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“Don’t you think it’s weird how the only Pokemon we have are our starters and one other?”
“Tooru, stop.”
“I mean, we’re 17! There are 10 year olds with the entire pokedex!”
“You know, he has a point.”
“Not you too, Takahiro. This is supposed to be a nice, relaxing date.”
“I, for one, don’t give a toss. I’m content with Meowth and Rowlet.” The grass pokemon on Matsukawa’s shoulder chirps contentedly, and the Alolan Meowth walking by his side winds around his ankles, almost tripping him up if it weren’t for Hanamaki and Iwaizumi holding a hand each. Oikawa stretches both arms into the air, giving Hanamaki a second to wipe his sweaty palm against his trousers.
“Well, it’s a beautiful Alola day to date~! So, did you decide what we’re doing, Iwa-chan?” A confused whine answers them and Oikawa rolls his eyes as he realises the wrong Iwa-chan answered. Of course Iwaizumi would have an Rockruff named Iwanko - the traditional Alolan name. He just had to add confusion to simple matters.
“I meant Hajime.” Iwaizumi chuckles warmly, pleased to be rid of his nickname after so long.
“Well, since the beach is closed thanks to an outbreak of Palossand, I got us… These.” Iwaizumi holds out four tickets to the Mele Mele aquarium, the Litten on his shoulder protesting at the movement.
“Oops. Sorry Kaen.” With a stubborn mewl, the Litten turns around so his tail drapes in Iwaizumi’s face, making the young Pokemon breeder rolls his eyes.
“Aquarium tickets~?!” Oikawa squeals, his shrill pitch matched by the Ribombee sitting in his hair, clinging to a flyaway strand. Oricorio swoops down from gliding above Hanamaki to sweetly chirp and nuzzle the tiny fairy.
“Oricorio! Stop that! I told you, she’s not your baby!” Oricorio trills with a hint of irritation and plucks a strand of hair from Hanamaki’s head before returning to the skies. Hanamaki’s Rowlet - Profiterole - flaps after them with determination. For whatever reason, Profiterole refuses to ever get in his pokeball, or travel via shoulder like Matsukawa’s unnamed Rowlet. On the other hand, Oikawa’s Popplio - Ashimari - swims in the waters just off the coastal path they’re walking on. Every now and then, he flips in the air to wave to Oikawa and the trainer blows kisses back.
“Leave Oricorio alone! Ribombee loves the attention~.” Ribombee trills cheerily, agreeing with the statement. Matsukawa chuckles at the interaction before turning to Iwaizumi, watching the same exchange with an unusually soft smile.
“So we’re going to the aquarium?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. I thought it would be nice.”
“I’m looking forwards to it~.” Iwaizumi grins, and it’s a dazzling beam that makes Matsukawa’s heart skip a beat, Hanamaki blushing full on and blatantly staring until Oikawa nudges him in the ribs with a knowing look. Hanamaki would swat at him, if their hands weren’t joined, and instead sticks his tongue out in a best effort to retaliate.
“Now, now.” Matsukawa chides in with a sly grin, stealing their attention from each other and stopping them from breaking into a playfight in the middle of the road. The aquarium stands in all it’s glory towards the end of the marked path, just before the beach begins, so whilst they still walk on the bricked path, there’s sand dusting the ground. Past the aquarium, there’s red tape sealing off the beach area, and even from this distance, they can hear the calls of Palossand.
“Yikes, that’s some creepy shit.”
“You’d better call Ashimari back, Tooru.” Oikawa releases Hanamaki’s hand to slip over to the railings, leaning just a little bit and looking for his Pokemon. He spots him circling gracefully in the water, producing little underwater bubbles to pop as he swims through them.
“Ashimari!” As soon as Oikawa calls, the Popplio leaps from the water with all limbs reaching out and Oikawa has just enough time to squeak out something about his hair before Ribombee flutters away and Ashimari flops right into Oikawa’s face. The pitch Oikawa shrieks at is high enough to send Iwanko into a flurry, yapping and barking and jumping up at Oikawa.
