jumba would have a secret file in his system that not even Stitch could access. She thought for a moment about asking Glitch to enter the system and let them see it, but decided against it. If it was something important to keep hidden, they would just have to wait until their friends told them about it.

Friday had finally come and it was the last day of Lilo and Stitch’s grounding. Each day Lilo had to listen to the teacher’s announcements of their clubs. She was still uninterested in joining any of them. It didn’t seem like many students were interested in the clubs, but the ones that were talked about nothing else. Lilo couldn’t walk down the halls without hearing the same questions.

“What club are you going to join?”

“You should go into sports.”

“We should join this one together.”

Even when the questions weren’t directed at her, it was like she couldn’t escape it. She closed her locker with a loud clang. “Why is everyone so obsessed with clubs?”

“Lilo!” Victoria ran around the corner, stopping just short of running into her friend. “You have to come see this!” She could barely contain her excitement. “Come on! A new club is starting!”

“Not you too, Vic-“Lilo was cut off by her friend pulling her along with her. “I’ve told you I’m not interested.”

“I don’t care, you have to see this.” Victoria held onto Lilo’s hand tightly, her determination wasn’t going to let Lilo go. She suddenly stopped, causing Lilo to bump into her.

“Okay.” Lilo said, looking around. “What is it?”

“This!” Victoria pointed to the bulletin board they had passed a few days ago. Completely covered in posters, Lilo didn’t know exactly what she was pointing at.

“Which?”

“This one!” Victoria pointed directly at the poster, a little annoyed that Lilo didn’t see it before. “A photography club is starting. It’s the first one our school has ever had.”

“Photography? And you want me to join it?” Lilo pulled the poster down to look at it better. “Photography club. Run by Mr. Kawea. All are welcome to join. Meet in room five-one-three.”

“We have to join!” Victoria suddenly exclaimed.

“Why do we have to?” She asked while putting back the poster.

“For a couple of reasons. One, you love to take photos, and two, I know you’ve been wanting something to do ever since you finished giving the experiments a place to belong. You’d love it.”

“Well I don’t think a photo club would exactly be as adventurous as chasing genetic experiments.” The two started on their way home. Lilo had to be back soon or else she would be in more trouble. “But you are right. It would be nice to really dive into something again. The most fun I’ve had is when an experiment needs us.” She traced the ring on her finger, remembering all the times Stitch and her had to go into action again for their ohana.

“It’ll be fun, and we’ll be there together.”

“I thought you were all about math. Why do you suddenly want into photography?” Lilo poked her friend in her arm. “Does it have to do with Keoni?”

“What’s with all the questions?” Victoria said with a nervous laugh. “Can’t I just want to join a club with my friend?”

“You can.” Lilo said opening the front door of the school. The bright light of the sun blinded the two as they stepped out into fresh air. “But I also know your boyfriend has been wanting photo’s to be taken of his skateboarding team.”

Victoria got quiet really fast. Lilo could see her blush quickly cover her freckled face. “T-that’s beside the point.” Victoria stammered out.

“Okay.” Lilo said with a smile.

“Really?”

“Yeah. We can join it together.”

“Thank you so much!” Victoria nearly shouted her thanks from being so excited. She didn’t know what to do so she just hugged her friend. After the moment passed she apologized but Lilo told her it was okay. At the bottom of the stairs they saw Keoni with his friends.

Lilo told her to go on without her. “I’ve only got a little bit of time left till I need to be home anyway. You tell him on your own.”

“Alright. Thanks again.” Without hesitation Victoria ran over to her boyfriend and nearly tackled him into a hug from behind.

Lilo smiled from her friend’s happiness. She was always glad to see her friends happy and in love. It reminded her about meeting up with Angel and Reuben. What could they need to tell us? Along the way home, Lilo said hi to the passing experiments. She hadn’t done a check on them in a while, but she knew Jumba would be notified if anything had happened. It’s not like anything bad has happened lately. And if something did, we would be more than capable of handling it.

Once Lilo got home, she told Stitch about her joining the photography club. He was really excited for her, so much so he went and grabbed all of their photo albums. The two laid in bed together, skimming through the memories they made. It seemed like Lilo had an album for almost everything. Set to the side of the bed were opened albums for their experiment catching days. One of each experiment and their one true place, and one for the adventures themselves. Each photo was set with love and care.

“These are pretty.” Stitch said as he flipped through Lilo’s pictures of the island. “Yuuga are going to be the best in the club.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” She smiled at his compliment. Stitch’s support was always the best. It warmed her heart to know that he stood behind her no matter what. “You know. Depending on when the club meets you might be able to join us.”

“Really?” Stitch closed the album, he always loved going to hula class with Lilo, but he couldn’t go to school with her. “Meega get to spend time with yuuga at school?”

“Yeah. It’ll be just like hula class.”

“But it’s almost summer. Won’t yoga have hula and photo going on at the same time?”

“I will.” Lilo said as she moved onto the next photo album. She paused when she opened it. “These are from before we met…”

Stitch looked at the page she had opened to. It was completely covered in photos of tourists. Before they had met she had taken hundreds of photos of the people who came to the island. They continued to take them even after. It was something that Stitch loved to share with her. She always told him how beautiful they were. The two didn’t have as much time to continue the hobby throughout their experiment hunts. Afterwards Lilo moved up in her hula studies, taking time away from photography again. She always liked when she had time to continue, though.

“These ones are meega’s favorite.” Stitch said with smile.

“Mine too.” Lilo gave Stitch a kiss on his cheek. “Victoria was right. It’ll be good to start again.”

///

The next day, Lilo and Stitch didn’t waste any time in getting ready to visit Angel and Reuben. Lilo put on her red mu’umu’u, wanting to look her best. “How does this look?” She asked Stitch who had just awoken, sitting up on the bed. “Do you think I should put my hair up?” She was playing with her hair, checking different styles as Stitch rubbed his eyes.

“Meega don’t think they’ll care how you look, Lilo.” He said with a tired yawn.

“I know!” She turned to him with a pout which quickly turned into a grin. “I’m not just trying to look good for them you know.” She made her way over to him, never once losing her grin.

Stitch covered his mouth as he yawned again closing his eyes, a stray tear forming in his eye. “Huh?” He opened his eyes as he felt a weight on the bed. Lilo was kneeling over him, wrapping her hand around the back of his head. Her hair created a dark curtain around their faces.

“Do you need some help waking up?” She asked as her lips floated close to his. “Because I’m trying to look my best for you, and I need you awake for that.”

Stitch sat frozen in anticipation. Nothing in the world was as good to him as waking up to a kiss from Lilo. He blinked feverishly, trying his best to focus on her as she got closer and closer. Her lips lightly brushed his before turning into a smile.

“Awake now?” She asked as she pulled away, rubbing behind his ears.

“Lilo!” He complained, wanting nothing more than her kiss. His complaint quickly turned into a coo from her petting him though. “That’s not fair.”

She suddenly pulled him up to her, pressing her lips deeply against his. The two stayed like that, feeling like they were suspended in space for a few minutes. Stitch leaned into her kiss as much as he could, wanting to be as close to her as possible. His weight got the best of Lilo, sending them backwards. Their embrace never ended as they fell off the bed, a loud thud as they hit the floor. Neither one felt or cared about the fall, all that mattered was the lips of the other that they could currently taste.

The moment ended when a call came from below them. “Are you two okay?” It was Pleakley’s voice. Lilo was surprised it wasn’t Nani’s, but she had to answer all the same.

“We’re fine.” She called out, sharing a laugh with Stitch in her arms.

“Are you sure?”

Lilo rolled her eyes in response. She was amazed how much like a mom Pleakley could be.

“Come on, Stitch. We have to get going anyway.”

The two reluctantly took the lift down, finding a rather concerned Pleakley waiting at the bottom. “You two sure you’re not hurt?” He asked instantly. “Nani would kill me if she found out you were hurt while she was out.”

“I’m fine, Pleakley.” The two side stepped around him. Stitch ran ahead while Lilo slowly backed to the living room. “You worry too much. But you do a great job looking out for us.”

“Really?” The thin alien noodle became very bashful at her compliment. “You really think so? See! This is what I keep telling you guys but…hey!” While Pleakley was busy ranting off, Lilo took the opportunity to dash for the door. As soon as he noticed, he ran after the two of them. “Wait what about…” The door slammed. “Nani…” He opened the door to find that the two of them had completely vanished. “How do they keep doing that?”

Laughing the entire way, Lilo and Stitch soon found themselves at Angel and Reuben’s house. No longer needing separate places to live, the two moved into Angel’s single bedroom bungalow. It had a slight colour change since they got together. Rather than all pink it was now pink with yellow trim.

The two didn’t have to wait long at the door after knocking. Reuben quickly answered with his regular goofy smile. “Hey cuz, aloha Lilo.”

“Aloha.” Lilo answered as she was let into the house. The moment she was let in, her eyes darted to the side table that used to hold the picture of Angel and Stitch. Ever since that day Stitch almost attacked Angel, she would look to it whenever she had entered the house.

Stitch could see her eyes dart to the spot, now filled with an empty vase. He gave her hand a light kiss while Reuben asked them how they had been.

“We've been fine.” Stitch told him once his lips left Lilo’s hand. “Lilo is joining a club.”

“Really? That’s exciting!” They could hear the distance in the voice. He was very clearly thinking about something else, trying to hold back his excitement. “Please, sit down. Make yourself at home. Our home is your home!”

“Are you okay?” Lilo asked while Stitch got comfy before she cuddled up next to him on the couch.

“I’m great. Never better. Happier than anything.” Reuben continued digressing about being fine. The couple just laughed nervously, hoping that he was going to be okay.

“So where’s Angel?” Stitch asked to bring Reuben back to his senses. “Yuuga said there was something yuuga needed to tell us?”

“There is! Oh there really is! Um.” His eyes darted to the hallway. “She’ll be here soon. She’s just in the bedroom.” He looked between them. His body was really fidgety, like he couldn’t contain all his energy. “Where’s my manners? I didn’t even ask if you guys wanted anything to eat or drink.” Before they could decline his offer he had already gotten up and was in the kitchen.

“We’re fine, really.” Lilo told him. She could see the fridge open and close a few times. The yellow experiment was clearly not listening. “I guess we’re gonna have something, Stitch.”

In less than a minute Reuben whipped up a couple of sandwiches and drinks. The three ate in silence for a while as they waited around for Angel. Reuben gave up on trying to speak. He was afraid that if he said any more that he would ruin the whole surprise. Lilo and Stitch just glanced at each other every so often. They could tell what the other was thinking. Save us soon, Angel. The awkwardness hung in the air thick. The anxious experiment was about to make some more sandwiches when an angelic voice came from the hall.

“Sorry I made you two wait for me.” Angel said as she put her hand on the wall for a light support.

“Sweet cakes!” Reuben ran to her side, helping her get to a place to sit. “Are you feeling okay?” Neither Lilo nor Stitch had ever heard so much concern in his voice before.

“I’m fine, Reuben. I’m just a little nauseous.” She said as she gave him a light kiss before he sat beside her.

“Are yuuga okay?” Stitch asked.

“Yeah. If you’re not feeling well we could come by another time.” Lilo added with concern.

“No.” Angel shook her head. “I’m fine. Just going to need to get used to this.”

Stitch raised an eyebrow in confusion. Not just from what she said, but by what could cause her to feel like this. The experiments don’t get sick. At the very least, not from viruses.

“Okay.” Reuben finally started, eager to make their announcement. “There was something we wanted to tell you guys.” He grabbed onto his beloved’s hand, squeezing it lightly. He gave her a slight nod and she looked at the two of them.

Angel’s words were simple and precise. Completely stunning the two. They didn’t realize that it was possible, and it could drastically change all of the experiments futures. Not just the experiment’s, but Lilo and Stitch’s as well. Opening up a whole new possibility.

“I’m pregnant.” She told them with the largest smile she could make.

Chapter Text

The room filled with silence. Lilo and Stitch were in a state of shock at what they just heard. Angel and Reuben sat, nervously waiting for anything to come from their two friends. It felt like time had stopped, Lilo suddenly understood why this was kept secret.

Stitch’s hand tightened on Lilo’s. The squeeze sent a shock through her system. Experiments can have kids? She looked over at Stitch, seeing that he looked exactly like how she felt. He can be a father. She felt herself redden at the thought of Stitch being a parent. Could we have kids? Not wanting this to be about them, she quickly brought herself out of her daze.

“This is amazing!” Lilo said with a grand smile. “Congratulations!” She stood up and ran towards the soon to be parents. Being careful with Angel, she hugged them where they sat, rather than lifting them. “I’m so happy for you two.”

“Thanks, Lilo.” Reuben said, returning the hug. “I really have never been happier.”

“Stitch?” Angel’s voice sounded concerned. “Are you okay?”

Lilo let the two go and turned back to her boyfriend on the couch. He was still frozen, his mouth hung slightly agape. His eyes wavered slightly. Over the years, Lilo was able figure out where Stitch was looking, despite his eyes being pure black. He was looking right at her, never once taking them off of her. Thoughts ran through his head. Thoughts of the future, thoughts of what they could actually have. We could be parents.

“Are you okay, Stitch?” Lilo asked, little more than a whisper. Putting her arm around his back.

“Meega okay.” He said with a smile. “Meega really happy!” He turned to his cousins, congratulating profusely. His excitement rivaled even that of Reuben’s.

After the initial excitement finally died down, Reuben grabbed everyone something to drink while they continued to talk. “Thank you.” Lilo said as she took a glass of water from Reuben. “So, how did this happen?” She asked innocently.

Stitch spat out a bit of water as Angel and Reuben froze from the question. Their faces grew increasingly red as Lilo wondered what everyone was getting worked up about. After a few moments she realized what she had said and her face quickly grew red to join the others.

“No,no,no,no. That’s not what I meant.” She explained quickly. “I mean. I didn’t know experiments could have children.”

“We didn’t at first either.” Angel said, laughing off the misunderstanding. “Jumba said that we were meant to be complete living creatures though.” She smiled dreamily as she played with the yellow ring on her finger.

“We went and asked doc about it.” Reuben continued for her. “He told us that by all means we should be able to have children.”

“So when meega ran into you the other day, yuuga really did have a check-up.” Stitch said, realizing that they weren’t lying about it at all.

Angel nodded in reply. “It just wasn’t about any illness.”

After a few moments, Lilo started to ask a barrage of questions. “So, how far along are you? Do you know if it’s a boy or girl yet? What are you going to name it?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Reuben was starting to get overwhelmed. “It’s only been a few weeks. We just found out a week ago even.”

“Awe.” Lilo was disappointed by his answer. She really wanted to know everything now. “So you won’t know for a while yet, huh?”

“Not for a while, no.” Angel started to explain what Jumba had told them. “We’re the first experiments to have a kid. This is going to be a new experience even for Jumba. We don’t really know what’s going to happen or what to expect.” She placed her hand on her stomach, smiling with anticipation. “Just have to wait and see what happens.”

“Think yuuga ready for this Reuben?” Stitch asked with a sly smile.

“I don’t know.” The nervousness in his voice was apparent, but so was the excitement. “I mean, me? A father? I’m not sure I’m ready.”

Angel placed her hand on his shoulder, brushing it slightly. “You’ll be a great father.” She turned his face so she could give him a kiss, making the two visitors in the room slightly uncomfortable.

Is that what Stitch and I look like when we kiss? Lilo thought about all the times she and Stitch had been alone, suddenly she was really glad no one ever saw them. Not that she knew of.

With nothing more to say on the big announcement. The four started to catch up. They hadn’t seen each other in a while and they missed the days when they could spend all their time together. High school had taken away a lot of free time for Lilo. Between hula, school, homework, helping with the wedding, and spending time with Stitch, she had a lot on her plate. The only time anything was dropped was when an experiment needed them for something urgent, or if the Galactic Council needed her. Now she would be adding the photography club on top of everything she already had to deal with.

The two were happy that she was going to start taking pictures again.

“Maybe you could do our family portrait.” Reuben joked.

“I’m not that good. I can take pictures sure, but it won’t be anything great.” She was happy she had so many supportive friends. Before she met Stitch, she didn’t think anyone would accept her for who she was.

“Do you still take photos of the tourists?” Angel asked. “Those were always my favorite!”

“Mine too!” Reuben agreed. “Especially that one guy with the ice cream cone. You have a lot of him don’t you.”

The group laughed and continued to talk, but soon it was time for Lilo and Stitch to head out. Supper would be soon and they didn’t want to be late again. They walked home around the town, rather than through. It would take longer, but they would be able to hold hands without worrying about being seen.

Lilo had kept quiet most of the walk, Stitch didn’t notice because he himself was lost in thought. Both had their minds on children.

“I can’t believe experiments can have kids.” Lilo finally said, breaking the silence they shared. It felt like nature was letting them have their time alone. No animals or insects came around to bother them on their walk. There was a breeze blowing through their hair and fur, but it didn’t make a sound. Stitch liked times like these because he could think a lot more clearly.

“Meega didn’t know. Meega never thought about it before.” He said as he looked at the sky, watching the slow moving clouds.

“I didn’t either.”

The two were thinking the same thing. Both wanted to ask the next question, but were worried too. Eventually, Stitch worked up the courage to say it. “So does that mean we could have kids?”

The silence returned, both of them began to blush as they thought about it. The hand they were holding suddenly felt a lot heavier, bringing a lot more meaning. The two would never fall in love with another person, if they were to ever have children, it would be with each other.

“I guess it does.” Lilo said, looking down at him, not caring to hide her slightly red face.

“Meega always thought I couldn’t.”

“Maybe it would be best to talk to Jumba.”

“That’s a good idea. He would be able to tell us for sure.”

They knew children would be a long ways away for them. They didn’t even know for sure if they would be able to yet. The idea of having a family though, brought great smiles to their faces. It brought a new hope to their future.

Our kids…

\\\

“Where were you?!” Nani’s voice sounded like thunder raining down from the heavens.

“What do you mean?” Lilo shooed away Stitch, letting him go talk to Jumba in his and Pleakley’s room.

“What do I mean?” Lilo had rarely seen Nani so mad, it actually scared her. “We were supposed to meet in town today. Remember?”

Meet in town? Oh no. “Your dress.”

“That’s right.” Nani slumped herself on the couch, resting her arms on her knees. “We scheduled today to go look for wedding dresses. You said you had nothing planned, and I wanted you to be there.”

“I am so sorry, Nani.” Lilo kicked her sandals off and rushed to her sister’s side. “I completely… there’s no excuse. I should have remembered.”

“I waited two hours for you, Lilo. I was so worried.” Lilo could see that Nani’s anger was more from concern. Even if she was older now, she was still her younger sister. “I had no idea where you were.”

“I’m so sorry.” She apologized again, not quite sure what she could say. “Did you pick out a dress?”

“No.” Nani snapped, then took a deep breath. “As soon as you didn’t show I came home. Pleakley told me you went out with Stitch.”

“We went to visit Angel and Reuben. They told us that Angel is pregnant.”

“What?!” A long drawn out scream came from the hall running into the living room. Pleakley ran in, completely terrified. “The little monsters are multiplying? This is awful.” He started to pace around the room. “It was bad enough that we have six hundred and twenty six experiments here.”

“Six hundred twenty four.” Lilo corrected. Evile and six-two-eight were still dehydrated, and Mr. Stenchy and Mrs. Sickly were on his home planet.

“Right, six hundred twenty four.” He slumped over with his brow furrowed, not impressed by being corrected. “What’s going to happen when there’s even more of them? This isn’t good, it’s the complete opposite of good.”

“Nothing’s going to happen, Pleakley.” Lilo said.

“I didn’t even realize they could have children.” Nani pointed out.

“This is the first time it’s happened. I’m really happy for them.”

“Wait. So this is the first? We really don’t know what to expect?” Pleakley was starting to panic even more. He loved the experiments, but he always felt the constant danger of them suddenly going haywire. “We could all die!”

“Nothing bad is going to happen! They are having a child and it’s amazing!” Lilo shouted. The two looked at her, a little taken aback by her outburst. “Sorry. Nani,” she said while turning back to her sister. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go pick out a dress with you tomorrow.”

“Sure, sweetie. I’d love to.” Nani gave Lilo a hug before she ran off.

“What was that about?” Pleakley asked, staring at the doorway to the hall.

“You know Lilo. She loves the experiments.” Nani laid back on the couch, flipping on the TV. “You really need to relax more. You’re always thinking the world’s about to explode or something.”

“You’re right.” He said while grabbing a duster, cleaning always helped him calm down. “What’s the worst that could happen?” He started dusting the top of the book shelf by the door, knocking over a vase that was sitting peacefully on top. Pleakley screamed at the sudden crash of broken ceramic. Nani just covered her face, unable to believe another vase had been broken.

\\\

Lilo went to join Stitch in Jumba’s room. She found the door had been left open a crack. Muffled voices flowed from the room, and she quickly looked back to make sure no one was coming to disturb them. A loud creak came from the door as it opened, the two inside instantly became quiet as they looked to see who was coming in.

Jumba sat on his bed, causing it to bend from his enormous body, while Stitch stood on his desk chair. All six eyes were glued to her as she pressed herself against the door to close it.

“Ah, it is only little girl.” Jumba sighed in relief. “Stitch here was just in the middle of telling me about your visit with six-two-four and six-two-five. I was not knowing they were going to be telling anybody so soon.”

“They seemed really excited.” She said as she took her place beside Stitch. “We’re really excited for them.”

“Yes. And now I am imagining that you two would be liking to know if it be possible for you two to be having with the little ones, yes?”

They both nodded. “How yuuga know?” Stitch asked, taking Lilo’s hand.

“I have known you two for a very long time. As soon as they told me of their suspicions, I knew you two would be wanting to know.”

“So is it possible?” Lilo asked plainly.

“My answer would be being a yes.” Smiles grew wide on Lilo and Stitch’s faces, seeing their excitement, Jumba quickly continued. “However, you both are far too young to be thinking of children.” He looked at them sternly. While on his planet, Kweltikwan, there was no problem with young pregnancy, he knew Earth had a very different look on it.

“I know, I know.” Lilo said, regaining her composure. “But we could actually have a family in the future, right?”

He looked at them for a few moments before answering. “Yes. Mind you, this is the first time this has ever happened in the history of the galaxy! We are not knowing what could happen. But I am not seeing any reason you two could not have a family.”

Lilo was extremely happy. She picked up Stitch and started spinning around in circles. “You hear that, Stitch? We can have a family!”

Stitch felt like he could cry from joy. He had always worried that by being with him, Lilo wouldn’t ever get to be a mother. He thought that by them becoming one, he doomed her to a life without children. To hear that he was wrong about that was too much.

“Our family. Our family.” He repeated over and over. Lilo just nodded, she couldn’t wait for what their future would bring.

“Calm down you two.” Jumba was starting to get nauseous from all their sinning around. “There is still being lots of time before there being little little girls and little Stitch’s running about. Boy, I can’t even imagine what it will be being like.”

The two thanked him before they ran off to their room. Jumba watched them ascend the elevator before he looked back at his laptop computer. He had shut it hastily when Stitch had burst into his room. Opening the laptop, he saw the processing bar begin to fill again. Atop the screen he read “Human-Experiment Child Probability.” There were many factors to consider about the situation Lilo and Stitch were in. Seeing what happens between Angel and Reuben would help determine the lives of all the experiments that were in love.

He took the laptop to his bed to lay down as he waited for the final results. He had processed a few different scenarios, most of which turned out okay. He knew that the two would want answers, and he knew how much family meant to them.

The laptop started to beep, signifying that it was finished. Jumba was slightly scared to look, not wanting to see any bad news. Taking a deep breath, he scrolled down to the results. A large “51% Chance” flashed at him.

“I’m sure it will be fine.” He told himself, slamming the laptop shut. “They have pulled off more amazing things than this before.”

\\\

Angel and Reuben were lying awake in their bed. Their joy couldn’t be described by words. Something they never thought possible would soon be theirs, and Angel could already feel it growing inside her. Reuben rubbed his love’s stomach gently. Eager to meet the new addition to their family. Lilo and Stitch cuddled in bed together, the warm covers creating a sense of comfort for them. Everything in life seemed to be going perfectly for them and their ohana. They were in love, they always would be, and they had a bright future with a family to look forward to.

“Our family.” Lilo said before falling asleep. She didn’t know why, but she found herself thinking back to the dream she and Stitch shared all those years ago. It suddenly felt really important. Unable to think of the details, she just let herself fall into her slumber with the love of her life. Our family.

Chapter Text

Kaua’I didn’t have a lot of choices when it came to bridal shops. Knowing this, Lilo and Nani opted to get a custom dress made. It would be more expensive, but it would look even more amazing. Still needing to see what it would look like, Nani was trying on some of the basic stock dresses the shop had while figuring out what it was that she liked.

Lilo sat patiently while Nani put on another dress. She tried to keep herself preoccupied, but the show room was really plain. The cream walls had nothing on them at all. Aside from the triple full sized mirror, the couch she was sitting on, and the rack of dresses behind her, there was nothing in the room. Always being full of energy, it was hard for Lilo to just sit around and do nothing. This would have been easier if we just went to Morpholomew.

She was really happy to get to do dress shopping with her older sister. However, after not finding anything Nani liked at the first four stores, Lilo suggested to use Stitch’s cousin for the dress making.

“I know it would be easier, Lilo.” Nani had said. “But you’ll find out that sometimes it’s better to have something real. Something to keep and look at later on.”

“You could get it completely custom made though, and it would only take a second.” Lilo told her again, as they walked up to the final shop. “And he’s a part of our 'ohana.”

“I know, sweetie. But he runs a costume shop, not a dress shop.” Lilo couldn’t say anything to that, she knew Nani was right. “When you’re older you’ll understand.”

Lilo sat from her slouching position as she heard her older sister start to come out from the changing room. This will be dress number five. Nani walked in with confidence. The dress she was wearing was a lot fancier compared to the other ones. It had a long trail with floral designs in lace going along it. The top was strapless with a slight v-cut while the bottom formed to her curves.

“Wow, Nani.” Lilo was actually excited for the first time. The other dresses didn’t really do much, and she could see why they would need to get one custom made. “This one looks really good.”

“You think so?” The older sister asked as she looked at it in the mirror. “I’m not so sure about the top. I really liked that other one that had the lace. And the trail is too long.” She pondered it over a little more, trying to think about what she liked. “I do like this material, and how it fits, though.”

“Well.” The consultant began. “We can make any dress fit like this, but the material would take some time to get in.”

“You think it wouldn’t be ready in time?”

“You’re getting married in four months, dear.” The consultant was a really sweet and kind old lady. She was always calling everyone dear and sweetie. “It could be done, but we would be rushed.”

“No. I wouldn’t want that. It needs to be perfect.” Nani looked at it again before asking Lilo’s opinion. “What do you think?”

“Me? You know I’m not that great with dresses. I really like this one. It’s really fancy and elegant. You look like a princess, and I really like the floral.”

“Yeah. This one is a lot more you than me.” She turned away from the mirror and started to head back to the changing room. “I think I’ve almost got it, just a few more.”

Lilo didn’t realize exactly how much ‘a few more’ was. Her sister had tried on another five dresses, taking her time looking at each one. She didn’t know what all the fuss was about, sure she looked feverishly for the dress she would wear at the dance, but this was getting crazy. Discarded dresses littered the once empty floor. Maybe I would have been like this had I not found that dress right away. She thought back to the state she left the changing room in when she was younger. Oh, yeah. Maybe I’m more like Nani than I thought. With a sigh, she got up and made a path from the changing room to the mirror for her sister. On the way back to the couch, a slight wave of white on the dress rack caught her eye. Before she could take a look at it, Nani had come back out.

The dress she wore was a lot plainer, but Nani liked it for it. Lilo was more into the elegant and flashy, while she preferred the normal. The sisters were really opposites at times. This dress helped Nani make her decision though, and she described the dress she was imagining to her consultant. Even Lilo couldn’t wait to see what the finished dress looked like, but was also happy to finally get going.

Taking a final look at the room while Nani changed, the white dress on the rack caught her eye again. Feeling drawn to it, she slowly drifted towards it. With a slight hesitation, she pulled the dress off of the rack and felt like it had a small glow to it. The fabric felt like smooth silk, but she could tell it wasn’t. There was nothing spectacular to its design, yet she felt like it called to her. Her eyes darted back to the changing room, wondering how much longer until Nani came out. Deciding that she had time, she stood in front of the mirror and held the dress up to herself to see what it would look like on her.

Lilo felt the breath taken from her. Never had a plain simple dress taken her aback so much. She never imagined herself having a wedding before, but seeing this dress made her instantly want one. She was so caught up in looking at herself, she didn’t realize Nani had come back.

“You look beautiful.” Nani said, coming up behind her. Lilo could see slight tears in Nani’s eyes. “Still a long way to go, but I’m already starting to tear up at the idea of you getting married.”

Lilo continued to look at herself in the mirror, wondering if she and Stitch would ever get married. “I’m not sure. I’ve never really thought about it before.”

The old woman came out of the changing area and saw the two looking at Lilo in the mirror. “Is someone else hearing wedding bells too?”

“Oh no.” Lilo said a little flushed while pulling the dress away. “I’m way too young, I’m still only fifteen.”

“But isn’t this an engagement ring you’re wearing?” She asked while taking Lilo’s hand into hers to examine the blue ring on Lilo’s finger. “Mind you, I’ve never seen a ring like that before. And trust me, I’ve seen a lot of rings in my day.”

“Oh no, I got this ring somewhere else.”

“Would you mind if I take a look at it?” The lady asked, starting to tug on the ring.

Lilo felt the pull reflective panic took over. She quickly brought her hand out of the woman’s light grip. “No! Sorry. I can’t let you do that.”

“Lilo!” Nani was surprised at Lilo’s sudden rudeness. Lilo just walked away with the dress and put it back on the rack before leaving the shop. “I am so sorry, I have no idea what just came over her.”

“It’s fine.” The woman said with a wrinkled smile. “She’s very protective of that ring. It must be very important to her.”

“Yeah. It must be.” Nani quickly finished up the details with the lady, but her mind stayed on her sister’s outburst. Why would Lilo do that over a ring from the Council?

On the drive home, Lilo was scolded by Nani about the way she acted in the shop. Lilo tried to come up with an excuse as to why she couldn’t let the lady see her ring, but nothing she came up with was good enough. She had been so shocked and worried about what Stitch would have done had the ring come off. David had been spending time with Stitch while the girls were out, and there would be no way for him not to notice Stitch suddenly collapsing from the shock. On top of what Stitch were to think when it had happened. I made the best decision I could. It wouldn’t be worth hurting Stitch. She looked to Nani who kept an eye on the road without a word. You’ll understand soon. Just not yet. When the two got home, Lilo quickly grabbed Stitch and ran off, leaving Nani behind with David.

“So? How’d it go?” He asked, knowing he wouldn’t be getting too many details.

“It went great. The dress should be reading for fitting in a couple weeks.” Despite the happy news, David saw the slight concern on Nani’s face.

“Something the matter, Nani?”

Nani explained to David about what happened in the shop. How everything was fine until the woman started to look at Lilo’s ring. She sat on the couch and cuddled into David as she finished explaining what had happened.

“Where did she get that ring again?” David asked once Nani finished explaining.

“She got it from the United Galactic Federation.” She told him. “Remember that time a few years ago when she and Stitch just disappeared? Jumba told me that they had an emergency. When Lilo got back she told me they had a sudden meeting and that’s where she got it.”

“Well if that’s the case, I can see why she’d be so protective.” He said as he started to rub Nani’s shoulder.

“Yeah.” She smiled from the touch, David always managed to calm her down no matter what happened. “Now that I think about it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her take it off.” She started to play with the ring on her finger. “I mean, even I take off my engagement ring once and a while.”

“You take it off?” David sounded completely shocked, feigning being hurt. “Just kidding.” He said as she rolled her eyes. “You know how important all the experiments and aliens are to her.”

“I know. I know. It’s understandable.” She admitted, more to herself than to David. It just feels like something more.

Having spent so long apart. Lilo and Stitch spent some alone time in their room, lying in bed together as they did most nights. Lilo told him all that had happened while she was gone, hesitating slightly at the part where her ring almost got taken off. Stitch comforted her, telling her that it would have been okay. That he would have been okay. The two had surprisingly little close calls when it had come to their rings. After the initial time Lilo had taken hers off, the two rings never once left their fingers. As far as they knew, none of the other experiments had either. Stitch tried to explain what it had felt like but couldn’t do a good job of it. At best, he said it was like a sudden electric shock, with the combined feeling of weakness. It truly felt like his heart had been broken. It was something he never wanted to feel again, and wouldn’t wish on his greatest enemies.

“So yuuga didn’t try on any dresses?” He asked once he felt Lilo had truly calmed down.

“Oh course not, silly.” She said as she pushed him lightly. “It was Nani’s day. Although…” She told him about the dress she felt that was calling to her, and how she felt when she saw it against her. “I don’t know what to say, it was like magic.”

Stitch smiled from ear to ear, happy that she got to experience something like that. “Meega never thought about marriage before.”

“Me neither. I never really thought that we would be able to.”

“Not on Earth.” Stitch said passively, looking towards the ceiling.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, on Earth we probably couldn’t. In space there are no laws against interspecies marriage.”

“So we could get married in space?”

“Ih.”

The two lay in silence as Lilo thought about what Stitch had just said. It had been a busy weekend of new discoveries for them. First they found out they could have a family, and now thoughts of marriage. Lilo wanted her entire life to be spent with Stitch, she was happy she would be able to continue it just like everyone else did. For now though, she smiled and pulled herself as close to Stitch as she could. For now they were young and in love.

“No more talking about the future.” She said with a happy sigh. “We need to enjoy the present just as much as the past.”

The next morning, Lilo was determined to get to school early. She had to meet up with Victoria to enter the photography club. Already halfway out the door, Lilo was stopped by her older sister.

“Hey, Lilo.” Nani said, eyeing the ring on Lilo’s finger again. “You’d tell me if there was anything going on right?”

Lilo felt guilty for a moment, knowing she was about to lie to her sister again. “Of course. I’d tell you anything. You’re my big sister. Why?” She sounded calm, but inside she was panicking.

“No reason.” Said Nani. “Just wanted to let you know you could tell me if something was bothering you. Or anything.”

“I know.” Lilo hugged her older sister, happy she had someone who looked out for her like she did. “I’m meeting up with Victoria. I really need to get going.”

“Alright. Have a good day.”

“You too!” As soon as she was out of sight, Lilo reached the school as quickly as she could. She met Victoria at the front doors, not surprised that her friend hadn’t gone in yet. The poster they had found didn’t say what day to meet, so Victoria called Lilo the previous day to meet up first thing in the morning.

“Do you think we’re too early?” Her brown haired friend asked as they wandered the empty halls. “Boy I’m nervous. Are you nervous? Of course you’re not nervous.”

“It’ll be fine.” Lilo told her, trying her best to calm her friend down. It didn’t take long for them to reach the room. Lilo could hear voices coming from behind the door. There wasn’t a lot, but enough for her to know they were in the right place. “You ready?”

Victoria nodded slightly. All of her previous courage had drained. She wasn’t much of a photographer at all, she was hoping to learn so she could help out Keoni. Now she stood in front of a door that contained people who were completely passionate about the hobby.

Noticing that Victoria wasn’t moving, Lilo stepped forward and turned the doorknob. The moment the door started to swing open, the voices stopped. Lilo grabbed Victoria’s hand and pulled her into the classroom with her. The few people that were in the room all kept their gaze on Lilo and Victoria.

The classroom looked like all the other classrooms, except that the row of desks pressed up against the window each had its own computer. There was also a door near the teacher’s desk in the corner. It looked like a supply closet, but the window on it was completely covered in newspaper.

There were two students sitting beside each other sharing a single computer, they had turned around in their chairs to look at the two that had entered the room. Lilo didn’t recognize them. One boy and one girl, they looked like they could be twins. They both had short dirty blonde hair, the boys was cut to the right and the girls to the left. Their thin freckle covered noses reminded Lilo of a mouse, but their stunning crystal blue eyes were something all their own.

At the other end of the room, a young boy Lilo had seen around school a few times slouched in a chair reading a magazine. He didn’t turn away from it, but Lilo wouldn’t be able to tell if he had. His straggly long black hair covered his face entirely. Finally, Mr. Kawea stood in the middle of the room, holding an expensive camera. He had just finished talking to a preppy boy that stood in front of him. The thin, short haired boy looked at the two shyly, adverting his gaze the moment he saw Lilo looking at him. While Mr. Kawea had a huge grin, like the most amazing thing had happened by the two simply walking in.

Chapter Text

After a few moments of awkward silence, Mr. Kawea handed the preppy boy the camera before making a b-line for the two girls. He immediately grabbed their hands and started shaking them profusely.

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you.” He began repeating.

“Th-th-thanks for what?” Lilo asked, feeling her entire body being shaken.

He stopped with a slight look of worry on his face. “You two are joining the club right?”

“Yeah.” Victoria said, bringing back the joy in Mr. Kawea’s young and eager face.

“Then thank you again.” He replied with giant smile. “You see, a club needs at least six students and a teacher to officially run. With you two we now have six students. I was really worried that we wouldn’t be able to stay.”

“Well then, you’re welcome.” Lilo told him, genuinely glad that they were going to get to join the club. Before, she wasn’t interested in any, but after thinking about it for a while, she was really glad to be in one with Victoria.

After waiting a few more minutes, to see if anyone else showed up, Mr. Kawea stood at the front of the classroom. He cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention, he couldn’t tell if the boy with the long black hair was looking at him, but he started anyway.

“Okay, everyone. Welcome to the Photography Club. I am the instructor, Mr. Kawea. I am a social teacher here, but I have loved photography since I was a child and studied it greatly in university. I know it’s early, but do not worry, you’re not expected to come every single day. Except I would like everyone to show up on Mondays and Wednesdays. As well, once summer vacation starts I would like to start meeting later on in the day, but we’ll get into that later.” He paused, seeing if there would be any response or questions yet. When none came, he continued. “As you can see, we are outfitted to do both analog and digital mediums. All these computers are capable of editing and handling large photo files, while we also have a dark room that’s just to my left. Now, with that out of the way, let’s do some introductions.”

Seeing that no one was volunteering to start, Mr. Kawea pointed to the boy reading the magazine. With a reluctant sigh, the boy stood. “I’m Devon, and I’m in eleventh grade.” Now that he was standing, Lilo could see that his baggy jacket made him look a lot bigger than he actually was. “I’m here because the principal told me I needed some extra credit to pass this year.” After his announcement, he sat back down without saying another word.

“Oookay.” Mr. Kawea said with a slight laugh. “We’re glad you’re here all the same.”

Next Victoria made her introduction. She mentioned not knowing a lot about photography and that she was hoping she’d get to learn about it. To which Mr. Kawea reassured her that he would teach her everything she needed to know. Next were the twins, rather than introducing themselves one at a time, they stood together.

“I’m Keahi, but everyone calls me Kea.” Said the boy.

“And I’m Kelani, but please call me Kel.” The girl quickly stated.

Both then continued in unison. “We just recently got into photography and absolutely love it.”

“I work in digital.” Kea added. “While I like analog.” Kel interrupted.

“Well I’m glad you’re here.” The teacher said with his usual smile. “So, if we put you together, would you be ‘keahilani;’ heaven’s fire?”

“That’s why we go by Kea and Kel.” The twins said together as they sat down, pouting.

With only herself and the preppy boy left, Lilo decided it was her turn to introduce herself. She explained about how she used to take a lot of photos, but over time had less and less opportunities to do so. After she finished her introduction, Kel gasped loudly.

“Wait, aren’t you the girl that hangs around with all those weird animals?” The mousy girl’s voice got higher pitch in excitement.

“Yeah you’re right.” Her brother added. “Hey, what’s up with that?”

“I like animals.” Lilo simply stated, not turning around to look at them, completely ignoring the fact that they called her ohana weird.

The twins continued to harass and ask questions until the preppy boy that sat in front of Lilo and Victoria bolted up. His designer aqua over shirt slowly drifted back down around him as the two finally quieted down. “My name is Daniel and I like animals too.” Lilo titled her head in confusion as to why he would suddenly stick up for her like that. His lightly tanned skin was hiding the slight redness of his face as he then continued his introduction. “My mother owns a tech shop in town. I quickly fell in love with the cameras when I was little. So photography has basically been my life. I’m just really happy to have a club to share the fun of it with, and I hope we can all get along.”

Lilo was surprised by his attitude. She started to recognize him after he sat down. She always saw him hanging around with the richer kids that always acted ‘too good’ for the rest of the school. Not in the same way that Mertle or Sam did though. She could hear whispers coming from behind her as Kea and Kel shared a joke about Daniel. She turned around to look at them but only met their vacant stares.

Once introductions were over, the group could hear the sound of students beginning to fill the halls.

“Is it that time already?” Mr. Kawea asked while looking at his watch. “Okay. I’d like it if you all would bring your favorite photo that you have taken yourself. They don’t have to be the best, just your favorite. We will talk about them on Wednesday.”

Lilo and Victoria were the first ones out of the classroom. Lilo didn’t want to be late for Mrs. Carnes class again, and Victoria wanted to talk until she reached her classroom.

“Quite the group, huh?” Victoria said with a giggle.

“Yeah. I wonder what was up with that Daniel guy.” Lilo liked that he stood up for her, but she didn’t feel like she really needed it.

“I don’t know. Maybe he just doesn’t like those two.”

“Maybe.”

Lilo’s day of surprises didn’t end with the photo club though. Not once through Mrs. Carnes class did she get asked a question. She didn’t even get harassed or scolded for not having finished her homework again. Every time her teacher caught Lilo’s eyes, she would instantly look away. It was like a completely different environment. Did I scare her by jumping out of the window? She didn’t think of the consequences at the time, but if she was a normal teenager that jump should have hurt her at least a little. I should probably tone things back a bit. Thankfully, the rest of the school day went by normally. At lunch, Lilo and Victoria told Keoni about their morning club. He said that he had a class with the twins, and that they seemed to like bugging people, but they weren’t that bad once you got to know them.

After school had ended, Lilo ran into Mr. Kawea as she made her way out of the building. She asked him if she would be allowed to bring Stitch to the club.

“Well. It’s against school rules to let animals into the building.” He saw the sad look on her face, making him feel slightly guilty. “But… If you can promise he’ll behave then I won’t tell anyone.”

Lilo thanked him greatly before quickly running off. She wanted to get home as soon as she could to tell Stitch the news, but was stopped as she heard a crash followed by laughter. Following the sound, she came across Sam’s gang standing over a couple freshmen whose books had flown everywhere. It looked like the most stereotypical bullying that Lilo had ever seen.

Squeezing her way through the sea of students, she helped clean up the books and papers as one of the boys started helping himself up. She gave the other boy his things to which he gave a silent nod of thanks, fixing his glasses, they both took off at a run, barely squeezing through the crowd.

“Oh look, its shorty again.” Sam’s voice sounded unamused, but spiteful tone was hidden behind it. “Or should I can you, Weirdlo?”

“Weirdlo?” Lilo whispered to herself. She got up off of the floor to look at the group of girls. “Where’d you hear that? The only one that’s every called me that was-“Before she finished her sentence, her longtime rival stepped from between Abby and Jen. “Mertle…”

“I see you’re being a goody-goody as always.” Mertle looked right at home with Sam’s group.

“I always knew you had it out for me.” Lilo said, readjusting her backpack on her shoulder. “I didn’t know you were just a straight up bully though.”

Mertle was about to make another snide remark when Sam’s arm went around her shoulder. “Bully? What are you talking about? Those two just tripped. That’s all. We were going to help them up. Isn’t that right girls?” The group of four behind her just nodded in response.

“Whatever.” Lilo said, deciding it was best to ignore them. She walked past them, feeling the glares on her back.

Mertle looked back to where the two had run off. Over the heads of students, she was able to see her friends there. None of them would look her in the eye. What’s up with them? She was about to go talk to them when she was pulled away by Sam.

“Come on, girls.” She commanded, the sea of students parting for them to walk freely.

“I actually have to get going.” Mertle stated, wanting to see why her friends wouldn’t look at her. “Can I catch up with you later?”

“What?” Sam looked confused, but then saw the girls Mertle hung out with start to walk away. “Sure. No problem.” Her smile made Mertle feel like she really belonged there, but it also sent chills down her spine.

Sam and Lea watched Mertle as she met up with her friends. Abby and Jen cornered a girl against her locker to get some homework off of her.

“So, what do you think?” Lea asked. “Do we cut her out?”

“No.” Sam said with her confidence intact. “We need her to get to Lilo. She adores us, she’ll do what we want.”

“Her friends might get in the way.”

“Yeah.” Sam turned around, signaling for the other two to follow them. “We’ll just need to remind her who her friends are now.”

Lilo couldn’t get home fast enough. The incident with Sam left a sour taste in her mouth and she needed to brush it off. Thankfully, Stitch was waiting for her when she got home. Her bag didn’t even reach the floor before she was tackled into their bed. She didn’t even bother to make it in the mornings anymore, it would become a mess instantly after they reunited from any time apart. The two rolled around in the tangle of covers, laughing together.

In response for the tackle, Lilo started to tickle Stitch’s sides. His ears twitched as he realized what was happening. He quickly tried to struggle free, but Lilo already got a grip on him. Stitch’s legs were caught in the blanket, while Lilo kneeled over him to keep him in place.

“You asked for this.” She said with an evil grin. Her fingers quickly ran all over Stitch’s sensitive parts. He tried to pull her off of him in his fits of laughter, but she was too quick. “You know how to end this.”

Stitch couldn’t keep a straight face going long enough to make a coherent reply.

“No…meega…” He continued to struggle, not wanting to give in. He had planned to do the same to her, but she started before he could. “Meega…get…out…” Lilo was holding his whole body in place with her own. He had nowhere to move. All he could do was wiggle and laugh at her touch.

“This can end.” Lilo told him in a sing song voice. “Just say the magic words.”

The tickle fight continued. Stitch was absolutely adamant to not give in. Deciding that he couldn’t overpower her without hurting her at this point, he would take a different approach. Still able to move his arms, he reached around Lilo’s back. She tensed up, thinking he was about to tickle her. What she didn’t expect was his hands lightly massaging up and down her sides. Sending shivers down her spine, Lilo tried to keep her focus away from his gentle touch.

“I know what you’re doing…” She said lightly. “It’s not going to work.”

Stitch still couldn’t stop laughing. However, the tickling had lightened slightly. “We'll see.”

The two made a competition out of everything. Both tried to focus on what they were doing while the love of their lives continued. Stitch was having the harder time, slight spasms making him take his hands off of Lilo every time she reached a particularly sensitive spot. Even though she felt like she was winning, Lilo wished Stitch would stop. Over the few years, Stitch had discovered every spot that Lilo enjoyed. In this battle to make the other give up, he was using everything he had at his disposal. The giggling ruined any romantic mood, but the feeling of his hands on her still drove her wild. Each touch was like a spark. Going up and down her sides, then across her back. Lilo was having more and more trouble keeping her concentration. After a long day at school, Stitch was exactly what she needed to calm down.

The tickling quickly came to a stop as Lilo let down her guard. She couldn’t help but smile and hold onto Stitch as he let his second pair of hands come out and join in her massage. Stitch had won, she didn’t care about tickling him anymore. All Lilo cared about was being close to him.

“Okay, you win.” She said with a sigh. “You can stop.”

“No.” Stitch whispered, finally able to breath properly again. “Yuuga deserve this.” He continued his light massage, enjoying the smile that came across her lips. Nothing in the world pleased him more than making Lilo happy. With how busy their lives were, the moments alone where they could enjoy sweet gestures became a thing to cherish. Running his hands down her spine, Stitch felt a jolt as she suddenly squeezed onto him.

Lilo giggled and gave his cheek a kiss. She looked into his tender eyes, drawn into the dark pools. His hands had stopped, but she didn’t care. She brought her hands up to his face to cup it as she brought him into a passion filled kiss. They began to roll around in the bed, no longer in a tickle war, but in a fit of love. Both wanted to be on top as they fulfilled the fire in their hearts.

“By. The. Way.” Lilo said between kisses.

“Yeah?” Stitch replied as he took a breath.

“You can come. To the club. With me.” Stitch didn’t reply, but Lilo could feel his lips form a smile against hers.

The two continued their loving embrace until they were called for dinner. They talked about their day and everyone was excited that Lilo was taking photos again. Nani asked that she try to steer clear of taking pictures of strangers, but everyone agreed that those were their favorites. After some arguing, Nani gave up. The whole time, she couldn’t help but look at the ring on her little sister’s finger. It was something she had grown accustomed to seeing, but it kept reminding her about Lilo’s outburst at the dress shop. She knew that if anything was happening, Lilo would tell her, so she decided to forget about the whole thing.

Nani joined in the conversation and laughter. For the first time in what felt like forever, the family was having a nice family dinner together.

Meanwhile, in a small shop in town. A small aqua coloured experiment started to feel something. It didn’t know what it was, but it felt like something was changing inside of them. Their mind filled with images of the black and white experiment they fell deeply in love with. No matter what the small experiment did, they couldn’t stop thinking about their boojiboo. Trying to be good, they suppressed the desire to break out of the store and rush to the side of the one they loved.

Chapter Text

Over the next few weeks, things seemed to have quieted down. Lilo’s science and gym teacher’s quit asking her to join their clubs once she joined Mr. Kawea’s, much to her delight. The photography club had also taken a great liking to Stitch. Kea and Kel could barely keep their eyes and hands off of him. Lilo didn’t understand why they had such an interest in the experiments, but didn’t think it odd since all of the experiments attracted attention. Stitch patiently dealt with their prodding. He knew he needed to be good for Lilo, or else they would get into trouble. Lilo giggled at his discomfort, but quickly stopped once she saw his glare.

“What is he?” Kel asked, lifting up one of his lips to see his teeth.

“A dog? No,” Kea continued to look around Stitch to examine every inch, “It’s more like a koala. A koala dog?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Kel said, slapping her brother in the back of the head. “There’s no such thing. He’s also too big to be a koala.”

“Where did he come from?” the twins asked Lilo together.

Lilo thought it over for a moment.

“He came from outer space,” she said truthfully. The twins stared at her for a second, then all three burst out laughing. No one ever believes me. Lilo found that Keoni was right. While they both come off as slightly abrasive, and a tad rude, once you got to know them they were fine.

Victoria was starting to get the hang of things as well, and was excited to ask Keoni if she could do his teams photos. Unfortunately, Devon continued to be a quiet mystery. For someone who claimed to only join for easy extra credit, he showed up nearly every single day. However, he would never talk. He only continue to read his photography magazines. Stitch enjoyed spending time with Lilo at the club, it reminded him of the times when they had hula practice almost every day. He was close to being discovered by passing teachers a few times, but the other club members helped keep him hidden in every situation. They started to become a really good team.

While photography club was becoming more and more fun for Lilo, the few hula classes did not. Myrtle would never stop talking about her new friends, or about how amazing it was to hang out with Sam. Teresa, Elena, and Yuki were all starting to get sick of it. She barely spent any time with them anymore. Whenever she did, all she would continue to talk about was Sam anyway. It felt like they were losing their friend, and it seemed like it was changing her.

The trio always thought that Myrtle was starting to grow out of her spiteful ways. Slowly, but surely. Now it was coming back in full. It wasn’t even just towards Lilo. They had seen her being mean to anyone that crossed her path in school. To them, it was always one thing to call someone names, or exclude them from things. It was another to actually torment and ridicule someone, especially in high school. They weren’t kids anymore, and Myrtle was starting to act like one more and more.

“Myrtle!” Teresa shouted while walking out of their dance hall. “Could you stop talking about them for one second?”

“What?” Myrtle asked, sounding confused. “I’m trying to help you. You really should try this conditioner Sam showed me. It’ll totally straighten out your hair.”

Teresa ran her hand through her long curly hair. “I like my hair.”

“But it would be so much better…”

“Give it a rest,” Yuki interrupted. “You know, Myrtle. Ever since you’ve been hanging out with them you’ve been a lot ruder.”

“Yeah. You haven’t been listening to anything we’ve been saying,” said Elena. “We keep telling you we don’t care about what Sam said. Or Lea said. Or what Abby and Jen did.”

“But you should. They’re my friends.”

“Really?” Yuki asked. “Do friends make you hurt others?” While she was talking about the things Myrtle was doing now, she couldn’t help but think about the past. She still remembered being forced to try to hurt Lilo at the dance, still regretting it.

“What do you mean? I haven’t done anything I haven’t done before,” she said a little too proudly.

“But it’s always been to Lilo. Despite what we did to her she always stayed our friend.”

“Speak for yourself.” Myrtle rolled her eyes. “Her? My friend? Never. Not after what she did to me. Do you know how long it took to get that stuff out of my hair?”

“That was entirely your fault,” Yuki told her.

“Shut up, Yuki!”

“She has a point,” said Teresa. “The way you’ve been bullying basically everyone. Even that’s below you. You’ve always been about getting at Lilo. What does taking homework, money, bags, and jackets… what does any of it have to do with Lilo?”

“It’s just some fun,” Myrtle was getting defensive.

“No. It’s not.” Teresa had always been on Myrtle’s side, but she couldn’t stand for behavior like this. “You shouldn’t hang out with them anymore.”

“Oh. I see how it is.” She looked to the three of them, pulling her new designer bag up over her shoulder. “You’re all jealous.”

“What?” the three exclaimed at the same time.

“Yeah. Sam told me this would happen. Why can’t you just be happy for me?”

“We can,” said Elena. “But what you’re doing is hurting others.”

Myrtle didn’t say anything. Her silence spoke volumes to her friends. Instead of saying anymore, she started to walk away, barely brushing past Teresa. After all their years together, Myrtle was actually turning her back on her friends. She was their leader, and always stood up for them. Now they could only watch her as she walked a path they couldn’t follow.

“Don’t forget who your real friends are!” Yuki shouted, in one last effort to get the Myrtle they knew back.

Myrtle stopped for a moment, contemplating her actions. She felt her bag weighing her down, keeping her in place. She felt like everything she had done led to that point. Finally needing to decide between her friends, or getting back at Lilo. She knew the choice that Gigi would want her to make. It was because of her dog that she tried to cut back on tormenting Lilo after the incident. No matter what, she just couldn’t let go, couldn’t get the laughs out of her head. She could try to forget all of it, and go back to her friends.

Lilo, Stitch, and Victoria watched from the crack of the door. They had heard everything that happened between the four girls. Lilo thought something was going on, she at least didn’t think Myrtle spending time with the biggest bullies in school was a good thing. Victoria hoped that they would see Myrtle turn back, but to none of their surprise, she didn’t. They watched as Myrtle walked away and out of sight. Opening the door, the trio looked towards them, disappointment filling their eyes. No words of comfort could be said. They had just watched their friend walk away from them, for what could be for good.

When she had heard what happened, Sam had trouble keeping back a smile. What she had wanted finally occurred. Now that her friends were out of the way, she would have Myrtle entirely to herself. And with her help, they could finally get at Lilo. Only Myrtle could do it, no one that disliked Lilo knew her well enough to really get at her weakness. Meanwhile, Myrtle was happy to be accepted by Sam and her group. She felt guilty for leaving her friends, but she felt like she found a place she truly belonged.

\\\

Lilo could feel the oncoming pressure of the summer. Only one more month remained until she had to deal with final exams once again. She didn’t mind taking tests, but they always took up so much time, and held so much weight in school. It always felt like the end of the world when finals started to roll around. To top it off, Nani’s wedding was now only a few months away. The entire family was starting to feel the excitement as each day passed.

“Okay,” Nani said for the fifth time as she looked at her binder full of plans. “Okay.”

“Nani. You’re doing it again,” David said as he placed down a cup of coffee at the table for her.

“Sorry.” She gave a weak smile, trying her best to keep herself calm as she ran through everything again.

“Everything’s going to be alright. What is it this time?”

Nani took a sip of the coffee, relishing in its warmth. “It’s just... I’ve been looking at the photos we took of the venue.”

“Didn’t you love it? You picked it out yourself.” He placed his hand on the back of her chair, peering over her shoulder.

“I did.” She thought about it for another moment. “I do. I really do.” She shuffled through the pictures in her hands. The nice wide open cliff side created a nice backdrop for a beach wedding. They had decided to get married in the ocean. Almost their entire lives revolved around the water, so they felt it was fitting.

“Did you want a different beach?” David was asking questions, but he knew she needed to figure things out for herself. His input wasn’t going to help.

“No.” She said confidently. “This will be perfect. I’m just over thinking things again.” David’s hand moved to her shoulder which she happily grabbed with her own. She knew everything was going to be amazing, she always had a knack for worrying over nothing. Always the overprotective worrier of the family. David’s comforting hand and smile always managed to calm her down. She didn’t need it to be perfect, she just wanted a completely normal wedding with her friends and family there with her. The two shared a sweet moment together, as David brought his lips down upon Nani’s head.

“It’s going to be amazing,” he said in a light whisper.

“I know.”

The moment was broken by a shriek as Pleakley ran in, dropping papers all over. “This is going to be a disaster!” He bumped into the table, almost knocking over Nani’s coffee which she quickly grabbed. He continued to run around the room muttering how everything would be ruined. Dropping papers just as quickly as he was picking them up.

“Calm down, Pleakley.” Nani grabbed the alien’s arm, making him drop everything he was holding.

David helped picked everything up for him, noticing that they were all pictures of the stars.

“What are these?” he asked in bewilderment.

“What are these? What are these?” Pleakley couldn’t help but chuckle at David’s uneducated wonder. “These, David, are star charts. I’ve had them mapped out all the way until the big day. And I can tell you, this is a disaster!” he shouted the last word, losing his cool again.

“Why is it a disaster?” Nani started rubbing her temples.

“You see this?” he asked as he pointed to a cluster of stars in one of the photos.

“Uh-huh.”

“This is the Trean star cluster. When all the stars align in a certain way, it foretells disaster.” Pleakley quickly grabbed a nearby calculator, and began punching in numbers. “Now, I’ve done my calculations. And if I’m right, and I always am, these stars will align in…” He pauses with a puzzled look on his face. “Huh, that’s not right.” The calculator was quickly thrown away, making a thud against the wall. “Anyway. The stars are going to align on your wedding day. I know it. You can’t have it on that day.”

Nani and David looked at each other. Both were weighing the alien’s words. Most of the time, Pleakley spoke complete nonsense, but his opinions still held some value. They gave a half smile while shaking their heads.

“The date has been set, Pleakley,” David told him as he began pushing him out of the room. “But we will keep it in mind.”

“Fine! But don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Pleakley took his papers and stomped off, upset that he was being ignored again.

Comforting silence quickly filled the kitchen. Despite meaning well, Pleakley seldom caused anything but worry. The minutes after his outbursts were much more welcome than when he would barge in.

Nani closed the binder as she stood from the table. Her hand rested on the cover for a moment. She could feel the time and effort put in the planning radiating from it. It gave her comfort, but she also felt scared. I can’t believe it’s finally happening. She felt a flutter in her stomach as David’s strong arms wrapped around her. He didn’t speak a word, but he didn’t have to. She could feel everything she needed from his embrace. His lips met the nook of her neck and all her worries melted away. She turned around in his arms, staring into his warm loving eyes.

“How did I get so lucky to have you?” Nani let herself rest against him, her head on his shoulder.

“I’m the lucky one,” he said softly. “I’ve always been the lucky one.”

Lilo could see the two hug from the couch in the living room. She smiled, knowing that her sister really found someone who loved her. Always knowing that Nani and David were meant to be together, she was really happy to finally see the two getting married. It was a hard fought battle on David’s part. He knew Nani had a lot to deal with as she took care of Lilo, but he never gave up on her. She felt a warmth encompass her hand, followed by a tug.

“Stitch!” Lilo whispered as she fell into her blue companions arms.

“What?” he asked, teasing her playfully. Her light protests didn’t stop his lips from finding their way around her.

“What if they see?”

“They’re not looking.”

The smile he gave when he started to kiss her was one she had grown accustomed to over the years. It wasn’t his usual toothy grin, or even his caring smile that melt the world around her. It was a smile that told Lilo he was in love with what he was doing, and in love with her. He couldn’t love anyone else, and he planned on showing it.

Lilo continued to put up her small resistance, but couldn’t help herself. She loved his embrace too much. Sneaking a peek back towards the kitchen, she saw that neither one was looking towards them. She could hear Pleakley still stomping around his room, complaining to Jumba about Nani and David ignoring his warning. She leaned herself back and grabbed the fur on his chest. With great force she pulled him up into her, locking her lips to his instantly. Their eyes fluttered closed as they stole a moment together, completely in the open. Few times were shared where they let themselves be bold enough to show their love with family nearby, but it always excited them. Both couples continued their embrace, oblivious to everything that was happening around them. For different reasons, both needed their moment of bliss as their chaotic lives continued to race around them. Finally hearing movement from the kitchen, Lilo and Stitch broke apart, faces red and gasping for breath.

\\\

Meanwhile, the main computer monitor in Jumba’s lab flashed red. The warning signal for experiments entering the final programming stage began to sound. After a second, the warning ended and then restarted. This cycle continued throughout the night. The numbers two-eight-two and four-three-four appeared along with the warning, before completely disappearing from record. Even the information on the activated experiments vanished from sight. A complex system created by Jumba, he never imagined anything could tamper or hinder it once it had been set. Warning after warning was let out every night for over a month, going completely unnoticed. It was becoming more frequent as time passed, but would end just as quickly as it started. With so much strain, the system completely shut down. The red warning glow that filled the room cut, sending the lab back into complete darkness.

Chapter Text

Click ran around the small shop that he called home. It was still early, but the owner always liked to open the store as soon as possible. He looked at the towering walls of technology. Looking like an aqua coloured chipmunk, but being around two feet tall, the tall shelves and walls amazed him. His large black eyes stared up at stereo systems. Absolutely adoring everything technological, he was happy that Lilo and Stitch found him this store to work in. Nothing could be better to him. Jumba created him so that he could infiltrate highly developed planets that relied a lot on computers and technology. Nothing electronic could affect or be used on Click. Whenever something would try to lock on him or see him, it would completely shut down. Despite this, he couldn’t help but love anything he found.

The shop’s owner called out to him, asking him to rearrange the wall of remotes. With a smile, Click quickly ran to the display. The shakiness he had felt the previous night had finally stopped. He didn’t know why, but more and more frequently he had felt the urge to rush to his loved one. The only thing that stopped him was his love for the store, and desire to be good.

Never really being evil, Click couldn’t help his power. When he was activated, he found himself awestruck by the world that was around him. Lights, vehicles, buildings, and everything he loved. It always made him sad that he couldn’t use the things he loved on himself. The moment he saw a camera, he would take it and try to use it. Growing sad the moment it didn’t work, he would instantly destroy it and look for something else. His anti-technology ability was something that was constant, he wasn’t like the other experiments that could just turn their powers on and off. However, the sudden destruction of tourist cameras in Kaua’I started an uproar, and it wasn’t long until Lilo and Stitch were able to find and help him.

Doing another quick lap around the store, he saw the old black and white television the store owner kept. It instantly reminded him of his beloved, making him feel that urge again. He tried to suppress it, pushing away the need to run to her. Click wondered if only he was feeling it. He and his boojiboo hardly ever got to see each other, both of their one true places kept them very busy. While he normally missed her greatly, this was something a lot more. Something he was starting to lose control over. His legs started to get shaky, causing him to lose his footing and trip. With a large crash a rotating display filled with batteries fell over as he knocked into it. The few people in the store looked towards the sound, and Mrs. Jefferson, the store owner, rushed to Click’s side.

“Click! Are you okay?” She dropped to her knees. Normally being a relatively lonely woman in her early thirties, she enjoyed the company Click provided when he appeared.

“Soka.” He said strained. “Meega clean up.”

“No, no, no.” She said with a look of caring and worry in her eyes. “You go rest up, you look like you’re in pain. I’ll clean up and come check up on you.”

“Smish.” He shook off the feeling and slowly made his way to the back room, feeling guilty for causing trouble. He forgot to turn off the alarm as he opened the door, but the beeping quickly turned off on it’s own. Click’s sad sigh could be heard throughout the store.

\\\

“What are these?” Daniel asked, he could barely see in the dark room. He pulled a drying photo off it’s hanger, straining to see in the warm orange glow.

“They’re photos, Daniel.” Lilo said sarcastically. Both she and Stitch at her side laughed at her joke. The boy only rolled his eyes at her comment.

“I know that. What are they of?” He put it back in it’s place. A long row of photos were hung up. He was amazed at how quickly Lilo was able to develop the pictures she took. He had been developing his own shots since he was a child, but even he couldn’t manage it like she did. It was like magic to him and the others.

“They’re of tourists.” Lilo placed another blank square of paper into the development solution.

“Why tourists?” Daniel asked as he bumped into the movable shelf of supplies that was beside him. “Ow. I don’t get how you see so well in here.” Stitch brought him over a chair that he gladly sat in, giving Stitch a light word of thanks.

“I guess I just have good eyes.” She giggled.

Stitch could see the boy’s smile through the darkness, his face lighting up at Lilo’s giggle. Daniel seemed to smile every time he looked towards Lilo. It was something Stitch noticed ever since he first started to attend the club. He didn’t think much of it, and Lilo never saw. Instinctively, he brought himself closer to his girlfriend, feeling silly about the whole gesture. Trying to keep the smile from bothering him, he went back to watching Lilo rhythmically develop the photos they had taken together.

“Anyway. The tourists?” Daniel asked again after a short time.

Lilo wiped her hands off on her protective apron. “Hmm. It’s hard to explain.” She turned around and leaned against the counter top, reaching down to scratch Stitch’s head. “I did it a lot more when I was younger. I really thought they were beautiful. They always came here, probably for different reasons. Sometimes I liked making up stories for them.” She laughed to herself at the memories. “They came from all over. Tall people, short people, fat, skinny, harry, bald. So many different lives, but they all came here. To the island I lived on. It made Kaua’i feel even more special.” She turned back around, the smile leaving her face. “Of course there is always the down side. The way some would look at us. Like we’re on display… I didn’t like it. I’ve always been different. Looked at differently. I feel bad, but in those cases it felt good to turn it around.”

She felt Stitch brush up against her, his hand grabbing hers. It quickly brought back the comfort, cheering her up as it always did. She and he always felt a little like outcasts, but they found comfort in their differences together. A light squeeze quickly brought back her happy smile, warming Stitch’s heart.

“Sorry. That kind of became a downer, didn’t it?” She said, quickly grabbing her dry photos off their hangers.

“No, it’s fine.” Daniel continued to sit in the chair. “I kind of get what you mean. I’ve been here for a long time, I’ve seen those looks."

Silence fell between the two, a shared awkwardness. Neither one really knew what to say to the other. It wasn’t something words could really describe.

“I like the photos though.” He finally chimed in. “It’s a really interesting thing. Especially if it’s something from your childhood.”

“Thanks. Everyone tells me that they’re their favourite photos I’ve taken. Especially Stitch here.” She gave him a scratch behind his ear as she kissed the top of his head. Daniel couldn’t see it through the darkness. Stitch gave a quick bark in response, going back to the guise of a dog.

“Hey!” A sudden shout followed by loud banging on the door startled the three. “You done yet, Lilo?” Kel’s voice made Lilo and Stitch cringe a bit. Somehow, she managed to reach a pitch when she yelled that the two didn’t like. Daniel turned the regular light on, finally able to see everything clearly.

“You okay?” He asked, seeing Lilo kneeling next to Stitch, both sharing a look of discomfort.

“I’m fine. You can let her in.”

Daniel opened the door, almost getting hit by Kel’s falling fist.

“About time.” She said, looking between the three. “I thought I was going to turn to dust before I got in here.” She placed her camera on the counter before shooing the impeding guests out of the room. “Now scram. I want to do some stuff before classes start.” The door slammed behind them, and Lilo could hear frantic shuffling come from inside the dark room.

Devon watched the whole scene, but kept quiet. When he saw the eyes of the two land on him he went back to reading his magazine.

“Don’t mind her.” Kea said from one of the computers. “She got a picture of one of those animals you like in the forest near our house. She really wanted to develop it right away.”

“Oh yeah?” Out of curiosity, Lilo found herself behind Kea. “Which one?”

“This one.” He clicked around the desktop before an image popped up large on screen. A grey and white experiment that looked like a tall rabbit stood in front of a hiking trail. Lilo instantly recognized her spotted chest and large floppy ears.

“Monochrome?” Lilo said out loud to herself.

“Is that her name?” Kea asked, intrigued. “Do they all have names?”

“Huh?” Lilo forgot he was there for a second. She was worried about the fact that Monochrome was out in the forests. She was always scared to be out alone, preferring to stay in the town. “Yeah. I’ve named them all.” Ignoring Kea’s follow up questions, Lilo looked down to Stitch. The same look of concern was drawn across his face. “She should be at the medical clinic…”

Having the ability to steal colour from people’s sight, she truly created a world in monochrome. Once someone’s colour had been taken, she could no longer be seen by those that had been affected. She completely blended in to the black and white world. Once activated, Monochrome went into a panic. She was completely terrified of nature and the new environment. She stole the colour from everyone she came across, hoping to hide and be safe. While chasing after her, Lilo had become affected by Monochrome’s ability, it was because of this that Lilo also discovered that she had the ability to give people colour. Stitch had figured out that her one true place was at the Kaua’I Medical Clinic, where she could help patients with colour blindness. Monochrome instantly loved it, she enjoyed being a nurse and helping people. It also kept her far away from the forests.

Kea looked back at the screen, “We live pretty far away from there.”

Lilo looked at Stitch and he gave her an understanding nod. As soon as the bell rang, he quickly left the school. Lilo hoped that Stitch would be able to find Monochrome before she had a panic attack. What would make her leave? She remembered the look of distraught on the experiment’s face. It didn’t look like the terror she had before. She looked more…worried. Lilo recognized the look before, but was having trouble remembering where it was from. Constantly at the back of her mind, she became frustrated with herself. She let out an exasperated sigh, hoping that Stitch would be able to find Monochrome soon.

Stitch was getting nowhere in his search. The only thing he had to go on was the picture he saw on the computer. However, almost all of the forests on the island looked the exact same. It didn’t help that he didn’t know where Keahi and Kelani lived. All he knew was that it was far away from the medical clinic that Monochrome stayed at. For all her knew, she could be on the complete opposite end of the island.

Thinking that she may have started to steal the colour from people’s and animals sights, he looked for anyone acting like they did when she was initially activated. Taking a close look at every individual, he could find a single person that was rubbing their eyes, testing their vision, or blinking rapidly in confusion. Sadly, no one he found anywhere seemed to be having trouble. He quickly checked the medical clinic, to see if she had returned, but became disheartened when he found that she didn’t. None of the other workers had seen her either.

“Now what do meega do?” He asked as he left the building. Looking around for any sort of clues, he found himself drawn in the direction of the beach. His old experiment hunting instincts took over, and he started to move faster and faster, until he was at complete run. Moving on their own, his hands and feet soon reached the soft sand, but they kept going. “What am I doing?” Stitch asked himself as soon as he finally came to a stop. “Why did meega run here?”

“Cousin!” A voice shouted from behind Stitch.

He turned to see he had just run to the old lost and found hut on the beach. His red aardvark like cousin stood on the counter top. “Finder! Of course.” Stitch quickly became hopeful. He may not be a great tracker, but Finder could find anything.

“Gaba ika tasoopa?” Finder asked as Stitch rushed over to him.

“Can yuuga find Monochrome for me?”

“Cousin look for cousin?” Finder was confused. No one had ever asked him to locate one of their ohana before. “Monochrome missing?”

“Ih. Meega worried something might have happened to her. Only yuuga can find her.”

Determination set in the red experiment’s small black eyes, and his nose was ready for action. With a honk of his nose, he started sniffing the ground. Instantly getting a scent, he rushed off towards town. Stitch followed closely, not wanting to lose two cousins in one day. They quickly passed through the entirety of their home town, and started tracking around the forests. Stitch was confident that Finder would be able to find her, no matter where she was.

“We almost there, Finder?” Stitch asked after over an hour of searching.

The small creature didn’t answer, he just continued sniffing the ground. Monochrome wasn’t an easy cousin to track. Normally Finder found lost items, not people. He could find anything, but a living creature could move. The only way they would find her is if she were to stay in one spot long enough. Thankfully, she had done just that. As quickly as he had started, Finder stopped and started to honk his nose into the air.

Stitch didn’t see Monochrome around, but hearing a light whimper told him she was nearby. He turned his attention to the source of the sound, a bush just to their side. Finder stayed back while Stitch approached carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her even more.

Slowly pushing foliage to the side, the gray rabbit like experiment they were searching for was revealed from behind bush. She slid back away from them, covering her face with her large ears. Stitch approached her slowly.

“Monochrome…” Finder whispered.

With a light yelp, Monochrome shot her ear out, hitting Stitch right across the cheek. He saw a bright light and then the world suddenly turned black and white to him. Unable to see any colour, his rabbit like cousin disappeared from sight. Stitch shot a glare at Finder who backed away slightly with a nervous smile that told Stitch he was sorry.

“Monochrome.” Stitch said her name lightly, wanting to calm her down. “It’s meega, Stitch. Yuuga’s cousin.” He couldn’t see her, he didn’t know if she made any move showing that she knew who he was. Once she was in a state of panic it was hard to calm her down. “Meega know you’re there, Monochrome. It’s okay, we won’t hurt you.” Stitch heard a light shuffling and stepped towards it. “Meega just want you to feel better and tell me what happened.”

He felt another hit to his body, then another, and another. Monochrome was lashing out, hoping to scare him off, but he wasn’t going to leave her. He continued to step towards her. He could barely hear her breathing, and knew she was just in front of him. Knowing she couldn’t do any harm to him, he grabbed her, holding her close and tight in a hug.

“Isa oketaka.” He whispered, petting the back of her head. She had always enjoyed being petted. It made her feel like she had done something good, it was very relaxing to her.

“S-stitch?” She finally said, coming to her senses.

“It’s meega. And Finder’s here too.” At his name, their cousin honked from where he stood, making Monochrome giggle.

Feeling that she had calmed down, Stitch let Monochrome go, leading her back into the path.

“Gaba yuuga doing here?” She asked, still not liking being in the forest.

“We came looking for you. Isa long story.” Despite him being taller than her now, Monochrome still noticed that Stitch wasn’t really looking at her, more past or through her. It dawned on her what she had done and instantly began to apologize.

“Meega soka.” She said with a slight sadness to her voice. “Meega hit yuuga didn’t meega?”

“Meega fine.”

“Naga. Meega gotta fix it.” Lifting up her ear, she light brushed the tip across Stitch’s eyes. With another blinding light, the colour returned to Stitch’s vision. He blinked a few times to readjust, seeing a large ear right in front of his face. Monochrome let her ear fall back down beside her and smiled up at her cousin.

“Can yuuga tell us what happened?”

Monochrome tried to think back. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t remember what had made her run to the forest. “Soka, naga nota. Meega naga remember anything past last night. Last meega remember was meega thinking about boojiboo. Naga more, meega can’t remember things from my panic attacks.”

“It’s okay.” Stitch told her, not wanting her to worry more. “Meega forgot.” He looked between his two cousins, deciding it would be a good idea to get them back to the one true place they belonged. As soon as they were out of the forest, Monochrome instantly started to feel better. She was eager to get back to the medical clinic, and Finder wanted to get back to his Found booth.

Chapter Text

Once Stitch had met up with Lilo after school he explained to her what had happened with Monochrome. She felt relieved to know that she was okay. However, they both wondered what had caused her to leave her true place. Hoping she would be able to give some sort of answer, they checked on her one last time before heading home. Unfortunately, Monochrome still had no idea as to how she ended up over there. Normally she would remember what would cause her panic attacks after a short while, but this time nothing was coming to her. One minute she was in the medical clinic, the next in the forest with Stitch and Finder.

“Maybe we need to keep a better eye on your cousins,” Lilo said as she closed the door to the clinic.

“Hmm.”

“What is it?”

“Doesn’t Monochrome have a boojiboo?”

Lilo thought about it for a moment. It was hard to keep track of all the cousins sometimes. “I think so. Isn’t it Click? Are you thinking their programming has activated too?”

The two quickly made their way home. As soon as they could, they checked Jumba’s computer system. Nothing about Monochrome or Click’s programming responded, though. With initial failure in tow, the two asked Jumba if his system could miss anything. He assured them that the system was flawless, nothing could happen without them being alerted. Without any other leads to go on, they decided to keep a close eye on the two whenever they got the chance.

Time continued to pass, and soon the end of the school year had found itself upon Lilo and her friends. As usual, Lilo had little trouble with her tests. Even with her club and the oncoming wedding in mind, she still managed to pass with flying colours. It was more of a relief than anything, she was happy to now be able to fully focus on what she cared about most.

“Alright everyone,” Mr. Kawea announced. The club had met for a short meeting after the final test was finished. “Summer vacation is here, and I hope you all did well on your tests.” He looked around the room and saw a general amount of smiling faces. “So, we are going to take a short break. We won’t be meeting again for two weeks from today. After that, I hope you will all be able to be here ever, Monday to Thursday at noon. Of course this is by no means mandatory. If there are days you cannot come that is fine.” Hearing no objections, he gave a final farewell and wishes to see them all again soon.

Wandering the empty halls, Lilo saw a few students still hanging around here and there. She had grown accustomed with the empty building during her mornings in the school. No matter how often she saw it though, it gave an odd chill down her spine. Something about an empty school hall was just creepy to her. What she least expected to see in her final walk to the main entrance, was Sam and her gang cornering a collection of cowering students. She noticed a discarded jean jacket covered in bright red slush laying on the floor on the opposite side of the hall.

How do none of the teacher’s ever catch them? Lilo watched for only a second, trying to keep a cool head before rushing in. Mertle was standing back slightly, looking slightly unsure of herself. It wasn’t long before she also joined in from Sam and Lea’s coaxing.

Abby and Jen pushed the two boys of the small group against the wall. The three girls, one looking like she belonged in middle school, cringed at the thud the boys back’s made against the hard brick. Feeling pressure from Abby’s hand on his shoulder, the taller of the two boys brought up a shaky hand full of money.

Lilo counted backwards from ten as she slowly stepped forward. She had seen enough bullying from this group, but if she lost her temper like she used to, the girls could end up in the hospital. Or worse.

When the shorter boy didn’t give her anything, Jen threw him to the ground. Barely moving, he grabbed the elbow he had landed on, pain clearly drawn on his face. The three girls started to back away, but found themselves walking right into Lea.

“You don’t want to leave just yet,” she told them.

“Yeah,” Sam said with a grin. “We’re just getting to the good stuff.” One of the girl’s hair fell as Sam swiped the head band that she was wearing. Looking over the plain purple band with a bow on the side, she soon put it on herself. “How does it look Mertle?”

“It looks great,” she said with a slightly shaky voice.

Sam pulled out a small mirror from her back jeans pocket. She frowned once she saw what she looked like with it on. “Fine. You can have it then.” She shoved it off to Mertle who just stared at it before reluctantly putting it on. Her once wavy orange hair was now clear from her face.

“Those are some nice bangles,” Mertle had said without thinking.

“They are aren’t they?” Sam asked as she let her hand out. All three of the girls took the rings off of their wrists. With sad looks, they handed them over to the girl that was towering over them. “See? Isn’t it nice when we share?”

Lilo had seen enough, she quickly adjusted the camera bag that hung around her shoulder, not wanting the camera inside to be broken. No one from the group ahead had yet noticed her, but even if they had she still wouldn’t have held back. With anger in her eyes she ran ahead at full force. To the group of girls it was like Lilo had appeared out of nowhere. She effortlessly pushed Sam back away from her victims.

“What the? Weirdlo?” Sam’s glare became cold and icy, but it had no effect on Lilo. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Lilo completely ignored the ringleader. Instead asking how the three girls were doing. They seemed utterly terrified, but Lilo’s appearance calmed them a little. With her urging they quickly ran off.

“Aw. You sent away our new toys. Jen?”

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this.” Jen cracked her knuckles, ready to break anything of Lilo’s she could get her hands on. With a swing of her fist, he face contorted into surprise. Lilo had caught the large girls hand, holding her off completely. “You’re pretty strong for a girl your size.”

Mertle took a few steps back. Even with the flashes of Lilo holding a large speaker over her, she couldn’t believe that she was able to hold back the muscle of their group. Jen was clearly struggling to get her hand free. Lilo didn’t care how much of her strength she showed. As far as she was concerned, it was about time that someone stood up to the bullies with some force.

While Lilo held back Jen, Abby decided to step in as well. Still trying not to break anyone apart, Lilo had to hold back. What should be easy, quickly became overwhelming as the two girls started landing punches into her. With a grin of satisfaction, Lea went to squeeze anything she could out of the boy that still stood against the wall.

“That’s better.” Sam had her confidence back. Normally she wouldn’t have everyone be so forceful, but it was a special occasion. She knew that all the teacher’s had cleared from the wing they were currently in, leaving them free to do whatever they wanted. The last day always had to be special. “Now then.” She stood over the boy laying on the ground. “This should teach you for ruining my new jacket.”

Sam was just about to kick the boy on the ground when the sound of running footsteps filled the hall. Lilo only saw a lightly tanned form run past her, she couldn’t see who it was past the two girls in front of her. Hearing the sound of a new grunt, Lilo guessed that the new person was taking the beating for the boy on floor. She had entirely had enough.

Pushing both Abby and Jen off of her, she gained the stares of the entire group. With everyone’s attention, she first looked to Mertle before her gaze rested completely on Sam.

“I’m not going to stand by anymore. Nothing is going to stop me until no one in the school feels fear from you again.” Passion filled Lilo’s words. It was an odd announcement, even for her, but she was long swept away by the motions.

Still flustered from seeing Lilo pushing off two girls larger than herself, Sam called off her group. With glares and scoffs they left the hall. Lilo kept her glare on Mertle, who adverted her eyes the moment she saw Lilo look at her.

With the hall now clear, she could finally see who it was that had come to help.

“Daniel? What are you doing here?”

“I saw what those girls were doing,” he said with an odd smile, checking to see if the boy on the ground was okay. “I decided to come help. But I suppose you were able to handle yourself.”

Lilo became embarrassed. She normally didn’t show her strength to anyone, but just couldn’t hold back anymore. She hid her blushing face as she asked if the other boy was okay. He gave a slight nod, saying he would go get the nurse for his brother.

“It looks like you landed on your arm pretty bad.” Just a light touch caused the boy to cringe. “I don’t think it’s broken or anything though.”

Lilo knelt on the other side of boy, still really upset at what Sam had done to him. “Are they just going to get away with this?”

“Probably. School’s out. There’s no way to punish them. Odds are they aren’t even registered for next year yet.” Daniel offered the boy a bottle of water. He took it with his free hand and drank the entire thing down in one gulp. “There’s really no one to punish them.”

“It disgusts me…”

“Yeah. Me too.”

Meanwhile, Sam was fuming. She knocked down a garbage can in town and started bashing it in with her foot. The new bangles on her arm chimed with each and every movement. “I hate her, hate her, hate her!”

Lea leaned up against a shop wall. “She ruins all of our fun.”

“This is the last time.” She gave the garbage can one final kick. “Now is the time girls. Time to get her back.”

Abby and Jen looked to each other, a little concerned.

“What are we gonna do though?” Jen asked. “I mean, she held off both of us, it was like she was just toying with me and Abby.”

“I’m really surprised by her strength,” Lea piped in again. She had begun counting the money they had acquired from the group, scoffing at how little was actually there.

Mertle was barely paying attention. She saw a group of young girls play by a shop down the road. It reminded her of the old days.

“I’m not,” she thought out loud.

“What do you mean?” Sam’s eyes turned to the new girl of her group. Mertle could still feel the rage radiating off of them.

A little hesitantly, she began explaining what had happened to her four years ago. How her plan to humiliate Lilo had somehow failed, only for it to turn on her. The most intriguing detail was that Lilo and Styles were able to hold up a speaker on their own, and that they had made it to her side in a split second.

“Hmm.” Sam’s rage had subsided, she started to formulate a plan. “So, is this Styles guy still around? Cause stealing him would be a good place to start.”

