The City
The Hau'oli City marina.
By day, it was the bustling centre of Alola's tourist network, ferrying visitors from island to island on the small boats and yachts that were moored there.
By night, it was a site of little to no activity, void of any humans or Pokémon alike.
It was peaceful and sleepy, with boats bobbing and swaying in the water to the rhythm of the tide, the water lapping lazily at the edges of its long wooden jetty.
…Just the way Gladion liked it.
He sat down calmly and took a deep breath, taking up his usual position at the far end of the jetty.
He lay his legs flat out in front of him and placed both of his hands on the wood behind him, his splayed fingers and calloused palms supporting his weight.
Strangely, he sat not looking out to the ocean, but inland, turning his back completely on the crystal-clear waters of the Melemele Sea.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath once more.
With his eyes closed, he could feel the tranquillity of this place filtering through his senses and soothing his tortured soul.
Shutting out everything else, he focused on the slight wayward breeze drifting across the marina. It was heavy with salt, but its cooling breath was enough for him to relax and rest his other senses.
Close by, the city buzzed discordantly, its atmosphere lively and its colours bright.
Gladion opened his eyes and stared at it, the neon lights of the shopping mall and beachfront catching the emerald green hue of his shimmering eyes.
He snarled and leaned back, preferring instead to look up at the pitch-black sky.
He hated Hau'oli.
Everyone was so happy there, and he absolutely loathed it. It was as if the city was in a perpetual state of festivity, with each of its citizens living only for the fun of it, as if they didn't know or didn't care about the hardships that life brought with it.
Then again, those people hadn't had the life that he'd had, so how could they?
They had everything, but what did he have?
He had no real friends, no father figure, a psychotic mother who had been hell bent on destroying the world, and a sister who-
Gladion shook his head.
It seemed as though all the cruelty and misfortune of the world had fallen upon only his shoulders, and that, he accepted, was his cross to bear.
He retrained his focus on the infinite cosmos above him, looking for a distraction. It was a clear night, and he soon found it in amongst a cluster of stars that he instantly recognised as those that formed Orion's Belt.
Perfectly settled between two vibrant nebulas, they contrasted beautifully with the obsidian of the night sky, shining with all the hope and promise Gladion wish he had.
Staring in awe at the three glimmering diamonds that adorned the Hunter's belt, something else up there somehow caught his eye.
It shot across the sky in a flash, leaving a trail of celestial light behind it.
Gladion had never seen a shooting star before.
Weren't you supposed to make a wish when you did? He thought to himself as it disappeared beyond the horizon, its trail vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.
It was stupid, but after all he'd seen with Cosmog and the Guardian Deities, it was worth a shot right?
He screwed his eyes shut tight and concentrated. He wished… He wished…
He wished that he had someone, someone close… someone who wouldn't ever leave him. Someone who would always be there for him, no matter what, just like his Pokémon were.
He opened his eyes.
This was ridiculous he thought, a scowl settling back onto his face.
As he was about to get up and leave, he spotted someone walking along the jetty towards him.
What could someone be doing out here at this time?
…And was this just a coincidence?
As the figure came into view, Gladion's scowl immediately became more pronounced. He knew who it was. It was impossible not to know when it was made so obvious. The dark green bangs, the flower print shorts, the permanently playful smile on his face…
"Hey Gladion!" the boy beamed as he arrived at the end of the jetty.
"Hau," he simply replied, looking past him towards the lights of the city. He normally wouldn't even consider acknowledging someone like Hau, but after what he'd done to help bring down his mother and the Aether Foundation, it was the least he could do.
Gladion let out a low growl as Hau came and sat beside him, mirroring his posture but choosing instead to look in the opposite direction, out towards the sea.
"Soooo what you out here for?" Hau turned and smiled inquisitively at him, his face lit by the small lights flanking the jetty.
"Trying to get some peace and quiet, what does it look like?" Gladion snapped back, instantly regretting having acknowledged his presence.
Hau continued smiling, undeterred by his outburst. "I get that I get that," he nodded, turning back to face the sea. "What I don't get, is why you're facing that way… like the sea is a million times prettier than what's back there you know?"
Gladion didn't say anything. He didn't want to get into this with Hau of all people.
A moment passed, but Hau soon broke the silence with a question that caused Gladion's body to stiffen.
"Is this about Lillie?"
He swallowed hard and pretended he didn't hear it, but Hau seemed to take his silence as a gesture of admittance, because his hand soon found its way onto Gladion's shoulder.
He turned his head tentatively to stare at the boy's hand on his shoulder, his tan brown fingers gripping lightly at the fabric of his jacket.
Gladion felt his cheeks heat up a little as he caught Hau's gaze in the moonlight. His dark grey eyes were filled with compassion and understanding, giving him a look that made him feel strangely warm inside.
He hated any displays of affection, physical or otherwise, but this… it felt…
…genuine?
…natural?
He couldn't decide, but he liked it, and one thing was for sure, it felt…
…right.
"You miss her don't you?" he asked, his tone more serious than before.