“Iwanko! No, down!”
“My hair! Ashimari, really?!” Ashimari somersaults back onto the floor at Oikawa’s feet and guiltily barks. It’s not like Oikawa can stay mad for long though. Ashimari is just too cute!
“Fine. You’re forgiven.” The Popplio backflips again in happiness and Oikawa picks him up to catch up the others, waiting for him at the aquarium entrance. The open doors are sided with a greeter each and Iwaizumi steps over to give one of them the tickets.
“Alola~! Welcome to Mele Mele Aquarium!”
“Alola! Can we get a map please?” The girl must be about their age, and Iwaizumi thinks he’s seen her in one of the classes at the pokemon school before. Yui, was it? She clips a hole in each of their tickets and passes them back, before taking a map out from the bag on her hip.
“Of course! Before you enter the main area, I have to inform you that you’re only allowed one pokemon by your side. We recommend not Water types, or, ah, cat pokemon.” Yui’s eyes flicker down to where Matsukawa’s Meowth and Iwaizumi’s Litten are looking starry-eyed at a plastic display of a Wishiwashi, practically drooling.
Matsukawa meets Iwaizumi’s eyes with a deadpan expression and returns Meowth to her pokeball. Iwaizumi sighs and crouches down, tapping the Ultraball on his Litten’s forehead.
“Sorry Kaen. We’ll stop by the market to get some spicy poffins afterwards.” Kaen looks to be thinking but then nods with a solid meow. Iwaizumi knows that if Kaen doesn’t get the poffins, he’ll be the one suffering in the end. He won’t go back on his word anyways. There’s a flash of red light as Kaen enters his Ultraball, and Iwaizumi glances up to see Oikawa tucking Ashimari’s ball into his pocket, and Hanamaki trying to convince Profiterole to get in his pokeball. The stubborn Rowlet just screeches back at him and dodges every one of Hanamaki’s attempts to catch him.
“I should have asked Professor Kukui for a Masterball for you!”
“Taka, don’t be mean!” Oikawa intervenes, grabbing Hanamaki from behind by hooking his arms under Hanamaki’s, and pulling him backwards. The pokeballs that fall from his pocket miraculously remain closed, but Oricorio hops towards his empty one and pecks it once to get inside. For a moment, there’s stunned silence. Then, Oikawa drops Hanamaki to the floor with flair and brushes back his fringe dramatically.
“Well, that solves things~.” Hanamaki huffs and packs away his pokeballs, quietly thanking Oricorio when he thinks no one is listening. Profiterole finally calms down enough to flap onto Hanamaki’s shoulder and starts settling there. At the very least, he behaves indoors. Matsukawa’s Rowlet burrows inside his unzipped backpack, hooting softly before dozing off.
“Have a fun and safe experience!” Yui waves them off as the four link arms and enter the main hall of the aquarium. The large, open space is mainly whites and blues, with the floor made out of a plastic to replicate the rocks down in the cove, a light sandy colour with tiny porous holes in it.
In the centre of the room, the floor juts upwards into a sculpture, a large pink coral reef with sculpted Corsola standing on it. There’s a small rockpool by the entrance to the shop for when they leave, and a large model Mantine above the tunnel that leads to the star of the show - the massive aquarium tank, designed to look exactly like the ocean of Alola just beyond the bay.
The other option is to head into the activity room and take the trail backwards, starting with the smaller tanks of solo species and the open sandy beach displays. Oikawa’s eyes are fixed upon the arch above the trail entrance, with real nests and tangled branches of bright hues. A Ducklett pokes its head over one of the edges of the nests, quacking inquisitively.
“Taka, Issei, Hajime, look! Duckletts!” Matsukawa laughs at Oikawa’s enthusiasm and holds a hand up to stretch just within reach of the Ducklett looking at them. The little one pecks his beak against one of Matsukawa’s fingers, and then rubs its head against it with a crooning noise.
