Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Guzma looked at himself in his mirror, scowling at his neat looking reflection. ‘C’mon, man,’ he thought to himself. ‘This ain’t a date or anything. Just hanging out with Plumeria. Taking her around.’ But try as he might to reassure himself of the fact, he kept finding himself fiddling with every detail of his appearance, from taking his sunglasses on and off to splashing water on his eternally sleep deprived looking face.

He glared at himself in the mirror and let out an overdramatic sigh . “Guzma, what is wrong with you?” He growled, with less spite in his tone than the phrase usually carried.

It wasn't a date, and Guzma didn't even know why he was hoping it may be, deep down. It was only his second or third time getting to see Plumeria since the disbanding of Team Skull, and considering how furious at him she was after the Ultra Space ordeal he was wondering if he still had to rebuild a friendship with her, let alone relationship.

Besides, it was honestly too soon. As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't entirely positive that he was completely over Lusamine. While consciously he never wanted to see her again until she was well enough to give him an (in his own opinion) well deserved apology, her beautiful, comforting, and eerily maternal roles in all of his Ultra Space related nightmares made him fear that subconsciously there was a part of him that missed her in his life. Plumeria didn't deserve to be a rebound. Not like she'd want to, anyway. Because this was not a date, he didn't like her like that, and most importantly, she definitely didn't like him like that.

And yet his heart kept thumping.

There was no time to continue fretting, though, as right when he was thinking about removing the glasses off his forehead for a more normal look for the umpteenth time, there was a knock on the door and the sound of a familiar Honchkrow’s long cry as it soared from the entrance of the house back to journey to Ula’ula. He almost made her wait a good five minutes outside to give him time to gain back the confidence necessary for his usual persona, but of course a certain someone had to ruin that for him.

“Hey, it's Plumeria!” Guzma groaned hearing Hau’s loud and cheery voice from the other room and knew he couldn't make any more excuses. He couldn't help but stop halfway to the door to the main room - he was wondering how she'd look, if she was taking this less casually than he would. God, he'd be embarrassed looking like his usual bum self if she was out there in a dress or something. ‘Nah, she wouldn't do that,’ he attempted to convince himself. ‘After all, this ain't a date.’

He opened the door to find Plumeria and Hau chit chatting in a friendly manner. He was glad that they didn't hear him initially, because it was nice scene. Plumeria was thankfully dressed as casually as he was, adorning her new Salazze-inspired attire she had been gifted by Nanu as some sort of present for starting her life anew. But beyond that, just seeing her talk to someone like Hau was almost charming. When she was an admin of Team Skull, all of her interactions with the Grunts exuded a calm yet authoritative energy that demanded respect. This was different - she had a small smile on her lips as they discussed their various championship challenges together (something Guzma was admittedly jealous about, as Hala wouldn't ‘allow’ him to try himself at the moment). It wasn't often that he had seen Plumeria interact with people she wasn't apart of a hierarchy of within the last few years, so this side of her was refreshing.

“Yo, Plums, miss me?” He broke their silence with his usual swagger, relieved that her smile didn't fall once he joined. At least it was a sign that she wasn't still mad, as much as he knew his fear had been irrational. “Oh, you wish,” she replied, beginning to walk towards him.

As he was about to continue, Hau chuckled and gave them a sly grin. “Ohhhhh. Now I get it.”

To his annoyance, Guzma found himself blushing, which he could tell Hau noticed as he made direct eye contact with him specifically as he winked. Thankfully Plumeria had already turned around and didn't see the redness in his cheeks. He opened his mouth to yell at the kid, but was interrupted by one of her usual quick and level comebacks. “We’re just hanging out, Hau. You and Gladion just hang out all of the time together, right?”