Gladion had relaxed a little at Hau's touch, enough for him to drop his guard and nod along to his question.
At his response Hau smiled understandingly and removed his hand from Gladion's shoulder, placing it beside his.
Gladion missed his touch already, which was an incredibly weird and somewhat alien concept to him. He wanted to feel that warmth, that reassurance, once more.
"Is that why you don't look out towards the sea?" Hau asked, his voice a little more hushed now as he tried to be as comforting as possible.
Gladion sighed. He really didn't want to do this, but something was compelling him to do so. He didn't know what, but something made him want to open up to Hau.
Maybe it was the fact that he'd bottled this up for months? Or was it that, in this moment, he felt something for Hau he'd never felt before? He didn't know. He didn't want to know, especially considering the implications if it was the latter (heaven forbid Gladion had feelings for someone).
"It reminds me too much of what happened," he started quietly, looking at his feet. "She just left me here, all on my own -no real goodbyes or anything like that- waiting, on this jetty… for her never to come back."
He clenched his fists and breathed deep for some composure, he wasn't about to cry in front of Hau. "So yeah," he breathed, "I hate the city, but better to look at that every night, than to be reminded of her sailing off out there on that boat."
Turning to steal a glimpse at Hau's reaction to his admission, Gladion was shocked to find that he'd shuffled a little closer to him, almost to the point where their hands were touching.
"I'm sorry, I know how much she meant to you… she was a great friend… and a great sister too I bet."
"Yeah the best," Gladion bit back sarcastically. "What kind of sister leaves their brother and mum behind on their own? You've seen Lusamine, she needs her… I need her…"
Gladion hung his head in sorrow, tears stinging the corners of his eyes.
Choking back the lump in his throat, he tried to get up and leave, but before he could move an inch, he felt a warmth on the back of his hand.
He looked over, to see Hau's hand atop of his, enveloping his clenched fist in a warming glow that radiated up his arm and into his chest.
"Gladion…" His eyes brimmed with compassion, and evidently tears, as the moonlight caused them to glint as they cascaded down his cheeks. "She loved you very much, and you know that. But she had to go her own way… to follow her dreams."
Gladion didn't know what to do or say. Part of him wanted to run… to run back to the city where he could be swallowed up by all the noise and commotion, to forget everything that had been said here. But another part of him wanted to stay, to face up to this once and for all.
"I-I know but…"
Hau gripped his hand tighter. "It's time to move on… she's happy now, and she'd want you to be too."
Gladion screwed his eyes shut as the tears rolled down his cheeks. The truth hit hard.
He cried as silently as possible to himself, but it was made obvious by the movement of his shoulders, and the fact that Hau had been staring at him the whole time.
"It's okay it's okay," the green haired boy reassured, his own voice breaking as he tried to control his emotions. He left his palm flat on Gladion's fist as he comfortingly drew circles into his wrist, his fingers soft and calming.
After a few moments, Gladion sniffed back the last of his tears and made a decision.
He wasn't going to do this to himself anymore. It was time to move on and stop living in the past. He couldn't wait up for his sister forever… while she was chasing her dreams, he was stuck chasing ghosts, unable to come to terms with the hand that life had dealt him.
No more.
Tentatively, he stood up. Wiping his eyes on his sleeves, he slowly turned around and sat back down beside Hau, looking out towards the open ocean.
"You're right Hau," he whispered, his gaze now fixed on the horizon. "She's happy… I just wish I knew how to be."
He unclenched his fist and splayed his fingers out on the wood. Hesitantly, he inched his hand closer to Hau's in the hope of recapturing that comforting feeling he'd felt when their hands had touched.
Unknowingly, Hau knew what he was doing, and without hesitation he grabbed his hand up off the jetty and held it in his, interlocking their fingers and squeezing tightly.
Gladion felt a surge of happiness bubble up inside of him. It had been a long time since anyone had cared for him this much.
"Well this is a good start!" Hau exclaimed sweetly. "Just focus on what makes you feel good… like for me its Pokémon battles, my friends, and of course malasadas!"
Gladion's lips curled into a momentary smile, but it disappeared soon after as he struggled to think of things that made him happy. "Umm, well there's Sivally… and… and…" He stopped himself, his cheeks tinging a shade of pink once again as he eyed their hands, still intertwined and clasped together. "…and… errr… and… this?"
It was Hau's turn to blush, his expression changing as his understanding smile became a wide toothy grin.
He leaned into Gladion's side and rested his head upon his shoulder, glancing upwards as he did so to catch another splash of pink fill Gladion's cheeks.
So this was what he'd been missing out on.
Gladion was again unsure of what to do or say, but… he was happy. He put an arm around Hau's shoulder and gently pulled him closer.
They sat, perfectly still like this for a few moments, before Hau broke the silence. "She's out there, somewhere," he whispered, gesturing towards the horizon.
Gladion blinked slowly and took a lungful of salty air in through his mouth. He glanced at Hau, his dark green locks brushing his face as he did so.
He smiled contently.
"She is… But I have everything I need, right here."