All of a sudden, there’s a flurry of squeaking and chirping and the nests are filled with Duckletts blue and pink peering over the edges! Hanamaki bursts into laughter at the look of surprise that dawns on Matsukawa’s face, eyebrows rocketing up to join his hairline.
“Guess the little guys like me.” Iwaizumi is about to warn them not to steal the Duckletts, when he notices tethers around their ankles like air display trainers use with Talonflame and other predatory bird pokemon. It’s long enough that they can reach the large pool of moss just to the side, below all the drawings on the wall sent in by children, but not so long that the Ducklett can leave the aquarium.
“Tooru, Issei, Hajime! There’s an egg room through here!” All eyes turn to Iwaizumi as he instantly perks up, Hanamaki waving him over from underneath the Ducklett arch. Matsukawa and Oikawa step aside as Iwaizumi speed-walks in, instantly pressing his face up again the display glass with a breath of awe. There’s a whole nursery on display!
The eggs sit in their incubators, just in front of a little rock pool each. Iwaizumi can tell from the variety of designs on the eggs that not a single one is the same, or from the same breeding pair, and each egg is going to hatch into a different Pokemon. Iwaizumi looks over each of the eggs in scrutiny, checking the health and progress of each one. It’s his natural response to seeing eggs, since he’s grown up analysing and caring for breeder eggs.
The other three are more interested in the aesthetic.
“Look, this one is covered in bubbles!”
“I like this one. Kinda replicates the sway of the tides, don’t you think?”
“I found a pink one! Taka, it’s almost your hair colour!” Matsukawa laughs as Hanamaki playfully swats at Oikawa, since the blaringly bright neon pink is obviously no match for his hair at all.
“That one’s about ready to hatch.” The egg wriggles just as Iwaizumi points at it, and suddenly, all four of them are jostling to get a clear view of one of nature’s most beautiful moments. Iwaizumi ends up crouched in the centre, Oikawa leaning over him to press up against the glass hands, cheeks, and all, whilst Matsukawa and Hanamaki are on each of his sides, attempting to peer around Oikawa.
Profiterole is seemingly disinterested, instead perching on a handrail to preen, and Matsukawa’s Rowlet sleeps on in his backpack. Ribombee squeaks excitedly as she clings to Oikawa’s hair antenne, one of her tiny hands pressed against the cold glass. Iwanko is between Iwaizumi’s knees, his paws on the ledge of the display window and tail wagging so ferociously that he’s beating up Iwaizumi’s thighs. The Pokemon Breeder rolls his eyes with affection and scratches Iwanko behind the ear to calm him down.
“Oh! There’s a crack!” All eyes are fixed on the neon pink egg, and it shuffles another three, four times before… Splash! Something drops into the rock pool below, swimming in circles.
“It’s a Bruxish!” Oikawa stares at the newly hatched water-type with blatant disappointment.
“I was expecting something cuter.” Hanamaki pokes him in the side with a pout.
“It is kind of cute.”
“Well, I mean, the colours are truly captivating, but those teeth… They’re larger than my grandmother’s false set.” Matsukawa snorts and turns away to cover his laughter behind a hand, having met Oikawa’s grandmother at the market on many occasions, and noted that her false teeth were quite… Prominent.
“Thanks, Tooru. Really, thanks. Now I’m going to see your grandmother in every Bruxish we hatch.”
“Just doing my best, Haji~.”
“Come on. There’s more than just eggs to see here.” Matsukawa waits by an open tunnel, designed to look like an underwater cave with plastic Staryu and Starmie clinging to dark blue rock, glittering in the strange blue lighting like there’s gemstones in the walls.
Pretty coral and seaweed shapes adorn the ‘cave’ and Hanamaki can’t help but run his fingers along it, the sensation like ridged chalk or limestone. The sound of trickling water is played over a speaker, softer music in the background. It’s calm, almost a world away from the lively Alola vibe outside.
In the walls, there are curved aquarium tanks, like windows on the side of a submarine. They’re opposite each other on the sides of the walls, and Iwaizumi counts seven tanks each side, with one in the middle of the corridor on a raised platform, sculpted to look like an underwater volcanic vent.
