#and then. AND THEN golisopod decides that no. he’s not running away anymore either

[forestofmemories]

i know the most uh. let’s say important matches are satoshi vs gladio and satoshi vs kukui but to be honest my fav matches aside from those are suiren vs mao and kaki vs maamane, they never fail to make me cry

[clacolu95]

Don’t Want to Let You Go Chapter 11: The Date

Previous Chapter: Chapter 10: Newfound Resolution

Next Chapter: Chapter 12: The One Where Gladion Finds Out

Wicke finds out there’s something going on as soon as she catches Gladion taking off his lab coat and choosing to wear a black jacket on top instead.

The clock placed over the President’s office door has barely positioned itself to strike 5:00 p.m. when her boss announces his leave, even though it’s still around five hours too soon compared to his usual non-busy day schedule.

“You’re leaving early” She comments, not really expecting an answer but not wanting to let the chance of getting one slip away from her grasp either.

Gladion freezes in his place, his hand already over the doorknob though still not bringing himself to open it. He considers all possible answers, excuses or ways to get away from his assistant’s scrutiny. “Yeah I’m… going on a date” He surprisingly settles for the truth, the last part of his statement coming out as more of a murmur than what he had intended, but Wicke catches it regardless.

“Oh?” The assistant questions surprised, a small smile already forming on her lips as an idea of who he was going on a date with comes to her mind. “Then good luck!” She encourages, her soft voice and evident good wishes managing to get him to smile to himself.

“Mhm...” He simply mutters, finally opening his office’s door and traversing the finely lit hallways of the Aether Foundation’s building.

Just saying Gladion was nervous would be an understatement to the situation: his chest felt pressured with impatience, his head heavy as anxiety grew inside of him.

He assures himself everything’s going to be fine as he makes his way across the private docks on the artificial island, consequently boarding the ferry that would take him towards Ula’Ula.

He takes a seat as he watches several Aether workers doing the same, some of them even recognizing him and taking their time to bow their heads a little towards him in a polite greeting.

As the ferry starts advancing he lets himself relax a little at the sound of the working engine, emptying his mind in an attempt to shove all of the nervousness away. A light blush plagues his light skin once he thinks about what he’s about to do, his right hand travels towards his face, covering his mouth to avoid showing this side of him to the Aether workers that are traveling along him on the ferry, he doesn’t want them to think he is weak or something... Yet, he has to admit he is actually kind of weak when it comes to Moon. He had ignored her for years, cut ties with her, avoided every attempt at a conversation, cast her aside, buried himself in his work… It was hard to think that just that drunken conversation at Lillie’s party had released all of his inner feelings, unleashed his imagination and actually made him think maybe there was still a chance for him. For them.  

He fails at erasing the blush from his face, when the ferry gets to Ula’Ula the pink in his cheeks is still slightly evident.

He gets off the boat as the feeling of butterfrees on his stomach grows so intense he feels the need to run away from the docks, the meeting point they had agreed on that same morning.

Once he spots Moon, though, his brain stops working and the butterfrees start feeling more like Guzma’s Golisopod nibbling at his stomach. Gone are all of the plans for the night, the sleek strategies he was planning to pull out his sleeve.

His gaze lingers over her carefully combed hair crowned by a pair of small braids that are joined at the back of her head, her cherry red dress that’s casual enough to be used on a regular day but at the same time makes her look delicate and elegant. He catches the light pinky makeup on her milky skin. He’s out of breath, yet he lets out a gasp once their gazes finally connect.

He wants to run away. No. He needs to run away. Still, his feet stay glued to the ground as he watches her advance towards him with a hint of a smile.

“I said I’m going to make you fall in love with me again!”

The memory of his own words comes to him as if pushing him to try harder and suddenly his legs start moving as well. He shoves his shaking hands inside of his pockets and forces himself to ignore his pounding chest, still, once the Champion is in front of him his heartbeat intensifies.

“You’re not wearing your lab coat today” The raven-haired girl mutters, making an effort to start the conversation. Her gaze meets with his, struggling to not get lost in her companion’s hypnotizing emerald eyes “I like it” she coyly mentions, her eyes sparkling in a fashion that makes Gladion’s stare shift from her eyes to the floor.

“I don’t look nearly as good as you…” He speaks, interlocking their gazes again and enjoying the sight of her porcelain skin suddenly matching her crimson dress.

