Fear - An Aureliashipping and Lonashipping Story

-26-

"Pew pew pew pew!~"

"Okay, I get it, but you need to be quiet!" Natasha scolded the Pokémon.

It was the next morning. Natasha had stuffed Cosmog into a bag that she got a nearby boutique, and her fuse was shorter than usual. She hadn't slept at all: the money she had put into a motel for the night was as good as wasted. The pair were at the door of a restaurant, ready to get some breakfast...well, for Natasha at least. Cosmog had already ate, and couldn't be out in public.

Natasha went inside and decided to sit at a booth. The bag containing the small purple Pokémon rested on the floor, as far out of sight as possible. Natasha let out a sigh as she waited for someone to come and serve her. She desperately needed a caffeine fix.

The sound of footsteps ended Natasha's tired trance. "Hello, and welcome!" a friendly voice said. Natasha looked up and nearly choked on her own saliva. A green-haired girl gave a cheery smile. "My name's Mallow, I'll be your server for today! Can I start you off with something to drink?"

Natasha fumbled with the black hat she had on, pulling the brim closer to her face. "W-water for now, please."

Mallow nodded her head. "Coming right up!" The girl went in the back to prepare the beverage. Now that she was gone, Natasha actually took the time to look around the restaurant. She noticed that some of the walls were boarded up, and there was construction equipment visible through the windows. This was the restaurant that was attacked by an Ultra Beast a while back, and that girl was at the battle at the Pokémon School. She was going to get recognized for sure.

Mallow came back with a glass filled with water and ice. "Here's your water and menu! I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order."

Thankfully, young children are stupid and have the attention span of a Goldeen breedject.

"T-thank you..."

----

Moon was borrowing Lillie's computer. The clicks of the keyboard filled the room, her fingers were typing at a mind numbing pace. Suddenly, the door opened: "Everyone is going to the Poké Mart, they'll be back soon."

"Okay!" Moon said to Lillie as she stretched in the chair. "I'm just about done, anyway."

"What have you been doing exactly?" Lillie asked, Shiron standing patiently behind her. Moon gave a small smile. "Just messaging my friends, they've been wondering where I've been all this time. I can't exactly tell them I've been running around with my fugitive emo boyfriend, though," she sighed, leaning on the keyboard. She accidentally pressed a button and a song began to play: "Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky-"

Moon quickly silenced the computer and glanced nervously at Lillie. The young girl and Shiron were gazing at her with a curious aura. Moon swallowed before speaking again: "I also post Specialshipping fancams online-"

Lillie's eyes widened. "You like Specialshipping too?! I thought I was the only one!" Shiron sensed that this could take a while, and went to take a nap in a corner of the room.

Moon bounced in her seat. "Of course I do! It's my OTP!" she squealed. Lillie plopped herself on her bed. "None of my friends agree. Lana really likes yaoi...maybe a bit too much," she complained. "And I can't talk about this with Gladion, he doesn't like fanfiction."

Moon rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it. He said if I ever bring up my OTPs again he was going to throw me into the ocean," she pouted. "I guess I'm the romantic type."

Lillie nodded absentmindedly. A few seconds of silenced passed by before Moon spoke up. "You have no idea what you're doing, huh?"

"Pardon me?"

"Do I need to say it out loud?" Moon asked teasingly. Lillie got the hint and buried her face in her pillow. "Aaaah!"

Moon went back to clicking away on the keyboard. "You're just lucky that he's so oblivious. Gladion isn't good at hiding his emotions, either. Must run in the family."

"Are you a love expert?" Lillie asked somewhat sarcastically. Moon wasn't fazed by her out-of-character outburst. "I somehow reeled in your brother, didn't I?" she prompted. Lillie had to admit, it was impressive. "How...do you start a relationship?" the younger girl asked.

Moon thought back to the incident involving the little girl at the Pokémon Center. Her face flushed as she scrambled for words. "Gladion and I had an...unusual start to our relationship," she explained. "But from what I can gather, someone just has to bite the bullet and be honest with their feelings."

"From what you can gather? Is Gladion your first boyfriend?" Lillie asked curiously, pulling her face from the pillow. Moon nodded. "Yeah, the boys back in Kanto thought I was annoying...well, so does your brother-"

Lillie shook her head. "I apologize-"

"Don't even bother, I understand him better than you think," Moon interrupted. "But you're going to have to tell him sooner or later."

"W-what if I just wait to see how he feels?"

"Nope, Ash isn't the type to make a first move, and you know that," Moon explained. "His attention span is too small. This one is on you."

Lillie's face slammed into the pillow. "I'm scared."

"Of what? Him not liking you back?"

"I don't know..."

Moon spun around in her chair and faced the girl. "You realize that he cares about you a lot, right? He's been helping you through this whole Pokémon thing the whole time. I haven't known him that long, but he doesn't seem like he's the patient type. You matter to him."

The thoughts facing through Lillie's head made her dizzy. It sounded too good to be true. But as long as she didn't get over her fear, she wouldn't be good enough for someone who's as good with Pokémon as Ash was. It was a thought that constantly nagged at her.

Tweet.

Moon spun back around. "I thought I shut you up!" she yelled at the computer. "Way to ruin a moment."

Lillie giggled. "Thanks, Moon. It feels nice to have someone to talk to other than Hobbes about this. It's like I have a big sister."

For some reason, that word made Moon really happy. Sister...

Her moment of reflection was shattered by numbers on the screen. "Oh my Arceus, my fancam is going viral!"

Lillie climbed out of bed. "Can I see?"

——