A/N: This takes place in the same universe as my last Delivery fic, "Three Gifts", but it's not necessary to read that one to understand this one. This one's got a bit of a different focus, though, and I had a lot of fun writing it, so I hope you enjoy reading it :)
"You know what I don't understand?"
"What?"
"Why the Ruins of Abundance are in a desert. I mean, the only thing that's abundant here is sand!"
Haina Desert was, indeed, abundantly full of sand. It was also buffeted by near-constant winds, which whipped up the sand into fierce sandstorms that reshaped the desert's terrain. The only way travelers could orient themselves in the desert was using the rock piles that occasionally dotted the landscape. In short, it was very easy to get lost in the Haina Desert – and Sun and Moon had to cross it in order to deliver a Mirage Berry to Tapu Bulu in the Ruins of Abundance.
"Maybe Tapu Bulu just really likes sand," Moon grumbled.
"Probably not, zzt! Tapu Bulu is a Grazzz- and Fairy-type, zz-zzrt!" Rotom chirped. He was hiding in Moon's bag to protect himself from the sandstorm while still offering advice to Sun and Moon.
"Then that makes even less sense!" Sun complained. "Are we sure that we're even going to the right place?"
"We ought to be," Moon said. "Acerola wouldn't have rolled back the captain's barricade for us if she didn't think we could find the ruins here."
"I can't go on any further," Sun groaned. "This Sandstorm has been whittling away all my HP, and I'm just about ready to faint. Can't we stop for a break or something?"
Moon turned around and rolled her eyes. "First of all, you're not a Pokémon, and therefore you don't have any HP to lose," she said. "Second of all, we don't have that much daylight to waste at this time of year, and we'll freeze if we're still in this desert at night. And third of all…Sun, are you even listening to me?"
While Moon was talking, Sun had flopped down belly-first on the sand, only turning his head to the side so he could breathe. He made no motion to indicate that he had heard Moon's question.
"Sun. Sun! …Courier!"
Sun propped his torso up off the ground and looked at Moon. "I thought you weren't going to call me that anymore," he said.
"I'll call you by whatever name you respond to," Moon said, putting her hands on her hips. "Now, as I was saying, we can't stop for a break unless we can find a place where we'll be sheltered from the sandstorm. And do you see anyplace around here that would do that for us?"
Sun sat up and folded his hands behind the back of his head. "I guess not," he admitted.
"Then we have to keep moving," Moon said. She rummaged through her bag for a moment and pulled out a Fresh Water. "Here, take this if you're thirsty."
"Thanks!" Sun exclaimed, popping off the cap and chugging it down. Once he had drunk the whole bottle, he sprung to his feet and gave Moon his signature catlike smile. "Let's find those ruins!"
"And suddenly, you're just an energizer Buneary," Moon muttered, but she couldn't hide her own grin.
They set off again, eventually spotting a sheer cliff face looming ahead of them. They decided to walk next to the cliff, hoping to reduce their chances of walking in circles by always keeping a solid landmark to their right. However, Moon noticed with a growing sense of dismay that their surroundings were starting to grow dimmer and colder; though she couldn't see the sun clearly through the sandstorm, it was obviously starting to sink lower in the sky.
Eventually, Moon had to admit that it was time for them to call it a day and start looking for someplace to spend the night – preferably someplace where they could stay warm and out of the wind. But the cliff offered the closest thing to shelter that they could find, and even it didn't do much for them.
"Great! Now we're going to freeze instead of finding the tapu," Moon griped.
"That'zzz not good! My electronics can't function in temperaturezzz below freezing, zzt!" Rotom cried.
Moon glared at her bag. "And neither can we. Maybe if you were helping us instead of hiding in there to protect your 'delicate electronics', we'd be able to find someplace to sleep where we won't freeze!"
Rotom reluctantly poked its head out from her bag and glanced around.
"How about between thozzze cliffs over there, zzt?" It gestured to the cliff further ahead of them. What appeared to be a solid rock face actually contained a narrow crevice that was just wide enough for two children to pass through.
"Good eye, Rotom!" Sun exclaimed. "Let's check it out!"
He was the first to arrive in the crevice. The last rays of sunlight shone in through the gap above him, illuminating the base of a chasm that extended perpendicular to the entrance for several yards. Curiosity got the best of him and he continued to the end of the path, where he found a pedestal with something sparkling on it.
"Hey, Moon, come check this out!" he shouted. He picked the object up off the pedestal and showed it to Moon triumphantly. "A Z-Crystal!"
"Be careful with that!" Moon exclaimed. "What if it's guarded by a Totem Pokémon?"
"Relax, Moon, not every Z-Crystal is obtained in a trial," Sun said nonchalantly, examining the crystal with a critical eye. "It's pink…do you think it could be the Poison-type Z-Crystal?"
"Of course not," Moon said. "I asked the professor about Poisonium Z ages ago, and he told me that it's a purple Z-Crystal. No, I'd say this is either the Psychic-type or the Fairy-type Z-Crystal."