“I tried that, it didn’t work.”

Sam just rolled her eyes. “Any boy can be stolen. You just need to know how to get them.”

“Either way, he supposedly lives in Mau’I. I’ve only ever seen him a couple of times. I don’t even know if they’re still together.”

“Ugh.” Sam screamed out in frustration. “Has anyone seen her with boy on a regular basis?”

The group looked between each other. They tried to think of any time they had seen Lilo with a boy. After a few minutes of standing around in silence, Lea was the first to remember something about Lilo.

“I can’t think of any boys, but she does have that weird dog.”

“Weird dog?” Sam turned to Mertle for answers. “Do you know about this pet?”

“Stitch? Yeah, she got him when we were just little kids.” Mertle stopped her explanation with Jen and Abby suddenly burst out laughing.

“Stitch? Who names their dog ‘Stitch’?” Jen asked between fits of laughter.

“That is like, the dumbest name ever,” Abby added.

“That’s Weirdlo for you,” Mertle said rolling her eyes. “Anyway, they always go everywhere and do everything together. You won’t be able to get to her through him.” She kept the part about him being an alien to herself. Even if it was the truth, saying that would get her kicked out of the group instantly. She didn’t want to be the one labeled as weird.

Expecting to get more out of Mertle, Sam turned away when she didn’t get any more information. You’re almost useless. But it doesn’t really matter. She was frustrated that this wasn’t going to be as easy as she had hoped, but she got a chill from the fun they could have.

“Okay,” Sam finally announced, bringing everyone’s attention back to her. “I’ve got a plan.”

To get at Lilo, the group had to find out absolutely everything about her. At any given time, at least one of them would be tailing her when she was in town. Their job was to find all of her likes, everything she loved, all so they could use it against her in some way. If the opportunity presented itself, they would also ruin any fun she was having. The current priority was to find out if she still had a boyfriend. Sam was dead set on stealing someone she loved from her.

“It’s the perfect beginning to some payback.” As Sam had put it while explaining the operation.

Mertle wasn’t so sure the plan would work. She wanted to get back at Lilo, truly she did. However, her years of antagonizing had taught her a lot. The biggest lesson was that Lilo wasn’t one to lose hope or happiness easily. On her way home, she wondered what Gigi would think if she knew what she was doing. Her little dog always wanted her to be friends, or at least try to be nicer to Lilo. There was just something about the girl that infuriated her. She kicked some nearby rocks, not caring where they ended up going. She watched as they landed near some of the other experiments on the island.

The only way to get to her would be through that dumb 'ohana of hers. She let out a deep sigh. Even I couldn’t do that. Gigi is one of them. Mertle continued her way home, she was starting to miss the days where everything seemed to be a lot simpler.

Later that day, Lilo told Stitch what had happened. After the initial shock, and asking if she was okay, he listened intently to the rest of the story. He always hated bullies, and he always though that Mertle was a stupid head, but he couldn’t believe that she would be a part of all that.

“Do yuuga think Gigi knows?” he asked as he ran his hand through her long hair. They opted to cuddle in bed while they try to figure things out.

“I don’t know. I doubt it.”

“She always wanted Mertle to be nicer.”

“That was only to us though. And it was only because we’re 'ohana.” Lilo felt more relaxed at Stitch’s touch. She closed her eyes, letting herself enjoy the treatment. Her mind sent her back to the school halls. To the moment she saw Daniel rush by to help the boy. “It’s a good thing Daniel came by. Or else that boy would be a lot more hurt.”

Stitch’s hand stopped for a second at Daniel’s name. Lilo’s eyes opened when she noticed Stitch had frozen. He caught himself and resumed, loving the feeling of her soft hair in his fingers.

“Yuuga know. If anyone could help Mertle it would be yuuga.”

“What? Why me?” Lilo sat up, clear confusion on her face. For the longest time she wanted to be Mertle’s friend. She soon found out that she was mistaken. She didn’t want to be friends with Mertle, she had all the friends she needed. What she really wanted was to be accepted. Lilo had found that in Stitch, and that’s all she would ever need.

“Yuuga have a way of bringing good out in people. Meega, Jumba, all the cousins. If yuuga could make us good, what’s one human?”

“I’m not really sure that Mertle is human.”

The two laughed at her comment. After the laughter finally died down, the two started to lay together in silence. Maybe I am the one to do it. I don’t really know how I do it though… Lilo just hoped that she wouldn’t have to see any of them until after summer vacation. She knew she would see Mertle at hula, but at least she would be there by herself. As long as Sam and the rest of her gang stayed out of her way for her club activates and for Nani’s wedding.

Chapter Text

It was hard for Lilo to hold back her excitement. It wasn’t very often she got a break, and now she got a full two weeks to just spend time with friends and enjoy the summer. With only a few hula classes before Photography Club started back up in full, Lilo was determined to make use of her free time.

The entire first week she spent every moment she could with Stitch. A little bonding and relaxation was just what they needed. They didn’t realize how much time school really stole from them. Late nights, beach trips, and spending time in their hidden spots quickly became a common occurrence. Stitch dreaded the moment they had to go back to a fuller schedule, so he took every chance he could to cuddle, hug, and kiss the love of his life.

Staying true to her word, Lilo kept a better eye on the experiments as well as she could. With a steady break at hand, Lilo decided to check on as many of the experiments as possible. Thankfully none of the experiments were having any issues. She wondered if Click had experienced anything like Monochrome did, but whenever she went to check on him he wouldn’t talk to her. Stitch offered to sneak in and find out, but Lilo decided that forcing the issue wouldn’t help.

“If Click wants to talk to us he will,” she told him as they headed to the skate park to meet up with Victoria and Keoni.

“I know. Meega just worried.” Stitch looked up towards her. “Isa just. Meega don’t want any of the cousins to go through what I did.”

“Jumba said that if anything came up the computer would warn us.”

“Yeah…”

Lilo saw that her words were giving him little comfort. She herself was slightly unsure too. It wouldn’t be the first time that one of Jumba’s machines didn’t quite go as expected. She had to trust it though, at the very least she couldn’t force something out of their ‘ohana.

“Hey, there’s Victoria.”

Lilo quickly took off at a light run, with Stitch close behind. Their friend hadn’t noticed them yet, as she had her eye’s glued to the view finder of her camera. The lens never once left the skater boy easily tearing up the half pipe. Once they had started their break, Victoria finally worked up the courage to offer taking photos of Keoni’s skate team. It was very clear that more photos were taken of her boyfriend than anyone else.

Lilo held back a giggle as she slowly crept up to her brown haired friend. She yelled out as she sprung up in front of the camera, making Victoria almost drop it as she jumped out of her skin.

“Lilo! Why would you do that?” She was trying to calm down her racing heart, keeping a tight grip on the device.

“Sorry,” Lilo laughed, “I just couldn’t resist.”

“It’s okay. How are you and Stitch doing? I haven’t seen you guys in a while.”

The two looked at each other and smiled.

“We've been busy,” Stitch said with a goofy grin, remembering all the fun he and Lilo had.

“I don’t think I want to hear about it.”

Victoria laughed before she went back to taking photos, making sure to put the strap around her neck this time. Lilo and Stitch stood and watched as Keoni and his friends continued to shred. It was amazing how good Keoni had gotten over the years. Lilo never did get the hang of skateboarding, but she also didn’t really do it much. After the Morpholomew fiasco with Jake Long, she decided to spare herself from the embarrassment. With a few more clicks, Victoria took a look at the pictures.

“Aw man. They’re still looking over exposed.”

“Let me see.” Lilo took the camera and looked through some of the images Victoria had taken. “Hmm. Maybe you should change the f stop.” Lilo turned the dial on the side of the camera before handing it back to her friend. “Here. Try this.”

Victoria immediately took a shot at Keoni as he spun in the air. After a few seconds she went to the image gallery and saw an amazing difference.

“Awe. Thank you, Lilo.” She quickly took a bunch more pictures, happy that they were finally turning out. She suddenly stopped and took her face away from the device, she looked down at it, feeling its weight in her hands. Her cheerful expression had suddenly vanished. “I guess I should have known to do that though.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’ve been getting better and better.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so. Right, Stitch?”

“Ih,” Stitch nodded. He didn’t really pay much attention when they were learning about cameras, his eyes barely left Lilo the whole time he was at the school. He did see all the pictures Lilo and Victoria took though. “Yuuga doing really well. Meega been watching.”

“Thanks guys.” The light returned to her eyes. She was glad to have such amazing friends.

The three continued to talk and laugh. Once Keoni noticed that Lilo and Stitch had showed up, he waved to them before continuing to practice with his team. Victoria continued to gush over how amazing Keoni was, and how lucky she was to have him. Lilo wondered if this was what she was like when she talked about Stitch. It made her feel slightly self-conscious and she couldn’t help but start blushing. Keoni then waved to Victoria, making her become quiet as a mouse, only making a small ‘eep’ sound.

You would never expect them to be dating, with the way Victoria swooned from a simple look from him. She always looked like an admirer. There were a few times that girls would approach her boyfriend, either ignorant or ignoring the fact that he had a girlfriend. She couldn’t help but slightly worry that he would leave her for one of the other girls. To her, it was like a dream come true to have a boy like him feel so strongly about her. Every time he turned one of the girls down, it strengthened her resolve with him.

Nearby the skate park, Abby leaned against the tree. She let out a bored yawn, unable to believe that she agreed to watch Lilo before it was her turn.

“It’s way too early for this,” she mumbled. The wind blew some of her fiery hair into her eyes. “Ugh. I hate this. Lea, you owe me.” It was originally Lea’s turn to spy on Lilo, but she woke Abby up with a phone call, saying there was an emergency she had to take care of. “I suppose if I didn’t, Sam would have my head.”

As per orders, the group had tailed Lilo as much as they could. They were surprised by how little they had seen her. Somehow, Lilo and Stitch would always disappear from sight without a trace. Not a single one of them was able to find them afterward, but it mattered little. They were quickly realizing that Sam’s second step was not going to come to fruition.

“Clearly Lilo does not have a boyfriend. She only ever hangs out with that ugly dog. Who would want to date her anyway? She’s weird, short, has only a few friends. What would be so great about her?” She watched as the small group burst out laughing again, Lilo almost falling over from whatever joke had just been told. “Tch.” She rolled her eyes out of annoyance.

“Careful. You almost sound jealous.”

If the sudden response had surprised Abby, she didn’t show it.

“Ha. Very funny, Jen.” Her tanned friend leaned up against the tree beside her. She was surprised to see her in a skirt with her hair tied back in a ponytail. “What’s up with you? Ditch the jeans?”

“No. Have to go to this stupid family get together. I hate having to look like this.” She tugged at her skirt a bit, trying to pull it down just a bit more.

“So don’t.”

“Please. My mom would kill me. You know her, she’s even more anal than Sam about looks and appearances.”

Abby smirked at her. “Careful. Sam might demote you if she hears you calling her that. So, why are you here then?”

“I saw you spying on Lilo, wondered if anything happened.”

Abby’s gaze kept strong on the short girl in the distance. She was really starting to hate the constant hiding and spying. However, she hated losing even more. “Of course not. None of us have seen or found out anything. All I know is, she sure does like those odd animals.”

A car horn honked in the distance. Jen let out a sad sigh and got off of the tree with a look of defeat. “There’s my mom. I look like a doll, time to go act the part.”

“At least you’ll have more fun than me.” Abby got up as well, brushing off some loose pieces of branches. “Just be yourself.”

“Thanks.”

The two shared a rare hug. They had been friends since childhood, grew up almost like sisters. Once middle school hit, Jen started to grow, becoming taller than most of the boys. Seeing her friend get teased a lot for her height, Abby started to fight back. She always had a bit of an attitude problem, and it felt good to let the anger out. Once Sam came across them, she used Abby’s attitude and Jen’s rough look and height for intimidation. Jen quickly enjoyed being an enforcer, taking on a bit of Abby’s attitude in the process. Despite feeling more comfortable in her jeans and t-shirts, her mom always wanted a girly girl. One who would be her little princess, or dress up doll.

The hug lingered for a few moments. When they finally separated, Abby gave her a gentle caring smile. It was a side to her only Jen ever saw. She hoped that her friend would be able to have at least a little fun with her family. Once she saw the car door close and finally drive away, she turned back to her task.

“Guess I should get closer,” she sighed.

“Yuuga hear that?” Stitch asked under his breath.

“Yeah. Seems Abby is coming closer.” Lilo said with a look of disgust. She saw Victoria’s confusing look and decided to elaborate. “For the past while Sam, or someone from her little gang, have been following us. Or at least they’ve been watching us.”

“Why would they do that?” Victoria could see that Abby was off in the distance, trying her best to make it look like she wasn’t acting suspicious. “I thought they hated you.”

“Me too. I don’t know what they’re doing. I’m betting it’s not good.”

“Best just to ignore them,” said Stitch, he knew Abby would be in ear shot soon, so he wouldn’t be able to talk anymore. “We've keep them off our tail.”

“Aloha, guys.” Having just finished practice, Keoni ran up and gave Victoria a kiss on the cheek. Lilo stifled a giggle, seeing her friends face turn a bright shade of red. “How’s everything been?”

“Great,” Lilo told him, it was clear he wasn’t really interested, as his eyes kept darting to the camera.

“That’s good. So? Did you get any good shots?”

Victoria was still slightly stunned, she became slightly giggly as she handed the camera over to him. “I got a few. I hope you like them.”

“These are great!” He quickly flipped through the pictures. “I love them. I’m sure all the guys will too. You did such a good job.” Keoni leaned down and gave Victoria another kiss. “Thank you for doing this for us.”

“I-it’s no problem.” She was really more embarrassed about the praise than the kisses.

“So? Are you guys coming to the big competition?” he asked, having handed back the camera.

Keoni told them about the huge event him and his friends were practicing for. A lot of really tough skate teams would be showing up, some even from the main land. Keoni’s eyes shown like the sun, getting more and more excited as he talked about it.

“So it’s going to be in a couple days.” He looked down at Stitch who was sitting beside Lilo like a puppy. “Sorry, Stitch. No pet’s allowed this year, but that’s okay. You can go as Sty-“

A soft elbow to the ribs quickly shut him up. “Yeah, it’s too bad Stitch can’t go.” Victoria quickly interrupted. “Do you think Styles would be able to go?”

“Yeah. I think he’d be able to.” Lilo told them, she felt bad for Keoni suddenly getting jabbed, but she figured they’d explain things later. “I don’t think it would be any problem. I’m sure Styles and I can make it.”

Abby’s ears twitched as she nonchalantly walked along the chain link fence of the skate park. Styles? Isn’t that who Mertle said was Lilo’s boyfriend? I guess that means they’re still together after all. Maybe Sam made a poor choice in an informant. Either way, Sam will want to hear this. She pulled out her phone and quickly started to make some calls. She hurried away, sure she didn’t need to stick around any longer.

Mertle causally walked into the diner. She wasn’t expecting to get a call so suddenly from Abby. The moment she hung up, she wondered what the big rush was. Looking around at the empty seats, it didn’t take long for her to spot Sam, Lea, and Abby. She quickly sat down in the free spot beside Abby, saying few words of hellos and receiving just as few.

“So we’re just waiting for Jen then?” Sam said as she checked her phone for the time.

“She won’t be coming,” Abby announced, her head leaned on her hand as she sat staring out the window.

“Why not?”

“She has a family thing.”

Sam thought for a few moments, twirling her dirty blonde hair in her fingers. Abby was starting to get an attitude with her again and she didn’t like it. She caught herself biting her lip, a habit she thought she had gotten rid of. “Fine. She can be told about this later.”

Mertle could feel the tension in the air. She wanted to ask if everything was okay, but was worried speaking out of turn would ruin her chances with staying in the group. Instead she opted to keep herself quiet, looking at the old decorations in the diner trying to be passed off as being ‘retro.’ The bubblegum coloured walls clashed with the image she thought their group had, but figured that in the end it didn’t matter. Her eye’s caught those of the lone waitress. Fear flashed in the teen’s expression, just long enough for Mertle to catch it. The waitress quickly turned and headed into the kitchen. That was weird.

“Don’t mind her,” said Lea, almost like she had read Mertle’s mind. “She and Sam used to be friends, until there was a little falling out.”

“Jeez, Lea. Way to bring up the past.” Sam quickly changed the subject back to the matter at hand. “Anyway. Abby said she wanted to tell us something.”

Abby finally took her eyes away from the outside world and brought her attention to the group. Her arms flopped to the table. “Yeah. As I was watching over Lilo…” She quickly glared at Lea who only continued to smile. “I overheard her talking to her friend and that skater boy. Apparently, there’s some big skate competition in a few days.”

“I’ve heard of it. My daddy’s a sponsor in it,” Lea piped in, “It seems some really famous teams are coming here. Really good for teenagers, most getting scholarships and such. What’s that got to do with Lilo?”

“I was getting to that. They were talking about how her dumb dog couldn’t go or something. But then then her friend asked if Styles would be able to go.”

The look on Sam’s face changed from boredom to intrigue in an instant. “Is that so? Well then. Looks like hope for my original plan isn’t lost after all.”

“So you’re going to try to steal him from her?” Mertle asked, remembering her attempt at it. Knowing someone picked Lilo over her still stung her to this day. She really wondered if Sam could do it. For some reason, she had a feeling that it couldn’t happen.

“Oh yes I am. I have certain ways of making it happen.” Sam’s grin sent a chill down Mertle’s spine again. She felt uneasy whenever Sam did it.

Abby rolled her eyes in disdain. “There isn’t a boy Sam hasn’t been able to wrap around her finger.”

Her voice held slight tones of jealousy and anger. Ones that left a bitter taste in Mertle’s mouth. She was going to ask about it but decided to leave it at bay.

While the other three began formulating plans, Mertle started to space out. I wonder if she’d actually be able to do it. She laughed inwardly, thinking about Lilo’s face when she lost her boyfriend to Sam. It would be so priceless. Such a great start. The more she thought about it, the more she noticed a pattern. Wait, Stitch can’t go to this? And so now Styles is showing? It’s the same as the dance… a boy out of nowhere, with Lilo. All the other times she saw Styles had similar aspects. Whenever pets weren’t allowed, Styles would be there. Is it a coincidence? Maybe Lilo just can’t stand not having someone with her at all times…

Chapter Text

Bliss. Lilo laid in bed, wrapped up in her blankets. The warm and fluffy body of Stitch beside her snuggled closer. She sighed with happiness, wrapping her arm around his bunched up form. They had a sudden storm the previous night, and to help keep their minds off of it, they decided to snuggle in bed. Before she had realized it she had fallen asleep, not even changing out of her clothes. She could already smell the scent of the rain that passed, the one part of storms she actually enjoyed. She kept her eyes closed, wanting nothing more than to fall back asleep and enjoy her wonderful dreams. Feeling Stitch shift slightly, she accommodated his turning around. His two arms wrapped around her and started to rub up and down her side.

“Morning,” he whispered softly, his forehead pressed against hers.

“Morning to you,” Lilo responded, without her realizing she was already smiling, his voice ringing through her. Her eyes finally began to flutter open as she pulled her head back. She found herself meeting her reflection, cast in Stitch’s dark eyes. “How long have you been awake?”

“Not long. Meega wanted to stay like this though.”

“I do too.”

Stitch nudged closer, trying to press as much of his body against hers. Lilo giggled at the feeling of his fur brushing against her skin. No matter how long she felt it, it still sent shivers through her body. I love this. Soft tweeting could be heard far off in the distance, a duet of love that felt like it was meant for them. Nothing could ruin this moment.

Cuddling in bed, with no cares in the world, Lilo petted her hand along the back of Stitch’s head. He sighed and purred from her touch. Lilo felt like she was forgetting something, and so asked Stitch what they were doing that day.

“We go to competition,” he reminded her.

“I know that. Was there anything else?”

Stitch furrowed his brow, trying to think if there was anything else. He knew that they would first be stopping at Morpholomew’s to change him into Styles. They even made sure to put an updated picture on the desk to make sure they didn’t forget it. Once Lilo mentioned it, he did feel like they had forgotten something else.

A reminder in the form of a yell from downstairs, quickly jogged their memories. They quickly sat up together eyes locked on each other.

“Nani’s dress fitting!” they shouted in unison, voices and faces filled with terror.

As the wedding day came closer and closer, Lilo found Nani was more and more on edge. David would be constantly reminding her that everything would be okay. The last thing Lilo wanted to do was make matters worse.

With great speed, they quickly got ready for the day. Already missing their morning cuddles, they watched the bed disappear from view as they descended the lift. Lilo patted the pockets on her shorts, realizing her memory failed her again.

“I forgot the picture!” her head snapped up. She knew Nani would be waiting, and they were already starting to be late. She wouldn’t have time to just take the lift back up immediately.

A sudden blur ascended the steel tube.

“Meega get it,” Stitch said, easing Lilo’s mind. “Meega meet you at the car!”

As she had predicted, Nani was right at the foot of the lift, tapping her foot. “Where were you?”

“Sorry. We…um…lost track of time. I just got up.”

“Alright,” Nani said after a moment. “We gotta hurry now.” She already turned and started to head for the car. “Hey, wasn’t Stitch coming?” She opened the door to see that Stitch was already outside, at the foot of the stairs. “Oh. Never mind then.”

Nani ran down the stairs, two at a time, with Lilo quickly in tow. She didn’t notice that Stitch was holding something behind his back. Or that he quickly passed it onto Lilo as she passed him. Time was quickly on the move, and she knew they had to be too. Hurrying the two into the car, she felt more at ease once they were on the road.

“If traffic is good then we should still be there on time,” she thought out loud.

“Is this what it’s like when you go to work every day?” Lilo asked. Nani gave her a light jab in the arm, hearing Snitch snickering in the backseat. “What was that for?”

“For being a smart aleck.”

The two continued to argue like sisters normally would. Stitch watched in peace from the backseat, happy to see them getting along. It wasn’t something that he normally got to see, or that they normally got to do. Their lives being as busy as they were, it’s really the small moments that they decided to cherish.

“So,” Nani began as they turned onto the highway. “Is Styles coming back for a visit?”

“W-what makes you say that?”

“Well I overheard you talking to Stitch about it. I really only heard you mention his name.”

Stitch’s look of horror was unseen from the backseat. Even if she only heard that…has there been anything else she’s heard us talk about without us noticing.

Lilo felt the same uneasiness that Stitch did. She never even realized that Nani could hear them talking at home. “Yeah. He’s um, here for today. We’re going to see Keoni’s skate thing together.” Lilo’s head was turned, looking out the window. She didn’t want her sister to see that she was actually worried about her finding out about something she wasn’t ready for.

“I’m really glad you’ve kept in touch with him. You make a really cute couple,” Nani chuckled.

“Nani!” Lilo protested, her face had turned bright red from embarrassment.

“What? It’s not like he’s here. I can say what I like.”

“I guess so.

Lilo turned back to the window, her face still reddening. It was always embarrassing when Nani mentioned Styles. She always seemed to do it when Stitch was around. Always saying how cute they were together, or mention the looks they gave each other. In the back seat, Stitch was also blushing. However, he also liked hearing that they made a cute couple. He hoped that when they told Nani the truth, that she would still think the same.

“I hope you’ll invite him over for dinner tonight. I haven’t seen him in a while, and he really should get used to the family.”

“I-I don’t know. He’s really busy.” Lilo was trying to make up an excuse. She didn’t want the ruse of Styles existence to go on too long. It was bad enough that they had to make up a human, but to keep it going would make things worse in the long run. “Besides, do we really want to scare him off with our family?”

Stitch laughed in the backseat. It was true, most people would be put off by the craziness that their family was. They didn’t really become the family that throws a lot of dinner parties with the neighbors.

“Nonsense,” Nani insisted, “he’s met everyone already. It’d be good.” She used the tone she used when there was no way to say no. If they didn’t comply, there would be serious repercussions.

Stitch stopped laughing, he knew they were trapped. Now we gotta find an excuse for me not being there…

Once they finally reached the bridal shop, Lilo immediately apologized to the consultant for how she acted last time they were there.

“Think nothing of it, dearie,” she said with a cheery smile. “I shouldn’t have suddenly tried to take something so precious. I’ve always had a love for rings, you see? When I saw yours I just got so excited.” As she was explaining, Stitch walked out from behind Lilo. “Oh my. And who might this be?” She got down and started to pet Stitch upon the head. After a moment her eyes grew wide before returning back to her soft smile.

“That’s my best friend. His name is Stitch.”

“I am terribly sorry,” Nani began to apologize, “I should have asked. You probably can’t allow pets in here, huh?” She stepped forward to take Stitch out but the lady stopped her.

“Oh no. It’s absolutely fine. How could we throw out such a cutie?” The smile on the lady’s face was grand. Reaching from ear to ear, you could see the joy in her old face.

“Bark. Bark, bark bark.” Stitch pretended to bark like a dog, enjoying the petting. The woman giggled at his display of happiness as he wagged his little stub of a tail.

“I thought I recognized you,” she said, referring to Lilo. “You two are the ones that have been running all over the island with those animals all these years.”

“Yeah. That’s us.” Lilo’s face grew red for a second time. They usually got recognized, but no matter how often it happened it was still slightly embarrassing. She was happy that it wasn’t the usual criticisms or barrage of questions though.

“Well then, Nani, Lilo, and of course you too Stitch. Shall we begin?”

Nani was nearly brought to tears the moment she saw the dress. It was everything she dreamed of and more. Even Stitch could see how amazing it was, and he knew nothing of dresses. The whole marriage ceremony was still foreign to him. He was learning about it from Lilo as they planned. All he knew was that he one day wanted to be married to Lilo, so he was doing his best to understand everything.

Once Nani came out in her dress, Lilo began to beam. And when she saw her reflection, Nani began to cry. Images of the wedding day, as perfect as it would be, filled her mind and made her vision blurry. She absolutely couldn’t wait any longer, despite knowing it was just around the corner. The way she looked at herself was like that of a dream. Like in a moment it might fade away, she ran her fingers along it so delicately, not wanting to damage it in any way.

“So it seems we have a few areas to touch up,” said the consultant as she tugged and pulled at certain areas of the dress. “Overall though it seems to be fitting well.”

“It’s beautiful. Thank you so much.” Nani’s voice had cracked slightly. She hoped David felt the same way when he saw her in it.

With the fitting finished, Nani returned to the changing rooms, leaving Lilo and Stitch alone in the room once again. Lilo continued to sit on the bench alone, while Stitch started to wander around the near empty room. One of the racks of dresses caught his eye. He sat in front of it staring, not even moving when Nani returned in her regular clothes. Nani had motioned for them to get going, and Lilo was eager to get to the competition. She called out to Stitch, but didn’t hear him coming to her.

“What’re you looking at, Stitch?” she asked as she wrapped around to where he was.

“It looks like he found something he likes,” the woman said with a laugh.

Lilo looked at the near empty rack. She quickly found what it was that Stitch was staring at. “Hey. Isn’t this the…”

“Yes. That would be the dress you were looking at when you came here last time.”

“Lilo! We gotta hurry or I’ll be late for work next,” Nani called from the front of the store.

“Go on ahead!” Lilo called back. “We’re heading out on our own anyway.” She heard the bells on the door ring before it closed. Her attention went back to the dress that still seemed to glow. “I can’t believe it hasn’t been sold yet.”

“Well, some dresses take time to go. I’ve been in this business a long, long time. I’ve made, fitted, bought, and sold many dresses in my years here. I truly believe that some dresses are made for certain people.” She smiled as Stitch’s eyes memorized each detail of the dress. “So, Stitch. You like this one? Think it’ll look good on Lilo when it’s you two getting married?”

Stitch’s ears and Lilo’s stomach dropped. Like everything they had known came to a standstill. He quickly looked to the lady, wondering how she had known, or why she would have said that.

“W-what are you talking about?” Lilo stammered as her mind ran a mile a minute, trying to figure out how they could have been found out. “S-stitch is my dog. I-I could never marry my dog!”

The woman’s smile grew even wider, seeing where their confusion had come from. “You don’t need to worry, dearie. I understand everything. I know Stitch is not a dog.”

“How yuuga know that?” Stitch asked. Seeing as she already knew, he decided to stand up, taking his place next to Lilo.

“My grandson is the one who adopted Noise.”

“Wait. You’re Jeremy’s grandma?” Lilo was amazed that she would meet another one of the little boy’s family. When Jeremy was still an infant, he was in an accident that left him deaf. Noise was able to bring sound back to him, they never left each other’s side. That was until Noise and Sample fell in love and their final programming took effect.

“That’s right, but please, call me Ellie. I didn’t realize it was you two at first who had helped him. I’ll never be able to thank you enough. He told me all about how you rescued Noise when she had suddenly disappeared.”

“So then yuuga knew we were together because of…”

“Your rings,” she interrupted. “I was fascinated by your ring, Lilo. It looked so much like Noise’s… Then I noticed the ring on your finger Stitch, that’s when I truly understood.”

Lilo and Stitch still looked worried, and felt even more so. No one had ever discovered them before. They knew their friends would be understanding, but not everyone was like their friends. Over the years, their biggest fear was always someone finding out and ridiculing or hating them. Now that it had happened, they didn’t know what to do or what she thought of them.

Ellie began resorting the dresses. Putting things back in order the way she liked it, completely unaware of what her declaration really done to the couple.

“So what do yuuga think of us being together?” Stitch asked out of curiosity. He really wanted to know what someone from Earth that wasn’t their friends would think.

“What do I think?” She placed a dress back on its hanger, staring at the wall as she thought things over. “Well…from what I understand from what Jeremy told me... For you to be wearing those rings, it means you are truly in love. I’ve always believed that love is all that matters. It can do amazing things.” She turned to them, noticing they had taken each other’s hands. “From the look on your faces, I take it you haven’t really spoken of it?”

Lilo and Stitch shook their heads in unison. “No we haven’t. You won’t tell anyone will you?”

Ellie calmed their worries, promising not to tell anyone. With that out of the way, she asked if Lilo and Stitch would stay with her for a while. She wanted to know more about the two that had changed not only her grandson’s life, but the lives of many people on the island. Listening intently, she felt sad when the two finally had to go. They asked her to pass on their ‘hellos’ to Jeremy and Noise when she got the chance.

After a quick visit to Morpholomew, Stitch was transformed into Styles once again. This time they had him wearing long tan shorts, and a flower print shirt. The light orange shirt matched with his ocean blue hair nicely. It was a little odd for him to be taller than Lilo, but it wasn’t something they were unused to. He had become Styles a few times over the years, but he always preferred to be himself.

“You’re finally here!” Victoria shouted, seeing them finally break through the crowd. The skate park had become far busier than it was a few days before. Everyone was excited and cheering for the teams currently skating. Lilo didn’t see Keoni, and she had hoped they didn’t miss him. “What took you two so long?”

Lilo quickly explained what had happened at the dress shop. Thankfully everyone was more interested in the skaters than listening to her story. The look of shock on Victoria’s face quickly subsided as Lilo continued to explain.

“And then we got Stitch changed and ran here as fast as we could.” After Lilo finished, she suggested they get out of the crowd. People kept bumping into them and the noise was starting to get slightly unbearable.

Having broken out of the crowd, Lilo, Victoria, and Stitch were quickly spotted by a group of unwanted girls. Sam and her gang had shown up right after the competition started. Their eyes never once left the crowd, constantly scanning for Lilo and this mysterious Styles.

“There they are.” Sam said slyly to her friends, pointing out the three that had just emerged.

“Is that Styles?” Lea asked, mouth slightly agape.

“He’s quite the looker.” Abby added. “How did she ever get someone like that?”

“The how doesn’t matter. He won’t be hers for long.” The smiles on their faces could send shivers down anyone’s spine. Mertle couldn’t help but feel excited, knowing that Lilo would soon get what was coming to her. Sam began to walk forward with confidence, her entourage following slightly behind. “Time to work my magic.”

Chapter Text

“So when is Keoni’s team on?” Lilo finally asked, unaware of the oncoming threat of Sam and her gang.

“They did the prelims only a little while ago. A lot of teams didn’t make it. He should be up in maybe a half hour.” Victoria pointed to a large board on the other side of the park. Upon it were all the names of the teams that had entered. Quite a few had already been crossed out. Thankfully, Keoni’s team, simply named ‘The Jam’ after the experiment he looks after, was still displayed.

“That’s good. We didn’t miss him.” Stitch was worried with the extra time they took at the dress shop, that they might have missed it already.

“No worries. They were great!”

“Were they great, or was Keoni great?” Lilo joked, but her suspicions were confirmed as Victoria became as red as a tomato. The couple began to giggle as Victoria tried her best to hide her blush.

Their fun was quickly ended when Sam suddenly walked up, cutting between Lilo and Stitch.

“Hey, Lilo!” Sam exclaimed overly cheerfully, something the two girls had never seen. “I can’t believe I ran into you here.” Between her tone and suddenly pulling Lilo into a hug anyone who didn’t know them would think they were longtime friends. Victoria herself was speechless. To her, it would have been less surprising if Sam had suddenly punched Lilo to the ground, or had Abby and Jen do it at least.

Lilo’s eyes went wide from shock. The last person she expected to see was Sam, and getting a hug from her even more so. Not knowing what to do, she managed to get out of her grip, stepping away as fast as she could. Once out of the hug, she could see that the rest of Sam’s gang had showed up as well. What are they doing here? What could they be planning? Normally, Lilo wasn’t one to instantly jump to conclusions, but Sam’s gang was a different story. They wouldn’t have spied on her for over a week and then walked up and not have something sinister planned.

She thought she saw a sly smirk on Sam’s face, before it returned to her fake cheery demeanor. Turning around, Sam feigned shock at seeing Styles standing there, looking really confused to what was happening.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there,” she lied, getting as close to Styles as she could, “I’m Sam. I don’t believe I’ve met you before.”

This was the first time Stitch had ever seen Sam, Stitch was never around when it was her turn to spy on Lilo. He had heard enough about her from Lilo though to recognize who she was before her introduction.

“Um, I’m Styles,” he said rather confused. He looked to Lilo but she just shrugged, also not sure what was happening.

“Styles. That’s an interesting name.” She moved herself even closer, giving him a look of the eyes and a smile that always made boys melt. She was confident that if nothing else, the low cut top she wore under her jean jacket and her short skirt would do the trick. “Where are you from?”

Abby rolled her eyes, hating how boys always fell for Sam’s charms. She looked away, feeling uncomfortable that a painful memory started to crop up.

Stitch took a step back, not liking how close she was getting. However, Sam closed the distance, blocking his view of Lilo.

“I-I’m…from, um… Maui,” he stammered out, trying to keep his English in check while feeling uncomfortable.

“Really? I heard the guys from Maui were good looking, but I had no idea how good looking.” Sam finally grabbed onto Styles, wrapping herself around his arm. She pressed herself against him as much as she could. Now I’ve got him. Say bye-bye to your boy Lilo.

It was at this point that Lilo and Victoria understood what Sam was trying to do. They shared a light giggle, knowing that Sam’s attempts were going to go nowhere. Myrtle raised an eyebrow, wondering what they were giggling about. To her, it looked like Sam had just about stolen Styles. The slight distant look in his eye and nervousness was one she had seen in plenty of boys before they fell for girlish charms.

“How about I show you around? I’m sure your friends won’t mind. I know some great places to have some fun.” She gave him a wink, by this point most guys would be putty in her hands. She tried to move him, take him away from the others, but found her wouldn’t move an inch.

“Could you please let go?” Stitch decided to try to be polite. He didn’t want Sam to cause any trouble for them at the moment, and he was sure she would. “I’d rather stay here with Lilo.”

Sam couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Her cheery façade had almost cracked. What? Stay with Lilo? Over me? The others were just as shocked as her, Abby even more so. Guess I’ll need to try even harder. Lilo and Victoria were doing their best to hold back their laughs, and Myrtle was having a sense of déjà vu.

“Awe, you hurt my feelings.” She put on a frown, trying to play with his emotions. “I’m sure you don’t mean it though.” She tugged again, finding him even more unmovable than before. “C’mon. I’ll make it worth your while.” Sam’s voice took on a more seductive tone. A tone Stitch had heard from Lilo before, but he didn’t like hearing it directed at him from someone else. Something inside him made him hate it.

Maybe a kiss will get him. Sam thought, beginning to lean in. Lilo saw what she was about to do, making her blood boil and her fists clench. She was about to run over and pull Sam off her boyfriend when she saw Stitch’s face distort into anger.

Stitch effortlessly shoved the girl off. “I’m sorry you had trouble understanding.” She was completely stunned, unable to comprehend what had just happened. “I’ll be staying with Lilo.” He quickly walked to Lilo’s side, taking her hand. The smile on her face lit up his world, making him feel infinitely better.

The three decided it would be best to walk away. Not wanting to cause a scene, and really to just get away from the gang in general.

Meanwhile, Sam’s mind was reeling trying to figure out what she had done wrong. Her façade completely vanished, making way for her anger and disgust. “What could she possible have that I don’t?” She had begun shouting, not caring who around her heard. “I’m taller than her, prettier than her, richer than her!” Stomping over to Lilo and Styles she put a forceful hand on their shoulders, splitting them apart. Getting right in Styles face, she continued her ranting. “You could do so much better than her. I’m better. I can do so much more for you than she ever could.”

The cold stare in Styles’ eyes sent a chill through her body. Never in her life had anyone, especially not a boy, ever looked at her like that. Sam noticed that she had forgotten to breath for a second, not understanding why she couldn’t convince him to leave Lilo.

“You could never do anything for me.” He walked past her, not caring to look back. “All I need is love. It’s clear you have none of that.” Taking Lilo’s hand once again, he brought it up to his lips, leaving a gentle kiss on it. Sam didn’t see, but Abby, Jen, Lea, and Myrtle did.

The trio walked away, this time for good. They had a feeling that Sam wouldn’t be following, and they were happy to find out they were right.

Sam didn’t move for several moments. Trying to see what she had done wrong, where she had gone wrong. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and shook it off quickly. “Don’t touch me!”

“Sorry,” Jen said, pulling her hand back as fast as she could. “But we should really get out of here.”

Sam looked around, seeing that people were staring at them. Staring at her. She didn’t like when people saw her as anything but the cheery popular girl. Wordlessly she walked away, not bothering to see if her friends were following or not. Lea and Myrtle stared at her back, while Abby and Jen shared a look before they all went after her.

“This isn’t going to be fun,” Abby mumbled to herself.

“Shut it!” Lea shot at her, not wanting Sam’s mood to be brought down any more than it already had been.

“’All I need is love,’” Victoria mocked in a deep voice. “That was quite the declaration, Styles.”

“Well I thought it was sweet.” Lilo gave him a kiss on the cheek.

The three had walked around the crowd, putting as much distance between them and Sam as they could. The skate park itself was off limits to everyone but the teams and event workers. The chain fence was as far as anyone could go. Most of the viewers were right near the action, but they had just as good a view down the fence a little. They could at least see the skating, that’s all the really mattered.

“I-I wasn’t really sure what was going on,” Stitch admitted. “The way she was talking… It made meega really mad for some reason.”

“I’ll tell you what was going on.” Victoria became really serious, overly agitated at the whole experience. “She was trying to steal you from Lilo.”

“Steal meega?” The shock on his face was only matched by his confusion.

“Yeah. Make you fall in love with her.” Victoria crossed her arms on the fence, leaning against it. “The nerve she has. To think she could just walk up and seduce someone’s boyfriend.”

Stitch looked to Lilo, seeing the face that wasn’t quite his in her eyes. “Why would she want to do that?”

“Probably to get at me.” Lilo looked away from him, staring out onto the competition. “Most likely she wanted me to feel humiliated and alone.”

Stitch tilted her face back to his, looking into her eyes with as much love and caring as he could. “Well that could never happen. I’m yours forever.”

“I know.” She said with a smile. “I’m more worried about what she’ll do next.”

“Yeah.” Victoria stretched before standing back up. “She’s not going to like that she didn’t win. This won’t be the end of it.”

Silence fell upon them. The cheers and yells of the crowd continued to grow around them. It seemed like there were even more people there than there were a few moments ago.

“Up next, ‘The Jam!’ Lead by Keoni Jameson!” The announcement reached them loud and clear. Excitement pushed away all the worry they had just felt.

“C’mon!” Victoria was already running to get closer to the action. “Hurry up!”

The two were amazed at how fast she was able to run through the crowd. It seemed like all she needed was the right motivation. While allergy season was slowly coming to an end, it wasn’t quite done yet. Victoria ran through it, not caring that it was a little difficult to breathe. She needed to be as close as she could to see Keoni skating his best.

Keoni stood at the top of the half pipe. Ready to drop in. His eyes scanned the crowd, hoping he could catch a glimpse of Victoria before he had to start. Come on, Victoria. Where are you? He heard the bell go off and looked to his two teammates to his side. They both gave him a nod that they were ready, and he was committed to riding without seeing his girlfriend.

The skate competition was broken into five rounds. Each round three of the five team members would get a three minute heat to score as many points as they could. At the end of the round the bottom three teams would be eliminated. The only exception was the final round, in which one member from the final two teams would face off, head to head. Keoni’s team barely managed to make it past the preliminaries, they had to score almost perfectly in order to stay in.

Victoria, Lilo, and Stitch managed to squeeze to the front of the crowd just as Keoni and his two teammates dropped in. They started cheering as loud as they could. It was truly amazing how far they had come over the years. Before he was good, but now it looked like Keoni could be a pro if he wanted.

The run looked like it was going good, until Keoni missed his landing, falling to his knees. Dammit. It was going so good. He hesitated getting up for a moment. He knew that he needed to get going to make it to the next round, but his legs weren’t moving.

“You can do it, Keoni!” Victoria’s cheering broke through the roar of the crowd. He followed the sound of her voice, seeing her and his friends cheering him on.

Can’t give up here. Not when they’re watching me. He cocked a smile, feeling rejuvenated. Giving Victoria a wave as he grabbed his board, he quickly tackled the ramp again.

After the final buzzer, the run ended, and the crowd went silent. Everyone waited with baited breath, wanting to see the result. With four sevens and one six, they managed to make it to the next round. Everyone cheered, but no one cheered louder than Victoria. Keoni’s remaining team mates, rushed the half pipe, pulling them all into a group hug. They had a long way to go, but for now, they were still in it.

“Who does he think he is?” Sam was still fuming. If there was anything near her to break, she would have done so. She stood at the edge of the park, pacing back and forth as her gang watched her rant. “Turning me down. For her? What’s so great about her? I’m clearly so much better. There must be something wrong with him. This has never happened to me before. Wait…this is a dream. It has to be a dream. That’s it. It’s all a bad dream.”

Abby giggled at her leader’s display. She had never seen Sam lose her cool so badly, it was actually quite refreshing to her.

“Is something funny?” Sam turned on her heel with fire in her eyes.

“Yeah actually.” Abby admitted, not caring to hide her insubordination. “It’s really funny. Hilarious even. You actually didn’t get him. After all that’s happened, you failed at something.”

“I never fail at anything!” She stomped over, raising her hand. Sam was fully prepared and ready to hit the girl, but felt a hand hold her back. She looked over to see the tall form of Jen keeping a tight grip on her wrist. “Ugh.” She broke free, returning back to pacing. “Don’t think this changes anything. I can still get any guy. You of all people should know that, Abby.” She took pride in the hurt look that came over Abby’s face. “There’s definitely something wrong with that boy.”

Myrtle took a step back. She didn’t understand why they were fighting like this. She and her old friends would never go on the way they were. I guess this isn’t me and my old friends though… For a second, she missed seeing the laughing faces of Teresa, Elena, and Yuki. They really did have a lot of fun. I wonder what they’re up to.

“So?” Lea asked, hoping Sam was finally done with her temper tantrum. “What are we going to do? It’s pretty clear we aren’t going to be breaking her heart through her boyfriend anytime soon.”

“I could just beat her.” Jen suggested, getting a light laugh from Sam.

“No. That’d just get you in trouble with the cops again.”

“Besides, she pushed both of us off last time,” Abby reminded her, wishing she could just leave already. “Remember?”

“We need to really get at her. It’s not enough to force her into anything. She needs to submit. Truly submit and commit to staying out of our way.”

“We could go through her friends.” Myrtle knew the most about Lilo. She thought she would be the best one to come up with some sort of strategy. Mostly, she wanted to contribute to fit in more and get on Sam’s best side. “She’s always had a soft spot for her friends. Get to her through them.”

“Closer. But that’s never stopped her before. We’ve basically put the fear of God into her one friend, it just makes her fight back more.”

“Then I don’t really see any other way.” Lea wasn’t one for giving up. To her, just beating Lilo to a pulp, threatening her friends, or both, was seeming like the best options.

“Wait.” Sam stopped moving. Brilliance had just rained down on her. “I’ve got it.” The look in her eye excited Lea, and made Myrtle shudder. She didn’t know why, but something told her she wasn’t going to like the idea Sam had just gotten. “Those weird animals.”

Chapter Text

Mertle felt her blood run cold and her stomach drop. It took her a few moments to process what Sam had just said. Not wanting to believe it, she was sure she had just heard wrong. There’s no way she said to use Gigi’s cousins.

“That’s a great idea!” Lea was on board instantly. She and Sam shared in the excitement and brilliance that was their new plan. “All I’ve seen her ever do is hang out with those weird things.”

No. They’re not talking about them. Mertle continued to ignore what was happening.

“I see them all over the place,” Jen said, “you can’t go anywhere in town, heck, the whole island without seeing at least one of them.”

They’re going to realize it’s a bad idea any second now. The colour began to drain from Mertle’s face.

“What are you planning to do exactly?” Abby asked, still not wanting to be there, but happy that they had a sound plan.

Maybe I won’t have to have anything to do with it. She saw the other girls start to gather around near her. Still at conflict within herself, she joined them, taking her place between Lea and Abby.

“I’m not entirely sure what yet,” Sam looked between them one at a time. “It’s clear though. Lilo has a soft spot for those things.” Mertle winced, whether she liked it or not, her life time friend was one of those things too. “She would do absolutely anything for them. Wouldn’t she, Mertle?”

“Uh, yeah. She’s always been hanging around them. Ever since we were kids.” She almost hated herself for answering. It’s all to get at Lilo. It’s all to get at Lilo. It’s all to get at Lilo. Truly, she didn’t overly care about the extended family of Gigi’s. If it was up to her, she wouldn’t be considered a part of the ‘ohana. However, Gigi cared for Lilo and all of the experiments. If Gigi knew of this…she’d hate me forever.

“Perfect.” Mertle couldn’t believe that Sam’s grin grew even wider. It twisted her face in an evil distortion. “Then all we need to do is figure out how to get one, and what to do with it. Then Lilo will be all ours.”

“Lilo isn’t the only one that likes them though,” Lea reminded the group.

“She’s right.” Jen did a quick scan of the town around them. “A lot of people have them as pets, or in stores. I hear about them all the time. It seems like the town really loves them too.”

“It’s not like that’s a problem,” Abby scoffed, “we just won't get caught. We’re good at that.”

“Abby’s right.” It was like her earlier outburst had never happened. All of Sam’s confidence, the one that drew Mertle in in the first place, had returned. It almost made her forget her guilt. “If it’s us, we can do anything. You’re right though, it’s almost like everyone here loves the strange things.” She gave each girl in the group a nod. One that they understood the meaning of and returned. “We’ll just need to keep all of this between us.”

“Well, guys? We made it this far. I have to say, this has been one of the best moments of my life.” Keoni looked to each of his team mates in their huddle. “All we have is this last one run. All or nothing.”

His team had made it to the final round. The only ones left in event were ‘The Jam’ and ‘Ravens.’ They had managed to scrape by in each round by a thread. No matter how bleak it looked, his friends kept pushing, always giving it their all. Keoni looked at their tired faces, seeing all the excitement and fun they had together in their weathered expressions.

“They’re going to be a tough group to beat. No matter who they send out.” None of his friends flinched. They all knew who they were up against. “They’ve managed near perfect scores each heat.”

“What are you telling us this for, man?” His longtime friend Adam patted him on the back, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

“Yeah, we know that.”

“We don’t care.”

We can totally win this, dude.”

One by one, each of them laughed off the threat and thought of defeat. It was one of the qualities he loved about his team, never backing down from a challenge.

“You’re right,” he felt invigorated by their confidence, “we can only send out one person though. I say you go out, Adam.”

“Sorry, bro. I can’t.” Adam shook his head before taking off his helmet. His long black dreadlocks fell around his face, finally free. “My hairs had all it can take.”

“Your hair? This is no time for joking around. You’re our best skater.”

“I’m not.” Adam saw the doubtful look in Keoni eyes. “Even if I was, you’re our leader. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. Besides, I’d say you have the best motivation out of all of us.” He motioned to the sideline, where a certain pony-tailed girl was still cheering and waving.

Keoni’s face turned a flush red, making his team mates laugh at his embarrassment.

“He’s right you know.” All of them agreed. “You’re the best man for the job.”

“You’re sure?” Keoni was nervous. He had the weight of all their hopes and expectations piled on his shoulders, but the nods and smiles from his friends made it all feel light as a feather. “Okay.”

With the final announcement, Keoni stepped forward, checking that his helmet strap was on right. He took a final look at his competition on the other side of the half pipe. A tall boy from the mainland. One of the ones that was going to get a scholarship at the end of graduation. I’ve got this. Clearing his mind, he set his board on the edge of the ramp, ready to drop in at a moment’s notice. Right before the bell rang, he heard Victoria from the side lines. Nothing but her voice made it through to him. Without realizing it, a smile formed on his face and his focus sharpened. I’ve got this.

Having just left Victoria and Keoni at Keoni’s house, Lilo and Stitch walked home together holding hands. Stitch had to stay in his current form, because Styles was meant to have dinner with their family. Neither one was looking forward to it. It was simple enough to fool the outside world when Stitch was human, but he still acted like himself. They never had him stay around their family long enough for them to notice anything familiar about him.

This is going to be a nightmare. Lilo thought, looking up at the passing clouds. I sure hope they don’t notice his ring. She could feel the warm metal in her hand, it had a nice calming effect. At least it would be easier to explain Styles having a ring with my name on it than Stitch.

Despite the dread of the possible world shattering evening, Lilo enjoyed getting to hold Stitch’s hand through town without worry. It was refreshing to be able to be an item out in public. Both of them knew that things would be easier if Stitch was human. However, it didn’t matter to Lilo whether he were an experiment, alien, human, or some other creature. She loved him for him.

It’s nice to be out like this. A lady tending her shop saw them walk bye and happily waved through the window. Stitch quickly returned the wave, enjoying not having to act like a dog. But I’m glad she picked the real me. Stitch thought back to the question he had asked Lilo four years ago. During that romantic dance, the world seemed perfect. For a moment, he was certain that Lilo might consider wanting him to stay human. He smiled, remembering the twinkle in her eye as she told him that she loved the real him. The cute and fluffy experiment that he was. I really wouldn’t change anything for the world.

Lilo felt Stitch’s hand tighten around hers. She quickly stopped caring about the dinner they were about to have. It was their time to be together. Whatever happens, happens. Deciding to do something she always wanted to, she wrapped herself around Stitch’s arm. Leaning her head on his shoulder as they walked. It took a few moments to get used to, never before getting to walk together like that. It quickly became something they would miss, eager to do whenever Stitch became Styles again.

“So? What did you two do today?” David was the one who decided to break the ice. After the initial pleasantries of their dinner conversation, everyone became quiet. Jumba and Pleakley had dressed up in their usual disguises, playing the part of Aunt and Uncle to Lilo and Nani. It wasn’t often that they had a guest at the dinner table, at least not one that stayed for more than a few minutes. “You had mentioned something about a skate competition.”

“Oh yeah. Keoni’s team had entered a big skate competition.” Lilo tried to do as much of the talking as she could. Stitch was able to keep his human like table manners in check, however he still had troubles keeping his English going for long periods of time. “We met up after Stitch and I left the dress shop.”

“Speaking of which, where is Stitch?” Nani shifted her view between the blanket of darkness outside of the window, and the clock showing it was well past dinner time. “It’s not like him to miss a meal.” Styles gave a slight gulp, hoping his cover wouldn’t be blown. “I’m sorry, Styles. You haven’t met Stitch yet have you?”

“It’s absolutely fine.” He assured her. “I…um…met him before we went to the skate competition.”

“You did?”

“Yes!” Lilo said a little too loudly. “After we met up with Styles, Stitch went off to spend some time with Angel and Reuben. Give me and Styles a little alone time together.”

“Well that’s unusually sweet for the little monster.” Aunt Pleakley said into his plate of food. Lilo gave him a glare subconsciously, making him swallow instantly. “What I mean is.” Pleakley began backtracking, trying to make up for what he had said. “Normally you two are inseparable. That’s all.”

You have no idea. Styles laughed to himself.

“So how did old skater boy do in the competition?” Uncle Jumba asked, trying to bring the topic back off of Stitch.

“He did really good,” said Styles before Lilo continued for him.

“Yeah. His team made it all the way to the final round! Unfortunately he lost to the other guy. But it was really close. Victoria was really happy for him, and his team was excited to have made it so far. Keoni said that they would win the next one for sure.”

“I’m proud of him, second place is nothing to scoff at.” Nani began dishing herself out some more food.

“Yeah. Nani would know, she used to get second place a lot in the old surf tournaments!” David told them. Most of her trophies and medals had been lost in the explosion, but the memories were still there.

“David!” Nani jabbed him in the arm, rolling her eyes at him. He rubbed the spot playfully with a large smile.

“What? You did! She also got first a lot too! It’s all about the passion.”

“So do you have anything you’re passionate about Styles?” Aunt Pleakley asked, eager to get to know as much about Lilo’s boyfriend as he could.

“Um…” Styles brought his left hand up to his chin, tapping it like he always does. Trying to think of the things he liked. Never really getting the chance to flesh out his human sides interests, it was hard to think of something fitting. “Something me-I’m interested in.”

Pleakley’s eye caught onto something. A small red and white band on Styles’ finger. “Hey! That’s an interesting ring.” Jumba, Lilo, and Styles’ eyes grew wide with shock. Before he could even move, Pleakley had grabbed his hand. Trying to pull it back, the alien held on even stronger. “Don’t move! Aunt Pleakley is an expert in fashion. Just let me see this and…hey! It says Lilo’s name.”

“What?” David dropped his fork and quickly leaned over to look. “Would you look at that? It does say ‘Lilo.’”

“Such amazing work too!” Pleakley got as close to it as he could. “I’ve never seen a metal so smooth and flawless. And it’s oddly warm. Whoever could have made it?”

“My dad did,” Styles quickly blurted out, not entirely lying. He forcefully pulled his hand back, but the damage had already been done.

“Your dad must be quite the craftsmen. What does he do?”

“I suppose you could say he’s a craftsmen.” Laughed Styles, trying to think on his feet. Lilo had become oddly quiet and pale, but no one had noticed. “He…um… owns a jewelry store back home. He makes a lot of stuff. He, uh, wanted to make jewelry using names for couples and stuff. I, uh, offered Lilo’s name as a test and he made it. It’s warm because he… just finished making it yesterday.”

“It’s a really good test…” Pleakley was impressed. He had spent a lot of time reading articles and stories about jewelry and ring making. The intricate designs always fascinated him. Never before though had he seen someone’s name be made out of the metal itself.

“I hope we’ll get to meet your father sometime,” Nani finally said once everyone went silent, “Do you have a mom?”

“No…no mom.” He tried to play it off as fine. Never before had Stitch thought about having a mother. Nani was always kind of a mom to him, or at least as close to one as he’d ever get. The thought of it saddened him slightly. “It’s just been me and my dad forever.”

“Oh… sorry.”

The rest of the supper went a lot smoother than the beginning.. Lilo and Stitch didn’t have any more close calls. Thankfully, no one thought it was strange for Styles to have a ring with Lilo’s name on it. To them, Lilo and Styles had been together for four years, and those kind of things would be normal. Especially in this day and age where everyone seemed in a hurry to find love. Keeping the topic off of herself and her boyfriend, the dinner conversation actually went really well. They all laughed together and had a lot of fun. It was the most successful meal they’d ever had.

The night air was cold and crisp. A slight breeze carrying the strong salty sent of the ocean wafted up to the house. Lilo stood on the front deck, basking in the full moons glow. Her radiant beauty making Styles smile at the mere sight of her. They stood facing each other, holding hands. A picture perfect moment straight out of a romance movie. Like it was depicted in all the cheesy films Pleakley made them watch over the years. It was expected of Styles to give Lilo a good night kiss. Completing the moment was Nani, watching from the window with hawk like eyes. Making sure the young boy didn’t try anything on her little sister, not that she was expecting him to.

“This is kind of weird,” Lilo giggled.

“Yeah it is.” His voice was soft and soothing, but Lilo was eager to hear Stitch’s real voice again soon.

They had a full day packed full of surprises. The experience was draining, but thankfully the night was coming to a close. Soon, Stitch would be back and they could be together like normal again.

“You won’t be gone too long?”

“Of course not.” Styles brushed the stray hairs out of her face. Her dark raven black strands flowing lightly behind her. “I’ll be back before you know it. Okay?”

“Okay.”

He cupped her face in his hand, leaning down to meet her lips to his. Always a magic filled moment, not even the burning eyes of Nani could ruin it. Making it last as long as they could, they soon parted. A final shared smile was made before Styles quickly ran off into the night, eager to return to his fluffy form.

“Quite the boy you have there.”

Lilo didn’t even notice the sound of the door opening, or her sister joining her one the wooden deck.

“Yeah. He’s perfect.” Nani could hear the love in Lilo’s voice. It truly filled her entire being with happiness.

“I’m really glad, Lilo. You were able to find an amazing perfectly normal human boy.”

Lilo frowned at the word normal. Once she began accepting herself as she was, loving all the weird things she did, she no longer liked the word. To top it off, she didn’t find a human at all. She found love in the place she least expected it. In an illegal genetic experiment created by an alien.

“Would it matter if he wasn’t human?”

Chapter Text

Nani was a little put off by Lilo’s question. “What do you mean would it matter?”

This subject meant a lot to Lilo. She was hoping that she would be able to warm Nani up to the idea of her and Stitch being together. If not that, at the very least she could find out what her sisters feelings would be on the subject. “What I mean is…we’ve met a lot of aliens and all. Most of which are our friends or a part of our ‘ohana. Would it really matter if I did fall in love with an alien?”

Nani stared at Lilo for a second. Her sister didn’t move an inch. Lilo leaned against the wood rail, staring off at the spot that they just watched Styles disappear to. She took a moment to figure out if Lilo was just joking, but she quickly realized that she wasn’t.

“Well, yeah. It would matter Lilo,” she said frankly, not realizing how important the next few things she said really were. “I mean. You’re human, we’re humans. It’s only natural to love humans. I don’t know a lot about alien culture, but I do know a lot about Earth. People wouldn’t really take it too well to discover alien life at all, let alone someone was in love with one.”

Lilo tried to hide her face. “I understand that. I’ve been the Ambassador for years now. I was just wanted to know how you would feel about it.”

Nani rubbed her sister’s back, she really wondered where this had come from. “I just want what’s best for you, sweetie.” She gave her a smile and started pulling her back into the house. “None of it really matters though. You have Styles, right?”

“Right.” Lilo gave her sister a fake smile. More than a little disappointed in the answer she received. “Is it alright if I head up to my room? I’m a little tired.” Lilo hoped her tone didn’t sounds as forced as it did in her head. She was trying her best not to jump out of her skin, hoping Stitch would be back soon.

“Sure, sweetie. Go on ahead.”

Nani watched her sister run off. She couldn’t quite tell what it was, but something seemed wrong about Lilo and their conversation.

“Everything okay?” David asked. He walked up behind Nani wrapping his arms around her, having just finished cleaning up from dinner. He felt her nearly melt into his embrace.

“Yeah. Lilo just asked me something odd that’s all.”

“Really?” he subtly led her to the couch, gently pulling her down with him, “what was it?”

“She was asking me what I would think if she fell in love with an alien.” Nani felt all of her troubles fade away as David slowly rubbed up and down her side. “It just seemed odd to me.”

“It’s not like we never gave that a thought before,” he reminded her.

One night, after a short visit from Styles the year before, they talked about how great it was for Lilo to have found a nice boy to take an interest in her. While growing up, Nani was always worried about Lilo making friends and fitting in. Not that she didn’t love her sister for who she was, she just wanted her to be able to find those that would accept her as well. David had casually joked about seeing Lilo the type to want to marry a monster or alien. To which, Nani had hoped not, wanting to have as normal a family as she could.

“You know I just want what’s best for her,” she said softly. Nani began thinking about how much her little sister had grown up, it actually scared her quite a bit.

“I know. And she does too, don’t worry. I’m sure it was just Lilo being Lilo. Besides, supper went great. Lilo and Styles sure do look cute together.”

“Yeah.” She cracked a smile. Even if it was scary to see Lilo grow up, she was happy that at least everything was going well for her. “They really do.”

“It’s a disaster, Stitch!” Lilo yelled out in frustration before Stitch even made it back in through the window. Her hair was a complete mess from her playing with it while waiting for his return.

“What happened?” He watched her flop onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Lilo took a deep breath before she gave her explanation. “I was just talking to Nani right after you left. Just completely normal. Then, I asked her what she would think if I was in love with an alien.”

“What?” Stitch gasped, bringing his hand up to his chest, feeling his heart begin to race. After he carefully closed the window he rushed to her side. “What did Nani say? Does she nota? Isa she happy?” His barrage of questions were easily answered by the way Lilo was acting. Despite that, he hoped that things actually went really well. His ears lowered in sadness when the girl shook her head.

“No. She basically said it would be best for me to be in love with a human. Specifically Styles. You were great tonight, by the way.”

Lilo’s compliment gave him a smile, but the issue of Nani’s reaction was much more powerful. “So? Are we still going to tell her?”

“Of course.” She hesitated. “I think? We really have to.” He could tell that she was really shaken up about the whole situation. “I don’t know. What if she isn’t happy for us?”

Stitch placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, moving it up to her head. He gently ran his fingers through her hair soothingly, straightening it back out.

“It’ll be okay,” he said with hope and confidence behind his words. “Nani isa family. We all one big ‘ohana. Once we tell her, everything will be okay.”

“You sure?”

“Ih. ‘Ohana means family. Family means-“

“’Nobody gets left behind.’” She continued for him. A smile already started to form on her face.

“’Or forgotten.’” Stitch finished, leaning down to give her a kiss on the nose. She giggled at his furs light touch, already feeling better with him there.

“You’re right.” She pulled him down to lay beside her. She had already changed into her night gown, more than tired enough for sleep. Now that Stitch was back though, she was filled with energy. “I’m sure that everything will be fine once we tell her.” With the discussion out of the way, Lilo decided to act on her energy. Stitch only had a fraction of a second to react, before being pulled into the first kiss of the evening before bed.

Meanwhile, Pleakley was finishing up his nightly routine. Having just finished washing and blow drying his wigs, he neatly set them up neatly on their mannequins. He always did his best to make sure his collection of Earth disguises were presentable at a moment’s notice. Making extra sure that the wig he had just used for dinner was up to his standards, he moved on to tidying up the room.

Thankfully there wasn’t too much cleaning to do. With Jumba spending most of his time in his lab, the room never truly got too dirty. Keeping things in their proper place was an entirely different matter. During a quick dusting, Pleakley accidentally knocked over an old box, the contents spilling across the floor.

“Really, Jumba?” Pleakley complained to himself, placing his hands on his hips. “Would it kill you to put things away for a change?” Upon further inspection, he realized the box was actually his own. Face turning a bright crimson, he gathered up all the contents. Mostly filled with old alien technology and Earth disguise pieces, what caught his eye the most was a photo album.

“What’s this?” He blew on the cover, causing the dust to fly everywhere. He began to cough and wheeze, finding it hard to breathe with all the dust now in the air. “I remember this old thing. I should put you where you belong.” It was an old photo album. Once he had filled it, he meant to place it in its proper spot on the shelves, but ended up forgetting to. “There. Perfect!”

Happy with his work, he walked away to finish getting ready for bed. Changing into his pajamas and night gown, the light was shut off and he stumbled into his bed. What Pleakley didn’t notice, was that a picture had become loose from the album. A picture from four years before slid down between the pages, sticking out only slightly.

Before she knew it, Lilo’s two week break was done and she was back in photography club.

“Welcome back, everyone! It’s so good to see you all.” Mr. Kawea sat on the edge of his desk at the front of the classroom. It was clear he was very eager to begin club activities again. With school out he dressed a lot more casually than he normally would.

Lilo sat in her usual desk beside Victoria and behind Daniel. Her hand rested on Stitch’s head as he sat to her side, petting him absentmindedly while the teacher continued his ongoing speech. He was happy to get to sit in a regular desk for a change, laying his head down on the cool wood, eyes constantly on the girl beside him.

Lilo didn’t realize how much she actually missed the old classroom. It was merely weeks but felt almost like a lifetime since she could feel the rickety wood work of old wood desks. Or smell the chemicals waft in from the dark room. The school treated clubs like most places would treat summer camps. Having them take place from late spring to early fall allowed more focus on school activities during the regular terms.

While the school still felt creepy from a general emptiness, the few students and pitter patter of feet gave some life to the otherwise deserted building. The best part of summer club activities was that Stitch was free to roam the school. There was a lack of faculty in the building. Only the teachers that ran clubs would be in the school, most of which didn’t care about the pet policy.

She found that her mind was drifting elsewhere, as she normally did on warm days. Lilo was already beginning to miss the freedom that she was given in the first few weeks, but at the same time was glad to be back to her regular schedule.

Mr. Kawea started asking everyone if they had taken any photos during the break. Victoria instantly volunteered to show the ones she had taken of Keoni. Stitch shifted his chair closer to Lilo as silently as he could. In a way it was to get a better look at what their friend had started showing, but it was mostly to be as close to Lilo as possible. He immediately began to miss the hand petting him, but was happy to feel it wrap around his back.

The two had forgotten the pair of twins behind them, ever watching the group ahead of them. Silent observers of the ones they had quickly began to call ‘friends.’ They both had seen Lilo’s hand travel from her pet’s head, to around his back. Also seeing Stitch’s arm do the same. Sharing a look of intrigue and sly grins, they returned their attentions to the front of the classroom. Where Victoria had just finished showing the pictures she had taken. She received light praise from the group and teacher, making her feel more at home with her new hobby.

“Would anyone else like to show anything?” Mr. Kawea asked, hoping that they would get to discuss a little more before their time was up.

Daniel shot a quick glance back at Lilo before volunteering himself. She gave no notice, as she had quickly returned to her daydreaming after Victoria’s presentation. He, however, gained her full attention as his first photo appeared on the screen at the front of the room.

A photo of Slugger, hitting a baseball, was shown to the class. Stitch noticed the boys eyes dart towards Lilo, as if studying her reaction. Afterwards he showed Babyfier, then Yarp, quickly followed by Sprout. Picture after picture of the experiments flashed across the screen. Daniel stated he spent the time photographing the animals of the island. Pure joy and excitement filled his voice and every action. He had stated on the first day that he loved animals, but it didn’t occur to anyone just how much. Once he was finished, he waited patiently for any words to be said, mostly interested in what Lilo would think.

She however, shared a look of concern with Stitch. No one had ever taken such notice in the cousins before. It made them feel uneasy, worried that if someone were to investigate them extensively, they might find out they are not actually from Earth. The most concerning thing though, was his final picture of Click. It reminded them that they never actually managed to find out if their small blue cousin was okay. They also never figured out what exactly had happened to Monochrome. They hoped that she would let them know if anything else out of the ordinary happened.

What is going on with me? The small rabbit like experiment locked herself in a supply closet. She found herself starting to feel twitchy again. Over the last few months she was beginning to feel strange. Like something inside her was beginning to change. Why won’t this pass? She wrapped her arms around herself and ran her hands up and down her body. An odd empty, yet tingling sensation had started to slowly make its way throughout her.

“Monochrome?” Asked a soft female voice from the other side of the door. “Did you find the Click boards?”

Her ears twitched lightly. “Gaba yuuga say?”

“I asked if you found the clipboards.” The voice began explaining their need to replace a few of the broken boards in the offices.

“Soka. Meega naga see any.” Monochrome was relieved that her fellow nurse soon retreated after that. She needed to be alone to get herself under control. Why do I keep hearing his name? Why do I keep seeing his face? She began to walk around the small space. The shelves gave her little room to move, but she preferred the enclosed area. It made her feel safe and welcome.

Click.

“Meega love yuuga so much.” She started to talk to herself, not even realizing the words were coming out of her mouth. “But this feeling…I can’t go a minute without thinking of you. What should I do?” Little by little, her mind slowly filled with only her boojiboo. She found herself becoming clumsier and clumsier, and her actions quickly stopped being her own.

Click… Click….

“Why didn’t I ask if you were feeling this too?” She steadied herself with a shaky hand, not noticing the shelf she grabbed onto began to vibrate along with her. She recalled the moments from the night before, a rare evening spent with Click.

“Yuuga look so butifa.” “Meega missed yuuga so much.” “Meega wish meega could hold yuuga forever.”

She could still hear his words ring through her head like a soft melody. His paw like hands had sent shivers down her spine countless times, ones that were still affecting her. Why did I feel so calm with you? Monochrome had been worried that her increased shakiness would have deterred Click slightly. However, the moment she laid eyes on him, it had completely vanished. Only a feeling of love and belonging as well as the desire to never leave his side remained. It pained her heart greatly to see him scurry back home.

Click... Click... Click...

Monochrome began feeling herself slip. Images of Click and the desire to see him continued to take over. Her mind stopped thinking of reason, only wanting to see the one she loved. A loud clang began to erupt as the objects on the shelf she held started to fall around her. Broken items and instruments lay discarded around her feet. She suddenly shifted towards the door, ready to tear it down and begin running to the electronics store only a few blocks away. CLICK!

Right before her paws could begin destroying the inferior wooden barrier, a soft voice brought her back to her senses. “Are you okay in there?”

“Huh?” Monochrome shook her head, suddenly noticing and hating the fists that were raised above her head, ready to destroy anything in her path. As strong as her desires for Click were becoming, her regular peaceful personality was still breaking through. She wanted to always to be on her best behavior for Click. She remembered how he praised her for doing so well at the clinic, and ever since then, she wanted to do good for him. “Ih. Meega oketaka…Meega oketaka….”

Chapter Text

Lea sat at her family’s dining room table. That’s what she always referred to it as. Her family's. Not since she was a child, had Lea called anything outside of her room her own. She felt absolutely no connection to anything in the large house. All the paintings, vases, shelves, and furniture were always just a little too clean. A little too perfect. The house had always felt more like a museum than a living space. Like everything was on display, not actually theirs. In direct contrast, she always kept her room untidy. Not a mess, but everything was just slightly out of place, not quite where it should be. It was her oasis.

Her breakfast was going just as well as it always did. The family sat a table that was just a little too large for the four of them. Same as every morning. Lea sat up perfectly straight, as did her parents and younger brother, Tyler. Not a word was spoken between them, and she and Tyler knew not to speak unless spoken too.

Their father was a high ranking businessman, a tycoon in the business world, yet timid when it came to his wife and family. Always wearing a crisp purple suite and his jet black hair slicked back. Tyler was only ten and already started to look like him, crooked nose and all. Lea looked more like her mother. They shared their gem like jade coloured eyes and long wavy hair.

Her mother’s eyes darted up from her plate, studying what her daughter was wearing. Always one for appearances, she never once let her children out in public without her approval.

“What is that you’re wearing?” Her voice was like thunder, cracking suddenly and without warning. At first Lea didn’t know it was directed towards her, but the lack of an answer from anyone else made her realize quickly that it was.

“It’s a scarf.”

Wanting to try something different, Lea tied a sky blue scarf around her hair in a bonnet like style. She thought that it would be a welcomed change, softening up her usual look.

“I can see it’s a scarf. But why are you wearing it?”

“Well I like it. I wanted to try something new. Doesn’t it look pretty?” Lea was actually quite proud of it. She had stared at herself in the mirror for nearly a half hour before breakfast to get it just right.

“It’s ugly.” As usual, her mother’s words were harsh and unrelenting. “Take it off before you go anywhere.”

“But-“

“No ‘buts,’ Missy. I will not have you tarnish our reputation.”

The conversation was over. Barely even an argument, there was no point in saying any more. Once her mother’s mind was made up there was no changing it. Her stubbornness was what made her the successful owner of a clothes store chain across the country.

A cold silence swept over the table. Lea stared at her food, listening to the light sounds of chewing around her. Every now and then a screech would come from a knife gliding across the porcelain plates, making her flinch. A sudden beeping and vibration replaced the lack of noise, making Lea wish she wasn’t there any longer.

“Hello.” Lea’s mom answered her ringing phone almost instantly, not caring to keep her work matters private. She began talking to whoever it was a little louder than necessary. She had always used volume to command respect. After the conversation had ended, she slammed the flip phone shut, placing it gently back into her pocket. “Lea, I need you to take your brother to his appointment for me.”

“What?” They both said together before glaring at one another. Lea and Tyler had never gotten along. She always hated how he would conform to their parents every whim, and he disliked how she seemed to act like she was better than them all.

“Moooooooom,” Tyler began to whine, “why does she have to take me? You’re the one that always goes with me. She’ll just screw it up somehow.”

Lea had already had enough of her brother and it was only the beginning of the day.

“Oh, please.” She wished her piercing eyes fazed him, even just a little. She wished he feared her like so many others. “I already have plans today, Mother. I can’t take him.”

“Cancel them or go after. Either way, you’re taking him.”

“But I really need to-“

“Leanne Kimberly Byres!” Her mother yelled her full name, forcing Lea to stop in fear. It wasn’t often Lea’s full name was used. Whenever she head it, she knew to stop anything that she was doing. “I said you are taking him. Don’t disobey my orders.” Seeing that her point had been made, she stood up to take her leave. “Now then. If you’ll excuse me, I have an important meeting to get to.”

The siblings glared at each other, wishing they didn’t have to spend time together. Lea gave her dad a small pout. She hoped that the puppy dog face would get her out of looking after her brother. Her dad saw what she was doing and quickly made his leave as well.

“Looks like we’re stuck together.”

She looked away from Tyler and crossed her arms. She made it as apparent as possible that she wasn’t going to enjoy this.

“Thanks for dropping us off guys. It’s really appreciated.” Reuben carefully helped Angel out of the buggy. They had just finished another check up with Jumba, and it was clear the initial walk to the ship had drained the girl.

“Isa no problem.” Stitch quickly ran around to the other side, offering support for Angel to get down from the vehicle. Lilo had run ahead to get her a drink for when she was back in the house.

It had only been a few months since Angel had found out she was pregnant, but she looked like she was only weeks away from having her baby. Every movement was strained and it was getting hard to walk. Reuben happily waited on her hand and foot. Never before had he worked so constantly and diligently, not even when working as Gantu’s Galley Officer. He was sure it would be good practice for him as he’d get even less time for rest once the baby was born.

With Angel safely seated back in her house, she thanked everyone for their help.

“Don’t mention it.” Lilo handed her a glass of water, which she happily drank down in one gulp. Taking the empty glass back, Lilo quickly ran off for a refill

“Is there anything else you need, sweet bean?” Reuben wanted to make sure she was as comfortable as possible.

Angel wished she was able to do more for herself, sometimes feeling Reuben took things a little too far. She remembered the day that she said she was a little hungrier than usual and he had made enough sandwiches to feed almost all the cousins. Ultimately, she found the gesture sweet and really liked the attention.

“I could fluff your pillow. Make you something to eat. Run to the store for your favorite juice. Make you a comfier chair…” The list went on and on, getting more elaborate each second.

“Reuben. Reuben, honey! ” Angel snapped him out of his sudden excitement, calming him back down. “I’m fine. Water will be enough. You worry too much.” She gave him a lick on his cheek, reassuring him that she was okay.

Lilo set the glass of water she had just fetched on a table beside Angel. It was clear that Angel needed her rest, but she insisted on Lilo and Stitch staying for a little while. She really missed getting to spend a lot of time with them, and wanted to hear about how things had been for them recently.

To get things out of the way, Reuben explained what Jumba had told them just before. It appeared that the pregnancy term was far shorter than humans, and most alien species for that matter. Where it takes humans nine months to develop, the next generation of experiments would only take three to four months. Jumba set the baby’s due date just days before Nani and David’s wedding. Despite the quick development, everything seemed to be going well. The biggest surprise was that he found that Angel and Reuben would actually be having twins. The news was shocking but not unwelcome. When he asked them if they wanted to know the genders, the couple quickly declined. For them, the surprise could only add to the experience.

What became an even greater surprise for Lilo and Stitch, was that Angel and Reuben asked them to be the children’s god parents. At first they didn’t know what to say, but after the initial shock, they happily accepted. After all, the two children would be a part of their ‘ohana anyway. Being there for them whenever they needed to be wouldn’t be any issue at all.

“So? Has anything new happened with you two?” Angel finally asked. Having patiently waited through Reuben’s long explanation, she was eager to finally hear from their guests.

Their guest’s news wasn’t as happy as theirs was, however. Lilo recounted what Nani had said to her a few nights before. It was really like they all had initially thought. While they disliked keeping the relationship between Lilo and Stitch a secret, it seemed like the idea of it wouldn’t be as welcome as it was to some others. Reuben told them that they shouldn’t worry about it so much. In truth, ever since he first found out, it wasn’t Nani that he thought they should be concerned over. However, he kept his suspicions to himself, in hopes that he was only over thinking it all.

“Reuben’s right.” Angel nodded in agreement. “Once all is said and done, I’m sure Nani will understand.”

“We know.” Lilo felt Stitch’s hand on her own. Everyone was being as supportive and hopeful as they could. Really, it mattered the most to her. Nani was her sister, she wanted to have her blessings just as much as she had wanted hers with David. “It’s just hard. We plan to tell her soon, and this sort of put a damper on the whole situation.”

“You’re going tell her already?”

“Isa been four years,” said Stitch, “if there was nothing to worry about, we would have told her already.”

“Has it really been four years?” Angel was amazed at how much time had flown by. It still only felt like yesterday that she and Reuben had gotten together, and just the day before that she had been activated.

“It’s amazing how fast things happen.” Reuben was just as surprised, he could still remember all the days he spent with Gantu. Some days he would wake up and think it was all a dream, and that he would still be working for Hamsterviel. “So? When are you telling her?”

“After the wedding.” Lilo sounded confident, but you could tell she was worried. Her eyes flashed with all the ideas of what could go wrong. The things that could be said, the things that could be done. “It’s close. But I think we’ll feel a lot better once it’s over and done with.”

Wanting to change the subject to something a little happier. Stitch told his cousins what had recently happened to him during his day as Styles. The two had heard a few things about Sam, and knew a lot about Mertle. It didn’t take long for them to know that Sam was bad news. The thought of her trying to steal Stitch from Lilo was downright laughable. They wish they could have seen her face when Stitch turned her down. It made a nice segway into some other funny stories. Angel teased her boojiboo by talking about the days he went overboard in preparation for the baby. It was slightly embarrassing for him, but everyone thought it was cute and funny.

They relished in being able to all sit and laugh together. Soon things would go back to normal and they could spend days out on the beach like they used to. What made the thought even more inviting was the idea of having two more additions to the fun and games.

“Sit still!” Lea pulled her brother back into his seat. Every few moments he would try to run off, unhappy about needing to be there. “You know Mom will kill us if you don’t do this.”

“Like I care. She’ll only be mad at you for messing up again.” He stuck his tongue out at her and she had clearly had enough of him.

“Tyler Byers?” The receptionist calling his name was like music to her ears. Lea happily stood and dragged Tyler to the office the lady led them to. “Dr. Usano will be with you shortly.” Her smile seemed genuine, but Lea could tell she was happy to get Tyler out of the lobby. Before she had gotten control over him, he had made a mess of the magazine display and play area.

There was clearly less things for Tyler to mess around with in the actual office. With nothing to do he sat in a chair with his arms folded, pouting. Finally. Some peace and quiet. Lea was relieved to have a breather. She hoped the actual appointment would go by quick, then she could get out of there. Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long. After only a few more minutes, the doctor let himself in, gaining Lea’s attention instantly.

It wasn’t the old man that had caught her eye, though. The large gray and white rabbit like animal that followed behind him was what had gained her full attention. It’s one of those things! She sat and watched patiently as the doctor went through his usual round of questions. Lea only answered when Tyler didn’t know what to say. Every now and then the animal would catch her staring at her and advert her own eyes.

“Alright. We’re ready to start the checkup.” The doctor turned from his computer and helped Tyler up on the examination table. “I hope you don’t mind. Monochrome here loves to help out. She’s quite a good nurse actually.”

Lea continued to watch silently as the animal the doctor called ‘Monochrome’ helped with the whole appointment. It’s really amazing what it’s been trained to do. She had seen trained animals do tricks and shows before, but never had she seen one actually help take notes and do things like check blood pressure. Almost like it isn’t an animal at all.

With the examination coming to a close, Monochrome had less to do. She had seen the tall girl stare at her the entire time and decided to go be friendly to her. Most of the people who came into the clinic were friendly, but she had always been shy and nervous. The girl flinched away from her when she approached.

“Don’t worry. Monochrome’s really friendly. No need to be scared.” The doctor assured Lea, adjusting his glasses on his nose.

“O-okay.” Lea put out a hand and petted the rabbit. Gaining a huge smile from her. She was amazed at how soft and fluffy the fur was. It didn’t feel like the fur of the pet bunnies she had seen in pet stores. “You really are friendly aren’t you?” Monochrome nodded her head and closed her eyes, enjoying the treatment she was getting.

With the appointment over, Lea quickly took her brother home. She was eager to tell the others of what she had just found. Her face contorted into an evil grin as the wheels started turning in her head. It appeared she had just found exactly what they needed for their plan against Lilo. Really friendly indeed.

Chapter Text

Mertle slammed her house phone onto the receiver. Her mom made some complaints and told her to be more careful, but the words barely reached her ears. Sam had just called her and told her what she was supposed to do. If she had felt guilt at any time in her life, it was now. Gaining a concerned look from her best friend Gigi, she ran to her room.

“Sorry!,” she yelled to her mom, but secretly also to her friend.

Laying in her room, with her head deep in her pillow, her legs kicked back and forth in the air as she tried to figure out exactly what she was doing in her life. Am I really capable of doing that? The soft pitter patter of paws could be heard coming from the hall, and Mertle wished she had closed the door to her room. Normally I wouldn’t give it a second thought. Am I really questioning being friends with Sam?

She recalled a time a few days before.

After hula practice, which had stopped being fun after breaking off with her old friends. Teresa, Elena, and Yuki had all approached Mertle outside by the road. It had seemed like they wanted to talk to her, maybe even try and make amends after what had happened. Hoping that they were finally going to apologize to her, she stopped to hear what they were going to say.

Before they had a chance to even say a word, Sam and the rest of the gang had driven up in Jen’s car.

“Hey, Mertle,” Sam yelled from the window, “we thought you’d just gotten out. We tried to call you.”

“Sorry. I was in practice,” she said halfheartedly. She was interested in why they had called her, but first she needed to hear from her old friends.

“No worries.” Sam shot a glare towards the three girls. Unseen by only Mertle. She had to do her best to keep Mertle in her control until she was fully theirs. Not caring that Teresa was clearly trying to say something, she continued talking to the new lackey. “Anyway. We’re going to get something to eat and then do some shopping. Hop in. Food’s on me.”

“Excuse me.” Teresa finally stepping forward, utterly annoyed at the Sam’s rudeness. “Can you give us a moment? We were having a conversation.”

“Wow. Aren’t you a rude one?” The girls in the car snickered at her comment. “C’mon, Mertle. You don’t want to associate yourself with this riffraff.”

Elena looked down at herself then over to Yuki.

“Riffraff?” She mouthed, to which Yuki just shrugged.

Teresa was fuming. “The only riffraff I see around here are you snotty, no good bullies. You think you’re so high and mighty but in reality you’re just sad. Really sad and pathetic.”

Sam had gotten what she wanted. For one of the girls to show a meaner side. She looked back to Mertle, faking a hurt look. “Are you just going to stand there and let her insult us?”

