Lillie's POV

It had been five long years, but Lillie had finally done it. By the age of 16, she had completed her journey in Kanto and become the Pokémon League Champion. The road was far from easy, given her past with her family and the way said past had taken a toll on her, but she was finally returning to Alola. Alola wasn't where she was from, but Alola was her home.

As she stepped off of the boat in Iki Town, she sighed a breath of relief. She could finally see her friends again, and – though she wasn't quite ready to admit it – she was thrilled at the prospect of seeing Gladion again. Though the relationship between the two siblings had been strained at best when she left five years ago, she was happy to say that the distance had been good for them. They'd sent letters to one another, and were finally at the stage in their lives where they could consider one another true family again.

Lillie's eyes narrowed in concentration as she took in her surroundings. The familiar smell of malasadas entered her nostrils and she immediately thought of Hau. Her energetic friend was always raving about malasadas, declaring them to be the food of the champions.

Speaking of which, where was Hau? He was supposed to be meeting her at the docks today and she saw no sign of the boy.

As Lillie continued to look around, the unsettling feeling of fear creeping up her chest, her emerald eyes met very familiar eyes – familiar green eyes.

Gladion

Her older brother was leaning casually against a streetlight as he gave her a nonchalant wave. The action would've appeared indifferent to most, but Lillie understood Gladion as well as she understood herself. The telltale smirk at the corner of Gladion's lips warmed Lillie as she rushed over to him.

"Gladion!"

Gladion's smirk increased slightly to form a genuine smile as Lillie approached him. As the two stood in an excited silence, Gladion rolled his eyes playfully, opening his arms wide.

"Come here."

Lillie gratefully accepted his gesture, squeezing her older brother tightly. Though Lillie was now regarded as the cold, calm, and collected champion of the Kanto region, what people didn't understand was how affectionate she could be when given the chance. Whether that had been a result of her mother – Lusamine – or not, she didn't know, but all she knew in this moment was that she was glad to see her brother.

"Your malasada friend told me to give this to you." Gladion handed her a small note, Hau's handwriting easily distinguishable on the piece of parchment, "I take it you're glad to see me."

Lillie rolled her eyes at Gladion's smug tone. Even before all that had happened with Teams Aether and Skull, Gladion had always liked to assume that the world revolved around him. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing just how much his presence meant to her.

She had a feeling he already knew anyways.

'Alola Lillie!" Hau's note read, 'I'm super psyched to see you back here in Alola! I missed you. Kukui and Burnet missed you. Cosmog…sorry…Lunala missed you. Moon missed you. We all did. Sorry I couldn't come to pick you up at the docks. I just figured that having Gladion show up instead would be a great surprise, so TA-DA! Score one for the Hau-ster! Anyways, when you're ready, just swing on by the lab. Everyone's waiting for you!'

When Lillie had finished reading, she noticed Gladion staring at her strangely.

"What?" she asked.

Gladion shrugged.

"It's just been a while since I've seen you this happy."

Lillie found herself agreeing with Gladion's words. She was happy. She was happy that so many people had missed her. Granted, she never wanted to cause anyone any sadness, but this was a good kind of sadness.

'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' She heard Hau's voice chipperly say in her head, 'Tis better to have loved and lost…wait, wrong quote!"

Lillie giggled a bit to herself. Even in her own head, Hau was a lovable goofball.

Still, Lillie couldn't ignore the pang that she got in her stomach at the thought of Moon missing her. Even before she left for Kanto, Lillie was always very fond of Moon. She admired the other girl's courage, tenacity, and overall goodness. Though Lusamine had never told her anything about romantic attraction – God knows how that awkward conversation would've been – Lillie was certain that at the very least, she had a crush on Alola's five year reigning champion.

With a resolve she hadn't truly felt since she made the decision to leave for Kanto five years ago, Lillie turned to Gladion. The first step in getting what you want was to let someone else know of your desires.