"Oh," Sun said, disappointed. "Well, my Pokémon don't know any Psychic- or Fairy-type moves. Guess it's not too useful after all." Still, he slipped the Z-Crystal into his backpack, in case he found a use for it in the future.
Sun and Moon set up their sleeping bags near the pedestal, since it was the farthest from the entrance that the biting wind and sand blew through. Moon was exhausted from trekking through the desert all day and fell asleep almost immediately. Sun was tired too, but the excitement of finding the Z-Crystal kept him alert for a little longer than Moon. Finally, he mumbled, "Don't forget to wake us up, Rotom," before drifting off to sleep.
"Hey, hey, hey! Time to wake up, zzt! Let's go, time to wake up, zz-zz-zzt!"
Moon slowly opened her eyes, yawning. "Is it really morning already?" she sighed. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and rolled onto her back, staring up at the sky. It was pitch black, aside from the twinkling stars.
She struggled in her sleeping bag for a moment, but eventually managed to unzip it enough to prop herself up on an arm. "Rotom! What time is it?" she asked crossly.
"It'zzz 11:58 PM, zzt!"
"Why in the world did you wake us up, then?" Moon exclaimed. "We're not hiking around a desert at midnight! It's freezing! I'm going back to sleep."
"Hold on a sec, Moon!" Sun cried, grabbing her free hand. "Rotom woke us up because I asked it to. Did you forget what day it is?"
Moon furrowed her brow, and then her expression brightened. "Oh. It's New Year's Eve, isn't it?"
"Exactly!" Sun beamed.
"Sixty secondzzz to midnight, zzt!"
Sun let go of Moon's hand, and she sat up. "There are lots of traditions that people do at midnight to celebrate the new year," he said. "Like toasting, or eating grapes, or singing…"
Moon gave him a coy smile. "Or kissing," she suggested.
"Yeah, or kissing," Sun grinned.
"Then, maybe we should participate in one of those traditions," Moon said. "Rotom, can you count down for us?"
"Sure thing, zz-zzt! Twenty! Nineteen! Eighteen!"
Moon met Sun's bright gray eyes, which seemed to sparkle silver in the moonlight.
"Twelve! Eleven! Ten!"
Sun scooted a little closer to Moon; he was sitting on the sand now.
"Six! Five! Four!"
They leaned in.
"Two! One! Happy New Year, zz-zz-zzt!" Rotom cheered, setting off a confetti popper.
"Happy New Year," Moon whispered right before they kissed.
"Happy New Year," Sun breathed back after he pulled away.
They gazed into each other's eyes, forgetting the rest of the world for a few brief moments. Suddenly, Moon started giggling, and the spell was broken.
Sun blinked at her. "What's so funny?" he asked, bewildered.
"Your hair," she laughed. "There's confetti in your hair!"
"What?" Sun patted the top of his head, and sure enough, there were little pieces of confetti tangled in his hair. "Rotom!" he complained.
"It'zzz not my fault that you moved right underneath my confetti popper, zzt."
"But that was my confetti popper," Sun grumbled, picking confetti out of his hair. "If you're gonna steal someone's stuff, why couldn't you steal it from Moon's bag?"
"Moon doesn't have any confetti poppers, zzt!"
"Whatever," Sun said, reaching for his backpack. "At least you left the other important thing in here alone."
Moon yawned. "Well, now that that's over with, I'm going back to bed. Thank you for that, though, Sun," she added sincerely.
Sun opened his mouth to respond, but suddenly they heard a strange ringing sound, like a bell. "Rotom? Is that you?" Sun asked.
"No, I think it'zzz coming from the other side of the chasm, zzt."
"I'm going to investigate it," Moon said, standing up. She slipped on her trekking shoes and draped a spare shirt over her bare arms like a shawl. "You two are welcome to join me, if it's not too cold for you."
"It's not too cold," Sun declared, putting on his shoes and backpack. "Let's check it out together!"
"Hey! Don't leave me behind, zzt!"
When Moon, Sun, and Rotom stepped out of the crevice, the first thing they noticed was that the wind had died down and the sandstorm had stopped. The next thing they noticed was that several yards away there were two stone statues marking the entrance to the ruins they had been looking for. The final thing they noticed was that a black and red Pokémon with a yellow tail and horns was hovering between them and the ruins.
"Rotom, who's that Pokémon?" Moon asked.
"That'zzz Tapu Bulu, zzt!" Rotom answered, sounding surprised for once.
"Perfect!" Sun exclaimed, slinging his backpack onto one shoulder. "Tapu Bulu, I have a delivery for you…"
Tapu Bulu narrowed its eyes at him and swung its tail, which made a ringing sound like the one they had heard earlier. However, it also sent a surge of green energy out in a ring that solidified into a circle of grass underneath their feet.
"What is this?" Sun yelped, dropping the box with the Mirage Berry inside onto the grass.
"Tapu Bulu's Ability, Grassy Surge, zzt! It creates a Grassy Terrain whenever a battle startzzz!"