Mertle looked between Sam and Teresa, both wanted her to take their side. She hadn’t considered Teresa a friend since their falling out, but they had been great friends before. However, Sam had welcomed her into her gang, and was her ticket to finally beat Lilo.

Teresa was still upset over how Mertle had been acting, wanting to at least try to amend things. Despite the way things were between them, she hoped that Mertle would have their back in this at least. She was hurt, but also not surprised when she saw her old friend turn away from her.

“I’m sorry, Teresa. I won’t stand for someone insulting my friends.” Mertle started as she opened the car door. “You should apologize.”

“What? Me apologize? To her? Why should I?”

“You were being really rude.”

“So? She started it!”

Mertle let out a sad sigh. She had hoped for a bit better from Teresa. “I’m going to go hang out with my friends. I’ll talk to you guys some other time.”

“Really?” Teresa’s tone stung Mertle. “You think you’re actually friends with them?” There was an awkward silence. The thought that the girl would snap back to her senses didn’t come to fruition. “I just hope you remember who your real friends are before its too late. C’mon, guys.”

With the memory of Teresa, Elena, and Yuki walking away from her fresh in her mind, she sat up in her bed. She cuddled her pillow for dear life, taking little comfort in its soft and warm feeling. Was she right? Mertle questioned as she laid in her bed. Would a friend ask me to do something like this? She replayed her orders over and over again in her mind. It didn’t take long for her to realize it was too late to do anything. I have to do it.

As if to play with her conscience even more, Gigi silently walked into the bedroom. She hoped onto the bed, eyes asking what was wrong. She nuzzled her nose against Mertle’s leg, giving a soft whimper.

Mertle looked down at her pet, her friend, her companion. She saw the care that was in her eyes and face. It was something she didn’t get to see too often. “Its okay, Gigi. You can talk.”

The dog like experiment knew how Mertle felt about being normal. In all her years after the battle, she only spoke when given permission, or in emergencies. It was no problem to her, she loved being a dog. She especially loved being Mertle’s dog. Despite what Lilo might think of Mertle, Gigi had seen the loving and caring side of her ever since she was activated. She truly loved the girl and would always be there for her.

“What’s wrong?” Gigi asked, cuddling up against her friend. “It’s not like you to run off like that. What happened?”

“It was nothing, Gigi,” Mertle lied. I can’t tell you. I can’t let you know what I’m going to do.

“That’s a lie. I’ve been with you for years now, I can tell when something’s bothering you.”

“Really, Gigi.” She placed a hand on her dogs back, gently petting the entire length. “Just got some surprising news. That’s all. It’s really nothing important.”

“Okay…”

Gigi didn’t believe her, but she also wouldn’t question her. If Mertle wanted to talk to her about it, she would. Every time something happened, she was the first to know. So Gigi sat in silence, keeping herself as close to the girl as she could. A constant companion and friend, there whenever she was needed.

“Gigi…” Mertle’s tone became somber. She was truly torn about what she needed to do. “You’d love me no matter what. Right?” She was almost in tears. It wasn’t often that she was reduced to crying. Gigi was the one person in the entire world she didn’t want to hurt. Her greatest fear in life was if she would lose her.

“Of course I would.”

“Really? Truly for real?” She needed to know that her friend wasn’t just saying it.

“Yes really. I’ll love you no matter what. Always.”

Those words warmed Mertle’s heart. She truly hoped that they were true. Wanting nothing more than to still hear those words after all was said and done, Mertle smiled.

“Thank you.”

A warm breeze filled the air. The smell of the sweet tropical flowers, as well as the salty ocean filled the beach from end to end. There was no escape from the beautiful scenery, not even by entering the shaded forest could give reprise from the islands beauty. The sound of laughter and the soft click of cameras were all around them. Mr. Kawea had an idea for a special project for the club to do together. With little preparation, the seven of them found themselves on a deserted beach, right near the edge of the forest as well as the beginning of the mountains. It was a beautiful disconnect from the usual school walls they saw every day.

Everyone was busy running around taking photos. Victoria found a nice little patch of sand filled with sea shells. She instantly snapped a picture as the water quickly washed them away. While Lilo and Stitch kept to the inside of the forest. Normally the beach wasn’t a problem, but Stitch had just had a bath, and didn’t want to be around any more water for a while.

Lilo brushed away a large leaf, revealing Devon, silent as ever, setting up for a shot of the mountains. What he didn’t see was the twins slowly sneaking up behind him. Lilo was about to shout out to them, not wanting them to cause any trouble, but was surprised to see them politely ask about what he was doing. With a sigh of relief, Lilo joined back with Stitch. They were on a search for an ‘I’iwi. It was the only forest bird she hadn’t yet managed to get a photo of.

“Have you seen it?” She whispered to Stitch, loud enough only for him to hear.

“Naga.” He kept his eyes to the view finder of his own camera, not paying attention to where he was waking. “I hear it though.”

“Yeah. I do too.” Lilo kept her ears peeled, trying her best to focus on the soft sounds of the bird. All around her the world was filled with life, her determination to find this single orange bird took her mind away from her surroundings. “If we find this one, our collection will be complete.”

Lilo stopped suddenly when she heard a soft rumbling sound. “Wait. What’s that?” Stitch reacted too late, walking right into her causing them both to fall. All the birds in the trees above instantly flew off at the sound of the crash.

“Ogata,” Stitch said as he got up shaking his head. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.” Lilo giggled. “Gotta watch where you’re going, silly.” She petted him on the head before getting back up and readjusting her backpack. “But did you hear that rumbling sound?” Before Stitch could answer, his stomach began to growl. Lilo stared at him blankly before bursting out into laughter. “I guess its lunchtime, huh?”

Stitch’s face grew bright red, giving off his own embarrassed giggle. He nodded his head, and let Lilo lead him back to the others by the beach.

“H-hey, Lilo.” Daniel waved at the two as they emerged from the trees. “Where’d you go off too?”

“The forest.” She said simply, smiling as she always did. “We were looking for a bird. Not much luck on that part. So we decided to come back because we started getting hungry.”

“You’re hungry?” he asked a little eagerly before continuing. “I kind of brought too much lunch. We could share if you like.”

Lilo was flattered, but kindly declined. “Sorry. My aunt made us both a lot of lunch.”

“Oh. It’s no problem.” Daniel laughed it off. “Maybe someone else would like some.” After a moment of silence, he walked off. Stitch kept his eye on the boy the whole time, only leaving him once Lilo pulled out there lunches to enjoy together on the beach.

“The doctor will be right with you.”

The nurse left Lea and Mertle in the doctor’s office. Mertle could feel her heart beat louder than it ever had before. Her knuckles turned red as her grip on her bag began to tighten. She wiped a small bead of sweat from her forehead as Lea asked if she knew what to do.

“Y-yeah. I-I know.” She didn’t even sound confident to herself, gaining a look of worry from her partner.

“Are you going to be okay? We can’t have any screw ups now that we’re here.”

“I-I know,” She repeated. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry, I can do this.” In reality she wasn’t going to be fine. She felt like the room was on fire, dreading the moment the door would open. You can do this. You can do this. Mertle tried to calm herself as best as she could. The entire car ride over was a struggle. She continued to walk through the plan over and over again in her head. It was really simple. Can I actually do it though?

After what felt like a lifetime, the door to the office opened, and the Doctor, accompanied by a small rabbit like experiment appeared. Please don’t hate me, Gigi.

Monochrome instantly recognized the girl she had just seen days before. It took her a few moments, but she soon recognized Mertle as well. It’s cousin Gigi’s friend! Feeling safe with the two girls, Monochrome stood close to where they sat, as the doctor began his usual round of questioning.

Mid-sentence, Lea began to cough uncontrollably. “I’m sorry.” She managed to get out. “Could you get me a glass of water?”

The kind doctor gave her a caring smile, wrinkling his soft face. “Of course. Would you excuse me for a moment?”

Once the doctor was out of the room, Lea stopped coughing. Monochrome titled her head in confusion, wondering how the girl had recovered so quickly. The two girls shared a nod and before Monochrome knew what was happening, she was enveloped in the bag that Mertle had carried.

“Gaba?” she squeaked, completely helpless. She struggled in the bag, but despite her effort, she couldn’t break free. Monochrome wasn’t designed for strength, speed, or stamina. Her abilities were utterly focused on her effect on others. The only way out, was for her to be let out.

Oh my God. Mertle moved as fast as she could. The plan was originally to stay in the office and wait for the doctor’s return. Then after a few pleasantries leave. However, the moment she had the experiment in the bag, her legs began moving on their own.

“What are you doing?” Lea asked in a hushed tone. She gave a light smile and waved to the woman at the front desk as they hurriedly walked by and out of the clinic.

“I don’t know.” Mertle shot back, trying her best to keep Monochrome from moving or making sound. “I just started moving. We’ve got the exp-the animal, that’s all that matters.”

Lea noticed the slip up that Mertle had made. She wondered what it was that Mertle was about to call the creature. Perhaps there’s more she’s not telling us. Flinching from the suddenly blinding sun, they looked around for their escape vehicle. Sam wasn’t explicit when saying where they would meet, only that they, “would know it when they see it.”

Lea scoffed once she spotted where they were to go. “Really? That’s subtle.”

When asked, she pointed down the road. Jen and Abby were blocking the entrance to an alley. They made sure that whoever walked by wouldn’t enter by any means.

Once in the alley, followed close behind by the strong girls, they saw Sam sitting on the hood of Jen’s car. The alley met an abandoned parking lot on the other side of the buildings, once used for employees, but discarded as the city continued to develop. Mertle instantly noticed the cage that sat beside their leader. It looked just big enough for Monochrome to fit in.

“You’ve got it?” Sam asked as they approached, to which Mertle and Lea nodded. “Good. Lea take the cage.”

As she was ordered, Lea grabbed the cage and opened the door. Sam took the bag from Mertle and tossed Monochrome into the metal prison. With their prize obtained, Sam commanded everyone to get in the car. Lea gave the cage to Mertle, who was now forced to stare at their prisoner. Monochrome stared back at her with fear filled eyes. The only sounds she made were whimpers, tears staining her fur. Mertle wondered if the experiment she held was also able to talk, but realized that in the end it wouldn’t matter anyway. Nothing could make up for her current actions. She released a heavy sigh before entering the vehicle.

Click steadied himself against a shelf. He was standing on a display for music players when he found himself thinking about Monochrome again. It was getting harder and harder to keep control. No one knew that his living space in the back of the shop was almost in complete ruin. Come on, Click. Keep control. For her… Above everything, he wished he knew why he was feeling this way. Why he felt something inside him turn and change. The only thing he did know, was that if he didn’t figure it out soon, he wouldn’t be able to keep control much longer. The only reason he hadn’t destroyed everything in sight and rush to Monochrome’s side, was he wasn’t as physically strong as some of his other cousins, and because he wanted to stay good for her.

Mrs. Jefferson saw that Click was having troubles again. She made her way over to him and placed a warm hand on his back. He slightly flinched at her touch, but didn’t move away. “Are you doing okay?”

She could feel him shake beneath her hand. He shook his head. “Naga.”

“You’re still not sure what’s causing it?”

Click shook his head again. He tried his best to keep what was happening to him a secret from his family. As time went on it became more and more difficult to keep it hidden. Eventually, Mrs. Jefferson figured it out on her own. As for Click’s wishes, she kept it hidden from her son, Click’s best friend.

“Meega soka.” He strained to even say these few words. He bawled his hands, making slight marks in the wood of the shelf that supported him.

“Don’t worry.”

It amazed Click at how kind she was. Even though he didn’t know many people, he still knew he was lucky to have such a caring family. He gave her a weak smile, finally starting to feel better. Everything seemed to be going well until he saw something that turned his blood to ice.

Monochrome?

A black car drove by. Normally he wouldn’t pay attention to the traffic outside, but something made him feel drawn to it. He only caught a glimpse, but a glimpse was enough.

Monochrome?

Click didn’t see who it was that was driving the car, and he didn’t pay attention to the other four passengers. What drew his eye was the cage that he saw inside the vehicle. Within the cage was the love of his life. His boojiboo.

“Monochrome!” he shouted, not even realizing what he was doing. With a large growl that didn’t sound like his own, he jumped from the display. Without giving it a second thought he crashed through the window, shattered glass flying everywhere. Click could feel the sting of small cuts, but paid them no mind. All that mattered was getting to the car, by any means necessary. “Monochrome!”

Chapter Text

Click frantically chased after Monochrome. Not since his activation had he acted such pure instinct. To him, it was like his boojiboo was calling out to be saved. However, no matter how desperate, or how hard he tried, he was unable to catch the black car. Once it disappeared around a corner, it was lost to him. Still in a blind fury and out of the need to protect the love of his life, Click continued running around town. Nothing was going to stop him, nothing was going to get in his way. Behind him laid a wake of destruction, despite not being a strong or fast experiment, he found himself tearing through fences, benches, anything that wasn’t solidly built.

From an outside perspective, it was impossible to tell who or what caused the destruction. Any attempt at recording or capturing the blue creature was inexplicable stopped. It was like technology itself was on his side. For now, no one would know that cute innocent Click was the cause for such mayhem.

Victoria skipped a few paces ahead of the rest of the group. “That was so much fun! We really need to do that again!”

“It really was,” Kel agreed, “Mr. Kawea had a really good idea.”

Once the field trip was over, the group was free to do as they wished. With their teacher out of the way, they decided to walk back into town together. It wasn’t a very far trek by any means, and they planned to split off once they reached their destinations.

Lilo pouted at the girls comments. It seemed like everyone got what they were after except for her.

“I really wish I had found that bird. We tried so hard and I really want to move onto my next set.”

“I’m sure you’ll get it next time.” Victoria had waited a moment for them to catch up to her. “You’ve never been one to fail twice.”

“Could you stop being so supportive, Victoria. I’m trying to complain here.”

After the laughter from Lilo’s retort died down, Kea’s eyes shot towards Devon. “You might not have been the only one not to get their shot, Lilo. Were you able to take any pictures, Devon?”

The tall boy didn’t say a word, instead only making a huff. He had been all set up for the perfect shot when the twins disturbed him with question after question. In the end, he never did take a picture.

“Kea! Don’t tease him,” Kel said as she lightly tapped his brother on the head. “We were the ones to stop him after all.”

“It’s not our fault. He didn’t have to listen to us.”

The twins continued to go back and forth. They had a lot of fun teasing the group, all in good spirit though. Daniel had walked a few paces behind the group. His eyes never once left Lilo. His earlier attempt to have lunch with her failed, but he wasn’t going to let it bring his spirits down. He took a few confident steps, breaking into the middle of the group.

“Hey, Lilo,” he began. Getting her attention instantly, he nearly froze when he caught her eyes. “I was wondering if you would….” He trailed off, completely stopping in place.

Everyone wondered what had made him cut off until they too saw what he had seen. The group had just turned around a corner, but none of them expected a trail of destruction to stretch before them. It gave Lilo and Stitch odd chills, bringing back memories of the past before they were joined together. The trail stemmed from a single point, a large window on the side of an electronics shop on the corner of the street opposite of them.

Lilo and Stitch recognized it instantly.

“That’s Clicks one true place!” They started heading towards it, not caring if the group behind them followed. “What could have happened here?”

Without warning, Daniel suddenly ran past them. Covering the distance in mere moments. When he reached the building he dropped his bag and began calling out.

“Mom!” he shouted, looking through the window. “Mom? Where are you? Click?!”

The two reached him just as he started calling out for Click.

“You know Click? This is the store your mom runs?” Lilo couldn’t believe that in all the times she had checked up on their cousin, that she never once met Daniel there.

“Yeah.” Daniel’s tone had changed. Normally the happy go lucky Daniel was replaced with a very serious one. It was obvious that he was clearly worried about what had happened to his mother’s store. “Mom!”

He headed towards the door, and just as he was about to grab the handle, the door swung open. Out from the shop came Mrs. Jefferson, Daniel’s mother.

“Oh, Daniel sweetie, it’s you.” She looked from her son to the two who were standing just behind him. “And Lilo and Stitch too! It’s so good to see you again.” Despite her pleasantries, it was clear she was really worried.

“You know them?”

“Of course I do. They’re the ones who brought Click to us.”

“She did?” He quickly turned back to Lilo. The surprise on his face was great, and he planned on asking her many questions later. However, there were far more pressing matters. “What happened? Are you hurt? Where's Click?”

The rest of the group took their place behind the three in the entryway. They had overheard that the shop had belonged to Daniel’s mother, and were eager to find out what had happened to it.

“I don’t know where Click is,” she admitted sadly.

“What?”

Mrs. Jefferson hesitated, wondering if it would be okay to say with Daniel’s friends there. Deciding there wasn’t much choice, she began to explain.

“You see. Click was having one of his little fits. It was a little worse this time, but he was getting back to his usual self. Just when everything seemed to be fine, he suddenly jumped out through the window. He was calling after his little friend Monochrome, but I didn’t see her.”

This was sounding all too familiar to Lilo, Stitch, and Victoria.

“What do you mean by ‘fit?’” Lilo was pretty sure what had happened already, even so she still had to make absolutely sure.

“For the past while it seemed like he would lose control of his actions. He would get really fidgety and shake. Usually it would pass, but this time…well…afterwards I gave the clinic a call. Apparently Monochrome has also gone missing.”

Lilo, Stitch, and Victoria shared a look of concern. Like they had thought, it was exactly like what had happened to Stitch.

“We’ve dealt with this kind of thing before,” Lilo admitted, “Don’t worry, we’ll get Click back.”

With a reassuring smile, Lilo and Stitch started heading down the street. Soon, they were joined by Victoria. She had helped them with this matter before and would do so whenever they needed it.

“I’m coming too,” Daniel said as he ran up.

“So are we!” The other three followed suit. Kel looked amazingly happy to announce that they were joining. “This sounds like it’ll be really cool.”

Lilo stopped in her tracks. She didn’t expect everyone to have her back in this. “Are you sure you all want to come? I don’t really know what’s going to happen. It could get dangerous.”

“I can’t speak for everyone.” The determination set in Daniel’s eyes told her that he wasn’t going to back down. “But Click is my friend. Whatever happened to him, I need to be there.”

Devon coughed to gain everyone’s attention. None of them had heard him speak since the first day of photography club. “If something’s happened to one of your friends…we’re all going to try to help.”

Lilo didn’t really think she was going to need everyone’s help. As far as she was concerned, just the three of them would be able to find and contain Click and Monochrome. However, they didn’t really have time to argue. Every second was one that could send the two cousins even further out of control. To top it off, explaining why they couldn’t come would cause even more troubles. Instead, she admitted defeat and let them join.

After searching to no avail, Victoria kicked a broken fence post. “So, are we just going to follow the destruction like we did last time?”

Daniel gave her an odd look. “What do you mean last time? This has happened before?”

Kea’s interest had been piqued. “You did say something about dealing with this kind of stuff.”

“Are you going to tell us about it?” Kel finished.

“We don’t have time for that.” Lilo got on her knee to be closer to Stitch. She wished they could just talk openly, but they couldn’t as long as the group was around.

Speaking in hushed tones, the two figured out their next move. The trail had quickly run cold, and without any witnesses they wouldn’t be able to track Click by themselves. Thankfully, Stitch knew exactly who to ask for help, and Lilo agreed with him completely. Giving him a light pet on the head, she stood back up to take the lead. If their plan worked, they would be able to find the two love struck experiments before any more problems could be had.

Monochrome shivered in terror in her cage. She didn’t understand why she was suddenly captured. She was even more confused as to why it was Gigi’s friend that had done it. All she could do was sit still and await whatever fate they had in store for her.

“This will do.” Sam pointed out a small trail that led up into the forests. “We can hide it up there.”

One by one they exited the car, making sure no one saw the caged creature. After a few minutes, the area was clear and they hurriedly headed into the forest. Mertle could feel Monochrome start to shake in the cage. She did her best not to pay attention to it, trying to avoid feeling any worse about what she was doing.

“How far in do we have to go?” Lea asked. She absolutely hated hiking, and her current slip on shoes were not doing her feet any favors. She could already feel the knots starting to form in her muscles. “I am so going to the spa after this.”

“We can totally do that after.” Sam led them all through a small opening in the trees. “But we have to go all the way up first.”

Everyone groaned when they saw a fallen tree was blocking their path. One by one they made their way over. Jen helped Abby down after she tore a large hole in her new jeans on a stray branch.

“Look at it this way.” Jen said, trying to lighten the mood a little. “Once this is over we never have to deal with that pesky Lilo again.”

Monochrome’s ears twitched when she heard the girl’s name. Lilo? What does this have to do with Lilo? She tried her best to focus on happier thoughts. Not wanting to dwell on the fact that she was being taken deeper and deeper into the forest, away from her home. Someone…please help me… Click…

After an hour of searching, Finder suddenly stopped moving. Lilo, Stitch, and their friends stopped to watch what his next move would be.

“Is he stuck?” Kea asked, he was a little skeptical of the aardvark’s ability of finding things. However, he had seen weirder things happen on Kaua’i. “He’s just sniffing the ground…”

Suddenly, Finder shot his nose up into the air and started honking.

“Click is somewhere nearby!” Lilo announced. “Everyone look out for him!”

“I forgot to ask before,” Kel began as everyone frantically looked around, “but is Click a two foot tall chipmunk with bright blue fur and dark round eyes?”

Daniel raised an eyebrow at the girls spot on description of his friend. “That’s exactly what he looks like. How did you know?”

“Because he’s up on that traffic light over there.”

Everyone looked in the direction the girl was pointing. Click was standing on top of the traffic light. With a single hand he held on, looking around in a frenzy for any small sign of his boojiboo. Cars whizzed by below him. With the summer having just started, there was a large increase in the number of tourists. It was one of the worst times of the year for driving. One small slip and there would be a huge accident.

With Lilo’s approval, Stitch jumped into action.

“Be careful!” she called after him.

In no time at all, Stitch joined his cousin on top of the light fixture. Completely lost in in his search, Click didn’t even notice that he was no longer alone above the racing vehicles.

“Click.” Stitch’s voice was but a whisper, not wanting to startle his cousin. Sadly, hearing his name without any warning made Click lose his grip for a moment. It was only a second, but it was enough for him to lose his balance and begin to fall.

“Click!”

The group of teens were unable to help. The only ones who could do anything were Lilo or Stitch. However, Lilo was stuck. She wouldn’t be able to get to Click in time without revealing her abilities. That in turn would then reveal her secret to the world.

His shrill squeak was cut short as Click felt himself dangling in the air. Working up enough courage to open his eyes, he saw Stitch had caught him by the leg, holding onto the traffic light by only his feet.

With the danger passed and the two experiments back on solid ground, Daniel rushed to Click’s side and hugged him.

“Daniel?” Click squeaked. “Gaba yuuga doing here?”

The boy completely ignored the shocked gasps of the three discovering the animal could talk. “I’m here looking for you, stupid. Did you think you could run off and I wouldn’t come looking?” He hugged Click even tighter, relieved that his friend wasn’t hurt, aside from a few scratches.

Before Click could answer, Lilo stepped forward. As touching as the reunion was, they only found half of the couple they were looking for. “Click, Mrs. Jefferson said you were calling out for Monochrome. Did you see her somewhere?”

Click hesitated before answering. Just thinking about Monochrome being caged up angered him greatly. He tried to keep his cool, but Daniel was able to feel him shake in his grip.

“Ih,” he finally said. If anyone would be able to help, it would be cousin Stitch and Lilo. Click recounted what he had seen. The caged Monochrome in the back of a black car, filled with teenage girls. One of which looked oddly like Gigi’s friend. Most of the group didn’t know who Gigi was, however it didn’t take long for Lilo, Stitch, and Victoria to figure out who took Monochrome.

“It’s definitely Sam and her gang,” Lilo announced to the group.

“Why would Sam want to take Monochrome?” Daniel asked.

“Probably to get at me.” The group became silent. It wasn’t a secret that Sam detested Lilo, but none of them thought that they would stoop to animal stealing. “I’m just surprised even Mertle went along with it. That doesn’t matter though. Don’t worry, Click. We’ll get Monochrome back for sure!”

“Meega coming with yuuga,” demanded Click.

Lilo knew better than to argue. She knew from experience that nothing would be able to stop the little guy from getting to his love. Flashing a smile towards Stitch, she saw him give her a look that told her there would be nothing to worry about.

“If we’re going after those snobby preppy girls…” Kel began.

“Then we just need to grab a few things we’ve been saving up.” Kea finished for his sister.

Daniel felt pumped. He had never been a part of a rescue operation before, the excitement was overly addictive. “It’s all well and good to be prepared. But how are we going to find them?”

Lilo giggled at his comment. “Finding them is going to be the easy part. Right, Finder?”

The small red cousin saluted and then honked his nose. He was more than happy to help find his cousin. With everyone by their side, Lilo was sure this was going to be easy. The twins ran off to grab what they had mentioned earlier, and once they returned, everyone was ready to save Monochrome.

Chapter Text

Lea’s feet felt like they were on fire.

“Are we there yet? This is torture. Why are we going up here?”

Everyone was getting tired of her complaining. None of them were used to hiking, especially not in the heat of the summer. But her constant cries and wails were not helping anyone.

“We’re going up here, because no one else would come up here,” Sam snapped, with a little more than annoyance in her voice. “It’s hard because it has to be.”

Abby’s sandal strap suddenly snapped, making a loud smacking sound every time she lifted her foot up. This had better be worth it.

Mertle could see the wear and tear on everyone’s movements and attitudes. She wasn’t the most fit girl in the world, but with her years of hula training she could at least handle the regular exercise and hike.

“This seems like a lot of work just to hide an, uh, animal for a few days.”

“Did I ask for your opinion?”

“N-no.”

“Then don’t give it. We absolutely can’t let Lilo find it before she submits to us.” With a grunt, Sam pulled a large branch away. “Besides, we’re here!”

Sam stepped to the side, revealing a small opening that led to the edge of a cliff. There was enough room for all the girls to stand comfortably, but the trees led all the way to the precarious edge, meaning that no one could see into the clearing from either direction.

“Thank God,” mumbled Jen.

The joy on the girl’s faces was apparent. All were glad to finally be done with their hike, in the hopes that the path down would be easier. However, they first needed to finish hiding Monochrome.

Meanwhile, Lilo and her friends were hiking up the trail towards Sam’s secret spot. They had just passed a large log with a single piece of blue jean fabric stuck to it. Not that anyone doubted Finder’s abilities, but they found it a relief to know they were indeed climbing the trail for a reason.

Kea and Kel trudged up the path at the back of the group. Each was carrying a large white bucket with them.

“What’s in those?” Victoria had asked when they returned to the group.

The two looked at each other with mischievous grins, noses scrunched up from their smiles.

“It’s a surprise,” they said in unison. “We were planning on saving these for the beginning of the school year.” Kea continued before Kel finished. “But we thought this would be a good test run.”

Now they slightly regretted their decision, but the thought of the look on Sam’s face later gave them enough motivation to continue. Victoria and Daniel got a creepy feeling from the buckets. It gave them odd chills, and for some reason they felt happy that it wouldn’t be used on them. Lilo and Stitch, however, ignored the sloshing sounds a smell coming from them, instead focusing solely on following Finder. They could see that the hike was taking its toll on their friends, and they were glad to hear the sounds of voices emanating from up ahead.

Stitch grabbed Finder’s hand, letting him know to stop moving.

“Shh.” Lilo directed to everyone behind her. “They’re just up ahead, everyone be extra quiet.”

Daniel furrowed his brow, as did Devon and the twins. “How do you know they’re there?”

“I can hear them,” she replied in a hushed tone. “Didn’t I say to be quiet?” She turned to Finder and gave him a pat on the head. “Good job, you were lots of help today. You can head back now.”

The little cousin saluted one last time before he started running down the trail back home.

Daniel strained his ears as hard as he could. “I don’t hear anything. Are you sure they’re nearby?”

Victoria walked past him and patted him on the back. “Trust me, she’s sure.”

The group quietly walked up the rest of the unbeaten path. Just as Lilo had said, the sounds of Sam and her gang soon came into earshot. Daniel wondered how Lilo had heard them before, but decided it would be best to question it later.

Sneaking as close as they could without being seen, they looked through the bushes. The gang stood near the cliff, clearly trying to hide something beneath some fallen leaves and brush. Kea nudged Lilo silently. He pointed to the bucket, then to the trees above the girls. Lilo gave him a nod, and watched as he and his sister slowly wrapped around and started climbing into the trees. Meanwhile, Devon’s eyes never once left Abby. He traced every movement of hers as she followed Jen around, placing a few more leaves on top of the cage.

Jen took one last look at the poorly camouflaged container. She knelt down and looked at the cowering animal hidden in the darkness. “Are we not going to leave it any food or water? We can’t just leave it like this.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Sam flung her backpack onto the ground by the girl. A bunch of carrots slid out onto the ground, as well as a bottle of water. “Just slide those in and it’ll be fine.”

Mertle looked from the carrots to the cage. It isn’t a real rabbit… but at least it’ll be food. “Are you sure that’ll be enough? I can go get some more or something.”

Sam rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You sure seem to care a lot about this thing.” She cleared the gap between them in what felt like a single step. Do I need you still? I have everything I need to get at Lilo. How valuable are you? She decided against cutting Mertle off for the time being. “Is there anything you’re not telling me?”

The look in Sam’s eyes bore right through Mertle. She felt like every inch of her and her character was being judged. “N-no. It’s not that. It’s just… if it’s not enough, and something were to happen. We, uh, couldn’t use it to get at Lilo. She’d resent us even more. Cause even more problems.”

Lilo’s jaw clenched. She couldn’t believe how someone she cared about was being used just to get at her. Stitch felt her tense up and placed a hand over balled fist. Nuzzling his head against her shoulder, he let her know that it was all going to be okay.

“I guess she’s right,” Lea said in regards to Mertle’s worries. “After all of this, it wouldn’t be good for it to backfire.” She ground her teeth as she looked at the cage, hating how it felt like they were the ones being bargained with. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth.” With that, she kicked the cage, making Monochrome cry out in fear.

From inside the bushes, Click lost it. He was holding back as hard as he could, not wanting to blow their cover. Now, his programming was taking over, the main issue was the girl who just kicked his beloved. With a screech of anger, Click burst from the bushes, causing all the girls to jump in surprise and terror. Daniel called after him, but it was too late. Seeing no other way, Lilo beckoned everyone out to try and help Click.

The small rodent jumped on Lea the moment Lilo, Stitch, Victoria, and Daniel revealed themselves from the bushes. With his tiny claws, he began scratching into Lea’s face, arms, and hands, anywhere he could reach. With a loud shrill of pain, she threw Click away as hard as she could. He clamped onto her hand with his teeth, refusing to let her go. Eventually, she finally broke free, and Click went flying into Daniel’s arms safely.

Lea strained to move. The scratches were barely anything to her, but she examined the bite mark in her hand.

“Does this look infected to you?” She asked Mertle, receiving no answer.

Sam was shocked to see Lilo and her friends crash their hiding spot. “What? How? What are you doing here?”

“We’re here for Monochrome!” Lilo announced. The authority in her voice didn’t faze Sam at all. She continued to stand strong.

“What’s a Monochrome?” She looked to Abby and Jen but they just shrugged.

“Not ‘what,’ ‘who.’” Lilo pointed to the cage. “You have Monochrome trapped in there. We’re taking her back!”

“Oh really? Are you now?”

Sam snapped her fingers and Mertle picked up the cage, holding it defensively. Finally able to see, Monochrome looked around, happy that Lilo was there to rescue her. Her eyes slowly found Click, laying dizzily in Daniel’s arm. Blood boiling, she started bashing at the cage with a might she didn’t know she had. Despite her every effort to get to Clicks side, she couldn’t break free of the cage. She also couldn’t reach her captor to use her ability not that becoming hidden would help any.

Lilo took a step forward, wanting to try to get within grabbing distance, but Sam shook her head.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Sam said with an evil chuckle. “If you or your disgusting dog take one more step, the cage goes over the cliff.”

Everyone gasped from shock, even Mertle and the rest of Sam’s gang. A glare from their leader quelled their shocked expressions. Victoria looked between the dazed Click in Daniel’s arms, the frozen Lilo and Stitch, and Mertle holding the cage. She couldn’t believe that a fellow experiment owner would be a part of this.

“I’m really surprised at you, Mertle!” she announced, disdain and disgust lining her words. “I always knew you were mean and conniving, but I didn't think you’d stoop so low as to kidnapping.”

Mertle was about to make some snide remark back at her, but for the first time in her life, she couldn’t think of anything. There was absolutely nothing she could say to that. She’s right…

“Oh please, spare me the righteous speeches,” Sam said, whipping some hair out of her face. “It’s so boring and pretentious. Not to mention so unoriginal.”

Lilo clenched her fists so hard she could feel it sting her hands. “What do you want from me?”

“What do I want?” Sam looked back at her group and started laughing. “I don’t want anything from you.” Her attitude and eyes became cold as ice. Never before had Lilo seen anyone look so heartless.

“Then why are you doing this?!”

“You misunderstand, Weirdlo.” Sam started joyfully pacing back and forth in the small space. She was enjoying the look of helplessness on Lilo’s face. “It’s because I don’t want anything from you that I’m doing this. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to hear from you. I want nothing to do with you. All I want is for you to submit to us. Get on your knees, beg for our forgiveness, and then never ever, ever, get in my way again. You never stop us at school, you have nothing to do with us.” She cocked a grin, adrenaline began coursing through her veins. “You finally quit your goody-goody act. I win. Then all is well and good. You promise me that, and you can have your precious freak of an animal back.”

Lilo felt her heart stop. She realized that there was very little she could do other than submit. What should I do? I need to get Monochrome back…but… It would be so easy for her to run up and grab the cage, revealing her secret to everyone. Or, she gets down on her knees and submit for the first time in her life.

“You can’t do it, Lilo.” Daniel held Click tightly as he looked to her, giving her his full support.

“He’s right.” Victoria was in full agreement. “You’ve always managed to come out on top. This is no different.”

She looked to her friends, happy to have them there by her side. “If I don’t though…” She could see Mertle standing dangerously close to the edge. “Monochrome will…”

“Yuuga don’t have to.” The soothing voice was but a light whisper, carried on a peaceful breeze. She could see Stitch smiling, even with his cousin in danger, he was still smiling. “We've been in tougher situations than this.” Through all the chaos and worry, his voice was still able to calm her racing heart. She felt like if he was there with her, she could manage to do anything.

He’s right. They all are. With her confidence restored, and determination set in her eyes, Lilo stood up to the bullies before her. “I’m not going to submit to you. What you’re doing is wrong and it needs to stop!”

“Oh?” Sam laughed at Lilo’s bravery. “Are you sure you really want to say that? This fall looks like it’d be quite the tumble. We wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt now would we?”

Lilo cocked a smile, completely back to her old self. “No we wouldn’t.” Her eyes glanced up into the trees for a moment. “But I don’t think we have to worry about that.”

To the complete amazement of Sam and her gang, Lilo started walking forward.

“Tch.” What is she thinking? Sam’s mind was reeling, wondering how she could be so confident all of a sudden. “Abby! Jen! Take care of her.”

The two girls cut Lilo off, ready to try another round at her. She may have been able to throw them off of her before, but they wouldn’t let that happen again. Lilo, however, had a different plan in mind.

Lilo yelled, “Now!” And in response, devilish laughter came from the trees above. The twins, sitting on the branches that hung over Sam, opened their buckets and flung the contents down below. Everyone watched as soaking wet rhubarb coated the girl, and an indescribably repulsive smell filled the air. The stink bomb distraction was just enough. Lilo lightly shoved Abby into the bushes to the side. Jen tried to grab her as she ran past but wasn’t fast enough, instead chasing after Abby to make sure she was okay.

Mertle saw Lilo heading right for her. Not knowing what to do, she began backing up. Thankfully, Lea stepped in, ready to grab Lilo and force her to suffer the wrath of the dirtied Sam. Stitch, able to show his speed more than Lilo, managed to tackle Lea into the ground before she had a chance at Lilo. With his strength, he was able to keep her in place.

After everything that had happened, Sam wasn’t going to let some homemade stink bomb stop her. She moved as fast as she could towards Mertle. However, both she and Lilo hesitated. Mertle wondered why they had stopped and looked behind her. She had unknowingly reached the cliffs edge, just a hairs width from falling.

“Be careful!” Lilo called out to her, not wanting either of the girls to get hurt. “Just come towards us slowly”

On the other hand, Sam saw this as a great opportunity. “Wait! Stay there.”

Everyone was shocked at what she had just said. The edge of the cliff didn’t look in any way stable. Some rocks and chunks of dirt below Mertle had already fallen away from the added weight. To keep her standing there was surely a death sentence. However, to even more surprise, Sam joined her at the edge.

She looked towards Lilo, thoughts of victory in her eyes. “Now, as I was saying. You’re going to submit to us, or else.”

Away from the standoff, after Abby was sent into the bushes, she found herself quickly losing her balance. They didn’t realize that right past the initial brush was a few steep hills. Her broken sandal didn’t give her any favors in she struggled to keep her balance through her sliding. Mostly, she was amazed to have been pushed off again so easily. She may not be the largest or strongest girl around, but she was no push over.

She soon realized she could not stop herself. Her momentum was too great, and the rocks and twigs didn’t give her any solid footing. Soon she would fall and roll, breaking a bone or two in the process, and suffer until they could get her out of there. Her arm knocked a tree, causing her to turn around. This is it! She thought, finally losing her broken sandal as her world suddenly went horizontal.

Expecting to hit the ground, she was surprised not to feel the cold hard dirt against her. Instead, she felt warm strong arms. Arms that she had not felt in a long time. Ones that were stranger to her, yet in every way familiar. She couldn’t help her racing heart, or the redness in her face that now closely matched her hair. Despite everything, all of her old feelings flooded her at once.

“Abby!” Jen came sliding down the hill, worried that her best friend was injured or worse. Once she reached the bottom, she froze instantly. Seeing Abby locked in an embrace.

Abby whispered the name of her old love. “Devon…?”

Chapter Text

Abby broke herself free of Devon’s grasp, rushing to Jen’s side. When she turned to face him, nothing but anger filled her eyes. It pained him to see her treat him this way, but it was something that he had become used to. With an attempt at a wave, he tried his best to smile.

“Hey, Abigail.”

Hearing him say her name, Abby’s nose wrinkled.

“Don’t call me that. Don’t ever call me that. I go by Abby now.”

Devon lowered his hand back down while taking a deep breath. He didn’t like how things were between them now. Silence filled the air as the two girls stared at him, wondering what he was doing there.

“Do you want me to break him?” Jen asked, cracking her knuckles.

Abby placed a hand in front of her friend to stop her. “Not yet. We should at least give him a chance to explain why he’s here. So?” She spat at him. “Why are you here?!”

Devon took a deep breath before answering, knowing the answer wouldn’t be welcomed. “I came her with Lilo and my friends.”

Abby instantly burst out laughing. “You? Friends with her? Figures. You really do just try to get on my nerves don’t you?”

Her words hurt him, despite being a bit bigger and mean looking, he was always really gentle. There was never a time in his life that he tried to hurt anyone. Especially not Abby.

“I’m sorry.”

Abby’s eyes grew wide at his apology. She had never once heard him say sorry for anything before. She gritted her teeth and stomped over to him. With her hand raised in the air, she suddenly hit him across the face with a loud slap.

“You’re ‘sorry?’” she yelled. “Really? You’re ‘sorry?’ I don’t believe it. After everything we had been through together. All that time spent as kids, all the secrets we shared. Growing up together.” Tears had started streaming down her face. Unable to face him, she turned around and wiped away her flowing tears. “You were my only friend for the longest time. And then you finally confessed that you liked me. It was the happiest day of my life. It really was. Now you have the nerve to say you’re sorry after you betrayed me? Betrayed us!”

Abby suddenly turned and punched Devon in the stomach. He hunched over for a moment, but soon stood, just in time to feel Abby kick him. Taking each and every blow, the boy didn’t once try to stop her. He could already feel the bruises start to form when Jen ran over and withheld Abby.

“Let me go!”

Jen held on even tighter. “No! You can’t keep doing this to him.”

“He deserves it!” She broke free of the strong girls grip, instantly grabbing Devon by the shirt. “Tell me! How? How could you just throw yourself at Sam like that? And on my birthday no less?”

She waited for his answer. She had waited so long for his answer. Ever since that day, she wondered why he would do that to her. They had been best friends for so long, she didn’t understand how the one she cared about the most could hurt her like that.

“I didn’t throw myself at her.” His voice was strained from the pain he was clearly in. Despite that, he didn’t complain about it at all.

Abby angrily wiped the last of the tears from her face. “Yeah right. Sam told me all about it. She said she didn’t think you were right for me. Then when she confronted you to find out how you really felt, you just flung yourself at her and kissed her! There’s no denying it. I saw you two kissing.”

“But I didn’t!” he pleaded again. “She kissed me. Sam didn’t confront me about anything. I was trying to get her to leave me alone. She just kept following me, getting in my way when I was trying to find you. Then she just suddenly jumped on me. I pushed her off as fast as I could but it was too late.”

Her ears processed the words, but her mind couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Did Sam lie to me all this time?

“When I tried to come explain things to you-“ Devon continued. “Jen and Lea turned me away. Saying you didn’t want to see me.”

Abby looked to her friend who nodded. “Lea told me you asked her to. I saw you crying and thought it would be for the best,” she admitted.

When she looked back to Devon, she saw him looking at her the way he always used to. A way that made her feel like the world didn’t matter. That she was the most important thing to him. “I wanted to tell you. But I felt like I had hurt you too much already. So I kept my distance.” His tone suddenly changed. He now looked and sounded more confident than he ever had before. “But not anymore. I love you, Abi...Abby.”

She had to make a choice. She could either believe Sam, who she knew was a liar and overly conniving to the point of being completely untrustworthy. Or she could believe in the boy she had known forever. One who she loved with all her heart. Finding it an easy choice, Abby flung herself at Devon, wrapping her arms around his neck. She apologized for how things had ended between them. That she shouldn’t have trusted Sam over him.

“I love you too, Devon. And…you can still call me ‘Abigail.’”

After all was said and done, a long awaited kiss had been shared, making Jen awkwardly looked away. When the kiss had finally finished, Jen had asked a question that was also on Abby’s mind. “So why are you friends with Lilo now?”

Abby let go of her long time love, she no longer felt loyal to Sam, but she still wanted to know why he would befriend someone that she despised for so long.

“It’s like this,” he said, looking down at Abby. “I joined the photography club because I remembered how you always said you liked having your picture taken. I thought one day maybe I could take a great picture of you. When we had all spent so much time together, we really hit it off. Lilo’s actually a really nice person. She puts everyone ahead of herself, no matter what they may have done. If you took the time you’d both see you have a bit in common.”

“But she’s so weird.” Jen complained.

Abby snickered. “Yeah? And who’s the one with the entire ‘Wasps from Mars’ collection?”

Jen’s face flushed with embarrassment. “That has nothing to do with this!” She was completely flustered. Cheesy horror movies were a guilty pleasure of hers, they always had been.

“Are you two really okay with what Sam’s doing?” Devon didn’t know all the details, but he knew Sam wasn’t a good person. On top of it, Lilo didn’t deserve the treatment she was getting from them.

The two girls looked down to the ground. It was true that they were excited to go through with it all. Lately though, the things Sam had been doing and saying had been unsettling. Especially with threatening to actually hurt an animal.

Abby looked into Devon’s light hazel eyes. They were unwavering, but she knew now that he would support her no matter what. “I only joined Sam before because she showed me I couldn’t trust anyone but her. That she would be the only one to have my back. That violence and fear was the only way to get anything… Now I know she lied and was wrong. I’d rather have you back.”

“How touching,” Jen joked. “I’ve just been following you this whole time. You’re my friend, not Sam. I’d actually like to see her face when she sees we have Lilo’s back on this”

“Speaking of which.” Devon took Abby’s hand into his, holding on tight. He was never going to let her go again. “We should probably go see how things are going with getting Monochrome back.”

Together, the three started heading up the hill together. They hoped that no one started falling back down, or that Lilo threw any more people down at them.

Mertle looked back over the edge of the cliff. The drop was nauseating. There’s no way I’d survive a fall like that.

“Sam?” she whispered under her breath. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Yes,” she snapped back, not even considering the danger. She turned back to Lilo, looking as triumphant as ever. “Well? What’s your answer?”

Despite the trouble Mertle, Sam, and Monochrome were in, Lilo stayed defiant. “No. I’m not gonna let you have your way. Please, step away from the edge and give back Monochrome.” She could see Sam was fuming. In the worst case scenario I can catch them…hopefully.

Sam considered the situation they were in. As long as Mertle and she had the cage, they were the ones in charge. However, they couldn’t step away from the cliff, and every moment more dirt and rocks fell from beneath the edge. The smell of old soggy rhubarb still radiated from her. Each and every time she took a breath she could smell the vial substance smell worse and worse. Looking around for an answer, she wondered how Lilo’s dog was managing to keep hold of Lea, but figured she wouldn’t be of much help anyway. At the very least Lilo and Victoria were still held at bay by the threats, and the boy that was with them continued to hold the other dazed animal.

She desperately hoped that Lilo would give in soon. Once it was over, she could go back to her usual life of control and rule. Where are Jen and Abby when you need them? Right on cue, the sound of rustling from the bushes could be heard by everybody. Ah. Speak of the devil. Good. No we can get the show on the road. Her initial relief was immediately washed away when she saw that the two girl’s weren’t alone.

“Abby? Jen? What do you think you’re doing!?” Sam’s voice boomed. She demanded answers. She recognized the boy that currently held the shorter girls hand. I thought I got rid of you!

Jen was happy to answer for them. She was tired of how Sam had been treating her best friend for so long.

“We’re done with you, and we’re done with this. That’s what’s going on.”

It wasn’t just Sam, everyone was surprised to see Devon and Abby holding hands. They were even more surprised by the renouncement that Jen had declared. Lilo didn’t know what had happened while they were away, but she was happy to have more support.

Lilo looked to Mertle. She knew that reasoning with Sam wouldn’t do any good. All she could hope was to play on her sympathetic side and heart. If she has either of those.

“Okay, Mertle,” Lilo began calmly, not wanting to get anyone’s excitement up. “Just step away from the edge and hand over Monochrome. You don’t want to do this.”

“Oh yes she does!” Sam continued to be unrelenting.

Mertle looked between each girl as they argued. Going back and forth in her head on what she should do. She could stick with Sam, finally having Lilo under her thumb once and for all. Or she could side with Lilo, and have a guilt free conscience.

“Mertle,” Lilo pleaded. “Why are you doing this? To get at me? All of this is just for that? Monochrome doesn’t deserve this. She’s one of Gigi’s cousins! What would she think if she saw you now?”

“She would love me no matter what!” announced Mertle. However, her confidence had clearly wavered.

Sam felt her control over Mertle starting to slip. She needed to end this quick or else she would lose again. “Enough small talk. Choose Lilo! Either submit, or the bunny perishes!” Lilo wasn’t even looking at her anymore. You dare ignore me? “Fine then.” She looked to her partner, a crazed look in her eye. “Toss the cage, Mertle.”

Everyone watched in fear as Mertle’s hand slowly shifted over the cliff. The cage dangled in the wind, a slight slip in her grip would send Monochrome to an untimely demise.

“No!’ Lilo shouted. “Mertle stop. Please! Don’t do this. You don’t have to be like this.”

“You’re wasting your breath, Weirdlo,” Sam announced with evil laugh. “We’ve warned you enough.”

Victoria looked to her friend. “Lilo,” She whispered. “Stop them.”

“I can’t,” she replied. “I know Mertle will come around.” She looked back to the two at the edge. Neither one of them seemed to be in a stable sense of mind.

“Come on!” Sam spat at Mertle. “Just toss the cage already.”

Monochrome shivered in fear, her shakiness easily caught by the girl holding her. Mertle could tell Sam was getting more and more angry as time went on. She could even feel that anger being directed towards herself. Not wanting to feel it anymore, her hand slowly drifted over the drop. She stopped suddenly, as Lilo’s words began to break through to her.

“Are you really going to take orders from her?” Lilo asked unbelievably. “I always thought you wanted to be on top.” She saw Mertle look her deep in the eyes. She could see the hesitation and that was all she needed. “You don’t need to do this. I’ve known you for years, you are far better than this.” Sam was trembling in anger, she absolutely couldn’t let this continue. Despite her efforts to persuade Mertle otherwise, she was losing control. Lilo continued, feeling like she could be triumphant once again. “Just look at her. Is that really what you want to become?”

Mertle took a hard look at Sam. She was everything she ever wanted to be. Even more so in some aspects. An idol that she always felt was out of her reach. Ever since she joined up though, it hasn’t been what I thought it would be. There was anger and animosity in their group. Everyone seemed to fear Sam rather than like or respect her. She always thought Sam commanded respect, but she just put everyone in fear.

“If you continue like this,” Lilo continued. “There’s no going back.” She paused, hoping her words were finally reaching her longtime rival. “But if you want to be something more. Someone better. Someone Gigi would be proud to be friends with. Then please, just step away from the edge.”

Mertle looked down at the ground, and deep within herself. This was the final choice she could make. “I’m sorry… Sam.” She pulled the cage back towards her, not realizing that Sam had other plans.

The moment she took a step towards the awaiting group, she heard Sam yell.

“No! You’re not taking this victory from me.”

She tore the cage from Mertle’s hands. As she rattled it around, Monochrome began crying out. Sam held the cage with pride, a crazed angry look in her eyes. The scream pulled Click out of his daze. All he could see, was the terrified look on Monochrome’s face as she was still trapped in the clutches of the evil girl. With anger boiling through his veins, he rushed to the cage.

“Now as I was saying-“ Before Sam could continue, she felt the extra weight of Click pull her over the edge as he jumped onto the metal cage. Her stomach dropped as one moment she felt ground beneath her and the next absolutely nothing.

Lilo was already running to the edge. She knew it was too late to pull them back, Sam had already let go of Click and Monochrome. Leaping from the edge, Lilo used her strength to pull the her back up onto the ledge. Sam tumbled forward and fell down, amazed that she was saved. However, Lilo disappeared from everyone’s view as she fell with Click and the still trapped Monochrome. Everyone waited with baited breath. The only sound that could be heard, was the tumbling and crashing of metal as Monochrome’s cage hit the ground below.

Everyone froze in fear. No one wanted to look over the edge and risk seeing the ones they cared about lying at the bottom. Stitch was the only one to move. He could still feel her, the ring on his hand still warm with life. Needing to be by her, he let go of Lea and rushed to the edge. Eye’s grown wide, he scaled down the edge of the cliff on his hands and feet.

“Yuuga okay?” He asked once he reached the spot Lilo had latched onto.

“Yeah.” She looked down, seeing she had a good grip on Click, who held onto Monochrome as tightly as he could. “Everything’s okay now.”

It was a miracle that Click was able to pull Monochrome out before it was too late. If he hadn’t, no one would have been able to save her. Lilo pulled the two experiments up, asking them to hold onto her back. With both of them safe and secure, she slowly scaled the wall as Stitch went on ahead. They were all eager to see their awaiting friends now that the crisis was finally over. “Everything’s okay now.”

Chapter Text

“Thank goodness you’re okay!” Victoria said as she helped Lilo up over the edge.

Lilo laid on her back, staring up at all the smiling faces that surrounded her. Everyone had rushed them once they climbed back up the cliff. Even Kea and Kel, who had finally descended from the trees, ran over to check that they were okay. Only Lea and Sam stood back in defeat. Both scrunching up their faces in disgust at the smell that still permeated on Sam.

“Thanks for all the help guys,” Lilo said with a smile to all of them.

“I guess you two lived up to your name after all,” Victoria said to Kea and Kel. The two just looked at each other and then stuck their tongues out at her.

Daniel scooped up his little friend, hugging him as tight as he could. “I’m so happy you’re okay.”

Everyone was finally together again. As well, the experiments were completely safe. Once again Lilo had managed to save the day. With a deep breath Lilo stood, knowing the job wasn’t quite done yet. Before she could do anything else, Mertle stepped forward through the small group.

She was looking down at her feet, holding herself.

“I’m sorry, Lilo.”

Her words were mumbled, and it was clear she wasn’t used to apologizing. Her words were heard loud and clear though. “You were right. I am better than all of this. Thank you for making me see that.”

“Apology accepted.” Lilo put out her hand. Mertle looked down at it for a moment before smiling and accepting the handshake.

“Don’t think this means we’re friends or anything.”

“Didn’t even cross my mind,” giggled Lilo. “Maybe one day. For now though, I think you need to make up with your real friends.”

A refreshing smile came over Mertle’s face. “I do. I hope they’ll forgive me for all of this.”

With everything settled, Lilo turned back to Daniel and Click. As touching as the hug that now included Monochrome was, she and Stitch needed to get the cousins to Jumba’s lab. She solemnly approached the trio. She glanced at Victoria who gave her a nod. Her friend knew she was going to need to have their back on this. There was no way they could let anyone go with them for Click and Monochrome’s joining.

“There’s just one more thing we have to do,” Lilo said as she picked up Monochrome, giving her a hug to show her she’ll be safe. “We need to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Stitch took Click onto his back, and together they started to head towards their home. Daniel, however, wasn’t just going to sit by and watch his friend get carried away. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Lilo didn’t stop, she and Stitch needed to hurry. She could already feel Monochrome begin to shake, and Stitch felt the same with Click. The two experiments looked at each other, even the short distance apart was starting to be unbearable. Daniel kept right on their heels though, and Victoria kept close behind him just in case she was needed.

“Lilo.” He finally stopped her. “I’m not going to let you just take Click away. You said you need to do something so this won’t happen again?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’m coming with you. And then, I have some questions I would like you to answer.”

Lilo could see that he was being serious. With a sigh of defeat, she looked to Stitch who gave her a nod. “Alright. You can come.” She told him with a smile.

“Thank you.”

With that, Lilo and Stitch quickly headed towards Jumba’s ship. Lilo moved a large leaf to let Stitch through. Before Daniel could walk past, Lilo moved through the opening and dropped the leaf. Slightly annoyed, Daniel moved the leaf himself. When he did, he could no longer see Lilo or Stitch. “What? Lilo!”

There was no sign of his friend. Calling out gave him no answer. Victoria cracked a smile, amazed at how quick the two were able to set up their getaway. Those two will never change. She placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. She could see from the look in his eyes that he was worried about Click. “Don’t worry. They’ll be fine. Lilo and Stitch can do anything. You’ll see Click again soon.”

“But…” He looked back into the ever stretching forest. “How did they disappear like that?”

“It’s best not to dwell on things.”

After one last look at the spot where the two disappeared, Victoria and Daniel joined the rest of the group that had now surrounded Lea and Sam.

“So?” Kea asked as he looked over the two girls. “What should we do with them?”

“I don’t know., Kel replied. “Do we stoop to their level?” She looked to her brother and grinned.

Victoria broke into the group. “Come on, guys. We’re better than that.” Everyone looked extremely disappointed. All except for Lea and Sam, who felt relief at her words. “But not that much better.”

Abby squeezed Devon’s hand. Happy to have him back in her life. Ready to make up for all the time they spent apart. Firstly, she had one last thing she wanted to do. “I think I have an idea.”

Lilo looked over the two cousins that now lay in the large machine. To her, it looked like they were peacefully sleeping, but she knew better. She could still feel what it was like to be in that containment pod. It was painful and magical all rolled into one.

Stitch joined her, wrapping his arm around Lilo’s waist. “Yuuga did good today.”

“Thanks.” She smiled, feeling her cheeks grow warm from his touch. “I couldn’t have done it without you though.” She looked back down at Click. “I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if you didn’t catch him above the street.”

“But if it wasn’t for yuuga, both cousins would have fallen down the cliff,” he reminded her.

“It was scary. But I had to do something. It’s good to see we still make a good team.”

“The best team.”

“Yeah. The best team.”

Lilo began leaning forward, wanting to feel Stitch’s lips against hers. It seemed like it had been forever since their last kiss. After everything that had happened, a break for what she enjoyed most felt more than inviting. Stitch turned her in his arms, pulling his love as close to him as he could. Neither of his cousins would be aware of them sharing a loving embrace right above them. Unfortunately, Jumba entered the secret room, interrupting the two.

With a fake cough, he broke them apart from each other. “It is seeming that it will not be much longer.”

Completely embarrassed, Lilo brushed some hair behind her ear, trying her best to recompose herself. Stitch looked away, fixing his fur before turning back to them.

“You said the machine will work on Click. But are you sure? Nothing else seems to work with him.” Lilo could see that the machine was doing its job. But it wouldn’t be the first time that things headed downhill just as it was all looking good.

“Yes, yes. Two-eight-two will be fine.” Jumba returned to the computer council, making sure everything was working as it should. “Once you told me his and four-three-four’s final programming had been activated, I realized that two-eight-two’s abilities stopped my warning system from alerting me. I already had serum prepared to suppress experiment abilities. I gave him some just before we were putting him in the machine. It should be lasting just long enough for everything to be finishing.”

It seemed that Jumba was right, the bonding was being set perfectly. Thankfully, the machine worked fast on the experiments. The only reason Lilo and Stitch had to stay in the machine for three days was because Lilo was human. To make it nonfatal to her, the process needed to be extended.

As Jumba had said, the machine was almost done working on the newly bound couple. The gas began to dissipate from inside the pods, and the familiar alarm began to ring. Lilo and Stitch helped Click and Monochrome off of the metal beds. They were slightly dizzy, but it was clear that they finally felt better. With his job done, Jumba exited the lab, knowing that Lilo and Stitch would be able to handle everything from that point on.

“Quite the ride, huh?” Lilo asked the wobbling Monochrome.

“Ih.” She looked towards her boojiboo and smiled. “But isa butifa feeling.”

“I know. It’s indescribable. Nothing feels quite like it.”

“Yuuga used this?”

Monochrome and Click were told the basics of what they were going to go through and why. There wasn’t enough time to go into great detail. With Stitch and Click finally joining them, it was time to explain everything.

Lilo and Stitch each presented them with a single ring. Click placed the gray and white striped wavy ring on his finger. He studied Monochrome’s number that beautifully shined on the thin warm metal. It even had three dots on each side of the number that matched the marks on her chest. Monochrome looked at her ring for a moment before placing it on her finger. Tiny scratch marks on the inside of the blue metal spelled out Click’s number in Morse code, leaving the outside entirely blank. She noticed his number was only visible when it came close to technology. Once Monochrome finally set the ring on her finger, the two were finally bound forever. They could feel each other through their rings, bringing them a calming sense of being completed. Curious, Click was about to take off his ring, when Stitch quickly put a hand over his, stopping him.

“Naga do that. Trust me. It hurts,” Stitch warned.

“You too, Monochrome,” said Lilo, “You can never take off those rings, okay?” She then explained to the two exactly what had happened to them, and what the machine did in full. Afterwards, Stitch explained what the rings were and what they meant. He told them how taking them off would cause pain to the other. It was a bond that should never be broken.

The two nodded in understanding. Neither one wanted to hurt the other. They held each other’s hand with the utmost care and love. After everything that happened, they relished in the feeling of the other and were happy to finally feel better. Despite that, they couldn’t help but be curious about the two before them.

“How do yuuga nota so much about this?” Click asked in all honesty.

“Ih. And, Lilo.” Monochrome directed to the girl. “How yuuga run so fast, and be so strong.”

It was the easiest question for the two to answer. Smiling, they held up their own hands, letting the two see their own matching rings. The surprise on the two’s face was adorable. The way their mouths dropped slightly as their eyes grew wide matched perfectly. Lilo told them about the events that transpired four years before. About how she and Stitch first used the machine, changing her body forever. It was a romantic story, but afterwards, they swore the two into secrecy. They could never tell anyone what they were told.

In about a month’s time, Lilo and Stitch would finally tell Nani the truth. Afterwards they hoped to reveal their secret to the entire ‘ohana. Until then, it still had to be kept hidden.

“Well. I’m sure everyone at your true places are worried about you.” Lilo had spied the clock, noticing it was a lot later than she thought it was. “You two should get home and let them know you’re okay.”

“Do yuuga want us to take you?” Stitch asked politely. He knew Monochrome had issues out in public. However, the look in the girl’s eye told him they wanted to be alone for the walk.

“We'll be fine,” Click assured them. “Naga worry, Lilo. Meega naga tell Daniel about yuuga and Stitch.”

With their final thank you and goodbye, Lilo and Stitch watched the two experiments walk home together, hand in hand. It was nice to know that things would finally be going back to normal. At least, as normal as their lives were. The couple took one last look at the quiet lab before finally heading home for supper.

Only a few weeks passed until the lab was once again filled with life. This time, it wasn’t to join two experiments together. Now, it was to bring new life into the world.

Lilo, Nani, and Jumba were a blur as they prepared for the babies. None of them had ever been trained in child birth, but it was quickly apparent that none of the boys were going to be of any help. David had to take a late shift at work, and the moment Angel went into labor, Reuben became a worried mess. Stitch’s job was to keep him calm, and from rushing into the sterile room. Pleakley initially volunteered to deliver the babies, however, after only a few minutes he fainted. Stitch set up a cot outside the door that the alien now laid on, still oblivious to the world around him. No one knew exactly what an experiment’s labor would be like, but the screams from Angel helped them realize it a little.

Unable to stay back any longer, Reuben ran into the lab, only to get a glare from the three girls. He quickly exited the room. Stitch patted him on the back, knowing full well he would be just the same. They had to wait alone outside, while a miracle was happening just beyond the door.

It was clear Angel was in pain, but she was also excited. She asked to hold Lilo’s hand, needing some support as time went on. Jumba continued checking all the monitors. As much as he wished to be of more help, they needed to keep a solid eye on her body functions. It was a small oversight, but he did not consider his experiments having children. He made them completely able to, but did not think of the process and effects that would entail. Angel’s hormones were off the charts, as well as her heart rate and brain activity. It seemed similar to the readings she gave on the machine she was bound to Reuben with, but even more chaotic. Jumba was getting a lot of useful data that would help better prepare them in the future.

Lilo’s hand begun to get crushed. Thankfully, her new genetics allowed her to withstand the pressure somewhat. Her hand would most likely be gone if she was still her old self. Nani didn’t pay any attention to how Lilo’s hand was fine, when Angel was tearing through the pure steel on the other side of the bed. She was too busy coaching and preparing for the babies.

Nani was in the hospital room when Lilo was born. She remembered each detail like it was yesterday. She wished their parents could see her now, being the responsible adult that they always wanted her to be. She sometimes felt she was too rebellious when she was a teenager, but now she was often compared to her mother. A fine young lady with a good head on her shoulders and a loving family behind her every move.

Reuben continued to pace in the hall outside. Stitch watched him walk back and forth until he became dizzy from the movements. He was about to stop his cousin when suddenly they could no longer hear anything. For the first time in hours there was absolutely no noise. Only soon to be replaced by the sound of the crying new born children.

Completely frozen in place, Reuben didn’t know what to do. He was shocked, scared, and excited all at once. His mind told him to rush inside, see Angel and their newborn children. But he just couldn’t move. Stitch coaxed him to come inside, but his body stayed still. It wasn’t until Nani finally emerged and forced them inside that his legs finally began to work.

Sheepishly, he stepped forward. Slowly making his way towards his resting boojiboo. He could see the two wrapped up children in her arms. With new life invigorating him, Reuben quickly picked up the pace. As soon as he saw the two bundles of joy, his heart leaped.

“They’re beautiful,” he whispered.

Angel handed Reuben his newborn son. He had fur similar to Reuben’s, but it was a tinge closer to orange, and he was much thinner as well. His ears were much like his mothers, long and sticking up, but he had two little tufts of fur coming off his head just like Reuben’s. His nose was an exact match for Reuben’s, and he had a three dark yellow spots in his fur on his left cheek forming a triangle. Ultimately, Reuben was just happy to see his son was healthy. After admiring the child he was handed, Angel introduced him to his daughter.

She reminded him so much of her mother. She shared the same coloured eyes, but had a paler pink fur. Her ears were like her brother’s, but they flopped down like their father’s did. Her two antenna twirled down her back, along which she had three wavy dark pink stripes. What Reuben noticed most though, was that she had the same beautiful smile, albeit with a single square tooth that poked out on the left side like his did.

As the two parents smiled lovingly at their children. It slowly dawned on them that they were finally parents. It was truly terrifying, but they could already tell that nothing in the world could make them any happier.

“What a couple of cuties,” Lilo said as she tickled the three spots on the boy’s cheek. He smiled and giggled at her touch. It was such a delightful sound. “It seems he takes after his mother more than I thought.”

“It is being very interesting,” Jumba stated as he finally joined the group. “I am not being able to tell what sort of abilities they will be having. It could be a combination from six-two-four and six-two-five. Or perhaps they develop their own. Only time will tell.” He looked down at his creations proudly. Never did he think such beauty could come from something he made. The smiles on the fours faces as they looked at the new children brought tears to his eyes. “I will be needing to document the little ones.” Jumba announced. “I shall not be numbering this new generation. So? What are their names being?”

Angel and Reuben looked to each other. They had already gone through many names, time and time again. Never truly knowing what they should go with, they felt when the time came there would be a feeling and they would know. It seemed that they were correct.

The two held onto their children tightly as Angel invited their kids into the family. “Welcome to your ‘ohana, Ava and Monty.”

Chapter Text

To Lilo’s surprise and complete happiness, after Monochrome’s rescue she hadn’t heard from or seen Sam or Lea. She was still amazed that the quiet and peaceful Devon was actually not only friends with Abby and Jen, but actually dated Abby in the past. It seemed like their personalities were complete opposites, but perhaps that was what made them work so well. With Sam out of the way the two had gotten back together, determined not to let anyone get between them again. To everyone’s surprise they all actually became really good friends. Victoria, Jen, and Lilo had a very similar taste in movies and the bizarre. As well, Devon and Abby became very playful and mischievous together, something Kea and Kel related to very well. With all the new friends, it had become one of the best summers of Lilo and Stitch’s lives.

Click and Monochrome had become nearly inseparable. Keeping his promise, Click didn’t mention the relationship between Lilo and Stitch to Daniel or anyone else. Shortly after the incident, Mrs. Jefferson offered to let Monochrome live with them. She previously stayed at the medical clinic, which was just fine with her, but she didn’t want to leave Click’s side again. They would only part for when she would have to go to work at her second one true place.

After finally being brought to her senses, Mertle had a lot to make up for. She had said and done many things that she wasn’t proud of. But the first and most important was to make things up with her true friends. Teresa was skeptical when their old friend approached them. Doubt and anger quickly turned to happiness as, for the first time in their lives Mertle said, “I’m sorry.” Making up for missed time, the group spent every waking moment together. They even spent time with Lilo and her friends on the odd occasion. Like Mertle had said, she and Lilo didn’t become friends right away, but the old anger and fights had nearly vanished. Lilo still hoped that one day they could call each other ‘friend’ once again.

With the birth of Monty and Ava, Lilo and Stitch found a whole new excitement in their ‘ohana. It was the first time either of them dealt with completely new life in the family. Even with the thought of Nani and David’s wedding just a couple days away, she found herself thinking even further ahead into the future. She saw a glint in Stitch’s eye, and the smile on his face as he looked at his new niece and nephew was priceless. It was so innocent and genuine, it brought a small tear to her eye as she wondered what their future family would be like. After the excitement had died down, they let Angel and Reuben rest in Jumba’s ship. Thankfully, Angel would be more than capable of attending the wedding.

Now standing with feet slightly submerged in the cool ocean waters, Lilo looked towards the back of the small crowd. She stood as maiden of honor, wearing a light blue ankle cut dress. Her hair was braided and hung over her shoulder with a pale blue hibiscus flower in her hair. Stitch looked at her from the front row, unable to believe how stunning she was. Lilo caught his gaze and gave him a wave, feeling slightly embarrassed. David stood ready at the make shift alter. Despite all the time he has had to ready himself he tugged at his collar, also completely nervous. His best man, his oldest childhood friend, gave him a pat on the back and some words of encouragement. Everyone waited with baited breath for when the music would start to play, and Nani would emerge from the large tent on the beach. Lilo was filled with excitement, not realizing what had transpired just that morning.

Pleakley and Jumba were in their room getting ready for the wedding. Pleakley already had a brand new dress and wig on, one he made “special” for the occasion. To Jumba, it looked like any of the curly haired wigs Pleakley had kept, but he knew better than to say it out loud. He was also too preoccupied trying to put on his tuxedo for the special occasion.

“Gah,” he shouted as he threw his still untied bow tie on the ground. “Why must Earthlings wear such ridiculous clothing? That’s it. I’m going just like this.”

Pleakley turned to look at him, finding a completely disheveled alien. His shirt wasn’t tucked in, his jacket was crooked, and his collar was turned upright. Furrowing his brow, he stomped over to the large mess of an alien.

“No you’re not! This is Nani’s big day and I will not let you be the one to ruin it. Now stop complaining and fix yourself up.” Pleakley leaned down and picked up the discarded fabric, handing it to Jumba.

Fed up with all the customs and difficulties. Jumba crossed his arm, finishing with a very defiant, “no!”

“Fine then. Suit yourself.” With blinding accuracy and speed, Pleakley fixed up Jumba’s tuxedo for him. Before the large alien even knew what was happening, he was uncomfortably confined in his now flawless clothing. Pleakley finished tying the bowtie and then turned them towards the mirror. “See? Now you look fabulous.”

“Ugh, I look like that silly fellow from ‘Going with the Breeze’ again.”

“It was ‘Gone with the Wind,’ Jumba. And nonsense you look great!”

Happy with his work, he returned to getting ready. After a few moments he noticed a photo sticking out of one of the photo albums on their desk. “That’s funny. What’s that doing there?”

“What is what doing where?” Jumba asked, trying to make his clothes a little more comfy for him.

Pleakley picked up the picture and instantly awed. “It’s the first picture of Lilo and Styles. Oh it’s been so long. I can’t believe how much they’ve grown. Where does the time go?” Pleakley pulled out the album, continuing to go on about the years despite Jumba not listening.

“Yes, yes. Time…Lilo…” Jumba tried loosening his bowtie, finding it hard to breath. “This confounded neck choker!”

Pleakley was about to put the picture back when he spotted something on Styles’ hand. “What’s that?” He examined the picture more closely, making out a red ring on the boys finger. “A ring? A red ring.”

It took a moment for Jumba to realize what Pleakley was talking about. “A red ring?” He mumbled to himself.

“Yeah.” Pleakley stared at it for a moment. “It kind of looks like the one he had the other night.”

Jumba rushed over to snag the picture out of Pleakley’s hand. “That’s being impossible. Boy is saying it was just made. Absolutely no way it could be same thing.” He tried to take the picture but Pleakley held on strong.

“What are you doing?” Pleakley pulled the picture back. “I’m just looking.”

“Well…we, uh…” Trying to think of an excuse, Jumba didn’t loosen his grip on the old photo. “We need to get going, no time for this nonsense.”

“Nonsense?!” Pleakley gasped. “If it’s the same ring then that means…” Jumba’s eyes went wide. He wondered if Pleakley could have figured out that Styles was actually Stitch. “That means he is a big liar, and as Lilo’s aunt and uncle we should warn her.”

Jumba looked at him for a second. I should not have been worrying so much. Pleakley continued to pull on the picture, and deciding that there was no real cause for concern, Jumba let go. Pleakley went flying back into the desk, knocking down all the photo albums. Pleakley looked around at the mess that laid around him.

“Look what you made me do!” Pleakley shouted. “If you think I’m cleaning this up by myself you have another thing coming, mister.”

“We will be cleaning later,” Jumba said as he started to head out.

With a sad sigh at the loss of his newly cleaned room, Pleakley started getting up, sorting the mess as best as he could. He picked up some of the photos that had fallen in a small pile, and put them on the table.

“Are you being with the coming?” Jumba asked at the door.

Giving it one final look, Pleakley set the picture of Lilo and Styles on the table next to the pile. What caught his eye was the photo that was right by his hand. It was a picture taken of Lilo and Stitch at the beach. They had just had a fun day swimming in celebration of Lilo’s fourteenth birthday. Unbeknownst to the two in the photo, Stitch’s ring was clearly visible on his finger. The water had matted down his fur enough to clearly read Lilo’s name. Ignoring the continued complaints from Jumba, Pleakley picked up both photos and compared the two rings. “They’re exactly the same.”

“What is being the same?” Jumba asked, rather irritated that he was being forced to wear the tuxedo for longer than he was liking.

“Stitch and Styles have the same ring with Lilo’s name. For years now.” The wheels began turning in Pleakley’s head. All the time and adventures with the family made him able to pick up odd things a lot easier. There was never any coincidences in their household. Jumba froze as Pleakley began fitting everything together. “If Styles and Stitch have the same ring, and Styles lied about when he got it. And there has never been a time when both of them are together. He has odd blue hair…doesn’t talk a lot…Just like Stitch.” With a large gasp, he dropped the photos and looked to the evil genius. “What did you do?”

“W-what are you talking about?” Jumba asked, pressing his back against the wall as Pleakley confronted him. “I am doing nothing. It is all just being coincidence.”

“No, no, no. I can tell.” Pleakley stopped Jumba’s weak attempts at moving away. “I may not have a nose but I can smell trouble a mile away! And this right here wreaks!”

Unable to do anything, or get away, Jumba admitted defeat. He explained to Pleakley everything that had happened. All starting with the moment that Stitch’s final programming had been activated. It was a shocking tale, and Pleakley did not expect it at all. Initially apprehensive at the thought of Lilo and Stitch being in love, he eventually came around as Jumba continued relaying their story. In the end, Pleakley swore to keep their secret hidden. He rather enjoyed the idea of a secret forbidden love.

Music began to fill the beach as Nani finally stepped out of the white tent. She looked onto the crowd of friends and family that they had invited. Each and every face had turned to her, eager to watch her walk down the aisle. All the eagerness had quickly changed to nervousness, and she felt slightly sick to her stomach. One look from David though, and the crowd vanished. Only she and him were on the beach, and she finally took the first steps towards the rest of her life.

As her father had passed away years ago, Jumba took his place in escorting Nani down the aisle. The gazes and stares of the crowd brushed past her as she focused solely on the man standing a few feet in the water. She had quickly stolen the attention of every person on the beach. Her ankle high pure white dress, that floated around her slightly as she walked, was angelic. Unlike Lilo, who preferred more decorative dresses, hers only had lace pattern and designs along the chest and shoulders. From there downward was what looked like a smooth cloud. Her dress had no veil or train, all she had wrapped behind her was a silk scarf, tinted a pale blue, matching the hibiscus placed behind her right ear.

Jumba let her go near the edge of the tideline, moving to his seat next to Pleakley, who had already begun crying. The music stopped, as the ceremony finally began.

By the time the vows were said, and it came time for Nani and David to trade rings, not a single eye was dry in the crowd. Lilo couldn’t believe that the time had finally come. She always believed that her sister and David would be married. Ever since she read Nani’s hopes for the future in her diary, she knew it would happen. Now that it was only moments away, it felt like a magical dream.

The officiant looked to each party, seeing the radiate smiles on their faces. “Do you, Nani Pelekai, take David to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.” She was so close to tears, she could barely get the words out.

“And do you, David Kawena, take Nani to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Without any hesitation, David answered. “I do. More than anything.”

Closing his book, the officiant made his final declaration of the ceremony. “Then with the power vested in me, by the state of Hawai’i. I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.”

David took the hibiscus from Nani’s ear, and placed it on her left side. Then, cupping her face with his hand, he brought their lips together to seal their marriage. After so many years of waiting, they had finally done what they had meant to since the moment they met. Nani was taken back to that first night she saw David, asking her to dance when she least expected it. All the memories from then on rushed her. Each time they smiled, laughed, and cried, as well as all of the adventures, fun, and pure life they shared. All of them were happy memories, but now she could make even more. Starting with their honeymoon away from the craziness of her family.

“Come on, Stitch,” Lilo beckoned as they ran home. “We don’t want to be late!”

“I know! I know!” Stitch hurried right on her heels. He didn’t know why they decided to not take the buggy, but now that they were carrying large grocery bags home he truly wish they had.

Lilo and Stitch had decided to throw Nani a welcome home party after her return from her honeymoon. Losing track of time, they realized that the day had already arrived and they didn’t prepare a single thing. Completely last minute, they created a banner to hang in the living room and decided to get groceries to make an early supper. Figuring they would be faster on foot, they left behind the buggy, only to find they were being slowed down by carrying the items home.

Lilo burst into the house, quickly followed by Stitch.

“Okay,” she said to herself as she looked at the clock while she and Stitch dropped the bags onto the table. “We have an hour until Nani will be here. We can do this.”

“Ih.” Stitch revealed his second pair of arms, flexing them to show off.

Lilo giggled at his display, but quickly snapped them back to reality. Time was of the essence, and they were determined to meet their goal. The two became a flurry in the kitchen, while neither were the best cooks around, they could take care of themselves well enough. Now that Lilo was older, she actually enjoyed cooking a lot more. Every so often she and her sister would work together at making dinner, and Nani would show her a few tricks.

Nani always said, “You’ll need to know these things eventually. Might as well start learning now.”

Of course things didn't always turn out well. Not a time went by that they didn’t end up laughing and becoming closer though. Lilo carefully directed Stitch on what to do. He managed to learn how to make amazing sandwiches and cakes on his own, but his overall cooking skill wasn’t that great. Before they knew it, supper was prepared. All that was left was to leave the casserole they just made in the oven to finish cooking.

With nothing else to do, the two decided to relax in the living room. Lilo cuddled into Stitch, loving the rest after doing a lot of work. He lightly kissed the top of her head, sending chills down her spine. She didn’t realize how much she loved getting to cuddle on the couch. It was completely different than when they were in their bed together. It was liberating.

“Stop that,” she said despite loving the treatment. “Nani will be home soon.”

“We have time.” Stitch tried to coax the playfulness out of her. With Nani away, they were able to be a lot more open with their relationship, and he relished it completely. “Besides,” he said as he traced his finger down her arm slowly, “we are going to tell her tonight anyway.”

Lilo was finding it hard to resist, but she at least wanted to make some sort of attempt. “Yes. But that’s not until after dinner.”

Stitch continued his efforts, kissing her gently while sending chills along her arm and side. “Just a little fun?” To top off his efforts he gave a small pout.

Lilo turned around in his arms, seeing him sticking out his lower lip. His big eyes somehow became even bigger, trying to make her give in. Finally, with a sigh, she did. “You are so bad.” She flipped positions, pulling Stitch over top of her.

“Only when it comes to yuuga,” he replied devilishly, finally bringing his lips to hers. Losing each other in their love and lost to the outside world.

“Thanks for bringing the car down,” Nani said to Pleakley as she drove them home. “You didn’t have any problems driving it?”

“Nani, Nani, Nani,” Pleakley began patronizingly.,“I am an Earth expert. Driving a car is no problem for me.” Just as he finished, the passenger side mirror fell off. She sent him a glare to which he nervously chuckled. “Okay. Maybe there was a small issue involving a truck and a tricycle. But it resolved itself.”

“A truck and a….you know what? Never mind. I don’t want to know.” She continued her way home, eager to see her family. Hating that David had to go back to work as soon as they got back, she hoped that he would at least get home a little early. It’d be nice to have the whole family together for an evening. She looked to the alien who was fascinated by the rushing scenery. “We should do a family fun night again. Maybe Lilo can invite Styles this time.”

“Well that would be hard.” Pleakley began, not realizing what he was saying. “Seeing as Styles doesn’t exist.” The moment the words came out of his mouth he froze.

“What?” Nani said bewildered by his comment. “What do you mean he doesn’t exist?”

“Um…” Pleakley began shaking, trying to think of a way out of this situation. He didn’t want to be the one to blow Lilo and Stitch’s cover. “What I mean is that Styles is uh…”

“Yes?”

“He and Lilo…broke up?” He figured that that was as good a reasoning as any. “Yes. They broke up…just a few days ago in fact. On my planet, when that happens, we say the other person no longer exists. Its part of the healing process, you see?”

“Really?” Nani was actually shocked. “They seemed so perfect for each other too. I wonder what happened.”

“I don’t know, Nani. Sometimes these things just happen.”

“I’ll talk to her when we get home. See if I can help any.”

However, Nani didn’t get the chance to ask. As soon as she walked through the door, she was greeted by a sight she never thought she would witness. On the couch in front of her, laid Stitch on top of her baby sister. Lips firmly pressed against hers as his hands ran up and down her body. She dropped her keys to the floor, as the sight began to sink in. Surprised by the sound, Lilo and Stitch looked up to see the unbelieving eyes of Nani staring down at them. Silence filled the air, as the situation began to settle.

“W-what is going on here?!” Nani shouted once she recomposed herself.

Discovery Arc End

Chapter Text

Betrayed. Pained. Deceived.

Sadness. Heartache. Regret.

Emptiness. Lost. Alone.

The excited and hopeful feelings that previously filled the house had all but vanished. Lilo watched from her bedroom window as Stitch slowly walked away from their home. He looked up as he felt a raindrop fall upon his head. What was once a clear sky had quickly become overcast and dark. Bringing his gaze away from the dark gray clouds above, he spotted Lilo in her window. With tear filled eyes, she weakly waved down to him. She saw him try to give a smile in a vain attempt to make things feel better, but a flash of lightning forced him to quickly run to get out of the rain.

Lilo heard the lift to her room slowly ascend the shaft. She knew it would be Nani coming to talk to her, but after what had just happened, she never wanted to talk to her sister again.

A few moments earlier, Nani had just arrived home from her honeymoon. She was greeted by the shocking sight of Stitch laying on top of her baby sister, touching and kissing her in a way that was meant for those in love. After the initial shock, she had a large outburst, however,the trouble came when the two tried to explain things.

“N-Nani,” Lilo stammered with Stitch still over her. The shock in her eyes was great, but nothing compared to the look on her sister’s face. “This is. I-um…”

Nani was in no mood for listening. She stomped over to the frozen couple.

“You!” she directed at Stitch, causing him to flinch. “Get off of her.”

Stitch jumped down from the couch in fear of what she might do. “Meega can explain.”

“Quiet!” she shot at him.

Lilo quickly got up, fixing her hair and clothes in the process, getting between Stitch and her sister. “Wait, Nani. We can explain.”

Nani crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation as to why the alien she trusted in her house had himself all over Lilo. “I’m listening.”

“We were planning to tell you.”

“Tell me? You mean this has happened before?” The outrage in her voice filled the room. Pleakley stayed hidden outside, he knew it was best to keep his distance when Nani got really angry.

The words got stuck in Lilo’s throat. She had planned out an entire ideal scenario in her head, but it wasn’t looking like she was going to get that. “Well four years ago…”

“Four years?” Nani interrupted. “You mean to tell me that you two have been doing…doing… this for four years?!”

Lilo and Stitch’s mouth hung agape. It was clear Nani wasn’t taking the news as well as they had hoped. “Y-yeah,” Lilo continued, “we wanted to tell you but-“

“But what?”

“We didn’t think you would take it well.”

“Kind of like now?” Nani spat, to which Lilo nodded. “Well then its clear not telling me was a far better choice.”

The two cringed at her words. Really, they wanted to tell her. It was the fear of this that made them wait so long. Now they stood, heads hung low in guilt and shame at lying for so long.

“We just-“

“Save it, Lilo. I don’t want to hear it right now.”

Lilo could feel tears start to sting her eyes. She was used to fights with her sister, but this was on a whole other level. Nani hadn’t talked to her like this since she was a little kid. Stitch grabbed her hand for support, but the disgusted look from Nani made him feel that wasn’t the best thing to do.

“Don’t you dare touch her.” She took a step forward and the two stepped back. She continued her rant as she slowly cornered them to the wall. “I trusted you, Stitch. I let you come into our house, I let you stay with us. You were supposed to protect Lilo! Not do….not do any of this.”

Feeling the wall reach them, Lilo held onto Stitch tightly. “It’s not his fault, Nani. We’re in lo-“

“Don’t say it. And let go of him! I want him out of this house!”

“What?”

”Gaba?”

Lilo held on defiantly, shocked, and hurt. “You-you can’t kick Stitch out. He’s a part of our ‘ohana. Our family.”

