Moon/Lillie is absolutely one of the cutest new ships I've seen in a long time, and I've wanted to write something for these two ever since I saw the ship pop up late last year. Pokemon has also been a giant part of my life since early, early childhood so I'm glad I finally wrote something for this series. I'm not entirely happy with the fic for a few vague reasons but I hope you all enjoy it anyway.

Even with the window open and the fan spinning overhead, even with the sea breeze doing its best to cool the girl down, Moon's fever continued to grow worse as the night wore on. Lillie placed a hand on the girl's forehead for what had to be the millionth time that night; it felt clammy and hot, and in her restless sleep the young trainer let out a small, painful groan. Lillie bit her lip and once more wiped Moon's bangs out of the way, before applying a cold, wet towel to the same spot. Nebby floated nervously nearby. There were no sounds in the cottage besides their breathing.

"Oh, what can I do?" Lillie asked herself. The situation wasn't looking good - there they were, in a small, abandoned cottage off the coast of the Wela Volcano path without any help. Worse still, Moon lay suffering from the effects of a Tentacruel's mis-aimed Sludge Bomb, and an unfortunate lack of Antidotes. Lillie sat at the girl's bedside frozen with worry, drowning in anxiety. This wasn't a simple Seviper bite - she couldn't just suck toxins out of the girl's body like one might out of a snake-pokemon bite. Moon had been drenched in the pokemon's toxic ooze, and even the quick dip in the ocean she retreated to did little to help after the poison covering her body washed away into the sea. The day's only upside had been finding an oddly well-furnished beach shack not far from where they'd been traveling in the water. It was made entirely of wood and had only one large room, with a bed at one end and a small kitchenette at the other. Lillie, supporting Moon' s gradually weakening body, laid the girl in the cabin's only bed and pulled up a chair in order to keep watch.

Hours passed since then in a painfully slow way. Lillie spent the time alternating between patting down Moon's head, giving her fresh water (which they were running dangerously short on) and trying in vain to attend to each of the girl's pained moans and shivers.

Lillie gripped Moon's hand tightly in her own and choked back a sob at how weak that hand felt. The poison seemed to be draining the girl far too quickly. Why did everything always go so wrong around her? First, there were the terrible incidents surrounding the fracturing of her family, and now Moon! Her lovely, lively ray of light who, despite only knowing Lillie for a short time, had grown so close to her. Moon's ever-present smile, the way she understood all of Lillie's fears and still gently pushed the girl to better herself...Moon was everything Lillie looked up to. Everything Lillie loved, if she was to be honest with herself.

The blond girl gripped Moon's hand once more before taking a deep breath and dropping it. She had to do something, anything, to help her friend. She looked to Nebby as she racked her brain for somewhere close that would have Antidotes. With a sinking feeling she remembered that there was a small Aether Foundation building not far from their location. The Aether Foundation, though...would she be safe going there? Surely her mother sent out a bulletin for her capture (in order to get to Nebby, of course - Lillie sadly accepted that her mother didn't really want her thanks to the influence of the Ultra Beasts). Even if she didn't, the idea of walking into any place sanctioned by the group sent shivers down her spine.

"Uhhh..." Moon moaned in her delirious fever. "Lillie- Lillie are you there?"

"Y-yes?"

The girl fell back asleep and Lillie made her decision. No matter the cost, she'd get the medicine Moon needed.

~!~

Lillie made sure Moon was as comfortable as she could be before leaving the cottage quietly, and left Nebby behind to watch over the sleeping trainer. She walked to the edge of the small island's shore. Cool water rushed up towards her and she jumped back when it chilled her toes. It was cold, but on such a warm night she could deal with it. This was all for Moon, after all. Lillie stepped once more into the cold sea and absentmindedly adjusted the large sun hat on her head while walking farther and farther into the water. She didn't get very far until she could no longer stand in the crisp blue water and (watching nervously for passing Tentacruel) she swam towards the shore. Waves and ripples echoed each and all of her movements, trailing her like wings in her wake.

Lillie was not an adept swimmer. She didn't grow up on the Alolan islands, where everyone and their pokemon seemed to know how to swim as well as a Golduck. Her trip through the water took longer than she'd have hoped. She winced as the taste of saltwater accumulated on her tongue; her eyes stung with each gentle wave rocking past her forwards and back, but still she pressed on.

After what felt like forever, Lillie finally made it to the sandy shore.

Now for the hard part, she thought. Getting to the shore without pokemon (or a boat for that matter) was one thing, but dealing with the Aether Foundation was going to be another. There were countless memories, nearly all of them bad, that filled the girl's head whenever she was reminded of her mother's once-well meaning company and the way everything went so wrong. She shook her head - now was not the time to remember these things; this was the time to take action and save her friend.

