"Will you marry me?"
It was a question typical of the 8 year old standing in front of his desk. Her bright eyes and cheery smile always waiting for the answer she wanted to hear from him. He would never give her the satisfaction as he answered, yet again, with a simple 'no.'
He honestly didn't know when it started. He could blame the princess movies Lillie forced her to watch, or he could blame the books she would pick out of their library, but regardless of the reason, it would catch him off guard every single time.
Which begged the question…
"Moon, why do you always ask that," Gladion asks one day during recess, a few hours after she had casually asked per usual. Maybe this time his best friend would give him some kind of explanation. Some kind of reason to her strange ritual, but alas Moon was mischievous and as cryptic as an 8 year old could be.
She simply shrugs as she sits down next to him at the bench.
"I just want to be able to stay by your side forever."
It was simple. It was innocent. It made his heart flutter strangely, but the answer wasn't enough for Gladion. Because a few days later Moon stood at the front of the class with a solemn expression. Her normally contagious smile was instead replaced with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. The teacher urges her to speak, but as she hesitates Gladion already knew something was off.
And then she dropped the bomb.
"I'm moving back to Kanto this weekend."
Her words hit him like a Tauros going at full force. For the rest of the day he found himself unable to look at her. For the rest of the week he was unable to speak to her. And once the weekend hit he was unable to fathom the idea that his best friend wouldn't be there anymore.
So when the day came for her to leave, he decided he wouldn't go to the pier. He didn't know how to say goodbye. He didn't want to say goodbye! He was 8, and confused, and hurt and as hard as Lillie begged him to join her, that Moon might not ever come back to Alola, he wouldn't budge. He sulked in his room the entire time his sister was out with Wicke.
But when she came back with puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks she handed him a small envelope.
Inside was a single slip of lined paper with one neatly written sentence in the middle:
'Promise you'll marry me when I come back.'
"What are you doing?"
His sister's voice comes from his dorm's hallway as he sits on the ground surrounded by boxes. In his hand was a faded badly taken photo; one of him with Moon, that she herself took that last summer.
He says nothing as he offers up the object.
Moon was latched onto her brother's arm, and he, believing cooties were real, was trying to shake her off.
"Aww," Lillie whispers as she hands it back. "I wonder how she's doing."
Gladion takes the photo and finds himself unable to answer. No one had heard from her in years, and even her own mother had eventually moved away. But he shrugs away the thought, and although there was no use in harboring in the past he brought it as a memento of sorts.
He stands up, dusting off his pants as he looks over at Lillie. "You ready to go to our floor meeting?"
Floor meetings.
The first of many forced interactions for college freshmen. The RA, Ilima, if he recalled correctly, greeted all the new students with overbearing excitement.
"Welcome to Alola University first years! I'm super excited to be your resident advisor, but before we go over the rules, we need to play a simple game."
Gladion takes it back, overbearing was an understatement.
"Hmmm…" the pink-haired boy says as taps his chin. "Now…who can I pick to go first…" everyone's eyes dart away from his in an attempt to not be called on. But one hand shoots up, saving everyone else from their demise. Small sighs of relief could be heard, and Gladion finds himself chuckling at the shallow worries of a first year.
"PERFECT! Just tell us your name, where you're from, and what you hope to be majoring in."
Everyone turns their head to look at the volunteer as she stands up. Gladion, before even looking, feels Lillie incessantly tapping his arm as if to signal him of something major.
So he turns.
"My name's Moon," she says simply as her presence makes Gladion forget about everyone else around them.
Long black hair was now short. Short stature was now tall. Freckled skin was no longer tinted by the Alolan sun. Clear innocent gray eyes were now coy and absolutely stunning. And her smile? Well, that was one thing hadn't changed.
"I'm coming here from Kanto," she continues as her own eyes scan the group of bored students. But then she finds herself at a loss at words. Her eyes grow wide, her mouth drops every so slightly.
They've noticed each other.
"Moon, your major," Ilima whispers, thinking that the girl had forgotten the prompt.
"Huh? Oh right." Moon stutters as she looks at the older male, remembering that she was still in front of the crowd. "I'm here to study biochem, it's nice to meet you all," Moon states as she quickly plops down into her seat, but she leans slightly forward and looks over at the blonde siblings. A happy expression on her face as she gives them a small wave that Lillie returns wholeheartedly.
Gladion on the other hand didn't know how to function. How would he greet her? What questions should he ask? Did he need to apologize for not bidding her farewell? Does he need to apologize for finding her attractive? He shakes his head as he runs straight back to his dorm, but when a knock came soon after he knew who would be there on the other side. He takes a deep breath in and opens the door, expecting her to just shyly greet him.
But Moon was never the predictable type.
She throws her arms around him and pulls him into an embrace. Lillie just stood there giggling as Gladion's face flushed red when she pulled away.
"Don't you think it's rude to leave someone at the altar, Glady?"
And that was enough to prompt his own laughter. Their friendship acting like it hadn't changed over all the years.