The large, almost spherical tank sits neatly in the concave of the ‘vent’, a stream of bubbles rising in the very centre and dissipating down the curved sides. The water doesn’t quite fill the tank, only about halfway, and Iwaizumi can see the Surskit skating across the top of the water surface even from this distance.
“Iwa-chan, look!” The Rockruff at his feet yaps and pads over to Oikawa, who sighs with deep irritation.
“I meant Hajime, come look at this.” With a chuckle, he steps over to where Oikawa and Hanamaki are pressing their faces against rounded glass, and wraps an arm around each of their waists as he peers in. Amongst long strands of sea grass, there are multiple Horsea with their tails wrapped around individual strands.
“Ah, they’re cute. Almost as clingy as Issei in his sleep.”
“Oi!” The denial comes from across the hallways, where Matsukawa is looking quite fascinated with a tank of Tympole, swimming around playfully. Oikawa bursts out laughing as one little Tympole looks directly out the tank at them, and is suddenly joined by all the others.
“Issei- Issei, oh my- oh my word! They- They have the same eyebrows as you!” Hanamaki looks between the Tympole and Matsukawa, before he joins in laughing, although not to the same extent where he’s wheezing like Oikawa. Even Matsukawa chuckles, although Iwaizumi pouts in confusion.
“I don’t see it? No, seriously, I don’t see it. Stop laughing! What do you mean?!” They’re laughing too hard to explain, and as much as Iwaizumi loves his boyfriends, he does wish they could control themselves.
He sighs, but a bright flashing catches the corner of his eyes and he turns towards it, mesmerised. Ribombee trills behind him to let Oikawa know Iwaizumi is walking away from the group, tugging at that flyaway strand she so loves to cling to.
“Hmm? Ribombee? Ah, Hajime, wait up!” The other three exchange a glance of concern before they realise; he isn’t just walking away from them. He’s walking towards a tank that flashes bright yellow with a hint of green. Hanamaki makes a soft sound of awe as he catches a glimpse of what it is.
“Chinchou… Ah! There are some shiny ones there too!” Bundles together to look at the tank, Hanamaki feels at peace. He leans a little further into Matsukawa’s side, craving the warmth and his musky scent. Matsukawa smiles and places a soft kiss to his forehead, completely sweet and loving. Is this what Iwaizumi had aimed for when he got them aquarium tickets?
They stay in the little cave for a while, varying between the tanks and pointing out their favourites to the others. Matsukawa still loves the Tympole, but he also takes a strong liking to the Pyukumuku. Hanamaki is torn between the Phione and Tirtouga, whilst Oikawa claims the Finneon, Luvdisc, and Barboach as being his equal favourites. Whilst Iwaizumi admits the Wimpod are fascinating, and the WishiWashi pretty interesting, he spends a much longer time looking at the Tentacool than any other. They all agree that Remoraid looks a little vicious, and Dewpider is hilarious, with its constantly shocked expression.
The end of the ‘cave’ opens up into a large room, and they have to go down a few steps to get to ground floor, which is absolutely covered with sand! A few areas are cut off with see-through glass panels, or wooden poles with rope around them.
Some pokemon scuttle between the open areas, leaving behind little footprints in the sand. A Squirtle emerges from a pool beneath a waterfall, and totters over to a rockery with warm, red lights beaming down on it. It joins a Totodile, flopped out in the warmth.
Krabby and Crabrawler snap at each other with their pincers as they move from one rock pool to another, trying to determine their own territory. Iwanko gets a little close and the Krabby snaps at him, sending the dog pokemon yelping back to hide behind Iwaizumi’s legs. With a sigh, Iwaizumi picks him up like a baby, but there’s a smile on his lips.
A slowpoke and Psyduck seem to be having a very deep, slow conversation, barely reacting when a Wooper leaps out the wading puddle behind them and waddles away to find a deeper pool to swim in. It joins a Mudkip and Marill who must have been waiting for it, all three jumping in together.