“Not right now he isn’t.” Nani grabbed a hold of Stitch, trying to pry him out of Lilo’s grip. “He’s a part of our family when I say he is!” She was surprised when he didn’t move and pulled again. However, he wouldn’t budge. It was like trying to pull on a wall. She looked at Lilo’s defiant face. “How are you holding him?”

Lilo didn’t answer. Instead, she continued to hold on as hard as she could. Stitch looked into her sad eyes, he knew she didn’t want to give him up. He thought back to the days that Nani and Lilo would laugh and smile together, it hurt to see them fight this way. Because of me… This is my fault. With a sad sigh and a settled mind, Stitch let himself loose of Lilo’s grasp, letting Nani do with him what she must.

“Meega be back,” he whispered.

The shock and terror in her face was not calmed by his words. What was meant to be a happy day, suddenly turned into the worst day of her life.

With Stitch now freed, Nani stomped over to the door. With a rush of speed, Lilo was suddenly blocking the entrance.

“How did you?” Nani looked back to where Lilo was standing just a moment ago. It quickly dawned on her that there was more kept from her than she initially thought. “What did you do to her?” She directed at the silent Stitch, holding him by the chest.

“Stitch didn’t do anything!” Lilo pleaded. “Please don’t throw him out.”

Nani didn’t care. As far as she was concerned, it was because of Stitch was the root of the problem. With a set mind she continued. “It’s clear to me now, Lilo. That Stitch shouldn’t be here with us.” Nani moved past her little sister, getting hold of the doorknob.

“Nobody gets left behind!” Lilo shouted, making Nani hesitate for a moment.

Sadly, she still opened the door and put Stitch outside. Before she could close the door, Lilo rushed past her. Nani tried to grab hold, but was too slow.

Lilo grabbed onto Stitch, not wanting to see him go. “If Stitch goes, I go.”

“Get back inside, Lilo.”

“Not without, Stitch!”

“No.” Lilo was surprised to hear the words come from Stitch. “Yuuga stay with family.”

“But-“

“Nagga ‘buts.’” Stitch stood, feeling Lilo’s hand hold him tight. “Isa be okay. Meega be back. You and Nani are sisters. You two shouldn’t be fighting. I know you can fix this.”

“Stitch…”

“Lilo.” Nani’s voice boomed. “Inside.”

“Isa okay,” Stitch said as he left her grasp.

Broken hearted and defeated, Lilo did as Stitch said. She entered the house only to hear the door immediately slam behind her. Not wanting to believe what had just happened, she ran to her room. Ignoring the calls from Nani, she took the elevator wishing she wasn’t riding it alone.

Stitch ran. The sudden lightning storm had snuck up on him. He was sure that it wasn’t supposed to rain that day, but in the end it didn’t matter. The cold drops hid the tears that stained his face. He had said that everything would be okay. That he would be back soon. Hoping they could all be a happy family. He did not know if he was telling Lilo the truth or just lying to himself. All he wanted was for his words to become reality, and for them to be an ‘ohana again.

Without anywhere to go, Stitch ran into town. Without his one true place, he was once again lost and alone in the world. Another flash of lightning, followed by a loud thunderous roar, Stitch picked up the pace. He wanted to get where he was going as fast as he could.

Meanwhile, Daniel was finishing cleaning up after his mother’s store had closed. Click had run to the clinic to check on Monochrome. The storm had caught everybody by surprise, and they knew Monochrome would want someone to accompany her through the torrent of rain. The young boy looked out the window and saw water begin to flood the edges of the street.

“Well, looks like no one will be going out today,” he laughed to himself. Always enjoying the rain, the storm was welcomed. It would bring more humidity than normal, but afterwards the island would look much more alive.

Suddenly, he saw a blue figure run by the window. Thinking it looked familiar, he rushed to the door.

“Stitch?!” he called out to the blue figure. Sure enough, Stitch stopped and turned to look at him. “What are you doing out here?” He strained his voice trying to be heard over the wind and pitter-pattering rain drops.

For a second, Stitch considered going to Daniel for a moment. He looked out onto the empty road and then back to his concerned friend. Shaking his head, he turned from the store and continued running out in the storm.

Daniel watched as Stitch ran away. He questioned whether he should chase after him or not, but by the time he decided to Stitch was long gone.

“What happened?” He had never once seen Stitch by himself. The thought of something being wrong with Lilo worried him greatly.

Just as he was about to close the door, Click and Monochrome ran up behind him.

“Gaba yuuga doing outside?” Click asked.

“Yuuga soaked,” Monochrome added, “yuuga need to get inside or yuuga get sick.”

At his friends beckoning, he returned to the store. Eager to talk to the two about what had just happened.

“Lilo, please talk to me.” Nani sat on Lilo’s bed. She had been waiting for Lilo to reply to her. No matter what she said, Lilo just laid on the bed staring at the wall. She watched as Lilo’s form gently rose and fell as she silently sobbed. She reached out to place her hand on Lilo’s side. “Sweetie.”

Lilo swatted away Nani’s hand. “Don’t touch me.”

“Okay.” Nani retreated, slightly hurt. “But you need to talk to me.”

“I don’t need to do anything!” Lilo could feel her tears start to come back. “You just threw him out. You just got rid of someone from our family.”

“Look, I know you’re upset.” Nani decided trying to reason with Lilo would be the best option. “I’m not happy either. To find out that you’ve been keeping this hidden from me for four years. You and an… an…”

“Amazing person.”

“An alien, Lilo.” She let out a sad sigh. “I’m your sister. And you kept this hidden from me. And on top of that why would you? With him? Honestly Lilo. Why couldn’t you just be with a normal human? Is this why you and Styles broke up?”

“There is no Styles,” Lilo said to the wall.

“What?”

Lilo turned, furry on her face. “Styles doesn’t exist. It was Stitch. It was always Stitch. We made Styles up so you wouldn’t freak out when you saw us together.”

Nani stood from the bed, keeping her back to Lilo. “You lie to me. You deceive me. Is there anything else you’ve kept hidden from me?”

Lilo was angry, and she could see Nani was hurt. “Yeah there is. When Stitch and I got together, I changed. I got part of his strength and abilities.” She held up her hand, ring glinting in the light. “This ring is proof of our bond and love!”

At her words, Nani turned to see the old ring. “You what? Take it off, now.” She always thought that it was from the grand council. Even more lies.

“Never! I can’t.” The mere thought of taking off the ring terrified her.

“Give it here.” Nani slammed her foot down, putting her hand out. When Lilo refused further, Nani insisted even greater. Seeing that Lilo now began covering her ring, Nani grabbed at her sister’s hand. “Fine then. Have it your way.”

Nani tried to pry the ring from Lilo’s hand. But clearly, Nani was nowhere near as strong as Lilo. Try as she might, she couldn’t get her little sister to budge. Unwilling to give up the sign of her love, Lilo began pushing back. “You can’t take it, you don’t know what you’re doing!”

Nani let out a yelp of pain, freezing Lilo’s blood cool. For the first time in her life she had hurt her sister. The shock was just enough to make her drop her guard. Taking the opportunity, Nani tugged the ring off Lilo’s finger. The light popping sound shattered Lilo’s world. For the first time in years her finger was bare, and she felt completely exposed and naked. She couldn’t do anything else in fear of hurting Nani again.

Nani stomped over to the lift, ring held tightly in her hand. She had had enough of everything. “Do you even understand what it is you’ve done, Lilo? I-I can’t even talk to you right now. I can’t deal with this.”

Nani let the lift take her downstairs, leaving behind Lilo as she curled up to hold herself, crying even harder than before. She was furious and felt betrayed. If she had stayed any longer she would have said or done something she would regret. Not realizing what she had already done, not to Lilo, but Stitch. The house was clear of both Pleakley and Jumba. She knew she had some choice words for them, but would deal with it later.

Walking into the living room, her head grazed against the banner that hung over the entryway. Reading the words “Welcome Back Home Nani” made her tear up. With such high hopes for the day, she couldn’t believe the way it spiraled downhill. Not wanting to see it anymore, she grabbed at it and pulled it off of its nails. It tore in two as it slowly drifted to ground.

“How did this happen?” She flopped onto the couch, face in her hands. “How could I have been so blind for so long?”

Suddenly, she could see all of the signs over the years. Everything she figured she was over thinking. All starting around the night Stitch licked Lilo without complaint. I am such a fool. There were plenty of things she felt bad about.

Being lied to.

Being kept in the dark.

Not being trusted.

Mostly, that she didn’t notice that her sister was in love with Stitch. I’m supposed to be your guardian…your sister…your family. How could I not see it? The smell of dinner slowly wafted to her from the kitchen. Wondering what smelled so good, she dragged herself towards the oven. It suddenly dinged, so she decided to open it. Before her sat a large casserole, perfectly prepared.

“Did they make this?”

Tears started to trail down her face as she threw the dish onto the stove. She couldn’t handle looking at it. She was hurt and sad, but still angry. She couldn’t just forgive them for what they had done. She especially couldn’t forgive Stitch for what he had done to Lilo.

She pulled the ring she had taken out of her pocket. “It’s warm.” She whispered. Upon closer look, she could see the numbers six-two-six on it. She scoffed at her ignorance and stupidity over the years. “I better hide this somewhere.”

The storm had seemed to get worse. However, Stitch could no longer tell. All he could see before him was a blanket of gray from the curtain of rain. Needing to find some sort of shelter, he continued his trek through the storm. I need to get out of this.

Running on all fours as quickly as he could. He strained his eyes to see where he was. It looked like the housing district for his cousins. Thinking that perhaps he could find Angel and Reuben’s house, he headed in the direction he thought they were.

Off in the distance, he could barely make out a small figure. Running for cover from the rain, the figure let out a scream as a crash of thunder boomed through the sky above. Stitch instantly recognized the type of voice.

“Cousin!” he shouted, bounding to his panicking family member. The need to help his ‘ohana outweighed his own need for safety.

The experiment clearly heard Stitch through the rain. Instantly feeling relief, knowing that if anyone could, Stitch could help them. They ran towards him, only to be stopped by a bolt of lightning hitting a tree on the side of the road.

“Look out!” Stitch yelled, gasping as the tree quickly fell towards his cousin.

Using all the strength he had, he closed the distance and grabbed the tree just as it was about to crush the stray experiment. Feeling oddly weak, he buckled under the pressure. Closing his eyes to focus his strength, he didn’t know which of his cousin’s he had just saved.

Their words of thanks barely reached Stitch’s ears over the sound of another crash of thunder. Feeling like he was losing his strength, he beckoned for them to run to safety. Hearing the stomping of feet run through the forming puddles, he was happy to know that he was able to at least do some good that day. Barely having the strength to push off the large tree, he let it fall to his side and quickly continued in the direction of Angel and Reuben’s house. He was sure he was now only a little ways away from it.

All of a sudden he felt a pain in his chest. It seared with more strength than he had ever felt in his life. What? He clutched at his heart, remembering the pain from long ago. Lilo! His ring suddenly felt cold. A powerful need to reach Lilo filled his body, but the pain in his heart stopped him from moving. No! Fighting against the pain, he turned and started to trudge back to the house. He only made it a few feet before he finally collapsed from the tearing in his chest. The world slowly grew black around him, welcoming a deep but painful sleep.

Chapter Text

The next morning Lilo waited until she finally saw Nani leave the house. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she descended the lift into the home she once loved. Without Stitch it felt empty, dull, and boring. He had helped bring love and fun into their lives. The thought of him not ever coming back cast a dark shadow over the place she once called home.

“Home really is where the heart is,” she sighed as she began tiptoeing through the house, “mine is with Stitch.”

She subconsciously went to play with her ring for comfort. But she felt a pain in her heart when all she met was cool skin. Her finger hadn’t been bare in years, now that it was, she felt naked and exposed. I’m just going to need to find it.

Lilo knew that Stitch must be in great pain. She wanted to run to him, find him, hold him, and comfort him. None of it would matter if she didn’t get the ring back. Knowing there were only a few hiding places her sister used, she quickly checked each and every one. Her heart fell a little more when she was unable to spot the ring. Losing hope, she decided it would be best to recruit some help.

Being sure to stay quiet, as to not wake up David, she made her way to Jumba and Pleakley’s room. She opened up the door, flinching at the loud creaking sound it made. Once through, her eyes grew wide at the scene before her.

“Where are they?” she asked in a hushed tone.

The room was empty. It was still rather early, however it didn’t even look like the alien’s bunk beds had been slept in. All of their things were still in the room, and what caught her eye the most was the pile of pictures on the desk near her.

Her heart grew warm, and found herself smiling at the old photos of their family. Feeling it bring a tear to her eye, she quickly put the photos back. There’s no time for waiting around. Stitch needs me.

Knowing there was only one place she had yet to look, Lilo found herself in front of Nani and David’s room. First opening it just a crack, she saw David laying peacefully in the bed, snoring loudly. He’s even worse than Stitch. She took a deep breath and entered the room, hating each and every creak of the floor as she stepped.

Having never before needed to look for something in Nani’s room, Lilo had no idea where to begin looking. Deciding that it didn’t matter, she started opening and closing drawers, checking any place that looked like it could hold a ring.

“Morning, Lilo.”

She jumped in surprise at the sudden voice that came from behind her. Lilo turned and saw that David was wide awake and sitting up in the bed.

“Morning… David…” she replied sadly, completely filled with embarrassment with being caught.

The sounds of voices filled Stitch’s head. Barely able to understand their booming words, he shook his head to try and rid himself of the pain. Loud shrieks and cries enveloping him but he could not tell where they were coming from, and one of the voices then vanished. Still feeling groggy, he opened his eyes and flinched at the bright light. Blurry figures and shadows dashed around the room as his eyes slowly focused.

“Where am I?” he mumbled. Stitch tried to remember what had happened. All he could think of was a flurry of things from the night before, and then a sharp pain that brought him down in the rain. He then noticed the pain that was still in his chest. Clawing at the source, his heart, he tried his best to quell the feeling by any means. However the pain continued, making his breath short and his body ache.

Stitch heard the third voice return, as well as feeling hands grab his arms and hold him down. His eyes were shut tight, unable to keep them open through the throbbing of his heart.

“Stitch, calm down,” one of the voices pleaded.

“Hold him tight!” another voice said before he felt warm hands slowly stroking the fur on his head.

The arms that restrained him held on tighter, to the point that he couldn’t move. There wasn’t a time in his life that he couldn’t push off someone restraining him, his weakness from the night before seemed even greater today. The soothing treatment and whispers from the one voice reminded him of Lilo. The thought of his love made the pain even greater. He wished that it truly was Lilo that was with him at that moment. Thankfully, the pain died down slightly, and soon the whispering voice became recognizable.

Flinching at the still bright light, Stitch’s eyes finally began to focus. Bringing with it, the image of Angel before him, smiling greatly but clearly worried.

“A-angel?” Stitch whispered, wondering why he was there. Now that he could finally see, it was clear that he was in Angel and Reuben’s house, but he had no memory of getting there. “Gaba happened?”

“You gave us quite the scare there, cuz,” Reuben said from his side.

The arms finally let go of him, and despite the still beating pain in his chest, he managed to sit up on the bed he was previously thrashing in. Tears and claw marks clearly littered the sheets and pillows around him, and he felt terribly guilty knowing he caused it.

Angel let out a sigh of relief, happy to see that Stitch was finally back to normal. She heard crying come from the other room and quickly left again to check on Ava and Monty. Reuben could see Stitch eye the bedding sadly, and quickly put the worries from his mind.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, “I was thinking of getting some new stuff anyway. We’re just lucky to have you back to normal.” Stitch suddenly grabbed at his chest, another flash of pain running through him. “Or at least mostly normal.”

“Gaba happened to me?” Stitch asked again, needing to know what had happened.

“You’re really lucky. That was a nasty storm. If Spectrum wasn’t there I don’t know what would have happened.”

“Spectrum?” Stitch looked to the other side of the bed, completely forgetting that another pair of arms had held him down.

Before him was a small experiment. Only slightly shorter than the regular sized experiments, she shared the look and build of many of her and Stitch’s cousins. However, she had short cloud like ears with a rounder nose and head than most, as well as pure black oval eyes. Her two antenna trailed down her entire back, meeting her short sleek tail with a prism like shape just above it in the small of her back. With control of the electromagnetic spectrum, her fluffy fur changed colours based off of her mood. As Stitch looked at her, it turned into a light red that matched the growing blush on her face. She was always meek and shy, and became easily embarrassed over the smallest things. She nervously placed her hands behind her back.

“Hi,” she squeaked, waving at him before her hand quickly returned behind her.

Reuben walked around the bed to where Spectrum was, explaining as he went. “Angel and I saw Spectrum run by during the storm last night. We offered her a place to stay when she told us that you had saved her.”

“Yuuga were the one from last night?” Stitch asked, to which the girl nodded.

“Meega thought yuuga were right behind me,” she said. “When Reuben and Angel came out to help, meega noticed yuuga naga there.”

“If it wasn’t for this little gal, you’d still be lying out there. Who knows what would have happened to you,” Reuben laughed.

Stitch smiled, trying to finally stand before his legs gave. He managed to catch himself on the bed and declined the two’s offers for help. The two backed away and Stitch looked to Spectrum whose fur had now changed to a more full red as her embarrassment died down.

“Taka, Spectrum.” Stitch thanked the girl from the bottom of his heart. “If it wasn’t for yuuga, I might not be here.”

“Naga, naga,” she said as she returned to her previous shade of pink. “Yuuga the one that saved meega. Meega should be thanking yuuga.”

Angel finally returned to the room. She was happy to see that Stitch was finally standing, and joined in their conversation. All three could see that Stitch was still clearly in a mysterious pain, but he was trying his best to conceal it. Knowing that her cousin was now going to be okay, Spectrum made her leave. She was eager to get back to her family now that the storm was over.

Once Spectrum was gone, Stitch was finally able to speak freely. Just as he was about to explain what had happened, he fell back down to the bed, clutching at his chest.

“Stitch!” Angel grabbed at his arm, helping him back up onto the mattress. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t nota!” he strained to say. “Isa feels like when Lilo’s ring came off.”

Reuben looked at Angel, both concerned and confused. “But Lilo would never do that. She knows what happens if you take it off.”

Stitch did his best to get control over the pain. “Meega guessing that Nani is the one that took it.”

By the two’s shocked expressions, it was clear that Stitch was going to need to explain what had happened the previous day. He just hoped that the pain he felt in his chest, was just from running in the storm, and wasn’t from something happening back at home.

David placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of Lilo. She looked at her meal, smiling up at her mockingly. Admittedly, David wasn’t the best cook around. He normally opted for pizza when it was his turn in the kitchen. The bacon looked a little under cook and the eggs overdone, but it was clear he was making an attempt.

Lilo poked at the food with her fork as David sat down at the kitchen table. She truly didn’t have much of an appetite, feeling rather shaky. Attributing it to the lack of any meal since yesterday morning, she decided to venture into David’s cooking.

“How is it?” he asked, trying to make some small talk.

Lilo swallowed hard.

“It’s…good,” she said, trying to be as polite about it as she could. It certainly wasn’t the worst meal she had ever had. It was clear though, that she really didn’t feel any desire to eat, so she pushed the half eaten food away from her.

A little disappointed that she didn’t eat more, David sighed.

“So I take it you were looking for something.”

“What makes you say that?”

David looked around the kitchen. Every draw was pulled out and every cupboard was open. Some contents had been discarded onto the floor as well, leaving the usually messy kitchen in a state of disrepair.

“Just a hunch.”

Lilo looked away from him, playing with the spot on her finger that the ring should have been on. Each moment she grew more and more worried about Stitch. If she didn’t need to look for the ring, she would already be out searching for him instead.

David wanted to cheer her up, but knew it was an issue between sisters. That said, he still did his best to figure things out when Nani was too upset to. “By any chance is it the ring Nani took?”

“Do you know where it is!?” she asked quickly, hope filling her eyes.

“No,” David said and saw her happiness instantly die down. “She’s hidden it. And she knows how big a softie I am. I take it its really important.”

Lilo just nodded her head in response.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

“You’re…” Lilo had known David for most of her life. He was the closest thing she ever had to a father figure. Even with all that, there had never been a time when the two of them talked about an issue concerning her like this. “You’re not mad?”

“No. I’m not mad,” he told her with a smile before ruffling up her hair. “I’m disappointed, though. Nani told me everything last night. We’re your family, we want to be there and support you. We can’t do that if you’re keeping secrets from us.”

“I... we… we were scared. We didn’t want anyone to be mad at us. We didn’t want all of this…”

David laid back in his chair, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah… Nani can be a little lolo when she gets angry.” He saw Lilo nod and retreat back into herself. “But you know she loves you. Why don’t you tell me your side of the story and we go from there.”

Lilo told her tale from the beginning. There were only a few times when she shared the whole story. Most of the people who knew had been there with her. She was surprised by David’s lack of shock or anger. He kept calm and continued to listen to her fully. Skipping over the minor details, she instead lost herself in her own love of Stitch. David smiled at the way her eyes lit up whenever she mentioned Stitch’s name. It reminded her of the glow Nani gave off the night he first laid eyes on her. Realizing her mistake, Lilo continued with her story. Finally, she reached the significance of the rings. She was about to explain the connection between the ring and Stitch’s life, when there was a sudden knock at the door.

A little earlier at Angel and Reuben’s house, Stitch just finished telling his cousins what had happened the previous night. Neither were truly surprised about Nani’s reaction. How could they blame her for being upset when she literally walked in on a four year old secret? What did surprise them, was that she kicked him out of the house for good.

“I’m so sorry,” Angel said with tears in her eyes. She hated that Lilo and Stitch had been forced to separate, just the thought of having to leave Reuben made her stomach sink.

“Yeah, cuz.” Reuben continued for her. “This is worse than a rotten egg salad sandwich. We don’t have much room with Ava and Monty now, but you’re free to stay as long as you need to.”

“Takka.” Stitch placed a hand on Reuben’s shoulder, truly grateful to have such a caring family. “But unless Lilo gets her ring back, meega think I’ll only be here about a week.”

The room became instantly quiet as the situation sank in. Never before had they really needed to take into consideration the thought of one of them dying. Reuben and Angel were determined not to let that happen, and they knew that Lilo would agree with them.

“Then we’ll just need to help her find it pronto. Right, sweet cakes?”

Angel nodded in agreement. “I’ll just go check on the kids before we head out.”

“Wait.” Stitch strained as he tried to sit up. “Meega just need to talk to, Lilo.” He looked to Reuben, knowing he’d be the only one who could help. “Do yuuga still have communicators from when you were with Gantu?”

Lilo was surprised to open the door to find Reuben standing there alone. She offered for him to come in, wondering what he was doing there, but he refused. Instead, he simply handed her a single communicator, similar to the ones that Pleakley had brought with him.

When Reuben looked at her in confusion, he forced the communicator into her hands. “Someone wanted to talk to you.”

She was about to question it, but suddenly Stitch’s face appeared on the device and her heart leapt.

“Stitch? Where are you? Are you okay?” She asked with tears in her eyes.

“Morning, Lilo… I’m at Angel and Reuben’s. They’re going to let me stay here while… I’m going to be here for a little bit.”

“Okay…” Her voice cracked as she spoke. “I’m sorry. Nani took my ring. I tried to stop her but I hurt her. I couldn’t do anything. I don’t know where it is. I’m so sorry.”

“Shh. Shh. Shh.” Stitch could see she was a mess, just on the verge of crying. He knew he would be too if it was him in her situation. “Isa okay. I’m okay.”

Lilo could tell he was lying. She could see the pain on his face and the strain behind his words. Falling to her knees, finally letting the tears out, she knew he was trying to be strong for her. “I love you, Stitch.”

“Meega love you too, boojiboo.”

Knowing that Stitch wouldn’t last more than a week, Lilo knew what she had to do. She needed to get her ring back before it was too late. “Don’t worry. I’ll find the ring and then everything will be okay.”

“No.”

“W-what? But, Stitch…”

“No, Lilo,” he interrupted again. “Naga will change if we just steal the ring back. If we really want everything to be okay… We need to let Nani give it back. You two need to be a happy family again.”

“But what if she doesn’t understand? What if I can’t show her that we truly belong together? What if I lose you?”

Stitch hesitated. He knew full well that it was possible that Nani would never accept them. It was why they kept everything hidden over the years.

“I know yuuga can do it, Lilo. You can do anything. Meega know Nani will come around. We’re family. ‘Ohana. Right? Just naga tell her what happens if you don’t get the ring back. We need to do this right.”

“Okay.” Lilo wiped away her tears. There was no time to be worrying or crying. “I’ll get Nani to understand and accept our love. Before it’s too late.”

Chapter Text

Stitch was determined to have their family fixed the right way. Stealing and lying more would only cause more problems. If they truly wanted Nani to accept them, it had to be on her terms. She needed to decide to give the ring back and let Stitch come home.

While Lilo worked on Nani, Stitch barely got out of bed. It had been a few days and the pain never stopped. Over time, the pain got worse and worse. He did his best to regain his strength, but he continued to get weaker. There were a few times when he managed to get up and walk around the house a bit. During those few moments he helped take care of Ava and Monty. The two were growing up quickly. It seemed that the experiments grew and learned at a far faster rate than humans, just like how they developed faster before birth.

The twins were now at the stage of infancy. They enjoyed running around and playing games. They especially loved playing with their uncle Stitch. They didn’t understand why he was so tired and weak all the time, and they didn’t notice the pain on his face and strain in his movements. Despite it all he still played with them to their hearts content. Stitch truly enjoyed every moment of it. Being with his niece and nephew gave him hope for the future. A hope that he truly needed to keep his spirits up.

While Stitch tried to regain some strength and spent time with his family, Lilo spent her time trying to convince Nani to let Stitch back home. It was proving easier said than done. Whenever Lilo tried to talk to Nani, she would get brushed off. Her talk with David, having gone over well, didn’t seem to help any. She tried to ask Jumba and Pleakley for help as they were sympathetic to her situation and feared for Stitch’s safety, but they could do nothing to help. Nani put the fear of death into the two aliens.

It was even more apparent that Nani was just as upset with Jumba. He had changed Lilo forever and there was no turning back. To her, her little sister went through a life changing experience and she was neither consulted or a part of it. Four years spent in the dark, missing so much of Lilo’s life. Everything she thought was real was fake, and that hurt the most of all.

As per Stitch’s wishes, Lilo did not mention to Nani or David what would happen if Lilo did not put on the ring. They knew Nani would give in if she was told it would end up killing Stitch. In the end it would have solved nothing. There were only a few more days until Stitch wouldn’t be able to hold out any longer. If worse came to worse, Lilo would find it and save her love herself. While it would go against what Stitch would want, it would have to be done.

After her talk on the communicator Reuben told her that he would help in any way. Until that time came he would keep watch over his cousin, as well as keep Lilo updated on his condition. She knew Stitch too well. He would try to play down how he felt but it was clear to her how much he was hurting. It pained her heart to know that each second was killing him.

Lilo herself was also being affected by the break in their bond. She could no longer feel him around her. Without the ring she felt cold and alone. Her love for him was great though and he was still in her heart. Nothing in the world could ever change that. The hardest part was the need to be by his side growing greater every minute. For the first time she understood what it was like for him all those years ago. The shaking, the unrelenting thoughts, the pure desire to protect and be by her side. With their bond broken, the need to reconnect was great.

Three days without Stitch had taken its toll but she was still determined to fix it all.

“Nani, please listen to me,” Lilo pleaded for the hundredth time. She now wished that she had talked to Nani the day Stitch was sent away, instead of just getting angry. “How many times do I need to say that I’m sorry?”

“I don’t know, Lilo,” Nani said as she slammed her work bag shut, “maybe four years’ worth will do.”

Nani got up from her bed and started heading towards the door. Lilo stayed right on her heels the whole way.

“I just want to explain everything.” Lilo tried getting in Nani’s way but she just walked past. “You’re right. I should have told you. I’m sorry. Again. I want to make up for it now. I can explain everything.”

Nani stopped and turned. “Alright. Then explain to me how my little sister was taken from me by an alien and I didn’t know about it till after she grew up?”

The words hurt. Lilo was used to the passive aggressive comments from others, but not from Nani. Lilo was at a loss. It seemed that it still wouldn’t be possible for them to talk like sisters again.

“If you let me tell you from the beginning I’m sure you’ll understand-“

“I don’t want to understand, Lilo.” Her sister cut off. “I just want a day where everything is normal and making sense. No experiments. No aliens. No dating aliens. I’ve always said I’d support you as your sister, but this…” Nani opened the front door. “Why can’t you just be with someone normal like this?” Nani moved to reveal Daniel standing on the front porch, his hand raised to knock on the now moved door.

“Daniel?” Lilo asked in surprise.

“H-hey, Lilo.” He gulped, looking between the two sisters. “Is this a bad time?”

“Not at all,” Nani said with a smile, pushing him into the house. “I’m just heading off to work. You kids have fun!”

Lilo was about to say something when Nani suddenly closed the door in her face. “Ugh. I can’t believe her!”

“I’m sorry,” Daniel said while nervously crossing his arms to hold himself slightly. “Is this actually a bad time?”

“Yes!” Lilo shot at him, not thinking. She saw him flinch and apologized immensely. “I’m sorry. No it’s not a bad time. Well, yeah it is. But it’s not your fault or anything. It’s just been a bad few days.”

“Did you want to talk about it?” Daniel’s smile was genuine and filled with concern. It warmed Lilo’s heart to know she had such caring friends.

“Hey, Lilo.” A voice called from the hallway. “How’d the talk with Nani-“Pleakley walked into the living room and froze as he saw Daniel standing there. “We have a guest!” He quickly grabbed Jumba, who was walking just behind him, and ran to their room to change.

In an instant they reemerged into the living room, and introduced themselves before Lilo could say anything.

“How do you do?” Pleakley said as he picked up the boys hand and kissed it. “You must be one of Lilo’s friends from school. I’m Aunt Pleakley and this here is Uncle Jumba.”

Lilo put her hands up to her face unable to stop what she was sure to be another embarrassing encounter between one of her friends and her ‘aunt and uncle.’

“Uh…” Daniel pulled his hand back and wiped it on his shirt. “Yeah. I’m Daniel. Nice to meet you too? I’m in the same photography club as Lilo.”

“What a nice name Daniel is. Isn’t that right, Uncle Jumba?”

“Oh yes. Very nice. Very nice indeed. I am hoping you two have been getting along well. Our Lilo is quite an amazing girl.” Jumba put his arm around Pleakley and pulled him close. “Perhaps you can be taking our picture some time. We haven’t had a family portrait done in forever.”

“I don’t really know if I can-“ Daniel was interrupted by Pleakley making a comment to Jumba.

“Now, Uncle Jumba. You know I don’t like having my photo taken. The camera adds ten pounds after all.”

“Oh please. It is not being camera that is adding pounds.”

Seeing where the conversation was headed, Lilo started pushing Daniel towards the hall. “We’re just going to go to my room now.”

“Okay!” Pleakley called out mid argument. “I’ll bring some snacks up for you kids later.”

“No need!”

Once they heard the sound of the elevator start heading up to Lilo’s room, Jumba and Pleakley let out a sigh of relief. “I’d say that went well.”

“Sorry about that,” Lilo said once they were safe in her room. “My family can be crazy sometimes.”

“It’s no problem,” Daniel assured her, looking around the room. “I’ve never been in a girl’s room before. This is amazing.”

“Well it’s not just my room.” Lilo watched as he marveled at all the things she and Stitch had collected over the years. “We made it after we adopted Stitch. It’s been destroyed and rebuilt a few times, but it’s still a great place.”

“Actually…” Daniel began as he picked up a photo of Lilo and Stitch. “Stitch was the reason I came here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I saw him the other day. He was out in that storm.” He put down the photo and looked to Lilo. She wouldn’t make eye contact with him, only looking off into the distance sadly. “I’ve never seen him without you before. So, I was wondering if something happened.”

“Yeah.” Lilo walked past Daniel and sat on her bed. It no longer felt as warm as it did when Stitch would sleep in it. “Something did. We… kept something from my sister for a long time. She found out in probably the worst way possible.” Daniel could see where the story was going, and already he could feel her loss. “She kicked Stitch out. I wanted to go with, but… a lot happened. I’m hoping he can come back soon.”

Afterwards, Lilo looked away again. Her long dark hair covered her face and eyes. Daniel couldn’t see the redness in her eyes from all the pain of being away from Stitch. He moved toward her, and reached to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, but pulled back when she moved.

“Did you want to talk about it some more?” he asked.

Lilo thought it over for a few moments. Daniel had become one of her closest friends, but she couldn’t reveal her secret to him. “It’s not really something I can talk about. Sorry.”

“No worries.” He gave her his usual reassuring smile, trying to show his sympathies. “If you ever do though.” Lilo nodded in understanding, and Daniel decided to change the subject. “Hey. Some of us from the club are going to the beach tomorrow. If you want you could join us. It might cheer you up a bit.”

As much as she wanted to have some fun, she needed to focus on fixing things with Nani. “Thank you, Daniel. But I’ve got a lot going on right now. I’m not really sure-“

“Say no more. It’s not a problem.” Daniel started backing towards the elevator. He had done all he could do. “I should probably get going.”

Lilo nodded and watched as he got on the elevator and it began to move down. She rushed to the increasing hole with a change of heart. “Actually. Some time out would be really nice.”

Daniel looked up at her and smiled as he continued down the shaft. “Awesome. Around noon then?”

Stitch heard a knock at the door. Normally Reuben or Angel would answer but he was home alone at the moment. Reuben went to let Lilo know how he was doing, and Angel took the kids to the store for some groceries. Hearing the persistence in the knocking, he forced himself out of bed to answer.

Another few knocks at the door.

“Meega…coming,” Stitch called out. He leaned against the couch as he shook from a slight jolt that ran through his body.

Finally making it to the door, Stitch opened it to reveal Spectrum. She instantly turned back to her light shade of pink at the sight of Stitch.

“Oh, Stitch. I didn’t expect you to answer,” she said meekly.

“I’m the only one here right now,” he replied as he held himself up against the door frame. “What are yuuga doing over here?”

“Meega uh...” She looked away bashfully, making Stitch tilt his head in confusion for her shyness. “Meega wanted to see how yuuga doing. Yuuga saved meega and meega wanted to make sure yuuga okie-taka.”

“Thanks, Spectrum.” Stitch forced a smile for her. “Meega feel a lot better now. I’m just glad yuuga safe.”

“If yuuga feel better then why yuuga still here and not home with Lilo?”

The wave of sadness that washed over Stitch at the mention of Lilo’s name was depressing. Spectrum even transitioned towards a tinge of blue, leaving her slightly purple. It was like she could feel the pain radiating off of him.

“Soka!” She apologized, immediately regretting her words. “Meega should naga say anything.”

“Isa fine,” he reassured her. “Come in.” Stitch tried his best to hide the pain as they walked towards the couch. The last thing he needed was to make Spectrum worry even more. “Something happened and now meega just can’t go home for a little while.”

“Are yuuga okie-taka? Meega naga imagine naga going back to Sara.”

“Isa hard.” Stitch wished more than anything to feel the warmth of his ring again. Since that day, it felt as cold as ice. It nearly froze his heart to no longer feel Lilo’s life so close to his own. Despite this, he still couldn’t help but smile. “Meega know it’ll be better soon.”

Spectrum admired Stitch’s optimism. His smile made her hopeful of the future, making it feel like everything would be alright. Her colours changed to a pure and happy yellow, washing away the earlier sadness.

“Yuuga amazing,” she whispered under her breath.

“What was that?” Stitch’s senses had slowly grown dull. Normally he could hear the tiniest whisper, but now he had to try his hardest to hear smaller sounds.

“Nothing,” she squeaked, returning to her embarrassing shade of pink. “Actually… meega have favor to ask yuuga.” Spectrum had grown increasingly shy again. Stitch, always one to help out his ‘ohana, even if he wasn’t feeling well, quickly insisted she continue. After gathering up some courage, she finally managed to ask her question. “Yuuga saving meega has inspired meega. Meega finally want to get control over meega’s abilities… But meega naga do it alone. Could yuuga help meega?”

Ever since her activation, Spectrum had been afraid of using her abilities. Every time she tried to get control of them, horrible things would happen. Being able to control and alter both the colour spectrum and electromagnetic waves, her abilities were perfect for doing evil. Objects would phase out of existence, permanently change colour, or become increasingly dangerous through radiation. Her fur changing colour against her will was a side effect of not having control over what she was capable of. However she had been a failure in Jumba’s evil eyes. She had great potential, but was ultimately afraid of herself. After a few failed attempts at making her cause mayhem, Jumba had dehydrated her and moved on to the next experiment. Because she never used her abilities, Lilo and Stitch had trouble locating her before Gantu. Thankfully she had already found her own home without any help. A very young girl, at the time, named Sara was amused by Spectrum’s colour changes. Quickly adopting her as a pet and guardian, the two became very close. She vowed not to use her powers, in fear of harming the family she had come to love.

“Are yuuga sure about this?” Stitch asked with justified concern.

“Ih.” Spectrum clenched her fists, and Stitch could see the determination in her eyes. “Meega can’t be afraid forever. Meega want to be strong like yuuga. If meega can control it, meega could use it for good.”

Stitch wasn’t sure if he would be able to help. With each passing moment he was feeling worse. To top it off he was slowly becoming weaker. Even though he couldn’t test his abilities, he knew he was no longer as fast or strong, and the constant tearing pain made it hard to think and focus for too long. Even his sight would blur for a moment or two, and the world would become quiet without warning. Logically, he should turn down her request, and instead help her after everything was better.

“Sure. Meega would be happy to help, Spectrum.” There was no way he could ignore someone in need. Especially not when they were clearly determined.

“Really?” Spectrum couldn’t contain her happiness. Her fur was quickly changing to every colour of the rainbow as she leapt to Stitch without thinking. “Takka, takka, takka.” She repeated as she hugged him tightly. Hearing him give off a slight yelp of pain, she quickly retreated. “Soka.” She apologized, trying to hide her blushing face.

Stitch just laughed it off and the two set up to meet the next day. They were sure it would be eventful, and neither one really knew what to expect from the experience. Once he saw Spectrum off, he watched as she walked home for a minute before closing the door. Once shut, he pressed his back against it and slid to the floor, gasping for breath the whole way.

Please, Lilo. Hurry. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

Chapter Text

By the time Lilo had awoken, Nani was already gone. She didn’t need to look at her calendar to know time was running out. Despite that, she made a promise to Daniel to spend time with her friends. As long as her sister was out there was no point in staying home anyway. When Nani returned home the night before, Lilo hoped she would be able to finally talk to her. But her sister was still giving her the cold shoulder. She overheard David talking to her, and from what she heard it seemed he wanted them to make up as well.

The pain from the deception and lies had not yet vanished though. Everything seemed to go wrong all at once, and Nani only had herself to blame. She saw the signs, she thought something was going on, but she trusted Lilo to be honest and truthful. All that broken trust couldn’t just be forgiven in a matter of days. Secretly Nani did miss Stitch too. He was family and she loved him. That didn’t make him innocent in the lies though. She believed that time apart from each other would be best for them. Best for Lilo.

Hearing Nani’s words tore Lilo’s heart in half. As much as she knew the consequences of all the lies, she didn’t realize how Nani would feel. At most she thought she would be disappointed and after a couple of days everything would go back to normal. If she could go back and change it she would. That very first night when she came home in a sand covered dress she would announce to the entire house, the entire world that she was in love with Stitch and wanted to be with him. She couldn’t go back in time though. Changing the past would only cause more problems. No, she had to live with what she had done.

The walk to the beach was slow and painful. The days and world no longer felt as colorful or vibrant. It reminded her of how the world looked before she was joined to Stitch. She didn’t lose any of her increased senses, or strength or speed. It all just seemed to lack that little bit of magic. The shaking did feel worse. She didn’t know if it was all in her head, or if it was an effect from not being connected to Stitch. Jumba wasn’t able to provide an answer for her either.

“Hopefully going out will cheer me up,” she mumbled to herself.

Once at the beach, she was amazed at how empty it was. At first she thought she went to the wrong place, until she spotted a familiar pair of twins drawing with sticks in the sand. She rushed over, seeing that Daniel was also with them.

“H-hey, Lilo!” Daniel called out as soon as he saw her.

“Aloha, Daniel. Hey Kea, Kel.” She looked around as the pair waved to her slightly, wondering if the others were nearby. “So where is everyone?”

“It seems like they’re not coming,” Kel nearly shouted, not looking up from her doodle.

“Yeah,” Kea continued, “totally boring.”

Daniel looked worried for a moment. “Maybe we should wait a little more.”

“I’m okay with that,” Lilo said reassuringly.

“I’m done with waiting.” Kea threw his stick to the ground and laid back. He looked between Daniel and Lilo before nodding to his sister. “We’re going to head out.”

“What?” Lilo said. “We haven’t seen each other in forever.”

“But it’s not as fun when it’s not everyone,” Complained Kel. “We had stuff going on today, but thought we’d join if everyone was going to come. No one’s here, we gotta go.”

Lilo tried to convince them to stay as they stood up and brushed the loose sand off of each other. They had their minds set though. A mischievous look was clear in their eyes, making Lilo wonder exactly what it was they had planned. She thought it was odd that Daniel didn’t seem upset at them leaving, but she figured that he thought it would happen. As good of friends that the twins were, they were always up to something. It made it hard to spend time with them but no one would take them away from their hobbies.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel said as they watched the twins walk off.

“It’s okay.” Lilo gave him a smile, not wanting him to feel bad. “It’s not like you could know this would happen. I wonder why no one showed up.”

“I don’t know… You can go do something else if you’d like.”

She could see the hope drain from his face. It was obvious he had really wanted to hang out with everyone. “Don’t be silly. I said I’d come out and I’m here. I’m not just going to ditch you like that. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

Daniel turned away as his face began to glow. Suddenly remembering something, he dropped to the bag that he had kept at his feet.

“I totally forgot,” he said as he riffled through his things. “I got you something.”

“You got me something?”

“Yeah.” He finally stood, holding out a flower for her. “You seemed really down so I thought this might cheer you up.”

Lilo took the red hibiscus from him. “How’d you know I liked these?”

“I saw some dried ones in your room. I saw one on my way over here and thought you might like it.”

“I love it.” Lilo placed the flower in her hair. “Thank you.”

Daniel noticed that she had placed it on her left side, but decided to think nothing of it. As far as he knew, she was single. He figured that if there was anyone in her life, he would know about it by now.

“So what should we do since it’s the two of us?” The boy asked, looking around the still nearly empty beach.

Lilo offered that they could go surfing, to which Daniel admitted that he had never surfed a day in his life. Hearing this made the decision for her, she needed to teach him. Thankfully, she had planned ahead and wore her bathing suit under her clothes. She still wore a one piece, similar to the one she wore when she and Stitch first started going out. Even though all the girls her age had started to wear two pieces, she just didn’t feel comfortable in one yet.

While Daniel got changed, Lilo rented the surf boards for them to use. At first, Lilo thought Daniel was joking when he said he had never surfed. However, his near instant trips into the water proved his statement true. Holding back laughter, she started giving the lessons Nani and David gave her years ago. He wasn’t the quickest learner, but a few demonstrations helped him along. Not a second went by where Daniel didn’t have his eyes on her. He watched as she beautifully rode each and every wave that came her way. It was magical, graceful, like a dance between her and the water. He didn’t even realize he had a goofy grin on his face until Lilo pointed it out. Finally it was his turn again, and to his amazement, he didn’t crash immediately. Soon he realized that he didn’t know how to stop, and ended up falling into the wave anyway. Lilo rushed over to help and couldn’t help but giggle when he emerged with some seaweed on his head. Daniel decided to retaliate by pulling her into the water with him.

“I think I’m done,” Daniel said after he finished his own fit of laughter.

“Awe, don’t give up,” Lilo encouraged him. “You were getting better!”

“I just don’t think this is for me. I’m not a big fan of the water,” he admitted. “I’d really rather be back on land.”

“That’s too bad. I feel right at home in the water.”

Feeling spent, the two retreated back to shore, eager to have some milkshakes. Once they were settled, Daniel finally got the chance to ask Lilo some questions.

“So…” He began stirring his drink with his straw. “Can you tell me what exactly happened to Click and Monochrome?”

“They fell in love.” She stated simply. She was unable to really say more.

“I understand that. But Click did things I’ve never seen him do. There had to be something else.”

She offered her apologies, knowing it wouldn’t really be enough. “I don’t really know what to say.”

“It’s fin,.” he reassured her, “if you don’t know, you don’t know.” He saw the corner of her mouth twitch. There was something she wasn’t saying but he couldn’t do anything about it. “Could you tell me how you did all those things though?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.” She began fidgeting. When he said he had questions she didn’t realize it would be about everything she couldn’t talk about.

“I mean how you could hear Sam and them from so far away. And that amazing rescue over the cliff. The sudden disappearance. One second you’re there, then the next you’re gone.”

She stopped drinking her milk shake. “I, uh, can’t really say. I was just able to. I didn’t realize I just disappeared.”

“A-alright.” He was worried he hurt Lilo’s feelings. Not wanting to make her upset when he asked her to come out to have fun, he thought to change the topic to something else. “You’ve mentioned it a couple of times now. You named and found homes for all these animals on the island?”

“Yeah!” Lilo said enthusiastically. “They’re all Stitch’s family. His cousins. We found them back when I was about nine. After they… came here it was Stitch’s and my job to find them all homes. I ended up naming most of them as well. I came up with ‘Click’ because he ended up using a lot of cameras.”

“That’s quite a big job for a nine year old. Who gave it to you?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Well where did they all come from, then?” Lilo kept quiet once more. “Can’t say that either?” She shook her head and Daniel laid back in his seat. “You have a lot of secrets.”

Without thinking, he ended up hurting her feelings even more. Lilo retreated back even further, and seeing this he apologized instantly. She told him it was okay, but he knew it wasn’t. He offered to make it up to her, starting by paying for her milkshake. Lilo was happy she had gone out, it was a nice change. However, it didn’t take her mind off of Stitch. Each moment that passed he filled her mind. She wondered what he was doing, and if he was okay, vowing to help him as soon as she could.

While Lilo was spending some time with her friend Stitch had gone out to help Spectrum. Angel and Reuben were against it. Clearly Stitch was in no shape to help. It had been a long night and Stitch got no sleep. He didn’t know why there was a sudden increase in pain but he had to deal with it. Now with bags under his eyes, and a force that felt like it was crushing his heart, he trudged through the forest beside his cousin. They did not need to go too far, just far enough for it to be safe.

“Will this do?” Spectrum asked, unable to see or hear anyone around them.

“Ih…” Stitch replied. He couldn't hear any birds or animals nearby.

“Yuuga okie-taka?” She noticed Stitch was rather slow on the walk and his face was clearly long and tired.

“Meega fine,” he assured her. He tried his best to hide the pain she thought had passed long ago. Thankfully Spectrum was so excited she didn’t even notice that Stitch was far more than just tired. “Do yuuga want to start?”

Spectrum nodded enthusiastically, her fur flying through a spectrum of colours completely out of her control. She didn’t really know how to begin, it had been years since she last tried using her abilities. She was full of confidence before but now that the time had come to try she was terrified.

Stitch placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, she pulled away slightly from the surprise before it finally started to still her shaking. “Just try something small first.”

“Okie-taka…”

Having gone back to her light pink shade she looked around the forest floor. Her powers could be used in a multitude of ways. Having control over the colour and electromagnetic spectrum, her powers could either be used beautifully or horribly. She was determined to get control for the latter. She found a small rock and held it in her hands.

“Stand back,” she said to Stitch. “Meega try to change the colour.”

Once she thought he was far enough away she began to concentrate. Feeling the rock begin to vibrate in her hands as its atoms and molecules started to shift by her will, she grew excited once more. Before their eyes it started shifting in colour. No longer a dark gray as it started turning a bright neon green.

“Yuuga doing great!”

Spectrum couldn’t believe it, she had finally done it. Stitch’s encouragement meant the world to her. Never before had she been praised for her powers. Sadly her joy broke her concentration. The rock began to grow hot in her hands as she accidentally started cooking it with microwaves. She dropped the now radiating rock to the ground, its heat scarring the dirt floor.

She dropped to her knees completely discouraged. Just like every time before, she had failed. Stitch could see her change in mood as her colour changed to a murky blue.

“Isa okay,” he said as he approached his nearly crying cousin. He got down on one knee beside her and rubbed her back gently. “Yuuga don’t have to be perfect right away.”

“Meega just naga understand. Why am meega the only one naga able to control their abilities?”

“Naga everyone has the same talents. Everyone has their one true place. Yuuga’s is with Sara. Yuuga don’t need to control abilities to make her happy. And yuuga are the only one who can do that. Naga think about what everyone else can do, okay? Just be yuuga.”

“Meega…” Spectrum sniffled. “Meega want control, meega want to do amazing things for Sara.”

“Okay.” Stitch smiled, seeing her confidence return. “Here, give it another try.” He picked up the rock to hand it back to her. Once he held he felt it burning his hand, causing him to drop it with a yelp.

“Are yuuga okie-taka?” Spectrum hurriedly asked, taking his hand.

“Meega fine. Just a little warm.” Laughing it off, he got Spectrum ready to try again.

While she was busy concentrating, he looked at his palm. A mark had been left where he had touched the rock. What is going on? Stitch’s body was nearly indestructible, and completely fire proof. A microwaved rock shouldn’t have caused any issue. The sight of the burn and singed fur told him that that might not be the case for too long. I’ll need to be more careful now.

After a few hours of practice, Spectrum was finally able to control colours. There were a few more mishaps along the way. Hopefully no one noticed the half invisible tree that she couldn’t turn back. At the very least it wasn’t radioactive so they figured it should be fine. It was an exciting time, however they found it odd that even though she finally got the hang of controlling the colours of other objects, she still couldn’t keep her own fur in control.

Despite that they called the day a success. Spectrum couldn’t wait to get home to show Sara what she was able to do now. It made her even more excited to practice and get even more control.

Along the walk home, Stitch made sure to keep his hand hidden. He didn’t want her to know he had hurt himself with the rock she had used. It wasn’t her fault that his body wasn’t able to handle it anymore, but he knew she would be discouraged if she saw what had truly happened.

The two talked for a while, but Stitch quickly found himself thinking about Lilo. His mind wandered as he wondered what she was doing. How her progress was going. Most important of all, if she was okay and happy. Knowing she would be torn about them being apart, he hoped against hope that she would at least be able to find some happiness while he was gone. Looking to the sky he saw the happy birds flying around in pairs. It made him completely aware of time, as his was starting to run out. Only a couple more days until…

“Stitch?” Spectrum said with concern on her face.

“Gaba? Sorry, Spectrum. Meega must have zone out for a second.” He pushed his worries down as deep as he could. Not wanting to face them, he brought his attention back to the girl beside him. “What were yuuga saying?”

“Meega just wanted to say takka for all of yuuga’s help. Yuuga naga need to come out with meega. But yuuga did anyway. So, takka.”

“Yuuga welcome. It was a lot of fun,” he said with a smile.

“Meega was wondering…” she began sheepishly. “Would yuuga… want to come out again?”

“Sure. Meega would love to help.”

He was surprised by how happy she had become from him agreeing to help some more. Her face was lit up with the brightest smile he had ever seen her make, and she was nearly jumping for joy from her excitement. Once again her colour went in a flurry till she realized what was happening. Leaving a light blush on her face as they continued the walk home.

That night, Lilo and Stitch laid in their beds alone. They had spent many long nights alone now, and each one was harder to deal with than the last. Both tossed and turned in their beds, craving the feel of the other beside them. There were a few times when Stitch reached over to cuddle Lilo only to find that no one was there. As well, Lilo would wake up a few times in the night thinking it was all a nightmare. Only to find the grim reality when Stitch wasn’t beside her. Sleeping every night together, they didn’t realize how much they had taken their time for granted. Now that they could no longer feel the other’s presence, they knew just how much what they had meant to them. They hoped that soon it would end and they could hold each other once more. For their time was short and they knew there was only three more days until Stitch’s body would no longer be able to handle the increasing and tortuous pain.

Chapter Text

The very next day was a disaster. Once again Lilo didn’t see Nani. It was starting to cause problems in the house. No one, not even David, seemed to know where Nani was during the day. She only returned after Lilo was asleep. With another day come and gone Lilo grew more worried. There was only two days left for Stitch. If she wasn’t able to talk to Nani the next morning it was possible there would be no hope for her love.

Lilo awoke feeling drained. Having barely slept a wink, she stared at the empty spot beside her. She could almost see the form of Stitch right in front of her. But when she reached out he vanished from view. Leaving a piece of herself behind she slowly got out of bed. Her view grazed over the cold room. Not even the bright sun shining in through the window could warm it now. Her eyes caught the form of Scrump sitting on her table. She hadn’t picked her up in years. Before she used her doll as something to cuddle during nightmares or restless nights, but once she had Stitch for that she decided to just keep her in view for comfort. Missing the feeling of holding someone, she picked up the old doll and gave it a warm hug.

She hesitated when she went to put it back down. Needing it closer, she ran back to her bed and placed it on the pillow beside her own. Only until Stitch is back. For a moment she considered not even changing out of her night gown but decided it best to at least change into her mu’umu’u.

Before the lift to her room even reached the hall she heard the doorbell ring. Her plan was to ignore it and find Nani immediately. However, her sister called her from the front door.

“Lilo! Come here please.”

Already feeling exhausted from the day she rubbed her eye as she made her way to the living room.

“What is it?” she called as she turned into the entry way. “I wanted to…”

She was stunned to see Daniel standing outside the door that Nani held open.

“It’s your friend from the other day,” Nani said a little too enthusiastically.

Lilo quickly fixed her hair while she looked between the too. Slightly in defeat she walked forward, wishing she didn’t already feel awful.

“Aloha, Daniel. What’s up?” This time it didn’t matter what was going on. Talking to Nani and getting Stitch’s ring back took priority over everything.

“I’m really sorry about the other day. I was hoping you’d be able to come hang out for a bit and I’ll make it up to you.”

“Of course! She’d be happy to go,” Nani answered for her sister.

Lilo saw the hopeful expression cross over Daniel’s face while she looked confusedly to Nani. “What? No, I can’t. Sorry, Daniel. I really can’t go out today.”

“Nonsense,” Nani interrupted, “of course she’d love to go hang out. Wouldn’t you, Lilo?”

“I’d be happy too, but I can’t today.”

“Is it because of what I said?” Daniel asked, a little let down.

“No, it’s nothing like that.” She tried her best to reassure him. It was clear though that she wasn’t doing a good job. She was starting to get annoyed at her sister’s constant insistence as well. “I just really can’t today. I’ll catch up with you next time, alright?”

“O-okay, Lilo. No problem.” He started backing up, smiling to Lilo as he gave a wave goodbye. “Have a good day.” He finally turned and made his way down the steps, not seeing Lilo’s own wave back at him.

Lilo closed the door and looked to Nani already feeling a disapproving gaze upon her.

“That was really rude, Lilo,” Nani said as she crossed her arms. “He was just being nice.”

“I know he was being nice.” Lilo stomped over to the couch and plopped herself down. It was clear she was upset with Nani, but she still needed to talk to her. “But I can hang out with my friends anytime. Why were you being so pushy?”

“Because, Lilo. I think it’s important that you spend more time with your friends. Especially if it’s a cute boy.”

Lilo’s eyes grew wide when she realized what Nani was getting at. “That’s not going to happen. Daniel is… it just can’t, Nani.”

“How do you know if you don’t try?”

“Because!” Lilo shouted before calming herself down. Yelling and getting upset wasn’t going to help any. “It just can’t. I just wanted to talk to you today before you run off somewhere.”

“I don’t run off,” Nani said. Guilt in her voice.

In truth, she had been avoiding Lilo as much as she could. She knew her sister would want to talk, but she still wasn’t ready. She didn’t know if she would ever be ready. Both David and Pleakley were upset with how she was acting. Even she could tell she was being immature about it. That didn’t change how she felt though.

“Fine.” Lilo gave up in arguing. If she wanted to get anywhere they had to get along. She looked to her sister with the most pleading and sad face she possibly could. “It’s almost been a week now. Can we please talk? Like we used too.”

Seeing Lilo’s sadness broke Nani’s heart.

“Okay. You win.” Nani sat down on the couch, waiting patiently. Lilo asked if she could finally explain, to which Nani nodded.

“I didn’t want to keep all of this hidden from you for so long. There were a lot of times when I tried to say something. I even asked you about it a little while ago. It’s scary. I wanted you to accept me and I didn’t know if you would.”

“I know,” Nani said to Lilo’s surprise. “David told me everything you said. It doesn’t change how I feel about it.”

Meanwhile, Spectrum was quickly walking to Angel and Reuben’s house. She had kept practicing on her own and was eager to show Stitch that she was now able to change the colour of her fur. It still ended up changing on its own, but she was able to change it back whenever she wanted. The only problem was that she no longer remembered what her original colour was. Not that it mattered much, she liked being able to be any colour she liked. Currently she wanted to be a bright sunshine yellow, matching her optimism for the day. She hoped that Stitch would want to go out again. She enjoyed the company and encouragement he was able to give her. Sadly, instead of seeing the happy Stitch, she was greeted with a panicking Angel.

“Sorry, Spectrum,” Angel said hurriedly. “Stitch isn’t up to going anywhere at the moment.”

“Gaba? Can meega show him something?”

Angel was about to turn her away when they suddenly heard a scream come from within the house. Spectrum instantly recognized it as Stitch’s and before she could be stopped she rushed towards him. Knowing there was more important things than stopping Spectrum, Angel also ran to the room.

The two found Stitch writhing on the bed, Reuben doing his best to keep him from clawing his own chest out. Beads of sweet poured down his pained face, ever few seconds he’d let out another wail. As time went on it seemed like he was getting worse and worse. When Spectrum saw the scene she froze, fur turning ghost white.

Angel ran in just behind her ready to help, until a soft voice squeaked from behind them.

“Mommy, what’s wrong with uncle Stitch?”

Angel turned to see her two little kids peeking in from the doorway.

“Nothing’s wrong,” she said while quickly going over to pet their heads with a motherly smile. “Stitch is just having a very bad tummy ache. Come now. Let’s get you two back to your room.” Trying her best to calm her children she lead them by the hands back down the hall. “Mommy and Daddy just need to do some things. You two need to get back to your naps now. Okay?”

Spectrum heard Angel say nothing was wrong, but it was overly clear something was and it was by no means a stomach ache. She didn’t know what to do. She had helped Sara many times when she got hurt, but from what she could see nothing looked wrong with Stitch. Never before had she seen someone so strong in such a state of weakness. It truly tore at her heart.

Once Angel got back she rushed right to Stitch’s side to help Reuben hold him still. “It’s getting worse.”

“I know,” he said, wiping some sweat from his forehead. It was a lot of work to keep the strongest of them down, even in his weakened state. “I don’t know how much longer this can last.”

“But there should still be two-“

Reuben quickly cute her off. “I don’t care what the doc says. This needs to end now.” He noticed for the first time that Spectrum was in the room with them. “Spec, can you hold him for me?” She nodded her head and took his place at Stitch’s side. “I’m calling Lilo!” He shouted as he ran from the room.

“Gaba Lilo going to do?” Spectrum asked with a weak voice.

“Hopefully save him…”

Lilo’s blood went cold. There was never a time that their story didn’t change someone’s feelings on their relationship. She was about to say something when Nani started to continue.

“I’m sure that if you had told me back then, I would be just as against it. Maybe not as vocal, that came from what I saw when I got home. But I stand by what I said that night. You’re human Lilo. It’s best for you… for everybody that you fall in love and be with a human. If it can’t be that boy that stopped by today, then maybe someone else-“

“It’s not possible. I can’t love anyone but Stitch.”

“Don’t say that, sweetie. I’m sure everything can go back to normal.”

“I’m not normal!” Lilo shot at her. “I’ve never been normal. All my life I’ve been known as the weird girl. All the strange looks I got. They hurt. But you’ve always been the one to accept me and have my side. Then I found more people who accept who and how I am. But I’ve never been normal, Nani. What happened between me and Stitch... Nothing had ever felt so right. I feel like I’m finally who I was meant to be. And if David really did tell you everything, you know it’s because of what happened between Stitch and I that I can’t fall in love with anyone else.”

Nani stayed quiet for a moment before standing. For a moment, Lilo thought she had gone too far. That Nani would walk away and then it would be too late. Instead, she just stood there, staring off into space as Lilo’s words sunk in.

“You’re right. I have always been the one to accept you. No matter what.” She turned and looked down on her little sister. “I’m the one that’s always been there for you. Loved you and accepted you no matter what. It’s supposed to be me that protects you and looks out for you. Not some alien that suddenly took you away from me!” Nani saw the way Lilo flinched at the word alien. It was clear she didn’t even see Stitch as something unearthly anymore. “I guess we’re done here for now.” She mumbled to herself as she went to grab her keys for work.

Lilo sat in her misery. Once again she had failed, losing her temper got the best of her and ruined everything. She heard the rattling keys and quickly ran to her sister. “Wait. Nani please. Before you leave again, can I please have my ring back? It’s too important.”

“No, Lilo,” Nani said coldly.

“But I really need it.”

“Give me one good reason why.”

“Because…” Lilo hesitated. Stitch didn’t want Nani to know what would really happen, but it was too late for that. “If I don’t get the ring back… Stitch will die.”

For a moment Nani didn’t know if she heard right, but then realized that Lilo always had a flare for dramatics. “Don’t be ridiculous. He won’t die if you don't have a ring.” Before another word could be said she headed out the door only to be held back by Lilo.

“Yes he will,” Lilo said defiantly. “If one of us doesn't wear the ring the other will die.”

Nani stopped for a moment and considered what Lilo had just said. If she was telling the truth, she would be causing the death of not only someone important to Lilo, but their whole family. But she didn’t want to believe something like that. “How can I believe anything you say? After you lied to me for so long?”

It was then that Lilo fully realized what she had done. All the trust Nani had in her had been broken and lost. There was nothing she could do or say that could change Nani’s mind. Not after what she had done. With no hope, Lilo finally let go and in the blink of an eye ran to her room. Nani stood and stared in the direction Lilo ran, hoping that she wasn’t making a huge mistake.

Once the lift finally stopped she could feel the tears start to form. I couldn’t do it. I’m sorry Stitch… I need to do what’s best. I need to get that ring on my own now. The tears were short lived as she saw a flashing light on the communicator that laid on her desk.

As soon as she picked it up, Reuben’s face popped onto the screen. He was in a complete state of panic, instantly worrying Lilo.

“Oh thank God you answered,” he said with little relief. “I’ve been trying to call you forever, Lilo.”

“Sorry, I was talking to Nani. Is everything okay?” Lilo began pacing around the room, her mind instantly going to the worst places.

“No.”

The single word broke her heart in two.

“It doesn’t look like Stitch will be able to take much more.”

“But Jumba said-“

“I don’t care what Jumba said!” Until then, there had never been a time where Reuben raised his voice at Lilo. “I’m telling you now, he doesn’t have another two days. I’d be surprised if he had another two hours. You need to hurry.”

Lilo could hear Stitch calling out in the background. Her mouth hung open, her mind unable to process what was happening. Am I too late? She saw from her window that Nani was just getting into the car. Not yet I’m not.

“I’ll be right there,” She said as she threw the communicator on the bed.

Nani had just pushed on the gas when she felt the car lurch. Thinking she had just hit something, she jumped out only to see Lilo holding the back of the car. Nani was about to scold her sister for what she had done, but seeing the terrified look on her face as well as her watery eyes stopped her.

Lilo took the momentary silence as her one and only chance. “Stitch is dying!”

“W-we’ve already been over this,” Nani said, trying not to let her sisters words get to her. “Now please let go of the car.”

“No! He is dying. Right now. Reuben just called me. He’s there, and he’s running out of time. Please, Nani. You have to believe me.”

“Lilo…”

It was hard to say no, but she still couldn’t trust Lilo’s word alone. But not even tears were making her stop her in her pleads.

“Okay. We’re going to go there and see together.”

Not wanting to waste a single moment, Lilo hurried into the passenger seat. Nani gave a sigh as she returned behind the wheel, slamming her door closed. “I swear, Lilo, if nothing’s wrong you’re in big trouble.”

The situation however proved to be anything but okay. Before Nani had even finished parking the car, Lilo was at the door. When no one came to answer they both had a sinking feeling. Nani was unable to hear due to the experiment houses being near sound proof for secrecy, but Lilo could hear soft sounds of Stitch’s screams of torment radiate from inside. With almost enough force to knock it off its hinges, Lilo slammed through the door.

Nani was about to get upset again when she was finally greeted with sounds emanating from Stitch. It was by no means difficult to find them in the house. As they ran past the twin’s room, they could see them both sitting upright in the same bed. They were pulling their ears down, trying to block out the noise.

Once they had reached the room Nani stopped at the doorway while Lilo kept running through. Nearly pushing Angel out of the way, she took her place beside the writhing Stitch as she dropped to her knees. She grabbed his hand and took it into her own. As soon as she held him, he stopped flailing, as if her presence alone had finally calmed a little piece of him. If she gave any wonder as to why Spectrum was there, it didn’t last long as she felt Stitch’s hand squeeze her own.

“Li…lo…?” he whispered through pained gasps.

Everyone in the room stayed silent. No one knew what to do anymore. Reuben and Spectrum let go, seeing the colour had slowly drained from Stitch’s tired face.

“Yeah, Stitch. It’s me,” she said through sobs. “Everything’s going to be okay now.”

“C’mon,” Reuben said to Spectrum and began pulling her away from the bedside. “We’ve done what we can.”

“But…” she began to protest, but her cousin’s insistence stopped her. She looked back at Stitch laying on the bed. She was happy that his cries had stopped, but it left a painful lump in her throat. As if something bad was about to happen. Why did Stitch stop when she showed up? Where has she been all this time?

When the door finally closed only Lilo, Stitch, and Nani were left in the room. Nani was in a complete state of shock. The last time she had seen Stitch like this was when his glitch had gone too far, giving her a terrible sense of déjà vu. It was slowly dawning on her that this was real. Still, she stayed silent, she didn't to believe.

“What are yuuga doing here, Lilo?” Stitch forced himself to ask.

“What am I doing here? I came to see you, silly. I couldn’t stay away. Not when you’re like this.”

“Meega fine…really.”

“I know…” She had started to cry again. It felt like all she did now was cry. “Everything’s going to be just fine.”

“Hey now…” Using as much of his strength as he could manage, Stitch brought his hand up and wiped away her tears. “Naga cry. Lilo smile. Lilo always pretty when she smiles.”

Through tears and sobs, Lilo managed to put on a smile for him.

“There,” he said forcing a little smile as well. “Much better…”

“Yeah,” she agreed, glancing to her sister who was still stuck in place. “And things are going to get even better. Once I put my ring back on you’ll be back up again in no time, right? Right?”

“Ih…”

Lilo could feel his hand twitch slightly in her grasp. Her mind feared that it was already too late as she quickly moved to Nani’s side.

“Please, Nani,” she begged. “Please. I need the ring. We need the ring. I can’t let it end like this.”

Nani’s hand drifted to her pocket, slowly pulling out the round ocean blue piece of metal. She stared at it as it lay in her palm. It was clear to her that she couldn’t keep the ring any longer. If she did, she might as well be killing Stitch herself. Even with everything that happened, everything that she felt about Lilo and Stitch’s love, she couldn’t bring herself to just sit back and watch Stitch die. They would deal with it afterwards. For now she had to do the right thing.

“Here.” She placed the ring in Lilo’s hand.

“Thank you.” she mouthed, quickly returning to Stitch’s side.

She placed the ring on her finger, finally able to feel Stitch’s life connect to hers again. it was faint, and she didn’t know if her mind was playing tricks, but the ring didn’t feel as warm as it always had.

“There,” She said. Taking his hand once again. “Everything is okay now. You’ll get better and we’ll be happy forever.”

A distant smile came across Stitch’s face. “Yuuga so warm.” He said in regards to not only her hands, but the re-connection he felt in his ring. “Isa feel good.”

“Yeah. It does.”

Stitch brought himself up with all the strength he had left. Wanting nothing more than to feel her lips against his, he kissed her with all the love he had. Nani looked away from them, not wanting to see their expression of love. The smile it brought to Lilo’s face was magical.

“Meega love you, boojiboo,” Stitch said as he laid back down.

“I love you too, more than anything.” She didn’t feel the ring get any warmer like she had hoped it would. She wished it only meant that the recovery would be slow. “Everyone will be so happy to see you better again. Won’t they, Stitch?” No answer was given to her. “Stitch? Stitch!?”

Stitch stayed silent. His eyes had already drifted closed. Seeing him lay still turned her body to ice.

No! Not again!

Chapter Text

Lilo held onto Stitch with all her heart. Thoughts of the moment she lost him years ago rushed back to her. Back then she didn’t notice how much Stitch needed her, and it did kill him for a moment. Love brought him back though. Love can conquer anything. Isn’t that right, Stitch?

She hadn’t noticed that Nani called Reuben into the room. Angel and Spectrum stayed behind with Ava and Monty. Once he saw Stitch lying still he began fearing the worst. Reuben was no doctor, but he was in a far better state to check on Stitch than Lilo. Gently moving the sobbing girl to the side, he began looking over Stitch.

During his time as Gantu’s Galley Officer, he had to look over many fallen comrades. No matter how many times he did it, it never got easier. He didn’t know how Gantu managed to still be out there fighting because he couldn’t handle it anymore. By no means was their job glamorous, but he would have gone from one end of the galaxy and back an infinite amount of times for his best buddy. It was Gantu’s idea to send Reuben back to Earth. He may be one of the strongest and most dangerous creatures in all the galaxy but he was not a fighter at heart.

“How is he?” Nani asked, feeling guilty but still concerned.

“Not good,” Reuben said as he shook his head. “He’s not responding to anything, and I can’t feel anything resembling a pulse.”

Lilo clutched at her heart. She couldn’t believe that Stitch would be gone. The idea of him no longer being in her life was impossible. It left a sinking feeling in her stomach, and she wished it was all just a bad dream. A feeling suddenly came over Lilo. A warmth that began at her ring and slowly filled her body. The familiar sensation of being connected to Stitch took over again.

“He’s alive!” Lilo shouted, a smile already beginning to grow on her face.

“What?” Nani asked, confused. “How do you know?”

“I can feel it.” She grabbed onto Stitch’s hand, hoping that by some miracle her presence would help him recover more.

“She’s right!” Reuben was amazed. “His pulse is back. It’s weak, but it’s back. It must have taken some time for his body to recover after you put your ring back on.”

“So he’s going to be okay?” Nani asked, relief washing over her.

“He’s gonna be fine. It may take some time for him to get fully better, but once he’s awake and we get some sandwiches in him, he’ll be fit as a fiddle.”

“Then we should be able to get going.”

“What?” Lilo looked to her sister, unable to believe what she had just heard.

“No can do, sister.” Reuben interrupted. “Right now his connection to Lilo’s the only thing keeping him going. She’s gonna have to stay here for a while at least.”

“Fine,” Nani said. “But once he’s okay, I expect you home immediately, Lilo. I need to get to work before Mr. Jameson fires me.”

Nani was about to open the door when her sister’s voice stopped her. “Stitch can come back home now, right?”

Nani looked to the floor and sighed. “No, Lilo. He can’t yet.”

“Why not? Haven’t we been through enough? Can’t you accept our love?”

Nani twitched at the word ‘love.’ It still wasn’t something she could just accept. “It’s not just that, Lilo. Clearly you two don’t feel like you can trust me.” She turned to see Lilo still holding Stitch defiantly. Reuben backed away, not wanting to be caught in the middle of their fight. “Because you two didn’t tell me, Stitch almost died. Do you think I wanted that on my conscience?”

“I didn’t think you’d believe-“

“What I would have believed or not isn’t the problem.” Nani interrupted, starting to raise her voice. “The problem is that you two don’t think you can trust me, so now I can’t trust you either. I still think it’d be best for you two to spend some time apart. We’ll see if he can come back later.”

Nani turned back to the door.

“When’s later?” Lilo asked.

She was unable to say anything. Nani wasn’t wrong after all. They should have been truthful from the beginning. She didn’t know if trust was the issue, or if it was just fear in general. Either way she had no comeback or argument to make. Nani paused at Lilo’s question. However she did not answer.

“I’ll see you at home tonight.” With that, she opened the door and left.

Despite knowing Stitch was going to be okay, Lilo couldn’t help but let a few tears fall still. She hated being a part from him. The last week alone was torture and she couldn’t begin to imagine what it’ll be like to not see him for even longer. She could feel Reuben’s hand on her back but it did little to help the empty feeling inside.

Soon the others were allowed in and Angel instantly gave Lilo a hug.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to her closest friend.

“You heard?” Lilo asked, returning the hug with her free arm, not risking letting go of Stitch’s hand. Angel nodded. Thankfully Ava, Monty, and Spectrum didn’t have the hearing that she, Reuben, Stitch, and Angel had. Their secret would still be safe until they were ready to let it out. “It’ll be okay. I’m just glad he had you guys to take care of him. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“It wasn’t just us, kiddo,” Reuben said. He picked up Monty and Ava to let them on the bed. They wanted to be close to Stitch, each taking a finger into their hand. “If Spec here didn’t show up when she did… I don’t even want to think about what would have happened.”

“Spec?”

“H-hi.” Out from behind Reuben, Spectrum emerged. She gave Lilo a wave while she took a place beside her. Every so often her eyes darted to his now sleeping form.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine now.” Lilo saw a smile grow on the experiments face. “Thank you for your help, I don’t know how I could even tell you how much it means to me.”

“N-naga. Meega naga do much,” she stammered. Spectrum was always extra shy around Lilo. She admired the girls outgoing personality and in a lot of ways wanted to be more like her. Above all she wanted to know what had happened to Stitch. One day he seemed fine and then the next he was dying. She was also curious as to why Lilo wouldn’t let go of Stitch’s hand. “Um…” But she thought it best not to ask right now. “Meega just wanted to show Stitch meega get more control over meega’s powers.” As a display she closed her eyes and changed her fur from black, to red, to green, before finally settling back on her yellow.

“Wow! That’s amazing, Spectrum. I’m so happy for you.”

Lilo truly was overjoyed. She knew how scared of herself Spectrum was, and always hoped she would be able to get over that fear. It was always exciting to see someone from her learn how truly special they were.

“Takka,” she said while blushing and trying not to lose her current colour. “Stitch took meega out the other day to help me practice. Isa a lot of help.”

“Stitch did?” Lilo looked down at Stitch and was unable to help but smile at him. That’s just like you. Always looking out for others instead of taking care of yourself. She looked back to Spectrum and could see a truly happy and genuine smile from her as she stared at Stitch. Never before had she seen someone smile at him like she was. It left an odd feeling in her, and she couldn’t tell what it was, but tried not to think about it. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to see what you can do when he wakes up.”

Everyone waited in the room while Stitch recovered. It was taking far longer than any of them hoped. Having missed their nap, Monty and Ava were put to bed. Despite their claims of not being tired they fell asleep mere moments into a lullaby from Angel. Not once did Lilo let go of Stitch and she was able to feel her ring grow warmer and warmer as time passed. She hoped she would never have to feel it this cold again. She didn’t even want to imagine putting Stitch through all of this another time. The wait gave her a lot of time to think, and a good opportunity to talk to Spectrum who didn’t leave the other side of the bed once.

Lilo finally asked Spectrum about Sara, and she instantly lit up. It was clear that the little girl, who was only around three at the time of Spectrum’s activation, was the biggest joy in her life. The way she talked so proudly of her was heartwarming. Sara had lost her mom before she really got to know her and her father had trouble being a single parent. Doing everything he could to support them left him with little time to spend with his daughter. Spectrum had come at just the right time, just like Stitch had for Lilo. She really became the mother figure for the young girl and she enjoyed every minute of it. It was hard to believe that the little girl who first thought she was a puppy was now nine years old.

“It’s amazing how time flies, isn’t it?” Lilo said with a happy smile. She too couldn’t believe how fast things had gone. It still felt like yesterday that she had first adopted Stitch.

“Ih,” Spectrum agreed.

“So what made you finally decide to practice your abilities?”

Spectrum explained how she had come across Stitch in the rain. Sara was at her grandparents for the day so she had decided to go out for a walk. The storm had surprised everyone, and before she knew it she was caught up in the worst rain she had ever seen and got lost immediately. Being so scared, her fur changed to a deep black, making her even harder to see with the lack of sun. If Stitch hadn’t have spotted her she would have been stuck out there until the rain ended. Even more so she could have been hurt by the falling tree if he hadn’t caught it for her.

“The way Stitch saved meega,” she continued. “Isa inspired meega. Meega want to be brave, strong, naga scared of gaba meega isa. If Stitch can use his abilities for good, maybe meega can too. Maybe meega can do amazing things like cousins.”

“I’m sure you will.” Lilo wished her the best of luck. “You already have your one true place, and it’s something only you can do. You’re doing amazing things with Sara. But I’m still happy you’re no longer afraid.”

“Funny,” Spectrum interjected. She looked back down to Stitch, his chest rising and dropping slowly, with a relieved smile. “Stitch said the same thing.”

Hearing how Stitch had saved Spectrum from the falling tree, Lilo could feel nothing but happiness. Even after what had happened he still risked his life for someone else. At least one good thing came out of all of this.

Soon it was time for Spectrum to leave. Sara would be getting home from school and she couldn’t come home to an empty house. After letting her out Reuben returned with sandwiches for the family. Lilo didn’t have much of an appetite, but the twins had more than their fair share of ham and turkey. Lilo watched as the two continued to eat, having stomachs that seemed to rival Stitch’s, and then began to play. It was refreshing to see the innocent toddlers running around making up their own games. There was no way to describe it as anything but ‘cute.’ She hoped that if she had children, they would be just as cute and bring just as much happiness to those around them.

After a couple of more hours Stitch’s eyes finally began to flutter awake. Lilo felt it happen more than saw. Something told her that he was finally awake and not a single part of her questioned it. The very first thing Stitch saw when his eyes adjusted, was the angelic form of Lilo over him. Immediately he pulled her onto the bed with him, his lips meeting hers in an instant.

A collective “ew” came from Ava and Monty who were hurriedly lead out by their parents. Angel and Reuben knew they had some catching up to do and they were happy to leave them be.

Clearly having his strength returned, Stitch rolled around in the bed with Lilo, the two laughing like children again the whole time. Stitch hadn’t seen Lilo in a week and he was planning on making each moment up in a matter of minutes. Lilo was happy to do the same. Tears of joy ran down their cheeks as they held each other for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Missing the feeling of their soft and passionate kisses, they treasured each and every touch, nibble, and sharp warm breath. It felt like they were continuing right where they left off when Nani had walked in on them. Through the heat of love, Stitch soon found himself on top of Lilo once again, only this time, nothing would take him away from her.

“I missed yuuga so much,” he said as he showered her face with kisses.

“Stop that,” she giggled, “it tickles.”

“Never. I’ll never stop.”

Being the stubborn girl that she was Lilo smiled slyly and pushed him back swiftly, pinning him down by the shoulders. Her long hair curtained on one side as she looked down at Stitch’s smiling face. Leaning in, she kissed him slowly, letting her actions speak all the words she needed. The familiar sparks and jolts returned bringing with them a feeling they didn’t notice they had missed. It felt like their very first kiss all over again. One filled with rediscovery. Absence truly did make the heart grow fonder. Being disconnected from each other only strengthened their bond. Not even the greatest pains or distances could tear them apart.

Stitch quickly found himself out of breath, it seemed he wasn’t as healed as he had thought. Even so he didn’t break the kiss. Running his hands down Lilo’s back and sides he nibbled her bottom lip sending shivers down her spine. Wishing it would never end, Lilo let herself linger a little longer. She could tell Stitch still needed rest so she reluctantly lifted from him, a beaming smile on her face as a soft glow was shared between them.

“Is there anything you need?” she asked as she helped him lay back down properly.

“Naga,” he said while shaking his head. He gave her hand a light squeeze. “All meega needs is you.”

Lilo blushed at his comment, fixing her hair to try and hide her reddening face. It really was like they were young again. Each touch was new, and every word sent her heart racing.

“All I need is you too.”

“Am I allowed back home with yuuga?” Stitch asked. But he already had a feeling the answer would be ‘no.’

His fears were realized as Lilo shook her head. She explained to him all of what happened. How he nearly died, and yet Nani still wouldn’t allow him to come back. She told him her words, and they both agreed with what she had said.

“I know she’s right,” Lilo said with a huff. “But I can’t be away from you again.”

“Meega know,” Stitch agreed. “Meega can’t do that again. I naga want to live in a world where I can’t be by your side.”

“So what do we do?”

Stitch thought about a solution. Ultimately they needed to rebuild their trust with Nani. But they couldn’t do that overnight. And at the same time they couldn’t be apart again. Unable to find an immediate answer he gave a long sigh.

“Yuuga go home.”

“But you’re my home. I only want to be with you.” Lilo’s eyes wavered.

“Naga worry.” Stitch said, kissing her forehead before resting his own against it. “Yuuga figure out what to do with Nani. I’ll work out how we can be together. Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered, still drained from the kiss.

When she go home, Lilo closed the door a little more loudly than she intended. It had taken longer for Stitch to recover than they had hoped and she took all the time she could to be with him. It was far past curfew but considering all that had happened no one really cared that she was out late. The house was completely silent. It seemed Nani, Jumba, and Pleakley were already asleep. David was the only one still awake to greet her, watching T.V. in the dark.

“Hey, Lilo,” he said from the couch. A cool blue glow illuminated him and the room. “Nani told me what happened. Is Stitch…?”

“He’ll be okay.” Her words were a relief but it was still an awful situation. “It was really close though.”

“I’m sorry.” David tried to be encouraging, but little would help the mood Lilo was in. She didn’t want to come back home without him. She had to be forced away from Stitch’s side.

“Don’t be sorry. We know it’s our fault.”

There wasn’t much he could say to that. He asked if there was anything she needed, but all she wanted was to be alone.

“I’m just going to bed, I’m really tired.”

“Okay. Have a good sleep.”

“You too.”

Lilo silently ascended the lift filled with dread of the oncoming night. The warm ring on her finger gave her comfort, but she dreaded the idea of sleeping alone again. As she closed her window she looked to the clear night sky. Seeing a shooting star she quickly made a wish.

Please let us be together again soon. I know we messed up, but Stitch needs me…no…I really need him.

Chapter Text

“Good morning, Lilo.”

Stitch’s voice drifted slowly throughout the room. Lilo rolled over in her bed.

“Morning,” she replied into her pillow while remaining half asleep. Expecting to feel Stitch beside her when she moved, she patted the bed next to her finding it completely empty save for Scrump. “Stitch?” She mumbled in confusion as she remembered that he still wasn’t allowed home. “Where are you?”

“Over here.”

She looked in the direction of the voice finding her gaze drawn to her desk. The communicator Reuben had given her had a flashing green light on it. Realizing she must have turned it on when she put it there before bed she hurried over to the device. To her surprise Stitch’s face was clear on the screen with an incredible smile.

“Your hair,” he giggled before she had a chance to say anything.

She looked into the mirror and blushed furiously. Her hair was a complete and fluffy mess. Throwing down the communicator, she brushed her hair in a flash and returned to Stitch.

“Yuuga didn’t have to fix it,” Stitch reminded her.

“I know,” she said as she walked back to her bed. “But it’s embarrassing.”

“Meega seen a lot worse.”

“Don’t remind me.” Lilo laid down on her bed flat on her stomach with her feet in the air. Her blush had not quite faded yet, but she was determined not to take her eyes off of Stitch. “Is Reuben letting you borrow his communicator?”

“Ih.” Stitch nodded his head. “Meega told them they don’t need to put up with me now that I’m feeling better. When meega started heading out they insisted I stay until we figure something out.”

“At least you’ll have somewhere to stay,” she said sadly.

Stitch heard her emphasize on the word ‘somewhere.’ He knew she wasn’t happy about Nani not letting him come home, but they had to deal with it until he could. “He isa also letting me keep the communicator. We should be able to talk any time, even if we can’t see each other.”