"Then, Tapu Bulu must want us to prove our strength before it'll accept our offering," Moon realized. "Get ready to battle, Sun!"
"Alright then! En, let's get 'im!" Sun shouted, throwing out a Poké Ball. His Incineroar popped out and was soon joined by Moon's Decidueye. "Use Darkest Lariat!"
"Use Spirit Shackle!" Moon commanded.
En charged at Tapu Bulu; Tapu Bulu's horns glowed green, and it tucked in its head and rammed into En. En was sent flying backwards while Decidueye created an arrow of ghostly energy that it fired at the tapu. Just before the arrow reached Tapu Bulu, several blades of grass grew up from the terrain and snared the arrow, causing it to dissolve into harmless spheres of energy.
"It's powerful, just like Tapu Lele," Moon noted.
"But if it's challenging us for the same reason as Tapu Lele, then we just have to show it our resolve!" Sun declared. "En, let's show it through our brand-new Z-Move!"
He raised his wrists in preparation for the Z-Pose, but suddenly, thick grasses from the terrain lashed around his arms, pulling them down against his sides. "Eh!? What's going on?" Sun cried. More blades of grass wrapped around the rest of his body, and Moon, Rotom, En, and Decidueye cried out too as the grass wrapped around them, holding them in place.
"I think…this izzz the tapu's doing, zzt!" Rotom exclaimed, struggling against its grassy restraints. "The guardian deity of Ula'ula controls plants!"
"And again, I ask: why the heck does Tapu Bulu live in a desert?" Sun complained. "There aren't any plants – ow!" A blade of grass that had wound its way around Sun's torso and backpack squeezed him a little tighter for a moment. "Hey, easy on the backpack, Mr. Tapu! There's something very valuable in there!"
"What valuable thing could possibly be in there? You already took out the Mirage Berry," Moon reminded him.
"It's more valuable than that," Sun muttered, grimacing. He tried to break the grass wrapped around his wrist, but it held firm. "What a way to start the new year…getting defeated by grass!"
Tapu Bulu suddenly started towards Sun, and he started struggling even more. "That is…it's a great way to start the new year! Yeah! Grass is great!" he said frantically. Tapu Bulu continued to approach him. "Don't hurt me!" he squeaked.
But when Tapu Bulu got to Sun, it merely reached down and picked up the box lying at Sun's feet. Sun breathed a sigh of relief. Then he cleared his throat and straightened up as best as he could while being restrained by giant blades of grass. "I'm Sun the courier, and that's a delivery for you from Hala of Melemele Island," he said in his most professional voice.
Tapu Bulu opened the box and examined the berry inside. Sun and Moon watched with bated breath as the tapu slowly picked up the berry and took a bite. Then, it grinned and scarfed down the rest of the berry. At the same time, the blades of grass that were holding back Sun and Moon and their Pokémon dissolved, along with the rest of the Grassy Terrain.
"Tapu Bulu…will you help us save Alola from the crisis of the Ultra Beasts?" Moon asked. Tapu Bulu nodded affirmatively at her before flying off in an instant.
"Perhaps Tapu Bulu was only trying to restrain us until it could see what we were trying to deliver to it," Moon postulated as they returned their Pokémon.
"Maybe," Sun shrugged, checking his backpack. "The important thing is that the delivery was successful, and the valuable item wasn't damaged."
"So, if this 'valuable item' isn't the Mirage Berry, what is it exactly?" Moon asked.
Sun grinned and pulled a slightly rumpled giftwrapped box out of his backpack. "It's a gift for you," he said, holding the box out to Moon. "Happy birthday!"
Moon stared at it disbelievingly for a few moments. Not only did Sun remember her birthday, but he – the stingy, penny-pinching boy – actually bought a present for her? "I told you that you didn't have to get me a present just because I gave you some," she finally said.
"Well, I wanted to," Sun said matter-of-factly. "Go on, open it!"
Moon tore open the wrapping paper and exposed a white cardboard box. She took the lid off the box, and inside there was a golden-capped mushroom with a white stem and a nice fragrance. "Is this…a Balm Mushroom?" she asked, eyes widening.
Sun nodded. "I had to get it imported from another region, but it's supposed to have excellent medicinal properties. Better than the tochukaso mushrooms on a Parasect's back, even. Do you like it?"
"Do I like it? Sun, I love it! Thank you so much!" Moon exclaimed, giving him a big hug. "I can't believe you spent that much money on a gift for me…"
"Well, I…it was worth it," Sun said, flushing pink. "You made my birthday special, so I wanted to make yours special too."
"It's been a great birthday so far. Thank you," Moon said, smiling. Then her grin grew more mischievous. "But…it's only been my birthday for an hour, you know. So, you're gonna give me even more stuff for the rest of it, right?"
"Huh!? W-well, I…uh…"
Moon laughed. "I'm just kidding, Sun. Let's get back to sleep, and then get out of this desert. That's the only other birthday present I need."
A/N: ...yeah, this one's also a birthday fic. Hey, it's good motivation to get me to write something, okay?