The kid’s blush now matched Guzma’s, and he was much less subtle about it. “I don't know what you're- I'm-,” he stammered, embarrassed. “A-anyway, just, have fun!” He then ran to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Plumeria chuckled. “Cute.” She turned back to look at Guzma, still with that pleasant smile on her face. He found himself gazing into her piercing golden eyes and noticed her makeup was a lot more normal than she always kept it while in Team Skull. They had both decided to do away with their defining tattoos, sure, but he just assumed that the white eye makeup was a fashion choice for her. It looked nice. And to his pleasant surprise, she was staring right back, examining his face just as intently. It made him blush, and in response she broke the awkward silence with a chuckle. “Well… Should we get going, then?”

Shoot, he had to focus. Not a date. Not a date. She had even just said it herself - they were just hanging out.

“Yeah, I've been waiting for you for hours.” He grinned and put his hands on his hips, heading towards the door. He just had to keep it cool and be himself, which thankfully he felt comfortable doing with her. With Lusamine he had always felt judged by her coworkers, and Kukui he was always subconsciously competing with, and- no, he needed to stop comparing her to them. This was different!

They made their way through Iki Town, focusing more on greeting others as they walked past. Many of the grunts that Hala had sumo wrestling were ecstatic to see their big sister, and happily greeted her as she assured them she’d catch up with all of them that night upon her return. Hala nagged Guzma about making sure to prepare for their training first thing tomorrow morning, earning an overdramatic irritated groan from him and a knowing smirk from Plumeria. One they made it to Route 1, small talk began.

“So, I've just been doing boring same-old, same old,” Guzma explained, scowling. “Training with Hala and Hau mostly. Sometimes I win, sometimes I don't, yknow, ‘cause it's totally fair for King of Bugs to judge his power against a fighting type specialist.” This brought out a smirk from him. “But y’know, probably just means the old man doesn't feel confident he can beat me unless he had an advantage, y’know? Bet if he used bugs too me and Golisopod and everyone else would beat him down good.”

Plumeria was watching him carefully, and her response was surprisingly insightful. “You seem a lot more okay with that than you would have been, a few months back, at least.”

“Huh? Oh…” He looked away. “I mean, I guess. I mean, after all I've gone through, I know I'm strong. Just ‘cause I'm not done with my training don't mean nothing. He's not teaching me to be strong, he's uh…” He couldn't bring himself to finish it, and yet she responded anyway.

“It means you're improving. I like it.”

Shoot, he was blushing again. He looked away and mumbled a half-hearted “Thanks” before recomposing himself and changing the subject.

“So, what about you? You and all your champion challenger friends hang out a lot?”

It sounded more bitter than he had meant for it to, and he mentally slapped himself as Plumeria’s pace slowed and eyes narrowed. “What's that supposed to mean?” she inquired softly, her signature malice beginning to ever so slightly drip from her words like slow acting poison.

“No, it's just- Shoot, sorry, Plums-” He knocked a knuckle against his head as he watched her eyes widen in surprise. It hadn't really struck him, but he really hadn't ever much apologized to her or anyone else in the past, so this must have been a new feeling for her. “I'm happy for you. Really. But like, actually, I wanna know. Like, what was that comment to Hau about? Him and GLADION have been hanging out a bunch? What's our little man doing spending so much time around something that's not Null?”

She paused, as if deciding whether or not to address his apology or simply continue. The smile coming back to her face signaled appreciation, at least. “... We don't hang out or anything,” she continued, beginning to walk alongside him again. “Well, that's not completely true. I've been hanging out with Molayne more lately, but that's usually with Nanu, too.” (It took Guzma all of his effort not to roll his eyes and comment on that being the most fun he's ever heard of.) “I do try to keep up with Gladion. And him and Hau…” She chuckled. No, it was more of a giggle, he noted. “...I don't know. Something tells me they treat their little playdates as a little more than just ‘hanging out’. But it's sweet. I think he needs someone happy in his life, y'know. And I know at this point you know Hau better than me, but from what Gladion’s told me, he isn't just some two-dimensional numbskull ray of sunshine.”

“Yeah, that's true,” he stated with a grimace, slightly embarrassed that he had spent so much time with an eleven year old to even be aware of the fact.

And then something hit him.

“... So uh, you said you think those two are a thing or something, right?”

“Mmhm.”

She was pursuing her lips to hold back a smile.