“Really?” Lilo almost jumped out of the bed. There was no way she could last not seeing Stitch again, but if she would be able to talk to him she’d feel a tiny bit better. “This is great! It’ll almost be like we’re not apart at all. And I can even fit you in my pocket.”

Stitch laughed at her comment, imagining a tiny version of himself getting carried around. “I suppose we could always ask Shrink if yuuga wanted a tiny me.”

“No. I like you exactly as you are. You know that.”

The two looked at each other through the devices. While it wasn’t the same as in person, it felt really nice to be able to talk. Even the silence was comforting. It was just like when they would spend time alone in their room. They would spend hours just doing their own things in silence, and it was always wonderful. However, the silence didn’t last quite as long as Lilo wanted.

“Um, Lilo,” Stitch finally said, breaking her blissful daydreaming. “Aren’t yuuga going to be late?”

Lilo looked to the clock and saw that she had overslept again. “Oh no. Victoria’s going to kill me! I’m sorry, Stitch. I really need to get going.”

“Naga problem,” he assured her and then blew her a kiss. “Love you.”

“Love you too, boojiboo.”

After closing the call Lilo quickly got dressed. It was the last day of hula class before regular school started up again. She and Victoria had planned to go together and with everything that had happened she almost forgot. Thankfully she’d be able to reach Victoria’s house before it was too late, as long as she ran at full speed. Stuffing her hula outfit in a bag she hurried downstairs, saying ‘hi’ to everyone as she passed them on her way to the door. Her pace was tarnished by the sound of her sister calling her from the kitchen.

“Yes, Nani?” she asked. It came out sounding a little more annoyed than she meant to.

Nani came into the living room, giving her a half smile. “I just wanted to say something.”

“Okay.” Lilo kept her hand on the door knob, keeping herself ready to go at any moment.

“I just wanted to say I’m sorry about yesterday.” She placed a comforting hand on Lilo’s shoulder, hoping to get through to her.

Lilo took her shaky hand off the knob with her mouth slightly agape. She wasn’t expecting an apology, at least not so soon. Or even if at all.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I said some mean things and I’m sorry. I know you trust me… you were just scared. Still…” Lilo’s hopefulness was quickly shattered as her sister continued. “I truly think it best you and Stitch stay apart. I really do care about him, but I care about you most of all. I just can’t accept you and him being-“

“In love,” Lilo interrupted.

“Together, Lilo.” Nani pulled her hand back. “I know I say it a lot, but I want what’s best for you. And I think that would be for you to find a nice normal boy to be with. Like that Daniel fellow.” She saw Lilo roll her eyes and knew it wasn’t sinking in. “Okay, not Daniel. Just, give it some thought and time.”

“Nani…” Lilo thought for a moment that she should argue. Go over again how it isn’t possible. It’s physically impossible for me to love someone else… I’ve already told you, saying it again won’t change anything. “Never mind. I’m going to be late, I really need to go.”

Before Nani had time to give a proper farewell, Lilo opened the door and sped away. It took Nani aback to see Lilo move so fast. She never did really see her use her abilities before and she found it slightly unnerving. Sometimes it feels like you’re not my Lilo anymore… Closing the door, she sighed and returned to the kitchen.

“Am I being a bad sister?” she asked out loud to herself.

“Nah.” David said, suddenly wrapping his arms around her from behind. “You’re doing what your heart tells you. You can never do wrong like that.”

“You think so?” Nani turned herself around in his arms, looking to him for comfort. It was tearing her up knowing Lilo was upset with her.

“I know so.” David gave her a kiss on the forehead. “You two will get this all figured out. Just gotta give it some time. Like waiting out a big wave for one you can ride together.”

I don’t know. Despite David’s efforts, Nani was still unsure. It feels like this might be the one thing we’ll never see eye to eye on. Even so, she gave a smile and hugged him back. He held onto her tighter and she enjoyed the feeling of his strong arms wrapped around her.

“What do you think about Lilo and Stitch?” Nani finally asked. She realized she didn’t know David’s stance on the situation.

After finishing his call with Lilo Stitch smiled as he joined his family in the living room. The moment he entered, he was bombarded by his niece and nephew.

“Uncle, Stitch. Uncle, Stitch.” they said together as Ava jumped on him while Monty began pulling him by the arm. “You gotta see this.”

Angel hurried over to save him. “Kids, you need to give Stitch some time to rest. He’s still recovering.” She went to take Ava off of him but Stitch waved her off.

“Meega fine, Angel.” He looked at Ava in his arm and Monty at his side. “What did yuuga want to show me?”

Looking to each other with excitement in their eyes, Ava climbed down Stitch and joined her brother. Together, they stood tall and proud near the wall. Ava cleared her throat as if she was about to make an announcement. Rather than saying anything she stood a little taller and closed her eyes as she concentrated. Before their eyes a second pair of arms grew out from her sides. It seemed Ava had gotten something from her father after all.

“I can’t do that,” Monty said a little disappointed. “But there’s more!”

Eager to show off the two suddenly turned and started crawling up the wall.

“Be careful,” Angel said a little worried.

“We’re fine, mom. Don't worry.” said Monty with a slight ring in his voice. Stitch thought it was weird that Angel suddenly seemed fine with them crawling on the walls. She had always been one to look out for and worry about the ones she cared about. In a way she was a lot like a mother to the cousins. The odd calmness quickly vanished as the worry returned to her face.

The two began crawling on the ceiling as the two watched in amazement. To think they were still so young but could already start controlling their abilities. Not all of the experiments had the ability to walk on walls. However, Ava and Monty were born with pads on their hands and feet like Stitch, Angel, and Reuben, allowing them to stick to any surface. Wanting to show off even more Monty let his hands go, walking completely upside down. Ava did the same with her feet, using only her hands to hang and swing as if she were playing on monkey bars.

“What do you think, Uncle Stitch?” Ava asked as she swung overhead.

“Oh, yuuga amazing.” Stitch saw Angel give him a little glare out of the corner of his eye. He gave a guilty smile before clearing his throat. “But make sure to be careful.”

While the kids were having the time of the lives enjoying their newly discovered abilities, Reuben used his back to open the kitchen door and come into the room. He carried a large plate of assorted sandwiches.

“Anyone hungry?” he asked, not seeing that his children were currently climbing above all of them.

“Sandwiches?” The kids said at once looking towards the large plate. Like their father they also had the innate love of sandwiches.

Ava lost her grip at the sight of the food and fell to the ground, making everyone gasp in the process. Thankfully the couch was just below her and cushioned her fall, making a slight ‘oof’ as she landed. Watching his sister fall Monty doubled over laughing. Losing his own concentration, he too fell only he fell straight to the floor with nothing to cushion him. Just before he reached the ground, Stitch leapt forward and grabbed him out of the air.

“Thank you, Uncle Stitch.” Monty said as he was placed onto the couch with Ava.

“Naga worry.” Stitch said ruffling up Monty’s hair. “But yuuga need to be more careful. Meega not always going to be here to catch you.”

“But we like it when you’re here.” Ava pouted and crossed her arms while looking at him with her big eyes. “Can’t you stay forever?”

Reuben placed the food platter onto the table, instantly taking the kids attention away from Stitch. While Angel stopped the two from instantly eating every spec of food, Stitch took Reuben to the side to talk.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Reuben called back as he and Stitch got a little out of earshot. “Listen to your mother now, you two. Save some for the rest of us.” He shook his head laughing to himself as the door closed. “Kids. Biggest pain in the world, but I can’t help but love them.”

“Ih. They’re great,” Stitch agreed. “Listen. Takka for letting me stay here. And thank you for the communicator. Meega hope I won’t have to be a burden for long.”

“Think nothing of it, cuz.” Reuben said while patting him on the back. “You’re family. You’re welcome in our home as long as you need. Heck, we wouldn’t have a home if it wasn’t for you and Lilo.” He saw Stitch’s face drop a little at the mention Lilo. He knew Stitch was trying his best to keep a happy smile despite being apart. Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say… They were interrupted by a loud knocking at the front door.

“Are yuuga expecting someone?”

“No. But I’m pretty sure I already know who it is.”

Meanwhile, Lilo was only a couple of minutes late meeting up with Victoria. Thankfully Victoria had already planned for her usual tardiness and asked to meet up a little early. The two instantly hugged, having not seen each other for a while. They had a lot to catch up on most of which Victoria was sad to hear about. It was amazing how much could happen in just a short time. She was relieved that Stitch was okay now, but it was still sad that they couldn’t see each other. She didn’t even want to imagine not being able to be with Keoni. They had grown so close that it was rare to even see them apart now.

In comparison, Victoria didn’t have much to say. For the most part she had only really spent time with her boyfriend. They had taken Jam and Snooty out for a little bit of cave exploration. Something the two experiments were more than excited about. Being bat like, they enjoyed the dark caverns that littered the islands. After a few failed attempts at taking some pictures, the camera Victoria had brought was quickly packed away to truly spend time together. She and Keoni snuck away for a little quality time which Victoria instantly started blushing about after mentioning.

Lilo giggled at her friend’s bashfulness. It took her back to the days they had first started being friends. She had been so worried about making a good impression. But in the end it really came down to them being themselves. They each had their quirks and it was part of what made them wonderful. Lilo prodded her friend for some more details on their little excursion. But Victoria kept her lips sealed, growing redder by the minute.

Once she managed to get herself cooled down a little Victoria wrapped her arm around Lilo’s shoulder and gave her a little hug while they continued walking. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you two.”

“It’s okay,” Lilo said genuinely, “there wasn’t really a whole lot that could be done. We did get ourselves in this mess. We’ll get out of it.”

“I know you will. You always do.” Their friendship meant the world to Lilo, and Victoria felt the same way. “Even so. If I had known I would have liked to be there for you. Hang out or something.”

“Well why didn’t you show up when Daniel asked everyone to go to the beach?”

“Huh? Daniel asked everyone to go to the beach?”

“Yeah.” She was surprised at her friends confusion. “He said everyone from the photo club was going to hang out, like, three days ago. When I got there only he, Kea, and Kel had shown up. No one else did.”

Victoria thought back to the previous week. The last she remembered seeing or even hearing from Daniel was when the last time they met as a club for the summer. After that everyone was really busy with their last few weeks of vacation. “I haven’t heard from him in a while. Last time I saw him was with you. Are you sure he said everyone was coming?”

“Positive. One hundred percent.”

“Well, maybe he just forgot to ask me or something.”

“Yeah… Maybe.”

Soon they arrived at their hula class. Thankfully all the tension that had been bottled up in the building for years was starting to fade. All the girls were becoming great friends, and Lilo and Myrtle were no longer fighting. They were not overly talking to each other, but the mean comments and insults hadn’t been spoken once.

It was hard to believe that so much time had gone so quickly. Summer always rushed by so fast. Pretty soon they would all be moving up in division, which was always exciting but also scary. Having long out grown simple age divisions they were now in classes based off of skill. They would need to perform a hula of their own creation that showed everything they had learned over the years before graduating to the next level. There was still time before they would need to do this but Moses was sure they were all ready.

“Is Stitch not joining us today, Lilo?” Moses asked when he noticed the absence of their usual audience member. “It’s not like you to leave him at home.”

Lilo glanced to the spot Stitch would normally be sitting near the back of the hall. It made a small hole in her heart to see he wasn’t there. “No. Stitch won’t be coming for a little bit. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

“Is he okay?” Yuki interrupted.

“Yeah, he’s not sick or anything right?” Elena continued.

It was surprising to see so much concern for Stitch. Lilo didn’t even notice it, but he had been around for so long everyone got used to his presence. They even took a liking to him when he wasn’t accidentally destroying everything.

“No…” Lilo began before thinking about how to really put what had happened. The truth would be the easiest, but to do that would mean explaining alien life. “Well, yeah. He was sick for a while. He’s better now though. He’s recovering. I just don’t know when he’ll be able to come back is all.”

There was a sadness in Lilo’s voice that everyone could hear. Only Victoria really knew the truth, but everyone gave their condolences all the same.

Myrtle had different thoughts though. Sick? But they can’t get sick. Not like we do. She thought back to what Gigi had told her, but nothing about her and her cousins getting sick by normal means came up. If it’s something that could get that mut… could get Stitch sick, then what about Gigi? Concerned for the well being of her friend, Myrtle decided she would need to talk to Lilo about it directly. All for the sake of Gigi, she told herself.

Chapter Text

“Takka for coming out with meega,” Spectrum said as she and Stitch walked once again through the forest. “Meega hope meega naga take yuuga away from anything important.”

“Naga worry,” Stitch assured her. He hold a branch up to let her duck under. “It’ll be good to be out again. Reuben and Angel deserve some alone time with the kids.”

Spectrum had only stopped by the house to see how Stitch was doing. When he answered the door she couldn’t help but smile seeing he was finally okay. He was actually the one to offer they go out to help her with her abilities again. At first she declined because she knew Stitch would still need some rest. However, Stitch wouldn’t hear of it and insisted.

“Beside…” he continued.,“meega heard you did a lot for me. I need to thank yuuga properly. Lilo told me you stayed for a long time. Meega sorry I didn’t wake up in time to say goodbye.”

“Naga. Isa nothing.”

Spectrum did her best to hide her blush. Thankfully she was behind him so he couldn’t see her face. She had been worried since the moment she left. Truly she wanted to wait, but she needed to be there for Sara. It was quickly made apparent how different Stitch was now that he was feeling better. He moved much more quickly and his voice no longer sounded strained. It didn’t even occur to her that they had already passed the spot she practiced at last time. Marked beautifully by the multicolored foliage and the still half invisible tree. Instead of really thinking she just enjoyed her time with Stitch, unable to keep her eyes off of him. But there was still the voice in the back of her head. What had happened to him? Should I ask, or should I leave it alone? Why was only Lilo able to fix it?

Letting her curiosity get the best of her Spectrum decided to ask. “So… can meega ask gaba happened to yuuga?” She saw Stitch flinch, and wondered if she should have just kept it to herself. “Soka.”

“Naga.” Stitch looked back and gave her a comforting smile. “Meega just had something happened that made me really weak. Naga big deal.”

“Isa seemed pretty butifa deal to meega.”

“…but meega better now.”

“Because of Lilo?”

Stitch nodded before pushing some rocks out of their way.

“Gaba Lilo do?”

Stitch wasn’t able to answer that. As things stood they still had to keep their relationship a secret. Thankfully, he wouldn’t need to answer.

“We're here,” he announced as he let Spectrum past him.

She walked out onto the clearing. Stitch had led her downstream from where he had helped Lilo practice her very own abilities. It wasn’t as open and it was missing a waterfall, but they wouldn’t need as much room. All they needed was the isolation and some water. No fast movement practice, no heavy lifting, just the cool stream and the rocks and trees around them. The one down side was the hot sun that beat onto their heads, but even that was necessary. Spectrum much preferred the shaded forest to the open waterway, but figured Stitch had a reason for bringing them here.

“Lilo told me yuuga been practicing,” Stitch told her, “meega thought today would be a good day to work with water.”

Lilo was surprised that almost immediately after class had been dismissed Mertle had approached her in the changing area. To her even greater surprise she had asked if they could talk alone. Shrugging, Victoria went off to wait for her friend. Before Lilo even had a chance to say anything her long time former rival got straight to the point.

“What made Stitch sick?” She said a little too abrasively.

“U-uh…It was nothing too serious,” Lilo admitted. She was amazed that Mertle would ask about Stitch.

“So then I don’t have to worry about Gigi getting sick?”

Mertle’s compassion was touching. If there was one thing she cared about it would always be her friends. Lilo could tell that that wasn’t the only thing she was worried about. It seemed that despite everything she’s said even she cared a little bit about Stitch.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re actually worried about him.”

“Shut up,” Mertle shot at her, crossing her arms in a huff. She tried her best not to look Lilo in the eye. “I’m just really worried about Gigi. Your dog is secondary.”

“Don’t worry.” Lilo swung her bag over her shoulder, carrying with her a knowing smile. “Gigi will be fine. It was something that can only affect us and a few other cousins.”

“It better be.” With her worries calmed Mertle let Lilo go. She was happy to know that Gigi would be okay. She was still happy to have her as a friend. She had no choice but admit what she had done to Monochrome. At first Gigi was extremely upset and scolded her. It took some time but eventually she earned her friend’s forgiveness. In the end Gigi was happy that Mertle had done the right thing, and that she was starting to be friends with Lilo. Something started nagging in the back of Mertle’s mind though. “What do you mean ‘us?’”

Lilo stopped in her tracks. She had almost made it out of the changing area. Almost made it to freedom. “Did I say ‘us?’” Good job, Lilo. Years of keeping this a secret and you might blow it all with a slip up.

“Yeah. How could something that makes the… cousins sick affect you? Gigi said that they aren’t affected by our illnesses, and we can’t be affected by theirs.”

“That is right! It was just a slip of the tongue,” Lilo chuckled. Her nervousness was obvious and Mertle wasn’t buying it. “Really, Mertle. I just messed up.” A raised suspicious eyebrow told her that her lie wasn’t going anywhere and she wasn’t able to come up with any other excuse. “I need to get going. I’ll talk to you later.”

Quickly she ran through the door, grabbing Victoria and dragging her away.

Still as weird as ever. Mertle thought as she watched Lilo and Victoria run off. Very suspicious. Maybe Gigi will know something about that.

Stitch ran forward as fast as he could. Once he got a good pace he jumped and started to skid on his feet through the water. He was starting to feel cold and his fur was completely matted down. Before he started Stitch knew it would take many attempts, but he wasn’t going to give up. The water that flew off into the air reflected the sun’s rays forming a rainbow right above Spectrum. She watched the pretty colours shimmering in the sky above and concentrated. Reaching up she felt like she could touch the refracted light and the moment her hand got near it the colours became more vibrant.

She slowly brought her hand down bringing the colours along with it. They slowly formed an orb of colour glimmering like a polished gem. I’m doing it! Attempt after attempt had been completely unfruitful. Barely able to keep her excitement in check she watched the beautiful glow of her rainbow coat the area around them in colours. It was completely amazing and Stitch watched from a distance as she explored her ability over coloured waves.

They were by no means safe. Only Spectrum, who was immune to harmful electromagnetic waves, would be able to be near such a strong concentration. It didn’t change how pretty it was and Stitch smiled at the happy look on her face. He had decided that doing this would be a good change of pace. Because Spectrum had barely seen what she could do she never saw the beauty her powers could create. It was only a theory but it seemed to be true. Reflected light rays still fell within a spectrum. One that she had control over. Spectrum was almost like a walking prism able to create magnificent things on her very own.

Soon the light began to fade and Spectrum fell back, only to be caught by Stitch.

“How meega do?” she asked weakly.

“Butifa. You did great. Meega told you you could do it.”

She nodded her head happy to have his support. To hold such powerful beauty in her hands did wonders for her self-image. Changing colours of things was great. However she always had the inkling of a doubt that she would accidentally change something too much and radiate it like she did that rock. But this was completely new. It reassured her that she could do amazing things and it finally gave her confidence in herself.

“Meega… fooboo,” she said smiling.

“Come on.” Stitch lifted her up, supporting her weak body. Using her powers to such an extent drained her, but she wouldn’t change what she had done for the world. “Let’s get yuuga home so you can rest.”

The entire walk home was a delight for Spectrum. She dreaded the moment she was able to walk on her own. Wanting to feel the support of Stitch just a little longer. His company was just as welcomed though and she was just overly thankful that he would help her like he had. When they arrived at her house they found Sara was sitting on the front steps waiting for Spectrum. It seemed her father hadn’t returned from work just yet.

At the sight of Spectrum the young tan girl ran to her friend. Her short black pig tails bobbing as she moved. The hug was relieving and warm. She may be nine years old now but she was still the little girl Spectrum had met years ago. An empty house was her biggest fear and whenever she made it home with no one there she instantly became worried.

“Where were you?” her high voice squeaked.

“Soka, sweetie.” Spectrum held Sara tight changing her fur to the colour of sea foam, Sara's favourite. “Stitch here was helping meega with something. Meega got home as soon as meega could.”

“Stitch?” Sara looked over Spectrum’s companion slightly confused for a moment. “It is you! You look different…. Taller.”

Stitch chuckled at her comment.

“Yuuga do too,” he said as he rubbed the top of her head gaining a big smile from her.

“Wait.” She began looking around desperately. “Is Lilo here too? I haven’t seen her in so long!” Not seeing her, she looked to Stitch and saw the sad look on his face. “Where is she? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” Stitch said as he changed back to his smile. “Meega not with her right now.”

“Why not?”

The girl’s curiosity was rather astounding. It reminded Stitch so much of Lilo when she was Sara’s age. He hesitated for a moment on how to answer. He couldn’t say what had really happened, not all of it anyway. “Meega did something Nani doesn’t like. Meega and Lilo can’t see each other, and I’m naga allowed home for a little bit.”

Sara was too young, but Spectrum could hear the great pain behind Stitch’s words. She really did wonder what it was that had happened. She didn’t even question why he wasn’t at home anymore. All she had cared about was making sure he was okay and spending some time with him while she could.

“Do you need a place to stay?” The young girl asked to the shock of both Spectrum and Stitch. “We have some room. I’m sure daddy wouldn’t mind. You wouldn’t mind, would you Specy?”

“N-naga. M-meega naga mind.”

“Takka,” Stitch said. He was genuinely happy to have such a caring family. “Meega already have a place to stay.”

“Are you sure?”

Stitch nodded, and while Sara was a little sad he wouldn’t be staying with them she was happy he had somewhere to stay.

“It’s still sad you and Lilo can’t see each other. If only you had your own place like we do.”

Our own place? The thought hadn’t crossed Stitch’s mind before. At least not in this situation. He had dreamed of when they lived in their own place in the future but not as they were now. What if….?

“Meega have to go,” Stitch said suddenly. He was filled with energy and excitement.

“So soon?” Spectrum didn’t want to see him leave already. She could tell something had changed in him though.

“Ih. Meega have an idea. Takka, Sara.”

Before they had a chance to ask, he had already started running off.

“What did I say?” Sara asked as she looked to Spectrum. Neither of them knew what his idea was, or what had brought it on. They just hoped he would be happy in the end.

“Lilo!” Victoria called as she was getting dragged. “Lilo! I can’t go this fast.”

Lilo slowed down not realizing how fast she was actually running.

“Sorry,” she said as she let go of her friends hand, watching her rub her arm. In an effort to get away from Mertle she ended up moving a little too fast.

“It’s okay.” Victoria smiled. “I’m okay.” She shook out her arm showing she wasn’t actually hurt or anything. “Did something happen with Mertle? Is she already causing problems? Ugh. I knew it was too good to be true.”

“No, no, no. It’s nothing like that,” Lilo chuckled. “I just messed up. Almost let it out that me and Stitch are…together…”

“Oh… You’ve been really good about that so far.”

“I know. I guess it’s just all this stuff that’s happening.” Lilo slumped against a nearby tree and let herself fall to the ground. “I really do need to be more careful. We don’t need more problems.”

“What kind of problems?” A sudden voice made Lilo and Victoria jump. “Anything I can help with?”

Daniel had walked up behind them completely unnoticed. The only thing he had heard was the last thing Lilo had said and it made him worried. He hadn’t spoken to her since she had brushed him off the day before and had been worried he was the one that had upset her.

“Don’t do that!” Victoria punched him in the arm. She absolutely hated being scared like that. Horror movies were one thing, she could handle those, but people walking up on her was another.

“Sorry.” The boy laughed. He looked down to Lilo. She seemed to be a lot better than she was the day before but she still wasn’t as happy and bright as she usually was. I hope I didn’t cause this. He got down on one knee and ran his hand through his hair out of nervousness. “Hey, Lilo. I’m sorry about the other day. I really hope I didn’t upset you, I wasn’t trying to or anything.”

“You didn’t,” she said much to his relief. “This is about something else… I can’t really talk about it.”

There was a slight silence for a moment, but Daniel understood that it would be best not to press any further. He made that mistake once and wasn’t willing to do it again. With that out of the way, Victoria told him that they were just going to meet up with Keoni and asked if he wanted to join them. He was more than happy to join but asked Lilo if it would be okay first. She agreed and the three headed off together, ready to enjoy the last bit of their summer vacation.

Chapter Text

The large man looked at Stitch on his communicator. Taking his sunglasses off and fiddling with them in his one hand, he eyed the experiment up and down the best he could trying to get some sort of reading from him. Giving a sigh of defeat he gave in.

“You know this is no easy task, right?” the man said gruffly. “And you want me to start the process, despite being unable to give me any details at all?”

“Ih,” Stitch said with a giant smile. He knew it would be tough but he also knew that a request from him would go a long way if done right. “Meega sorry. As I said, I can’t tell yuuga everything right now. Meega may not even need it. But I still need yuuga to start talking to the council. Can yuuga do it for me?”

“The council won’t be happy about this. Officially, Stitch, you and your…cousins are meant to be in the one true place you belong. As dictated by Ambassador Lilo. The Grand Council will not be happy to hear your request.”

“I nota,” Stitch said. The man could see a pain in his voice and expression. It was clear something big had happened. Normally he would be suspicious. But he learned long ago that it’s best to go along with Stitch. “That’s part of why meega hope this won’t be needed. Just in case though.”

“And you still won’t tell me what’s going on?”

Stitch shook his head in reply. His lips would be sealed until it was absolutely necessary. “Can yuuga do this for me, Cobra?”

Cobra Bubbles cocked a smile. He had heard many strange and crazy requests in his time. Sometimes he even wished that he didn’t get involved with the aliens again. However nothing in the world would make him give up his current job. Human-Alien Relations Executive, as well as having a seat on the United Galactic Federation’s Grand Council. “You know I can’t say no to you, Stitch. I will see what I can do.”

“Taka,” Stitch thanked his old friend before their conversation was cut.

“Those two may be the death of me one day.” Cobra sighed, turning back to his desk. His eye caught an old picture slightly frayed as it sat in its frame. One of him with the rest of the Pelekai family taken not long after Stitch first landed on Earth. But I wouldn’t change any of it for the world. Now how do I go about doing this…?

Back on Earth, Lilo, Victoria, Keoni, and Daniel had just finished having some lunch at their favorite diner. Daniel decided to head out, because the trio were going to go surfing. After the last time he didn’t really feel as excited as they were for the amazing waves that were rolling into the island. They weren’t even going to need Cannonball for help.

During lunch Victoria had asked why Daniel didn’t ask her and Keoni to hang out with everyone. He suddenly became very taken aback. She thought his demeanor was extremely suspicious. Explaining that he thought he had but must have forgotten. He wouldn’t make eye contact with her at all. While Lilo thought his nervous laugh was odd, she didn’t have any reason to think he would lie to her. In all the time they had known each other he didn’t lie to her once. On top of that he was Click’s friend. She truly believed that he must have just forgotten.

None of that mattered though once Lilo felt the cool refreshing water of the ocean splash over her. It was like all the troubles she had in the world began washing away. Victoria was still rather new to surfing. Lilo, Stitch, and Keoni had slowly been teaching her how to surf over the last couple years, and she was making great progress. She still messed up a lot, and ended up in the water more often than not, but she enjoyed it. It was just one of the things they could all enjoy together.

“You okay?” Keoni asked his girlfriend as her head finally popped out of the water.

She flipped back her ponytail that ended up covering her face in the wipeout.

“I’m fine. I think I’m getting used to it.” she chuckled. Which quickly stopped as she got a good look at him. The sun was completely blocked out by his body, giving his topless form a heavenly glow. Her face grew beat red making Keoni wonder for a second if she was starting to get a sun burn.

“We should get moving,” he said at the sight of a large wave forming in the distance. Victoria agreed and with his help got back on her board to swim back a bit and let the wave ride out. Both were surprised to see Lilo paddle right past them towards the large wave. “Lilo!? What are you doing?”

“That wave is way too big. Even for you.” Victoria pleaded. However their cries fell on deaf ears as their friend was determined.

All that filled Lilo’s mind was the thought of Stitch tackling the impressive and scary waters. He absolutely hated getting wet, but without the fear of sinking he took on every wave he could. Lilo could feel his fighting spirit within her as the wave began to form into an impressive giant. It was no tsunami, cannonball had made bigger before, but any other teenager wouldn’t think of trying to ride it. None except Lilo.

This is nothing. Lilo told herself as she turned around and let the water quickly lift her towards the sky. I’ve battled aliens. Flown in space. Saved the world. I can handle a wave. Reaching the peak as the wave fully formed she lifted herself up on her feet. The rush was instant. Air blew her long dark hair out behind her and the salty water stung her face as she cut through the side of the wave. It was magical. The crest slowly cascaded over her forming a bright blue tube. For a second Lilo thought she heard Stitch laughing beside her. When she looked around though he was nowhere to be found. Only the wall of water accompanied her. Feeling a small hole in her heart open she felt the cold reality hit her as the tube closed over top of her.

Keoni and Victoria gasped in terror and quickly paddled out to make sure she was okay. Keoni was about to dive down for her when Lilo suddenly popped up out of the water.

“Are you okay?” Victoria asked as she helped Lilo on her board. “That looked like it really hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

“You were so amazing!” Keoni said, stating the obvious. They never grew tired of Lilo’s amazing feats. This was one of the only times he had ever seen her wipe out while surfing. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Lilo barely replied. ,“just… lost my focus. I don’t really think I’m up for surfing right now.”

Victoria saw the long look on Lilo’s face despite her best attempts at hiding it. It wasn’t often she had seen Lilo sad. But she had never really been one to hide her emotions well. “Is it Stitch?”

Silence fell between them as they drifted on the waters. Slowly rising and falling with each passing wave. The usual smiles and laughter from their blue companion was heavily missed. There was seldom a time when Stitch wasn’t with them. Even fewer when he wasn’t with Lilo. They thought having some fun would help clear Lilo’s mind a little, but it seemed they were wrong. The dark cloud of his absence seemed to grow larger. Quickly making them realize that he was truly a large part of what brought life into their fun and games.

“Just because he’s not allowed home doesn’t mean he can’t spend time with us right?” Keoni said. He looked between the two hopefully. But both of them looked away, dashing his few hopes.

“Nani forbade us from seeing each other.” Lilo rubbed her arm before slowly bringing her hand down to her ring. “Some time apart to think about things is supposed to do me some good.”

“What does she expect you to think about exactly?”

She sighed and almost repeated Nani perfectly. “Finding a nice, normal, human, boy to be with.” She decided to leave the part about Daniel out. It was already a ridiculous thought to her, she didn’t need to bring her friends in on it.

“Ouch…”

“It’ll be okay,” Victoria reminded her cheerfully while rubbing Lilo’s back, almost making herself lose balance on her board. “I’m sure it won’t be long before she realizes how perfect you two are.” Victoria’s optimism was by far one of her strong suits. It always managed to bring a smile to Lilo’s face and this was no exception.

On the way back to shore and up until they finally parted Lilo had become noticeably quieter. Neither Keoni nor Victoria knew what exactly happened on the wave, but it was clear they couldn’t let it continue. Lilo just wasn’t herself. It wasn’t that she was any less strong, or determined, or any of her amazing qualities. She was still herself. Stitch is not what makes Lilo great. However it’s when they are together that their true greatness shows. It was painful to see Lilo without her Stitch.

The two waved good-bye to Lilo as she started walking home. She walked backward for a bit to smile and wave back to her friends before fully turning and taking off at a run. Once she was finally out of sight, and more importantly out of ear shot, Keoni took Victoria’s hand into his.

“We have to do something,” he said seriously while still watching the spot Lilo was only a moment before.

“I know. But what can we do?” She was just as concerned as he was. “It’s not like we can magically convince Nani to let them be together.”

They began walking towards Victoria’s house, noticing it was almost time for dinner. As they walked they thought about how to help their best friends. Their hands swayed together as they walked in perfect harmony. Victoria slightly skipping with each step. Keoni still caught the attention of girls on the street but she took pride in knowing he was hers. Truthfully, Keoni never noticed the constant gaze from the onlookers. Victoria was the only girl for him in his eyes.

“Wait.” Keoni suddenly stopped, tugging his girlfriend back as she walked ahead slightly. “Why don’t we just get them to spend some time together? Hang out for a while.”

“Behind Nani’s back? They won’t do it. That’s what got them in trouble in the first place.”

“But it isn’t going behind her back if they don’t know it.”

Victoria saw where he was going with his plan and she liked it immensely.

Mertle tossed her bag on the couch as she passed it. As usual her home was extremely quiet. With only herself, her mom, and Gigi living in the decent sized house there wasn’t too much noise made. It was nice to have peace and quiet at times. But mostly the silence was deafening. Mertle instantly headed to her room, gaining few words from her mother along the way.

Flopping onto her bed and letting her legs hang over the edge, she grabbed her stereo remote and hit play. She didn’t really care what music ended up playing as long as the silence would vanish. Ever since her dad had left she could never feel anything but loneliness in her house. He was the one she always connected with, or at least she thought so. She got to see him every now and then. He still ran his local shop. But it wasn’t the same. The sad thoughts almost consumed her before the prickly wet tongue of her best friend began to glide across her face.

“Hehehe. Stop that,” she giggled and rolled over to get out of licking range. “You know that tickles.” She wiped the small drool off of her face and scooped up Gigi in her arms. “I missed you too, girl.” Hugging the small dog like creature gained her continued licks but she didn’t mind. “Did you want to go for a walk?”

Gigi enthusiastically barked in reply. She was eager to get out of the house.

“Alright.” Mertle smiled. “Let’s get going then.”

Nearly being dragged out of the house Mertle held onto Gigi’s leash strong. She didn’t know what had gotten into her friend but it was a good change of pace for them. For a while, she had to keep herself from getting pulled off of her feet. But eventually Gigi calmed down and began walking at a normal pace. It was finally becoming an enjoyable walk. There weren’t many people out with it still being the middle of the day. However it was clear that summer vacation was coming to an end. The usual near uncountable amount of tourists had soon disappeared, leaving only a few around town and the resorts.

Kaua’I was a beautiful place year round so there were always tourists, but summer was the busiest time. It was a little sad to see such a smaller amount of people around. They always brought a lot of life to the island even if some were troublesome or caused problems. Mertle never really experienced any of these issues though. She only ever saw it. How the “Hawaiians” were treated by the visitors. Even though she was born and raised on the island she was never treated the same as the others. For every bad tourist though there were a lot more good and kind ones.

Gigi happily trotted along the warm streets. She was happy to be outside after being stuck indoors all day. She didn’t like knowing that Mertle would be going back to school soon. Every day was a lot more fun when she could play with her closest friend as much as she wanted.

What Lilo had said continued to plague Mertle’s mind. She didn’t know why, but for some reason she just couldn’t stop thinking about it. Normally anything she said wouldn’t warrant a second thought, but after the incident not too long ago, she gave more weight to the thoughts and opinions of the girl. She wanted to ask Gigi about it and with the lack of people around, right then seemed like the perfect time.

“Hey Gigi,” Mertle began slowly, “can I ask you a question?” The small dog like experiment stopped and looked back at the her. She tilted her head and gave a small whine. “It’s okay, you can talk. Nobodies around right now.”

Gigi continued to prance forward. “If you’re okay with it. What is it?”

“It’s about Stitch. Well, Lilo too. I guess it’s about both of them.” It was odd hearing such concern come from her about the two.

“Well that’s different. I don’t really know what I can tell you that you don’t already know though.”

“It’s just… Lilo said something that I can’t get my mind off of.”

Mertle explained what Lilo had said about Stitch. Gigi was surprised to hear he was sick. Normally he was very careful about that sort of thing after the last few times. She hadn’t heard about any of the cousins getting sick in years. What was even more surprising was Lilo’s use of the word ‘us.’

“Humans and experiments don’t get sick by the same means.” Gigi repeated after Mertle finished. “It is rather odd for Lilo to say that.”

“Well Lilo is odd.”

Gigi rolled her eyes at Mertle’s comment. She was happy to hear Mertle and Lilo were getting along better. She just hoped it would speed up a bit. Shaking it off she started thinking about why Lilo would refer to herself being affected by something that hurt Stitch. It’s not the first time they’ve said something odd.

“There was also the time Stitch called Lilo his ‘boojiboo.’” Gigi thought out loud.

“What’s a boojiboo?” Mertle asked. She felt like she had heard that word a few times but couldn’t remember what it meant.

“It’s um… nothing.” Gigi lied quickly. She had not meant to speak out loud earlier. She didn’t know what was going on but knew that if Lilo and Stitch were boojiboos that letting it out could spell trouble. “It’s just a nonsense word.”

“Really?” Mertle was a little skeptical of her friend’s answer.

“…yeah…”

They continued the walk with what felt like more questions than answers. Mertle was curious at Gigi’s sudden silence. Normally when she starts talking she never stops. However Gigi’s mind was preoccupied. First boojiboo now this… something’s going on. Maybe I should look into it. Perhaps I’m just over thinking things and they really did just mix up their words.

Chapter Text

“I don’t know,” Lilo said into the phone. “I was really hoping to have Stitch back home by now. Nani hasn’t been letting up at all.”

“That’s the perfect reason you should come.” The ecstatic girly voice replied. It had only been a couple of days after going surfing that Victoria and Keoni started asking Lilo to come hang out with everyone on the weekend. It was the last weekend before school started up again and they all wanted to end it with a bang. However, every time they asked Lilo would turn them down. After almost an entire week they were hoping they were starting to wear her down. There was only so many times she could use Nani as an excuse. “You really need a break from all of that. Take your mind off of it and relax.”

“Take my mind off of getting Stitch back?”

“You know that’s not what I mean, Lilo.”

Truly Lilo really did need a break. She spent every moment she possibly could trying to convince Nani that she and Stitch were meant to be. She had even given up some chances to speak with Stitch over the communicator to try and convince her. It was really draining but she had to do it. She couldn’t just abandon Stitch. Every time it felt like she was gaining some leeway it seemed like things jumped back a few steps. Nani was still set on Lilo finding a normal boy to be with despite numerous attempts telling her it wasn’t possible.

Even David was starting to become distant whenever Stitch was brought up. A small glance would be shared between him and his wife before he would end up leaving the room. Lilo didn’t know what had happened between them on the subject but she hoped that she didn’t cause any problems for them. Pleakley and Jumba were in a similar boat. When Nani wasn’t around they were completely supportive. But her older sister had the two aliens so scared and they seldom came out of their room when she was around. It seemed she still didn’t forgive Jumba for what he had done to Lilo. She wasn’t going to throw him out though. She understood why he had done it. She’d rather that have happened then for Stitch to cause an island wide panic. Or worse.

“Maybe you’re right,” Lilo finally said in exasperation. “I feel like I haven’t even had time to think.”

“See.” Victoria pushed her point even further. “You totally need a break. A beach camp out will be more than perfect!”

“You know I have to ask Nani. She’s never been one to really let me stay out overnight.”

“But you can take care of yourself now,” Victoria reminded her. “Extremely well. In fact you’d be our protection.”

Both of the girls laughed at Victoria’s joke. It was true. With Lilo’s strength she could easily fend off any would be predators, enemies, or general trouble.

“You’re right,” Lilo said as she finished her giggle fit. “Nani still sees me as her baby sister. I don’t think she’s gotten used to me being… different yet.”

“You’ve always been different though.”

“Yeah but this is like a whole new level of different.” With a little more thought on the matter Lilo decided she would give it a try. It could do her a lot of good after all. “Alright. You’ve got me. I’ll ask Nani if I can go.”

“Yay!” Victoria squealed with glee, almost hurting Lilo’s ears in the process. “Just tell her exactly what I told you to say. I’m sure she’ll let you go then.”

“Okay…” Lilo agreed. “I still think it’s strange... but if you say so.”

“I do.” With that, Victoria hung up. She didn’t want to give Lilo any chances to suddenly back out. It would be short notice now but the plan had already begun. As soon as she hung up she instantly called Keoni and began telling him that it was his turn to continue the plan.

Staring at the phone oddly for a few seconds Lilo set it down. She felt like Victoria was acting a little strange. Oh well. I’m sure it’s nothing. Brushing the feeling off Lilo made her way downstairs hoping to find that Nani hadn’t left again. Thankfully her sister was in the living room watching T.V. with David.

“Morning, Lilo,” David said kindly, giving her a light wave with the hand that wasn’t wrapped around Nani’s shoulder. “Who was calling you so early?”

“It was Victoria again,” she replied before turning her attention towards Nani. “Is it alright if I ask you something?”

“Uh-oh.” David suddenly looked worried. “Should I get out of here?”

“No. It’ll be okay. It’s about what Victoria wanted.”

Nani looked surprised. Lilo’s friends had never asked something that involved her before. “What did she want?”

Lilo took a deep breath before answering, trying her best to remember everything that Victoria had said to say. She ended up sounding more like a tape recorder than she would have liked, but hoped the message came across. “Would it be okay for me to go to a beach camp out tonight? It’ll just be me, Victoria, Keoni, and some of our friends from the photography club. Stitch will not be there. It’ll just be us having a normal camp out. Roasting marshmallows, swimming, and surfing. It’s just for one night and we’ll always be together so you don’t need to worry about our safety. We are old enough to look after ourselves now. And again, Stitch will not be there.”

Nani stared at her blankly for a few moments as she thought over the request. Lilo’s curfew had been extended, but she had never stayed out overnight. At least not out on the beach. Normally she would never agree to something like this and it looked like Nani was about to say no when her answer shocked both Lilo and David.

“Sure. You can go.”

“I-I can?” Lilo was absolutely amazed. She couldn’t believe Nani trusted her enough to let her go out overnight already. “You’re sure? You heard me say that it was going to be overnight. And there are going to be boys there.”

“I heard you,” Nani assured her. “It sounds like it will be perfectly safe and fine. Besides, it’s the end of summer and you're young. you should enjoy it.”

David placed the back of his hand to Nani’s forehead. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah,” Lilo agreed. “I’ll be out, in the open, when it’s dark.”

“I’m fine you two,” she said, taking David’s hand away from her face and holding it gently. “Like you said, you’ll be safe with everyone and are more than capable of handling yourself.”

“Ooookay.” Lilo raised an eyebrow. “I’m going to go get ready then.”

“Have fun.” Nani returned her attention to the T.V.

David continue to look at his wife in disbelief while Lilo slowly backed out of the room, giving her sister a chance to change her mind. When it didn’t happen she quickly got to her room to start packing things for the night, unsure as to why Nani was being so cooperative.

“So…” Spectrum said, looking at the empty lot in front of her. “Why are yuuga looking at different places in the cousin area?”

Stitch barely heard the question. He continued to carefully look over the ground in front of him. Like all the other spots he had looked at it didn’t give him the feeling he was hoping for. “Meega told you. I can’t really talk about it.”

“Meega nota,” she said with a slight huff. “Meega just thought if yuuga told meega gaba yuuga doing… besides. Why did meega come with yuuga if meega can’t help?”

Stitch stopped and looked at her happy that she wanted to help him so badly.

“Yuuga were the one that asked to come.” He reminded her with a large smile.

Spectrum's face turned a bright red as her mouth hung open slightly. She had seen Stitch walking alone and asked where he was going. He said he couldn’t talk about it that it was a secret, but she tagged along anyway. Having it pointed out to her like that made her feel really embarrassed. She wondered if she was being nothing but a pain to him, which was the exact opposite of what she wanted.

“M-meega just thought yuuga looked a little lonely.” She said, turning the rest of her fur red to hide the blush that wasn’t fading.

“Did meega look lonely?”

Stitch gave a slight frown, looking towards the ground. Good job Spectrum. The girl mentally kicked herself for what she had said. Now he feels even worse. I can’t do anything right.

“Meega suppose I have been,” Stitch said sadly. It’s just been so long since I’ve been able to be with Lilo. “Yuuga been making me feel better though.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, not seeing that his touch made her blush even more. “Takka, Spectrum.”

She tried her best to ignore the chills his hand sent down her spine. Wanting to act as normal as she possibly could. Not like he was sending her heart into a flurry. Ever since he had rescued her, that stormy night, she found herself admiring Stitch more and more. Even with the days when he was at his weakest, the fact that he never once submitted, trying his best to shoulder it all was admirable to her. Quickly she started to feel more than just admiration for him. It was only a short time but she found herself thinking about him more and more. She didn’t know quite what it was that she was feeling. Most would call it a crush. However, she’d never really been one to have crushes. In the short time she’d been alive her entire life revolved around Sara. Never having time for anything like dating she never found herself really loving anyone but the little girl. She didn’t even know what falling in love felt like.

“Okie-taka,” Stitch finally said.

Spectrum didn’t even notice that his hand had left her shoulder. Nor that he was actually a few feet away from her now. His voice breaking the silence brought her back to reality.

“Yuuga actually can help me with something.”

“Meega can?” Her ears shot straight up from feeling extremely happy that she could actually be of some use to Stitch. “Gaba meega do?” She rushed to his side, eager to find out what it was he needed her for.

“Yuuga can’t tell anyone,” he said to her sternly. She nodded in response. “Meega might be needing to build something out here. If meega do I want it to be the perfect spot.”

“Gaba yuuga gonna build?”

“Meega can’t say.” He turned back to the opened area in front of him. They were only a block or so away from all of the houses the cousins stayed in. But they were still in the area designated for them. “Could yuuga turn all the grass here green?”

For the first time she truly looked at the spot they were standing. It was a decently large area near the road, with a large tree not far from the sidewalk, and a smaller one on the other end of the lot. The grass though was a light brown. It seemed like it wasn’t getting enough water and with the summer sun it was really drying out.

“Yuuga want meega to use meega’s powers?”

“Ih. Meega want to see what it would look like with green grass. I know yuuga can do it. Yuuga been doing really well with your powers.”

“Okie-taka…” Spectrum looked at the ground around them. She had never tried to work on an area so large before. She knelt down hoping she didn’t end up killing the grass further with any radiation. With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the colour green. As her hands made contact with the blades of grass she felt a slight pulse go out. Completely nervous she slowly opened her eyes hoping she didn’t mess up.

A beautiful sea of green lay before them. She had done brilliantly. Each blade of grass looked lush and full of life. Exactly as it would look once taken care of.

“Butifa.” Stitch said. He was getting the perfect image of what he wanted in his head. “This spot will be perfect.”

“Meega do good?”

“Yuuga did great.”

When Stitch finally returned to Angel and Reuben’s house night had already started to fall. With his plans out of the way Spectrum asked to hang out a little bit more, which he was more than happy to comply with. Not expecting a call from Lilo for quite a while he had a lot of time to kill. It was one thing he hated about not being around his love. The days felt a lot emptier. The time spent with his cousins was welcomed though. They always managed to cheer him up and he found it fun helping and hanging out with Spectrum. Even if she did suddenly get quiet a lot.

As soon as he closed the door he found his two cousins quickly hanging up the phone in surprise. They had nervous looks on their faces at the sight of him but there was a twinkle in their eyes. A sly look that puzzled him even more. He wasn’t sure what they were up to, and their request made it all seem even stranger.

“Wow… look at that.” Victoria gasped, marveling at the sun nearly swallowed by the ocean. “I’m never going to get used to the sunsets here.”

The glow was starting to fade, but the warm red and orange light was still cast along the empty beach. Coupled with the light rolling sound of the waves and the relaxing salty smell of the waters, it was looking to be an amazing night. Not a cloud was in the sky and they already felt like they could taste the marshmallows they were sure they’d get sick off of.

Lilo had already cast off her sandals to enjoy the feeling of the cool sand squish between her toes. She knew it would eventually get cold though, so she had packed a pair of shoes to wear with the almost too large sweater she already had on.

“You’ve been here for years, Vic,” Keoni reminded his girlfriend while planting the four surfboards he carried over into the ground. “Someday you’ll get used to it.”

“Nuh-uh,” She shot back while sticking her tongue out. “I’ll never stop being amazed. You two have lived here forever. I, on the other hand, have lived in the big city. You don’t get to see things like this out there. It’s really magical.”

“I have to take her side, Keoni.” Lilo let her bag fall to the ground with a soft thump. “I’ve been to outer space, and to other planets. I’ve seen things that are out of this world, literally. But nothing will ever beat a Kaua’I sunset.”

“But you also have better eyes than us.” Keoni tried to argue. However Lilo crossed her arms and Victoria put her hands on her hips. Both girls tapped their feet in perfect sync. “Okay, okay.” He chuckled, eyes darting back inland. “You two win. I know when to give up.”

“Is everything okay? You’ve been looking behind you ever since we got out of town.”

“Everything is fine,” he said rather suspiciously. “Just making sure I didn’t drop anything.”

Lilo looked at him quizzically. Everyone seemed to be acting strange today. It didn’t help that no one else had arrived yet. Especially since they themselves ended up running late because Victoria had completely forgotten her bag when she left. It was just the three of them on the beach, and the air almost felt alive with an electrical buzz. Like something big was just on the edge of happening.

It wasn’t a high voltage feeling. More like a quick zap at her senses. A breaking twig coming from the trees, coupled with familiar pineapple scented fur, and the sudden jump in warmth from her ring. Everything rushed her at once. But the biggest shock was the sound of a voice she longed and dreamed to hear with her very own ears again.

“Hello?” Stitch called out while stepping from nearby trees. “Victoria? Keoni? Where are yuuga?”

Chapter Text

“Stitch?” Lilo whispered as he stepped out onto the beach.

His ears twitched at the sound of her voice, pointing him right in her direction. “Lilo?”

Their eyes finally met for the first time since Stitch had initially recovered. It was completely different than all the times over the communicator. It was impossible to hold back. Like an unstoppable force Lilo and Stitch ran together and jumped into a deep hug and kiss. As far as they were concerned their friends, who awkwardly looked away, were no longer on the beach. As far as they were concerned nothing in the world existed. All that was true and real was the one they held. The one they couldn’t live without. The feelings they felt were a swirl of happiness, confusion, and love. Tumbling around as they rolled on the beach.

It was a sight to behold. It was like they were kids again, or at the very least like Lilo was a kid again. Many times they ended up rolling in the sand while laughing and playing. The beach would always hold a special meaning to the two. As the place where they confessed their feelings. Keoni and Victoria didn’t know this though. Nor did they know how meaningful this spot made their reunion. All they could do was wait around until the couple finally finished.

“What are you doing here?”

“What are yuuga doing here?”

They both said in unison, laughing more at their synchronization.

“Keoni and Victoria said they needed meega for something,” Stitch said.

“Funny. They told me that I’m having a camp out with everyone,” Lilo replied. The two looked at their friends who stood just a few feet away who were pretending like they didn’t just orchestrate a big heart felt reunion. Lilo got up while brushing the sand off of her before taking Stitch’s hand into her own. “Is anyone actually coming?”

“Yes,” Victoria spat out. She was slightly insulted that Lilo would think she’d lie to her.

“They should be coming in…” Keoni trailed off as he thought about the time in his head. “I’d say an hour or so.”

“Plenty of time for you two to get to be alone together.”

“Nani won’t be happy about what you did,” Lilo said as she squeezed Stitch’s hand. He held on tighter in return, knowing that Lilo’s sister would hate to know they were together. “You specifically made me say Stitch wouldn’t be here. Twice.”

“Should meega go?” Stitch asked, letting go of Lilo’s hand, already feeling the absence fill his heart. “We naga want to get in more trouble.”

“No!” Victoria shouted and put their hands back together. “What Nani doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

“That’s what got us in this trouble in the first place.” Lilo reminded her.

“I know. I know.”

Keoni stepped forward, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend. “You guys really need this. You’re not the same when you’re apart. You’re not happy.” He began pulling Victoria away and back towards the road. “Just enjoy this time together and then you can pretend it never happened.”

Before they had any more opportunities to object Keoni and Victoria hopped into Keoni’s dad’s car they had brought out and drove off. Leaving the two slightly flustered and confused. On one hand they missed each other terribly. More than they ever thought possible. On the other they had Nani. Who would be furious and probably never let Stitch back if she found out what was really happening.

Lilo lit the fire the group would need for later. Once it was a nice size and decently warm, she sat on her beach towel next to Stitch. Few words were spoken between them. They spent hours each night staying up late talking. They didn’t need to do any catching up. What they needed the most was simply to just be with each other.

It had been so long since Lilo felt Stitch’s arm wrapped around her. She couldn’t help but cuddle into him as much as possible. She had her doubts. But it truly turned out to be a beautiful night. She made a mental note to thank Victoria and Keoni properly later. They both felt blessed to have such wonderful friends looking out for them. Even if they did end up getting tricked by them.

With the warm crackling of the fire as their music, coupled with the softly rolling waves of the ocean, the two laid back gently to cuddle. Nothing could make this night any better. Lilo thought as she felt Stitch’s hand gently caressing her side. Well. Maybe something. She ran her fingers along Stitch’s spine, sending shivers down his body.

“What are yuuga doing?” He whispered.

“What?” Lilo replied coyly. “I haven’t been able to be with you in so long.” She shifted positions, letting herself be above him. Her long hair falling to one side and slightly biting her bottom lip. “Besides…” She continued, gently moving her fingers from his stomach up towards his chin. “This is the first time we’ve been alone in ages.” She placed her hand beside Stitch’s head, leaning down to kiss him passionately.

“The others will be back soon.”

“I don’t care.”

Stitch submitted to her desires. He couldn’t stop himself either. It had been far too long since he truly enjoyed the feel of her skin, the softness of her hair, and the taste of her lips. ‘Absence makes the heart grow founder.’ By all accounts it was true for them. Each moment apart felt like an eternity. However, each second they spent together? Each touch. Every kiss. And the light nibbles. They all felt like a thousand lifetimes. His kiss held the fire of all the thoughts and feelings he held for Lilo. Nothing could stop him from showing her his love. Nothing in the world could truly stop experiment six-two-six. Lilo placed herself over Stitch, knee on either side of him, enjoying the feel of his hands running along her back and sides. For a brief moment, it felt like they were back in their comfy bed back home. Gently sinking into the soft sand with each kiss. She broke away for a single breath and looked into his passion filled eyes that perfectly reflected the night sky. Lilo wasn’t away for long before Stitch pulled her back down and rolled on top of her. He nibbled and bit lightly at her neck. Her long hair became a mess around them. A second blanket between them and the ground.

Stitch trailed kisses up her collar bone, giving her body electric shocks. Eventually he reached the edge of her hoodie and she wanted nothing more than for him to continue. The sudden sound of a car door slamming shut brought them back from their passion filled frenzy. Being so caught up in what they were doing they didn’t hear the car return, and it wasn’t long until the sounds of footsteps reached them once again.

Stitch immediately jumped off of Lilo who bolted up trying her best to straighten herself out.

“Whoa,” Victoria said before quickly turning away. Still just as embarrassed about these things as ever. “Sorry.”

Lilo finished fixing her top and hair, feeling just as flustered as her friend.

“It’s okay,” Lilo said with a deep breath, already feeling her face heat up. “We lost track of time.”

“Clearly,” Keoni stated awkwardly.

It wasn’t like anything had happened, or that the two had seen something they shouldn’t. The young teens were still just that. Young. Victoria wasn’t the only one who felt slightly embarrassed about it all, She was just the most obvious about it.

After a little bit of awkward silence, and after Keoni and Victoria set up their own spot. They all asked if Stitch was going to stay for a while. He thought it would be best that he left. They didn’t want to break Nani’s rule for too long. It was clear though that they would truly be unable to stay apart for much longer.

“What are we going to do?” Lilo asked.

She and Stitch stepped away from the campsite, and stood just near the edge of the trees.

“I can’t stay apart for much longer, Stitch,” she continued.

“Meega know. I can’t either. Isa Nani-“

“No change. None. If anything it seems like it could be worse. I don’t know. We’re getting along, but… I feel so helpless.” Stitch took her hand and held it tight. “We’ve always been able to do anything. No matter what came before us we would beat it. But we were always together. I don’t know if I can overcome this by myself.”

“Yuuga not by yourself.” Stitch placed her hand on his chest. Setting his ring as close to hers as he could. “Meega always with you. We’re connected now, ih?” Lilo nodded. She felt more confident in herself with his encouragement. “We have all our friends too. We’ll never be alone. Naga with our ‘ohana.”

“You’re right.” Lilo gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead. “You’re always right.”

“Naga always.”

“Maybe not. But you are about this. We’ll always have each other, and I know we’ll see each other soon. If Nani doesn’t come around though…”

“Meega have a plan in case Nani doesn’t let me come back.”

“You do? You never mentioned a plan.”

“Ih,” He nodded. He started squeezing her hand tighter. “Meega hope we don’t have to do it.” He glanced back at their friends who weren’t entirely out of earshot. “Meega tell you about it later. When we alone. Okay?”

“Alright,” Lilo agreed. She was truly curious about what Stitch’s plan was, but she could wait. If she was able to wait to see him she could wait to hear his idea.

“Meega best get going,” Stitch finally said. He took a few steps back as he slowly let go of Lilo’s hand. They could already feel the distance the moment they broke contact, and it grew more painful each time it happened. It was not something they would ever get used to. “Meega sad. I wanted to go surfing with yuuga.”

“Did you bring your floaties?”

“No. I nota you can keep me safe.

Lilo smiled from his trust in her. “I love you.”

“I love you too, boojiboo.”

They shared one last kiss before Stitch finally had to leave. Lilo watched as he ran back into the forest. Off to what she assumed was Angel and Reuben’s house. She wondered how they were doing. She hadn’t seen them in a while either. She’d love to go for a visit and see the kids. But Nani knew that that was where Stitch was. When Stitch was finally out of sight she gave a sad sigh. See you soon, boojiboo.

It wasn’t long after Stitch left that their friends finally started showing up. Everyone was really excited for the night. Kea and Kel even brought a stereo which was something that completely skipped everyone’s minds. The addition of music was welcome. No one was around so they were able to listen to it as loud as they wanted. Abby and Devon had dragged along Jen, who turned out to have the best ghost stories. Lilo always prided herself on her scary stories, but even she was beat out that night. She slightly wished she had Spooky there to really get some scares. But he was happy in his haunted house. Daniel was the last to show, and for a second they thought that he might not come at all. It was well past the time they said to meet up and even Lilo would never be that late for something.

He wasn’t able to give an explanation for his lateness, and no one pressed the subject. It was just nice to have everyone there again. Once again though the absence of Stitch was noticed. Kea was the one to finally ask. He had been hoping to get another close look at the odd creature, and was disappointed that he wasn’t there. When asked Lilo just said he couldn’t come. However, Most of them noticed the way her face slightly dropped, and that Keoni and Victoria looked away at the mention of his name.

Daniel noticed the most. He knew Stitch wasn’t living with her anymore, but he still didn’t know why. It was even more apparent that something big had happened, and he even thought of asking Click his thoughts on what it might be. His little friend didn’t have any answers though. It even seemed like he had avoided the question.

“Well.” Kel said nervously before clapping her hands together. “I think that’s enough stories and what I guess are sad topics. We’re at the beach so let’s enjoy it.”

Not everyone was a surfer. Abby, Jen, and Devon never even tried before. Jen, being a little too cocky, thought it would be easy, but she fell off the moment she got on the board. She asked Victoria and Keoni for some pointers, but she kept falling off. She wasn’t one to give up though. After that, Abby and Devon were a little discouraged and decided to just stick to swimming instead. Kea and Kel took out the other boards and enjoyed some waves. They weren’t the largest they had seen as it was a generally calm night, but they were still able to have fun.

“Aren’t you going to go swimming?” Lilo asked once she noticed Daniel was the only one still sitting.

“I’m not really that big into water,” he reminded her. “I didn’t even bring my trunks.”

“Oh. That’s too bad.”

Lilo started taking off her top. She, like the others, had worn her bathing suit under her clothes. Once Daniel noticed she was starting to strip he instantly looked away blushing furiously. He felt a hand grab his own and looked up to see Lilo illuminated by the moon. She pulled him up with ease and started dragging him to the shoreline.

“Come on. You’re at the beach,” she said, “you have to get into the ocean.” She ignored his protests about not wanting to swim or surf. “There’s other ways to enjoy the water.”

Her tone of voice was magical to him. He let himself get dragged away while enjoying the little contact he had with her. Once they reached the edge of the water he hesitated and watched Lilo walk right in. The look on her face glowed like the brilliance of the sun.

Lilo always enjoyed the ocean. A lot more than just swimming pools or anything else. Especially at night. When it was dark the ocean colour would change. During the day it would be a bright crystal, but at night she could see its wonderful deep blue. It always reminded her of Stitch’s fur and it always made her smile.

Daniel didn’t know this though. All he saw was that the water made her happy. Happier than he had seen her be in a while, and he didn’t want it to end. He joined her a couple feet into the ocean. The water was cold but not uninviting. He thought it would sting but instead it just felt refreshing. Like it cut away his concerns and worries. When Lilo said there were other ways to enjoy the water he didn’t realize she had meant just walking in it.

“See?” she said with a smile. “Isn’t this nice?” The two had walked down the shoreline, only a few feet in the water. “I know you don’t really like going under or anything, but I thought you might like this.”

“Y-yeah,” he stammered out. “It is. I actually like this.”

The two walked side by side in the cool water under the moonlight. Just talking about little things in life. Daniel’s eyes never once left Lilo. He could feel his heart race at the sight of her. He knew he had had a crush on her for a while, and he tried his best to spend time with her. He wondered if she might feel the same for him. There was a feeling in the back of his mind that she didn’t. He felt like he had messed up a lot. Especially the day he had upset her. It hurt him greatly to know that he had done that.

“So why don’t you like the water?” Lilo finally asked, breaking his line of thought.

“It’s nothing amazing, spectacular, or dramatic.”

“No? No tragic backstory to tell or anything?”

“Nah. You gotta know me a bit longer to get the tragic backstory.”

The two laughed for a moment before he continued. “No, I just really don’t like water. My mom took me swimming a lot when I was a kid. I just didn’t like the feeling of being underwater or getting wet. That kind of thing. I much prefer being on dry land. Actually.” He became slightly distant and looked up to the sky. “One thing I’ve always wanted to do was fly. I think it’s really cool, being up in the air. Feeling weightless.”

“Well, if you really want to feel weightless, you need to go to space.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah,” she said nonchalantly. “It isn’t until you get to space that everything starts getting all floaty. It’s really cool actually.”

“Wait.” Daniel stopped in his tracks. “You’ve been to outer space?”

“Oh yeah, tons of times. Its lots of fun. You really need to try it. I could take you some time.”

Daniel stared at her for a moment, before finally laughing it off as a joke. “You almost had me there for a second.”

Will anyone ever believe me? She wondered, a little sad that he didn’t believe her either.

They started walking again, continuing their previous conversation. A lump had formed in Daniel’s throat making it hard to talk. He enjoyed every second he spent with her and was liking it more and more. Taking one more glance at her in the light. She’s so beautiful. He came to a stop once more.

“Lilo…” he started seriously. “There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

She looked at him. The only time she had ever seen such a serious look on his face was when they had been searching for Click. “What is it?”

Come on Daniel. You can do this. Just ask her. “I- um.” Come on, don’t wimp out again. “I just wanted to…” Do it. Say it. You’ve been trying to for weeks now. Here’s your chance.

Lilo titled her head. Letting her hair fall to one side. Daniel couldn’t help but think she looked beautiful, and his face grew warmer and redder by the second, but Lilo didn’t notice. She kept focused on his eyes that were darting back and forth trying to find a point to focus at on her.

“Lilo, I was wondering if-“

Chapter Text

Tell her!

The first time Daniel saw Lilo was a few months before photography club began. More accurately, it was the first time he ever took notice of her. Almost everyone on the island at least knew of Lilo. It was hard not to when she spent so much time running around catching experiments and finding the one true place they belonged. Only a handful of people actually knew her connection to them. But she had at the very least been seen with the ‘odd animals’ more than anybody else.

When Click had been activated, Daniel was out visiting his father on a different island. His work took him away from home a lot. Every couple weeks when his father had to stay away for a long period of time Daniel would take his uncle’s ferry to visit him. The electronics store had been in their family for two generations and Daniel’s father didn’t feel it right to give it up when he was offered the new job. So his wife took it over as owner.

Mrs. Jefferson was finding it difficult to run the store on her own. Click was a more than welcome addition to the family. Daniel was especially happy to have a new friend even if he was a little different. Daniel, who was a little older than Lilo, was eight when he met Click. It wasn’t until high school that he truly noticed Lilo and he perfectly remembered the moment he first saw her.

Tell her!

Daniel was talking with some of his friends at the time. He was outgoing and had many friends and generally he was well liked by everybody. The only ones who really shared as huge an interest in tech as him though were some of the more preppy kids. To keep around them he dressed the part, acted the part, pretended to be more like them than he really was. It was one of the times that he was talking to his friends in the hall that it happened.

A crash. A bang. A scream. Someone had taken the principals pet as a prank not realizing what it could do. Being scared itself, Pannix protected itself the only way it knew how. As a result panic started spreading like wildfire. Daniel didn’t know what was happening as all the students started flooding the hall. What he did notice was one girl who pushed against the crowd. A slightly shorter girl with long flowing hair. The fire in her eyes lit something inside him and he didn’t know why. Something told him to follow her but he didn’t. He stayed put and soon got swept away with his friends. The next few times he saw her she was standing up against Sam, something no one did. It made him more interested but he never went up to her, never said anything, and never took her side. Only ever watched from the side lines. One day he finally asked his friends who she was and he was told all the rumors about her.

None of them mattered. How people said she was crazy, strange, and different. Her fascination with the odd animals and all the strange things she did and said. If anything, it made him even more fascinated. He was just drawn to how she was, or at the very least, the image of who she was to him. After photography club began he found out more about her. The real her. Not long after that he started to like her.

Tell her!

Now he stood before her and wanted to confess how he felt. A moonlight night in almost freezing water. It wasn’t at all like he imagined telling her, but she finally seemed happy, and he wanted it to stay that way. He knew there were a lot of things she wasn’t telling him. He hoped she would tell these things to him when she was ready.

Tell her!

“I…um…just wanted to ask…”

“Yes?” she pried again, waiting patiently for what he was trying to say.

“Did you want to go make some s’mores?” He chickened out. You idiot.

“Sure! I’d love some.”

Lilo turned back to join the others. Daniel stood in the water, alone, for a few seconds. Berating himself for what he had just done. After all of that he wasn’t able to work up the courage to finally tell her how he actually felt. Reluctantly, and feeling a little let down with himself, he followed after. Maybe some s’mores will make me feel a bit better.

The group had fun all night. The s’mores were delicious, the music was great, and they even managed to get a group picture around the fire. They couldn’t stay out all night but they stayed up till late in the morning. Victoria noticed that Daniel sat a little closer to Lilo than he normally did, but decided it best to leave it be for now. She didn’t know what had happened when they went off on their own but she had her suspicions. All in all, they had a great time as friends. And they were both happy and sad that summer vacation was ending. The next time they were all together again would be back in school. Only one more week away.

When the sun finally rose Lilo instantly grabbed her communicator to talk to Stitch. She was overly curious of his plan, and hoped he was awake to tell her what it was. She had slept in from her late night and could already hear footsteps downstairs.

When the beeping came Stitch bolted awake. He fell asleep with the communicator in hand hoping to hear from Lilo first thing.

“Morning, Lilo,” he said groggily.

“Morning, boojiboo,” she replied. After one look at him she started to giggle. “So is there a new fashion going around that I don’t know about?”

“Huh?” With his mind a little clearer, he saw that he had fallen out of bed in the middle of the night. The patch work quilt had wrapped itself around him like a toga. He burst out laughing as well, working his way out of his new clothes. “Did yuuga have a good night?”

“Yeah. It would have been more fun with you though. The part before with you was especially fun.”

“Ih, it was the best.”

The two just looked at each other with tender smiles. For a second Lilo completely forgot why she had called Stitch in the first place. It was so nice just to be able to see his face again and hear his breathing, it was almost like he was home. She heard Nani call her for breakfast, snapping her out of her daze.

“I’m coming!” she shouted down before returning back to Stitch. “Looks like I have to get going. Maybe I’ll make some progress today. Before I forget. What was your big plan?”

“Lilo!” Her sister’s voice shouted from downstairs. “It’s gonna get cold!”

“Just a minute!”

“Okie-taka,” Stitch started. “Meega had to ask Cobra first.”

“Cobra?”

“Ih. Meega was thinking that we could-“

“Lilo!” The demanding voice continued relentlessly completely cutting Stitch off.

“Sorry,” Lilo said as she tried to get to a quieter spot of the room. “Just a second, Nani!”

Stitch tried to continue explaining what his idea was. Once again he got to start telling about his call to Cobra again the sound of the elevator rising filled the room.

“Is someone up here with you?” Nani asked as she appeared from the hole in the floor. “It sounds like someone else’s voice is- Hey! What’s going on?” Once she was fully in the room, she had a complete view of the communicator with Stitch’s face on it. “Stitch?” She snatched the device out of her sister’s hands getting an embarrassed wave from him on the monitor. “I ask you to spend some time apart and you completely disobey me?”

Shutting down the device without giving Lilo a chance to say good-bye she looked to Lilo, awaiting for an explanation.

“We didn’t disobey you!”

“No? Then what do you call this?” She referred to the communicator she was shaking in the air. “This seems like a pretty blatant disregard for what I said. Where did you even get this? Did Pleakley give this to you? Honestly, can you not just do one thing I ask?”

“Pleakley didn’t do anything!” Lilo shouted. “Reuben gave it to me when Stitch was sick. We’ve only been talking a little. We haven’t….” She took a deep breath, considering her next words carefully. “He hasn't been here or anything. Isn’t that enough for you? To keep us apart?”

“Ugh.” Nani threw the communicator into her pocket. “That isn’t being apart, Lilo. You just don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand? You don’t understand!” The yells could be heard clear throughout the house. “Stitch and I will never be anything but in love. We can’t be. I’ve already told you this. Whatever it is you expect to happen by separating us won’t. All you’re doing is making this harder and worse.”

“Fine then,” Nani spat. “It’ll be harder. No seeing him. No communicator. And now you’re grounded except for school.”

Lilo’s eyes shot wide open. “What?”

“Yeah, Lilo. If you even set one foot on that road, so help me-”

Lilo didn’t wait for Nani to finish. She stomped over to the elevator and let it take her downstairs. The moment it stopped moving she ran as fast as she could out of the house. Unable to go anywhere she hid up in her tree house. A place she hadn’t visited for a while. The last time she was there was with Stitch.

Nani stood in place. Lilo had never left like that before. She felt a small hole slowing grow in the pit of her stomach. Is this really how this is going to end up? Giving a sad sigh she looked around the room. All the years were clearly visible on the shelves and walls. It was even painful to see that Stitch’s cot had been packed up. She took a seat on Lilo’s bed while wondering just where all the time went, and how she and Lilo had grown so far apart. Maybe I’m the one that’s wrong.

Unable to stand it any longer she made her way downstairs. Neither Jumba nor Pleakley would look her in the eye. David tried to give her a sympathetic smile but even she could tell he was just trying to make her feel better. It felt like everything in the world was against her. To top it off the food she was cooking on the stove started to burn.

That does it. Stitch had heard every word. When Nani thought she turned off the communicator she only accidentally switched it to sound. He couldn’t see what was happening, and at some point it all became muffled. One thing was clear though, things weren’t going the way they wanted. If this keeps up Lilo and I will never see each other.

Ava and Monty came into the room to bring Stitch out for breakfast. The moment they saw him, they instantly noticed the sad look on his face and rushed to his side.

“Is something wrong, Uncle Stitch?” Ava asked. “Why do you look all sad?”

“Isa nothing,” Stitch said. “It just looks like meega won’t be able to go home anytime soon.”

“You can stay with us though…” offered Monty. “There’s food in the kitchen if that’ll help.”

“Daddy says that food always helps when you’re feeling sad. But mama says it’s bad to eat too much.” Ava leaned in close and whispered into Stitch’s ear. “So we just sneak extra snacks into our room when she isn’t looking.

“Takka, kids.” Stitch finally smile and even managed to laugh a little. “I think some food is just what Uncle Stitch needs. I’ll race yuuga.”

The children’s eyes lit up. Before Stitch even had a chance to move the kids were already out the door. He knew he couldn’t let this get him down. He just told Lilo last night that they would never truly be apart. All this meant was that he would need to move ahead with his plan. That meant giving another call out to Cobra as soon as he could. He just hoped that the council said 'yes' despite his lack of details.

Light years away, on planet Turo, the Grand Council was near completing another meeting. All the members of the council sat around a large oval table in a brightly lit room.

“Thank you for your report, Councilmen Chuyong.” The Grand Councilwoman said with a slight bow to the small gelatinous alien. “Before we conclude does anyone have any closing statements?”

“I do,” Cobra Bubbles announced, taking a stand.

The Grand Councilwoman raised an eyebrow at him. “Very well, Councilmen Bubbles. I hope this is not about experiment six-two-six’s request again. You’ve brought it up for discussion at every meeting this week.”

“Unfortunately it is.”

A chorus of groans erupted from the few other members. Aside from the Grand Councilwoman, there were five members on the Council. Cobra took over when an old member went into retirement. Since he came on only one other member had been replaced. The new ‘young blood,’ as they are referred to behind closed doors, had a tendency to get under the skin of the other current members.

“Very well,” The Grand Councilwoman declared, silencing the other members. “You may proceed.”

“Thank you.” He looked around at his fellow councilmen, taking a deep breath. You better have a good reason for this. “I would like to bring back the request of experiment six-two-six, also known as Stitch of Earth. He requests permission to take some land in the designated zone that has been bought on the island of Kaua’I for the experiments. As known, before any land is given, a formal request must be given and then authorized by the Grand Council.”

“We are all well aware of the request, Councilmen Bubbles,” stated a small shark like alien.

“We have already denied it,” continued Councilmen Chuyong. “As it stands, having you put in the request is not proper procedure. If experiment six-two-six wishes to continue he must submit the paperwork.”

“I realize this,” Cobra interrupted. “And as I have already stated, I informed him of that. Still, he wishes to make the request.”

“I think you are too biased,” squeaked a small rat like alien. His beady red eyes nearly glowed with hate towards the tall man. “We all know you’re connection with the experiments. Just because you are on the council does not mean he can have a free ride through the system. We are-“

“All about rules. I know.” He gave a sigh. “I am sure there is a reason for the break in procedure. Neither he nor Lilo have ever asked us to break a rule in their favor.”

“Perhaps not. But they have caused a lot of trouble themselves. Need I remind you that he is an illegal genetic experiment?”

“Who has saved us on numerous occasions, Zalgar, and has showed no signs of turning evil!” Cobra slammed his fist down causing all the paper work to lift. He retracted and quickly gave an apology. “ I realize I may be biased towards them. However, it is not without reason. Lilo is ambassador of Earth, and Stitch has helped us more than we can ever thank him for. He has come to us to ask something for himself for the first time. I do not see any issue with indulging him in this one occasion.”

“I know of everything the two have done. They never cease to impress me.” The Grand Councilwoman waved down the obvious unrest in a few of the councilmen, especially in Zalgar. “I wish I could do something for him. But in this case I have no idea as to what he may be planning. If experiment six-two-six wishes to continue he must do things correctly. If there are any problems he can report to me directly. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal.”

Cobra spotted the smug look on the rat like alien’s face. It gave him an odd feeling and set off alarms in his old CIA instincts. However there was little he could do, and even less to suspect. To be on the Grand Council meant a great many things. One was that there was no previous record of criminal activity. Not only that, but you were nearly watched at every moment for your protection. If he was up to something, it would have been stopped already. Instead he had to take this as his complete defeat.

He then later told Stitch of his denied request. It was clearly heartbreaking for him, but he was still reluctant to reveal any more information.

“So meega need to do this the hard way?” Stitch asked over the communicator.

“I’m sorry. I did everything I could for you. It seemed like the Grand Councilwoman would have been less reluctant if she had known why you are asking this of us.”

“Meega can’t. Not yet.”

“Very well.” Cobra removed his glasses, placing them on his desk. “You’re not in any trouble are you? Everything’s okay?”

“Ih. Everything’s fine,” Stitch said a little too quickly. “Meega better get going. If meega need to do this right I’m gonna need Lilo’s Ambassador Seal for the forms.”

Without any more said, Stitch terminated the communication. Cobra stared at the blank screen for a few moments, considering his old friends odd behavior. Something is definitely up. I just hope those two don’t get in any more trouble. There’s not much I can do for them from up here.

Chapter Text

Lilo lost track of the number of days since she met up with Stitch. She knew no contact with him was going to be difficult. How difficult it turned out to be though, she could never be prepared for. His laugh, his smile, his warmth, his scent, his taste. It took everything in her power to not rush to his side. Knowing exactly where he was made it even harder. Even if he wasn’t at Reuben and Angel’s she could always follow her ring to him. At this point she didn’t even care what Nani thought. She just needed her Stitch.

After Nani grounded her Lilo spent all of her time in either her room or her tree house. For over a week she didn’t speak once to her sister. As time went on she felt more and more sad. Wishing to go back to the time that they were all a happy family. The mood in the house had changed once again. Without Stitch the life in the house died down considerably. With Lilo upset it changed to a far worse place. Everyone in the family could feel it. Pleakley wasn’t as energetic, Jumba hadn’t announced any new inventions, and even David wasn’t as cheerful anymore. Nani was able to see what was going on around her and she wondered if she was taking the right path.

Look after Lilo.

Take care of Lilo.

Make sure Lilo is okay.

Lilo is your responsibility.

Ever since Lilo was born Nani had been told to look after her little sister. In actuality, they all took care of each other. They needed each other and they were the closest that a family could be. It wasn’t until after their parent’s accident that the words really took hold of her life. With her mother and father gone Lilo was all she had left and she was all that Lilo had. It wasn’t until a little over a year later that they had adopted Stitch and suddenly they had a whole new family. In that time though, and all the years to come, taking care of Lilo was her number one priority.

There were moments when Nani would look at herself in the mirror and she could almost see her mother standing behind her wishing her the best. Every single day her mother would do the best she could to take care of her. Nani may not have agreed with her methods all the time, but she saw her mother as someone who would always watch out for her. It wasn’t until after her death that she really understood what her mother had done.

Lilo never got to have that mother. The mother that she knew. She had to be Lilo’s sister, but she also needed to take her mother’s place in Lilo’s life. That is why she would always watch out for her, and always do what would be best for Lilo. That is why she could not back down in this. Lilo is my responsibility. I will do what is best for her. What is best is someone nice and normal. A nice normal boy. Right?... Mom…?

She told herself this over and over again. Looking at her family, the one thing she was told was the most important thing at all times. Looking at them, she wondered if she was still doing what was best for Lilo. Or if there was something more behind it.

Okay. I’m here. Now what? Lilo asked herself with note in hand. It was the first day of school, and she was less than excited to be back. She loved school, but with everything going on it wasn’t as welcomed as usual. Standing under the windows to the photography club room she waited, just like she was asked. I feel a little silly.

When she had awoken that morning, she found a note taped to the outside of her bedroom window. If that hadn’t been strange enough her name was written on it in Stitch’s handwriting. The whole note had been in his handwriting actually, and she could even smell slight traces of his fur on it as well as something else she couldn’t quite place. Wondering if she misunderstood she read it one more time.

“Dear, Lilo. Meet me before school today. I’ll be there at eight, and wait until eight thirty. If you can’t make it I’ll be there every day at that time from now on until I see you again.”

Checking the time she could see that it was actually eight fifteen now. Forty five minutes until school started. So far Stitch had been on board with trying to get Nani on their side. Why he would suddenly break that to see her was a mystery.

Just when she thought the note might be a fake she felt the same feeling she did at the camp out a week ago.

“Stitch!” she yelled. She didn't even give him time to come out of the trees entirely before getting tackled into a hug. “It really was you.”

“Meega take it you got my note,” he said with a laugh while returning her hug in full.

“Yes. Why didn’t you stay though? If you were going to leave a note why not just stay?”

“Actually,” Stitch became slightly bashful, “meega had Reuben leave the note. If meega had come… I probably couldn’t have left.”

“Awe, I wouldn’t have minded.” Lilo grabbed his face and pulled him into the kiss. She reveled in the feeling of his smooth lips against hers and his warm fur in her hands. Finally, she was able to let herself go. Enjoy the one thing in life she could always count on.

Stitch held her tight. For a week he couldn’t hear the sweet ringing of her voice, or smell the familiar strawberry and coconut in her hair. Everything about her drew him in. He knew they were short on time, knew there were many things they would need to talk about. Yet none of it mattered the moment he saw her. He could not help but indulge in what he had wished for so long.

“Lilo. Lilo,” he at last said between her kisses and pets along his back. “We naga have a lot of time.”

“We have all the time in the world.” She didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. “I can’t go back without you. It’s not the same without you. Nothing is.” She stopped. Stitch could feel her tremble slightly in his grasp. “I don’t care about our family if it doesn’t have you in it.”

She was lying. She cared about her family deeply. They both knew that that would never change.

“Yuuga don’t mean that,” Stitch said, petting the back of her head.

“I know I don’t.” She paused. “But I really can’t go back. It’s not the same place anymore.”

Stitch took a deep breath. This is it. “Then let’s be together.”

“Huh?”

“Meega need you to sign this.”

Lilo noticed the papers Stitch had dropped when she tackled him. Picking them up, she quickly scanned over what he had brought. “Stitch. These are?”

“Ih,” he said with a nod but sadness in his voice. “A request to the Grand Council to build a house in the land for the cousins.”

While the land had been bought out by the United Galactic Federation, before any structure could be built on the land an official request had to be put through the Grand Council for approval. There was never a time a request had been denied as long as everything was in order. After the request is approved it was then sent to their contacts on Earth to then be put through the proper legal channels to then start building. This was the agreement made between the humans and the aliens to make sure that the experiments could be safe in their new home. Keeping both sides happy, and the ‘ohana safe intact.��

“Request information. Building type.” Lilo started going over all the parts that had been filled out. “Land specified. Experiment it’s for. You kind of kept the reason a little vague.” she laughed while continuing to go over the forms. “It looks like you’ve got everything.”

“Naga everything. Meega still need your signature,” he said, pointing at the blank line for the Ambassador to sign. “Then we can start building our own home.”

“Our… Oh Stitch,” she hugged him again. “You planned all of this out?”

“Meega couldn’t be without you anymore. I want nothing more than to be back home with yuuga and our family…” He let out a sad sigh that Lilo felt resonate within her. “But it naga look like that will happen any time soon.”

“If ever.”

They both looked to the ground.

“Ih…”

“So all I need to do is sign this, huh?” she motioned to the papers in her hand.

“Meega hope we don’t need it. Just in case things don’t work out.”

“I understand. I want to do this too. I can’t be away from you any more either.”

Lilo pulled a pen out of her school bag and quickly signed the paper work. All they would need is to get it approved and then they would be able to build their very own house. She then checked the time and saw that there wasn’t much left until school would be starting. Soon the classes would start filling and their hiding spot wouldn’t be so hidden anymore.

Stitch looked deep into her eyes, wishing to get lost in them like he always used to. Their sweetness captivated him, letting him go over and memorize each and every detail of her face. From each hair over her brow, to the slight cracks in her lips. Lilo could feel his gaze on her like he was devouring her very being. She too was drawn to him feeling chills from a slight breeze that surrounded them. Soon, they shared a kiss. Not one filled with passion but of sweet and tender love. Stitch cupped her cheek in his hand holding her in place, not willing to let go until it was absolutely necessary.

Finally, they heard doors beginning to open nearby coupled with the rushing pitter-patter of feet.

“Yuuga better get going,” Stitch said reluctantly and sadly breaking their connection.

“I can’t go without you again.”

“Meega be here for you. Before and after school. Every day. Meega won’t leave you. Okay?”

“Okay.” She smiled, treasuring the fact that he still remembered that after all of these years.

Stitch ran off and left Lilo to go to school. Neither of them noticed that they had been seen in their secret embrace.

Daniel was running late. He ended up oversleeping and almost missed his bus. Before class started he wanted to stop in the photography club room and pick up the photos he had left to dry from the previous week. Even though club activities were put on hold until after school started, Mr. Kawea continued to let him use the dark room.

He burst through the door suddenly and without warning completely hitting someone and knocking them over.

“Ouch!” the familiar voice yelled out in pain. “Well that was a nice hello.”

He to see Kel helping her brother up off the floor. He was rubbing the back of his head and it looked like a rather large bump was already starting to form.