After ringing out her now heavy, wet sun-dress (This feels gross, she cringed) the girl trudged up the beach towards the route where the Aether camper was. She passed the entrance of Wela Volcano Park, just one of the many trial sites Moon managed to beat with her winning combination of joy, confidence, and love for pokemon.

Lillie wondered how Moon was faring back at the cottage. The girl seemed to be suffering badly when Lillie left - was she still in pain? Guiltily Lillie found herself asking what kind of trainer didn't bring Antidotes with them on their trial run. Then again, what kind of non-trainer, living at the whim of Repels and items, didn't have an Antidote with them either? She wasn't mad at herself or Moon; she was just scared that the girl she felt so much for might be in serious trouble.

Spurned on yet again by this thought, Lillie sped up her trip to the Aether Foundation site. She used Repel after Repel, narrowly avoiding the detection of a mother Gumshoos taking care of a litter of Yungoos,. The night sky in Alola was full of stars and she stared at them to soothe her nerves while she walked on. Her old home at the Aether Paradise was too bright to see the stars on most nights. It's many lights and bright white aesthetic caused too much light pollution. The first time she had ever really noticed how beautiful the night sky was happened near the home of her kind benefactor Professor Kukui, not long after she'd been found washed up on shore with Nebby. Lillie had seen so many more stars, so many more wonderful sights, once she began traveling with Moon as well, and wanted to continue to do so. She wanted it more than anything.

When the girl spied her target she fought back the urge to run away in the opposite direction as fast as she could. The sterile white of the building, its imposing shape, the golden emblem...all of it served to remind her of the terrible past she escaped from. She didn't want to stay there a minute more than was necessary and certainly didn't want to deal with any white-clad employees if she could avoid that. Light poured out onto the ground through the building's large window and Lillie looked through by barely peeping her head over the windowsill; the place looked empty of both people and pokemon. Good, she thought, this might be easier than I expected.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Lillie entered the building. It was bright in there; florescent lights reflected off of the shiny white and metal surfaces like mirrors and Lillie was almost overwhelmed for a moment, blinded by such a change in brightness from the dark of the night to the white glow of the camper. She blinked the intensity away a few times and set to work.

Lillie wasted no time at all going through the drawers and shelves of the Aether unit for the Antidote she was looking for. She found Potions and Paralyze Heals and even Awakenings but no Antidotes - there didn't seem to be one in the place at all. Fear began to fill her mind. What if she couldn't find any? Would...would Moon die from this? She didn't know how potent pokemon poison was, but she wasn't willing to take the chance. The scared girl went through the shelves and cabinets again and again, but turned up empty every time.

Finally she found a single drawer she overlooked and inside lay an abundance of Antidotes. She sighed, relieved, and stuffed two in her bag. In their place the girl left money she was sure was well above the cost of replacing the items. All was going well, thankfully.

Of course, this was just when two Aether employees walked in.

"Well well well, what do we have here?" the male member asked sarcastically, clapping all the while.

"Seems we have a familiar face here." the female employee followed.

Lillie stood stock still. She had to get out, and fast. The longer she waited the more trouble Moon was in.

"She's the President's daughter, no?"

The female pulled up a digital wanted poster from her phone. "Indeed. Though she's supposed to have a pokemon with her."

"L-let me go, please." Lillie pleaded. "I have to go right now."

"Do you think we'd dishonor our boss by not giving you in?"

"Or pass up on an opportunity to get some kind of reward?" the female employee added.

Lillie felt trapped; the employees stood before the only exit in or out of the place, and she had no pokemon to fight them off with.

"Hey, where's that pokemon who's supposed to be with you?" the young man asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I-I'll never tell you." she waited "But please, let me go!"

The two employees looked at one another and smirked. "If you promise to get that pokemon and come with us, we'll let you go wherever it is you need." the female employee offered.

Lillie weighed her options but realized she didn't actually have any. Either she could stay there as Moon's condition grew worse and worse, or she could give herself up and guarantee Moon's wellbeing. She bit her lip, avoiding tears. Maybe...maybe Nebby would be able to teleport them out again after the Aether employees brought them back to the Aether Paradise, like the last time they were all in trouble. And even if it couldn't she'd make she could save the pokemon, just as she would make sure she would save Moon, no matter the cost to herself. Moon had done so much for her already - it was only right to return the favor.

"...Alright. Let's...let's go" she finally said.

~!~

Taking a Lapras poke-ride ended up being far, far faster than swimming, Lillie realized during the ride. She sat in between the employees as they sped towards the small island and (no longer) abandoned cottage. Sea-spray splashed up in her face and she held on for dear life, protecting the bag (and the precious Awakenings) as though they were fragile Pokemon-eggs. Neither employee spoke to her. Instead, they chatted between themselves about what they might do with their sure-to-be upcoming promotion and raise.