“This- This is amazing!” Hanamaki squawks, as a Seel returns the wave of greeting he gives it. Matsukawa crouches down by a sleeping Lotad, admiring the colourful and intricate patterns.
“It looks like there’s pokemon from all over the world here…” Iwaizumi stroll around, careful not to step on anything, listing off where he knows each pokemon is from under his breath. He puts Iwanko down once the Rockruff stops trembling.
“You’re right, Issei. They are from all over the world. From Kanto to Kalos and our island pokemon.” He stops to let a Poliwag and Politoed cross the path in front of them, before joining the others to look over on of the barriers into the swirling rock pool with three different water holes, each a different depth and warmth, some pokemon chilling on the rocks whilst others swim around.
There’s Shellos and Kabuto, Omanyte and Shellder, Corphish and a huge variety of Corsola in many colours, like jewels clinging to the rockside. Profiterole makes a special sort of friendship with a Spheal, and Hanamaki has to physically wrestle the Rowlet into his arms. He’s covered in sand, but Matsukawa gently dusts it out of his hair whilst Iwaizumi firmly brushes it off his shoulder and back.
“Honestly, how do you always end up so messy?”
“Gah! This wasn’t my fault! You saw Profiterole fighting me!” Hanamaki sticks his tongue out, but Iwaizumi does little more than pinch one of his cheeks as a gentle reprimand before stepping back and nodding at his mostly sandless state.
“That’ll do. At least you’re not bringing a whole beach home.”
“Woe is me, I hecking tried.” Oikawa snorts and bounces over to the next set of steps, leading up to the big finale of the Mele Mele Aquarium. The big tank.
“Come on, come on! Hurry up! I wanna get a toy from the shop afterwards!”
“Take your time, Tooru. It’s still a few hours until the shop closes.” Oikawa pouts, but reaches out with his hands and takes one of Matsukawa’s, one of Iwaizumi’s. Hanamaki is on Matsukawa’s other side, and they’re pulled awkwardly through the door by an enthusiastic Oikawa.
The room is huge, and as they turn a corner, one side is a big, black wall painted with swirling galaxies and shimmering stars. The other side, a tank that expands the entire wall, like the ocean was sliced into cubes and a cross section was put in the aquarium. A huge shadow passes over the awe struck teenagers as a Wailmer swims past, an entire school of Magikarp beneath its fins.
Colours of every shade and hue stare them in the face as coral and pokemon and lights shine through the tank. There’s seaweed and underwater flowers and shells, as well as decoration like vases and mini-caverns and rock formations for pokemon to hide in.
“It’s beautiful…” Iwaizumi is rendered breathless by the display, his eyes wandering slowly across the tank as he tries to pick out all the species.
“Stunning!” Matsukawa’s jaw hangs open, the corners of his lips pulled into a grin and the corners of his eyes crinkled.
“Look Tooru, it you~.” Grinning, Hanamaki points towards a purple Feebas. Oikawa makes a noise of offence and tucks his hair behind his ear sassily.
“Excuse you, I am a beautiful Alolomola.” Matsukawa chuckles warmly and drops his head onto Oikawa’s shoulder.
“You sure are~.” Oikawa beams at him thankfully, whilst Iwaizumi breathes out in wonderment, starstruck by a group of Mantine and Mantyke gracefully soaring overhead, closer to the surface of the tank. Sunlight streams through the water, adding golden rays of glitter in the deep blue and highlighting a school of Goldeen emerging from vivid green seaweed, a few Seaking among them.
Qwilfish poke out of a small vase collection, searching sea moss and algae for food. They’re startled by a Milotic passing by, a daze of cream, pink and blue that slaloms through the seaweed field with ease. On the very bottom, digging in the sand near a bunch of rocks is a small group of Relicanth, foraging plankton under the watchful gaze of a single Staryu, stuck to a rock.
“I could stay here forever.” Hanamaki pokes Iwaizumi’s ribs with a teasing smile that wobbles at the edges, like he’s fighting it from becoming a full blown grin.
“You’d better not. I’ll be Seaking your company forever.” As Iwaizumi and Oikawa groan in unison, Matsukawa lights up like the Chinchou earlier.