“Jeez,” Kel said to the side. “We decide to help him and look at what we get.”

“Yeah. A bump on the head.”

“Oh, man.” Daniel rushed to Kea’s side to make sure he was okay. “I am so sorry. I was in such a rush, I had no idea you were behind the door.”

“There is a window on it you know,” Kea reminded him, driving the guilt in just a little deeper.

“That’s enough teasing now,” his sister said, “you know you can’t see through those dumb frosted windows. Well, not until we’re done with them.”

Daniel was going to pretend he didn’t hear what they just said. As much as he liked the twins, he didn’t want to get involved in any of their pranks. What he did hear was Kel’s reminder for what they did for him.

“Thanks again you two. You really didn’t have to help me.”

“Of course we didn’t,” Kel said as she sat on a nearby desk. “But where would the fun be in that? I imagine you were able to do what you wanted?”

“No.” Daniel looked away slightly ashamed of himself. “In the end I think I just hurt her feelings.”

“What?” Kea exclaimed. “We help you get some alone time with Lilo and you go and blow it?”

Daniel gritted his teeth. He really did end up blowing it. He tried to make her feel better but just ended up making things worse. Not only that, but he felt bad about the whole rouse in general. He just wanted nothing more than to get to spend a little time alone with Lilo.

“Don’t be mean, Kea,” Kel said before punching her brother in the arm. “Besides Daniel, you probably shouldn’t get too attached to Lilo.”

“What? Why?”

Kea looked to his sister, sharing a small glint in their eyes. “No particular reason, just some friendly advice,” he said vaguely. “Then again-“

Kel jumped down from the desk. “It could be interesting to see where this goes.” She finished for her brother as they walked in unison out of the room.

They both gave a little chuckle that sent chills down Daniel’s spine. It always seemed like they knew something he didn’t. What threw him off the most though was what they told him. Why shouldn’t I get attached to her? He completely forgot about grabbing his photos, stuck in thought about what they had said. It’s just like what Click had said.

The day after the camp out he was beating himself up about chickening out at the last second. He didn’t know why he didn’t tell her his real feelings, but it ate at him to be so cowardly towards her again. Over and over he found himself stuck doing it, and he hated it. When Click had noticed his friend’s mood, he confronted him about it out of worry.

“It’s nothing Click. Really,” Daniel said, continuing to stare at his computer monitor blankly.

“Meega nota yuuga better than that, Daniel.” Click wasn’t going to just leave Daniel in his mopey mood. “Now tell meega gaba bothering yuuga. Did something happen last night?”

Daniel spun around in his chair for a moment. He hadn’t told anyone about his feelings for Lilo before. Not even Click. Though he figured if there was anyone he could trust it would be his best friend in the whole world.

“Alright.” Daniel slammed his feet down to stop spinning before facing Click. He rested on his knees to get closer to Click’s level and talk in a more hushed tone. “I haven’t told anyone this. So you need to promise not to speak a word of it to anybody. Not even Monochrome.”

“Meega promise.” The small experiment raised his hand and made an ‘x’ across his heart.

“Okay.” Daniel playfully looked around his room making sure no one was around to hear him. “I like Lilo. A lot. A lot a lot. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.”

Click’s eyes went wide as his blood went cold. “O-oh?” This is bad. This is very, very bad. “Y-yuuga naga tell her. Did yuuga?”

“No.” He spun in his chair again. “I tried to last night. But I chickened out at the last second.”

Phew. Click sighed in relief while Daniel continued going on about how amazing Lilo was. Poor guy. There’s no way for her to return your feelings.

“She’s super caring and pretty.”

She loves Stitch. Connected to him forever, that can’t change.

“Not to mention she loves animals. And you guys. Heck, she’s the reason we’re friends. And she loves photography! I’ve never met someone who loves it as much as me before.” He leaned back, picturing her smile in the light of the campfire.

Oh Daniel. This isn’t good.

“I just don’t get why I couldn’t tell her.”

“Maybe isa for the best.” Click said almost immediately before quickly backtracking at the questioning frown from his friend. “Meega mean. If yuuga naga able to tell Lilo, maybe there isa a reason for it. Maybe yuuga should naga like Lilo.”

Daniel was hurt by the comment. Never in his life did he expect Click to be against him in something. “I can’t not like her, Click. I already like her. I can’t just stop like that.” He said with a snap of his fingers.

“Meega nota. Meega just think isa mean something that yuuga naga able to tell her isa all.”

Click’s words stuck with him. Daniel stood in the empty classroom, thinking over things. It felt like everyone was keeping something big from him. Click, Kea, Kel, and most importantly Lilo. Lilo had the most secrets of all. There was a lot he knew she wasn’t telling him. Especially after the day they spent together. Despite what Click and the twins said, he couldn’t just stop having feelings for Lilo. I like her. And that’s how it’s going to stay.

The boy’s thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sound of the school bell ringing. With a new fire in his heart he headed to class, forgetting the photos. Something was going on around him and he was dead set on finding out what it was. I’ll prove them wrong. Giving up these feelings would be wrong. His mind wandered to Lilo one more time. She feels the same way. We have so much in common. She just has too. I just need to work up the courage to tell her how I feel.

Chapter Text

Stitch stayed true to his word. Every single day he was there waiting for Lilo before and after school. Outside of the house and their few friends, no one knew that they weren’t supposed to be spending time together. It gave them complete liberation. It was almost like it was before everything bad had happened. No longer was Lilo late for school and Nani noticed her sister leaving earlier and earlier. She thought that Lilo finally understood that school work was important, and was happy that she was taking it seriously.

She had no idea that it was because Stitch would always be there waiting for his Lilo to return. They were planning on keeping it that way.

Jumba was first to notice Lilo’s change in mood. He had been worried about Stitch since he had left but, in fear of Nani, couldn’t do anything. He took Lilo’s clearer happiness as a sign that something good had happened, and he wondered what it was that made the change. From his understandings any time apart for those that were connected should be heartbreaking. It could only mean that they were spending time together, but he knew Lilo would not go against her older sister like that. He planned on confronting Lilo as soon as he could.

Unfortunately, due to waiting through legal processes Stitch’s request for a house had taken a while to get through to the Grand Council. Cobra Bubbles was the first to get his hands on it, seeing as Earth was within his district of council.

“This is.” He gritted his teeth and threw the papers onto his desk. Rubbing his eye’s he pressed a button on his keyboard. “Computer, please call the last device experiment six-two-six contacted me on.”

“Very well, Councilman Bubbles,” the computer replied.

He waited for several minutes without answer. However, he was not going to give up. He needed clarification before he brought this request to the Council meeting. Most of the councilmen were already annoyed by his insistence with Stitch’s request last time. If he brought this to the meeting he’d be eaten alive. Especially by Zalgar.

Finally. Stitch’s voice emanated from the computer monitor.

“Batookah, Bubbles.” Stitch could see the furrowed brow of the large man. “Yuuga got my request.”

“Yes I did,” he said, enunciating each and every word. “Mind explaining this to me?”

“Everything should be there.” Stitch made sure countless times that he didn’t miss anything.

“Yes. I can see that. Can you tell me why you suddenly need a house?” Cobra didn’t receive any answer. Stitch’s silence told him something was wrong, and it wouldn’t be easy to get it out of him. “Need I remind you that each and every one of Doctor Jumba Jookiba’s experiments has its very own ‘one true place’?”

Stitch shook his head.

“And upon agreement with the Grand Councilwoman the experiments, your cousins, were not disposed of and Earth was not evacuated. All because you and Lilo declared to catch each one and find its ‘one true place.’”

Stitch nodded, still keeping silent.

“Now please tell me. As experiment six-two-six, where is your ‘one true place’?”

Stitch paused for a moment. He had expected this when he sent in the request. It was why he wanted to skip that and had hoped Cobra would be able to just get the request through without explanation. “Meega’s place is with Lilo,” He said. He was fully aware what his old friend was getting at.

“Exactly. This isn’t a request for ‘a house to live in.’ as you put it. This is requesting to leave your ‘one true place.’ The council is going to see that, and they are not going to be happy.”

“They let meega leave to pilot the BRB,” Stitch reminded him.

“That exception was made in the interest of the United Galactic Federation. It was you who decided to leave that to go back home. Remember?” Cobra sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “The deal was for your cousins to be at the ‘one true place they belong.’ That land was bought for the ones who couldn’t live in those places. But your place has a home.”

There was a silence between the two so thick it could be cut with a knife. Stitch could see Cobra wasn’t going to back down, but he couldn’t either.

“Look. Meega know you’re mad.”

“I’m not mad,” Cobra interrupted with a near yell. “I’m worried about you. Clearly there is something going on that you’re not telling me. Which isn’t unusual for you, but in a case like this it’d be easier just to tell me.”

“Meega can’t do that.” He paused. “Meega just can’t. Naga yet. Yuuga have the papers. Lilo signed them. She’s okay with this.”

“I see that.” Cobra felt sad and a little defeated. Once again something was going on with Lilo and Stitch and he was completely unable to help. As well, it seemed they didn’t trust him enough to tell him about it.

“Will yuuga put it through?”

“… I have been given an official request with the signature of the Ambassador of Earth. It would be near treasonous not to.”

“Takka.” Stitch was about to end the communication when Cobra stopped him.

“You’re sure about this? It’s a big step. And it’ll take a lot of deliberation.”

“To be honest…” Stitch began letting his sadness finally show. It hurt cobra to see Stitch make a face like that. Never before had he seen him look so lost and defeated. “Meega don’t want to. But for now meega have to.”

Cobra gave a slight nod and sat back as the call was ended. What am I going to do?

As Stitch ended his conversation with Cobra he turned to look at the room Angel and Reuben had been letting him use. It didn’t feel like home, but it was comforting all the same. Without warning, the door opened, and Lilo stepped through.

“Soka.” Stitch apologized for how long the call had lasted. “It was just-“

“I know,” Lilo said. “I heard everything.”

“Did the others?”

“No. They’re waiting outside.” Stitch looked down at the device in his hand with great sorrow. Lilo walked over to him, took his hand into hers and placed it over her heart. “It’s going to be okay. I know it’s hard. I don’t like it either.” She could see that her pep talk wasn’t having much affect. Taking the communicator out of his hand she threw it onto the bed. “Come on. There’s no better cure for a sour face than a couple of boards and some choice waves.”

Smirking at the familiar words he let her lead him out to the buggy where the others were waiting. Angel and Reuben figured that their kids were old enough, so they were all going to the beach as a family. Not getting to go out very often, Monty and Ava hand never seen the ocean, and they had been running around all day in anticipation. They finally had to settle down when Monty bumped the wall, nearly breaking all of the photos they had hung up. Now that they were all packed up and ready to go the kids could barely sit still in their seats. Almost every second one of them would ask if they were at the beach yet.

Unfortunately they had to pass a few beaches to get to their destination. In order to make sure Nani didn’t see them they decided to go to a beach on the opposite side of the island. That way they could enjoy their time without worry. After over a week without incident Nani decided to lift Lilo’s grounding. Lilo had said that she was going to spend the afternoon with Victoria, who agreed to be her alibi in favor of her friend getting to be with the one she loved.

“Alright, kid,.” Stitch said as he parked the buggy. “We’re here.”

Stitch didn’t even finish his sentence before the kids had jumped out. For a moment they worried about what they had let loose on the world as the two started running up and down the sandy shore. Reuben chased after them, yelling to be careful, as the other three got there things out of the back. A couple of surf boards, two of which were child size, and a basket that smelled full of sandwiches. All the while Angel saw the two constantly watching their backs out of the corner of her eye.

“If you two are going to constantly look over your shoulder then there’s no point in staying,” she said while putting her hands on her hips as she began tapping her foot waiting for an answer.

“Ih, but-“Stitch began to argue. They had every reason to be at least a little worried.

“She’s right, Stitch.” Lilo was the one to stop him. “We’re already out here. We might as well have fun.” She gave him a comforting smile, one that dissolved all the odd tingles on the back of his neck. He had an odd feeling like they were being followed, but Lilo was able to calm him as usual.

“Okie-taka. Yuuga win.”

“Good,” Angel replied with a smile. She was happy that she had won. With all the worry out of the way the three finally started setting up to enjoy the afternoon.

“Monty! Ava!” Reuben called after his kids. Where they got all their energy from he had no idea. They certainly didn’t get it from me. “Come on, kids. Slow down.”

At the heed of their dad the two finally stopped. When they did they finally got their first look at the ocean. Their eyes grew wide in amazement unable to comprehend the vastness of the waters. Large waves could be seen off in the distance,slowly making their way to the shore. As the water splashed the tide moved up to reach their little feet. Ava jumped back from the cold while the tide managed to pull Monty’s feet out from under him. He didn’t even say a word about sitting on the wet sand and Ava didn’t laugh at him. All they could see was the endless abyss that lay before them. Their first look at how big the world truly was.

“It’s huge,” Monty whispered. “You could fill like a hundred cups with all of it.”

“You’d need a lot more cups than that,” Ava said, slowly working her way to the cooler part of the sand.

“A thousand then.”

“Yeah. That sounds good.”

The smell caught up with them, and they crinkled their noses a bit at it. “It smells funny.”

“That’d be because it’s salt water.” Reuben made his way behind them, ruffling up the tops of their heads. “You’ll get used to it. But don’t drink it, ya hear? It’s filled with salt. You won’t like it.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Ava answered, but Monty didn’t.

His son was still too captivated by sight before him. Reuben smiled down at his two kids. Happy to see that they clearly enjoyed one of the best parts of their home. Wait until they get a load of outer space. He chuckled to himself.

Finally pulling them back to their family. They all took a seat on the blankets that Lilo and Stitch had laid out, and enjoyed a nice lunch together. The kids almost ate every sandwich on their own. Not listening to the warnings from their mom about eating too much. When they didn’t have their mouths filled to the brim with food they continually talked about the ocean that wasn’t too far away. They found it so mysterious and enticing, and had a lot of questions. All of which Lilo was happy to answer.

It was the first time the six of them got to act like a real family. It wasn’t long after Monty and Ava were born that things quickly took a turn for the worse. They had all these plans made up that they could do during the summer. And they didn’t get to do any of them in the end. They didn’t let the thought sour their mood though. They were able to do them now, albeit secretly. As always family is what mattered most.

“Okay, that’s enough food you two.” Angel announced as she closed up the basket that sat in front of her kids. “You ate enough for an army.”

“Not our fault!” Ava pouted.

“Yeah,” Monty agreed. “It’s dad’s! His sandwiches are so good we can’t help ourselves.”

Everyone burst out laughing at their declaration. When they put it that way it was certainly Reuben’s fault. Angel scolded him jokingly much to the delight of the children.

With food out of the way it was time to enjoy the beach for all it’s worth. Lilo and Stitch finally got to go surfing together. Lilo had snuck out his floaties from Jumba’s ship while he wasn’t looking so Stitch would be safe. The children took to surfing like pros, but they much preferred swimming free in the water. Meanwhile their parents kept a close watch on them the whole time from the beach. They hadn’t had much of a break themselves, and opted to sitting in the warm sand cuddling. It brought a smile to their faces to see their children out playing. And an even greater smile to see Lilo and Stitch off laughing in the distance. Once they had enough of the water they all decided to build sandcastles together. Ava was surprisingly adept at it, despite Monty’s troubles.

While the six of them were having fun. They didn’t notice the small white experiment watching them from the bushes. Gigi, while not being as good a tracker as Finder, was able to follow Stitch’s scent once she had caught a whiff of it. She had only meant to confront him about the odd things she had noticed. As soon as she saw the group she went to run up to them, but something held her back in hiding. After a short while,the children ran back to the water while Lilo and Stitch got up and walked back to the buggy holding hands. That wasn’t too peculiar to her, and she thought that that would be a good time to talk to them. Yet she still stayed hidden. It wasn’t until she noticed the two walk around the vehicle, out of sight of the small group that her heart began to race.

Lilo and Stitch shared a quick kiss while they were alone and Gigi saw the whole thing. She panicked. Getting more answers than she expected. She ran home as fast as her short legs could.

I didn’t see that.

I didn’t see that.

I’m imagining things.

They didn’t kiss.

I did not hide and watch them kiss.

Her mind was racing as fast as she was. Suddenly things were beginning to make sense. She still wasn’t sure how Lilo and Stitch could be affected by the same illness, but from what she saw, Stitch was in no way sick. The only conclusion she could come to was that Lilo and Stitch were in fact, boojiboo’s, and had been for many years now. It wasn’t until she had gotten back home that she finally stopped to truly think.

Bursting through the doggy door, she ran to her little bed in Mertle’s room. She still couldn’t get the thought of Lilo and Stitch out of her head.

Okay. She told herself. Stay calm. She walked on the soft cushion in circles a few times before lying down. A human and an alien experiment in love. That’s not a bad thing right? Not once had the thought of aliens and humans being together crossed her mind. To her, the two didn’t mix. Sure they could be friends. Mertle was a human and was her best friend in the world. But to be in love? She wasn’t sure what to think about it. One thing was clear to her though. I can’t just keep this to myself. But who can I tell?

“Mom?!” Mertle suddenly called out from downstairs. Gigi’s ears perked at the sound of her friend’s voice.

Back at the beach Lilo and Stitch had long returned to the sand castles. Ava and Monty had spent more time playing in the water. The fun and games seemed to be ending though as Ava came back to her parents crying with her tongue out. Monty was just on her heels, clearly looking scared.

“Sweetie?!” Angel rushed to her little girl. “Ava baby, what’s wrong?”

“Monty made me drink a bunch of water. It was all gross and now my tongue hurts.” Her words were garbled from her tongue sticking out of her mouth, but her message came across just fine.

“What do you mean he made you?” Reuben asked with his brow furrowed, turning towards his son.

“I didn’t do anything, I swear,” Monty pleaded. “She just did it on her own.”

“Liar!” Ava called out, still in tears. “You told me to do it and I couldn’t stop myself. You made me drink the water!”

Chapter Text

Everyone looked in shock at Monty. He nervously glanced between them, not sure what he should do. He really had no idea what Ava was talking about. Sure, he had told her to give the water a taste, but he didn’t make her do it. She just did it on her own. How was he supposed to know what was going to happen?

“She’s…she’s lying,” he continued to plead. “I-I didn’t do anything. She just did it on her own. I don’t want to be in trouble.”

“Gah.” Reuben rubbed at his head. “What are we supposed to do?” He looked at Angel, hoping she would have an answer. Unfortunately he didn’t find one.

“I don’t know,” she said, looking down at her little girl who was still crying.

“I don’t feel good, Mommy,” she squeaked.

Until now they never had to deal with something like this. Normally they caused mischief together, or it was clear what had happened. In this case both kids were pointing fingers at each other, and without Fibber around there was no way to tell who was lying.

Reuben got down on one knee and placed a hand on Monty’s shoulder. He looked into his son’s eyes, seeing that he was actually terrified. “You’re sure you didn’t do anything?”

“I’m sure.” He nodded. “I was just saying it as a joke. I didn’t… there’s no way I could have…what’s happening?”

After a few moments of worried silence Lilo thought she might have figured it out. “Has there been any other times where odd things happen when Monty says something.”

“I don’t know,” Angel replied, “have you noticed anything, Reuben?”

“Geez, I-“

“Ih.” Stitch suddenly interrupted. “Meega noticed it a couple of times now. Monty will tell someone to do, or naga do something and they will. Isa normally only for a second. Isa never been something like this though.”

“Is something happening to me?” The young child suddenly asked, eyes even wider than before.

“It couldn’t be?” Angel asked no one in particular.

“Nothing’s wrong with you, kiddo,” Reuben said before giving him a hug. “It looks like you just got some more of your mother in you than we thought.”

Monty was confused. He looked to his mom, wondering what they meant by that. Angel and Reuben explained to their kids how all of the cousins had different abilities. Some more drastic than others. They were shocked to find out that their mother was able to turn people evil with just a simple song. So many times she had sung them lullabies to get them to fall asleep, they didn’t know something like turning people evil was even possible.

“My guess is that Monty’s voice has the power of suggestion.” Lilo then offered to have Jumba look into it. All she needed was some DNA from Monty to have analyzed.

With that out of the way, Reuben told his son there was something he needed to do. Monty then shuffled over to his sister and ground his foot into the sand.

“I’m sorry, Ava,” he apologized in earnest. “I didn’t know what would happen. I didn’t want you to drink the water, I was just fooling around. Can you forgive me?”

Ava sniffled as she was pushed forward by her mother. She looked at her brother and could see that he really was sorry. She still felt sick from the water, but she couldn’t hold it against him. “It’s okay… You didn’t know.” Monty smiled until Ava continued. “But in return I get your deserts for a whole week!”

Monty was about to argue but Lilo stopped him.

“I think that’s fair,” She announced, making everyone but Monty burst out laughing.

It was a truly powerful gift that Monty had been given. One that he would need to learn to control. If he wasn’t careful, he could cause far worse things to happen than just make his sister drink some gross ocean water. However he could also do some amazing things.

After their eventful time at the beach, Lilo eventually had to say good-bye to Stitch yet again. Reuben, Angel, Monty, and Ava moved into the house to give them some time to talk alone. The kids watched the couple from the window, quickly running to their room when they saw it was starting to get too lovey dovey for them. Eventually they heard the door open and saw Stitch walk sadly to his room. Monty ran to the door and looked up and down the hall before closing it.

“Secret meeting time,” he said, to which Ava nodded.

Monty pushed a chair up against the doorknob so that no one could open the door. While Ava propped their bunk bed up on some books to make it into a lean-to. Afterwards she pulled the covers down to cover the open side. After crawling in, she waited for her brother to turn off the light and join her. Another thing they inherited from their father was the ability to see in all different types of light, just like Stitch. They kept this a secret from their parents, thinking it could help them get away with a few things in the future.

“Uncle Stitch is still really sad,” Monty said once he got comfortable on his stomach.

“It’s because he can’t be home with Auntie Lilo.”

“Why can’t he go?”

They were careful to talk as quietly as they could. While the house was built to be really silent, Reuben and Stitch had really good hearing. One thing was for sure, they didn’t want anyone to know about their secret meetings.

“I don’t know,” Ava said with a furrowed brow. “I hear Mommy, Daddy, and Uncle Stitch talking about Auntie Lilo’s sister sometimes.”

“You think she’s not letting him come home?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. We’re just kids, they won’t talk to us about it.”

They both sighed. Sad that they couldn’t do anything to help. After some further discussion, Monty suddenly had a brilliant idea.

“Wait.” He interrupted his sister mid-sentence. She pouted and was about to argue, but Monty stopped her again. “If it’s because Auntie Lilo’s sister then all we need to do is make her let Stitch go back home.”

“How are we going to…?” Ava’s eyes grew wide as she quickly understood where Monty was going with this. “Wait, you-“

“I can make people do things.” Monty was filled with excitement. Both he and his sister’s eyes lit up at the idea. “I just need to practice my ability. Then I can tell Nani to let Uncle Stitch go home and everyone will be happy. We can’t let anyone know though.”

“Right,” Ava agreed. “We’ll keep it just between us.”

Filled with nothing but excitement and mischief, the two began plotting out their plan. But before they could start anything, Monty first had to learn how to use his voice. Yet even the idea of that seemed like nothing but fun to them. All they needed was someone to practice on.

Before Lilo went home, she made a quick stop at Jumba’s ship. Taking a quick look to see if Nani was home she saw that her car was nowhere to be seen. Good. I still have time. After Nani had kicked Stitch out she had moved all of his stuff out of the house. Pictures were still around and a lot of mementos were still in Lilo’s room. But anything that Lilo didn’t have nailed down was gone. That included all of his clothing.

It had never been thrown out, since the idea was that Stitch would come back when Nani decided it was okay. Which at the rate it was going Lilo and Stitch figured would never happen. So all of his things were tucked away in Jumba’s ship. Nani had hidden them thinking that Lilo would never find them. However, she didn’t count on Lilo being able to follow Stitch’s scent right to the clothing.

Lilo giggled at how easy it was to find. There it is. Lilo thought as she saw the small hidden panel in one of the spare rooms. A simple storage spot that was just big enough to fit a suitcase. She sighed when she opened the case of Stitch’s belongings. All packed up like he’s gone or something. Putting the floaties she had taken back in the hiding spot she jumped at the sound of a cough coming from behind her.

“Good evening, little girl,” Jumba said as Lilo slowly turned around, revealing the floaties that she was just putting back. “I am taking it that you have been seeing Stitch.”

“Jumba!” Lilo was completely surprised to see him. “I was just… How did you? I didn’t hear-“

“New shoes.” He interrupted, pointing at his feet proudly. “They keep me completely silent. Just made them this morning.” Lilo eyed the inventions oddly. They looked rather uncomfortable and had a lot of blinking lights. While it kept him silent, it wouldn’t do anything for sneaking in the dark. “You know, Lilo. I should be telling Nani about you breaking the rules to see Stitch.”

“I wasn’t seeing Stitch.” Lilo laughed him off, though his raised brow said he knew better than that. “Okay. I spent the afternoon with Stitch. Please don’t tell Nani.”

“I am being sorry.” Jumba said, turning around. “But I have been given strict instruction that if you are to be breaking the rules that I must be with the telling immediately.”

Lilo watched in horror as Jumba began walking away. She couldn’t believe he would be the one to rat her out. What did Nani do to them to scare them so bad? If her sister were to find out she would be in more trouble than she ever had.

“Wait!” Lilo shouted, quickly moving in front of the large alien. She knew she was stronger than him, could easily out power him in her sleep. That however was the last thing she wanted to do. “You could go tell Nani what I did,” She began slyly. “Or. You could go analyze this.”

Lilo pulled out the vial that was given to her before leaving Angel and Reuben’s. Inside contained a few tufts of hair from Monty. Not much, but enough to analyze and see how his development was going. Specifically with any abilities he may have developed.

“And what is this?” Jumba asked eyeing the vial that Lilo slowly waved in front of him.

“It’s some hair from Monty.” She stated, pulling it away from his hands that slowly drifted towards the vial. “It seems he’s developing some interesting abilities. We thought you might be interested in looking into it.” He stepped forward, clearly wanting to study the happenings of his experiments offspring. “But.” Lilo pulled it away completely just as he was about to clasp his hands on the vial. “If you would rather go tell Nani what I did, I understand.”

“What?”

“Yeah.” Lilo began walking away. Forgetting to put back the suitcase she had pulled from the hiding spot. “I’ll just let them know that you weren’t interested. I mean. Listening to Nani is so much more important that looking into this after all. We totally get that.”

Jumba’s eyes darted back and forth as he weighed the possibilities. He had so little chance to invent and experiment that any little opportunity would feel astounding. At the same time, if Nani found out he hid this from her. I’d rather go back to prison… Despite the fear the scientist inside of him could not be silenced.

“Hold on!”

Lilo gave a small sigh in relief. She wasn’t sure if he would take the bait but was glad that he did. “Yes?”

“I am supposing, that big Earth girl doesn’t entirely need to know.” Jumba began negotiating much to Lilo’s joy. “I mean. Perhaps I did not see anything, I was too busy with some work that had suddenly popped up.”

“Completely understandable.” Lilo said as she handed over the vial. A small glint appeared in his eye as he held what would soon to be a great advancement in his research on his experiments. Lilo smiled while dropping their façade. She whispered thank you before giving him a kiss on the cheek and running off.

Jumba watched as she ran down the hall. All he could see was the little girl she once was in her place. Where did all the time go? He couldn’t believe how much she had grown and changed. Yet she somehow still kept her bright cheerfulness even when things seemed lost. It was heartwarming and he hoped that all the trouble between her and Nani would soon pass.

“But first,” Jumba laughed to himself while looking closely at the vial in his hand. “Let’s see what secrets you are hiding.”

Meanwhile, Gigi was trying to sort things out in her mind. It was late, she was outside late. It had already grown dark but that wasn’t the issue. The moment Mertle had gotten home she almost spilled what she had seen Lilo and Stitch do. She had to tell someone, but to tell Mertle would only cause more problems. She knew that all too well.

I hate keeping things from you, but I have to. For now. Please forgive me for being out after dark.

Not being one to keep secrets well she needed someone to tell. The only one she could turn to was her second closest friend in the world. Puddles.

Experiment zero-eight-seven, named by their owner, Puddles was a dog like experiment like Gigi. However he looked far more like an experiment than she did. Being only slightly larger than Gigi, and looking like a terrier with dark round eyes, his shaggy fur was a snow white colour with a few specks of pepper throughout and a small series of off white stripes going along his spine. His design was simple in nature. Jumping in rain puddles to make people wet. Another one of Jumba’s test batches, specifically testing for what would later become Cannonball. Although something had gone wrong. Only being meant to jump into puddles of water he ended up getting drawn to any small body of water. When created he nearly destroyed the lab by jumping on and into all the vials and bottles of liquid he could before being dehydrated by Jumba.

Upon activation on Kaua’I, he was quickly picked up by a dog catcher and left at the local pound. The workers were perplexed by why he would jump into all the bowls of water left for him to drink, and even more so by his odd looks. He was quickly adopted though. Faster than either Gantu or Lilo and Stitch could find him. His owner was a small Jamaican boy whose family had just moved to the island. Being an only child and needing a friend his parents took him to get a puppy. Jimar, who was nine at the time, instantly fell in love with Puddles and named him after his attraction to jump in them. He was surprised to say the least when Gantu showed to take away his dog. But with Jimar’s help, Lilo and Stitch quickly fended Gantu off. They soon explained to him about the existence of the experiments due to his insistence.

Gigi and Puddles first met when they were both being taken out for a walk. They instantly recognized each other from the Leroy battle and quickly started seeing each other everywhere. When their friends weren’t home they’d sneak off to play and hang out. With their one true place being as pets, they didn’t get to spend much time with the other cousins, but genuinely enjoyed the lives they had.

Puddles was surprised when a pebble hit Jimar’s bedroom window, but was even more surprised to see Gigi in the yard wagging her tail. Quietly sneaking out while his family had dinner, he and Gigi went for a walk around the block together.

It was hard for her to keep the news in. They chatted for a while about what happened since they last saw each other. It had sadly been weeks and Puddles had a lot to say. It sometimes felt like he was the only one that could talk as much as she could. His English was as good as hers, though he sometimes slurred his words out of excitement. From his slight accent it seemed that there might have been a little more Scottish terrier in him, despite Jumba not knowing about Earth before Stitch escaped. It was a mystery just like the bit of dog DNA being inside Stitch.

“I’m actually glad you stopped by, Gigi,” he said once they finished catching up. “There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

Gigi tried to keep the secret in just a little longer. She didn’t want to interrupt her friend, but she was finding it more and more difficult as time went on. Suddenly, she couldn’t stand it anymore.

“I saw Lilo and Stitch kissing,” she blurted, stunning the experiment.

Chapter Text

“You...what?” Puddles paused, trying to figure out exactly what Gigi had said. He thought he had heard that she saw Lilo and Stitch kissing. “Say that again. I think I misheard you.”

Gigi repeated it again, confirming that he had in fact heard her correctly. “That’s why I really needed to talk to you.”

“That’s why you came out here?”

“Yeah.” She didn’t pick up on the sadness in his voice. Instead, she began to explain what she had already figured out. About how Stitch had called Lilo his boojiboo years ago, and the things that Lilo had said to Myrtle. It was a lot to take in. Especially so suddenly.

“So you ran after you saw that?” he asked. “And you’re sure that they were actually kissing?”

“Positive.” Gigi announced. She was a little annoyed that he wouldn’t believe her. “I may have a big mouth and like to gossip, but I would never lie.”

“I know, I know.”

Suddenly he went tense and his eyes grew wide. Gigi knew what was coming and made a feeble attempt to stop him. Puddles dashed forward, covering the distance of a few yards in mere seconds. Taking a leap he landed into a patch of water that had formed on the sidewalk from an unattended sprinkler. Gigi trotted up beside him giggling at his display. While at times it could be annoying she still found it pretty cute. He always looked so happy when he found something to jump in and she wouldn’t take that away from him. Despite the fact that he always apologized afterwards.

“Sorry about that,” Puddles said in routine while still standing in the water. He had gotten used to it, but still felt bad when it happened.

“It’s okay.” She gently pushed against him with her head as she walked past. “I don’t mind.”

Puddles couldn’t help but smile. For a moment he just watched her walk, forgetting to go with her. Gigi could feel her heart race from nuzzling him. She didn’t mean to do it. It just happened. She hoped he didn’t mind but soon noticed he was no longer beside her. Looking back she called out to him, shaking him out of his trance. Not even taking another glance at the puddle he ran up beside and joined her back in their walk together.

They walked in an awkward silence, only the sounds of the island could be heard. It felt like they were suddenly filled by a million things, yet neither one really sure what to say next. There had been a few instances like this, but they always seemed to laugh them off. This time it persisted. Every so often they would glance at each other before looking away.

“So? What do you think?” Gigi finally asked, wanting the silence to end.

“W-w-what do I think?” he stuttered, thinking he meant about what was going on between them.

“Yeah. About Lilo and Stitch. I didn’t really know what to do and just sort of ended up running away.”

“Oh. About that.”

“What did you think I was asking about?” Gigi stopped again. She looked hopefully at him.

“Nothing.” Was his reply, much to her dismay. “I don’t know,” he continued. “A human and an experiment? Boojiboo’s? It seems odd to me. Whatever happened to Stitch and Angel?”

“I heard she left him for some reason. I wonder if this was that reason.”

“Probably.”

Puddles looked up at the stars. This was the first time they had taken a moonlit walk together. He looked down towards her, loving the way her long fur bounced as she walked. Figuring he would have to get back home soon, and knowing Gigi wasn’t supposed to be out after dark, he wanted to have a little more fun before they parted once again.

“Let’s go play!” he said before picking up the pace and began running towards the trees.

They always loved running through the forest. Doing it at night would be a brand new adventure for them though. Gigi happily joined, wanting to spend a little more time with him before having to go.

Over the next couple of days Daniel and Spectrum had tried their best to spend some time with Lilo and Stitch. However they were finding it more and more difficult to get a hold of them. Every single day before and after school, Lilo and Stitch would meet in secret. A newly forbidden love that they just couldn’t go without. Once again every day was magical. It felt like when they first fell in love all over again. Only with the added danger of getting in trouble if they were to be found out. The few times that Daniel or Spectrum did see their respective crush they were quickly brushed off, though were never told why.

Meanwhile Monty practiced his newfound ability as much as he could. It took a while, but soon he found exactly how to work his voice to get the desired effect. Although it meant hours of just trying to get Ava to raise her hand against her control. A few times he thought he had it only to then hear Ava giggling from doing it on purpose. Once he got control over it, he needed to know how far he could push it. He felt like he was getting stronger and stronger with each command. And he quickly promised never to use his powers on Ava again. They were partners and he could never do anything to hurt her again.

Deciding to start out small he tried to get him and Ava extra deserts at supper. His use of his voice went completely unnoticed by the family. Despite the fact that what sounded like a slight ring could be heard when he gave a command, it seemed no one could ever quite make it out. Surprised to see that it was working he continued to practice on Angel and Reuben, soon finding that it had no effect on Stitch for some reason.

The twins thought that it wouldn’t be long until they could enact their plan on Nani. Then Lilo and Stitch would finally be happy again. But Monty was not aware of the dangers that his powers held.

Jumba had done test after test on the DNA Lilo had taken from Monty. What had started out as a simple confirmation on Monty’s new abilities had quickly turned into a complete analysis on his entire development. The scientist was unable to stop himself. It had been so long since he last got to test what the offspring of his creations were capable of. It was astounding how much had changed in such a short time. He stood back from the computer read out laughing at the final results.

“Hehehe. This is pure evil genius!” he shouted vigorously. “To think the combined genetics of six-two-four and six-two-five could have created this. Computer!”

“Yes, Doctor Jumba,” the metallic voice replied.

“Make audio recording of the following.”

“Yes.”

He cleared his throat before recording his notes, “It appears that the second generations abilities or directives develop differently. Whereas my experiments were created with that power in mind, fully capable of wielding or carrying out what they were programmed for. The next generation develop these over time. Like a child developing a talent. When Gen II Monty and Ava were first born I was unable to get any reading on what powers they might develop. However, in that short time Gen II Monty has acquired one of the most diabolical abilities even I did not consider creating. By combining the voice of six-two-four and the advanced intellect of six-two-five one of their children can now give commands that their victims have no choice but to carry out. I can only conclude that any further of the next generation will continue in the same path of developing based off of their parent’s primary functions.”

He took a sip of coffee before continuing, “Computer, switch to the file on Monty.”

“Yes, Jumba.”

“Gen II Monty’s abilities appears to be the power of suggestion. From what I can tell his ability will continue to grow stronger the more he uses it. Depending on what he says the command will last only a few seconds or until the command is fulfilled. The difference being in what is said. ‘Eat something.’ And ‘Don’t worry.’ Would have different effects. But the stronger his power the more long lasting the effect would be. If it is vague, dire consequences could come about. Any long lasting command will become permanent after a few hours. No cure or reverse has been found yet. It’s possible that a cure to his ability has just not developed yet. End notes.”

Jumba began pacing around the lab. The way his experiments have developed they could be considered their own species by now. No longer are they the same creations that he made in his old lab years ago. At least not all of them. He could only assume that more and more of them would reach their final programming stage and seal them away from the little monsters they once were. While he felt sad knowing they were basically growing up before his very eyes, he couldn’t help but feel proud and happy for what they had become and the good they were doing.

Looking towards the vial in the analysis chamber he suddenly felt a chill down his back. He didn’t know why but a sudden foreboding feeling washed over him. As if something catastrophic was coming.

“So?” Victoria prodded at the lunch table. “How have things been going with Stitch?”

“Same,” Lilo replied, taking another bite out of her mashed potatoes. She made a funny face at the taste and pushed away her tray. “Ugh. Don’t eat the potatoes I think they went bad like a week ago.”

“Which is even more terrifying since you can’t smell it…” Victoria pushed her own tray away soon followed by Keoni.

“Anyway,” Lilo continued, “We’re still waiting on confirmation for the house we want to build.”

“What?” Keoni spat out his milk . “You’re building a house?”

“Didn’t I tell you?” Victoria looked at him oddly while passing him a napkin she was sure she had mentioned it before. “Since Nani isn’t letting them be together Stitch had the idea for them to build their very own house.”

“You don’t think that’s a little drastic?”

“I think it’s romantic,” his girlfriend swooned. She stared off into the distance for a minute before Keoni brought her back by snapping his fingers. “What else are they supposed to do?”

“No, he’s right,” Lilo said, interrupting Keoni before he could say anything. “It is drastic. Not to mention completely desperate. But we just can’t live without each other. And it’s not like a cheap teen romance novel thing. We’re connected. Our lives are literally entwined. Being apart emotionally and physically hurts. We can’t live like that anymore.”

“And there’s no progress at all with Nani?” Keoni asked despite already knowing the answer.

“She wants Lilo to have a ‘normal life’ with a nice normal boy. I don’t know how she’s supposed to convince her otherwise. She even said Lilo should date…Daniel.”

“Hey, guys,” Daniel nearly popped out of nowhere before sitting down next to Lilo. She couldn’t tell, but Victoria saw he had moved uncomfortably close to her. “What were you talking about?”

“Just about Lilo’s sister not accepting the boy Lilo’s dating.” Keoni’s answer earned him a swift stomp on his foot from Victoria.

Daniel’s eyes shot wide open and all the blood drained from his face. Not once had he ever seen, or even heard about Lilo dating anyone. As far as he was aware, Lilo had been single for longer than he had known her. Is this why everyone tells me to give up on her? No. Click couldn’t have known about that. He ignored the grumbles between Keoni and Victoria and looked towards Lilo. She stared down at her half eaten lunch. Well, he certainly can’t be that great if she’s feeling sad all the time.

Before he could question it the bell to head for classes rang. Keoni and Victoria quickly headed off, while Lilo and Daniel headed towards the science wing. Lilo somehow ended up with Mrs. Carnes again. While things weren’t as bad as they once were there was still some animosity from the old teacher. Daniel knew that he would have to break off to his own class at some point, but had a feeling if he didn’t say anything now he wouldn’t see her after school.

“A boyfriend, huh?” he said, weaving with Lilo through the stream of students.

“Yeah.” Lilo didn't catch the hint of jealousy in his voice.

“You’ve never mentioned having a boyfriend. I wouldn’t know him by any chance would I?”

You do. She thought about what he might think if she told him the truth about her and Stitch’s relationship. Rather than risking it she turned to the lie she’s been telling for years.

“No,” she stated simply and coldly. “He lives over in Maui. We don’t get to see each other much these days.”

“No? That’s too bad. So it’s long distance then?” He couldn’t help but feel a little happy to hear that they didn’t see each other much. I could still have a chance. “Is everything going okay between you two? Nani doesn’t like him?”

“They’re having a bit of a disagreement right now. I guess. It’s complicated.” She nimbly dodged a kid running in the hall who proceeded to run full force into Daniel.

“Sorry!” the kid called back.

Daniel brushed it off. He was more interested in getting some answers out of Lilo. “And you’re happy with this guy anyway?”

“Of course. I love him.”

Love. The word crushed Daniel’s heart making him flinch slightly. Already feeling jealous, he wondered just what kind of person this guy was. “Does he love you back?”

“What?” She wasn’t liking all the questions. Normally questions spelled trouble for her. And to imply that Stitch didn’t love her back made her a little more than agitated. “Yes. He does.”

“Okay,” Daniel continued, “It’s just. I’ve noticed you haven’t really been too happy lately. I would have thought something might be wrong since he hasn’t been making you feel better.”

Lilo stopped in the hall. Stitch is doing everything he can. We’re doing everything we can.

Daniel stopped as well, not taking his eyes off of her. The halls quickly emptied, leaving only them standing in silence. Daniel didn’t know what he was implying and Lilo wasn’t ready to tell him the truth just yet.

“What kind of guy leaves his girlfriend sad? How do you know he’s not off with some other girl right now?”

Lilo gritted her teeth. She didn’t know where this was coming from and she didn’t like it one bit.

“Sti-Styles would never do that! He’s the best guy in the whole galaxy.” She stomped up close to him, getting angrier with each breath. “He’s sweet, caring, and always thinking of others. He’s always been there for me when I needed him and he would do anything for me! Where is this even coming from?”

She saw the pained look on his face instantly regretting raising her voice at him. What he said next was even more strange and shocking to her.

“And what do you think about me?”

“About…you?” She took a few steps back. Stitch was the only one she ever had romantic moments with but she had seen and read stories. She truly hoped it wasn’t heading where she thought it was.

“Yes. About me.”

Lilo stayed silent. Scared of what was happening between them. She had always seen Daniel as a friend. Stitch was the one she loved and that wasn’t going to change. The sound of the school bell, indicating class was starting and that they were late, broke the silence.

“I… I don’t know what you mean.” Lilo decided that the best way out of this was to ignore it. Pretend it wasn’t happening. Pretend that nothing was about to change in their friendship. “I’m late. I need to go.”

She hurried off towards her class. She could hear the footsteps of Daniel short behind her. Seeing the turn up ahead, she knew she could escape in a second.

“Wait,” He called after, careful not to draw attention from inside the classrooms. “Lilo! I’m sorry.” Still she didn’t stop. “I love you.” He saw her flinch at his words as she turned the corner. He ran to the hall to find that she had disappeared. Not again.

He slumped against the wall. Not caring about the class he was missing. He wondered if Lilo had actually heard what he had said. What he didn’t know was that there was no way she didn’t hear. Now they had to live with those actions, and Lilo didn’t know what to do. So she ran. Ran as fast as she could. To the only person she could when something strange or scary happened. To Stitch.

Chapter Text

“Did meega do something wrong?” Spectrum asked, a sad crack laced in her voice.

“What do yuuga mean?” Stitch asked but kept an eye on the kids.

Angel and Reuben decided to go out on the town for a little while. While they were gone it was up to Stitch to look after their children. Thankfully they weren’t too much of a handful. They were getting too rambunctious in the house so he thought taking them outside would be a good idea. Every now and then he’d have to tell them to stop climbing onto the roof but they listened to him well enough.

Spectrum had stopped by not long after. It was a while since he had spent any time with her. Every chance he got was spent with Lilo again so other things were pushed to the side. Not knowing what was truly going on Spectrum thought that Stitch was actively avoiding her.

“Every time meega come to see yuuga, yuuga either naga here or naga have time for anything. Isa like yuuga avoiding meega. Did meega make yuuga angry? If so meega really sorry. Just tell meega and meega naga do it again.” She had started pleading. Stitch had slowly become her first crush, and to figure out her feelings only to suddenly be shut out by him hurt terribly. “Meega soka.”

“Gaba?” Stitch on the other hand had no idea where any of this was coming from. Like Lilo he was completely oblivious to the secret affections they were given. He grew concerned as her eyes started to gloss over. “Spectrum, yuuga haven’t done anything wrong. Meega just been really busy lately. I’m soka if I made you feel like I was angry. Meega really not.”

“Really?”

“Ih,” Stitch said with a smile that made her heart race. “Yuuga are a really great friend and are a part of my ‘ohana. Meega wouldn’t be here without you.”

I’m a great friend? Normally someone would find being called a friend by their crush discouraging. Spectrum found it as great encouragement. Never before had she been called a great friend, and she hoped that it would soon lead to something more.

While Stitch and Spectrum continued to talk the twins watched them secretly as they played. They thought the way Spectrum was acting around him was a bit odd. The way she always leaned towards him and had a dreamy look in her eyes as she batted her eyelashes reminded them of the way their mother looked at their father. She had even turned herself a light blue colour to match him better.

Monty and Ava shared the same look of concern as Spectrum continued to get a little closer.

“Does she like Uncle Stitch?” Monty whispered to Ava as they laid on the grass pushing some toy cars around. They were careful that Stitch wouldn’t hear.

“It looks like it. But he and Auntie Lilo are in love,” she replied with confusion. “Does she not know?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she doesn’t like him. I mean. Uncle Stitch would sort things out wouldn’t he?”

“Not if he doesn’t know.”

As the two thought, Spectrum's subtle signs were going right over Stitch’s head.

“So meega was wondering,” she continued, “if yuuga would like to hang out again sometime.”

“Yuuga need more help with your powers?” Stitch asked concerned.

It had seemed like she was fully capable of controlling herself now. Which she demonstrated by willfully turning the cement porch they sat on a multitude of colours, like it had been coloured with chalk, before turning it back to normal.

“Naga.” She shook her head, smiling sheepishly. “Yuuga helped meega with all of that. Meega just wanted to thank yuuga somehow.”

“Yuuga don’t have to do that. Meega was just happy to help.”

“Meega want to,” she insisted. “Meega will make yuuga dinner.”

The prospect of dinner was inviting. Stitch always loved food, especially a home cooked meal. He decided that it couldn’t hurt and agreed to go. The joy on Spectrum's face could have lit the street if it was night. Suddenly Stitch felt something odd. His ring grew warm on his finger, something it had never done before. He instantly knew something was wrong with Lilo. Before he could finish making his plans he gave his apologies before rushing the kids into the house.

Spectrum watched the door close in front of her. Shut out again. She sighed. Trying her best not to let it get her down she thought about the dinner date she would soon have with him. It was a comforting thought that she could hold on to. As she walked away she thought she heard a sound of rushing air behind her followed by the closing of a door. She looked back down the street with Angel and Reuben’s house at the end but couldn’t see anything. Shrugging it off she continued her way home. She couldn't wait to tell Sara the good news.

“Lilo?” Stitch asked, holding the girl that suddenly rushed into his arms. “What are yuuga doing here? Gaba wrong?”

Ava and Monty quickly scooted out of the room. But they stayed hidden around the corner, eager to eavesdrop on Lilo and Stitch’s conversation.

“I just ran,” Lilo said. She held onto Stitch as tightly as she could. She trembled lightly in his grasp. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“Isa okay.” Stitch pet her back gently. “Gaba happened?”

“Daniel found out about us…well about Styles.” She rested her head against his chest, relaxing from the steady rise and fall with each of his breaths. “He started acting and saying some weird things. I got really mad at him and started yelling.”

“Gaba he say?”

“He was talking about you not loving me. That you could be off with some other girl.”

Ava and Monty looked at each other in shock. Monty clamped his hand over Ava’s mouth before she let out a gasp.

“Meega could never do that,” Stitch said, instantly becoming rather annoyed with Daniel.

“I know that.” She looked up into his eyes before giving him a kiss she had longed for. “I know that so I got angry and defended you.” Pausing, she still wasn’t sure why she felt the way she did about what had happened next. It should have been easy to just tell him no. Why did I run away? “After that he asked me what I thought of him. I started feeling worried about what he would say next so I tried to get away. And then he said he loves me.”

The words hit Stitch like a train. He had always had an odd feeling about Daniel. The way he looked at Lilo set off a flag in his mind. However he had tried his best to ignore it. Now he knew that he felt protective for a reason. Stitch bit his lip. He tried his best to hold back the few choice words he had for the boy. It was one thing if he had still thought Lilo was single. But to continue knowing she’s my girlfriend?

“What should I do?” Lilo continued. “I mean. I know I have to turn him down. But he’s been such a good friend. I don’t want things to change from how they were.”

“Meega go talk to him,” Stitch suggested.

“Stitch no. You don’t talk. I don’t want him hurt or anything.”

“Naga even a little?”

“No!” She slapped his shoulder playfully. She knew he wouldn’t touch Daniel. He was just trying make her feel better. “I need to be the one to tell him. It’s just scary. We’ve never had to deal with something like this before.”

“That you know of.” Monty shot in a whisper, earning a slap from his sister.

“Meega still think I should talk to him too.” Insisted Stitch. For too long he sat on the sidelines. “Yuuga my girlfriend. Meega’s love. Meega’s boojiboo. We in this together.”

“You’re right.” Lilo knew he was right. He was always right. It was possible her friendship with Daniel was over. But maybe it can be fixed. “I suppose one final appearance of Styles is in order.”

Over the next couple of days, Daniel did his best to avoid Lilo. He was grateful to be a year ahead of her and not have any shared classes. We’ve switched places. He thought as he saw her at the end of the hall and quickly dashed into a nearby classroom. Still completely embarrassed with himself the thought of what she would say or do once she did manage to get a hold of him terrified him to the very core.

What he once found a beautiful melody, her voice became a warning sign that he needed to either move or hide. It was cowardly and he was fully aware of it but he couldn’t help himself.

What must she think of me?

I was way out of line.

I shouldn’t have said that.

Why did I say that?

Why did I tell you? Why Like that?

You must hate me.

He thought his attempts at avoiding her were going well. At the very least he didn’t have to reap what he sowed yet. However his hopes to prolong things ended sooner than he thought.

Having stayed back after class in order to not face Lilo he found the halls completely empty. Even the teacher had left before him this time. He figured that everyone was just in a hurry to get the weekend started so it was reasonable that he didn’t see anyone. After taking a few turns to leave Daniel wasn’t sure what was stranger, the silent halls or the boy he had never seen before leaning against the wall by the exit.

“You must be Daniel,” the boy said as he was approached.

“Y-yeah,” Daniel replied hesitantly while trying to get by the boy before being blocked. “Do I know you?”

“No,” The boy flashed a big toothy grin. “But Lilo’s told me a lot about you.”

“Lilo?” Daniel’s heart began to race at her name. At first he felt flattered that Lilo would talk about him which quickly died down as he realized who the boy was. “So you’re Styles then?”

“Yeah. I’m Styles, Lilo’s-“

“Boyfriend,” Daniel finished for him.

Now knowing who the guy was Daniel began to study him. He memorized each detail. From the deep blueness of his hair, making it look like the ocean at night, all the way to the small nicks in his ears. He wondered if those were natural or if he got them in a fight. As well his grin seemed impossibly wide and his eyes felt like they could tear right through him. He seemed mostly normal, but something put Daniel on edge. Something telling him not to set Styles off in anyway.

Is this the kind of boy Lilo likes? Comparing himself to Styles there was a clear difference. Styles looked like he spent a lot of time on the beach, something Lilo liked that he didn’t do much. As well he looked and felt a little other worldly. He always knew Lilo had an affinity for the strange but this felt like too much to him. Styles gave off an air of mystery without doing a thing. Like he was out of place.

I don’t like you.

“I thought you lived in Maui. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here because Lilo asked me to be.”

“She asked you to come….because of what I said.” It wasn’t a question. “I’m not going to take it back. I care about her and I’ve seen how sad she’s been. I just want her to be happy.”

“I do too.”

“Well you’re doing a lousy job of making it happen!”

Styles took a step forward and Daniel took a step back. He tightened his grip on his bag and clenched his jaw. No matter what he wasn’t going to back down. Not to some stranger he just met. Not where Lilo was concerned.

“I’m doing everything I can,” Styles said in diffence of his love for Lilo.

“Then everything you can isn’t good enough.”

“And you think you can do better?”

Styles took another step forward but this time Daniel didn’t move.

“I certainly couldn’t do worse. And I find it odd that despite ‘dating’ you she never even once mentioned your name to me. Perhaps even she can see you’re not all that great.”

“Lilo loves me and I love her. Nothing is going to change that.”

As tenacious as Daniel was being he had no idea who he was up against. If it came to Lilo Stitch would lay down his life. They had been through more together than anyone could even hope or begin to imagine.

Daniel wasn’t going to hear it anymore though. “Maybe a change is needed. If you can’t make her happy then I can. I’m here all the time. Not on some other island doing who knows what. I’ll be the best for her.”

“You?” He had had it with Daniel. As far as he was concerned Daniel could make any outrageous claim he wanted. To claim what was best for his girlfriend though was crossing the line. “What do you know about Lilo?”

“Excuse me?” The tone of voice Styles gave out sent a shiver down Daniel’s spine. It was like a low growl that reverberated all throughout his body.

“Do you know the meaning of ‘ohana? How important family is? How important it is to her? Do you know that her favorite colour is a scarlet red but only on every third day? Or that her favorite flower is a red hibiscus? Do you know the smile she radiates as she surfs into the sunset? Or the beautiful laugh that comes with a joke only you and she can understand.” Styles started moving forward, forcing Daniel back until he reached a wall. “Or how about that her favorite movie is actually a series of movies she’s recorded on a set of tapes? What about that she’ll only ever eat pancakes when Nani makes them like their mom used to? Do you know the angelic glow that she has when the moon hits her just right as she sleeps? Or the special strawberry and coconut shampoo she only uses on special occasions?”

“I-uh.” Daniel was left speechless. No come back came to mind. Nothing came to mind.

“In case you forgot.” Styles continued holding Daniel tight to the brick wall behind him. “’Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten. She’s not going to forget me. I’m not going to forget her. You’re not going to change that.” He looked deep in the boy’s eyes. Not knowing if his message had come across. But either way he was done with their chat. If he continued he was sure he might end up hurting Daniel by accident. He stepped back and started to walk away, only to stop for one last comment. “And by the way. Only Lilo can decide what’s best for Lilo. Not you. Not me. Her.”

Daniel stood frozen in shock. He watched as the one that dated his crush walked out the door, leaving him behind. Nobody gets left behind or forgotten? He repeated in his head. Then she won’t forget me either. What he saw in Style’s eyes before he walked away was what had scared him. Never in his life had he seen something like that before. It told him one thing. You’re not right for Lilo. She doesn’t need someone with a monster behind his eyes. He walked in the other direction. You may not realize it. But Lilo needs saving. From you. And I’ll be the one to do it.

As he walked out of the door Stitch paused and let out a deep sigh. Since his connection with Lilo he had lost all of his destructive tendencies. Without anyone he cared about in immediate danger it took all of his focus to let out the show of intimidation. Couple that with needing to speak perfect English he was extremely tired from the ordeal.

“Meega naga kaphong,” he reminded himself. He knew that there was no longer a monster inside of him.

“Meega naga kaphong?” A voice echoed behind him. “I’ve never heard a language like that before. Have you Kel?”

Stitch tensed at the familiar voice.

“I haven’t Kea,” said the usual coupled tone.

Stitch hadn’t noticed the twins standing on the other side of the door. As if waiting for him to come through. Before he had a chance to move or even address them they each linked an arm around his and began moving as a group.

“This is very interesting. Isn’t it Kel?” Kea said with a sing song voice.

“Yes. It really is. Kea.” Kel said in response, holding tighter onto Stitch. “Because we heard everything you said in there. Very touching by the way.”

“Yes. Very touching,” her twin agreed. “But, see. ‘Styles.’ We know for a fact that Lilo’s boyfriend… well… you just don’t quite fit the description.”

Chills continued to run through his body as the twins continued to talk. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Well for starters he’s shorter.” Kea began listing traits off of his free hand. “He’s also got big ears. Big eyes. Is pretty blue.”

“In colour, not emotion,” Kel stated.

“Yeah.” Kea looked at his four extended fingers. “Am I missing anything? Oh yeah. And his name is Stitch.”

“Who we also know is you,” Kel added. “I’m not sure how Daniel didn’t notice. But you still smell like slightly wet fur. And the hair is a dead giveaway.”

Stitch’s eyes became slits as he broke out of their grasp.

“Who are yuuga?” he snarled.

“We’re us, Stitch.”

“Yeah. Same Kea and Kel as always. The better question is. Who or what are you?”

That night Gigi came home late again. Mertle stayed up into the early hours of the morning worried sick about her friend. For a moment she considered going to Lilo for help, but just as she grabbed a coat Gigi walked through the doggy door.

Over the past couple days Gigi had been coming home increasingly late. Mertle had no problems with Gigi going out anywhere. But it was dangerous to be out late. That was why she asked her to always be home before dark. Mertle had no clue where she was going and was becoming increasingly worried.

“Gigi!” Mertle shouted once her friend finally appeared from the darkness. “Where have you been?” When she didn’t get an answer she added on to her question. “And you can speak.”

“Nowhere.” Gigi looked away from her.

She felt ashamed breaking the rules so much. She knew Mertle must have been worried, but she couldn’t help herself.

“Just. Out with a friend.”

Willing to take whatever punishment she knew she deserved later, she quickly hurried to her little bed while ignoring the calls Mertle made after her. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about him. Twirling a few times to make it comfortable she laid down and pressed her head into her pillow as much as she could. Don’t go back. Stay here. You belong here.

It took every fiber of her being not to rush back to the one she was spending more and more time with. After talking to Puddles about Lilo and Stitch she suddenly forgot about the shocking tale she had told him. Instead she felt something shift inside her as he slowly became all she could think about.

Don’t go back. Don’t go back. She repeated to herself over and over. “Don’t go back. Don’t go back.”

Mertle could hear her friends mumbles from outside her door. She called after her one more time as she entered only to be greeted with something that never happened before. Gigi barked at her.

A look of terror washed over each of their faces. Shocked as to what had just happened.

“Gigi?”

Chapter Text

Lilo roamed the bare halls of the school with Victoria. Since she’d been coming early to spend time with Stitch she found herself getting to the school before almost anyone. Victoria had discovered them in their usual secret hiding place by accident. Catching them in a situation she didn’t want to see. Covering her face, she explained that she had wanted to talk to Lilo before class started.

Giving Stitch a quick kiss good-bye she joined her friend. It felt like the weekend had just rushed by. Yet with how the previous week had ended,it was no surprise that things seemed to move quickly. She listened to Victoria ramble on about embarrassing herself in front of Keoni’s father, not particularly wanting advice, just to vent to someone.

Her venting was cut short as Mertle suddenly ran up behind them. Victoria’s mouth hung open mid-sentence, shocked at the sudden appearance of the ex-bully.

“Hey, Victoria,” she said like they had been the best of friends forever.

“Um. Hi?” Victoria asked.

“Hi, Lilo.”

“Uh. Aloha, Mertle,” Lilo said with a nervous wave. This is weird.

“So how are you two?”

This is really weird. Lilo shuddered but chose to be nice. Things between them were going better after all. “We’re okay. Just talking about the weekend. Victoria had dinner with Keoni and his dad and it kind of went south.”

“That sucks.” Mertle was talking completely unlike herself. “Things are still good between you and Keoni though?”

“….Yeah.” Victoria hesitated. “Okay. What’s going on?”

“Nothing’s going on!” Mertle jumped onto the defensive immediately. “I know I haven’t been nice to you the last few years.”

“Nine years,” Lilo said.

“R-right. But I haven’t done anything mean in a long time. And I was really hoping I could maybe start being friends with you.” She could see the looks of disbelief on their faces and sighed. “And I need your help with Gigi.”

“There we go.” Victoria exclaimed.

“Yes, I know. I need help, but I wasn’t lying about the other stuff.”

“Sure you weren’t.”

“Victoria.” Lilo gave her friend a little slap. “Of course we’ll help, Mertle. What’s going on with Gigi?”

“I don’t know. She’s been acting really weird these last few days. Out late, not talking much. She hasn’t been eating like she used to and she always seems a little tired. Whenever I ask her about it she just says that she’s been out with a friend.”

“A friend?” Lilo repeated. Hmm. It couldn’t be her final programming stage? She saw Victoria’s look of concern and knew she was thinking the exact same thing. “By any chance has she been shaking?”

“Shaking?”

“Yeah. Or having trouble controlling herself.”

“No. Nothing like that. Why? Should I be worried?”

Maybe this is something else then. “No. You shouldn’t worry. I’m sure it’s nothing. If anything else comes up just let me know though and I’ll see what I can do.”

“Okay.” Mertle stopped walking with them. Letting them get back to what they were doing. She was about to turn away and meet up with her friends when she suddenly called out. “Lilo… Thanks.”

Victoria’s eyes grew wide in amazement. “Now I’ve seen everything.”

With the strangeness out of the way, Victoria continued where she had left off. It took a moment to remember what she had last said, but she quickly remembered it was right after the chicken had caught fire. As she continued they passed the classroom they used for photography club. For some reason, the club’s hadn’t yet started up like they were supposed to. However with what had happened with Daniel, Kea, and Kel recently, Lilo didn’t mind so much. It was starting to feel like the days they spent as a good group of friends were slowly fading.

Lilo felt even worse about it because of what Nani had said to her.

“Lilo!” Nani’s voice rang on Friday night. Lilo had just walked through the door after another secret evening with Stitch. “Kitchen. Now!”

Lilo’s heart began to race. Does she know? She and Stitch had been watching as closely to make sure no one had seen them. It was impossible that Nani had caught them out together.

“I-I can explain, Nani-“

Lilo’s beginning attempts were quickly smoldered as Nani threw a piece of paper onto the table.

“Good, then explain this.”

Eyeing the sheet she could see her school’s emblem at the top of the page. She didn’t need to get close to read it, and after a few short sentences she understood.

Dear Mrs. Kawena. We would like to inform you that the student, Lilo Pelekai, was absent on Tuesday from the following classes…

She didn’t need to read any further after that, and felt her heart begin to still. “That’s weird.” She said tilting her head. “Don’t they normally phone for stuff like that?”

“That’s not the point, Lilo.” Nani said with a huff. “Where were you? You were in school for the morning. And you’ve been doing so well. What happened?”

Lilo began to think up a dozen different lies. She could go with anything from a galactic emergency, to having a cousin in need, to even trying to convince her that it was just a mistake. With all the lies she’s been telling lately, and going behind Nani’s back, she decided it would be best to tell the truth.

Explaining what Daniel had said to her, she was surprised to see Nani’s face light up. Figures she would. Nani nearly forgot about Lilo skipping class at the idea of a boy being interested in her. To Nani, that could mean the start of the solution to all of their problems.

“So? What did you say?” Nani asked eagerly.

“I ran,” Lilo admitted. “That’s why I wasn’t at school.”

“So are you going to say yes?”

“No.” Lilo shook her head furiously, terrified at the very thought. “He’s my friend. That’s it. I don’t have those kind of feelings for him.”

“Well how do you know if you don’t give him a chance?”

“Because I don’t-“

“Come on Lilo, it could be good for you.”

“But-“

“Lilo-”

“Nani!” A voiced boomed from the hall silencing Nani.

Lilo looked past her sister to see David standing in the doorway standing with arms crossed. His face was stern and set. A look Lilo had never seen on him before. She didn’t realize that someone had been listening in on them. Her sister didn’t look at him. Her eyes lowered and the eager look quickly faded.

“You can go, Lilo.” David continued as his voice softened. “Nani and I are going to talk. I trust you won’t be listening in.”

Lilo shook her head 'no.' She wasn't sure of what to make of what had happened. She never heard him talk like that to Nani before. But, like he asked, she didn’t listen in to the conversation they then had.

“Look at me, Nani.” David asked, back in his calming voice.

“You’ve never raised your voice at me before.”

“Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

Slowly Nani turned to meet his worried eyes. She felt her insides turn. Only now did Lilo's scared face register in her mind. She slumped into a nearby chair, head in her hand. “Was I really that bad?”

“No. You just got a little carried away.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, nearly making her melt. “I understand how you feel about Lilo and Stitch. But do you really think it’d be better for her to date just some random guy that you don’t even know? Should she throw herself at any person who shows her affection?”

“No.” Nani started sitting up. “Of course not. I want her to be happy. Fall in love. Find a nice guy that’ll cherish her. That’ll protect her… because I can’t anymore.”

David got down on his knee and, with a finger on her chin, turned her face to meet his. “She may not need you to protect her now.” His voice was a comforting whisper. “But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t need you. She’ll always need you. You’re her big sister. Nothing will ever change that.”

“It’s scary. I’m scared,” Nani finally admitted, holding herself. “After mom and dad… Lilo was all I had left. I almost lost her. So many times. I’m always worried the next time she walks out the door is the last I’ll see of her. She could just be whisked off to space and I’ll never see her again and there’d be nothing I could do about it.”

“Don’t be lolo,” David said. He took some relief that it gained a small smile. “She can handle herself. Sure it’s been touch and go a few times. But when she and Stitch are together anything is possible. They never failed before.”

She could see where he was going with this. She knew he was able to accept Lilo and Stitch being in love. However she also knew the stigma that could come along with it. Lilo had already dealt with odd looks for most of her life. She didn’t want her sister to have to deal with more. “I just don’t see what you all see. I don’t see how a human and an alien could work out. Not on Earth. How could Stitch be the right one for my little sister?”

“Hey,” he said with a light laugh. “How do you know if you don’t give him a chance?”

“So what do you think?” Victoria asked as she finally finished her story.

“H-huh?” Lilo shook her head. “Sorry. I kind of zoned out there for a sec.” She didn’t even notice until now that they were sitting in the cafeteria. The seats had begun to fill so Lilo figured classes must be starting soon.

“Did you not hear a single thing I said?”

“I remember you saying that Jam and Snooty ended up getting covered in whip cream and bananas.”

“Well I guess you got most of it,” Victoria sighed. She slammed her head onto the table. “I can never show my face at his house again. I am such a freak.”

“Yep.” Lilo agreed while rubbing her friend's back. “You totally are. Best part about you I’m afraid.”

“Thanks so much.” Sarcasm practically oozed off of Victoria’s words.

“Don’t worry,” she said while laying her head down next to Victoria’s. “We’re all freaks. Even Keoni. I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think. What did he say about it?”

“He said he had fun. Best dinner he ever had. He was probably lying. Agh. He’s totally going to break up with me.”

Lilo let out an annoyed breath. “You know he wouldn’t do that. He totally loves you and I’m sure it was the dinner party of the millennia.”

“Heh.” Victoria finally smiled. Lilo always had a way to make her see things more clearly. “You’re right. As always.”

“I am.”

The two started laughing, finally rising from the table. The bell was about to ring and the sea of students was already starting to flow through the halls. Along the way to their first class Lilo felt a shudder as she spotted Kea and Kel standing at the end of a hall innocently leaning against the door. The smile they gave her nearly stretched from ear to ear.

When Stitch told her what the twins had said to him she couldn’t believe it. For one, she had no idea how they could have been spotted together. They always made sure they were actually alone before doing anything. If someone was nearby they would have heard or smelled them at least. Yet they somehow knew about them being together.

Stitch, or Styles, at the time denied everything they said. However they were dead set on what they had claimed to see. Tired of the game of dancing around the subject, Kea and Kel left Styles with a message.

“Tell Lilo to meet us after school on Monday. On the roof of the school. It’ll be left unlocked so she won’t need to climb up the side of the building or anything. And you, Stitch, had better be there too.”

Lilo repeated their message over and over in her head during the weekend. She could even hear it in their synchronized tone. Not knowing what would be in store for them she absolutely dreaded the day coming. Depending on how it went… We could be done for.

The day had become surprisingly cool. Fall was coming and while the temperature never really fell much it was easy to feel the change in the air. Especially for Lilo and Stitch who stood on top of the school building. A light breeze blew over the school sending shivers down the two’s spines. Along with the breeze, Kea and Kel suddenly appeared from the trap door that led back down into the building. Kea carried a backpack with him, while Kel held a metal pail.

They looked exactly as they always did. Mischievous smiles painted on with eyes looking for wonder. It was like they had never been on the roof before, but Lilo figured they must have been. If they hadn’t, the lock to the door wouldn’t have been pre-picked. Yet they looked out onto the town below and just beyond that the vast ocean. They soaked up the sight of it all, as if drinking in the very essence of its beauty. For a moment Lilo thought they hadn’t yet seen them, but soon their eyes shifted towards her.

Moving in complete sync the two took a few long steps covering the distance in a very short time. The eerie smiles they held earlier were completely gone. Instead their usual smiles were back. For the first time their look of trouble was directed towards her.

I don’t like this.

“Hey, Stitch,” Kea said first. Completely throwing Lilo off. She didn’t expect a normal sounding conversation to begin. “Aloha, Lilo.”

“H-hi,” She said, treading as lightly as possible.

“How’ve you been?” Kel was absolutely beaming. “It feels like we haven’t seen you in forever. I really wish clubs would start up soon.”

“Yeah,” Kea agreed. “It’s been so boring without everyone. It’s like being trapped on an island.”

“Funny,” Lilo said. She was not letting herself get trapped. She could tell they were up to something. “How an island can give that sort of feeling.”

Kea smiled at her joke. His eyes kept darting towards Stitch. And without warning he squatted down. “You’ve being awfully quiet, Stitch. Something on your mind?”

“Of course he’s being quiet,” Lilo shot out, but Kea’s eyes didn’t leave Stitch’s. “He’s my dog. He can’t talk.”

Kea’s smile quickly turned into a frown. “Sure he can. Just like Click was able to.”

“But he can do far more than that can’t he Lilo?” Kel asked, her voice sounding rather excited. “I mean. You’d know all about that, as his girlfriend.”

“M-me? And Stitch?” Lilo gulped as she brushed some hair back behind her ear. “Do you know how crazy you sound?”

Kel let out a sad sigh. As if she were waiting for something profound to come from Lilo. Instead she got more of the same old lies she grew tired of.

“You know, Lilo,” Kel began, going back to her old tone, “you should tell your friend the principal they need more security.”

“What? I’m not friends-“

“Save it. We know his little pet mouse is another one of the cousins.” Kea was filled with frustration

“…”

“Anyway.” Kel continued, seeing that Lilo wasn’t going to say anything. “The school’s servers are so easy to get into. It was simple changing the start date of the clubs. Actually there should be notice tomorrow that they’re starting up again soon.”

“You’re the ones that did that? Why?”

“We needed time to make these.” Kea dropped a pile of photos he grabbed out of his backpack onto the ground in front of Lilo and Stitch.

Lilo’s eyes grew wide as she saw the contents of the pictures. She dropped to her knees, and along with Stitch, quickly looked through them. Picture, after picture, after picture. Nothing but images of her and Stitch together. Doing anything from holding hands, to kissing, to laughing, to spending time on the beach with Angel, Reuben, and their kids. Their hearts began to race as their private life lay before them completely bare for anyone to see.

This is everything. All of us. Lilo felt herself short of breath. Stuck trying to process what she was seeing. These must go back until Photography club started. Maybe even before. How long have they been following us? How didn’t we know? She saw the same terrified look on Stitch’s face. Some of them are even dated. If Nani saw these we’d be dead. Wait. If anyone saw these we’d be done for. It’s even possible the existence of aliens could be let out. Who knows if they have even more hidden somewhere? What if they have some of Stitch in his regular form?

“Who are you?” she asked coldly.

“We already told you,” Kea laughed. “I’m Keahi.”

“And I’m Kelani,” Kel added. “Now. Are you two ready to talk?”

Lilo and Stitch looked to each other. Their hands were completely tied. With their backs against the figurative wall they took a deep breath and caved in.

“Okie-taka,” Stitch finally let out. Kea and Kel looked overjoyed to finally hear him speak. “What do yuuga want to know?”

“Everything.,” they said together.

It was like Christmas to them. The more Stitch talked the more giddy they became. They were oddly okay with the thought of aliens. It was more like they already knew, but the confirmation was the greatest gift of all. It was strange to Lilo. To sit on the side lines while Stitch explained his origins. She kept a sharp eye on the two making sure they didn’t try anything funny. Before it seemed like a game when they examined Stitch but now it was serious. It was clear this is what they had wanted from the very start. Lilo wondered if their friendship was real at all. Or if it was all a ruse to get close to Stitch.

As if they hadn’t had enough surprises already. Kea and Kel were the ones to ask about their relationship before Stitch had even reached that far. Their tone and demeanor changed. No longer were they the ecstatic kids. Now they let off an air of judgment. Waiting with baited breath at Stitch’s next words. It seemed like they were pleased with his answer. Lilo didn’t know what more could be said. Stitch had only spoken the truth. Now Kea and Kel knew everything.

“Isa that everything?” Stitch asked. It's always completely exhausting to tell your whole life story. He didn’t realize how much time was spent with just him talking and answering questions.

“Yeah. That’s all,” Kea told them. “Thank you.”

“Sorry we kept you for so long,” Kel continued for her brother. “You two can get going. I imagine you’d want some alone time together after all of this.” She saw the hesitation in them and realized she had forgotten something. “Oh yeah.” Scooping up the photos she tossed them into the pail and lit a match. Within moments all the images were aflame and slowly turning to dust. “There. You don’t need to worry about those getting out. Your secrets safe with us.”

“There isn’t any more of them?” Lilo asked, hoping that they were indeed safe.

“Nope.” Kea smiled. “Kel took all the pictures. So you don’t have to worry about digital copies.”

Hoping they could trust their ‘friends,’ they decided it was time to leave. Like they said, if there was any time left to spend together they would have to get going. Lilo waved to them, as they called out to have a good night. As well that they’d see them in Photography Club soon.

“So what do you think?” Kel asked her brother once Lilo and Stitch had entered the building. “Can you accept it?”

“I can,” Kea said with a shrug. “I don’t know. It’s a very odd situation. I’ve never seen something like this before. Stitch sure is interesting though.”

“And to think. There’s another six hundred and twenty seven like him.”

“Looks like things are finally getting interesting.” Kea looked towards the vast ocean again. It looked so small to him. “And do you accept Lilo and Stitch as they are?”

Kel stayed quiet for a moment, contemplating the possibilities. “Yes. I do. However. Right now I don’t see us being the issue. It truly is her that they should be concerned about.”

Chapter Text

As the large door closed behind him, Cobra let out a sigh of relief. He watched as a few of the other councilmen began walking away. It was another long meeting, but he was glad to know that the issue was finally resolved. It had taken a lot longer than he had hoped, but thankfully he managed to bring the majority around onto his side. With a rare smile he started to head back to his office when a squeaky voice stopped him.

“So you finally got your way.”

Cobra looked around for a second wondering where the voice had come from before finally looking down at his feet. The small rat like alien that had been the bane of his existence ever since he showed up stood at his feet. His beady red eyes were nearly fuming in anger, along with a scowl that nearly radiated resentment, and his crossed arms were set so much he almost looked like a statue.

“Be careful Zalgar,” Cobra said, feeling no intimidation from the small rodent. “Your face might get stuck like that. Hmm. I guess it might be an improvement on your part.”

Zalgar made a low growl unfit for a rodent. “You joke now but one day things will be different. H-h-hey hey hey hey. Don’t walk away while I’m talking to you.”

Cobra was tired and he needed to begin planning a small trip. He was far too busy to get into another argument with his fellow councilmen. Sadly Zalgar wasn’t done with him. Feeling the close footsteps behind him he tried to block out the high pitched voice as much as he could.

“You may have the Grand Councilwoman and all the other Councilmen wrapped around your finger but not me. No. Those two get too much leeway around here. No matter what they may have done I think you all forget how many rules they have broken. And to let an illegal genetic experiment just fly through protocols on a whim is near barbaric. If I was in charge-“

“But you’re not in change.” Cobra cut him off, tired of his ramblings. Stopping in place the small alien walked right into his large leg. “The Grand Councilwoman is. And the council has made its decision. You may not agree with it but it has been made. As well, the only barbaric thing I’m seeing is you calling Stitch an Illegal genetic experiment. That issue was dealt with long ago.”

“I was right. You are biased towards them,” Zalgar shouted angrily.

“Perhaps I am.” Cobra got down on one knee and removed his glasses looking directly into Zalgar’s eye. “Or maybe I’m just grateful. Because without them I might not be here. Who knows what would have happened if all those Leroy clones had gotten out.” He got in even closer, seeing a slight twitch in Zalgar’s cheeky smile. “And you best remember your place. You’re not in charge and as long as I’m here I’ll see to it that you never are. Now if you’ll excuse me. I have to go plan a trip.”

Cobra stormed off leaving Zalgar behind.

“Chh. You think you’re so big and scary,” he scoffed to himself. “Well… We’ll see about that, Cobra.”

The day after Kea and Kel confronted Lilo and Stitch there was an announcement stating that clubs would be starting again immediately. No one but Lilo and Stitch knew why they had been delayed, but everyone was excited to get started again. All except for Lilo. She absolutely dreaded having to go back into that classroom.

It wasn’t just the eeriness that she began to feel from the twins that was putting her on edge. It was the thought of being in the same room as Daniel. Now that she knew his feelings she didn’t know how to act around him. She ran into him a few times in the hall, and each time it was incredibly awkward for her. She had hoped that his meeting with Styles would have made him back off a little, but it seemed to do the opposite. While he never once brought it up again, or even asked her to do anything, she could tell he was trying to get her to open up more to him. She was fine being friends with him but everything felt wrong. She ended up in a constant mind game with herself. Worried she was giving off the wrong impression, or that he might take her kindness as a sign for having feelings for him. She quickly realized that she was very lucky for how her relationship with Stitch turned out. Things like this were very stressful and confusing. However, Stitch had a solution to her problem.

“And your name is… Styles?” Mr. Kawea asked, looking over the sudden addition to their club.

“Yes, Sir,” Styles said. He was acting as politely as her could. “I know I’m not enrolled here, but I hope you’ll still allow me to join.”

“Well it’s against protocol.” He rested his chin on his hand while thinking over the consequences. His eyes darted to Lilo who stood beside her boyfriend. She had the biggest and most pleading smile he had ever seen. “I suppose we’ve broken the rules before,” he finally sighed. “You can stay. Just make sure to not to cause any problems. Don't want to lose this club over something like this.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Lilo was practically bouncing up and down.

From the back of the class Daniel crossed his arms in a huff and slowly started slouching further into his seat.

“What’s wrong, Daniel?” Kea asked from behind. “You seem upset.”

“Aren’t you happy we have a new addition?” Kel continued. “Or is it because Lilo should only pay attention to you.”

“Shut up,” Daniel shot at them without turning around. He had thought that with the way they helped him to spend some alone time with Lilo that they would be on his side. After his confrontation with Styles though they told him that Lilo and Styles had their full support, and that it would be best for him to back off.

It feels like everyone’s against me. Kea…Kel… Even Click. It still bugged him that Click had said that it was for the best that he didn’t confess. With the way things turned out…maybe he was right. Watching Lilo and Styles take a seat near Victoria he caught a glance from Styles as he sat down. It sent odd chills down his spine. He could tell that something was up. Still… I don’t trust you.

Every time he tried to get close to Lilo, Styles would suddenly step in. Even if he was nowhere near them at the time he still managed to pop up instantly. Being forced to watch from a distance, he made a mental note of everything Styles did. To anyone else it looked like a normal relationship. Only he saw how possessive Styles was of Lilo. He kept a watchful eye over everyone’s movements. Especially when it came to him. He also thought it was odd that Styles acted so close to Victoria. It wasn’t just Victoria though. He talked to the twins, and even Devon as if they had been friends for a long time. For someone who, in Daniel’s mind just showed up, Styles was too buddy-buddy with everyone. Especially the girls. She can’t even see how he actually is. I don’t know what kind of spell you’ve woven over Lilo, Styles. But I’m going to break it. She might not be able to, but I can tell. You’re possessive, aggressive, and clearly a player. Well. I’m not going to let you play her.

Daniel’s feelings and misunderstanding was making him blind to what was really going on. Styles was not being possessive. He simply wanted to spend as much time with Lilo as he possibly could. Now that club activities had started again, they would have less time to be together. As well he was only aggressive towards Daniel. His genetics made him protective against what his instincts said were a threat. Right now Daniel was a threat. The reason Styles was acting so friendly was because he had known everyone for a while now. Even if they didn't know that.

When club activities finally ended Lilo and Stitch were forced to finally part. It took up all of the time they had together.

“I wish I didn’t have to go,” Lilo said while hugging Stitch’s human form as tightly as she could.

“Meega know,” Styles whispered into her ear, rubbing her back. “But meega see you again soon. Meega be in our spot tomorrow. Same as always.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Styles gave her a kiss. One that she wasn’t used to, but loved just as much. His human lips and hands felt foreign, but still familiar. It had been a long time since she last felt herself melt into Styles. Even if his body had changed his gentleness and passion hadn’t. She could still feel Stitch in each peck, nibble, and kiss. The contradiction of the familiarity and newness excited her. Made her heart race with a new passion. It excited her even more knowing that soon they would be able to be themselves again.

“Will you kiss me like that when we have our own home?” she asked with staggered breaths.

“Every night,” He replied as he breathed her in deeply. “Once we get the word, we’ll have our house. And then meega will be all yours again. Always.”

With one final kiss before they parted Lilo watched as Styles quickly headed towards Morpholomew’s. She made sure to remember to thank him properly when all this was over. He had done more than enough to help them over the years.

“So?” a voice said from behind her. “Styles running off again?”

Lilo felt her happiness drain as she turned to see Daniel, silhouetted by the slowly setting sun. “Yeah. I have to head home and he has things to do.”

She walked past him hoping that that would be enough.

“He’s not good for you, you know.” Daniel hadn’t had enough yet. He couldn’t sit back and continue to watch.

“You don’t know anything about him. Or us,” she said. She didn't stop walking. She could hear his footsteps behind her and began to feel a case of déjà vu. Rather than just follow, he took a place beside her. Matching her pace step for step. “Look, Daniel. I’m flattered about how you feel about me, and I’m sorry. I just can’t feel the same way for you.”

“This has nothing to do with my feelings for you.”

“Really?”

“Okay,” he admitted. “It does a little.” Lilo rolled her eyes and shook her head. “But I know I’m not wrong about this. Styles isn’t a good guy. I’ve been watching him and I-“

“And now you’re an expert on him and my relationship?” Lilo stomped her foot as she stopped walking.

“No, of course not.” Daniel said, trying not to make her angry. “From what I see he isn’t good boyfriend material. Keoni said your sister doesn’t agree with you dating him? Well I can see why.”

“You’re taking Nani’s side on this?” Lilo was disgusted. Even if he didn’t know what he was talking about, that was crossing another line.

“He isn’t right, Lilo,” Daniel pleaded. “The way he acts around others. Around other girls… and he’s way too possessive over you. And with the way he threatened me-“

“You started it!”

“That doesn’t matter! Can’t you see? I don’t know how he’s acted to make you think he’s such an amazing guy. But you need to know the truth.”

“The truth?”

“Yes the truth. He’s clearly a controller and I’m worried he’s going to end up hurting you. They say the ones in an abusive relationship can’t see it and they’re right. You’re blind to what’s actually going on.”

“Abusive?” Lilo spat. “Sti-Styles, abusive? You’re delusional, Daniel. How dare you accuse him of anything when you have no idea what’s going on. We’ve been through so much together I can’t even begin to tell you the half of it. He was the only one who was there for me during some of the darkest times of my life. And you just meet me a few months ago and you think you know what’s best for me?”

“I never said anything about that.”

Lilo had had enough. She started to walk away only to be stopped by Daniel’s hand on her wrist.

