Chapter Text
It was about midday when Hau got a call from Wicke on his Xtransceiver. He’d been battling with some rather enthusiastic trail-goers when the call came in. Seeing as Wicke only called him for official business, he withdrew from the battle and promised the trainers he’d battle them another time as soon as he was available.
Hau straightened up his robe and accepted the call. “Hey! What’s up? Is there trouble at Aether again? Should I call the other Kahunas?”
“Not quite, thankfully.” From the looks of it, Wicke was somewhere Hau hadn’t been before. Seeing as there was a large red cross on the wall next to her, he assumed it was an infirmary of sorts. “Although it is an emergency. Gladion hadn’t returned from field work at the expect time, so we sent someone out searching for him. Supposedly, they’d found him collapsed leaning on a tree. We had a doctor check him over, and he’s safe, but we need someone to take him home.”
Hau grimaced, not liking the sound of the situation. “Alright, I’ll be over. How’s he doing?”
“He’s…not happy, to say the least.” She said, her tone concerned, much like a mother would be. “He was too weak to resist not being looked over by a doctor, but we got quite the reminder about how sharp his tongue can be. I hope he doesn’t act this way on official business.”
“Yeah, I getcha. He chews me out all the time.” He laughs, lighting up the mood. “I’m calling a Charizard now, hold on tight.”
“Thank you, Hau.”
With a beep, the call ended, and Hau paged a Charizard to his location. Worry soon flooded his mind as he waited for his ride. Gladion constantly overworked himself, leaving early in the morning and coming home late at night. He rarely ever gave himself time off, and when he did it was usually under Lillie or Wicke’s command to get away from the foundation while they took care of things. Hau knew how awful the stress was for him, he hated how the responsibilities he had caused him to lose sleep at night and how it caused him to skip meals. If it was his choice, Hau would keep Gladion at home way more often, at least 3 days out of the week.
The ride to Aether felt much longer than it usually did. Maybe it was because his Charizard was old, but frankly it was probably because Hau was just too damn anxious about this whole thing. It wasn’t like Gladion was dying or anything, he just worked himself to death. If Hau wasn’t such a softie, he’d probably lecture him when he was feeling better, but he’d leave that to Lillie instead.
After landing, he walked into Aether, waving a small hello to the familiar greeters before getting to the elevators. After texting Wicke for the floor number, he found himself on the Lab floor. Apparently, the left wing was specifically for medical emergencies, just in case they couldn’t get a scientist to a legitimate hospital.
Upon walking in, Hau felt his anxiety shoot through the roof when he saw Gladion. He looked so much more frail and sickly when he didn’t have that wall of seriousness up. He could see the sweat beading up on his forehead, and he disheveled state of his hair. Hau couldn’t help to feel guilt root in his stomach. He was fine this morning, how did this happen?
“Oh, good, you’re here.” A doctor appeared behind him, looking completely calm. “You’re Gladion’s?….”
“Husband, we’re married.” Hau explained.
“Ah, I thought so. Wicke told me you’d be coming, but didn’t specify who you were other than the fact that you’re an island kahuna. It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, ditto.” Hau replied. The doctor seemed nice enough. “So, what’s wrong? He was fine when he left this morning.”
The doctor pushed up his glasses, walking around to the other side of Gladion’s bed. “I assume he was out doing fieldwork when something harmful snagged him. He has an infected cut from it here.” He slid down Gladion’s covers and lifted up his shirt a little, revealing bandages wrapped around his torso. “I think it might have been a Pokemon, no plant can scratch this deep.” He explained, recovering the wound.
Hau winced a little when he saw the bandages. “How did it get infected so quickly? Don’t those kinds of things take time to set in usually?”
“Usually, but I assume whatever scratched him was poisonous. We don’t know what kind of pokemon hit him, so I can’t be sure. It doesn’t look intentional. We treated him with the most versatile medicines we have since we don’t know what kind of toxin it is.” He sighs, “Either way, we called you here to take him home. We think he’ll be less stressed there.”
“We?”
“Yes, Miss Lillie and Wicke both thought it appropriate to send him back there for faster recovery. Stress will only slow his progress, and I hear you are a diligent caretaker.” The doctor smiles a little, almost fondly. “He’s lucky to have someone like you around, especially now. Master Gladion like’s to work himself to death, I see him more than I’d like.”
“That sounds like Gladion to me. He never told me he gets sick at work.”
