Hi everyone! I hope that you're having a great day! As always, please enjoy! ^_^
"Relax, Sun. You'll do fine." Lillie tried to reassure her boyfriend Sun as they took their time in her room until her mother and father would call them over for dinner.
"It's not your parents who I'm worried about," Sun denied as he sighed, "it's Gladion."
Recently, Sun and Lillie had officially started dating, and so, Lusamine and Mohn suggested a dinner party to celebrate. Gladion on the other hand, was still apprehensive of his sister being in a relationship with someone, even if the person in question happened to be his friend and the Alola Champion. Nonetheless, Gladion would be at the dinner party to express his support in a way.
"Brother has the best interest in his heart, but I did tell him to ease off on the 'over-protective brother attitude' because I don't find it in good taste." Lillie reminded as she sighed on how Gladion jokingly threatened her boyfriend's well-being one time.
Suddenly, they heard a knock coming from the door.
"Dinner is served, Miss Lillie and Master Sun." Wicke called.
"Ok, we're on our way, and thank you, Wicke." Lillie replied as she grabbed Sun's hand, giving it a loving squeeze. "Like I said, everything will be fine."
"Ok then." Sun responded with a soft smile directed to her.
Sun and Lillie had arrived to the dining room, and they were greeted with a wide array of luxurious food. There, they saw Lusamine and Mohn sitting side by side while Gladion was seated at a separate part of the table. Gladion's gaze was boring at Sun, which caused the latter to be unsettled. The couple decided to take a seat at the opposite side of Lusamine and Mohn.
20 minutes passed by, and there was little to no food left on the table. During that timeframe, Sun had caught Gladion give him a few glances every once in a while. The Alola Champion just hoped for his friend to accept that he was capable of taking care of Lillie, especially since he has done so since they were children.
Lusamine decided that it was a good time to discuss her daughter's newfound relationship with Sun.
"Please tell us, since when did you two started dating?" Lusamine wondered, a smile on her face.
"Well," Lillie began as she blushed slightly, gently grabbing Sun's hand with hers, "it's been a few days since we've started going out."
"I'm glad for the both of you. The lad sure is in good hands." Mohn had concurred.
Lillie was flustered at her parents for being supportive of her relationship with Sun. Then again, she knew that they wouldn't object to it in the slightest seeing as though how much of a kind and caring person Sun was, and how much he has done for them.
"How has Champion duties been going? Nothing too arduous, no?" Lusamine asked Sun.
"I had four challengers recently, but nothing that me and my team couldn't handle." Sun had happily answered.
"Then again, it's not often that someone would have a powerful Ultra Beast at their disposal." Lusamine had said, making a vague reference to Sun's Naganadel who was a powerhouse on his team.
"Going back on topic," Gladion had interrupted as he took a sip of his drink, "you two haven't been doing anything that would alarm us, right?"
The young couple was left flabbergasted at Gladion's question.
"W-what are you saying, brother?! It's nothing like that!" Lillie denied profusely.
"Gladion dear, I think you're going a bit too far." Lusamine replied to her son.
"Ever the over-protective brother, huh." Mohn responded as he chuckled.
"It's not that I don't trust Lillie," Gladion debunked as he stared intently at Sun, "it's that I'm not too certain about him. Champion or not."
"You know that I wouldn't do anything to cause distress to Lillie or any of you." Sun tried to reassure Gladion.
"Anyway," Lusamine made an attempt to divert the subject, fiddling with her long hair, "do you two have any plans for tomorrow?"
Lillie pondered for a bit as she tried ignore her brother's constant over-protectiveness. "Sun and I are going to go take pictures with our Pokémon. But then again, any moment he'd be called over to the Pokémon League should a challenger await him."
"That sounds lovely, honey." Lusamine simply responded back.
"Maybe you two can stop by the Poké Pelago for one of your dates. At least, that's my suggestion." Mohn recommended.
"We'll keep that in mind." Sun replied.
Sun didn't mind the idea of him and Lillie helping her father out in terms of tending to the Pokémon that resided in the Poké Pelago. Back when Gladion was still training in the Kanto and Johto regions, Sun had managed to fulfill Mohn's dream of rebuilding the Poké Pelago to its well-deserved glory. It'd be a great way to spend more time with Lillie since she wanted to work in the Aether Foundation sometime in the future.
"Look," Gladion spoke as he let out a gruff sigh, "I hate to admit this but, I may have overreacted. Keyword, 'may'."
"It's fine, Gladion. You just want to look out for Lillie, and I respect that." Sun responded.
"But please, don't let it get the best out of you. I am a grown woman, after all." Lillie added.
"You're only 17 years old." Gladion pointed out until he saw that Lillie was giving him a pout. "Ok, you're somewhat grown-up."
"Come to think of it, I can recall the times you'd spend with Selene whenever she would visit." Sun had mentioned, which caused Gladion to blush.
"You're wrong on that!" Gladion barked back, but he couldn't deny that he didn't mind Sun's cousin's presence. After all, Gladion had encountered Selene during his time in Kanto, but they only got to know each other more a few years later.
"He's not wrong, though, brother." Lillie said as she giggled as to how flustered her brother was becoming.
"Careful or I'll start to keep an eye on you two." Sun had teased at Gladion.
Lusamine and Mohn were amused at the scene Their children were forming romantic relationships with other people, though they still weren't sure about Gladion's love life.
"Mock me one more time, and you'll regret it in battle." Gladion had warned Sun.
"Please, like your team would stand a chance against us." Sun had muttered to himself.
"What was that?" Gladion demanded suspiciously.
"Oh nothing. I just said that we're up for the challenge. Just don't let the thought of my cousin cloud your mind, is all." Sun replied, much to Gladion's chagrin.
As humorous as it was, Lillie knew that Sun was taking it too far, seeing as though how Gladion was starting to get even more irritated. "Ok, Sun. You had your fun for too long."
Sun nodded in response as he then apologized to Gladion. "Sorry. I got a little carried away."
Gladion sighed in annoyance, but had accepted Sun's apology. "Duly noted."
"You know, we should invite your mother over for dinner in the future. After all, you're a part of the family now, Sun." Lusamine had offered.
"Of course. It's a shame that she was busy today." Sun replied.
"This is all too mushy for me." Gladion groaned, but inside, he was glad to know that Lillie had found someone to cherish. He guessed it was one of the perks of being an older sibling, even if he didn't like it as much.
"Don't worry, son. You'll get used to it." Mohn said.
"Yeah. When you and Selene admit your feelings to each other, we'll celebrate." Lillie had teased.
"I'm not going to say anything." Gladion replied as he lightly shook his head.
"But you just did." Sun pointed out, which wasn't a good idea in hindsight.
"Ok, after this is over, we're having a Pokémon battle! No exceptions!" Gladion loudly proclaimed.
"Oh dear." Lillie sighed. Sometimes, her boyfriend would utter something at the wrong moment.
"Don't mind us watching." Lusamine replied as she was eager to see Sun, Gladion, and their Pokémon in in action.
'What have I gotten myself into?' Sun thought.
After the dinner party, Sun and Gladion took their battle outside of the mansion. Yet again, Gladion had conceded to Sun thanks to the efforts of the latter's Incineroar and Naganadel. If this was the kind of dinner parties that Sun would get himself into, then he wouldn't mind in the slightest, especially since he'd be able to spend more time with Lillie.