“Oh shut up…” She utters, her order quickly followed by a heartfelt giggle. She smiles at him, laughing nervously, and watches his serious expression fade away into a warm smile of his own. God had he missed seeing her laughing.

“Did I make you wait for too long?” He asks a little worried, though relaxing a bit once he watches her head shaking in denial.

In retrospect, it would have been much easier for Gladion’s plans for the night to meet up with her at the skirts of Mount Lanakila and then call a ride pager’s Charizard. Getting to the skirts of the Mountain would just represent a few minutes walk for her considering she worked at league that day, and flying towards the spot he had planned for the date was obviously faster than walking, but it was still pretty early and he didn’t mind taking the long way if it meant getting to walk alongside Moon for a longer time. There was plenty to talk about as well, he thought, and strolling across the island would probably be the best way to get through all of those unspoken conversations they had evaded for a long time.

They walk together across Malie City, both of them earning some curious glances from the people around them that they couldn’t say they didn’t expect, both of them had managed to acquire celebrity-like status in the region, and it has already been years since the citizens of Alola last saw their Champion and the President of the famous Aether Foundation together, after all.

In the brief messages they had exchanged that morning they had never mentioned the need to make the date a secret, still, that doesn’t make the indiscreet glances they receive as they walk across the city any less uncomfortable.

“We can fly if you want to…” Gladion offers, but she rejects the proposal with a quick hand gesture.

Her mind drifts off for a moment, wondering if, perhaps, it is the right moment to start the conversation she promised Lillie she would eventually have with the blond. To bring up the fact that she’s leaving Alola and give him proper time to react to the news. She decides not to, though she’s not entirely sure why she’s so scared of touching the subject.

Once they enter Route 10 and the noise of the city decreases they find themselves relieved that they’re not the center of attention anymore, as well as deeply submerged into a shared silence that is actually rather comfortable.

They both gaze at the charming scenery as the sun sets, making the sky tint of a stunning gold and ultimately leaving behind the clean nocturnal sky that’s so different from any other region’s. She stares for a moment, contemplating the stars and internally comparing them to the polluted sky of the cities she once used to live in.

“The sky is beautiful today, isn’t it?” She softly mutters. He agrees with a nod.

“The Moon looks particularly stunning” He answers, making her stomach flip at the combination of both his choice of words and his lingering gaze over her. She blushes at the realization of the double meaning in his words... and at the sight of his hand approaching hers, brushing her fingers with his as if asking for permission to take her hand into his.

“Moon I…” He mutters, gently caressing the tip of her fingers.

“Mhm…?” She asks, hypnotized by the way his emerald eyes shine under the moonlight.

A cold water drop falls over her nose, then one over her bare shoulder.

“Fuck…” She hears Gladion curse quietly, her own mind quickly getting to her own conclusions as the amount of water drops increase in intensity.

He grabs her hand swiftly, his quest to obtain her permission long forgotten as he struggles to think of what to do.

It’s not like they can use a ride pager’s Charizard now, as the service is not available in this kind of weather and they’re pretty much past half Route 10, so going back to Mallie City would take them at least half an hour. He curses again, tightening the grip on her hand and running towards Mt. Hokulani.

Moon doesn’t resist, she follows him as the rain falls heavily over them, internally wondering where he’s taking them, but also secretly feeling the warmth of the touch and admiring the marginally bigger size of his hand compared to hers. She’s not sure when his hands became so large, but she can’t say she doesn’t like it. Or that she’s not enjoying the feeling the connection causes in her.

They get across the second half of Route 10 in record time as Gladion guides their path, Moon’s clothes are completely soaked by now, and the only thing that’s stopping Gladion from being in the same state is the impermeable leather jacket he had conveniently chosen to wear instead of his usual lab coat that evening. She thinks he’s guiding them both towards the exeggutor express’ stop so that they can at least have some kind of shelter on top of them, but the blond surprises her deviating from the path and going in the opposite direction instead.

“Gladion where are we…?”

“Trust me” He requests, their eyes connecting for less than one second before their attention is back to running towards - in Moon’s point of view - Arceus knows where.

Once they get to the skirts of Mount Hokulani her sight finally catches a cave. It’s sort of hidden between the thick grove near the mountain, and she can also tell it’s not a very large place, still, she rejoices at the discovery of shelter and a place to dry herself and wait for the rain to cease.

The blond guides them through the entrance, and as they finally get inside she feels the cold wind crashing against her damp clothes and pretty much-exposed body.