After all, that's what she had done when she wanted to go to Kanto.

Based on the look on Gladion's face, she figured that he had something of similar importance to tell her.

"I have to tell you something…"

"Look, there's this girl…"

Both Lillie and Gladion paused, blinking at each other in disbelief. Is this what people were talking about when they said that siblings practically thought along the same lines?

Gladion gruffly cleared his throat while Lillie ran a hand through her own hair, a nervous tick she was sure she had gotten rid of at least two years ago.

"You first."

"I'll wait."

Again, the siblings paused. This was going nowhere.

"Okay, how about this." Lillie started, holding her hands steadily in front of her so that Gladion wouldn't notice them shaking, "Let's say whatever it is we have to tell each other at the same time. Keep it short so we can hear one another?"

Gladion nodded and Lillie breathed a sigh of relief. Even after all these years, she still wasn't used to the idea of giving commands, or even general suggestions. She was just glad that Gladion went along with it.

"1…2…3." Lillie counted down before taking a deep inhale.

Here goes...

"I like Moon!"

When the siblings had finished their confessions, they stared at one another in disbelief. They had said the same words in sync. No room for misunderstanding.

They both liked Moon.

As Lillie allowed herself to digest her brother's words, – the very same words she had just uttered – Gladion struck a pose, the same pose he would use every time he challenged someone to a Pokémon battle. Except this time, he was staring defiantly at her, not summoning his Pokémon.

"Well, you can't like her," Gladion sniffed haughtily, staring Lillie down with his green eyes narrowed in ire, "because I like her and I'm not sharing."

Lillie sputtered indignantly. How dare Gladion insinuate that she was supposed to be the one to give up her crush. Had this been five years ago, the old Lillie would've submitted to Gladion's will, too meek and mild to do anything but sulk in the shadows as Gladion set his efforts to wooing Moon.

This wasn't five years ago.

As such, Lillie crossed her arms over her chest and stared Gladion down defiantly. If he was startled by her posture, he only showed it with a raise of his eyebrows.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she demanded, moving her hands to place them on her hips, "If you think that just because you're older and have always been the alpha male ever since dad went through that ultra-wormhole that you can just tell me that I can't like her, you have another thing coming mister!"

Gladion blinked at her in surprise.

"But you always get everything you want." Gladion moaned in mock despair, "You've always been everyone's favorite!"

Lillie snorted.

"Since when?"

Gladion huffed his impatience.

"You became the Kanto champion."

"You left me alone with Mother. Mother."

"You have friends."

"You're the one who chose to join Team Skull instead of making decent friends."

"Hau already likes you. Can't you be satisfied with that?"

Lillie rolled her eyes. Hau had cleared this up with her years ago. It had been a small crush, and he had long since gotten over her.

"If that's your best defense, you have nothing, Gladion." Lillie said haughtily, the confidence she had gained over the past five years rolling off of her in waves, "How about a Pokémon battle to settle this?"

Gladion – if it was even possible – turned whiter than a sheet at Lillie's suggestion. He tried to make up for his momentary lapse in composure by looking away from her, but Lillie knew him, no matter how much he tried to deny that fact.

"We don't have to go quite that far little sister." Gladion suddenly regained his composure, a bright gleam in his green eyes, "How about a deal?"

Lillie's eyes narrowed. Even when they were children, Gladion's deals never boded well for her. Gladion would never make a deal unless he knew that he was at an advantage.

"What kind of deal?"

Gladion rolled his eyes mockingly, courteously taking one of Lillie's bags from her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, a grin donning his features.

"We both try to woo her." Gladion suggested, nodding his head at his own idea. He seemed to think it was brilliant, whatever he was plotting in his head, "Whoever she takes more of a liking to gets to try and date her."

Lillie wanted desperately to tell him no. That his idea was impossibly foolish and that it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. That there was absolutely no way that she would ever agree to something so asinine.

"You're on!"