manga

This is a shitty warmup. Enjoy.

Gladion rubbed his eyes and stared up at the ceiling, silently counting the glow-in-the-dark stars that Hau stuck up there for decoration. Five. There were five stars, tastefully positioned to make the shape of a bigger star. He never really was much of a decorator - unlike Lillie and their…., he was always the minimalist of the family - but he had to admit it was nice to see something in the dark whenever he woke up from his nightmares. The stars reminded him of Nebby.

Groaning softly, he leaned over the edge of the bed and pointed his pocket flashlight at the bed below him. He nearly screamed when a second flashlight pointed directly at his forehead and he saw a pair of wide, brown eyes. "Hau!" he hissed. "What are you doing up?!"

Usually Hau was knocked out way before midnight, and it was probably well past midnight before. The boy sat up on his elbows and wiggled his flashlight at a manga. It looked like the pirate one again. "Readin' One Piece," he replied nonchalantly, wiggling his feet. "You have bad dreams again?"

"Hmph. It's none of your business. But yes."

"Y'know you can come down here and sit with me for a bit instead of staring up at the ceiling until your eyes are dry, Gladion. I only bite malasadas."

At first Gladion hesitated, but then he sighed and climbed down the ladder. Despite his initial misgivings, he and Hau really were getting along better ever since they started living together as roommates. Or maybe he was just getting better with people. Even six months ago, both seemed impossible. When he stood beside Hau's bed, though, he felt hesitant again. Why didn't he just try going back to sleep like a normal person?

But, as always, Hau was persistent with that stupid smile he always had. "C'mon, c'mon! It'll just be like having a sleepover!"

Gladion rolled his eyes but smirked. "We live in the same house now, Malasada Boy."

"That's never stopped me and my cousins. C'mon, come on~"

Hau tugged his arm until he fell forward, head buried beneath the blankets. They smelled like onion rings. No surprise there. Scowling, he lifted up his head and rolled against the wall, positioning himself until he laid next to Hau, propped up on one elbow with the boy's pillows. Beside the pillows there were two more manga volumes, so he took one of them and lazily flipped through it, right to left as the Kantonians printed them. "Hmm. Nico Robin isn't in this one," he noted, clicking his tongue."

"Oh? Oh, nope. The ones on the bed are the ones that happen when Chopper joins the crew."

"That cute reindeer monster?"

"Yeah. He's my favorite Strawhat after Usopp."

"Of course your favorite character would be Usopp."

Usopp was probably the most foolish character in the manga's entirety. If there was something he could get involved in and screw everything up, he was right there, front and center, the self-proclaimed boss until everything went to sixty levels of wrong. Hau always had a soft spot for those brainless, romantic heroes. The boy narrowed his eyes at him and puffed his cheeks. They never agreed on good characters. "Usopp's the best friend you could ever have! He's loyal and kind and always knows the right time to party! That's a very good thing to have in Alola!"

"Gotta admit you're right about that."

He made a face and flipped the manga back to the beginning. Might as well read until he fell asleep. Hau scooted closer to him until he sat on his back; the feeling was slightly painful, but he was too tired to care and too busy to shove him off. Before Hau got too comfy, though, Gladion considered shoving him off anyway in order to get his glasses from his desk before he got a migraine.

He only considered it for a moment before deciding against it. Sometimes kids just had to be kids. That was the biggest lesson he learned this year.

They read together in silence until there was a sudden, muffled growling. Gladion lifted his head and raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly what that was, and he knew it wasn't coming from Silvally. Beside him Hau blushed and scratched his head sheepishly.

It was the all-too familiar signal of snacktime.

Instead of turning on any of the lights, they crept downstairs with their flashlights in front of them, just like some pre-teens in the middle of a horror movie. Gladion was pretty sure they weren't going to be mauled by some serial killer…yet. In the living room, Guzma was snoring in front of the TV again, which was once again blaring some infomercials. He had a bad habit of falling asleep during his wrestling matches.

Gladion decided to sit next to him while Hau made his sandwich. It would take at least two earthquakes to wake up that old man. Grabbing the remote control, he flipped through the channels to see what was on at one a.m.. Reruns of cartoons from ten years ago. Not…actually a bad thing to watch late at night. Better than infomercials. And this was the one with the foolish green alien and the kid with the big head. Lillie never liked that one too much, but he found it to be hilarious.

He felt relaxed and sunk his head against the old couch, turning up the TV volume slightly. Might as well use Guzma's heavy sleeping to good use. Soon Hau handed him a bag of chips and sat on Guzma's other side, taking a huge bite out of his sandwich. "Sho. Why oo like Nicho Robih?" he asked.

"Nico Robin?" Gladion's cheeks flushed. He always tried to look too cool for One Piece, but he had been secretly reading every volume Hau had ever since they moved in together. It was like admitting defeat…almost.

It was also exhausting hiding everything.

"Nico Robin," he repeated softly. "She thought she had no one after everything happened. She was a criminal in order to try and achieve her goals. She thought everyone hated her. I mean, when the government is after you for all your life and everyone's trying to sell you out, why wouldn't you think that?

"And yet…and yet Luffy and the Strawhats forgave her for her crimes and accepted her as a pirate, and then they saved her when Spandem tortured her. Her friends gave her a reason to live. And…." He took a deep sigh, "and sometimes when I wake up at night, I think about how everyone gave me a reason to live. Lillie and Moon. Pops and Big Sis Plumeria. Silvally. Wicke…you. You all gave me a reason to fight."

There was a moment of silence. Then Guzma began to snore louder, almost as if he were doing it on purpose, and Hau began to bawl, snot flying from his nose, Gladion's cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink, and he turned up the TV volume to full blast. But not even the shrill voices of children and aliens could block out his two numskulls.

He slouched more against the couch and buried his head in his hands. He'd never admit this kind of crap to his family ever again. Too mushy for his taste. When Hau began crying louder, however, he grimaced and placed his hand over his mouth. His breath was too warm and fresh of sandwich. Gross. It took more control than usual to limit his shaking so he wouldn't clamp his roommate's mouth off from him. "Hau," he hissed. "Hey, it's not that deep, dork. I just like Robin, okay? Forget I said anythin- oof!"

They both fell to the ground as Hau tackled him into a hug. Gladion stiffened but allowed all of the tears and snot to smear all over the shoulders of his t-shirt. He never was very good at comforting others. All he could do was pat his friend's back and shoot Guzma a silent glare as the old man turned off the television and stared at him. "What are you doing?" the old man mouthed.

"Get bent," Gladion mouthed back.

Guzma rolled his eyes and pushed them with his foot. Then Gladion heard the familiar sound of pots and pans, and he silently groaned. The pity breakfast. Every time he had a moment with anyone, Guzma or Wicke would make him breakfast, regardless of what time it was. He wasn't up for Guzma's over-raw scrambled eggs.

But he didn't mind holding Hau for just a bit longer, either.