"It's a lovely moon there."
"Hm."
"Oh, lighten up a bit, will you?"
"I have."
"It's not much of an improvement."
"You didn't say how much."
"Humph." She gives him a sideways glance, as exasperated as it is fond, wondering what on earth has led to this. Moonlight shimmers over leaves, spilling through gaps in the canopy and dancing over them. She can just spy their benefactor resting above a forked branch, in all its ethereal beauty. It's these sort of nights that make her truly appreciate being outdoors, the fresh, unadulterated scents of nature carried by the breeze, the chattering of wild Pokemon surrounding them. Something zips past above them, making the leaves rustle - must be Xatee, enjoying herself.
"Alright," he says, with an exaggerated sigh, and permits himself a tiny smile.
"Oh God," she says, and begins to laugh, unable to help herself. He throws her an indignant look, but she knows he's not angry, not truly, and instead just laughs louder. His annoyance easily subsides to restrained amusement - damn him, why can't he just let go for once, she thinks - and watches sedately as she grins like an idiot and shakes her head. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Whatever it may be, I'm looking forward to it," he replies with a completely straight face, which sets her off again. He adds, with a little more edge to his voice, "I meant it sincerely."
"I know, I know," she says, squeezing his fingers that are already entwined with hers. He has turned his face upwards to observe the moon, so she catches his profile instead in the silvery light - fine, delicate features, shoulder-length red hair now burnished bronze. His shoulders are still tense, though it's a significant improvement from the first time they met - in fact, she can barely recall what he was quite like when she first met him, he has changed so much, and she has learned so much more. Gold is, of course, the exact opposite: brash, confident, flirtatious, with some much-buried maturity; but then it may well be a good thing that they're so different. Gold was never much of a listener, nor exactly one for fidelity or permanency. Him, on the other hand...
And what was she like then? She can't recall, she has always found it difficult to characterise herself. Presumably she's changed a lot too, and they can't have failed to noticed - but regardless of anything and everything, someone has accepted her, precisely for who she is...
She tries resting her head on his shoulder, and to her surprise he doesn't pull away, barely makes a movement beyond lifting his other hand to run his fingers through her hair. It's not easy for her to suppress her astonishment at this gesture, from him who is normally so sullen and silent and shy, but she's not about to complain. Instead, she relaxes, and seems to feel that he does, too.
Above them, Xatee perches on a fork in a branch and looks down approvingly, as the moonlight parts around the two figures to form a single shadow.