“We’ll have to Huntail him down and drag him back to us.” With a cackle, Hanamaki almost doubles over, pulling his hand out his boyfriend’s grips.
“Wait, Wait! Lemme think of another one! Uh… Ah…”
“C’mon, don’t be so Slowbro.” Hanamaki is wheezing, not noticing Oikawa stepping over to press up against the tank, or Iwaizumi pinching his brow stressfully.
“Stop! Let me think!”
“Gotta think hard if you want a chance of Eevee-ning the scores.” Hanamaki’s lips pull together tightly and he’s trying to come up with something, trying so hard that he thinks he can smell the gears in his brain churning. Matsukawa smirks smugly.
“Well, I guess that Seels the deal.” Out of nowhere, Iwaizumi pinched their shoulders lightly.
“Can Mewtwo stop? These puns are getting so much stupider and Dewpider, I might have to Pichu again. I can’t Bayleef you sometimes. Now quit it before I have to smack the backs of your heads and make you Bulbasaur.” For a moment, there’s stunned silence.
“Hajime… Hajime, you beautiful person. I love you so much.” With a fake sob, Matsukawa pulls Iwaizumi into an almost crushing hug, whilst Hanamaki is bent over laughing so hard he wheezes. With a deadpan stare at the glittery wall he’s facing, Iwaizumi pats Matsukawa’s back.
“Frillish!” It’s amazing, how quickly Hanamaki recovers from wheezing to standing up straight, wiping away a tear with his lips tugged into a downwards frown of confusion.
“What the hell, Tooru? You didn’t even try.”
“No, look! Frillish! And Jellicent!” He’s pointing to the very back of the huge tank, finger pressed against the special glass with childish enthusiasm. The other three jog over to his side, peering through the water with squinted eyes until they see them - a smack of Jellicent and Frillish, in pinks and blues and greens and purples. They pulse through the water with elegance and grace, perhaps even more so than the Milotic from earlier, riding the synthetic current in the tank as they float through the water.
Even the small dispute between the Carvanha and Basculin don’t distract from the mesmerising display of the jellyfish pokemon. They stay for long enough to watch the smack cross the huge tank, intercepted by many other Pokemon and almost broken into two separate groups by a racing Huntail and Gorebyss.
The Wailmer makes an appearance many more times, and whilst it’s the star of the tank, it’s the more colourful habitants that capture the attention of Oikawa, Hanamaki, Matsukawa, and Iwaizumi.
Their own pokemon, asides from Rowlet, are just as interested. As Rowlet snoozes in Matsukawa’s backpack, Profiterole sweeps back and forth in front of the tank, following a Goldeen school. Iwanko has his paws on the tank, circling excitedly and doing a backflip whenever a pokemon comes up to greet him. Ribombee has strayed from Oikawa’s hair - a rare adventure - as she flies as high up as she can and pretends she’s flying in water like the Mantyke and Mantine pod.
But whilst everyone else is admiring the water pokemon, Hanamaki can’t help but watch his loved ones instead.
Oikawa’s face is shining with warmth, like the golden rays of sunlight piercing through the deep, dark waters. His eyes glitter with admiration and knowledge, probably listing off the pokemon capabilities like a Rotodex in his head. But at the same time, his shoulders are loose and his breath fogs against the glass evenly, stress from his recent exams gone in the glow of the aquarium.
Matsukawa’s eyes are slanted, but crinkle at the corners just like his mouth creases, a true and pure smile lighting up his expression. He represents the ocean itself. Calm, deep waters rippling with waves that lap at the tide… The blue of the aquarium reflects in his eyes and makes them appear like midnight, an entire galaxy just for Hanamaki to see. He’s never seen Matsukawa so peaceful before.
Iwaizumi looks like he could fall asleep standing up, if there wasn’t such a youthful energy to his features. Without a scowl, or a pout, or furrowed brows, he’s nothing but soft. Soft and chubby-cheeked with a button nose and eyes of awe. The green mixing with the blue refraction makes his eyes momentarily appear turquoise. He smiles gently, clutched on the edge of relaxed sleepiness.