The blond lets go of her hand, heading alone towards the back of the cave, though she’s not exactly sure just how deep the place is. He disappears in the dark for a second, only to come back to the entrance with what seemed to be firewood.

“We’ll make a bonfire” He explains, placing the logs over the floor and sitting beside them, his eyes quick to look at her as he invites her to do the same.

She follows obediently, looking at him as he grabs the only pokéball attached to his belt and presses the device’s button. Silvally emerges almost immediately, waving its tail at the sight of the female trainer and jumping towards her with ecstasy.

“Silvally...!” The Champion blurts out in surprise, but she can’t say the joyful licks of the artificial pokémon don’t make her heart flutter with nostalgia.

“Silvally!” His trainer screams with authority, its name now sounding more like an order than a greeting. The chimera quickly reacts, jumping away from the champion and instead focusing on the young president. It walks towards Gladion, who takes a small red disk out of his jacket’s pocket.

“I managed to make them smaller…” He clarifies as he places the device on his pokémon and causes its tail and crest to turn of a crimson red “I can help with yours if you want to…”

She smiles once she watches him petting the chimera’s head, she nods. “That seems very convenient, thank you”.

Silvally spits fire at the logs without the need of an order, the burning trunks in front of them manage to make her body feel warmer, though it doesn’t stop her shaking.

The blond recalls his pokémon and places the spherical device right back on his belt, he stands up, catching the sight of the shivering woman in front of him as he offhandedly takes off his jacket, placing it over the champion’s shoulders.

“No, your jacket…” She complains, her hands already traveling towards the piece of clothing before the blond stops her.

“Take it” He almost orders, sitting beside her as the bonfire warms them both slowly “My shirt is still dry so I’ll be fine…”

She ultimately accepts the chivalrous gesture with a thankful, yet embarrassed smile. She couldn’t deny that the thin - now wet - fabric of her dress was not helping her body feel any less close to hypothermia. She plays with the jacket’s fabric and enjoys the cozy feeling it causes, and when she gazes at Gladion she realizes he’s quietly looking back at her.

Their eyes lock for just a millisecond, after which Gladion’s stare is back to the rainy Alolan sky in front of them, a light blush now slightly noticeable in his pale skin.

She laughs a little to herself and chooses to fight the nervousness away by combing her damp hair with her fingers, feeling the soft heat radiate from her own cheeks.

She stares at Gladion as if wondering if he’s not feeling cold himself. Thanks to the protection of the leather jacket, that’s now in her possession, his long-sleeved shirt appears to be dry and intact; his pants on the other side look heavy with the impressive amount of water they managed to absorb. She can tell he’s trying his best not to shiver at the feeling of the chilly wind of Ula’Ula island, but his expression is blank: No signs of discomfort, no traces of annoyance.

She feels guilty out of nowhere, obviously aware that she, by taking away his jacket, is the sole source of his inconvenience. She’s also aware that even after all these years of not speaking to each other Gladion is, most likely, still the most stubborn person she knows to date and won’t take the piece of clothing back from her even if it means freezing to death himself, so she settles for the next best thing she can think of: She approaches him carefully. She looks at him as if asking for permission, but when all she gets out of the blond is a confused glance she stops waiting for his approval. She closes the gap between their bodies, sitting the closest she can to him in an attempt to share her recently acquired body heat. It seems to work much faster than what she had anticipated, cause her body feels warm from her toes to her head - And she can feel her face burning -.

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[poke-reads]

Bugless! Part 2

Alright lets do this!

*Warnings though, Guzma here is gonna go soft for a bit like crying soft. If you don’t like it that’s ok. This one is very long. That’s another warning. Nothing inappropriate*

“Be my fwem!” A small child said to a wimpod who was cornered. The wimpod looked for a way out but was soon picked up by him. “Imma call you wimpy! Lets be best fwems!” he gave him a poké bean his mom gave him. The wimpod sniffed the bean questionably and ate it. He chattered and chirped with glee! “Come on sweetie lets go home! We got to catch the ferry!” the little boy’s mom called to him and he happily ran over to her. “Look mama i got a frem! Uh, i uh mean, Friend!” the mother look down to his level and happily greeted his new pokemon. With a kiss on the forehead, the child and mom went home. That was more than 20 years ago…