“Let go of me.”

“No!” he shouted with passion. “I’m never going to let you go. I care about you too much to do that.” She tried to struggle out of his grasp but he wouldn’t let up. “I’m just trying to protect you-“

“Protect me…” she said under her breath. “I’m not some damsel in distress that needs protecting. Not anymore.” Pulling herself out of his grip with all the strength she had she backed away from him. She saw how he grasped at his hand, and for a moment thought she might have gone too far. She didn’t mean to hurt him but she didn’t care. “I can take care of and protect myself. Thank you very much. Never say anything bad about my boyfriend ever again!”

With that she stormed off. Daniel was forced to watch her walk off into the sunset. His hand hurt a bit, but that was the last thing on his mind. If Lilo had hoped her words had convinced him she was wrong. All it did was light a brighter fire under his heart.

“Lilo…” He said to himself. “How can you be so fooled?”

When Stitch got back to Angel and Reuben’s house he found Spectrum waiting for him on the front step.

“Aloha, Stitch,” she said enthusiastically with a very large grin.

“Aloha, Spectrum.” He replied, a little concerned. “Isa something the matter? Yuuga here really late.”

“Naga.” Spectrum shook her head. “Everything’s okie-taka. Meega was just wondering if yuuga would like to have that dinner with us tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Oh! Soka. Isa butifa short notice,” she said as she realized the time. She had gotten so excited in preparation that she forgot how late it had really gotten. With her ears pressed against her head, and her fur accidentally turning a deep sad blue, she continued. “Smish if yuuga have other plans. Meega should have asked if isa okie-taka sooner.”

“Naga,” Stitch said with a smile. He didn’t want to see her sad and was glad to see her start to cheer up. “Meega can come. Just let meega go let Angel and Reuben know.”

Spectrum nodded, filled with excitement once again. She knew it wasn’t the same as a real date or anything but it was a start. Hoping that her cooking would make him like her a little more, she wondered if afterwards she’d have the courage to truly ask him out. What will he think? Oh I hope he likes me. He’s so nice and wonderful. She was so caught up in her own little fantasy world that she almost didn’t hear the door creak open. Thinking it was Stitch she turned back only to be surprised to find Monty.

When Stitch had entered the house he had announced that he was going to get ready to go to Spectrum’s for dinner. Monty and Ava shared a look of concern and then a nod. When his parents weren’t looking he stepped outside.

“Hello, Monty,” Spectrum said, kneeling down to his level. “Gaba yuuga doing out here.”

The young child gave an innocent smile. “When Uncle Stitch comes back tell him you have to cancel your dinner plans and then go home,” he said with a ring in his voice. “You won’t remember that I told you to do this.”

Spectrum’s eyes went wide as his command took hold. For a moment she felt an overwhelming sadness before everything was finally okay. Monty slipped back inside as she stood up to await Stitch’s return. The next time the door was opened it was Stitch who came out.

“Yuuga ready?” he asked.

“Dinners canceled,” Spectrum said coldly. “Meega have to go home.”

“Huh? Didn’t yuuga want me to join you?”

“Meega have to cancel it.”

With that she walked away. Leaving behind a very confused Stitch. He watched as she continued to head home. Something felt off to him about it. She didn’t sound like herself at all, but there was nothing he could do. There were a few more concerned looks as he returned inside but he didn’t have any answers for them. Monty and Ava shared a smile. Their first real use of Monty's power worked perfectly.

Meanwhile Lilo was returning to her room after supper. With what had happened she didn’t really feel like spending time with her family. All she truly wanted was to talk to Stitch. But Nani still had her communicator and she didn't feel like it would be a good idea to try to find it. With no way to talk to him she figured she might as well go to bed early. Just as she was about to step onto the elevator, there was a knock at the door. She didn’t pay much mind to it until she heard a familiar voice.

“No. I’m not here to see Lilo. I actually wanted to talk to you.”

“Me?” Nani asked a little confused. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Lilo rushed to the living room shocked to see Daniel in the doorway. What are you doing here?

“Well you see…” he began before catching Lilo’s eyes. “I heard that you don’t think Lilo should be dating this Styles guy.”

Lilo felt the blood drain from her face. She pleaded to him from across the room, begging him not to continue. Daniel could see she didn’t want him to say anything. He hesitated for a moment but he thought it was for the best.

“What about him?” Nani asked, wondering where this could go.

“I saw him in Photography Club with us today.” Daniel tried to ignore the look of terror that grew on Lilo’s face. It’s the right thing to do. “And from what I saw, I don’t think Lilo should be around him.”

Chapter Text

Jumba had spent the entire day in his lab running experiments. Doing the analysis on Monty had lit a new passion inside of him. He wanted to figure out different experiment directives and abilities. When he had first created his experiments he created them all for evil. Wanting nothing but chaos and destruction for the world that shunned his brilliance. Seeing everything in a new light he wondered if it was possible to create purely for good. He was still an evil genius, but he didn’t want to see everything destroyed. All thanks to the little girl who showed love to his greatest creation.

Just as he was walking through the halls to go back to the house a red light began to fill the ship along with an alarm.

“What is going on?” he shouted as he started running back to his lab. He could hear the distant sounds of a warning being played.

Once he opened the lab door the full warning could finally be heard.

“Warning,” the computer voice announced. “Final programming stage of experiment zero-zero-seven and zero-eight-seven has been activated. Warning. Final programming stage of-“

The computer continued to repeat the warning.

“Another one!?” Jumba said confused. “Two-eight-two and four-three-four were not too long ago. What is going on around here?” He stared at the experiments shown on the screen. “At least these two won’t be doing too much damage. Still… I better be letting little Earth girl know.”

Meanwhile, Mertle heard a scream from downstairs. It wasn’t often she heard her mom yelling. Normally Ms. Edmunds was a very calm woman. It took a lot to get her riled up. So the moment she heard her mother’s scream she instantly bolted downstairs.

“Mom?” she yelled back. “What’s wrong?”

She saw her mom dash out of the living room the bottoms of her pants nearly torn to shreds.

“Get control of your dog, Mertle!” she yelled as she ran to her room.

“Control of Gigi? Why would I-“

Mertle trailed off as she took a look in the living room. Almost everything had been torn to shreds. Even more so than her mom’s pants. Cotton from the destroyed couches laid everywhere, and the blinds were nothing but piles of ribbons on the floor. Her eyes grew wide. Never before had she seen anything like this. She was even more surprised to find Gigi clawing at a wall. She wasn’t going to be able to get through, but paint and wood shavings were flying beneath her claws. Her eyes darted towards the doggy door, it too had claw marks all over it. If her mom hadn’t bolted it shut she was sure Gigi would have burst right through it.

“Gigi!” she called out with concern as she ran to her side. “What’s going on?”

“Must get back to him,” Gigi muttered under her breath, barely loud enough for Mertle to hear. “Must get to him. Have to be by him. Must get to him. Have to be by him.”

“Who do you have to get to?”

Mertle tried to pick Gigi up to calm her down. Only to let out a scream of her own as Gigi’s frantic claws cut right through her arm. It didn’t look too deep but it stung horribly. Even more so since Gigi had never cut her before.

She tried talking to her more, but wasn’t getting anything out of her friend. Gigi’s eyes were wild, and it was clear nothing was getting through to her. She doesn’t even know I’m here. She looked around and saw that nothing was stopping her friend. Gigi had nearly torn through everything in an attempt for something. What do I do? Unable to think of any other options she ran to the phone. Her finger hovered over the numbers. She didn't want to have to dial this number, but she knew that it was the right thing to do.

“You saw Styles today?” Nani asked the young boy. She was hoping she had just heard wrong. If not then Lilo had disobeyed her yet again.

“Yeah. Lilo brought him and-“ Daniel was cut off by Nani raising her hand.

“Thank you. That’s all I need to hear.” She gave a light farewell before closing the door. The moment it shut she turned around.

Lilo stared at her sister for a moment before running away like she used to. She heard Nani call after her but she didn’t stop. After a few laps around the house Lilo ran towards the safety of her room. It was the only place in the house she could lock down completely. Sadly David was blocking the way of the elevator. His arms were crossed and it was clear he wouldn't move. Having heard the whole thing he just shook his head.

“Lilo!” Nani shouted, coming through the kitchen exit. She skidded to a halt after seeing Lilo stopped with David there.

“I think you two need to do some talking,” David said sternly. He turned Lilo around and pushed the sisters into the kitchen. “Now make up like a good ‘ohana already.” Sitting them each in a chair, he flashed them a smile before leaving them to stare at each other. Nani was about to argue when David called out one last time. “And no fighting!”

It was a few awkward moments of scowling at each other before one of them finally said anything.

“You completely disobeyed me, Lilo.” Nani finished with a sigh. “Again… What do you have to say?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Lilo said defiantly.

“Do you have no respect for my decisions?”

“Not when it keeps Stitch and I apart.” Lilo crossed her arms. As far as she was concerned it wouldn’t be much longer till all of this was over anyway. There wasn’t anything Nani could do anymore to keep her and Stitch apart. Even if she did something they would still find a way to see each other. “I’m not going to find anyone else. I can’t love anyone else. I just want you to see that…. I want you to be happy for me, Nani.”

“And I want you to have the best life you can. I can’t see how that could possibly happen by being in love with Stitch. You’re still so young-“

“I’m the same age you were when you and David met.” Lilo interrupted, reminding Nani of the story she told her years ago.

“That’s completely different. David’s not an… It’s just different.”

“But it’s not. Love is love. No matter what shape it takes. You weren’t there when Stitch and I went through what we did. It’s not our fault we love each other. We can’t help it.”

Nani stayed quiet. She had always told Lilo that she’d know it when she found ‘the one.’ “You’re still my sister. And I’m your guardian. I can’t just accept what’s happened to you. How you were changed without me knowing.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t tell you. If you’d seen what was happening you’d understand.” Lilo did feel bad about keeping things from Nani. It became more apparent as time went on that if they had just been truthful from the start that none of this would have happened.

“Well I didn’t. And I clearly don’t,” Nani said with a huff.

Despite it being a topic they’d been at each other’s necks on, they were at least finally talking like sisters again. It was refreshing even if only for a short time.

“All of that doesn’t excuse the fact that you disobeyed me. Multiple times.” Nani said bitterly.

“We only did it because we had to.”

They were starting to grind again, and a fight was about to break out. Before any words could be said the sudden ringing of the phone stopped them. The two kept their glare at each other before Nani finally stood to answer it.

“Hello,” Nani said a little too angrily. “No. Lilo can’t come to the phone right now. We’re a little busy.”

Who’d be calling for me? Lilo wondered. It was far too late for Victoria to call about anything, and she couldn’t think of anyone else it would be.

“I’m sorry,” she continued. “I’m sure the emergency can wait until the morning, Mertle.”

“Mertle?” Lilo announced. In a flash she took the phone out of Nani’s hand.

“Lilo!” Nani was about to say something but was stopped by Lilo raising her hand.

“What’s going on, Mertle?”

“I don’t know what’s going on.” Mertle’s voice cracked through the phone. Filled with panic and worry. “Gigi’s going crazy. I can’t calm her down. She actually cut me and attacked my mom. I need help!”

Before Lilo had a chance to ask anymore Jumba bounded into the room.

“Little girl!” he shouted. “Experiment zero-zero-seven and zero-eight-seven’s final programming has activated.”

“Gigi and Puddles?” Lilo started going over things in her head. This wasn’t the best time, and she was going to need Stitch’s help to keep control over both experiments. “Don’t worry, Mertle.” She said into the phone. “I’m heading over there. Gigi is going to be fine, I promise.”

“What’s going on?” Nani asked, confused.

“What happened to Stitch is happening to Gigi and Puddles,” Lilo said seriously. “Jumba, you prep the machine for the cousins. Stitch and I will bring them in as soon as we can. Hopefully no more damage is caused before we get there.”

“Right.” The large alien nodded. “I will be having it ready in a jiffy, as you say.”

Nani watched as Lilo headed to the door. She didn’t really understand what was happening. When David had explained what Lilo told him she was still too angry to really comprehend. “Lilo, wait!” She called to her sister who was half way out the house already.

“Nani, I know you don’t want me to see Stitch,” Lilo sighed. “But I can’t do this without him-”

“That’s not what I was going to say.” Nani cut her off mid sentence. “I’m coming with you. If seeing whatever is happening will help me understand then I want to be there.”

Lilo let a smile through. Finally Nani was trying to see things clearly.

“Okay. You drive.”

Stitch wasn’t sure what was more surprising. The fact that there was a knock at the door so late, or that it was Nani and Lilo that had come for him. He hoped that seeing Nani meant he was finally allowed to return home, however the look on Lilo’s face told him that wasn’t the case. It didn’t take long to explain the situation and within moments Lilo, Nani, and Stitch were heading towards Mertle’s house. The surprises hadn’t ended quite yet though. From the back of the buggy Ava and Monty appeared. They had heard what was happening and, unbeknownst to their parents, tagged along for the fun. Monty also saw this as the perfect opportunity to enact their plan on Nani. All they needed was the right chance to appear.

At first Lilo and Stitch were against them joining along. While they wouldn’t be in any particular danger they didn’t know what would happen. If anything happened to the children, Angel and Reuben would never forgive them. Time was of the essence though and they didn’t have enough to spare. Going back to drop off the little trouble makers could mean missing their chance to get a hold of Gigi or Puddles. Reluctantly they allowed them to join under the condition that they didn’t get in the way or cause any trouble.

“We promise,” the two giggled with large smiles across their faces.

Lilo didn’t know why, but she didn’t feel any better with their promise.

The situation at Mertle’s had become even worse. Gigi had destroyed almost all of the furniture, and Mertle’s mom locked herself in her room. Mertle tried her best to keep Gigi calm but all her attempts failed. All she gained from them was a few more cuts across her arms and legs. The ring of the doorbell came as sweet salvation. Being one of the weaker experiments, Stitch was able to capture Gigi with relative ease. Doing his best to restrain her without hurting her Stitch tried his best to calm her down. But the usual quick explanation didn’t help any. Gigi had been worked up into a flurry and couldn’t be reasoned with.

With no other choice Stitch could only hold onto his small cousin. They had promised to never use the containment pods on their cousins long ago, and they were going to keep the promise.

“Where are you taking her?” Mertle asked. She was determined to follow Lilo and Stitch to the buggy.

“It’s a long story,” Lilo said, making sure Stitch was secure. “Basically Gigi is in love and this is what happens when an experiment truly finds the one their meant to be with. Kinda like the one place they belong, but with someone instead of somewhere.”

“But you can make her better right?”

“Yes. But we should hurry.” Lilo hopped into the passenger seat. They already took up too much time as is.

“I’m coming with you,” Mertle announced before cramming her way into the back seat. “I’m not letting Gigi out of my sight.”

“Fine.” Lilo quickly counted to make sure they weren’t missing anyone, or had any more stowaways. Counting six plus herself they were ready to go. “Okay, Nani. Next is Jimar’s house. He lives a couple blocks towards town. Right by the music store.”

It was nowhere near as quick as if Lilo and Stitch were on their own. But they were going as fast as they could. Once they reached Jimar’s house they could hear screams coming from inside. Even if they didn’t know the exact place to look it wouldn’t have been hard to find. Lilo had to go this one alone, as Stitch was still holding Gigi as still as he could. With no answer at the door she entered the house to find it in a similar state as Mertle's. It seemed Puddle’s fared no better at controlling himself. If anything, the larger cousin caused more damage. The door felt a little flimsy under her hand and she carefully closed it so Puddles wouldn’t get away.

As soon as she heard the click she saw a flash of white run across the hall in front of her. Close behind was Jimar begging his friend to stop. She could hear the heavy breaths of the boy’s parents at the other end of the hall.

Wanting to get things under control as quickly as she could Lilo ran after Puddles, catching him in mere moments.

“Lilo?” Jimar asked confused. “Where did you?”

“Sorry. Don’t have much time to explain.” Lilo looked him over while keeping a struggling Puddles in her arms. It looked like he was about to go to sleep when things had gone hay wire. “Basically Puddles here is in love, and when that happens to a cousin they basically end up going a little crazy. I can help though. I just need to take him for a bit.”

She had already started to head for the door before the boy had a chance to say anything. The familiar sound of footsteps behind her told her that things were about to get a little more crowded.

“I’m coming with you,” he said, slamming the door behind him. He didn’t give his parents any explanation, though he figured they were just going to be happy the house would finally be calm again. “Puddles is my friend. I need to make sure that he is okay.”

Lilo let out an audible sigh as she looked at the buggy. “Okay. If you can find room.”

Ava and Monty climbed onto the back, letting Stitch slide over onto their side. Lilo took her place in the front while Mertle made room for Jimar in the back now that there was some more space. She looked back to the boy beside her just in time to catch his shinning smile.

“Thanks for the room.” Jimar said while strapping his seat belt on. “So you’re in this whole thing too?”

“Y-yeah.” Mertle lost herself for a second, getting pulled into his dark hazel eyes. “I’m Mertle.”

“Jimar.” He stuck out his hand to shake. Not once did his smile fade. He had always been a cheerful boy. Even in the most stressful situations smiling always made him feel better.

It took Mertle a moment to notice his outstretched hand. Which she weakly shook. She felt an instant connection to him one she had never felt before. Sadly the moment was short lived as Lilo soon asked if everyone was ready to go. Remembering her friend still struggling beside her she pushed the thought of her racing heart to the back of her mind.

Thankfully it didn’t take long for them to get to Jumba’s ship. Nani watched as Lilo and Stitch did their best to keep the small experiments restrained. Small cuts were already visible on Lilo’s arms, and it was clear that it was starting to hurt. If this is what they’re like… She looked to Stitch who was only faring a little better. Any damage he may have taken was hidden beneath his fur. She figured there wasn’t much that could truly hurt him though.

Seeing the impatient and worried looks on Mertle and Jimar’s faces. Lilo took the time as she set Puddles into the machine’s pod. Nani listened carefully as well. If she was going to try to understand she needed to see this from their perspective.

“Long story short.” Lilo began, waiting for the restraints to hold over Puddle’s paws. “When an experiment find someone they love and loves them back and their bond reaches a certain point, a final stage in their programming activates. It basically makes them need to be by each other and protect them. By any means necessary.”

“That’s why Puddles tore up the house?” Jimar asked looking at Gigi.

“Yes. He was trying to get to Gigi. But neither of them are overly strong so they couldn’t tear through your houses.”

“So then what are you putting them in?” Mertle asked as she watched the pod slowly descend over her friend.

“This machine will basically negate that need. They’re bond will be permanently set. They will always be in love with each other and nothing can break that bond. Just a short time in here and they’ll be perfectly fine. Though you may need to figure some stuff out. I doubt they’ll want to be apart very much.”

“So mommy and daddy were in those?” Ava pressed herself against the glass. She could barely see through the gas that had filled the pod.

“That’s right,” Stitch said with a smile, picking his niece up. “Yuuga never have to worry. Angel and Reuben will always be boojiboos.”

“And you and Aunty Lilo too, right?” Monty added to the shock of Mertle and Jimar.

Nani had heard enough. She left the secret room, followed shortly by Jumba. After everything that she had seen there was a lot that she had to think over.

“So you and Stitch.” Mertle pointed to each of them, trying to grasp what she had just heard.

Well so much for that. Lilo thought. She shot a look at the little trouble maker. Monty just smiled not realizing what he had actually just let out. “Yeah. Me and Stitch. It’s been a little over four years now.”

“Congratulations,” Jimar said with his smile. He didn’t see anything wrong with it at all.

On the other hand Mertle was a little apprehensive about it. “What about that Styles guy?”

“That was Stitch too. Just changed by Morpholomew.” Lilo remembered back to when they first had Styles come into the picture. It was all because of her bet with Mertle over who would win best couple at the dance. “I guess if you want you can consider yourself the winner of that dance.”

Mertle was about to say something, claim the victory she always felt Lilo held over her head. Something stopped her though. “No. You won that fair and square….” She wasn’t sure what to think about Lilo and Stitch’s relationship. Normally this would be something she talked to Gigi about. Instead her friend was stuck inside a strange machine. “So what do we do now?”

“We wait,” said Stitch.

Everyone looked over the two experiments in the pods. It was an exhausting night with a lot more surprises than any of them expected.

Chapter Text

There was an awkward silence that filled the room while Gigi and Puddles were in the machine. The only sounds to be heard were the soft voices and laughter coming from the small children. Not knowing how long it would take, Stitch kept Ava and Monty busy in a corner. Lilo quickly grabbed some of the things Stitch used to play with from the hidden suit case for the two kids to play with. They seemed to really enjoy them, and Stitch soon offered for them to keep them. The way their eyes lit up at the prospect of having some of their Auntie and Uncle’s things was heartwarming.

Aside from those two though, not a lot of talking happened. Mertle tried talking to Jimar for a while, and they really got along well together. However the worry over what was happening to their friends quickly took hold and they lost interest in idle chit chat.

All the while Lilo kept a watchful eye over the two cousins. Doing her best to make sure the machine was working properly. They hadn’t had an issue with it yet, but she didn’t want this to be the first time. Even she was having trouble concentrating though. She saw Nani leave in the midst of everything and she truly wondered what her sister was thinking. Did we show her enough? It was her idea to come along. She said she wanted to understand. But if this didn’t do it then… There might not be any hope for us. Stitch's ears twitched at the sound of a sad sigh from Lilo. He looked over to her. She gave him a smile but she knew it didn’t fool him. Giving an understanding nod he returned to watching his niece and nephew. If Nani doesn’t accept us then we really will just have to leave.

Not far from the lab Nani leaned back against the wall. The cold metal stung her skin but rather than move away she held herself against it harder. A stray tear rolled down her cheek as everything that had happened the past few weeks crashed through her mind. All the mean and hurtful things she had done and said. All she wanted was for Lilo to be okay. In the end she was the one that was hurting her and she could see that now.

“Big sister is being sad?” Jumba asked, carefully walking up. “Lilo saved the day yet again. You should be happy. No?”

“It’s not that,” Nani said as she wiped the tear from her face. “She did really well. Lilo took charge and handled that amazingly. I’ve never seen her so serious or composed before. I take it this isn’t the first time this has happened.”

“No. It has happened quite a few times. It is feeling like it is happening more and more often though. I may be needing to look into what is going on with my little creations.” Jumba saw her eyes waiver. He knew that it wasn’t his experiments she was talking about. “She has become quite the young lady.” There was a bit of silence before Jumba continued. “It was not being my choice to be keeping it a secret from you. It was their decision to make, and I don’t think it was being the right one.”

“With the way I’ve been acting I think it’s clear why they kept it hidden. I just. Lilo and Stitch in love… how did you just accept it? Don’t you find it odd?”

“It is different,” Jumba said nodding. “A human and an alien? It is certainly unheard of. And Stitch is even an experiment, not even a full alien. I suppose I could accept it because I’m the one that created him. He is how he is because that’s just the way he was made. Just because it isn’t what I intended doesn’t mean it is wrong.”

“I didn’t make Lilo though,” Nani looked down to hide her shame as best she could. “But she is still Lilo, my little sister. Even if she has changed.”

Jumba swallowed hard. “What happened to little girl, I didn’t mean for it to happen. I wish there was another way, but if we didn’t then-“

Nani smiled, cutting him off. “From what I saw. Even if I had known, there wouldn’t have been time for me to do anything.”

“Hehehe.” Jumba let out a soft chuckle. “No. Stitch is quite the little monster. I can tell you though. That down to the last second he was not once with the hurting of Lilo. It nearly tore him apart but he kept her safe.”

“That’s good.” Nani held herself and fell to the floor, unable to hold it back anymore. “I really messed up, huh?” She chocked back a few sobs. She was trying to keep herself at least a little composed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have blamed you for what happened. I know there’s no changing Lilo’s mind once she’s set on something.”

Jumba was about to say something but Nani cut him off.

“So then why did I try? I nearly tore our family apart. I kicked Stitch out. Scared you and Pleakley half to death. I even got David mad at me. And for what? Because my little sister is in love. What kind of person does that?”

“A very caring one.” Jumba said nodding. “I don't particularly think you were being wrong entirely. They should have told you. Maybe... a little over bearing though. We all make mistakes you know. Look at me! I made an experiment that ate all of my hair.”

“Well I think you look very handsome bald.”

“Really?” He asked, patting at his nearly bald head.

“Yeah.”

“Thank you.” Jumba smiled and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “The point I am making is that we all mess up. Even the best of us. You can still make it right though.”

“You think so?”

“I am knowing it. Lilo loves you. So does Stitch. Just because you are having a little fight does not mean the love is gone. We’re ‘ohana right?”

Nani nodded. Finally she was starting to feel a little better. She knew she would have a lot of apologizing to do and a lot of things to make up for. It would all be worth it in the end. Because all she really wanted was to have her sister back again. “You’re right. We’re ‘ohana.”

The events of the late night were beginning to affect everyone. Lilo and Stitch knew it wouldn’t take three days for the process on Gigi and Puddles to pass, but it could still take hours. The fact that it was a school night wasn’t helping. Lilo sat between the two pods with her back pressed up against the machine. She lightly taped her head against the hard metal, making a soft ding sound join each passing second. Jimar sat on the other side of Puddles pod with his eyes closed. Lilo could tell from his breathing that he hadn’t fallen asleep, but felt no need to stop him if he were to try.

She could see out of the corner of her eye that Monty and Ava had curled up under Stitch’s arms against the wall. Lilo made a quick call to Angel and Reuben after the children had fallen asleep. Just to let them know that the two were safe. The sudden disappearance of their kids had done a number on them, but they were thankful that Stitch and Lilo would be there for them.

Lilo subconsciously fiddled with her ring. No matter how many times they went through this she would never get used to the waiting. It didn’t help that she wasn’t sure what Nani would say when she finally returned. With everything that had transpired it was anyone’s guess on what she was thinking. She gently traced the line around the ring with her finger. She smiled slightly at the light indentations of Stitch’s number. Becoming so engrossed in the lone happy feeling, she almost didn’t notice Mertle sit down next to her.

“Hey,” Said Mertle a little awkwardly.

“Hey,” Lilo replied just as awkwardly. She was prepared for anything Mertle had to say to her. With Monty revealing her secret, she expected some sort of comment from Mertle at some point. Might as well get this out of the way…

“What’s that?” Mertle asked to Lilo's surprise. She nodded towards the ring on Lilo’s finger. “I never really noticed it before. It’s kind of pretty.”

Victoria’s right. This is weird. “It’s Stitch’s ring. This machine makes them based on the couple that goes in. See?” She lifted the ring up to get the light to hit it just right. “It has Stitch’s number on it. He has one with my name as well. It sort of connects us. Gigi and Puddles will get one too.”

“When you say connect…”

“Physically. More so for me and Stitch than any of the cousins. A normal human would die going through what they are. So Jumba had to tweak it. Stitch’s and my genetic code got combined so I could survive. Now I have a weaker version of all of his physical abilities. And he’s a little more human too.”

Suddenly a lot of the things Lilo had done the past few years made sense. The incident at the dance, the sudden disappearances, and being able to save Monochrome and Sam from falling off the cliff. “Can I see it?”

“No.” Lilo pulled her hand back instinctively. “Sorry. We can’t take them off. If we remove them it’s extremely painful to the other. Stitch says it’s like your heart is slowly torn apart.”

“Oh. Never mind then.” Silence fell between the two girls for a few moments. It was the first real time they’d been alone in years. The last time they could remember was when they were attached at the wrist by Link, and that led to them spending the majority of the time fighting. “So. You and Stitch huh? Can’t say I’m surprised. You always did have weird tastes in everything. I can’t really say I understand how you could be in love with your dog.”

Lilo let out a sigh. “He’s not a dog.”

“I know. I guess I’m not much different.” She looked over to her friend behind the glass. “I love Gigi. She’s an alien. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m happy for you… and a little jealous.”

”You’re jealous of me?”

“Yeah. I haven’t felt much love in my life. I mean I have my friends,but that’s different. For the longest time they were really just scared of me. Scared that I would-“

“Do to them what you did to me?”

Mertle brought her knees up close to her. “Yeah… Sorry. I really shouldn’t have done that. I get that now. Gigi really was the first time I actually felt loved, but before that… I guess I was jealous back then too. You just seemed so happy. Had a great family. Where as in mine… mom and dad fought a lot. I know mom loves me, but I don’t think she’s been the same since dad left. I guess I wanted what you had. Then after your parents… I shouldn’t have done what I did. I was really terrible, huh?”

“Yeah you were….” Lilo agreed, nodding a little. “But I still always saw you guys as my friends. I did some things I shouldn’t have either. Sorry I hit you all those times. And pulled your hair. And bit you.”

“Apology accepted…. If you’ll accept mine.”

Lilo thought it over for a moment before sticking out her hand. “Friends?”

“Friends,” Mertle said as she accepted the handshake and returned the friendly gesture with a smile.

The two laughed for a moment before letting out all the tension and animosity that was held between them for years. Feelings that were poisonous not only to them, but those around them. It was like the air had actually cleared, bringing back the happiness they had before they began fighting. Lilo always wanted to be friends again, and now it seemed her wish was finally coming true.

Mertle’s eyes darted towards Puddles’ pod. She leaned in close to Lilo and began to whisper. “So. Girl talk. Since Jimar’s asleep. Do you think he’d say yes if I asked him out?”

“Uh…” Lilo smirked. Lately she had kind of been a matchmaker, but setting up humans was something out of her element. “Jimar’s not actually asleep.”

“What?”

“And I can hear everything you’re saying,” he said from the other side of the pod while still keeping his eyes closed.

Lilo started to giggle as Mertle turned beet red. The little moment was ended by the sound of the machine finishing its job. Stitch looked up as the soft beep filled the room.

“It’s time,” Lilo said with a smile.

Stitch, and Lilo were ready at the pods. The two experiments were going to need a moment to adjust again before moving on their own. Jimar and Mertle stood by, hoping that their friends were okay. Thankfully their hopes were fulfilled. Gigi and Puddles were a little groggy, but were back to their regular selves. Or at least as regular as they would ever be again. Lilo and Stitch took the new rings, which had taken the form of collars, from the small domes. Each one was light gray in colour, matching together perfectly. Albeit with one having small black specks. Their respective numbers were then given to the love of their life. Along with an explanation about why they could never take them off. The explanation was just as much for Mertle and Jimar as it was for them. As the one true place they needed to look out for their companions. But Lilo and Stitch didn’t see any problems coming for them.

All they needed to figure out was how to let Gigi and Puddles spend some time together. Though from the way Mertle looked at Jimar, it didn’t feel like that was going to be much of an issue either.

With everything going smoothly it was time to get everybody home. Some much needed sleep was going to be very much welcomed. Stitch was gently waking up Ava and Monty when Nani and Jumba returned to the secret lab. Nani took her sister to the side to talk while everyone got ready to go. Monty and Ava’s eyes shot open when they heard the sisters begin to argue.

“I’m sorry, Lilo,” Nani said pleadingly. Her apology and explanation wasn’t going over as well as she hoped. “I’m still not entirely okay with you and Stitch being together-“

“Why not?” Lilo cut her sister off. “Even after all of this you still can’t let Stitch be back?”

“That’s not… You’re not letting me finish. I was going to say.”

“No!” Lilo shouted. She was hoping when Nani returned she would say Stitch was allowed home. Instead she was hearing that her sister still didn’t understand why they love each other. She was completely heartbroken and she had finally had enough. As far as she was concerned she could leave and just be with him. Out of frustration and anger she didn’t let Nani finish apologizing. “I don’t care what you were going to say. If you can’t understand it then I don’t care.”

Monty looked to his sister. They hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Noticing that Nani was away, Monty wanted to go tell her to let Stitch back and he felt like he failed by missing his chance. Ava however had a different idea. They had to do something now.

“Go,” she mouthed to her brother.

Monty nodded before they both ran over to the arguing sisters. Stitch noticed them going over and followed after. He wanted Lilo and Nani to work things out on their own. He called after them but neither one listened. Managing to catch Ava he tried his best at grabbing Monty as well, but the young child escaped his grasp.

“Lilo, if you would just let me-“ Nani tried to get a word in edgewise. Her sister wasn’t giving her any chances.

The two continued to argue back and forth. Lilo wouldn’t let Nani say anything, and even started to leave. She was ready to just take Stitch and go. Nani wasn’t going to let her leave. She wanted them to be a family, but couldn’t get the words out no matter how hard she tried. Neither of them noticed that Monty had joined them, trying his best to say something. Every time he went to speak one of them would cut him off. He could see that the argument was reaching a peak and grew worried and nervous. As the sisters grew louder and louder, no longer caring about keeping it between them, Stitch finally got a hold of Monty and started pulling him away.

Desperate and unable to escape Stitch’s grasp. Monty looked back and forth between Lilo and Nani. He had to say something. Anything to make it end.

Without thinking Monty yelled out a single word with a ring in his voice.

“Stop!”

Everyone looked towards the young child as his voiced echoed through the room a few times. It took a few moments before his unintentional command took hold. But once it did it hit hard. There was a change in the room. Lilo and Stitch could feel the breathing of everyone around them become light. And soon followed by the sound of people falling to the floor one by one. Wide-eyed Lilo knelt down beside Nani who fell before her.

“Nani?” She asked, hoping this was just some sort of silly game. She shook her sister lightly but got no response. “Nani?!” She shook harder, barely able to feel a pulse in her. Nani’s eyes were closed, and no amount of opening them helped.

Monty shook his head as he saw what he had done. He turned to the others and gasped in horror. Jumba, Mertle, Jimar, Gigi, and Puddles were all in the same state as Nani. Completely motionless. It was like a nightmare come true. No. I didn’t want this. I just wanted the yelling to stop. I just wanted to help. His nightmare wasn’t over yet though. He slowly turned around, hearing Stitch behind him.

“Ava?” Stitch asked while shaking Ava now cradled in his arms. “Ava, sweetie?”

Monty saw the motionless form of his sister, unable to answer the coaxing of her Uncle. He wrapped his arms around him, trying to stop the shivers running through his body. All he could do was watch as Stitch and Lilo did their best to get an answer from their loved ones. All to no avail.

“Ava… Ava, wake up!”

“Nani, please get up. I’m so sorry. Please…”

Chapter Text

Monty did everything he could to wake them all up. No matter what he said, no matter what he ordered, nothing he tried seemed to work. The command to stop made them unperceptive to everything. They couldn’t even tell if what they were saying was getting through to them. Worse yet, their pulses and breathing were both slowly getting weaker. The reality of the situation quickly set in. Their friends and family were dying. They hadn’t just stop talking, standing, or being awake. Their bodies were going to slowly stop functioning all together. It was only a matter of time. Time that they didn’t have and didn’t know when it was going to run out.

Lilo tried to hold back tears as she begged and pleaded for Nani to wake up. She felt Stitch’s hand rest on her shoulder and instantly all of her emotions poured out.

“Nani! Please,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry I got mad at you. Please get up. I won’t argue anymore. Just say something. Anything. Yell at me. Scold me. Tell me I was wrong… just… say something.”

“Lilo…” Stitch’s voice was pained but soothing. He knelt down beside her, wrapping his arm around her. “It’ll be okie-taka. She’ll get up. They all will.”

“What if she doesn’t, Stitch?” Lilo asked. She was completely broken. “What if the last thing I ever said to her was those mean and horrible things? I already lost my parents. I can’t lose Nani too.”

“Those naga be last words,” he told her with a comforting look deep in her eyes. “We fix this. We always get through everything.” He wiped away her tears with his thumbs and cupped her face soothingly. ”Whenever things seem hopeless, yuuga always pull through.”

Stitch’s words took her back to all the times they thought they were beat. Stitch’s glitch, being captured by Hamsterveil, all the experiment hunting gone wrong, and the Leroy battle. It didn’t matter how impossible or bleak it all seemed. She managed to pull through in the end. They always did together. Our love is stronger than anything. It can beat anything, even death.

“We always do together.”

She wiped away her tears and started formulating a plan. Setting up all their friends against the wall, she had Stitch run and get Pleakley and David. They were going to need someone to do whatever they could for all seven of them. Anything to keep them alive longer. She asked Monty if there was anything he could think of. Anything he hadn’t tried yet to bring them back.

“I-I-I don’t kn-know,” he stuttered. He was still just a child and was clearly scared and worried.

“Listen, Monty,” Lilo said calmly while petting his head slowly. “It’s okay to be scared. I’m scared too. But you need to be strong okay? You need to be strong for Ava. We can fix this. Just relax and try to think clearly.”

Monty nodded and took a deep breath. He never had to take a command back before. He wasn’t even entirely sure it was in his power too. All he knew was that his powers hadn’t worked on Lilo or Stitch, and that they seemed to fade away on his parents.

“Mom and Dad!” he suddenly exclaimed. “It never lasts with them. Maybe there’s something they do.”

Lilo nodded. “Okay. I’ll give them a call. You keep trying.”

As Lilo used the communicator in the lab Stitch returned with David and Pleakley.

“Oh no, Jumba!” Pleakley yelled, nearly fumbling over himself as he rushed to the large alien’s side. “You’re okay. You’re okay,” he repeated before slapping Jumba’s face to try and wake him up.

“I don’t think that’s helping, Pleakley,” David said. He started pulling the hysterical alien up onto his feet. “From what Stitch said they’ve tried everything already.” His eyes darted to Nani sitting at the end and felt a twinge in his heart. “We just have to do what we can for them.”

“You’re right,” Pleakley agreed. While wiping a tear from his eye he got himself back under control. “What can we do?”

“We need to get them set up in the healing pods. Meega don’t know if it will help, but we’ll be able to see their condition.” Stitch said, counting the bodies. “Meega just hopes he has enough.”

With their jobs set Pleakley and David started bringing in some pods while Monty continued his vain attempts to wake them up. He was extra careful not to say anything that could harm anyone else in the process. Stitch saw Lilo return and ran to her side.

“Any luck?” he asked, hopeful that the sad look on her face was from something else.

“No.” Lilo shook her head solemnly. “Angel and Reuben don’t know anything. They offered to come over to help, but I told them not to. Angel was insistent but I don’t know what they can do. Reuben understood. It wouldn’t be good for them to see Ava like this…”

“I can’t do it!” Monty suddenly shouted, accompanied by banging his fist into the floor. “Nothing I do is working.”

He stayed on the ground while his sister was carefully lifted into a pod. There were just enough for everyone but the room became very crowded. David kept an eye on everyone’s monitors. He wasn't entirely sure what everything meant, but he did not like how low the numbers were getting. Every so often his eyes would dart to Nani. It looked like she was sleeping but he knew better. If they didn’t do something soon she would never wake up again. And that scared him the most.

A couple hours had passed since Gigi and Puddles had come out of the machine. The pods were helping their friends but it was clear things were getting worse. Their heart rates were becoming dangerously low and Stitch, with the help of Lilo, altered the pods so that they could artificially increase their heart rate and breathing. Even that wouldn’t last long though. The command to stop had taken hold and no amount of helping could override Monty’s ability. The group had become desperate and tired as well as emptied of ideas.

Pleakley stood over Jumba, trying to hold back his shakiness and worries. “Oh, Jumba. If only you were here. You’d know how to fix this.”

“Meega already checked his files. He had naga on Monty’s power.” Stitch said as he started increasing the power of the pods.

“Nothing?” Lilo asked, suddenly shooting up from behind another pod. “As in absolutely nothing?”

“Ih,” Stitch said sadly. “All meega found was the entry from when Ava and Monty were born.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” she said to herself. “I gave him some of Monty’s hair to be analyzed. He should have done that a while ago.”

“I nota. Isa why I went to check. Unless Jumba keeps files somewhere else… meega don’t know where to look though.”

“Did you try his audio logs?” Pleakley asked.

Everyone stopped and stared at him for a moment.

“Audio logs?”

“Yeah.” Pleakley started to walk back to the main lab with Lilo and Stitch in tow. “Whenever Jumba is working he records audio logs. That way he doesn’t need to insert things into his main system files until he is absolutely definitive on it. He always gets mad at me when I intrude during one of his entries. I always tell him he needs to keep things more organized though. He always forgets to go back through them and-“

“Pleakley,” Lilo said to stop his digression.

“Right,” he said, getting back to the main issue. “If he was analyzing something he would have left an audio log.” He typed a few things into the computer until a large directory of audio files popped up. Lilo and Stitch felt overjoyed until a password screen appeared.

“Choota,” Stitch cursed. “Meega will need to hack into it.”

“No need,” Pleakley said and started typing in the words ‘evil genius.’ The password screen instantly disappeared leaving them open to all of Jumba’s files. “He may be an evil genius. But he is rather simple.”

“Takka, Pleakley.”

Open to all of Jumba’s files it didn’t take them long to find the ones on Monty. There were only two, but they were hopeful that it would give them the answers they would need. Sadly, as they listened to the computerized voice of Jumba their hopes were quickly dashed.

“Any long lasting command will become permanent after a few hours,” Jumba’s voice continued. “No cure or reverse has been found yet. It’s possible that a cure to his ability has just not developed yet.”

“Well that explains why I wasn’t affected.” Lilo said to Stitch. “My genetics are mixed with yours. If you’re unaffected so am I.”

“So we can’t fix what I did?” Monty asked from the doorway. He had listened in and heard the whole thing. He ran over and grabbed onto Lilo’s dress with tears in his eyes. “It’s already been a couple hours are we too late?”

“No were not too late,” Lilo said determined. “Stitch play the other file. Maybe he found something else.”

With a click of a button Jumba’s voiced started to echo through the lab again.

“Further analysis on Monty’s DNA leads me to believe that there is indeed a way to reverse the effects by his commands. The only way is-“ Jumba’s voice cut out replaced by the sound of a door opening and a new voice replacing it.

“Jumba? What are you doing in here so late? You’re going to miss supper… It is a mess in here. When was the last time you cleaned?”

“Pleakley!” Jumba’s voice shouted. “How many times am I telling you not to be bothering me while I am working? We need to stop-“

With that the recording ended. Lilo and Stitch glared at Pleakley. All he could do was laugh nervously as he gave an apologetic look.

“Did you find anything?” David asked optimistically.

“Ih,” Stitch said. “There isa way to reverse it.”

“Well?”

“We would know,” Lilo said with a tinge of animosity. “But someone interrupted right before Jumba said what the cure was. And that’s not all. If we don’t figure it out soon, then there is no way to reverse it. So it’s a possibility that even if we figure it out it could be too late to do anything.”

Dread filled the room. Time was ticking by and the only one who knew how to reverse the effects was currently out cold. They were back to square one with the only change being that they at least knew they could do something. Ideas were becoming fewer and farther between however, and the stress was starting to get to everyone. Especially Monty. The guilt was swelling up inside of him. Monty stood at his sister’s pod, while David was at Nani’s, and Pleakley was at Jumba’s. Lilo and Stitch worked at the main console together. Doing everything they could to make sure everyone was kept alive just a little longer.

Please don’t go. Monty placed his hand against the glass of Ava’s pod. I need you. You’re my sister. Who’s going to be my partner to steal cookies? Or come up with new games to play? We’re a team. He saw his reflection and began to cry. Tears gently fell onto the glass before rolling off. The other’s wanted to comfort him but there was little that could be done. They could all feel the impending time limit come upon them. I wish I never said anything.

“I wish I never got this stupid power from mom,” He said to himself.

Stitch’s ears twitched at his comment. “What did yuuga say?”

“I said I wish I didn’t get this power from mom,” he repeated.

“That’s it!” Stitch exclaimed. He picked up Lilo and spinning her around in the air. She began to smile as she understood where Stitch was going.

“I’m don't get it,” said David. “How does not wanting his power fix this?”

“It isn’t him not wanting his power,” Lilo began as she started typing into the life support council. One by one the pods began to open. “It’s that he inherited it from Angel.”

“And Angel does...?”

“Angel turn cousins evil with her song.” Stitch checked over everyone in the pods to make sure all their ears were clear. “But the effect isa cured if she sings it backwards.”

“So all I need to do is give the command backwards?” Monty said with hope in his heart.

“And then Jumba and everyone else will be okay?” Pleakley added.

“Theoretically.” Stitch gave Lilo a nod stating that everyone was good. This was their last shot. If this didn’t work it didn’t matter if time ran out or not. Their friends wouldn’t be able to last any longer.

“Okay, Monty,” Lilo said. “It’s all you!”

Monty stood in front of all the pods. He cleared his throat and concentrated hard. The stake of the situation rested heavy in his thoughts. Despite that he kept hope in his heart that everything was going to be okay. Everything had to be okay. I just need to say ‘stop’ backwards? Easy enough.

“Pots!” he shouted, his voice echoing through the room with a ring.

Everyone waited with baited breath hoping that it worked. Lilo checked everyone’s vitals on the monitor. Sadly there was no change. It continued to slowly fall with each and every beep. She shook her head no and Monty tried again. Try as he might no change could be seen.

“Are we too late?” Pleakley asked, teeth clenched on his mu’umu’u.

“No! We can’t be!” Monty tried again and again. No matter how much he worked nothing happened. Quickly his hope began to fade, and with it so did his charisma. “It can’t be.”

Pleakley and David looked to the ground heartbroken.

Lilo furrowed her brow. “Something isn’t right.” Stitch agreed. They were the only two there that had heard Angel’s song in reverse and the way Monty was speaking wasn’t right. “It isn’t enough to just turn the word around. You need to pronounce it backwards too.”

“How do I do that?”

“Sound isa out.” Stitch said. “Yuuga need to break it down and then reverse it.”

Monty started to mouth the word out, figuring out how the word worked. “Stop. Suh…tah…p…” And then reverse it. P..hat..hus. Figuring out how the word reverses he cleared his voice once again. “Phathus!” His voice echoed through the room a final time with his commanding ring.

Everyone held their breaths as they waited and hoped that it was finally over. A couple of long seconds passed with no change. Seconds that felt like the longest eternity. It was their final idea. Nothing else came to mind and it was the only thing that made any sense. If it didn’t work then they lost and would lose all of their friends. The moments continued to pass until they finally heard a loud and strong beep. One that broke the low sound they had all heard since turning the healing pods on. One that signified their vitals returning to normal.

It was a relatively slow process, however it was nowhere near as long as waiting for the cold hand of death to take their loved ones. As their breathing and heart rates returned to normal the eyes of those in the pods started to flutter open. Jumba quickly bounded up, instantly feeling Pleakley’s arms wrap around him. Mertle and Jimar awoke to the feeling of wet tongues licking at their faces. Puddles and Gigi gave light barks as their friends got up to greet them. Ava was greeted by the happy face of her brother. She didn’t understand why he hugged her so suddenly, but she returned the warm affection just the same. Nani slowly lifted herself with the help of David.

“Welcome back, Nani,” he said with tears nearly falling from his eyes. The thought of losing her was a tough one to bare. thankfully he didn’t have to hold it any longer.

“Back?” she asked confused. “What happened? Last I remember, Lilo and I were… Lilo?”

She saw her sister at her side with a sad look on her face that hadn’t been shown since they lost their parents. Seeing Nani moving again Lilo couldn’t hold it back anymore either. She let out tears of happiness as she flung herself around her sister.

“I’m so sorry,” she wept. “I’m sorry I disobeyed you. And went behind your back. And lied to you. And said all those mean things. And…and…and…”

“Sh. Sh. Sh,” Nani said soothingly. “What’s going on?”

“It’s a long story.” David gave her a long and drawn out kiss on the top of her head. “We almost lost you, but everything’s okay now.”

“Lost me?” Nani still didn’t know what was going on, but it was clear that it was something big. “Come on Lilo don’t cry,” she said while rubbing Lilo’s back. “I’m okay. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” She could still feel and hear her sister’s sobs into her. “I’m the one that’s sorry.”

“Huh?” Lilo tried wiping away her tears.

“I did some terrible things. I shouldn’t have tried to tear you two apart. I was just scared and didn’t know what to do. I understand that I was wrong, and that I was being childish. Nothing I can do or say can ever make up for it. I tried to tell you that but… it didn’t come out right and then-”

“No!” Lilo insisted. “It was me. I got mad at you and wouldn’t let you say anything. It was my fault. If I would have just given you a chance since the start then things wouldn’t have gotten like this. You were just trying to protect me.”

Nani shook her head. “No. I know you don’t need me to protect you. I was trying to protect myself. I didn’t want you to change. I didn’t want you to grow up. I saw your love as you leaving me. I’m supposed to be the adult here and I acted like a kid. I hope you’ll be able to forgive me.”

“I can forgive you.” Lilo hugged her sister tightly. “As long as you can forgive me for all the things I did. You’re my sister. I’m always going to need you. No matter what happens I’ll need you, Nani. But I am growing up.”

Nani smiled. “Just don’t grow up too fast. Promise?”

“Promise.” Lilo finally felt at home in her sister’s arms again. For the longest time they felt like strangers, but now she finally knew that they could be a family again. “Are we an ‘ohana again now?”

“Yes. We’re an ‘ohana.”

Out of the corner of her eye Nani saw Stitch step forward a little. “You’re a part of this ‘ohana too, Stitch.” She opened her arm and with one of the largest smiles he’s ever had he jumped into a group hug.

It would take some time for everyone to heal. But they were a strong family. A family that could work through anything as long as they did it together. With this experience behind them their bond could only get stronger.

“I think it’s time we went home,” Nani said, giving a final squeeze in their hug. “All of us.”

“This is all touching and everything,” Mertle said after the moment went on for a little while. “But can we go home too?”

The family laughed as they broke their hug. It was indeed time for everyone to go home. A lot had happened and it was time for a good and well deserved rest. One that they were all going to wake up better from. Tomorrow would be a new day and the Pelekai house would greet it as a family once again.

Separation Arc End

Chapter Text

It was a terrifying drive home for Monty. As much as he was glad to have his sister back safe and sound he couldn’t help but feel the immense guilt. As she snuggled into him, not wanting to let go, he thought about what he had almost done. Images of the moment she and everyone were almost lost filled his mind bringing unwanted tears in his eyes. Not wanting his sister to see he held them in. All he did was try to hold her even tighter than before.

Ava could feel his grip and knew what he was thinking. There was nothing for her to say though. Any words of comfort would do little to calm his fears and worries. All she was capable of doing was remind him that she was still here, and hope she would be able to convince him that it wasn’t his fault. Already she was able to hear his arguments clear in her mind.

“It was my idea.”

“It’s my power.”

“I’m the one that did it.”

In reality she was just as much to blame. Ava had been just as excited for their plan and encouraged him along. In the end she gave him the go ahead to enact it. While it didn’t go how they wanted she was accountable all the same. Still… I’m not the one who would have lost something. It was amazing for them to understand the concept of death at such a young age. Even more amazing that she was able to handle it so well. Soon they would realize that Ava wasn’t dealing with it as well as she thought. To know how close to dying you were leaves something behind. Something that’s not easy to get rid of. It was more likely that it was just the shock of the situation that made her appear so calm.

Fearing what his parents were going to say and do Monty was shocked to be embraced immediately with open and loving arms. Where he thought would be anger and punishment, he found love and comfort.

That night Monty sat up in his bed. The thought of sleep terrified him. Not wanting to see what his dreams held. Reuben just finished tucking in Ava in the top bunk before hopping down beside Angel.

“You need to go to sleep, Sweetie,” Angel encouraged again.

“I can’t.” Monty shook he head.

“What’s wrong?” Reuben asked, sitting on the bed beside his son. “Is it about what happened tonight?”

Monty nodded slowly, staring down into his folded hands in shame. “What I can do… is terrible. Horrible. I make people do things. Things they don't want. There is so much bad inside of me… I don’t want it. I don’t want this power.”

Angel sat down as well and began rubbing Monty’s cheek with her soft hand. “Oh, Monty. You shouldn’t be upset with who you are. You can’t change it and I wouldn’t want you to. You’re special. So is your sister. No matter what happens we’ll always love you.”

“But what if I’m actually bad…”

Angel and Reuben shared a worried look. With the reason that they were originally created, they had a small worry that they’re children might also feel those old urges they had.

“Listen, Monty,” Reuben said as he wrapped his arm around his son’s shoulder. “When your mom and I first met we weren’t exactly on the straight and narrow path. We did a lot of things we regret. Made a lot of bad choices. Really bad.”

“You did?” Monty looked up, shocked to hear that his parents weren’t always the stand-up citizens they appeared to be. “What did you do?”

“I tried to turn the cousins against Stitch,” Angel admitted with a sad sigh. “Almost did too.”

“And I was on the other side. Helping the ones that Lilo and Stitch were trying to stop,” Reuben said. “We did a lot of things we shouldn’t have. We all have a little bad in us.” He saw his son look back down. “But there’s also a lot of good in us. It’s our choice to make.”

“We get to choose?” Monty wondered more than asked.

“We do. You can let this power inside of you do bad things. Or you can make something wonderful happen with it. It’s your decision. And I know you’ll pick the right one. Don’t worry about it yet. You’re still just a kid. Enjoy being young for now and have some fun.”

“Okay, Dad,” he said with a smile. It would take time. But he knew as long as he had a choice he could live with what he could do. All in hopes that one day he could make up for what he had done that night. “Thank you.”

Reuben and Angel hugged their son before finally tucking him in for bed. With a final kiss on the forehead they turned off the light and closed the door to the room. Monty laid awake for a while. Still very worried about what would come when his eyes finally closed. His eyes slowly began to flutter when he heard a whisper come from above.

“Monty?” the voice asked.

“Yeah, Ava?” he replied.

“For what it’s worth. No matter what happens I’ll always love you too.”

He felt his breath draw short with her words. “Thank you.”

Ava went to sleep with a smile that night. As did her brother. They were always told that family was the most important thing. It wasn’t until now that they truly understood how much and why.

Life returned to normal, or as normal as it could for everyone. A few days passed since the fateful night but it still seemed like just the night before. No one spoke of what nearly happened. Only of what came from it. Realization and love. In a few short months so many things had happened and so many lives had changed.

Gigi watched as Mertle headed off to spend time with her friends. She waited eagerly for their time apart, because it meant she could go off to be with the one she loved. In the end Gigi and Puddles decided to stay in their one true place. It wouldn’t be right to leave their friends after everything that happened. Instead they would see each other as much as they could. Which was quite a bit seeing as Mertle and Jimar were slowly becoming closer.

As soon as she saw her puppy love she dashed to his side. His face light up like the night sky at the sight of her. He was all ready to go. Able to feel her presence through his collar. It was an odd sensation, one that they would get used to over time. But there wasn’t a moment it didn’t feel amazing.

Walking towards their hidden spot where they liked to play they were so close together that their fur brushed each others with each and every step. Nuzzling into his neck every moment she got the chance Gigi felt Puddles tense up for a moment.

“What’s wrong?” Gigi asked as they stopped.

“Nothing,” Puddles said, but his gaze didn’t waiver.

She followed his eyes to find a sprinkler on a lawn up ahead. A cool puddle slowly forming on the side walk.

“It’s okay you know,” she reminded him.

“I know,” he said. “But I’d rather spend my time with you.”

It was outstanding that he could control himself in the presence of a puddle. It must have had something to do with the machine they were put in. His need to splash and make a mess calming now that he had the one he loved beside him.

Gigi gave a small smile before running over to the puddle herself. Puddles called after her but she didn’t stop, forcing him to give chase. Reaching the puddle she began splashing in it herself, hoping Puddles would join in. With his boojiboo at his side Puddles joined in the fun. Filled with happiness that Gigi was so supportive of him no matter what it was.

Light laughter and the sound of splashing could be heard not too far away but Click didn’t pay any attention to it. Instead his focus was on the small camera in his hand.

“Come on,” he said. His fingers tinkered with the inner workings of the old Polaroid camera.

“Isa okie-taka if isa naga work,” Monochrome said with worry at his growing frustration.

She knew he was excited to see if the old camera could take a picture of him. It was frustrating to love technology so much and never get to use it.

“Meega think meega got it!” he exclaimed.

“Smish,” she sighed. It was the fourth time that he thought he got it working. However each time the device only spat out a black picture.

Squeezing in together Click held the camera in front of them. With a light click and a bright flash the photo was taken. Sadly it was blank yet again. Click was completely crushed. Even with an old device he was still immune. Monochrome could see the devastated look on his face as he finally gave up on his endeavor.

“Naga worry, Click.” She rubbed his back comfortingly. “Isa okie-taka that isa naga work.”

“Meega nota… Meega used to isa. Isa just that meega really wanted a picture of us together.”

“Of us?” Monochrome had no idea his efforts were something for them. In all their time together they didn’t have a single thing to mark as a memento of their relationship. “Oh, Click.”

There wasn’t anything she could do. It seemed entirely futile to continue to attempt getting the old camera to work. No matter what age it was technology was still technology. Click’s ability doomed him immune to all type of photography.

“Hmm….” she said out loud as she began to think. Technology doesn’t work…. But there’s other ways to get a picture. “Meega have an idea!” she announced.

Nearly dragging him along with her Monochrome headed to the last place she remembered seeing her destination. Click asked to know where they were going a few times but she decided it was best to keep a secret. It didn’t take long for them to reach what she was looking for, and the thoughtful look on Click’s face made her worried that he didn’t like it.

Click looked over the caricature artist stand. Samples of pictures he had done in the past stood on the street. Funny pictures showing off the characteristics of each model shown. However there were a few still life’s as well. It was completely and utterly beautiful, and he was so moved that Monochrome would bring him there.

“Monochrome…” he said with love, eyes lit up with joy. “This isa perfect.”

She was delighted to hear so and was happy to sit with him while they had themselves sketched. It wasn’t a photograph. But it was the next best thing, and it was more meaningful than anything else they could have had done.

Daniel watched Click and Monochrome run off from outside the front of the shop. For a moment he wondered where they had gone, but quickly his view returned to the phone on the shop counter. The store wasn’t busy. Leaving him a lot of time to think. Since the evening he told Lilo’s sister of his suspicions of Styles he hadn’t seen Lilo at all. He didn’t know if she was mad at him or if they just didn’t cross paths. Either way the thought of it filled almost every free moment he had.

He picked up the phone, finger hovering over the numbers. It would be only a few short seconds before he could hear her voice and find out what she was thinking. Instead he slammed the phone back onto the receiver. Unable to actually go through with it.

From across the street Kea and Kel walked by, eating their thirty seventh flavor of ice cream that day. They saw his display at the phone and paused for a few moments before continuing on.

“It would be easier if he would get it over with,” Kea said unenthusiastically.

“Indeed,” Kel agreed while taking another lick of her frozen treat. “It would be interesting to see how it plays out. Though I can already imagine the outcome.”

“Mhmm. However it might not matter for too much longer.”

“You are correct. Best to enjoy things to their fullest.”

After a few moments Kea looked down at his ice cream cone in slight disdain. “Whoever decided peanut butter made a good flavor of ice cream clearly had no taste.” He threw his cone in a nearby trash can followed quickly by Kel. “Shall we try another?”

“Only if I get to pick the flavor this time.”

“Deal.”

Teresa watched as two teens ran passed the front of her family’s pawn shop. She hoped it would be a customer but once again no one came in. She silently filled the display case, hoping that her friends were having fun at their movie. She wanted to join but her father took a turn for the worse and she had to help out even more. Even though the tourist season was long since over they still had a lot to do. Recovering from the busy times always took a lot of effort. Redistributing their stocked up merchandise throughout the store had to be done in the exact perfect way for her father. If even one thing was out of place, or in the wrong spot, then it would all have to be done over again.

“Teresa!” her mom called from the back of the shop. “Your father just called. Make sure the coins are all arranged in alphabetical order of country as well as from newest to oldest.”

“Yes, Mom!” she yelled back.

It was never a problem to help out at the shop. She really enjoyed helping out her family, especially since her dad wasn’t able to do much. Teresa just wished that she could spend some more time with her friends.

While working on the coin display she heard the front door open. A light jingle of the hanging bells filling the store. Teresa automatically started saying her rehearsed welcomes, not looking up from the display case.

“Welcome to 'Nik ‘N’ Nak Pawning.’ What can we help you find?”

What she didn’t expect was to hear a very familiar voice reply back.

“We were just looking around. Wondering if there was anything we could help with.” The voice was immediately followed by a chorus of, “Yeah.”

“Mertle? Elena? Yuki?” She said, turning to see her friends standing above her. “What are you guys doing here? What about the movie?”

“The movie can wait,” Mertle said unexpectedly. She was the one most excited to go see the show. “We would rather spend time with you. Now. What can I do to help?”

“Um… The uh, VHS’s over there need to be put in order. Alphabetical as well as company.”

“The ones in those boxes?”

Teresa nodded to her friend’s question.

“Consider it done.”

As Mertle went to start on her new job Teresa turned to her other friends, still shocked to see they had come to help.

“What’s really going on?” she whispered to them.

“Mertle said we should come help out,” Yuki said.

“Yeah,” Elena continued. “We got to the theater and she said it wouldn’t be right without you. We were really surprised. Now we’re here.”

“She’s really changed a lot.”

The three looked over to Mertle. She was no longer the mean spirited girl they used to fear. She was now an amazing friend. One that started to put others before herself. One that actually enjoys spending time together rather than just bossing each other around.

It was really nice to have the nice Mertle back. It felt like forever since they last saw a genuine smile on her face. Teresa couldn’t help but smile herself knowing that she had such amazing friends there for her.

“Yeah. She really has.”

Many lives had changed over the past few months. In such a short amount of time a lot of love grew. As well as acceptance. Acceptance of each other, acceptance of friends, and most of all acceptance of love. No one chose who they were, but their choices shape who they will one day come to be. None of this could have happened if a little genetic experiment didn’t meet a small child on one fateful day many years ago. Their love was contagious. And together they could bring joy to those around them. Even though tough times laid before them. They always make it through them together. However there are some hurdles they can’t jump over on their own.

Soon Lilo and Stitch would have to face one of these hurdles. And it lay just beyond a knock at the door.

Chapter Text

Life had returned to the Pelekai household. With Stitch back everyone was slowly returning to their original spirits and selves. There was still a lot of things to work out though. Nani still found it strange how Lilo and Stitch acted around each other. Given time she would get used to it. Or at least she hoped she would. After a while even she had to admit it was a little cute. Even if it was different.

“Different is good,” became another life motto. Truly their family had always been different. It was what made them such a good ‘ohana.

Jumba returned to his usual evil genius experimenting. Pleakley was able to do chores and do his ‘research’ with as much vigor as before. Nani was constantly yelling about everything being a mess or being late for work again. All the while David watched it all happen before him, smiling at how lucky he was to have stumbled into such a great life. Everything returned to how it was before.

Everything was the same except for Lilo and Stitch. They hadn’t realized how much strain it put on them to keep their relationship hidden. Having gotten so good at it it didn’t feel like much. However now that they could cuddle, hold each other’s hands, and even give loving kisses as much as they want they felt a freedom they never had before. No longer did they worry about watching eyes or listening ears. After years of being together they were now a completely ‘normal’ couple. Not that 'normal' was exactly how they would describe their relationship.

It had felt like life had finally just gotten on track. The frightening events had happened more than a week ago now. Lilo had a new found friendship with Myrtle and things with Daniel seemed to cool down. Lilo had tried to avoid him for as long as she could, still upset at him for telling Nani about Styles. Even if it did end up okay in the end it was a really mean thing to do. Thankfully she mostly only ever saw him in Photography club and at those times Styles was there keeping him at bay. Whenever he did manage to catch her without him it always looked like he was about to say something but he never did.

“If you want to say something you should just say it,” Lilo said, getting exasperated by his continued display.

Daniel somehow managed to catch her alone at her locker before school started. Only a few students were scattered around the halls. Once again his mouth hung open. His words unable to escape past his dry lips. He could tell from her tone that she hadn’t forgiven him for what he had done, and he wasn’t sure if he even wanted forgiveness. He spent the day before staring at the phone again. Trying to decide if he should call her or not. Ultimately he picked the latter as per usual.

What should I even say? Daniel wondered to himself. This was his chance to finally talk to her and he suddenly realized that he hadn’t even figured out what he wanted to talk to her about. All that ran through his mind was if she was upset with him. I guess that’s as good a place to start as any.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked.

“Am I mad? Of course I am.” Lilo closed her locker a little too loudly.

“I don’t want us to fight.”

“Well you should have thought of that before you went and told my sister about Styles. You knew she didn’t like him then. We were seeing each other in secret. But I guess I should thank you. Now she accepts us and our love. We’re even closer now than ever. So thanks.”

Her words stung him. He had no idea that they were seeing each other in secret. He just assumed that they were openly dating and Nani didn’t agree with it. Though thinking about it Daniel was hoping for some effect to come from him talking to her sister. The effect he expected though wasn’t the one that had arose.

“I was just doing what I thought was right.” Daniel stood his ground on his past decision. “Styles is-“

“Just stop,” Lilo interrupted. She had had enough of hearing how Stitch wasn’t right for her over the last little while. She just wanted to enjoy the happiness for a change. Without anyone there to ruin it. “You weren’t doing what was right. You weren’t doing what was best for me. You were doing what you wanted for yourself. Not once did you actually think about what I wanted.” She could see the hurt look on his face and felt satisfaction come from it. But she also didn’t like hurting people, even if they did deserve it. “I’m sorry I can’t return your feelings. But that doesn’t give you the right to try and ruin my relationship. If you can’t accept it… then we can’t be friends anymore.”

With that she headed towards her first class, leaving him behind. Daniel could feel her slowly leave his life with each step. It pained him inside greater than he could have imagine, but he didn’t know exactly what hurt the most. Her breaking off their friendship or what she had said to him. Was I really only thinking about myself? He stood rooted, unable to move, unable to escape his flurried thoughts. I was trying to protect you from him. He isn’t right for you. You can’t see it. But I can. I can. I can be right for you if you’d just let me. I can be better than him. I am better than him. I… I… I…

Truly things had never been better. It didn’t seem often for there not to be something going on in Lilo and Stitch’s life. Either aliens were trying to abduct them, or something strange is happening with Stitch, or they needed to suddenly catch an activated experiment or two. Ever since they met they hardly got a break. It seemed like for the first time in ever that the future was only filled with calm hopes and dreams.

That was until there was an odd knock at the door. Lilo and Stitch were so enticed in their board game they didn’t even notice someone ascending the stairs to their house. Everyone was home and no one was expecting company so who it could be was a huge surprise.

“Cobra?” Lilo said as she opened the door in complete shock. Before anything else could be said she had already jumped into a hug, wrapping her arms around his neck. He nearly fell off his feet from the sudden embrace and almost dropped his briefcase in the process. “It’s been so long since you’ve actually visited.”

“It really has hasn’t it?” Cobra said, wrapping his free arm around her. “You sure have grown since I last saw you. And so have you, Stitch.” It had been years since he last saw them in person. Not since he was appointed to the Grand Council after the battle with the Leroys. Talking over communicators just wasn’t quite the same as seeing each other in person.

“Lilo? Who is it…?” Nani emerged from the kitchen almost stopping in her tracks at the sight of the large man. “Cobra?” She also rushed over to give him a hug. After they first adopted Stitch Cobra had become quite the member of the family. He was always coming over to babysit or just for special events and holidays.

“Hi, Nani. It’s good to see you again.”

She soon let go of the hug though as realization hitting her. If he came unannounced then that meant something must have happened. “What are you doing here? Did something happen?”

“No, no. Nothing bad happened,” he assured. “I just had some news to give and thought to take it as a great opportunity to visit the biggest trouble makers of the galaxy.”

The smiles on Lilo and Stitch’s faces instantly vanished followed quickly by a deep blush. They had an idea of what his news was, and in the midst of everything they had completely forgotten all about the request they had submitted.

After some quick greetings and short catch ups, Lilo, Stitch, Nani, Cobra, and David sat at the kitchen table. Pleakley quickly rushed to the store in order to prepare a special meal for their guest, and dragged Jumba along for help. Throughout the conversations Cobra noticed that Stitch was acting a lot different since their last communication. Like an air of sadness had been lifted. Perhaps I was worried for nothing.

“So what brings you here?” Nani finally asked, refiling Cobra’s cup of coffee for him. “Surely things have been keeping you busy with the Council.”

“Thank you,” he said before beginning his explanation. He lifted his briefcase onto the table. “And yes they have been busy.” He shot a glance to the couple sitting on the other side of the table. Lilo and Stitch made themselves as small as possible hoping all of this went over better than they imagine. “To be completely honest I didn’t have to come. However I decided I was long overdue for a vacation. And considering how my last few communications have been I figured it best to handle this in person.”

“Handle what in person?”

“This.” Cobra pulled a piece of paper out of his briefcase. A seal of approval from the grand council was visible on the top of the sheet. He handed it over to Lilo and Stitch for them to see. “Your request has been approved. You can continue on with the preparations if you wish.”

“Request for what?” Nani was confused. She had no idea of what had transpired when she and Lilo were at odds.

“Stitch put in a request for a house to be built. Approved by Lilo of course. Though I was never told exactly what the circumstances were.”

“You were going to build a house!”

“Nani,” David warned. “Let’s hear them out.”

“Ih,” Stitch said, embarrassed and slightly ashamed of himself. “It isa my idea.”

“I went along with it too.” Lilo owned up to what she had done. After what had happened it would be best for them to be completely honest about everything. “We felt like we needed to run away.”

“I understand, sweetie.” Nani said while ruffling Lilo’s hair a little. “I suppose I didn’t give you two much choice.”

“Se we don’t need it anymore,” Stitch said. The dreams he had of the future made him hesitate for a moment, but he started pressing the paper back towards the briefcase. “Everything isa fine now. We one big happy ‘ohana again.”

Cobra let out a large sigh as if built up steam was actually escaping him. “Well I’m glad to know things are better. I was getting worried I might have to step in again. Still. You don’t know how hard it was to get this approved. It’ll be hard explaining to the Council that you don’t need it anymore after all I went through. Can you at least inform me as to why you might have needed it in the first place?”

The family shared a pained look. They had just managed to put all of it behind them and already they were forced to bring it back up. In hopes that talking about it might make things feel a bit better they explained in short the events of the past few weeks.

“You kicked Stitch out?” Cobra said more shocked than anything. “That is very dangerous Nani. If the Council had found out one of the experiments had been removed from their one true place, it could have jeopardized this whole arrangement.”

“You’re right. I wasn’t thinking about the consequences,” Nani admitted while looking away, trying to hide the shame she felt in her actions. She looked back with determination in her eyes. “But I’ve learned from my mistakes and will never tear away a family member again.”

“I just can’t imagine what would possess you to do something like that.”

“Well that is more our fault…” Lilo said.

Cobra was surprised that Lilo would attribute Nani’s actions to something she had done. Quickly after he got an even greater surprise in hearing about what he had actually missed in his years of absence. Not entirely sure how to take the news he just quietly listened. Forever keeping his gaze on the young girl. He only ever looked away to take glances at Stitch who every now and then would also add in comments about what had happened. It made Cobra speechless. He could feel his mouth dry, unsure of how to respond to what he had just been told. It was a lot to take in. Especially when it was something completely unheard of. An experiment and a human?

There wasn’t much to say after the story had ended. Cobra allowed them to keep the paper work to have a house built for if they ever needed it in the future. Once it was allowed it would never expire. No matter how long they waited. Pretending to be tired he asked to leave to head to his hotel. The family tried to get him to stay. Saying that Pleakley would be disappointed that he left after getting excited about a family dinner. However he stayed adamant. Allowed to leave once he promised to return on his vacation, Cobra took his briefcase he had forgotten on the table from Stitch. Walking down the long staircase he rubbed the back of his neck as he headed to his car.

“We’re going to need to talk,” he said into his communicator as he entered the secured vehicle.

“Is something the matter?” A voice answered from the small device.

“We could have a slight issue on our hands.”

“Very well. We shall speak as soon as you are ready.”

Lilo watched as Cobra drove off. She felt an odd shiver run down her spine as the black car slowly vanished into the town. She bit her bottom lip. She hoped the feeling was actually nothing and that she was just worried for nothing.

“Isa something wrong?” Stitch asked as he joined her at the window, setting a chair beside Lilo for him to stand on.

“Hmm?” Lilo felt his hand take hold over hers, the feeling slowly beginning to subside. “No. Nothing’s wrong. Why?”

“Because meega can tell when something is bothering you. Yuuga’s face gets all scrunched up in thought like that.”

“Still can’t hide anything from you huh?” She looked back towards the town feeling slightly distanced from everything around her. “I don’t know. It just feels odd. I feel like something bad is about to happen. Maybe I’m just making it up.” She chuckled, hoping that the light laughter would calm her nerves. “Did Cobra seem strange to you?”

“Hmm. Naga. Cobra seemed like same Cobra to meega.”

“I mean after we told him about us.” Lilo could see the confusion run across Stitch’s face. Maybe I am just imagining it after all. “Normally when someone finds out about us they say something. Congratulations, that they’re happy for us, or…” She glanced back at Nani before continuing. “Cobra didn’t say anything at all. He just sort of listened and then took off.”

“Yuuga worried Cobra isn’t happy for us?”

“No! Of course not. At least I don’t think so.”

Stitch could see the worry in her eyes as they slowly wavered. Her bottom lip twitched as she once again became lost in thought. It was still too soon for them to be worrying about something. Everything had just recently come together, and he didn’t want to let that feeling of happiness leave Lilo so soon.

Suddenly he kissed her cheek, bringing her full attention back to him. Lilo’s face quickly flushed as she heard Nani complain about giving some warning before they started doing that. Neither one of them really heard her leave the kitchen, completely lost in each other’s eyes. Lilo realized that Stitch had been staring at her the whole time they were talking. His gaze didn’t once break from her. Her face grew even warmer, feeling a little embarrassed over a gesture she should already have grown accustomed too.

How does he always make me feel like this? She could feel her heart racing in her chest, and she almost completely forgot about her worries. Just as she was about to pull him into a kiss, not caring who around might see, the feeling returned with an even greater intensity.

“Sorry,” Lilo apologized as she looked away.

“Isa okay,” Stitch said comfortingly. “If yuuga still really worried we can go check things out.”

“What do you mean? We don’t even know where Cobra’s staying.”

“Yes we do.” Stitch extended one of his hidden arms, revealing a small card that he was holding. It was a business card for the Birds of Paradise Hotel. “Meega grabbed this out of his Cobra’s briefcase. Just in case.”

“Oh, Stitch.” Lilo wrapped her arms around his neck. “You always seem to do exactly what I need. I could just kiss you.”

“Meega would mind.”

Lilo smirked before finally giving him a kiss in return. They couldn’t waste too much time though. No matter how much they would like to. Time was of the essence if they were going to make it in time to check out things with Cobra before diner. Pleakley was already going to be upset that Cobra wasn’t there. And if Lilo and Stitch were late they wouldn’t hear the end of it.

They hoped Lilo’s feeling was for nothing, and that they could let Cobra rest after his long journey. Truly it would be nice if things stayed good for just a short time.

Please let me be wrong. Just this once.

Chapter Text

Lilo and Stitch stood outside of Cobra’s hotel room. Lilo’s hand was raised frozen in place mid knock. For a moment they thought they had misheard something. While the hotel prided itself on having some of the most sound proofed rooms in all of Hawai’i, Lilo and Stitch were capable of hearing everything. Listening further just revealed things were once again heading in a terrible direction for them.

Needing to see this with their own eyes, Stitch opened up a vent not too far from the room. It was a tight squeeze for Lilo but she made it work. Sneaking around had been a lot easier when she was smaller. She missed being able to fit and hide in small places. The way the world shrunk around her suddenly hit her as Stitch helped her up the confined space.

Stitch also had some issues with small places himself now. When they managed to get to the vent opening in Cobra’s room he had to crawl a little farther to turn himself around. Thankfully the vent gave them a full view of Cobra as well as the monitor he was talking into.

On the screen was the Grand Councilwoman who they had first heard when they reached the top floor. Chalking it up to their imaginations they had continued towards the room that was listed on the card, only to be shocked and heartbroken by what they soon heard.

“You’re absolutely sure about what they had said?” The Grand Councilwoman asked. Lilo never heard her sound so concerned before.

“Positive. Lilo and Stitch are bound permanently with one another. They are in love.” Cobra’s voice was cold and serious.

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” the Grand Councilwoman sighed. “I always feared this would happen. I just can’t believe it happened this soon.”

Lilo and Stitch looked at each other with concern. This was unlike any other reaction they received.

After what felt like forever Cobra finally continued. “So how should we proceed then?”

“We will need to inform the Council of the news and come to a group decision. There are many different ways we can handle this. You can keep your vacation if you choose, Councilman Bubbles.”

“Then I will stay here for now. Keep an eye on things. And while I’m off duty please call me ‘Cobra.’”

“Right. Sorry, Cobra.”

Lilo and Stitch could see the Grand Councilwoman’s face relax in a way they never had before. Even when she was happy she had always kept a very serious tone and demeanor. It was eerie to see her smile so greatly. The two just looked at each other for a moment through the monitor. After a moment or two the Grand Councilwoman shook her head as she returned back to the serious matter at hand.

“Is there anything else to report?” she asked.

“No. That should be everything.”

“Very well. Please keep me informed if anything develops. I will let you know the Council’s decision once it has been decided.”

Cobra nodded his head in understanding. They were just about to close communications when he asked her to wait a moment. “How will you feel if the council decides to put an end to their relationship?”

Stitch let out a gasp which was quickly silenced only by Lilo’s reflexes covering his mouth. There’s no way they’d ever go through with that. Not Cobra and the Grand Councilwoman. Lilo thought to herself.

Unfortunately her hopes we quickly dashed.

“If that is what the Council decides then we will have no choice but to oblige them. There are rules and there are things we must keep in order.”

The Grand Councilwoman’s words were like knives to Lilo. She had heard more than enough. Crawling out of the vent as quickly as she could she ran the moment she was free. Ran as far away from the hotel and Cobra as she could.

“I understand that,” Cobra continued, unaware that Lilo and Stitch had just overheard their entire conversation. “But that isn’t what I asked you. How will you feel if that is the decision?”

“My hands will be tied and that is all.” With that the communication was terminated.

Cobra scoffed as the screen went blank. He could finally see his reflection and noticed for the first time the sad look on his face. “In other words, you wouldn’t want to do it either.”

Stitch stayed close behind her, having trouble keeping up with Lilo’s pace. He tried to call after her but she didn’t stop. He could see the sunlight reflect off the trail of tears she left behind in the wind. All he could do was do his best to not get left behind as she ran without purpose.

Why?! Lilo screamed to herself inside her head. Why can’t anything ever go right? Why can’t we just be happy? What did we do to deserve this? Are we never going to get a moments rest? Are we always going to have to be on the run from someone just so we can be together? Why would they even need to split us up?

She had so many questions and very few answers. After all we did for them… couldn’t they cut us a break just this once?

Turning a corner blindly Lilo accidentally ran into someone and knocked them into the nearby fence. She didn’t even care to say sorry. Not even when she heard her name get yelled out.

“Lilo?” Mertle’s best efforts at calling after the girl were in vain and in mere moments she was out of sight. “I’ve never seen her look like that before….”

As she finished the thought Stitch came bounding around the corner. He just managed to miss running into her as well.

“Lilo!?” he called out while looking around desperately. If he couldn’t see her he’d just have to follow his ring instead.

“She went that way.”

The voice made Stitch jump. He turned to see Mertle standing a couple feet away from him. She was pointing towards the opposite corner. Towards their house.

“Takka,” he said before pausing for a moment. Looking back towards their old enemy, it was amazing how much she had changed. Not once did Stitch ever imagine they would be getting anything other than hate and resentment from Mertle. He was happy to know he was wrong.

Realizing he had already wasted too much time he took off. Lilo’s probably home by now.

Lilo was a whirlwind through the house. Not wanting to talk to anyone she quickly made her way to her and Stitch’s room. Pleakley caught sight of her. He started saying something about her almost being late but she completely ignored him. He was able to notice that she had been crying and asked about it, but once again she didn’t pay any mind to the alien.

All Nani heard was ‘Lilo’ and ‘crying’ followed immediately by the sound of the elevator lift and she instantly became worried. Before she had a chance to call the lift back down Stitch came in. He looked terrified to say the least.

“Did Lilo come home?” Stitch asked, breathing heavily from the run.

“Yeah. She’s in your room,” Nani said. She was growing more concerned by the second. “What happened?”

Stitch explained what happened when they listened in on Cobra’s conversation. At first Nani was going to scold him for eavesdropping, however decided that there were more pressing matters at hand. She knew Stitch was worried, but offered to be the one to talk to Lilo.

“This seems more like a sister problem.”

Stitch was apprehensive. His heart was telling him to rush to Lilo’s side. To stop her tears. To do everything he could for her. Stitch let her go ahead of him though. He knew they had only recently started fixing their relationship and this would be good for them. It was extremely difficult for him to walk away, but he managed to make it to the living room. Albeit looking a little lost along the way.

“Don’t come up!” Lilo yelled into her pillow when she heard the lift start moving. “My room is off limits right now.”

“Nothing’s off limits when you’re upset, Sweetie,” Nani said as she sat next to her sister. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“Why?” Lilo continued to talk into her pillow. “Stitch already told you everything.”

“How did you?”

“Super hearing.”

Nani stayed quiet for a moment. She was still trying to get used to everything that had changed. She suddenly realized it would be a lot harder for her to get away with stuff with Lilo able to hear everything in the house.

“Well did you want to talk about how you’re feeling?” Nani asked, only to have Lilo shake her head in response.

With a sigh Nani looked around the room. The box of Stitch’s things was still full and against the wall. She didn’t realize how empty the dome felt without all his stuff strewn around in a mess. Instantly she felt even worse. Knowing that it was her that made it feel this way turned her stomach into knots. Her eye spotted an old brush on Lilo’s desk. It was the one she used to always brush Lilo’s hair with when she was little. One of the few things that had survived the old house exploding.

When Nani stood up from the bed Lilo felt even sadder. Even if she wasn’t being talkative having Nani there made her feel a little better. It was like old times again. She may seem really tough and strong now, but inside she still sometimes felt like the little girl she was long ago.

“Up, up, up,” Nani commanded. “Your hair is a mess from running around.”

Lilo opened an eye to see what Nani was talking about, spotting the brush in her sister’s hand. Wordlessly she sat up, still hugging her pillow. Nani sat behind her and silently brushed her long hair. It felt comforting to have Nani behind her like old times, while at the same time being able to smell Stitch’s scent on her pillow. It felt like forever since their room smelled like it used to. The two people she loved most of all there for her. It gave her strength knowing that they would always be there for her.

“Why do things always go wrong?” Lilo asked and then feeling a slight pause in the brushing.

“Things don’t always go wrong,” Nani replied, trying to get back into the groove of comforting older sister.

“Yes they do,” Lilo insisted. “Whenever it seems like things are finally okay something blows up. Or something happens to one of us. Or there’s an alien invasion. Or something tries to separate us.” Realizing what she had just said she instantly regretted her words. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s fair,” Nani admitted. “Just because a lot of bad things happen in life doesn’t mean good things don’t. Think about all the amazing and fun things you’ve done. Just because there are some bumps along the way doesn’t change the fact that there has been a lot of happiness in your life. Most of it because of Stitch. Who you wouldn’t have met if you didn’t need a friend at the time.”

“I don’t even want to imagine my life without Stitch.”

Nani could tell Lilo had finally smiled. She also finally relaxed into her a little more than before. It was nice to know that she could still play the helpful sister role. That she was still needed.

“Do you really think they would try to split you two apart?” As much as she was being strong for her sister she was really concerned. She didn’t want to go through what they just had again. “It didn’t sound to me like it was a for sure thing. And why would they have to anyway? You haven’t caused any problems or hurt anyone. I bet they’ll do this silly talk and decide that there’s nothing wrong at all.”

We haven’t done anything wrong… It was nice for Lilo to hear that come from Nani. She really needed to feel like her sister was on her side in this. “You’re right. We haven’t done anything wrong. Thank you.”

“Of course I’m right,” Nani said, hugging Lilo tightly. “I’m an expert when it comes to these things.” Lilo giggled as Nani started a tickle fight. Finally all the strain they had was let go of. Leaving behind the strong relationship they once had. “Should I go get, Stitch?” she asked when the short tickle war came to an end. “I know he was really worried.”

“He’s already coming up.”

As soon as Lilo said that the lift came to life once again, bringing with it a concerned Stitch.

