When The Sun Sets (Moon X Gladion)

Adventure Awaits

Moon unrolled a map of Kanto onto the table, smoothing out the edges with the palms of her hands. Green came up behind her, admiring the inked parchment. He ran a finger along it's fabricated surface, almost afraid to smear the words that were scrawled across it. His eyes were sparkling against the sunrise, which was coming up through the kitchen's French windows. He looked at Moon and said, "If this doesn't bring back memories, then nothing will."

Gladion glanced at the parchment, and then at Green. He had decided the night before that Green was bad news, and anything associated with him (besides Moon, of course), should be treated as such. "This." He pointed to the map. "What is it?"

Moon looked up at him. The sun beams shown in her grey eyes and he could've sworn that he saw lightning in the clouds that's resided there. It was a gentle lightning, however, like a beacon at sea. When she spoke, it reminded him of rain, a soft, refreshing rain. "It's a map of Kanto. My brother made it back when we were kids."

Gladion nodded, retracting his previous statement. For the map, at least. Everything else was still a red flag.

There was a moment of silence for Sun. Once it had passed, Hau smiled, his hands resting on the back of his neck. "Well, this is way more exciting than any digital map I've ever seen. More detailed, too. Sun really knew how to draw."

Moon chuckled. "He was okay, but he made mistakes often."

Green agreed. "It took him all night to make this. He never complained about the ink, but he groaned with each mistake." He smiled as he recalled the memory. "He threw away a lot of parchment that night. Told me that he wanted it to be perfect."

As the conversation evolved and the teens decided where to start their journey, Dr. Orion listened from the hallway. He wanted to step in, to shut down their little operation and send Moon and her friends back home, but he just couldn't. She came back for an adventure. Not just any adventure, but the one that her, Sun, and Green had planned five years prior. She was back, and something told Dr. Orion that she wasn't going to leave without a fight. He sighed. My wife is going to kill me. Holding his breath, he attempted to casually make his way into the room.

"When did you kids plan on leaving?" He asked them, trying to act calm. He could feel the beads of sweat running down his forehead.

"In about a week, maybe," Moon told him, grinning. "I want to spend the next few days with you before I leave again."

Dr. Orion smiled back at her before turning to Gladion and Hau. "Well, just make yourselves at home, then, boys." He directed his attention towards Moon once more. "What did you want to do first, Moonpie?"

.....

It was a very calming week, Gladion thought. Hau and Moon taught Gladion how to fish, which was different, but the fact that Moon's house was located on the river made things convenient. They also had nightly camp fires, complete with s'mores and stories, which was enjoyable for everyone. The weather was taking some getting used to, but luckily, Gladion had packed the one sweatshirt that he hadn't torn the sleeves off of: a black (surprise, surprise) hoodie with the words "Sarcastic Society" written on it in bold. Plus, Gladion even found a way to sneak in alone time with Moon. Most notably, he thought, was their shopping expedition.

Being the notorious runaway he was, he pointed out that it would be much better for them to gather supplies before their adventure so they wouldn't have to run to the store in the near future. Moon agreed with him, and Gladion convinced her to let him tag along.

Once they had entered the Pokémart, they went to work, picking up all the supplies they could find, including food, water, compasses, portable phone chargers (Moon needed a way to contact her mother; Hau wanted to call Lillie), Pokémon food, clothes, and other useful items. As an added bonus, once Moon learned that Gladion liked tea, she picked up four boxes of tea bags. The moment he saw her kind gesture, he felt his face redden. After everything Gladion had done in the past, it seemed, Moon had forgiven all of it. To her, Gladion was no longer the boy who abandoned his family out of grief. He was just Gladion, Lillie's older brother.

After the week had passed, the four teens decided to head out, setting their sights east towards Lavender Town. Green said goodbye to his parents, promising he'd return soon, and Moon said goodbye to her father. It was a casual-enough goodbye, except no one understood the true reason why Dr. Orion had tears in his eyes, or why he made her promise to call him often.

"He just got her back. Maybe he wishes we could stay longer?" Hau suggested as they waited for Moon to join them.

The moment she did, they left. Moon found herself continuously glancing back at the city she had grown up in. Leaving felt easier this time, as she knew that she'd soon return. Yet, the further they got on along Route 9, the more she realized that she wasn't ready to sail back to Alola. That's months from now, she told herself. All that mattered now, she deducted, was their adventure. She could worry about Alola another day. Today, and many days to come, she just wanted an adventure. She wanted to enjoy her time with Green and laugh with Hau. She wanted to battle strangers and get lost in crazy places. She wanted to feel the thrill that she hadn't felt since becoming Champion. And, somewhere deep inside her, she wanted to find out why Gladion's eyes kept traveling towards her own, and why he had been so keen on leaving Alola with them.

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I despise this chapter, so I'll try to fix it later.