Years later his mom got married again. If only it were for the better. “What is wrong with you Guzma!? Why cant you do things right?” a smacking and smashing sound could be heard. Years of abuse left him broken. He was left home alone door locked. “At least i have you Wimpy. I know im never alone when your with me. We’ll leave soon i promise.” In Guzma’s room,

“Come on buddy, ya can’t leave just yet!” Guzma whined as he tried to keep Golisopod from leaving. “We still got…um…lots of training to do yeah! But in here!” Obvious to see that his room/throne room was too small to train in. Golisopod chattered immensely while pushing the door with his strength. “*sigh* ya really wanna go, huh bud? How would ya get there? The place is on another island! And ya know, ya boi hates travel.” Guzma grumbled, he knew he would have to let Golisopod go but he just couldn’t. He didn’t want to be alone…

*While in Plum’s room*

“Aight we’re in, as long as Guzma could stop wrecking the mansion and stop being such a baby.” Plumeria spoke for her and Axel as she tended to his head injury. You were filled with many emotions: how will Guzma handle this? What will he say or do? Is he gonna punch our lights out or rampage like a Tauros? Only one way to find out. Baxter had sent you a text: Baxter Y0 we be outside! Ready to do dis?

While another text came in

Nanu Ok what did he do know and why am i involved?

You I’ll buy you lunch for a week. Delivered if this goes well.

Nanu …..deal

You all gathered at Guzma’s door. Anxiety filled your stomach but you managed to open the door.

“Guzma?” you peeked in the door, only to find a tall white haired boi laying a his bed facing the wall, holding his Golisopod close like he was a wimpod again.

“Go away…” you motioned everyone to come in. “G. Whats going on with ya? Your concerning the grunts. Is it about Golisopod?,” plumeria put her hand on his shoulder only to be shrugged off. “Who cares, whatever. Its none of ya business.”

Baxter and Axel budged in “Boss we’re worried! Yo, you’re scaring us. Man, we want you to perk up! Golisopod’s gotta do his thing ya know?”

“Yeah boss! Chin up!”

“Which one?” Guzma’s smart remark wasn’t helping. “Look guys…just buzz off.”

You shoved Nanu forward and gave him the ‘DO SOMETHING YOU OLD COP’ look. He heavily sighed and walked over.

“I heard your actions caused a minor to fall off the second floor of this hou-”

“OK NEVERMIND YOU HELPED ENOUGH. SAY GOODBYE TO LUNCH” you pushed Nanu to the side. “*sigh* I’ll handle this.”

You approached Guzma. “Guzma, your summer is going to be bugless.”

Oh no.

He got up and looked at you…wide eyed and blinked twice…Tears overflowed from his eyes.

Here it comes. With a deep breath… *long gasp*

“AAAAAHHHH! *hic* *hic* AHHHHH!” he held his Golisopod tightly and nuzzled his head into its body. If you didn’t know any better you’d say a toddler took over the team. You think you lost hearing in your right ear and turned around to see everyone covering their ears. “Smooth move kid, now what!?” Nanu had to scream to talk to you. “He had to hear it. He’s gotta let it all out!” you screamed back. You had never seen Guzma cry nor crack under stress. This was a first. You found it to be surprising…ly cute.

“IDON'TWANT'EMTOGO! *sniffle* *hic* *hic* I DONT WANNA BE ALONE-WAAAAAHHH!” your heart broke hearing that. You had completely forgotten about their DEEP connection.

Nanu was once again dragged in. “Uh, ugh ok. There there, uh yeah. It’ll be ok. You’ll see him in a few months.”

“Months!? MONTHS!!?” Smooth move Nanu.

“WAAAAAHHHHAAAHHH!” He hugged Golisopod as if he was on his death bed, he didnt wanna let go. Good thing golisopod was used to his huge strengrh.

“What now!? Do something!” plumeria told you. “Im sure he ain���t got much let in there!” you responded.

You waited another 10 minutes

“Feel better?” you put your hand on Guzma’s shoulder

He sniffled twice before responding “mm-hmm…”

No he wasn’t. He darn right Bawled his eyes out again gripping at his pokemon.

Even though male golisopods were tough, they knew emotions and TLC was a must. He chattered and clicked at Guzma. Pulling him away while attempting to wipe away his tears with one of this claws. He made a sound of concern. And lifted guzma in his arms. Guzma was taken back by this gesture. Golisopod’s pokemon senses kicked in, cradling him close while making chattering sounds of comfort. Only Guzma knew him well enough to know he meant to say ‘I’ll be back before you know it! Please don’t cry.’ Guzma tried to stop crying. He just didn’t want his bestest friend and beloved pokemon to go even for one day. You and the others saw this and Plumeria, Axel and Baxter joined in to hug. Even Axel and Baxter started to cry-wait what? Why?

