Deception - Gladion x Reader. [UNDER CO.]

Stop Faking

(The picture has nothing to do with the chapter, I just thought it was funny XD)

Reader's POV

The four of us walked the streets side by side and once we arrived at the beach, Lillie immediately laid her towel out on the sand and set up her umbrella to perfectly shade where she would lay. As she did so, the rest of us followed suit and lined our belongings up, with Hau setting up one side of Lillie, me on the other, and Gladion next to me. The beaming sun made me wish I had my own umbrella, though thankfully Lillie's was big enough to at least provide both me and Hau with a little bit of shade.

Hau barely waited a second after setting out his towel before sprinting towards the ocean with Brionne right on his heels, and I couldn't help but smile at the sight of them both splashing about and having fun; the joy on their faces was infectious. I knelt down and pulled Shadow's Pokéball out of my bag to let him out, though once he'd taken in his surroundings, he immediately took off and ran towards the water, slowing down when he reached the last bit of dry sand.

I quickly called his name and jumped to my feet to follow, but before I got too far away, I heard Lillie's voice saying, "Gladion, what I said about today being a day to try and get you and y/n to be friends... I meant it. Nobody likes you two fighting — I don't, Hau doesn't, and I'm sure neither of you likes it, either. I know you don't want to, but could you at least try and be nice to y/n? Please?"

Those words caused me to slow down a little, biting my lip as I thought about how they made me feel; in a way, I was upset he needed his sister to plead with him for him to even be civil with me, but on the other hand, I was relieved and thankful, hoping Gladion wouldn't be heartless enough to ignore his sister's feelings... even if that did mean forcing himself to be nice to me.

I tried my best to shake it off so I could focus on enjoying the day, turning my attention back to Shadow as he trotted over the wet sand and approached the edge of the ocean. He was getting much too close for comfort and although I called out to him when I saw a new wave washing in, it was too late; he excitedly dipped one of his front paws into the water and squealed in pain as steam blew off of it. The shock caused him to fly into the air and as soon as his feet touched the ground again, he came sprinting towards me and leaped into my arms. I hoped since he was a fire type he'd have figured out that water wouldn't be good for him, but perhaps since he wasn't in battle he thought it would be harmless. Quietly whimpering, Shadow curled up against me and buried his face into my shirt, and since I figured he could use a small break from the water, I carried him back to where Lillie and Gladion were and let him nestle into my lap once I'd sat down. Thankfully, my mom had given me a cream especially for Pokémon made to help heal most general injuries, and so I applied some to his scalded paw. Within seconds, I felt Shadow relax and begin purring, filling me with relief that it had worked.

With my partner on the mend, Lillie, Gladion and I sat and enjoyed watching Hau and Brionne splashing about in the ocean, making wave after wave almost big enough to surf on. It didn't take long for Hau to miss us, though, and after a quick glance down at his feet, he called out, "Hey, you guys gotta come check out the ocean! The water is warm, and there are all kinds of Pokémon swimming around! It's great!"

Lillie giggled at his enthusiasm and gave a thumbs up. "I'll be there in a minute! Don't scare any of them away!" She took off her hat and carefully placed it down by her bag, then stood up to slip out of her dress, revealing a frilly white bikini which despite its simplicity, looked amazing on her. She then flipped her hair back over her shoulders and started to make her way towards Hau, but stopped suddenly after a few steps to look at Gladion and me. "Are you two coming?"

Rolling my lips together, I glanced over at Gladion who didn't say a word, though the look on his face was enough for Lillie to understand. She frowned at in annoyance, then looked at me. "Oh, no, not at the moment. I think Shadow still needs to cool off a little, but I'll come out soon."