They arrived at the cottage in no time and Lillie was the first to jump off of the back of the Lapras. She ran to the small shack and then turned to the Aether employees following her.

"Stay out here, please." Lillie asked. She wanted one moment alone with Moon and Nebby in case it was their last.

"How do we know you won't try to escape, huh?"

"You have my word as the President's daughter." Lillie answered.

"No, I think we'll go in with you. That weird, floating pokemon is sure to try and make some quick get away."

"Please...just a few minutes." She pleaded.

The employees shook their heads simultaneously. "No can do. Now why don't we get in and out of here real quick. It's quite the trip back to Aether Paradise."

Without a word they released each of their pokemon out of the pokeballs, a Mudbray and a Ledian for the male and female employee respectively.

"Let's go in, miss. Time's a-wasting." the female employee said with a smile.

The next moment seemed to flow in slow motion. Without warning the cottage door flew open, and out of it pounced Moon's Incineroar, snarling. He stood up in front of Lillie as if to protect the girl. Following Incineroar came Lurantis, poised and ready to fight. Moon smiled confidently from her spot leaning on the door frame even though she was slightly hunched and swaying in place. The redness of her face also showed that she was still under the effects of the poison. Still, she greeted Lillie as though everything was fine.

"Hey Lilllie, nice to see that you're safe!"

"I should be saying that to you! G-go lay down, you're still poisoned! I...I can deal with this and protect you too."

Moon gave a fake pout that turned into a smile almost immediately. "It's a bit hard to sleep with these guys being so loud out here," she pointed to the Aether employees, who looked almost frightened at the girl's pokemon. "Incineroar, use Fire Fang! Lurantis, Leaf Blade!"

The pokemon followed Moon's orders, each quickly defeating the Aether employee pokemon. Incineroar targeted the Ledian, while Lurantis launched its move at the Mudbray. The battle was over in mere seconds.

"Damn." the male said.

"Don't think you've won! We'll be back with more employees by morning!"

The two ran back out towards the shore, calling a Lapras and escaping in no time at all over the horizon.

"T-thank you, Moon!" Lillie turned towards her savior, only to see the other girl faint and fall where she stood. Lillie's eyes grew wide.

Two hours passed before the Antidotes finally took effect. Moon's breathing was even and smooth, her fever gone, and her sleep peaceful. Lillie once again sat beside the bed and sighed in relief as she finally let all of her pent up worry go. Moon was safe. Moon was safe! Lillie felt tired, her eyes stung from lack of sleep, and she could certainly use a shower to wipe away the saltwater and sweat from earlier (not to mention that her clothes needed washing for the same reasons), but none of that mattered. What mattered was that Moon was safe and healthy. Lillie gripped the girl's hand tightly in happiness and laid her head down on Moon's chest. Small, happy tears welled in her eyes.

Moon opened her own eyes then, smiling bright (if not a bit groggily). "Guess we'll have to leave this little cabin soon." she said, looking out towards the gradually brightening sky. Morning was on its way, and the Aether group would almost certainly be following along.

Lillie, who had sat back up when Moon awoke, looked away from the girl. "Unfortunately yes. I'm sorry. If I hadn't gotten caught you could've stayed here and rested more - " Lillie began, until she was cut off. Moon pulled the girl down quickly and placed a sweet kiss on her lips.

"I'm fine, Lillie, and it's all thanks to you!"

If Lillie could've blushed harder she'd have matched the color of a Baile Oricorio.

"M-Moon!"

"You're blushing so much! How cute!" she giggled.

Nebby, floating near by, seemed to giggle at Lillie's growing embarrassment.

"Not you too, Nebby!"

"I think we're both so happy that you went so far to help us." Moon said, smiling wide. "Really, thanks Lillie. I'm very glad you're traveling with me."

Lillie, with a blush still on her face and the feeling of Moon's lips still burning on her lips, gripped the girl's hand tightly. "I'm happy too, Moon."

Moon squeezed back just as tightly. Relief settled in Lillie's chest when she noted the strength returning to Moon's hand, after how weak it'd felt during the poison ordeal. She laid her head back down onto Moon's chest (blushing deeply all the while) and even Nebby floated closer to the two as though it too wanted to cuddle. The situation felt to Lillie as though she was once again a part of a family - her and Moon acting as Nebby's parents - and she smiled warmly at the thought. Between Moon and Kukui and Nebby, and all of the friends she'd made since landing in Alola, Lillie finally had a family that the Foundation couldn't destroy. She smiled even more, knowing that Moon wouldn't let the Aether Foundation ruin any of this. Nothing could have made her happier.

Thanks for reading!

Reviews, criticisms, and responses are all welcome.