“Uh, why are you two crying?” you asked.

“It hurts to see the boss in pain!” Baxter said

“Im crying cuz you ain’t crying y-yo!” Axel said while looking at you

“Wha-? Why me? What about Nanu?”

“He’s cryin’ on the inside!” Axel told you.

You looked at Nanu. He simply looked back and said, “Its true.”

Guzma managed to stop. And the ringing in your ears stopped too.

“Ya think theres a third wave coming?” Nanu asked. “Naw i think he’s good.” you replied while petting Guzma’s head.

He tried to manage his breathing. Looking down blushing in utter embarrassment and defeat. All you heard for a few minutes were sniffles and hiccups while Nanu actually had to go over and help him breathe properly by saying ‘breathe. Good, your doing great. Good boy.’ I guess Nanu was useful for something.

“….thanks for checkin’ on me…Yeah.” you and the others smiled as a sign of thanks.

“Oh, A, sorry ya got hurt and all. I heard from the other side of the door. And the both of ya’s…TELL ANYBODY ABOUT THIS AND IMMA BEAT YA DOWN SO HARD YOU’LL BE SEEING MORE THAN STARS.”

“Y-y-es sir! Glad your better!” they said spuddered.

“Now, Guzma you ready to take Golisopod to route 8?” you asked him.

He looked down then to his Golisopod. He smirked and nodded his head. “Lets go.”

The trip to Akala Island was brief. You and Guzma decided to go together. A and B stayed to guard the place, plumeria stayed to train and forget she ever saw her boss like that. Nanu just didn’t want to go. Sounded fair.

“Aight bud,” he squeezed his claw a bit. “We’ll be back in a month. A'promise!” Golisopod chattered in confirmation and walked into the area. Guzma’s eyes lit up so much when he saw Golisopod go to the EXACT spot where they first met. He teared up a bit and waved goodbye.

It was late to go back to Ula'Ula so you two stayed at the hotel on route 8. You and Guzma were sound asleep, you slept on top of his chest. He was ok with it. some chipping sounds were heard from the window. You jolted up and tried to wake him up.

“Psst. Guzma, guzma.”

“Mmmm…eeeh, what. What is it?” you groggily got up holding you so you didn’t fall off the small bed.

“Theres something at the window.”

“Its just a golisop-GOLISOPOD!?”

Golisopod was signaling you two to come outside. It seems he had something to show you two!

You both walked out of the room in the summer breeze. As he guided you both, you were surprised to see so many Wimpods and Golisopods in one place. Man if only you brought your camera. They chattered and chirped a melody so wonderful the moon shined ever so bright. Golisopod showed you guys the spot where they first met and you two were greeted by pokemon eggs and a shiny Golisopod who seemed to be his partner.

As you got closer Guzma pointed something out “look they’re hatching! We came right on time!” you were puzzled. You didn’t really know how their hatching worked. The chattering melody grew louder and more enchanting and all the eggs around you two lit up!

“Whoa…..” you were mesmerized!

Wimpods were hatching left and right. You looked up to see Guzma’s reaction and you were so glad to see him happy. He looked intrigued and in love with all the new arrivals. He scratched and played with all the wimpods running around. They even laied on his head. He honestly looked like a kid at a candy store.

“Wow this is what he would'a missed if i didnt let him go…sorry buddy for being a lousy jerk.” Golisopod playfully punched Guzma’s back. The sun started to rise and all the Wimpods either went into the sea or dug into a cave. All the Golisopod went off to the sea or to their owners. “Well looks like we gotta go bud. See ya in a month.” Guzma walked off when he felt a tug at his hoodie. “Guzma, uh i think its over. I’m no genius at this but he doesnt seem to have a reason to be here anymore.” Golisopod walked over and got the ultra ball from Guzma’s hoodie pocket. Before he went inside, He put his head of Guzma’s head as a sign of thanks and pushed the button.

“What an experience. Come on Guzma lets go back to the mansion im exhausted.”

You walked to the hotel to pack your things, Guzma was right behind you holding his ultra ball. “ yeah, lets go home, frem.” he chuckled at the stupid remark he made. He didn’t regret it though.