“But, uh…” He swallowed and looked away. “...But ya said we’re about to hang out just like the two of them?”

Plumeria sighed, not hiding her cheeky grin anymore. “Guzma, you really are a prime idiot.”

He found himself laughing. From relief, from nervousness, and from… Happiness. “So… You're gonna call me a numbskull for this, but, so should I call this a date?”

“God, you ARE A numbskull. Yes, stupid. Call it a date.”

His face was red again, and she smirked when she noticed it. “Look, we’ll talk more about this later, but for now, let's just have a good day, okay?”

“...Yeah, a’ight.”

As the two continued down Route 1, Guzma felt her slender fingers intertwine in his large hand. He liked it.

Chapter Text

“So that over there, that’s the champ’s house,” Guzma explained with a yawn, vaguely gesturing.

“Really?” Plumeria, on the other hand, was genuinely curious. “Just all alone there?”

He shrugged in response. “I guess. Don’t really care. Mom’s pretty hot, though.” This received him a playful shove from Plumeria, which he laughed off.

“Down there’s Kukui’s lab and this… Cave thing? I guess Ten Carat Hill’s a cave. It’s nice when you reach the end though, there’s open skies and everything.”

“Was visiting Kukui in today’s plans?”

“God no,” he said with a slight sneer. “I mean, sure we’re more cool now, but this is a Guz and Plumes day. Besides, if this is some sorta date, I don’t want a shirtless man distracting you.”

“Just like how the champion’s Mom would distract you?”

The two laughed, and Guzma felt a warmth in his chest from how well it was going so far. In his opinion it was going much better than he probably deserved, considering how much he had unfairly put Plumeria through, but he was trying to keep to Hala’s advice of staying positive and not being so hard on himself.

“Aaanyway, c’mere, this way,” he continued as his pace quickened. “First stop is actually right outside of Hau’oli. Where I spent most of my days, met everyone, all that. Trainer school!”

She followed him to the large building, looking at it in amazement. Though he stood in front, hands on his hips as if to proudly show off his castle he reigned as a seven year old, her focus was instead on the sheer size of it.

“So this is what a school looks like, huh?” she breathed, eyes moving to take in the courtyard. “Never been to one myself. Probably would've helped the lives of me and some of the other kids.”

Guzma’s posture faltered as he took the weight of statement in. As bad as his home life was, he really couldn't imagine living in the most pathetic excuse for an oasis that so many residents of Ula’ula had been forced to seek refuge in after the destruction of their town, despite all the stories Plumeria and more than half of the grunts had told him about. He was worried for a moment that it would strike a nerve in her, but she just seemed to be observing it. “You gonna give me a tour of this place, too?” she finally said with a smirk.

“Oh, nah,” he scoffed, already turning away. “Golisopod would wanna stay and play here for HOURS, yo. All the stores would be closed by the time he was done running around.”

“Another time, then,” she laughed. “God, he still thinks he's a Wimpod sometimes, huh?”

“Yeah, it's real cu-” he stopped himself, making sure a big bad guy like him would NEVER call his Pokemon that. “-funny. It's REAL funny.” He whipped around and started walking fast towards Hau’oli to avoid being teased for almost calling a huge isopod ‘cute’. He could just imagine Plumeria’s face though, eyes lit up as she found another weak spot in his tough exterior.

At last they reached the entrance to their destination. “Well…” Guzma began, smirking as he gave an elaborate flourish. “Here it is. Alola’s Bazaar of Happiness.”

The city in front of them was bustling. It was around the time that the blue collar work day had started, and so businessmen were seen running to the skyscrapers while official ride Pokemon dropped off others who had to travel from further. Tourists were already herding excited children as they ran down the road in swimsuits towards the beach, which - to his disappointment - was already packed.

He grimaced and looked towards the woman next to him. Shoot, she had already seen the beach and had that one look in her eyes when she got excited about something. When her eyes turned from a piercing gold to instead resembling sparkling amber, that beauti- cute- Stop it, Guzma, don’t get in too deep so early, he scolded himself, looking away and biting his lip. Besides, he unfortunately had to wipe that look off her face. “Ehhh, sorry Plums,” he explained, attempting to be casual about it. “Guzma don’t do crowded beaches. You cool waiting for tonight?”