“Hey... We’ve been here three and a half hours… We should get going.” Matsukawa’s whisper slices through the quiet. Oikawa pouts and looks back to Matsukawa, starting to whine and beg for a little longer, and Iwaizumi jumps as if the bubble he was in has just been popped without warning. Hanamaki giggles at his reaction before nodding at Matsukawa.
He’s right. They’ve been here a long time, and his legs are starting to ache. Iwaizumi tugs on the back of Oikawa’s shirt to get him to stop latching onto Matsukawa’s waist, whining.
“Hey, didn’t you want to go to the shop and get souvenirs?” Just like that, Oikawa is standing up straight and whistling for Ribombee to return to his side. She nestles in his hair with a chirrup and Iwanko potters obediently over to Iwaizumi with just a look. Profiterole… Is a completely different issue.
“Oi, get down here! You have wings, not fins! Profiterole!” With a sigh of amusement, Matsukawa shifts the backpack on his back to wake up Rowlet, who softly hoots and goes to fetch Profiterole. The stubborn owl might cause absolute chaos and ignore his trainer periodically, but he was whipped by Matsukawa’s Rowlet. Sometimes, the duo reminds Hanamaki of Iwaizumi and Oikawa back in their school days. With Profiterole safely on his shoulder, Hanamaki steps aside to let the others out first.
He holds the black curtain open for them to exit through, but just as he’s about to step out himself, a flash of colour attracts his eyes and he grins brightly with mischeif.
“Tooru, it’s your grandmother!” Three heads pop back into the tank room, followed by belly-deep laughs and guffaws. The three Bruxish, two adults and one baby, disappear back into thick coral at the sound of people nearby.
Fulfilled by their trip, the quartet head into the souvenir shop and Oikawa instantly flounces over to the soft toys whilst Matsukawa heads to the ornaments. Exchanging a look, Hanamaki goes to stop Oikawa from gathering too many toys, whilst Iwaizumi sets upon making sure Matsukawa doesn’t break anything. There’s a soft silence between them as Matsukawa turns a Pyukumuku figurine over in his hands, inspecting it for any damage as Iwaizumi leans comfortably against him, just enough to be a weight against his side.
“You know… I’m thinking of taking up Trainer responsibilities again…” Iwaizumi rockets up, no longer a presence against his side and instead staring at him in disbelief.
“Issei-”
“Wait, let me finish. I know it’s seven years late, but… I want to travel the islands. I want to meet more pokemon and befriend them. I want to be stronger.” His eyes don’t meet Iwaizumi’s, instead focusing on the Pyukumuku figurine in hand, no longer being moved around as he waits for Iwaizumi’s response with a twinge of nervousness.
“You’re gonna get your butt kicked by 10 year olds.” He huffs with surprise and chuckles under his breath when Iwaizumi’s words set in.
“Yeah, maybe. But I want to try. Are you okay with that?” Iwaizumi blinks, eyes rounded with surprise, like he wasn’t expecting to be asked.
“Well, yeah. It’s your decision to make. I’m not going to hold you back, if that’s what you really want.” He shuffles, looking uncharacteristically worried, but quickly shapes it back into his usual scowl.
“You’d better keep in contact though! And tell the others. Don’t you dare just take off without letting us know the details!” Matsukawa warmly chuckles and presses a quick kiss to Iwaizumi’s forehead.
“Of course I will. You don’t want to join me though?” Iwaizumi instantly shakes his head, not a flicker of doubt at all.
“No. I’ve got the Egg Centre to look after. Being a Pokemon breeder was always my dream, I’ll see it through. If being a Trainer is what you want, well… I’d be a hypocrite not to let you go.” Matsukawa pulls him into a grateful hug, making sure not to drop the figurine in hand. He’ll buy this one, he thinks. After a moment, Iwaizumi picks up a Tympole ceramic statue and nods as he checks the price label.
“... I thought you didn’t really like them?”
