bad kid

I was thinking about something like this while I was in club earlier, so. It's been three months since I've written any fanfics, and I'd really like to work on some of my projects in the next few weeks. (Not this week.) so anyway here's heartfelt emo son that i wanna protect.

note - implications of child abuse

Gladion jolted from his sleep, sweat running down his neck. He scrunched over his knees, glancing out at the moonlight. It was probably past midnight; he usually had these night terrors a few hours after he went to bed. With the world like this, he could never feel at peace, not even in his dreams. He was bitter. If his sister could move on with his life, why couldn't he?

Grimacing, he leaned over and threw the blankets back onto the bed. It wasn't like that lumpy heap of junk could give even a normal person a good night's sleep anyway, so he decided to go make himself a cup of coffee. Even if they weren't an evil group anymore, the remnants of Team Skull didn't care if a thirteen-year-old prowled about in the middle of the night. If he didn't bother them, they didn't bother him. He was nothing more than a shadow.

He ran a hand through his hair and stepped out of the room, making sure not to rouse Silvally. The pokemon always wanted to make him feel better, but they were never enough. Nothing would ever be enough, so it was just better to do his business alone. He kept a hand close to the wall as he felt his way downstairs in the darkness throughout the house.

As expected, everyone was asleep, the TV blasting some late-note infomercials as usual. Rolling his eyes he stepped into the kitchen and took out a mug from the cupboard. Whoever washed this last didn't do the greatest job, but he didn't care. A few specks of grime wouldn't kill him. Maybe Lillie. She was always the more pristine of the two, so pure. By now it had to have been morning in Kanto; he wondered if she would judge him for not doing his laundry in almost a month. Probably, but she would've definitely offered to do it for him if she were there with him.

If she were there with him...

He ran the hot water over his hands longer than he should've. It was scalding. It reminded him of when he tried playing outside in the dirt with other kids and she dragged him to the backyard and hosed him with the hottest water until he could feel blisters forming on his back. Little dolls had to stay clean, she said. Back then her husband was still around, and he just watched. Watched longer than he should've. Gladion knew better than to scream and try to get his attention, though. He was supposed to be the bad child. If he wasn't what could he do to protect Lillie? Bad children were supposed to deal with hot water. In many countries they didn't have hot water at all, she said, so he should've been grateful for such a cleansing-

"What are you doin' up, cousin?"

Gladion bristled and spun around to see Plumeria looking down at him. Damn, he didn't know she was here. Sure, she came here to check up on the numskulls that were left, but that was usually during the day. He wasn't very good at lying, either, so he just shrugged and gave a nonchalant gesture to his mug. "Making coffee."

"It's 2AM, Gladdo."

"Yeah, well, what are you doing up?"

Plumeria placed her hands on her hips, and for a moment he thought she'd smack him against the head like she did to some of the grunts, but she just stood there almost like a...uh. a. Never mind that. He would never use that word for someone again, he reminded himself. She just stood there like a boss, a lot more bosslike than Guzma ever managed. "Adults at my age don't have a set sleeping schedule," she said, grunting. "You'll learn that when you get older. So, if your ass is gonna stay up for a while longer, you might as well have some of this cake with me. It's getting stale."

"Fine."

A few minutes they sat in front of the TV, resting their feet over the dozing grunts' stomachs. Gladion quietly sipped at his coffee while Plumeria shoved some chocolate cake in her mouth. It certainly looked not moist. Every now and then he could feel her eyeing him, but he made no motion to show concern or anxiety. It wasn't like she was going to ground him or anything. Not even Guzma did any of that stuff. But she was probably the most responsible one of them all, even if she had a rough way of showing it.

Yet she never stopped him when he bailed. It was hysterical how adults worked.

He sipped. She ate. And then she grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him closer to her, wagging her fork in front of his face. "You're having those nightmares again."

It was a fact, not a question. He shrugged. "Like they ever stopped."

"You miss Lillie?"

"She's better off without me."

"Princess's grown up a lot these past few months, but she'll always need her big brother."

"I'm a piece of shit."

"Gladion."

"I don't even dream about her, all right?! I dream about...god, don't worry about it!"

He threw the mug at the ground, sending glass shattering everywhere, but before he could storm off upstairs she yanked him by the shoulders and gently shoved him against the wall. Grimacing, he bit down on his lip and punched the wall. If anyone could kick his ass, it'd be her. But against his expectations, Plumeria just sighed and ruffled his hair, pressing a hand against the top of his head. "It's gonna be hard, y'know?" she murmured. "Adjusting and everything. I'm not saying you're gonna be cured of what that bitch did to you, but I'm not gonna let you run your life into the ground, either. You have a long life aheada ya, you understand?"

"..."

"We're gonna get you a laptop or something soon, too, so you can Skype with Lillie and all your other twerpy friends. Uh, like Malasada Boy. And Moon. Wicke can probably help us out with that."

"We don't need Wicke's help."

Plumeria raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Wicke has money and we don't. It'll still be a while before Guzma refinds himself and I find proper work. You don't try to get a job or I'll staple your emo hoodie to the roof. We'll get you to do more kid shit."

"I'm not a little kid, Plumeria."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go to bed. You clean your mess up and then get your ass back to bed, squirt. Take the TV upstairs if you really want. These numskulls need something to get them off their lazy asses and help out around this town anyway."

She stood up and looked at him for a little while longer, then pressed her palm against his forehead. He scrunched up his face as she chuckled and went off to her room. She was right. He could tell that she was trying to help him, in her own way. He really wanted to believe this.

Kneeling down next to the grunts, he took a piece of glass from the floor and stared at his reflection in the dim light. With no one awake to tear into him with judgmental eyes, he smiled. And felt tears run down his cheeks. He wasn't a bad kid anymore. He was just bad.