“Hm? Oh…” Disappointment flashed on her face for a mere second before she shrugged it off. “Yeah, that’s fine. And besides, I’m staying the night, so I’ll just have to make you get up early to watch the sunrise together tomorrow morning.” At that she smirked at him, and he responded with an eye roll. “Guzma don’t do early mornings, either,” and yet despite his words he couldn’t deny in his head that maybe he’d be willing to make an exception for that.

“Then, c’mon, there’s lots more less crowded things.” He grabbed her hand (well, enveloped would be a better term, as he was further reminded of his monstrous size in all areas) and guided her along the road, passing through the beachfront and making it to the shopping district. “Now, up here, that big thing - that’s our new mall. But I’m taking you there later, girly. Best part of the city to me, I wanna save it. So we’re gonna start your tour down here.”

He turned into the alley leading to the police station, and once they had arrived to the sidewalk he grinned and proudly put his hands on his hips. “Behold! Hau’oli Police Station.”

Plumeria stared at him blankly. “What, Big Bad Guzma likes pigs after all those days he spent at Nanu’s?”

“W-wh-wha- no,” he stammered, taken aback. “That- I was in custody by him all those times, I told ya that, Plums.”

She snickered watching the blush creep up his cheeks. “Oh, of course. For hours at a time on random days.” She playfully booped his large nose with her delicate fingers, taking pleasure in knowing just how to get to him. “You know me and him have been talking more. But it’s okay. Call it our little secret.”

“I thought it was me and his little secret,” he grumbled unhappily, refusing to make eye contact. He’d have to remember to beat up the old man later for running his mouth, but that could be saved for a later time.

“ANYWAY,” he continued, standing up straight to give the illusion of confidence after that debacle. “This is the first place I ever got arrested, so it has a special place in my heart.” He grinned and laughed. “Yo, wanna go in and see my first little baby mugshot?”

“Oooh, tempting,” she purred sarcastically. “But I won’t even lie, Nanu has every record of that, too. Already seen ‘em. You sure were a big 15 year old.”

“That old man…” Yeah, he’d definitely need to stop putting his trust in adults.

They continued down the road, Guzma’s hunger as the driving motivation for his next destination. He had opted out of holding hands at this point - not out of embarrassment, but because the two of them together were garnering more attention than he had desired. It wasn’t his first time being out in the streets in public in daylight, but usually he was accompanied by Hala or Hau, or hiding under a hood. Moreover, Plumeria had such a memorable look that of course people would remember her from the news stories. So it must have been making the residents nervous to see them back together, as if they were talking about reforming Team Skull. Whatever. He had the kahuna on his side, which he was more thankful for than he’d ever admit.

This didn’t stop him from engaging in small talk with her, though. And while he usually was the one so keen on running his mouth, this time, he let her do most of the talking. Jealous as he was of her accomplishments it made him happy that she was achieving her dream. He had never seen someone work as hard as Plumeria had, from when she was younger and had to help take care of the children in her trailer park because of their absent parents, to when she somehow managed and got to know all of the grunts in Team Skull, all while regularly training her Pokemon and dealing with his huge myriad of problems. If anyone deserved to finally be getting power and recognition, it was definitely her. Sometimes he’d even wondered why he had been the Team Skull boss and not her.

“Oh, is this it?” The conversation ended with their arrival at the Malasada Shop. Guzma’s eyes lit up excitedly. “Yeah, this is it,” he said, hungrily licking his lips. “I’m tellin’ ya, Plumes, no one makes ‘em like here. Best malasadas I’ve had in Alola.” She smiled at his animated reaction. Sweets always were the man’s weak point.