“Isa Lilo feeling better?” he asked tenderly.

“Yeah,” Lilo said. Smiling brighter than she had in some time. “I’m feeling better now. Sorry I ran away.”

Stitch told her all was well. He understood why she was upset. He felt the exact same way she did. He was just happy that she was feeling better again. Lilo asked Nani if they could keep talking while she brushed her hair, and Nani was more than happy to continue. Stitch joined them on the bed. Replacing Lilo’s pillow happily.

Spectrum decided to take a much deserved walk. Sara was spending some alone time with her father for what felt like the first time in months. Which ended up leaving her some time to herself. She didn’t feel like it was time to herself though. Every moment Spectrum was plagued by her thoughts. Over and over again she tried to figure out what possessed her to cancel dinner with Stitch. She could imagine it all perfectly. Playing the events over in her head again.

She had just asked Stitch if he could come to dinner and he said yes. But he had to go inside to get ready first. Waiting patiently outside she heard the creak of the door, and then things suddenly became all fuzzy. Like a dream she could just barely remember. Only shapes came to mind but nothing specific. Then overwhelming sadness as she suddenly felt trapped inside her own head, and then she felt completely content a moment later. The complete and utter need to cancel plans with Stitch took control of her to which she calmly obliged.

Spectrum finally came back to her senses the moment the door to her house shut behind her. Feeling slightly groggy and lightheaded she blinked a few times as she got her bearings.

“Spectrum!” a voice called from down the hall. Sara instantly bounded out of the living room and pulled Spectrum into a hug. “Huh? Where’s Stitch? Wasn’t he going to come eat with us?”

“Meega uh, canceled on him,” Spectrum said in confusion.

“You did? Why? You were so excited to have him come over.”

Spectrum would have normally blushed at her comment. Sara had started teasing her about her little crush on Stitch. This time though she was too caught up in trying to figure out why she had canceled like that. “Why did meega…?”

No matter how much she thought about it nothing came to her. If anything her mind seemed to get foggier the more she thought about it. Spectrum had wanted to ask Stitch to come over again, but she was held back by her feelings. I just left him there. Asked him to be my guest and then I turned around and crushed the invitation. After all he did for me too… What kind of friend does that? A crush, huh? If he did feel the same way I certainly don’t deserve it.

She kicked a nearby stone, realizing she and the ground around her had turned a bright red from the thought of Stitch returning her feelings. Concentrating the best she could she was unable to turn the concrete back to normal. Not even her own colours would listen to her. Every time she tried to think about it Stitch would pop into Spectrum’s head, completely breaking her train of thought.

Looking around to make sure no one saw she quickly ran away from the now red part of the sidewalk. Absentmindedly she found herself standing in front of Angel and Reuben’s house. Not meaning to. Her body took her to the last place she wanted to be. Instantly turning on her heel Spectrum froze. This might be your only chance to apologize.

Despite her fear she walked the long distance to the door and knocked with only a moment’s hesitation. Normally Stitch would answer for her. He always knew when it was her at the door. Unbeknownst to her it was because she was the only one who visited so often before. It came as a big shock to her when it wasn’t Stitch that answered. Instead the two small forms of Monty and Ava emerged from the door.

“How can we help you?” Both kids said in unison. They were rather annoyed to see Spectrum again.

“Um… Monty and Ava was it?” Spectrum asked. She tried to ignore feeling a little put off by the weird tone the children gave her. “Meega was wondering if meega could talk to Stitch.”

For a moment Monty thought about making her forget about Stitch. He felt like they had been through enough, and that Spectrum getting involved would just cause more problems. However with what had just happened, he decided it would be best not to do things like that anymore.

“Uncle Stitch isn’t here anymore,” Monty said coldly.

“Yeah. He went back home,” Ava added.

“H-he did?” Spectrum was a bit heartbroken.

The two nodded and when Spectrum didn’t say anymore they went back into the house. The soft click of the door snapped Spectrum out of her daze. I guess I should be happy. He never said what happened, but maybe he’ll be happier now. She started to walk home. She didn't like what her excursion had brought on her. I guess I could always go visit over there.

Chapter Text

Lilo and Stitch decided not to let what they over heard from Cobra bother them. If they let it get to them then they wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything. It would be just like if they hadn’t been reunited. There was no sense in worrying about what has not happened yet after all. For all they knew the Council could decide that there was nothing wrong with their relationship and that there would be no reason to try to separate them.

Despite having confidence that everything would be okay they turned Cobra away when he came to visit the next day. Pleakley was a little disheartened. He really wanted a nice big family dinner. No one could deny their request though. Everyone was told what they had overheard, and with what had just happened they didn’t want to end up making things worse.

Cobra wasn’t told why he couldn’t stay for a visit. Seeing the look on Lilo and Stitch’s faces he had an idea of what it was about. Even though he had no clue how they could know. He knew better than to underestimate what they were capable of. In his heart he hoped that the Council would decide against splitting them apart. Having known the entire family for years he truly cared about them like they were his own. Even considering himself a part of the ‘ohana. To have to tell them they couldn’t be in love would break his own heart. Thankfully he was able to take small comfort in the fact that it would take the Council a while to reach a final decision.

While they pretended to be strong. Pretended to not let the thoughts bother them. Lilo and Stitch were plagued by the idea of being split apart again. A few days passed and every night they had the exact same dream.

“No! Let go of him!” Lilo shouted, desperately trying to break free of the hands holding her. “You can’t take him!”

All she could hear from the faceless figures standing over her was white noise. Almost able to make out what they were saying but not quite. She continued to struggle in desperation. Wondering why she couldn’t break away with her strength. She looked around frantically. Trying to find anything that she could use to help her and Stitch. She could barely see anything though, making out only a few shapes. It looked familiar to her but she couldn’t quite place it.

“Lilo!” Stitch called out as he was slowly dragged away by more faceless figures. “Let go of meega.”

Not even Stitch could break free of the figures grasp. Despair set on his face as Lilo was soon growing smaller and smaller in the never ending darkness. The farther he was pulled from her the colder he became. He tried to grasp onto his ring to feel her warmth and gasped when he didn’t find it on his finger.

Suddenly everything shifted. Instead of darkness he was in a brightly lit lab. Instead of complete silence he heard terrifying screaming. Screaming that cooled his blood to ice. He looked up to the source, finding Lilo writing in pain strapped to a metal panel.

“Lilo! No!” He took a step forward to help her only to be stopped by Lilo.

“You can’t, Stitch!” Lilo begged, unsure of why she was denying his help despite the undeniable pain in her chest. She just felt in her core that if Stitch tried to save her something bad would happen. “Just… don’t come any closer.”

“Meega can’t leave you like this!”

“You have to. I’ll be okay. Go stop…” She trailed off, unable to figure out what she was about to say. It felt really important. Like world on the line important. Yet nothing came to mind. All she could feel was the pain slowly creep through her body. She wasn’t like Stitch. She couldn’t last through this for a week. She didn’t think she could last another five minutes. “Go!”

Stitch hesitated. He wasn’t sure why but it felt like she was right. That if he even took one more step something bad would happen. But he couldn’t remember what it was. Instead he turned and ran out the door. Leaving behind a screaming Lilo. “Meega be back for you-“ Before he finished calling back to her he missed a step as the floor beneath him vanished. Only darkness lay before him as he quickly fell to what would be certain death.

A loud crash reverberated throughout the room as Stitch fell to the ground.

“Ogata,” Stitch said as he rubbed his head. Thankfully he was built to be indestructible or else that would have really hurt.

“Are you okay Stitch?” Lilo asked from on top of the bed.

He looked up at her tired face. Rubbing her eyes. Lilo’s long hair was a mess and her nightgown was hanging off her shoulder. It looked as if she hadn’t slept at all. A quick look at the clock told him that even though it was only four in the morning they were out for at least several hours. It should have been more than enough time to recharge yet even he felt exhausted.

“Meega okay,” he managed to force out. “Just fell a little.”

“That dream again?” Lilo asked solemnly.

Stitch just nodded his head before resting it against the bed.

“Me too.” Lilo wasn’t sure why they were sharing the same dream again. They hadn’t done that in years. Sometimes their dreams were foreboding. A bit of a sixth sense for something soon to come. At least for Stitch it had been that way. Maybe I get them because we’re connected now. She gave him a weak smile and a warm kiss on his forehead. “There’s still some time. You looked tired. Want to try to sleep some more?”

“Ih,” he replied with a long yawn.

As Stitch tried to stand up his foot got tangled in the part of the blanket that fell with him. He didn't notice and as got up he ended up tugging it and suddenly pulled Lilo down off of the bed. Stitch managed to catch her as they crashed to the ground yet again.

Lilo opened her eyes slowly, finding herself laying on top of Stitch. “Oh, Stitch. You still okay?”

“Ih,” Stitch giggled. “Meega okay. Soka.”

“Don’t be sorry, silly.” She said giving him another quick kiss. “It was an accident. But I don’t think I can get back to sleep now. I’m pretty awake.”

“Meega too.”

Struggling to get out of the blankets without breaking them to no avail, the two stayed tangled together on the floor just staring into each other’s eyes. Lilo’s hair draped around them, blocking the outside world. Their hearts began to quicken as they realize how close together they were. It had been a long time since they were brought together like that. Like the world was shouting ‘be together’ at them forcing them into each other’s grasp.

Why can’t everyone be like the world? Lilo let the sad thought flash through her eyes. Stitch could tell what she was thinking and didn’t want her to start getting upset again. This was their time together and he didn’t want to lose it.

Stitch surprised Lilo by suddenly wrapping all his arms around and pulling her tightly against him. She let out a short gasp as Stitch pressed his lips against hers. Making her eyes go wide before she finally let them drift closed. Letting the kiss last as long as it naturally would.

“What was that for?” Lilo tried to catch her breath after Stitch’s welcomed assault. She already started feeling her face grow hotter by the second.

“Meega was thinking if we’re trapped like this for a little bit.” Stitch took a deep breath, taking in Lilo’s scent. “We might as well make the best of it.”

“You did, did you?”

“Mhmm. Meega really enjoy it.”

“Well then shut up and kiss me again.”

Lilo gave a sly smile as the familiar hands of Stitch pulled her in yet again. He didn’t need to be told twice and quickly found himself fall deep into another kiss. A fire was lit inside them as built up passion took control. No longer did they need to look over their shoulders for watching eyes. They could completely and utterly enjoy the other’s touch, smell, and taste. Not once did they break contact. Not even when Stitch rolled them over to lean down as best as he could. Feeling Lilo’s chest rise and fall beneath his weight.

Lilo’s hands explored Stitch’s body on their own. Slowly caressing down his back, making each spine stand up as she passed them. Lilo didn’t want Stitch to keep up his disguise while he was with her. She wanted to enjoy him how he truly was. Slowly petting the base of Stitch’s ear she felt his antenna extend. And finally she had her Stitch all to herself.

They rolled around in a love filled passion. Not even noticing they had become untangled from the blanket. The loving embrace continued until they slowly fell asleep in each other’s arms. Pleasant dreams finally filled them throughout the rest of their sleep.

“Are you okay?” Victoria asked, noticing her friend yawn for the fifth time since they started changing.

“Yeah.” Lilo yawned again while adjusting her hula top. “Just didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“You’re still having those nightmares?”

Lilo nodded. “Stitch and I both. Stitch fell out of bed and then pulled me down with him.”

“Really? That’s quite the wake-up call.”

“It was,” Lilo laughed. “It was okay though. After that Stitch and I-“

“Stop!” Victoria suddenly exclaimed, slamming her locker closed. “I really don’t want to hear what you two did after that.”

“Are you okay, Victoria?” she asked with concern.

“Perfect. Why do you ask?”

“Well you’ve kind of been on edge lately.” She saw Victoria look away to try and hide her face.

With a sad sigh Victoria looked back at Lilo. “Is it that obvious?”

“Kind of. We’ve been friends forever. It’d be bad if I didn’t notice when something’s wrong.” Lilo watched, hoping Victoria would open up to her about it. However it was clear she was going to keep silent. “Did you want to talk about it?”

Victoria shook her head while turning to head out to the main hall. “Actually. Yeah. Could we talk after class?”

“Of course.”

It was hard for Lilo to focus on her lessons. Between being worried about what was bothering Victoria, and the constant gaze of Stitch sending her heart into a flurry over the morning’s events she almost missed Moses' announcement.

“Okay, girls,” Moses said after turning down the music. Everyone stopped except for Lilo who was still lost in thought. “Lilo.” he said again. But still could not getting her attention.

Mertle gave Lilo a tap on her shoulder, finally bring her mind back to class.

“Yes?” Lilo looked around a her face grew red as she realized everyone else had stopped while she kept going. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Moses said before clearing his throat. “As you all know, it’s just about time to showcase your hula to show you’re ready for the next stage of lessons. I hope you’ve all been practicing hard.”

Once again everyone but Lilo nodded. Oh no. She panicked. I completely forgot. What am I going to do? Stitch saw her eyes lock to his. Worry and terror flashed through them. He realized that she didn’t get any time to practice with everything that had happened. Stitch flashed her a smile, hoping to give her a little comfort. They always worked things out together. This would be easy compared to some of the things they had handled over the last few days.

“It can be scary,” Moses continued. “You have all learned a lot over the years. I remember when you were all just little girls. Now you’ve grown into fine young ladies. I have complete faith that all of you will do wonderfully. And Mertle. Please don’t do another hula for a store.”

“Hey!” Mertle let out. “I only did that one time!”

“Actually it was three times,” Yuki stated, holding up three fingers.

“Thanks, Yuki.” Mertle huffed and rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms.

Everyone laughed before Moses finally continued his announcement. They didn’t have any more lessons until the day they would perform their hulas. Lilo was internally freaking out the whole time. Everyone started talking about their plans while she hadn’t even yet begun. It was starting to feel like the May Day Festival all over again. Listening to everyone’s ideas made her determined to actually perform this time. No one even got to see the great hula she and Stitch had made. It also reminded her of something else as she took a quick glance at Stitch before entering the changing room. I never did finish that hula for him. He’s been through so much… he deserves a special treat. She smiled to herself. Because I really need to do two hulas at once, huh? Lilo didn’t mind the thought of how much work it would be to do two hulas at once. The one for Stitch was special, and she was more than happy to do it for him.

Leaving the changing room with Victoria, Lilo quickly hurried over to Stitch.

“Sorry that took so long,” she said while petting his head. “I know we had plans but something’s come up. Victoria really needs someone to talk to.”

“That isa alright,” Stitch replied, concerned for their friend. “We can spend time with her.”

“Actually it’ll just be me and Victoria. Girl to girl talk.”

“Oh. Okay.” Stitch said and nodded. “Meega go on ahead. Meega can update our cousin’s album on my own.”

“Thanks.” Lilo smiled. “I’ll see you at home later okay?”

“Ih.”

With a quick kiss Stitch ran off. He and Lilo were going to update the cousins’ album with the new couples. They had meant to after Click and Monochrome got together, but things had become really hectic and they pushed it off. Now with Gigi and Puddles also joining in those that have created a special bond they really needed to get themselves in gear. Lilo and Stitch had planned to do it together but Stitch could manage it fine on his own.

Knowing nothing could possibly go wrong. Lilo joined Victoria again so they could leave the hall together.

They walked in silence for some time. Lilo didn’t want to pry anything out of Victoria and felt it would be best to just wait until she was ready. Soon they found themselves in a familiar place on the nearby beach. Feeling more comfortable Victoria sat in the shade of a large tree. The same one that Lilo had first told her about her relationship with Stitch.

It was the other way around this time though. Victoria was the one that needed to get something off of her chest. The sound of the waves was relaxing, as well as the soft rustling of the leaves that hung over head. Lilo wondered if Victoria was really going to talk or if she just wanted to sit for a bit in silence.

What Victoria said however wasn’t what she was expecting.

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Huh?” Lilo looked at her friend rather confused.

“That’s what you asked me here all those years ago,” Victoria explained. “I had no idea what you were going to say and I really wasn’t expecting that.”

“I guess that did come out of nowhere, huh?” Lilo giggled. “You were the first one I told.”

“It must have taken a lot of courage to tell me. All things considered.”

“Yeah. But I trusted you. You’re my best friend.”

“Trust, huh?” Victoria got quiet again as she pulled her knees up to her chest. After a long sigh she finally spoke again. “You’re my best friend too. I should have told you a while ago. I don’t know why I’ve kept it bottled up. I guess with everything you’ve been going through I didn’t want to add to the list of things you needed to worry about.”

“What’s going on?”

Her eyes darted away for a second, becoming rather distant. “I think Keoni’s going to break up with me.”

“What?” Lilo nearly shouted.

“I think there’s someone else. Another girl.” Tears started to swell up in Victoria’s eyes. She tried her very best to hold them back. She had already cried enough over it.

“Another…girl…?” Lilo was utterly shocked. Her mouth hung open as she processed what her friend had just said. “But Keoni loves you. Like, a lot. I know it. Why would you think there’s someone else?”

“Ever since that incident at dinner he’s been really distant. I hardly see him anymore and when I do it’s like there’s something else on his mind. Like he’s thinking about something else. We hardly talk at night anymore. I don’t know. I just feel like I really messed up and now he wants nothing to do with me.”

“Did you talk to him about it?”

“Whenever I bring it up he tells me that nothing’s wrong. He’s just ‘busy’ with something.”

“And you think that he’s ‘busy’ with another girl.” Victoria nodded solemnly as she finally let her tears start to fall with a few sobs. Lilo didn’t really know what to say. Victoria would know Keoni better than anyone, and if she thought that something was going on then there clearly was. She wished she had an answer for her friend. Something to say that would make her feel better like Victoria had done for her in the same spot years ago. “Did you want me to look into it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well if Keoni won’t talk to you about it. Maybe I can get him to tell me. Or I could follow him around and see if there really is someone else. There’s no way he’d know I'm there.”

Victoria managed to laugh at the prospect. “I don’t think it’d be right to follow him around. Maybe just talking to him would help. You’ve known him longer. Maybe he’ll open up to you.”

“I may have known him longer, but you know him the best.” Lilo wrapped her arm around her friend, letting Victoria’s head rest on her shoulder. “I know he loves you. I’m sure this is all a big misunderstanding. You’ll see….” Victoria nodded her head a little. She was trying to believe her best friend's words. “You’ll see.”

Chapter Text

“Whew.” Lilo let out a long sigh as she flopped into bed. She covered her eyes from the light with her arm, going over what Victoria had told her that afternoon. It was a lot to take in. Especially all at once. “Hey, Stitch.”

“Ih?” Stitch called from the other side of the room. They had just finished the final touches on the updated album and Stitch was sliding it into place along the others.

“We’re going to be together forever right? We’re not going to break up or want to be with anyone else?”

Stitch’s ears twitched. He slowly turned to look at her to see her previous smile had faded away.

“Naga!” he said in a panic while rushing over to the bed. “Meega never leave you. Or want to be with anyone else. Meega love only you, boojiboo.”

“I only love you too,” Lilo replied, moving her arm away to meet Stitch’s worried eyes. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” She pulled him onto the bed with her. She let herself enjoy the feeling of his arm wrapped around her. “I was just asking because…” She trailed off. Lilo had made a promise to Victoria that she wouldn’t tell anyone about what was going on between her and Keoni.

“Isa it about Victoria?”

There was no point in trying to keep things from Stitch. One way or another he’d manage to get it out of her. Even if he didn’t try. Lilo explained what Victoria had told her. The amount of shock on his face rivaled hers when she had found out. The thought of Keoni cheating on his girlfriend really was outrageous. Yet Victoria was still worried. Which meant that something was going on.

“I guess I thought everyone would stay together forever. Like us,” Lilo said, feeling sad for her friend. “I never thought that anyone could break up or stop loving each other.”

“Meega know,” Stitch said. “It happens sometimes. Meega and Angel fell out of love. Yuuga stop having feelings for Keoni. But you naga have to worry about us. We always be in love.” He started to pet Lilo’s long hair slowly from the top all the way to the small of her back. She smiled at his touch and cuddled into him as much as she could.

“You’re right. No matter what we’ll always be together. Nothing will break us apart.” She wrapped her own arm around him. Smiling at the feeling of the soft fur of his back. “Stitch,” she said as she pulled a stuck photo off his back. The tear made him yelp in pain. “You missed one.”

“Soka,” He said with a sheepish grin.

“It’s okay. It can wait.” She wrapped herself around him again, pulling Stitch in close for a kiss.

“We now move onto the next issue,” The Grand Councilwoman commanded. “I am sure you have all read the report from Councilman Bubbles by now.” The council all nodded in agreement. “Good. Then it is time to begin the discussion of what must be done.”

“Is Councilmen Bubbles not going to be joining us?” Chuyong asked in his bubbly voice.

“No. As you all know he is on his vacation. As well he decided his input would be too biased.”

“You’re telling us,” Zalgar squeaked to the side with rolling eyes.

Already having her patience tested,the Grand Councilwoman flared her nostrils as she addressed the small rat like alien. “If you have so much to say, Councilman Zalgar, please by all means begin the discussion.”

“Very well,” He said as he stood up. “I feel that there is nothing to discuss. Scientist Jumba Jookiba had created many great sins in the past, as you all know, in the creation of over six hundred illegal genetic experiments.”

“He has been cleared of all charges against him,” The shark like alien, Krehlass, blurted out.

“Quiet!” The Grand Councilwoman bellowed. “You will have your chance to speak, Councilman Krehlass. I wish for everyone to be patient during this discussion. For I will not be.”

Grinning from his fellow council member being put down Zalgar continued. “As I was saying. Whether or not he was freed from his crimes does not change matters on what has taken place. It is one thing to create, monstrosi-“ He stopped, seeing the Grand Councilwoman’s eyes thin at his words. “Life.” He corrected. “It is another to alter life that has already existed. I do not care what he does to his creations, but what he has done to the human Lilo Pelekai is unforgivable.”

“We are not here to discuss the actions of Jumba Jookiba,” Krehlass interrupted again.

“Agreed,” Rang the Grand Councilwoman. “As far as I am concerned the actions Jumba Jookiba took are within reason. You have read the report, Councilman Zalgar. If he had not altered Lilo Pelekai we would currently have a far worse issue to discuss. Jumba Jookiba will not be punished for what he has done. Does anyone have any comments on the actual issue at hand?”

“I do,” Chuyong stated. He stood as the sneering Zalgar took a seat. “We all know it was a risk to allow experiment six-two-six to stay on Earth. In that matter hands were tied by rules. It was an even greater risk when the other experiments got loose. Somehow though, Ambassador Pelekai and experiment six-two-six managed to keep things in check. As well as keeping the discovery of aliens to a minimum. It would be catastrophic if the human population were to discover our presence. As stated in Ambassador Pelekai’s reports, ‘We humans have been able to accomplish many great things. However we have also managed to destroy and do many terrible things. I still do not think Earth is ready to know that they are not alone in the universe.’”

“Which is why I believe they should be split up immediately,” said Zalgar.

“Is that what you believe as well, Councilman Chuyong?” The Grand Councilwoman asked, trying her best to ignore the one Councilman.

Chuyong took a deep breath as he considered his next words. “I don’t see any direct harm coming from their relationship.”

“Because there is none!” Krehlass interjected. “They have done everything they can to keep Earth and even us safe. Not once has either of them done anything to cause us problems. Is it really our place to decide who they can love? I for one think it is up to them to decide.”

“I think you forget, Councilman Krehlass!” Zalgar barked. “Experiment six-two-six purposely withheld information while trying to make a formal request. Hoping to slide around the rules for his own personal gain. And now we find out that Ambassador Pelekai has kept a very large issue from us for years. To say they haven’t caused us any problems would be inaccurate.”

“Unfortunately I agree with Councilman Zalgar on that front.” Chuyong continued. “Like I said, there is no direct harm in their relationship. However if it were to be discovered, even if they didn’t reveal it themselves, the fact that aliens exist would be let out. And we all know that would be catastrophic.”

“I think you’re both making a big mistake here,” Krehlass said. “To break a relationship based on ‘what ifs’ and ‘could be’ is distasteful. If it wasn’t those two we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

“But it is those two!” Zalgar shouted. “It is our duty to decide the best course of action. This mighty federation was not created to pick and choose the matters we wish to discuss. It is clear what must be done!”

“Enough!” said the Grand Councilwoman. Her voice echoed around the small chamber. “I believe it is clear where everyone stands as of right now. But going around in circles will not solve the matter. We will reconvene on this issue during the next meeting.”

The next day Lilo found herself unable to concentrate on anything. Between her promise to talk to Keoni, figuring out her hula, being worried about what the council would decide for her and Stitch, and knowing she’d have to face Daniel at Photography club, it seemed like everything was piling up all at once. She could feel the weight of the world rest on her shoulders. And compared to what she had dealt with in the past this should all have been easy.

She missed the days when all she had to worry about was when the next cousin would be activated. It all seemed so much simpler back then. There were a few times where she thought about quitting her club activities, but she just loved photography too much to do that. All she could do was hope that Daniel wouldn’t cause any more problems.

At least Stitch will be there. Lilo told herself over and over again in her head. Nothing can go wrong as long as Stitch is with me.

To both Lilo and Stitch’s surprise Daniel wasn’t even in club that day. When Mr. Kawea asked where he was no one was able to give an answer. No one had seen him at all during the school day.

Victoria leaned over and whispered to Lilo, “maybe he’s trying to figure out how to apologize to you.”

“I doubt it,” Lilo whispered back. “He just doesn’t get it. And I’m not going to try to explain to him anymore.”

“What if you just told him about you and Stitch?”

“I shouldn’t have to do that. And he’s in this strange delusional world where Stitch is some evil monster. As far as I care he can just stay away from me until he smartens up.”

“Wow,” Victoria eyes went wide. “You really are mad.”

They went back to working on their pictures in silence. The soft sounds of clicking could be heard throughout the room, as well as a sudden bang from the dark room. Kel called out that she was alright and that no one should enter just as Devin was about to open the door. He hesitated for a moment before going back to his seat to read. Eventually Lilo noticed Victoria had stopped working. All she was doing was staring at the computer screen blankly. Taking a closer look she saw the picture on the screen was an old photo of Keoni skateboarding.

“Hey. You okay?” Lilo’s voice lost all the anger it previously held for Daniel. All she cared about was that her friend was okay.

“Yeah.” Victoria snapped out of her daydream. “I’m fine. Listen. I know you’re really busy. And you haven’t even started your hula yet-“

“What makes you think I haven’t started?” Lilo said, cutting her off.

“I know you, Lilo,” Victoria giggled. “Either you’ve been too busy to start or you completely forgot about it.”

“I didn’t completely forget…”

Victoria managed a laugh. “Thought so. Anyway. Don’t worry about talking to Keoni. It’s something I should handle. He’s my boyfriend. I can’t ask you to do this for me.”

“Well that’s too bad. Because I’m helping,” Lilo huffed. “You’re my best friend. And you’ve helped me with so much over the years with the experiments. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in my life, I’ll help you whenever you need it.”

Victoria thought about arguing some more, but realized there was little point to it. She knew that once Lilo had set her mind on something that nothing would change it. She had learned that from experience. All she could do was smile and thank Lilo for being such an amazing friend. As well as hope that truly everything was going to be okay. She really did love Keoni, and didn’t want anything to break them apart.

Meanwhile Daniel was continuing his run around the island. Or at least the parts he could manage to reach. His backpack grew heavier and heavier on his shoulder with each and every step. Wiping some sweat from his brow he readjusted the straps and continued his run.

Mom would kill me if she knew I skipped school today. He thought as he started up the forest trail. Why did it have to be so hot? Isn’t it supposed to be fall?

Looking to the trees above he was glad to finally have made it to some shade. The hardest part of his running around so far had been making sure he went mostly unseen. It would have caused a lot of issues if he was found skipping school. Mostly his mom and dad would be disappointed in him and that’s something he never wanted.

“How do you expect to get into a good college when you do something like this?” Daniel could already hear his father saying over the phone.

“Well, you’re not going to find out,” he replied to himself. He took a short break while leaning against a tree. Wanting to make sure he wasn’t missing anything he quickly went through the contents of his backpack. “Everything looks good so far. Just a few more things.”

Daniel had saved the hardest thing to find for last. Despite living on the island he admittedly wasn’t the biggest expert on the local flora and fauna. Spending so much time in his family store, and spending time with cameras and technology, he seldom looked at what was around him. His full day of running around was the most exercise he had gotten since surfing with Lilo too.

Putting too much thought into looking for the last item he missed a stray branch that jutted out into the trail, giving him a cut across his arm. Ouch. He winced and quickly wiped away the small line of blood. Looking down at himself he noticed a bunch of small cuts and bruises littering his arms and legs. It’s all worth it. Remember you’re doing this for Lilo. I can make things right with this.

The idea had come to him in a dream. He wasn’t sure what had brought it on, or how he could have even thought of it. All he knew was that the moment it popped into his mind, he had to make it a reality immediately.

Pushing what felt like the one hundredth bush to the side Daniel finally found what he was looking for.

“There!” Quickly throwing the last item in his backpack he let out a long sigh. “Now I just need to put it together. I sure hope this works.”

Still fuming about the earlier discussion Zalgar paced around his room until the guards finally left. When he first got elected to be a Council Member he did not realize that he would be watched nearly every hour of the day. Always viewing it as a step towards taking control it became a small set back in his plan. Finally noticing the final security check walk away he sealed the room.

First making sure that no microphones or hidden cameras had been put in place he ran to his desk. Over time he had grown increasingly paranoid. Especially since making enemies with Cobra. He wasn’t sure how much the human suspected, but he wasn’t going to take any chances. Thankfully no one was on his trail just yet.

Freeing his untraceable communicator from the hidden compartment in his drawer he quickly made a call he was more than happy to place. After a few agonizingly long rings a familiar voice sprung to life from the device.

“Hello? Who is calling at this unreasonable hour that is most undesirable?” The high pitched voice squeaked.

“Dr. Hasmterviel,” Zalgar said with an evil grin slowly forming on his face. “This is Councilman Zalgar.”

After a short moment of realization the hamster like alien quickly backtracked. “My apologies my old colleague. To what do I owe this occasion?”

“A piece of information I think you’ll find most pleasurable has come to my attention. I think it would be a good chance to work together once again.”

“If I recall correctly the last time we worked together things did not go as planned. You have a nasty habit of double crossing you little rat.”

“Yes. But this time our goals have a similar obstacle in the way. Namely experiment six-two-six and Lilo Pelekai.”

Zalgar couldn’t see but Hasmterviel’s face contorted into an evil grin. “I’m listening.”

A low laughter went unnoticed through the sound proof room. The two evil rodents had a lot to discuss, and many plans to formulate. All centered on the extermination of an experiment and a young girl.

Chapter Text

Spectrum stood at the foot of the hill. She looked up and could see Lilo and Stitch’s house, standing tall and intimidating overhead. She had never actually visited their house before. She even needed to ask some of their cousins for directions. All the confidence she had previously walked over with had quickly vanished. In her head she told herself that all she was going to do was talk to Stitch, apologize, and try to ask him to come to dinner again. This time she wasn’t going to cancel on him last minute either.

It still hurt her head every time she tried to think about it, but decided it was best to leave the past in the past. All Spectrum could do was work towards the future. A future that she hoped included Stitch. Ever since she stopped spending time with him Stitch was all that was on her mind. So much so that she didn’t even notice herself messing up her chores, becoming a little more clumsy, and spacing off mid conversation. Sara would still bug her about her crush and it only added fuel to the fire. Spectrum was filled with excitement at the thought of seeing Stitch. Now that she was only a quick walk away she was completely terrified. Frozen stiff.

Spectrum would take a step forward and then instantly turn back around. Debating between going up and leaving. Embarrassment set in as she realized how silly she must have looked. Walking back and forth while muttering to herself for confidence only to instantly back track and say it would be better to go home. She would have stayed like that for a while if she wasn’t suddenly interrupted.

“Spectrum?” A voice asked, startling the small experiment. “What are you doing?”

Spectrum froze at the sound of the voice and slowly turned to find Lilo watching her with concern.

“O-oh. L-Lilo.” Her face grew bright red. She hadn’t expected to get caught like that. “Meega was… um…”

Lilo continued to watch as Spectrum fumbled over her words. It was clear that something was on her mind but she couldn’t get it to come out.

“Did you want to come in?” Lilo asked. “Stitch is just inside waiting for me.”

Spectrum’s eyes shot wide open. “M-meega can come inside?”

Lilo smiled and nodded her head. “Of course. You’re ‘ohana. You’re always welcome. I’m sure Stitch would be happy to see you as well.”

Spectrum nearly melted when she heard that Stitch would be happy to see her. Without hesitation she followed behind Lilo with a smile painted across her face that wouldn’t go away. She quickly noticed the bags Lilo was holding and curiosity got the best of her.

“Gaba yuuga have in there, Lilo?”

“Oh these?” Lilo asked, lifting the bags. “Stitch and I are preparing for a big hula. I still have no idea what I’m going to do. But I thought that maybe making a new outfit would help. So I stopped in town for some supplies. Stitch is supposed to be thinking up ideas. Actually…” Lilo let her voice go really quiet. She did not want Stitch to overhear her as they got to the house. “I had another reason to go alone.”

“Gaba isa it?”

“I’m making a special hula for Stitch. He doesn’t know but I’ve been working on it for years. Going by myself gave me some time to think about it.”

Spectrum cocked her head to the side and wondered aloud, “does Stitch really like hula dances?”

“Yeah. He goes to all of my practices and he sees all of the festivals and recitals I’m in.”

I wonder if I could do a hula for him. Spectrum thought to herself. If he really likes hula. Maybe he’d really like me if I did one! It would be a lot more special than a supper. It would be only for him. I could really tell him my feelings in a special way. That’s what I’ll do.

“We’re here,” Lilo said. Her voice breaking Spectrum away from her thoughts. Lilo opened the door, announcing that she was home. “Stitch?”

“Ih?” Stitch called from the couch. He was sitting upside down with his head hanging over the edge. A pencil was in one hand and a blank piece of paper in the others. He watched her take her sandals off with everything upside down from his angle.

“No ideas yet?”

“Naga. Sorry, Lilo,” Stitch said, a little disappointed in himself. He tried his best to come up with some ideas but nothing would come to him no matter how hard he tried.

“It’s okay.” Lilo smiled and instantly washed away all his worries. “We can figure it out together. But you have a visitor.”

“A visitor?”

Sliding off of the couch and rolling onto his feet he looked to the door just in time to see Spectrum look around the bookcase. She gave him a little wave and smile. She could already feel her heart beat faster.

“A-aloha, Stitch,” she squeaked.

“Hi, Spectrum.” Stitch put down his things and went over to talk properly. “Isa good to see you.”

Lilo started to lay things out while the two talked. Her eyes darted over to the two every so often. Surprisingly she found herself looking at Spectrum rather than Stitch. Memorizing the way she smiled at Stitch and how her eyes seemed to shine towards him as her cheeks grew a little red. It reminded her about the way Victoria would look at Keoni. Does she… no. You’re just imagining things, Lilo. The stress of everything is getting to you. Nothing’s going on between them.

Once the usual pleasantries were out of the way Spectrum finally said, “meega soka for canceling on yuuga.”

“Naga worry. Its okay. A lot happened that night. If yuuga hadn’t I would have had to leave anyway.”

“Oh.” She felt a little sad knowing how it would have turned out.

“Did yuuga want to make new plans?”

“Ih.” Spectrum nodded enthusiastically. “But isa naga going to be dinner.”

“Naga food?” Stitch was a little sad that it wouldn’t be dinner.

“Naga. Meega think of something else to takka yuuga,” she giggled.

“Okie-taka. Yuuga don’t have to do anything though.”

“Meega nota. Meega want to. Meega better get going. It was nice to see yuuga again.”

“Yuuga too.”

With that Spectrum headed home. She had a lot of preparing and practice to do if she was going to tell Stitch her feelings through a dance. First she needed to actually learn how to hula. Thankfully Sara had taken a few lessons a while ago. She had idolized Lilo so much she enrolled in the same hula school. After a while she found it wasn’t really for her so she ended up quitting only a year into the lessons. Spectrum hoped that Sara would remember enough to teach her. She knew it didn’t need to be perfect, but she wanted nothing more than to make Stitch happy with her dance.

Stitch watched Spectrum walk away for a moment. He was curious as to what she could have thought of to thank him, even if he didn’t think she needed to do anything. There was no point in arguing though. It was clear nothing was going to change her mind. In that aspect she was sort of like Lilo. Now that Stitch thought about it he knew a lot of girls that were stubborn like that. Laughing to himself he finally closed the door and looked back at Lilo hunched over her dress supplies. He was about to ask what she had bought when he saw she had a bit of a frown.

“Isa something wrong, Lilo?” Stitch asked. He became worried that he had upset her or something happened on her trip to the store.

“Huh? No.” Lilo said while shaking her head. “Nothing’s wrong.”

Stitch didn’t want to pry or anything but he was still worried. Instead he thought of a different way to try to make her feel better. With a quick tackle the two were rolling around on the ground. Lilo had no idea what was happening until it was too late. With audible surprise she suddenly felt Stitch’s arms around her and his lips slowly trailing up her neck as they started to come to a stop. Once the television brought their rolling to a halt Stitch knelt over Lilo, gaining short gasps as the kisses and nibbles slowly reached her lips.

She didn’t know what she was worrying over. She knew Stitch loved her and she loved him. She could feel it in absolutely everything he did. Every word, every action, and every breath was filled with nothing but love for her. She let the thoughts of Spectrum having feelings for her boojiboo leave her mind as it went blank the moment Stitch finally reached her lips. His breath was like fire on her skin, and she felt tingles go through her at each spot he touched. She didn’t know why everything felt so much more lush and intense, but nothing could stop her from giving him the same treatment. Lilo let herself go, let the heat and passion take control of her as she kissed him back with everything she had. Claiming him as her own as he always did to her.

Daniel’s eyes flashed back at the clock. The red number glowed through the darkness like eyes staring back at him.

“Two o’clock, huh?” He laughed to himself, not realizing how late it actually was.

He shifted the curtain in his room to let a bit more light in. For the last six hours the only source of light for him had been his desk lamp. A sandwich sat completely untouched on his desk. Click had brought it in a bit after dinner. Daniel didn’t even notice he missed eating. His stomach didn’t feel empty at all. He knew he had to be though.

He picked up the sandwich and took a large bite. “Ugh.”

It was kind of warm. Which wasn’t good for a tuna sandwich. Still. He ate it just the same. His body needed something after all the work he just put in. He wondered if Click and Monochrome were asleep. His house was really creaky. Especially at night. If he tried to go to the kitchen for a drink he was sure to wake everyone in the house. As bad as staying up late was, it would be even worse for them to find out that he was up all night.

Daniel would never hear the end of it from his mom and dad. It was a school night and school was always the most important thing. Even though his grades were good and never faltered, anything he did that could jeopardize that would be course for a punishment of some sort. Usually loss of television or reading privileges.

Instead he shut the desk lamp off and flopped into bed. Daniel didn’t bother changing out of his clothes. Finally laying down and staring up at the dark ceiling he could already feel exhaustion get the best of him. His eyes slowly fluttered closed as he looked towards his desk. The moonlight illuminated all of the hard work he managed to accomplish that night.

“It’s perfect,” he thought to himself as his eyes started to slowly drift closed. “She’s…. going to love…. It…”

Sleep finally took the young boy. Thoughts filled his head of the next time he would see Lilo. Daniel knew it couldn’t be under normal circumstances. If he tried to talk to her before school it was more than likely the same thing would happen as last time. He could still hear her words echo through his head.

“You weren’t doing what was best for me. You were doing what you wanted for yourself. Not once did you actually think about what I wanted.”

Lilo’s voice was clear as day to him. Her words constantly nagged at him in the back of his head. He had managed to ruin his friendship with her. And he wanted it back. Even if he couldn’t be with her he still needed to be by her side. To be able to watch over her and make sure she was okay. That was all he truly needed, and he hoped he had truly found the ticket.

He also knew that he couldn’t approach her during photography club. More than likely Styles would be there and trying to talk to her with him around would be impossible. He wouldn’t be able to talk to her let alone give her a gift.

This was already planned out in his head though. The entire time he worked on her gift he planned out different ways he could give it to her. He even worked out entire scenarios in his head of different things he could do and say. As well as how Lilo would react to them. Daniel hoped that in the end she would forgive him and let him be her friend again.

Sadly he didn’t get the chance to talk to her the next day. Daniel spent the entire day carrying around her gift, but in the end he never saw her. Lilo had other things on her mind at the time. Namely, keeping her promise to her best friend.

“U-um. Hey, Lilo,” Keoni said as he slung his bag over his shoulder. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to talk for a bit.” Lilo noticed that he seemed to be in a hurry. It was only a moment but he was already setting off flags of suspicion. The school bell had only rung a couple minutes ago. There was still lots of time until his bus would show up. “Are you late or something?”

He didn't know what was coming and it certainly didn't help that Keoni replied too quickly.

“No. Just… got some plans to take care of.”

“So you are late.”

“No. I’m good, really.”

“Okay. Then you won’t mind talking.” Lilo noticed his smile waiver for a second. Something was clearly up. Now she just had to figure out what it was. “So how have you been lately?”

“I’ve been good,” Keoni said as he discreetly eyed the clock. “Had a lot of stuff going on.”

“Oh, yeah? Like what?”

“You know. School. Stuff with my team. Been helping up around the house a bit. Spending time with… Victoria…” Keoni could feel Lilo’s eyes locked on him. He began to feel a little hot. Like he was being interrogated. It didn’t help that every time he tried to move she was right there. Always standing in front of him. “How have you been?”

“So if you’ve been spending time with Victoria.” Lilo completely dodged the question. The last thing she wanted was to have the conversation topic change to her. “Why has she been saying you’re really distant?”

Keoni gasped and nearly dropping his bag in surprise. “What? She said…?” The guilt that washed over his face stood out like a sore thumb. Lilo could tell he was hiding something and Keoni clearly knew he was doing something too. “Is that what this is about?”

“I just want to know what’s going on.”

“Nothing’s going on. Really. I told her that. Doesn’t she trust me?”

“She trusts you. She loves you. But you have to admit you’ve been acting weird lately. Even right now. Why do you keep looking at the clock?”

Keoni’s eyes snapped back to Lilo. “I wasn’t looking at the clock!” Keoni was getting worked up and he had to get going. “Listen. Nothing is going on.” He said each word with utter care. “I love Victoria. There’s just… something I have to do right now.”

He turned to leave but only managed to take a single step. In a flash Lilo was in front of him blocking his way once again.

“You’re my friend Keoni,” she said, looking him straight in the eye. “But Victoria is my best friend. I don’t want to see her cry anymore.” The look of shame on Keoni’s face almost broke her heart. But the thought of how Victoria looked hurt her even more. “So if you do anything to hurt her… Believe me. I won’t hesitate to make you regret it.”

“I would never do that.” Keoni’s eyes were set. He still wasn’t going to admit what he was doing, but he seemed genuine enough in his words. He took a step to the side and started to leave.

Lilo watched as he left through a door. It wasn’t his usual route to his bus. Apparently you have other plans in mind. She thought over for a moment on whether she should follow him or not. He was her friend. She should trust him and let him be. But Victoria… She could still feel Victoria’s tears stain her shoulder and could still hear the way she had cried. No. I’m not going to just let this go on. I’m finding out what you’re doing Mr. Jameson.

Chapter Text

Lilo had had enough waiting around. Every time she waited to see what would happen someone had gotten hurt. This time she wouldn't let that happen. Not to Victoria. All she was supposed to do was talk to Keoni and see what was going on. However things didn’t quite go as planned. The boy had promised that he would never hurt Victoria but his word only went so far when he was acting suspicious.

Lilo would have to follow him. It was clear he was going somewhere in quite a hurry. It took Lilo a moment to track him down after she left the building. It seemed that her time talking to him had set him back a little bit, because it was like he was skateboarding with his life on the line. Thankfully, Lilo could be faster and a way better tracker than she was when she was a kid. And thanks to her ability to hear better than any human she didn’t have to be close to hear what he was saying.

“Can’t be late.”

“I can’t miss her.”

“She’s going to kill me.”

“Please still be there.”

Keoni kept muttering to himself as he skillfully skated around people on the street and sidewalk. Lilo couldn’t help but think he could go pro if he wanted. It wasn’t long ago since he had come in second place at the skating competition, but he had improved greatly since then. She pushed these thoughts out of her mind quickly. She needed to keep her concentration on what mattered the most.

Who is this ‘she’ he keeps mentioning. It wasn’t hard to imagine what it could mean. I really hope Victoria is wrong about him cheating on her. Lilo truly did hope that that wasn’t the case. She always took Keoni as someone better than that. Someone that wouldn’t go out of their way to hurt others. Still. Sometimes people aren’t always as they seem. This revelation only meant that it was a good thing she decided to follow him. What would I even do if he was…?

Lilo didn’t want to think about what she would do. Now that it was coming to this she wished she had brought Stitch along with her. She had asked him to stay at home. Said she was just going to talk to Keoni after school so he didn’t have to worry about coming to Photography Club. Now she wanted him here with her. If for nothing else to stop her from hurting Keoni if Victoria’s suspicions were correct.

It didn’t take long to reach wherever Keoni was trying to get to in such a hurry. Their school wasn’t too far from the main town and the way they traveled was a lot faster than taking the bus route. Lilo watched from afar as Keoni stopped and look around before he entered the old diner.

Why do you have to keep acting so strange? Lilo wondered.

Having to wait a few moments before she could enter without him noticing she saw him sit down at a table by himself. She took a seat at the other end of the diner and ordered just a water and patiently waited. From where she sat she had a perfect view of Keoni’s table, but could easily hide in case he were to look back over towards her. She saw that he kept fidgeting in his seat, like he was getting more nervous as the seconds ticked by.

Eventually the bells to the front door rang as a young woman walked in. Lilo watched as she headed straight towards Keoni.

“Hey, K,” the girl said in a way that sounded like they were far too familiar with each other for Lilo’s liking. “Long time no see.”

“Aloha, Ally.” Keoni stood up and instantly hugged her. “It hasn’t been that long.”

Lilo stifled her gasp, making sure they didn’t notice her. Once the girl sat down Lilo finally got a good look at her. She had short brown hair with frosted tips, deep blue eyes, and looked only to be a year or two older that Keoni. The same age gap between him and Victoria but reversed. What Lilo disliked the most was the way Ally smiled at Keoni. She couldn’t see Keoni’s expression from where she was sitting but it was at least obvious this girl really cared about him.

Lilo had half a mind to go confront him now. Get it over with. But she realized that she didn’t really have anything to go on. Just because he was acting strange and was meeting a girl didn’t mean he was cheating on Victoria. It just meant things weren’t looking good for him. All she could do was sit, wait, listen, and hope that nothing bad happened.

“You okay?” Ally said, placing her hand over Keoni’s. “You look kind of nervous.”

“Do I?” Keoni asked little bashful. “Yeah. I guess I am.”

“What’s bothering you?”

“Well… I was almost late today. Got held up at school because of a friend. I think she’s starting to get suspicious of me.”

“That’s not good.” Ally looked concerned. Lilo thought it was a little strange that she’d be the one that looked worried, as opposed to Keoni who was only nervous. “You don’t think she knows about what we’re doing do you?”

“No. Absolutely not,” Keoni said while shaking his head reassuringly. “No one knows what’s going on. I know you can’t let it out yet.”

“Yeah. But you’re the one that’s not ready to say it,” Ally giggled. All sense of her worry was gone. Lilo felt a little sick at the girls enthusiasm. “But you know, K. You’re going to have to let Victoria know what we’re doing sooner or later.”

“I know.” Once again Keoni sounded ashamed of himself. Lilo hung off each and every single one of his words. As he continued things kept sounding worse and worse to her. “I don’t really like going behind people’s backs like this. It’s not really my style. I just haven’t been able to figure out the right way to tell her. I think I just want to wait until things progress a little farther.”

“Speaking of which…”

Ally started riffling through her bag, but Lilo had already heard enough.

Going behind people’s backs? Not telling Victoria? Wanting things to progress further? That’s it. Lilo stomped over to the two. She was completely ready and willing to give Keoni a piece of her mind, if not a little more. The boy didn’t see her approach but Ally did out of the corner of her eye. Before she had a chance to react Lilo slammed her hands on the table with eyes locked straight on Keoni.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Lilo whisper shouted at him.

“L-Lilo?” Keoni stammered. “What are you doing here?”

Ally quickly interrupted. “This is Lilo? Keoni’s told me so much about you. It’s nice to meet you, L.”

“Not now,” Lilo said, dismissing her immediately and completely. “I’ve heard everything you two have had to say. Now I’m waiting on some answer. How could you cheat on Victoria?”

“Cheat on? You think I’m cheating? With…?” Keoni looked shocked for a moment before he burst out laughing along with Ally.

“What? Why are you two laughing?”

“Sorry,” Keoni apologized quickly and started regaining his composure. “Lilo. I’d like you to meet Ally, my cousin.”

“Your… cousin…?”

“Yeah. I’m not surprised if K here hasn't mentioned me,” Ally said as she kicked him under the table. “I’m from his mom’s side of the family.”

Now that Lilo thought about she didn’t really know much about Keoni’s mom at all. He never talked about her. And it didn’t even occur to her that he might have more family than she knew of.

“If she’s you’re cousin.... then what were you two talking about?”

Keoni looked at Ally and then sighed in defeat. He was forced to come clean. “Ally lives on Oahu, specifically Honolulu. She works at a pretty big sports magazine there.”

“We’re not that big,” Ally admitted. “A while ago K showed me some pictures V took of his skate team. They were absolutely amazing. I showed them to my boss and he wants her to work for us.”

Lilo was blown away. This wasn’t even on her list of what would possibly happen.

“The problem is we can’t take anyone who hasn’t got some sort of post-secondary. So we want to offer Victoria a full scholarship to Kapi’olani Community College in Honolulu.”

“Well if that’s the case then why the secrecy?”

“I wanted to keep it a surprise for Victoria. I felt really bad for how I messed up our family dinner a while ago and wanted to make it up to her.”

“You did?” Lilo was suddenly very confused. Victoria said she was the one that messed it up.

“Yeah, I did.” Keoni clearly felt really bad about it, not knowing that Victoria was feeling the same way. “And we also had to keep it a secret because technically Kapi’olani doesn’t have a photography program yet.”

Ally continued the explanation. “My company is also setting that up. We can’t really go public until it’s all finalized.” She pulled out a stack of papers and handed it to Lilo. It was a full document offering the scholarship to Victoria. Lilo stood in shock, unable to believe what she was reading. “Once it’s all set, Victoria is free to go without any charge. And once she’s done she has a place at our company to work.”

“Please, Lilo,” Keoni begged. “You can’t tell Victoria what’s going on.”

Lilo had to really think about it. On one hand she didn’t want to keep something from her friend. Especially with how she was already feeling. On the other hand, telling her would ruin the whole surprise, and perhaps even her chance at this once in a lifetime opportunity.

“Fine,” Lilo finally said, agreeing to keep the secret as she handed the papers back to Ally. “But you have to make Victoria feel better. She’s really torn up right now.”

Keoni looked up at her and said, “deal. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I promise to do everything I can for her. But I can’t quite tell her what’s happening yet. Hopefully it’ll all be over soon.”

“Here, K. You keep the acceptance letter. I’ll let you know when everything has been set up. That way you can tell her immediately. I can’t wait to hear how V reacts.”

“Thanks.” The smile on Keoni’s face was grand. He couldn’t wait to show Victoria what he had set up for her. He truly hoped she’d forgive him for all this once it was over.

Acceptance? The word jogged something in Lilo’s mind. Wait a minute that’s it.

Without another word Lilo dashed out of the diner, leaving behind two very confused people. She didn’t have any time though. She needed to hurry before the inspiration left her. She couldn’t wait to tell Stitch what she had just thought up. It truly seemed like all her troubles were finally subsiding.

“Stitch?” Lilo called out as she ascended the elevator.

“Ih, Lilo?” Stitch called back form the bed with Jumba’s computer resting on his lap. Ever since Lilo had left for school he had only spent time trying to look up what Lilo’s hula could be about.

So far she had continually done hulas about the tales from her childhood. Of the gods of Hawai’i and of their heroes and legends. It was always easy enough to create one after they figure out the right story to tell. But this time was proving very difficult. No sudden inspiration had hit them like it normally did. At least it didn’t for Stitch.

“Gaba happened with Keoni?” Stitch asked while rubbing his tired eyes.

“That’s not important right now,” Lilo said as she pushed the laptop closed and tossed it onto the other side of the bed.

Stitch’s eyes shot wide open as he felt Lilo above him. “Isa not?”

“No.” Lilo shook her head. Stitch noticed the large smile on Lilo’s face. Something must have happened while she was out. Something he missed, making him very confused. “I’ve figured it out. I’ve figured out what my hula is going to be about!”

Stitch’s eyes lit up and finally it was time to begin. Lilo didn’t want to waste a single moment in preparing.

It was going to be a lot of work. Especially since they didn’t have a tale that they could recite. Instead it would be a story of their very own creation. Yet they would still be able to take inspiration from events that happened. Rather than the regular re-tellings, Lilo’s hula was going to be about love and acceptance. She loved to work around the concept of ‘love,’ but this one hit close to home. She was able to draw in her feelings about the time she and Stitch were split apart, and how she felt so distant from Nani at the time. Truly there were many different forms of love, but in the end accepting the ones you love is what matters the most. Lilo hoped that by doing this hula she would be able to bring greater fortune on herself. All she had ever wanted was to feel accepted in the world for how she was. To not have anyone question it or put her down because of it. This hula was her way of showing the way she truly felt. Even if it didn't pan out perfectly it would still be worth all the extra hard work and effort.

Lilo wasn’t the only one working on a hula about love though. Spectrum was hard at work as well, and Sara was more than happy to help her along the way. The grass skirt itched a little, and she found the hula top a little restraining, but she wanted to look the part. Even while practicing.

“Mmm.” Sara tilted her head as she watched Spectrum dance. “You need to flow a bit more.”

Spectrum stopped and dropped her head. “Gaba that mean?”

“You’re too rigid. Your movements need to flow together.” Sara put Spectrum back into position and then stood in front of her. “Think of it like water.” She started to move and sway, showing Spectrum what she meant. “See? You need to move yourself with flow. Not being all clunky. It’s dancing.”

“Like this?” Spectrum started moving the way Sara showed her.

“Yeah!” Sara smiled. “That’s much better. You’re really getting the hang of this. Just a bit more practice and I’m sure your hula will be great.”

“Taka, Sara,” Spectrum said as the exhaustion from practice started to take over her. “This isa butifa hard.”

“Now you get why I was always so tired!”

Spectrum nodded with a laugh.

“Imagine. Lilo’s been doing this for years. She must really look amazing by now. I wish I could see her hula.” A slightly disappointed look from the experiment made her back track. “Of course I want to see yours the most. I can’t wait to see the dance that makes Stitch your boojiboo.” The girl swooned playfully before her brow furrowed in thought. “That’s what it’s called right?”

Sara could understand Spectrum well enough, but Tantalog was still sometimes a struggle for her. Every time she said a word it sounded foreign as it left her tongue, yet always so natural when she heard Spectrum use it.

Spectrums face lit up at the word. She had thought about the concept many times, and yet it still made her heart skip a beat whenever she thought about it. “Ih. Isa boojiboo. Meega and… Stitch…”

Spectrum fell into a sort of day dream. She imagined what it would be like for her to be with Stitch. She didn’t expect Stitch to fall for her from her dance. Knowing that he must have seen Lilo do far better dances than she could ever hope to accomplish discouraged her a little bit. She she wasn’t going to let that thought stop her. All she wanted was to do something special for him and show him how she felt. It was hard to keep her feelings bottled up, and Sara was more than happy to tease her for it. Those moments helped but she still couldn’t wait until she could finally let Stitch know how much she cared for him.

While the two girls prepared their respective hulas Cobra sat in his hotel room in the dark. The large screen to his main communication device blinked with an incoming call.

Feeling a sense of darkness and dread he hesitated answering. Cobra already knew that he wasn’t going to like what he was about to be told. Yet he still held a tiny amount of hope. Hope that once again, Lilo and Stitch would be able to pull out another miracle.

Their miracles could only go so far even if they always pulled through in the past. With a great resentment in answering, he pressed the answer button on the monitor.

“Cobra,” The Grand Councilwoman’s voice said solemnly. All familiarity that she held in their previous communication had been lost.

“I take it this isn’t good news,” Cobra said, prepared for what had to be done. Her expression told him everything he needed to know. “Then the Council has made its decision?”

“Yes,” she said and closed her eyes. “It went back and forth for a while… but in the end it was a unanimous vote. When it comes to the relationship between Lilo and Stitch it…”

The Grand Councilwoman’s next three words rang through Cobra’s head. They not only broke his heart, but hers as well. Once again their hands were tied in a matter that they couldn’t fix on their own alone.

“Must be terminated.”

Chapter Text

“I’m sorry, Victoria. I really can’t say one way or the other.”

Victoria pouted at Lilo’s response. She had been trying to get out of Lilo what Keoni had told her all day. No matter what she asked though Lilo kept her lips sealed. They continued to walk to Lilo’s house together until Victoria thought to try to tackle Lilo from a different perspective.

“But I’m your best friend. You absolutely have to tell me. It’s like, friend code or something,” Victoria insisted again.

“I do not. There is no such thing,” Lilo said while shaking her head. As much as she wanted to tell Victoria what Keoni had planned she promised him she wouldn’t. Normally that promise wouldn’t mean much, but when it was something like this she absolutely had to. “Besides. Didn’t Keoni talk to you and sort everything out?”

“Yeah,” she whined. “It was silly of me to think he’d do something like that. It's not like me to get so jealous. I don’t know. But he still won’t tell me what’s going on!”

“And I have nothing to say about it.”

“But you know! Just tell me what it is.”

The two continued back and forth for a while. Lilo was adamant though and would not giving a single inch. She wanted to be there when Victoria found out what Keoni had planned. The look on Victoria’s face would be absolutely priceless. Thankfully he was able to explain much of her worries away. Keoni had told Victoria that his cousin was in town, that he hadn’t seen her in years, and that they needed to catch up. He wasn’t entirely lying, and the moment that Keoni mentioned his mother’s side she stopped asking about it. She didn’t want to cause any problems and she believed that he wasn’t intentionally trying to hurt her. However, she was still extremely curious about what was really happening. If he wasn’t cheating then it must have been something big.

“I’m not going to tell you anything. No matter what.” As Lilo finished she stopped dead in her tracks.

“But I really want to…” Victoria trailed off as she noticed her friend stopped moving. “Lilo? What’s wrong?”

Lilo’s eyes were wide and fearful. Victoria traced her gaze in the direction that Lilo was looking, seeing a black car parked in front of Lilo’s house.

“Cobra…” Lilo said. She didn’t need to check to make sure. There was a feeling inside her that told her that that was Cobra’s car. Whether he brought good or bad news she wasn’t sure, but somehow she could just tell that it was bad. Really bad. “Sorry. I’m going to have to catch up with you later or something.”

Lilo hurried towards the house, leaving Victoria behind at the foot of the hill.

“Is everything okay?” Victoria called out.

“Yeah. Everything’s fine.” Lilo smiled as she lied. She hadn’t told Victoria about what was going on with the Council. All she said was that Cobra had come for a visit, and that it seemed like something bad might come their way. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Just some alien stuff I have to deal with. I’ll talk to you later okay?” Lilo gave a wave and didn't wait for Victoria’s answer.

Victoria gave a weak wave back before finally dropping her arm as Lilo started climbing the stairs. She felt a knot in her throat as Lilo closed the front door behind her. She didn’t know why, but even she had a bad feeling. Unable to help but notice things never seemed to go right for Lilo and Stitch for long. Victoria walked away only to look back and hope and pray that once again her best friend wasn’t going to get hurt. If it was the Grand Council she wouldn’t be able to do anything for Lilo and Stitch like she did when Nani separated them.

Lilo tried her best to keep her emotions in check. Yet the pictures on the walls still shook as she slammed the door. She could hear Cobra and Nani’s voice all the way from the bottom of the hill so she made a b-line straight for the kitchen. She knew exactly where Cobra was and didn’t waste a moment in getting there.

“What are you doing here?” Lilo asked letting more anger out than she wanted. She looked to Nani who just looked away. The family knew she didn’t want Cobra around and with the way Nani was acting it likely meant that the Council had finally come to a conclusion.

“Lilo,” Cobra said in a commanding voice, completely disregarding her question. “I think it would be best for you to sit down.”

Lilo looked to the other end of the table. Stitch sat by himself with a worried look on his face. She reluctantly took her place beside him. Grasping his extended hand in her own. They kept their held hands on top of the table for everyone to see. They couldn't know it actually tore at Cobra’s heart.

“Meega soka,” Stitch said under his breath.

It was then that Lilo truly knew. She didn’t need Cobra to tell her what was decided but it drove it home when he finally said it.

“The Council has decided to put an end to your relationship,” Cobra announced as calmly and coldly as he could. In his mind he hated himself. To think that he’d have to be the one to once again try to tear apart this family. It left a horrible taste in his mouth, but sadly he had to do it. He couldn’t live with himself if one of the other Council members were to do it. It had to be him and only him. “They have warranted your relationship as a danger to the secret of the Alien races. It is too much of a risk to allow you two to continue as you have… been…” Tears started to form in Lilo and Stitch’s eyes. The sight making him stop. Letting out a sigh he turned to Nani. “Do you think you could give us some time alone?”

“Sure,” Nani said. “I’ll just go do…something.”

Once Nani left the room Cobra removed his sunglasses. Lilo and Stitch could see the struggle he was going through in his eyes. It wasn’t easy for him to do this, they knew that now. It wouldn’t be fair to blame him for it.

“The Council’s decision has been made,” Cobra said. “If you would like to talk to the Grand Councilwoman however you can.”

“I want to,” Lilo said immediately.

“Meega too,” Stitch agreed.

Cobra pulled out a small laptop similar to Jumba’s from his suitcase. Setting it on the table, he opened it up and with the push of a button the Grand Councilwoman’s face formed.

“Ambassador Pelekai, Stitch,” The Grand Councilwoman said calmly and collectedly. “I take it Councilman Bubbles has told you then?”

“Yes he has,” Lilo said through her teeth. “How could you do this to us?”

“We have never done anything to you. Why would the Council decide this?” Stitch yelled.

“It wasn’t an easy decision to make by any means.” The shame in her voice went unnoticed by Lilo and Stitch. “Neither Councilman Bubbles nor I took part in this decision. If it was up to us you two could live happily as you have been.”

“Then why can’t we?”

“I’m sure he told you. It would be a risk to the secret of aliens. For you two to be in an open relationship… Humans would eventually find out. Once that happens then I’m very sure you’d know what would happen.”

Lilo looked down in shame. She knew full well what humans could do.

“We kept it a secret so far,” Stitch said, not letting Lilo give up like that. “We can keep it a secret still!”

“Can you truly guarantee that it would never be let out?”

Stitch was about to argue when he remembered the photos Kea and Kel took. As hard as they tried to keep it hidden they weren’t able to keep it from everyone. They didn’t even know that they had been watched. “We… can try.”

“I’m sorry, Stitch. Truly I am. But to try isn’t enough for countless alien lives. Unless your opinion has changed, Ambassador Pelekai. Are humans ready to learn that they are not alone?”

Lilo wanted to tell her that they were. That humans would make the right choices and accept the news with open arms. Sadly there hadn’t been much happening that would make her believe that fully. Not even a little bit.

She looked at the screen while on the brink of tears and said, “They’re not ready.” She held back a sniffle and held on with determination. “But does that really mean you need to tear us apart?! Do we really deserve something like that?!”

“Not at all,” The Grand Councilwoman said much to their surprise.

“What?”

“Like you said. It is not fair to try to tear apart you relationship. The Council may have decided that, however I was elected to be Grand Councilwoman. And I will not sit back and let those I care about be hurt.”

“What are you talking about?” Cobra asked. He had no idea what was going on. As far as he knew the conversation had ended once the Council decided to terminate Lilo and Stitch’s relationship.

“Once the decision had been made,” she continued after being interrupted. “I gave the Council another question. What would it take to allow you two to continue your relationship?”

“So we can stay together?” Stitch asked, filled with hope.

“These are your options. One. You two end your relationship and continue as you did before or do whatever it takes to for you two to no longer be together. Or two. You continue your relationship but leave Earth.”

“L-leave Earth?” Lilo’s hopes were crushed. They might as well have not been given a choice at all. To just leave everyone and everything they care about was unthinkable.

“We can’t do that!” Stitch stood on his chair and slammed his hands on the table. “There isa no way we can do that. There must be another way.”

“Unfortunately there is not. Those are your only options. I can give you two some time to think it over. However the Council will not allow you to wait long. A choice needs to be made soon.”

Lilo quickly closed the communication device closed. She just couldn’t believe what things had come to. She also couldn’t believe that they thought a reasonable solution was to just have them leave their home. After all they’d been through and done. There was no possible way they could just leave. Still. It didn’t seem like they had much choice.

Cobra’s condolences did little to help Lilo and Stitch feel better. His vacation had quickly come to its end and he was going to be going back to his duties. He wished there was something he could do for them, but sadly he was powerless once again. At one time he thought that he was capable of doing great things. After saving the planet back in 1973 he felt unstoppable. What good am I if I can’t even help a little girl? He thought as he drove away. What Cobra didn’t know was that as awful as the situation for Lilo and Stitch was, he was going to soon be walking into an even worse one.

“How can they do this to us?!” Lilo shouted in her room. She threw her Ambassador pin against the wall as hard as she could. It stuck into the metal wall, hanging for them to see.

“Lilo,” Stitch whispered. He softly took her still raised hand into his. “We be okay. Ih?”

Lilo looked to him with furry and anger still strewn across her face. She saw her reflection in Stitch's eyes. But it wasn’t someone she recognized. All she could see was the hate filled Lilo she had tried to cast away so many times.

“I don’t know, Stitch,” she said, pulling herself away from his grasp. “We can’t leave our family but I don’t want us to be apart again. And this isn’t something we can fight against or run away from. If we try to go against the Council who knows what would happen to us. I just don’t know what to do anymore.” She laid down on the bed, wanting the day to be over already. She was so happy earlier and now her mood was completely ruined.

Lilo didn’t say a word as Stitch crawled in beside her. All she did was move to be as close to him as she could. They didn’t know how long they could be together. They also didn’t know how long the Council would wait for the decision they couldn’t make. All they could do was hold each other and hope that nothing would come between them in whatever time they had.

“We figure it out,” Stitch said. He held onto Lilo as tight as he could. Kissing the top of her head, he inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. He never wanted to forget it. “We always do.”

Neither Lilo nor Stitch came down for supper that night. No one in the family tried to make them either. What was finally a happy atmosphere had once again grown dark. This time from a source that they couldn’t stop. For the entire afternoon, evening, and night, Lilo and Stitch only spent time in their room. Not willing to leave each other’s side for the world.

Hamsterviel watched from his bed as the guard walked by. Once again the daily routine had come to an end, and once again he felt his blood boiling in anger. He imagined where he would be in that moment if Lilo and Stitch hadn’t stopped him all those years ago.

Would I be torturing some deserving soul?

Stealing candy from an infant?

Plotting my next big take over?

Or would I just be sitting on my throne laughing at what would be the pitiful attempt to stop me?

His jaw clenched as he was taken away from his wonderful daydreams. Brought back to his imprisoned reality. Locked in a cage like a rat once again. He did not mind it back in the old prison. He more or less had free reign in his cell and could do absolutely anything without being disturbed. That was no longer the case here. Near hourly checks day and night, as well as a camera that he could only command to shut down for a half hour before the prison’s systems rebooted it.

It was indescribable how he felt. Knowing that he almost had everything only to have it swiped away from it. All because of a single Earth song. Laughing to himself, Hamsterviel thought about the plan that had been cooking in his head ever since Zalgar called him. For years he had silently plotted. Waiting for the perfect moment to make his move. And soon it would come. Lilo and Stitch’s love and the Council’s reaction to it would create the perfect opportunity for his escape.

Checking to make sure the guard hadn’t double backed, Hamsterviel ran to the wall and knocked on it.

“Who isa it?” A near growling like voice replied in a teasing voice.

“Leroy!” Hamsterviel almost shouted. “You know it is me you ungrateful experiment you.”

“Gaba yuuga want?”

“Do all of the clones know what they’re supposed to do?” He waited for a few moments, losing patience as time ticked by slowly. “Well?”

“Ih,” Leroy answered while trying to hide his own annoyance. “They all nota gaba to do. Isa it time yet?”

“No. Not yet. Almost though.” Hamsterviel laughed once again, tasting sweet freedom just on the tip of his tongue. “Almost.”

Leroy laughed to himself as well. He could have broken out at any moment. Yet there wouldn’t be any point to it. He could have been easily captured the exact same way as before. He had to wait for an opportunity to arise as well. What he didn’t expect was that it would come from the sickening news that Hamsterviel received.

A human and an experiment together. Leroy spit to get the awful taste out of his mouth every time he thought about it. And to think it would be Stitch that did it. Well. It won’t be for much longer.

The two evil beings laughed with thoughts of what they would do once their plan succeeded. The time to escape was drawing ever closer, and they couldn’t wait for the signal to come.

Chapter Text

Lilo walked around in a daze. As time passed the news hit her hard. All she could think about, no matter how hard she tried not to, was that soon she would either need to say good-bye to Stitch or say good-bye to her family. Nothing could help her make this choice. No amount of discussion with Stitch could help them make this choice. All they did was go around in circles trying to come up with a solution to this problem. She knew that there had to be some way to have the best of both sides. Some way she could be with Stitch and everyone she cared about. Yet nothing came to her.

Never before had she been in this kind of predicament. She could always figure out what to do. It was what she did. Especially after her brain worked better after being combined with Stitch. Things just always seemed to click somehow. Now nothing was fitting together and it was becoming more and more exhausting.

She didn’t know what she was going to do, and she didn’t know what Stitch was going to do. Lilo thought they were on the same page. Whatever page that is… She thought to herself. What are we going to do?

Lilo was so out of it that she almost didn’t notice the note fall out of her locker. All she felt was a light tap on her feet as she was pulling books out of the top cubicle.

“To Lilo?” She questioned it as she picked it up.

Looking around, she had no idea who could have put it in. The halls of the school were rather full since she didn’t bother coming early like she normally did. Anyone could have done it. All the lockers had little slits in them. It was more than easy enough to slide a paper through.

Unfolding the paper she skimmed it for a name before reading it, unable to find any.

Hey Lilo,

I keep trying to catch up with you but I can’t seem to find you. I made something for you and wanted to give it to you as soon as possible. I’ll be in the Photography Club’s dark room waiting at lunch. If you don’t show up or if you don’t get this note that’s cool. I’ll be there. Waiting. So yeah.

The writing looked frantic and overly hurried. It was almost impossible to read. Looking closer it looked like there was a name at the bottom but Lilo couldn’t read it. However it didn’t take much thinking for her to figure out that Daniel must have left it. No one else would be trying to get her attention and make the meeting place the dark room. She thought about crumpling the note up and throwing it away, not caring about what he might have to say. She was curious about what he could have made though. It wasn’t really like Daniel to make something for anyone as far as she knew.

In the end not even the note brought her out of her daze. Her mind was still clouded by her thoughts and worries.

“You okay?”

The voice was distant but it brought Lilo to her senses.

“What?”

“I asked if you’re okay,” Victoria said again.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” Lilo lied. She found herself lying a lot again and she absolutely hated it.

“No you’re not.” Victoria sat at the lunch table, waiting for Lilo to take a seat beside her. “You haven’t been since you saw Cobra’s car at your house. I knew something was up then. Clearly it wasn’t good. You should really talk about it. You tend to keep things bottled up inside… are you not sitting down?”

“Is it lunch already?” Lilo asked genuinely surprised.

“Yeah. The bell rang a while ago. Jeez. You’re really out of it today.”

“Sorry. I just remembered I have to go somewhere. I’ll see you in class.”

“Lilo, wait!” Victoria called out but it was already too late. “We don’t have class together after this.”

Nearly running, Lilo had heard Victoria call to her but she didn’t stop. It wasn’t that she was really in a huge hurry to see Daniel. She just didn’t want to talk about what was going on. To her, telling Victoria meant that what was happening was real. She knew she couldn’t run away from her problems forever, but she still didn’t want to admit that she could be losing someone she loved. Sure. Stitch and I could just break up and still live together. But we can’t just do that. It would be even worse like that…

For the first time since she joined the door to the Photography Club’s room felt incredibly intimidating. Lilo didn’t really understand why she was there. All she kept telling herself was that she didn’t want to speak with Daniel, but her curiosity got the best of her. Truly she hoped for the best in him and whatever he had planned was some form of apology. She really did miss her friendship with him but was more than willing to keep it broken off if it was best for her.

Scanning the room she found it completely bare. It didn’t even look like it was getting used for regular classes. She looked at the hasty note in her hand, re-reading to make sure she didn’t make a mistake. The dark room huh? The light for the side room wasn’t on. It was as dark in there as ever. Lilo would have believed the entire area was still abandoned if it didn’t smell like someone was just in there.

With a loud creak the dark room door gently glided open at a single touch. It wasn’t a large room by any means, making it extremely easy to spot the glowing object on the table they used for developing photos. From the darkness it looked like a tiny zombie was trying to rise out of the earth in a jar.

“What’s this?” Lilo asked, lifting it to get a better look.

“Do you like it?”

As the question was asked the lights suddenly flicked on. Daniel stood by the door watching Lilo’s each and every move with anticipation and hope.

“It’s a gift,” he continued. “For you. I hope you’ll accept it.”

“What is it exactly?” Lilo turned the jar around, seeing that there was a completely different scene on the other side. A stark contrast to the horror scene she initially found.

“I guess it’s kind of a diorama in a jar.” Daniel took the jar from Lilo and showed off one of its sides. “I made two scenes in it with a divider made of cardboard in between. On one side it’s the ocean in the sunset. It was really hard to paint the sun. I’m not much of a painter. The sand, water, and shells making the layers of the beach are actually from the beach we had that campfire on. I went back there and collected it. On top is a red hibiscus. Your favorite.” Once Lilo got to take in everything he had done he spun the jar around in his hand. “On this side it’s the beach at night. Total horror scene. The zombie and all the creepy glowing stuff is from some glow worms.”

“But Kaua’I doesn’t have any glow worms.”

“I have my resources,” Daniel said as he handed back the jar to Lilo. “Anyway. This is for you. I wanted to show you that I could think about someone other than myself. That I listen. I know how much the beach and how much you love horror stuff. I thought putting them together would be cool.”

“It’s because of my family,” Lilo interrupted him as she put the diorama down.

“What is?”

“That I love the beach and creepy things. My dad used to take us to the beach all the time when I was little. And Nani had a lot of surfing competitions. I practically grew up there. We also used to watch a lot of old cheesy horror films. Mom would always get us together for family nights and watch them until really early in the morning. But then my parents… so yeah. I really like that stuff because it reminds me of my family. It’s a part of who I am. My ‘ohana.”

“Do you know the meaning of ‘ohana? How important family is? How important it is to her?” Styles’ words echoed in Daniel’s mind. He felt like he was starting to understand just what Styles was getting at. He never stopped to think why Lilo acted or liked things the way she did.

“I’m really sorry,” Daniel finally said the words Lilo had been waiting for. “For what I did. How I acted. The things I said. I was terrible. I say I like you and I really didn’t show it the right way. I really, really, apologize.”

From Daniel’s eyes Lilo could see that he really meant what he said. He was genuine in his apology, but she saw something else in them. He looked at her in a similar way that Stitch did. She knew his feelings for her hadn’t changed at all.

“You still like me though?”

The atmosphere instantly changed. Daniel took a deep breath, thinking over what he wanted to say.

“Yes. I do. How I feel, about you… and Styles. That hasn’t changed. It won’t change. But I know what I did was wrong. I really like you Lilo, but I know you don’t feel the same way for me.” Yet. He added in his head. “I just want to be friends again.”

It was hard for Lilo to stay mad at him. She knew from experience that it was impossible to help what your feelings do. There is no control over them. “Okay. We can be friends again. But you can’t be mean to Styles.”

“Promise.”

Lilo extended her hand, surprising Daniel quite a bit. He looked at her hand for a moment before cracking a smile a taking it into his own. It was an odd gesture. Considering that they had known each other for a while now. But it was a good way to restart their friendship.

When Lilo got home that afternoon Stitch instantly noticed the large jar she was carrying with her. He looked at it with a great curiosity, eyeing it up and wondering where she had gotten it.

“Lilo? Gaba is this?” Stitch asked, picking the jar up from the table and twirling it around in his hands.

“It’s a diorama,” Lilo said as she put her school stuff away. “Daniel made it.”

“Daniel did?” Stitch was shocked and it showed in his voice. “Isa you two friends again?”

“Stitch, are you jealous?” Lilo said teasingly.

“Meega? Jealous? Nagga.” Stitch stuck his tongue out like he just tasted something bad. The thought of jealousy never crossed his mind. He just didn’t like the way the boy had treated him and Lilo. “Meega just thought you two were still fighting.”

“We were.” Lilo finished up and took the diorama from Stitch, placing it on top of her dresser. “He apologized though.”

“Yuuga sure he meant it?”

“I am. I mean. I don’t know what he’ll do from now on. But I’ll give him another chance. Besides…” Lilo looked down before turning back to Stitch. “We have far worse things to worry about right now.”

Stitch froze for a second. He had hoped that Lilo wouldn’t bring it up. Spending the entire day thinking about nothing but the choice he and Lilo had to make. He at least wanted to spend a little bit of time with her before they had to discuss the sad news.

“Do yuuga know what you want to do?” Stitch took her hand and led Lilo to the bed. They sat down together, arms wrapped around each other.

“Of course I don’t. How could I?” Lilo held him tightly. “This isn’t something I can just figure out. Not on my own. We need to work together in this, okay?”

“Okie-taka. Sorry, meega just…” Stitch trailed off into his head. I just feel like it’s my fault. Because of me you were changed. Because of me Nani was mad. Because of me the Council wants to split us up. If only I wasn’t an experiment. Stitch didn’t say any of this however. Instead he just gave her the best smile he could and hugged her. “Meega just worried. That isa all.”

“I know, Stitch. I am too. I know it’ll work out like always though. It’s not like we can change who we are.”

Change who we are? “Ih… we can’t.” Lilo’s words got him thinking. He felt like it was because of him that everything bad was happening. But he couldn’t change the fact that he loved Lilo. That didn’t mean that he couldn’t change himself though. In fact he had changed himself many times over the course of the past few years.

That night he waited patiently for Lilo to fall asleep. Stitch was emotionally drained himself, but he couldn’t sleep. Not just yet. Once he could hear her breathing level off, and her chest slowly rose and fall at a steady pace, he gently snuck out of bed. Skipping the elevator due to noise Stitch crawled out of the window, reentering through the back door. Quickly and quietly he moved to Jumba and Pleakley’s room, scanning for the one he was looking for. Unable to find Jumba he figured he would have to look in the ship.

Once again, being as quiet as he could, he let the door close with a long squeak. The noise woke up Pleakley with a small fright, looking around in a panic. Seeing the door that he was sure he had closed before going to sleep was slightly open he went to investigate. He caught just a glimpse of Stitch heading into the living room, making him worry and decided to follow the little experiment.

It was difficult for Pleakley to follow in his half asleep state. More than once he almost tripped over himself and he was pretty sure that Stitch must have heard him more than once. It seemed like he didn’t care though and continued his way to Jumba’s ship. Stitch really didn’t care. He realized right away that Pleakley was following but felt no need to stop him. His goal was his creator. Who was easy enough to find in his lab.

“Jumba?” Stitch called out before quickly spotting the large alien behind sparks flying out of what looked like a dismantled vacuum cleaner. “Meega need to talk to you.”

“Stitch?” Jumba pulled his goggles off and winced at the bright light. “Gah, stupid machine.” Fumbling around half blind he finally got the sparks to stop flying. “What are you doing here, Stitch? I thought you and little girl were…Oh.” He finally caught a look at the clock and let out a laugh. “Looks like it is being time for Jumba to go to bed, yes?”

“Meega wanted to ask you something.”

“Well then be asking while I clean up.”

Jumba began putting things away as quickly as he could. Stitch didn’t know if Jumba was actually going to be able to pay attention, but this was his best chance to ask something important.

“Okie-taka.” Stitch’s head moved back and forth as he watched Jumba run around the lab. Thinking it best to take a seat he hopped onto the table near the odd vacuum. “Meega was just thinking. The Council has a problem with meega and Lilo because I’m not human.”

Jumba wasn’t expecting Stitch and Lilo’s situation to be brought up causing him to stop for a moment. He hid a pained look before continuing his clean up routine.

“But meega was thinking,” Stitch continued. “Meega has posed as a human many times now. Styles seems to be perfect for any situation like that. Having cousin change meega for a short time wouldn’t cut it for something like this.”

Jumba completely stopped. He didn’t like where Stitch was going with this. “No… I am supposing it wouldn’t. What is it you were wanting to ask of me?”

“Isa it possible to turn me into a human permanently. Become Styles forever?”

“Hold it!” Pleakley burst through the door causing Jumba to jump. Stitch had known Pleakley was there and kept his eyes on his creator. “Stitch! You can’t possibly be thinking of doing something like this. Lilo would never want you to change who you are.”

“But Lilo also wouldn’t want us to split up. And she naga want to leave you either.” Stitch’s eyes stayed locked onto Jumba’s. “If it comes to it. Meega ready to sacrifice my normal form for Lilo. Can it be done Jumba?”

After a few short moments Jumba ran his hands along his face. “Well….”

“Jumba!” Pleakley shouted. “You’re not seriously considering this. It’s not a good idea. It’s the exact opposite even. It’s a terrible, horrible idea.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Jumba was torn. It would tear him apart to see his greatest creation, someone he looked at as a son, become someone he wasn’t. On the other hand he couldn’t just turn him away for the same exact reason. “I won’t allow you to make a rash decision, Stitch. But if it something you are really wanting, I can figure out a way for it to be done. It won’t be easy. And it will be far more painful than anything you can be imagining. But I will find a way.”

“Unbelievable,” Pleakley said, rolling his eye. “I’m telling Lilo. This has to be put to a stop.”

“Naga!” In a flash Stitch was blocking Pleakley’s way out. “Yuuga can’t. Meega will… This will be a last resort. Okie-taka? Isa not been decided yet. If things go bad…” He looked to Jumba again. “Yuuga can do it?”

“Yes.” Jumba nodded. He had already played around with the idea before. If needed he could finish the process.

“Pleakley, please. Naga tell Lilo. Meega don’t want to do this. But I don’t see any other way.”

Pleakley knew this was a bad idea. Even more so to keep it from Lilo. However. When he looked into Stitch’s sad eyes he didn’t see the little monster he normally did. What he saw was someone who was sad, desperate, and at their end. To be honest with himself... Pleakley couldn’t see any other way either.

“Fine.” He gave in. “But only as a last resort! And Lilo has to agree to it before you do it. I’m not going to sit by and watch someone from my family do something so crazy without the support of everyone involved.”

Chapter Text

Zalgar could hardly sleep throughout the night. Every time he almost managed to finally fall asleep he remembered how important the date was and awoke full of energy. It was hard to keep himself contained. Everything was starting to come together. Finally, after years of lying low and waiting he managed to find the perfect opportunity. Not only was he finally stepping towards his ultimate goal, but he would also take out his most hated rival. As well as the only ones who would be able to put a stop to him.

Straightening out his Councilmen uniform for the fifth time he laughed to himself.

“Soon. Soon it’ll all be over.” His smile grew even wider as he looked at himself in the mirror. “No. This is only the beginning.”

His only concern at this point was that of Hamsterviel actually managing his side of the plan.

“Hamsterviel,” Zalgar cursed under his breath. Far too long I’ve had to wait for this.

He hated himself for having to contact the pesky hamster. Constantly needing to remind himself that it was all a part of his plan. Yet it couldn’t be helped that the mere mention of the evil rodent took him back to the last time they worked together.