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The night air hangs heavy with the last few waning moments of summer. You’re sure a cloud rolled down from the top of Mount Coronet and flooded the valley with a dense vapor. Dark or not, you could barely see five feet in front of your own face. So much for cataloging the habits of ghost Pokémon around the Solaceon Ruins.
You’d found a soft pillow of grass next to the Valor lakefront to tuck yourself into, meticulously detailing your few observations. Your scribbles about Zubat’s berry preference are interrupted by the rustle of the underbrush. Sylveon, who was resting beside you, jumps up awake and alert. He gives the air a sniff and his ears perk up, more excited than on guard. A familiar Leafeon slinks into the clearing with a soft brr.
The two eeveelutions go to greet each other when Leafeon’s partner materializes right behind her, his sharp gaze cuts through the fog to find you. He smirks and strolls over to join you in the grass.
“Working late?” He jibes before squatting down next to you. You roll your eyes before putting down your Pokédex and quill.
“I could ask you the same. What’s the esteemed leader of the Diamond Clan doing out this late at night?” You tease before falling back onto the grass with a dramatic huff.
Adaman settles down next to you and kicks up more of the sweet scented dew, hardly bothered by the sticky night air. His eyes trace your form before resting his cheek in the palm of his hands. The warmth in his gaze was overshadowed by a note of conflict. He hums before finally answering.
“I come here whenever I can’t sleep.” Your partner Pokémon join the two of you in the small bed of grass, tails intertwined.
Adaman sighs and falls back on the grass beside you. You follow his gaze to the hazy sky.
“Not the best night for star-gazing.” His eyes fall back into yours, and you’re suddenly hit with a sense of deja vu.
“Do you remember showing me the constellations a few years ago?” You ask softly, eyes never leaving his. His smirk is back, and with it a sense of wistful longing.
“I do” he laughs and covers his left eye. “We could see the heavens themselves from the Highlands.”
You lay in a comfortable silence for a few moments, blanketed by the purrs of your Pokémon. You reach over and grab Adaman’s hand softly. He jumps in surprise, but doesn’t pull away.
“If I remember correctly, you couldn’t sleep that night either.” You begin carefully, keeping your gaze locked on the obscured sky.
His hand stiffens in your hold before he sighs and relaxes, giving a soft squeeze before interlacing your fingers. You don’t even have to finish your question before Adaman begins to answer.
“I was 16 when my mother died.” Your head snaps over to look at him, only to find his eyes stubbornly set on trying to pierce the fog above you.
“My grandfather was the leader of the Diamond Clan at the time. Fair, wise, and deeply connected to Lord Dialga in a way even I never fully understood.”
“Even with his duties, he still carved out time for me. When my grief was too much for me to handle, he’d take me here. He’d tell me stories about my mother. How determined she was to lead our people into the new age, ensuring our traditions and history would not be lost along the way.”
He finally turns to you then, a familiar sadness lingering at the edge of his expression.
“I think of her on nights like these.” He gives you a thoughtful look before continuing.
“I think she would’ve liked you. I wish you could’ve met her.” His soft smile nearly cracks your heart in two.
“Sometimes, I wonder what she would think of me, of the clan. The strides we’ve made toward peace.”
“I think she’d be more than proud of you, Adaman.” You hope the sincerity in your heart reaches your words.
“You amaze me almost everyday,” you admit in a whisper, your unexpected boldness burning a blush across your cheeks.
He turns to look at you, his own scarlet flush creeping up his neck. You find yourself looking for the stars in his eyes again, and wonder when he got so close. You’re worried your heart may be beating a tad bit too fast when Adaman sighs and looks down, a hand coming up behind his neck.
“My appointment as clan leader wasn’t a very popular choice at the time.” He admits sheepishly. You run your thumb over the back of his hand, waiting for him to continue.
“Patience does not come naturally to me. Mai and even Melli gave me more than a few stern lectures about that early on.” You raise a brow at that and he laughs.
His eyes catch yours again, pulling your joined hands up to his lips with a small smile.
“Even now, I’m still learning to be patient.” He murmurs into the back of your hand, igniting a flutter of warmth below your stomach.
His eyes search yours before he releases your hand, turning to lay on his side. You mirror him and close the distance between you two. Now, you’re acutely aware of your own racing heart. He tilts your chin up gently, his face just inches away from your own.
“I’m a practice in being patient to you?” You question, suddenly more bold than you’d felt all night.
You bring up your forehead to his and feel his breath hitch, bringing you both to the precipice of something new.
“You test my patience in many ways,” you feel his smile now, even as he nudges your nose with his own.
You’re about to retort when his lips capture yours; a reply lost to a simple hum as his hands find your hips. You’re pulled flush against him, legs entwined as your hand moves along his arm; tracing the strong curve of his shoulder and bicep.
He breaks the kiss suddenly, his own breath heavy as he admires the flush in your cheeks. You’re still in a daze when he pulls away, one hand firmly planted on his arm and another wandering up his shirt. He rests his forehead against yours again with a breathless chuckle.
“Seems I’m not the only one who needs to work on their patience-“ his tease cut off by a moan as your hands wander lower. You move your lips to his neck, eliciting another stifled gasp.
“I think we’ve both waited long enough.” You hum and laugh as he flips you on your back suddenly. He cradles your smaller frame with his own, careful to suspend his weight above you.
You lock eyes and think, despite the thick fog enveloping the world around you; you’ve never seen each other more clearly.