They went in and got in line, as Guzma continued gushing over the foods. “They’re bigger than any of the ones we ever stole from Maile, that’s for sure. This is the biggest tourist spot in the region so they really have to play ‘em up here. Me and Kukui, we’d always come here after school, he’d get a Lemonade and I’d get a Tapu Cocoa and we’d compete to see who could eat the most - well, at least I would, he’d just kinda eat them normally but I always won cuz of it so I ain’t complaining. I ate a lot as a kid. Probably the growth spurt.”

He continued his tirade as Plumeria watched him with a smile until they reached the counter. There they were met with a short woman handling the cash register, who had been smiling at every previous customer. However, once they approached her face dropped and eyes widened, pursing her lips as she recognized who was standing in front of her. Guzma winced at the reaction. He had come to expect it, but it hurt more now that Plumeria would have to deal with it, too.

He decided to try being casual to work through it. “‘Sup, me and my girl would like ten Big Malasadas please, three for her and seven for me,” he exclaimed boisterously, as Plumeria snorted at his attempt to brag even just when eating. “Oh and uh, give us a Pokemon-friendly table. Oh, and some Pokemon malasadas please, two spicy and - Salazzle, right Plums? - one sweet. Ooooh, make that the biggest Pokemon friendly table ya got.” After a nudge on his shoulder by his companion, he hastily added a “If ya can, thanks” at the end.

At first the woman seemed at loss for words, and Guzma’s smile fell and was replaced with a scowl and his left eye squinting. “I see how this is gonna go,” he growled, beginning to turn away before Plumeria stopped him. Her composure was cool, and with a hand on her hip she slid a card towards the woman. “This should cover it, if you’d take us to our seats.”

He glanced over, curious, and was shocked. The credit card said “OFFICIAL ALOLAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDER: PLUMERIA” on it, and the cashier fumbled around as she read it. “Y-yes, well, right this way, ma’am,” she stuttered, leading them to a large table in the back.

Guzma couldn’t believe it. As they walked towards it, he leaned over to hiss in Plumeria’s ear, “Is the league really such a big deal these days that they give all of y’all challengers a friggin’ special CREDIT CARD?”

Plumeria just chuckled in response. “Nanu’s idea,” she whispered. “Molayne made it. It’s a decal. Thought I’d need it in case I ever ran into anyone refusing to serve me like now. Been real useful.”

Guzma smirked, and sigh. Those Ula’ula residents sure were something.

----

Their breakfast went well, with Guzma somehow managing to eat all of his treats. Salazzle and Golisopod spent the whole time chittering to each other, happy to be able to catch up, and their presence influenced all of the other patrons to sit as far as possible away from them, giving them proper privacy. They spent around thirty minutes there, Guzma mostly just busy stuffing his face as usual while Plumeria explained some of her recent training methods with Salazzle as of late, occasionally commenting on how ‘impressive’ it was that he could eat so much sugar just for breakfast.

Afterwards, they decided to head straight for the mall and skip over the attractions between it (“Nothing worth seeing for native Alolans, I promise”). Plumeria did take a second to pause and marvel at Ilima’s mansion, to which Guzma sneered at. “Never did like that kid much,” he explained. “I mean, he’s a GOOD kid, I guess. But straight A student. Trial captain. Tons of fans. So basically, unbearable to punks like us. He keeps trying to be nice to me when we practice together at Hala’s. I hate it.”

As they reached the intersection to turn onto the road with the mall, Plumeria noticed a sign pointing to the route ahead. “Route 2: Hau’oli Cemetary and Berry Fields,” she read aloud. “Want to go up there afterwards?”

Guzma froze. He turned away from her and bit the inside of his mouth, crossing his arms to appear casual but in reality feel secure.

“Uh, nah. Don’t really feel like it,” he mumbled.

She knew him well enough to sense that something was wrong. “Guzma… Is that where your house is?”

“...Yeah.”

He paused again, rubbing at his elbow. “Uh, we can go uh, another time if you want-”

“Don’t worry about it,” she interrupted, grabbing his hand. He turned to look at her and she flashed a gentle smile before beginning to pull him towards the shopping center. “Don’t think about that right now. We’re here to have a good day.”