That sent the doctor frowning. “Hm. Not good.” A small beep was heard through the doctor’s phone, and he walked back to the door. “Well, regardless, there’s a boat waiting for you at the docks. As soon as he wakes up and can walk, you’re free to take him.”
“Will do, thanks.”
“No problem.”
With a light click of the door closing, Hau turned his full attention back to Gladion, brushing those ever so familiar bangs out of his face. It only took him a few minutes to wake up, his eyes slightly out of focus as he tried to block out the pain.
“Hey, feeling any better?” Hau asked, trying (and somewhat failing) to keep his voice low.
Gladion let out a little hum, sounding displeased. He leaned into Hau’s touch, something that usually never happens unless he’s feeling especially touch-starved or sick. His eyes slipped back shut, the lights of the infirmary only making his headache worse.
“I’ll take that as a no. The doctor here said you got an infection when you were out working with some Pokemon. That sound familiar?”
Hau got a grumble in response. Gladion wasn’t awake enough yet to answer questions.
“Alright, well, I won’t interrogate you, I guess. I have permission to take you home, think you can walk? Or should I carry you?”
Gladion opened his eyes, just a crack, and silently lifted himself up slowly. Taking a breath in, he shakily got up…
…And fell straight to the floor.
Or, almost did. Hau managed to catch him right before he hit his head. His skin was clammy to the touch, and he was shivering way more than normal. He wasn’t getting out of here without help.
“Ok, ok, looks like I’m carrying you then.” Thank god Gladion was so light. Sure, Hau was strong (a kahuna had to be) but it wasn’t like he was crazy strong like his grandpa. Sometimes Gladion’s weight got him concerned, but right now? He wasn’t complaining.
“Wait.” Gladion, objected, his voice softer than Hau has ever heard it. “I c-can walk.”
Hau huffed, “You just fell to the floor.”
“I-I was…uh…”
“Glads, you’re sick. Don’t try to push yourself, yeah?”
That seemed to get to him a little bit. “I just don’t want my w-workers seeing me like t-this.” He sighs, “Unprofessional.”
He did have a point. “I’ll have Lillie clear the workers out, sound good?”
That seemed to put him at ease. After a quick text to Lillie, he soon got the a-ok to carry him to the docks. With a swift pickup, Hau managed to get him on the boat in no time flat, setting him down on a chair. When the boat started to sail, he saw Gladion’s eyes slip shut, exhausted.
“The boat is rocking too much.”
“It’ll only take 10 minutes to get back to Melemele. You think you’ll be sick?”
Gladion shook his head, looking mildly uncomfortable. “No, it just feels like my brain is rocking back and forth in my skull.
Ouch. “We’ll be home soon, promise.”
“I’ll hold you to it.” He replied, settling his head on Hau’s shoulder. Normally, Hau’s heart would jump through the roof at this, but right now, he only felt concerned. Hopefully, this would only last a day or so, but infections were hard to kick, especially because Gladion wasn’t exactly the healthiest guy in the world, and they didn’t know what kind of poison was causing this.
Hau genuinely didn’t know if he could handle this by himself.
It wasn’t long until the boat docked. Gladion had passed out at some point, so there was no struggle getting him back to old Hala’s- now his and Gladion’s- house. By the time Gladion came to, He was already tucked in bed, a wet cloth on his head and Hau muttering anxiously to Raichu about medicine. It only took a small move on his part to get Hau’s attention.
Hau smiled gently, trying his best not to seem too anxious. “You fell asleep on the ride back! We’re home now.”
“I noticed….” He replied, trying to focus so his vision didn’t swim. “W-where’s Silvally?”
“He was scratching at the door, so I found it better to keep him in his ball until you feeling a bit better. Want me to take him back out?”
“No, not now.” Gladion couldn’t stop himself from bringing a hand up to his head, feeling way too overstimulated by the headache he felt rolling through his head. He barely even registered when Hau began to push him back down onto the bed. He did notice, however, when Hau moved his hand away and placed a damp cloth on top of his head. He shivered at its wetness, slightly uncomfortable.
“Sorry, sorry, but it’ll bring your fever down.” He soothed, “And maybe help with the headache a little?”
Gladion hummed in response. It was helping his head, but he didn’t like how the water was threatening to drip down his head. He didn’t have the energy to really care, though. He soon felt himself succumbing to exhaustion, his eyelids like stone.
Thank god Hau could read him so well, because he really didn’t feel like asking Hau to pull the covers up for him out loud. After a few minutes, he felt comfortable enough to let himself relax, feeling the light push of Hau’s lips against his cheek just as he succumbed to sleep.