“I didn’t. But looking at it now, I can see what Taka and Tooru were talking about earlier. It really does have your eyebrows.” He grins cheekily as Matsukawa teasingly swats the side of his head, just a gentle tap to let him know it’s not really meant.
“Oiiiii! Issei, Haji!” They turn to see Oikawa and Hanamaki struggling to get out the toy aisle, their arms filled with toys. Iwaizumi sighs, but gives in when he sees Iwanko with a tiny Krabby toy.
“You can have one each. I mean it. One.” Hanamaki pouts and start putting some back on the shelf, but sticks with the biggest one he could find - A Wailmer, of course. Oikawa struggles choosing between Alomomola and Milotic, but the problem is solved when Ribombee cheekily places her little hands on the Alomomola one. Profiterole picks a Mantyke, and Matsukawa chooses Marill simply because it’s cute. Rowlet is sleeping too deeply to decide, and Iwaizumi is happier without. He prefers to cuddle living, breathing pokemon. Not toys.
Once they’re done with the checkout, Yui cheerfully thanks them for coming and they’re back outside, welcomed by silence. The Palossand infestation must have been pulled back under control whilst they were in there. Oikawa stretches, both arms high in the air before the drop back to his side with a deep exhale.
“That was fun! Thanks for a great date, Hajime~!” His cheeks dust pink and he look strangely interesting in his feet as he nods.
“It- It’s the people that make the date, not the place.” Hanamaki coos softly.
“Look at you, Mr.Romantic. Wooing us all over again~.” He’s shot a half-glare, which only makes him snicker as he reaches down and interlocks his fingers with Iwaizumi’s. Matsukawa smiles softly, stopping to lean on the railing overlooking the ocean.
“Hey guys. I- I have something to say. I want to be a Trainer.” He’s expecting a squawk of betrayal, or a lecture on springing surprises on them. What he gets…
“Me too! I was thinking of entering the Island Challenge!” Oikawa flashes him a peace symbol, and Hanamaki grins sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
“I was actually thinking of entering beauty competitions… With Oricorio, of course. But I’ll have to gain a few more pokemon too.” He looks at Iwaizumi with a waggles of his eyebrows and Iwaizumi rolls his eyes.
“You pay the bill, I breed you the pokemon.” Hanamaki cheers quietly and flops against Iwaizumi knowing the shorter will catch him, like a damsel in distress. It’s hilarious when Iwaizumi does exactly that, and Hanamaki cheekily steals a kiss from his lower vantage point. Green eyes are complimented by bright, blushing red cheeks.
“Cheater.”
“You love it.”
“Mhm. I love you. I love all of you, and… And I’m going to miss you when you go off on your journeys.” His smile is tinged with sadness, and all at once, they surround him with a tight, group hug.
“Oh, Haji! Even if we go, we’ll keep coming back! You’re our home to return to!”
“Maybe you can even take a week or so off and visit us. We’ll be sure to find some cool places on the other islands.”
“I won’t be going for a while! And even when I do, I’ll be doing the beauty events nearby!” Iwaizumi snuggles into their warmth, enjoying the hug until he has to shrug them off to breathe again.
“Yeah, well, you’d better! And I want postcards every time you get your asses kicked by someone younger!” Matsukawa laughs, Oikawa giggles, and Hanamaki sticks his tongue out.
“I’m sure we’ll be breaking into the bank for postal costs then~.”
“Uh, no, Issei! I will win! Shou-chan doesn’t call me The Grand King for nothing~.”
“Hinata is 15 and thinks the sun shines out your ass. I think we can call him an anomaly.”
“Mean, Iwa-chan!” Iwanko tilts his head with a whine of confusion and Oikawa’s eyebrow twitches.
“I mean, Haji-chan.”
Behind them, the Mele Mele aquarium is shadowed against a setting sun, standing tall to provide memories to many more residents, tourists and pokemon alike. Maybe it wasn’t their best date, but it was certainly in the top 10.
“You know, I never did buy my grandmother a Bruxish figurine.”