#スイマオ

[nyabby-keromatsu-kimori]

Bittersweetshipping Week 2021 - Day 2 - Stargazing

“That was such an intense battle!!” Kiawe shouted for the tenth time in the span of five minutes, pumping his fists in the air. “Now I’m all fired up!!”

“You know, you could always just ask Kukui if you can battle Incineroar,” Sophocles reminded him. When the match had first ended, Sophocles had been just as hyped up as Kiawe, but it had been a long day and everybody (apart from Kiawe, apparently) was starting to feel a little worn out.

It was seemingly a regular old Saturday, and for some reason Kukui had decided to treat the entire class (which admittedly was a pretty small group now that there were only 4 of them) to a day out. They’d been all around Alola, taking tours of Lush Jungle and Poni Canyon, having lunch at a very fancy restaurant and getting exclusive front row seats to the Masked Royal’s latest match. The group was now sitting outside the arena, waiting for Kukui to finish up backstage so that they could meet up with Burnet and Lei at a local restaurant for dinner.

“But don’t you think it’s kinda weird?” Sophocles asked. “I mean, Kukui’s always super nice to us, but this whole big day out thing is kind of a lot, especially since he’s been paying for everything. It all kinda just came out of nowhere…”

“Maybe he has something planned?” Kiawe suggested. “Or maybe today is special for some reason, like some kind of anniversary or something.”

“If that were the case, wouldn’t he wanna spend it with his family instead?”

“Guys, can you just drop it?” Lana snapped, taking her eyes off of Mallow for the first time all day in order to glare at the boys. Unlike them, she knew exactly why Kukui had been putting so much effort into keeping everybody occupied and distracted today, and the last thing any of them needed was to draw attention to it-

Suddenly, Mallow silently stood up and started walking away.

“Mallow? Where are you going?”

Mallow stopped when her name was said, but didn’t turn to look at anybody. “I-I’m, uh, just getting some fresh air!” she replied with a shaky voice before breaking into a run.

“But we’re outside??” Sophocles questioned, but his comment only earned him another glare from Lana, who quickly stood up and went after Mallow.

Mallow had already disappeared from view at this point, but Lana knew of a few places that Mallow might go to in order to be alone. It took a few tries to find the right one, and by the time she reached the small hill, the sun had already finished setting, the stars starting to emerge. Lana walked slowly so as not to startle Mallow, who was curled up in a ball, holding her legs to her chest and burying her face in her arms. As she got closer, she could hear the sobs that Mallow was desperately trying to muffle, a sound which always broke Lana’s heart no matter how many times she’d heard it.

Lana sat down next to Mallow, giving her some space but still staying within arm’s reach. They sat in silence for a bit as Lana tried to think of something to say, before Mallow lifted her head slightly and broke the silence.

“I thought it would get easier…”

“Hm?” Lana softly hummed, gently encouraging Mallow to continue.

“Thanks to Tapu Fini…I got to talk to her…get closure…and it’s been 8 years…but I still can’t get through the day without crying…” Mallow’s voice was quiet, unsteady, and she choked up a little. “She wouldn’t want me to cry…”

“There’s nothing wrong with being sad about losing a family member,” Lana gently reminded her. “Especially on the anniversary of her death.”

Mallow curled up more, making herself look smaller. Lana knew from experience that this specific movement and posture usually indicated that Mallow didn’t want to be touched at the moment, so instead Lana looked around for something to distract her with.

“Hey, look, it’s a Rayquaza.”

“Just the constellation though, right?” Mallow tilted her head slightly to look at Lana. Lana gave her a cheeky grin and a wink, and despite how low she felt, Mallow couldn’t ignore how her heart skipped a beat and was kind of glad that her face was already flushed from crying.

Lana pointed up at the sky. “And look, the Drampa constellation!”

Mallow glanced up at where she was pointing, then back at Lana, looking a bit confused. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that one…”

“And next to it is the Tsareena constellation!”

Mallow chuckled a little, smiling fondly at her best friend. “Okay, now you’re definitely just making it up.”

Lana shrugged. “Aren’t all constellations made up?”

“…yeah. I guess so,” Mallow replied. She knew Lana was just trying to distract her, and while it was only partially working, Lana’s presence and the fact that she cared enough to go to so much effort definitely helped her feel better. Eventually, she looked away in order to follow Lana’s gaze, staring up at the stars. “So, what other constellations are up there?”

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( @bittersweet-week​ )