A/N: My fanfic has an illustrated cover for each chapter, but since FFN doesn't allow inserting images nor does it accept links within the fanfic itself, please head over to my tumblr (carefreejules) if you'd like to see the covers!

Side Chapter - Nothing Like the Present

"Lee, we've been window shopping for almost an hour. Can't you just pick something already?" Hop grumbled impatiently. "Besides, why did you ask me to tag along anyway? You know Juliet better than me-"

That was the thing. As much as he wanted to believe that he knew her well, he didn't actually know the exact things she was into. He knew she liked video games and even technology, but he could hardly call himself an expert on either topics. That's why he invited Hop to help him out and to also pick out something for Juliet while he was at it. His brother, and even Gloria, both had Nintendo Switches and similar games that he briefly noticed that were on Juliet's shelves as well, so Hop must know a lot more than he did.

Though, it was a bit embarrassing for Leon to admit his short-comings to his younger brother.

"Well…" Leon started. "You know about video games more than me so-"

"Why didn't you mention that at the start?!"

"Sorry! I didn't want you to think I was lame or anything."

Hop rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. I get it. If we're going to video game related gifts, then the best place to go is the games store." The young Gym Challenger practically had to drag his older brother by the wrist because Arceus knows he would have been distracted by other shop displays to follow himself. He pulled him into a store that specialized in video games, merch, and other nerdy paraphernalia that made Leon a bit weak in the knees from how...overwhelming it all was.

It felt like he stepped into a completely different world that put to shame on the minimal knowledge he did know.

"Relax, Lee. It's not as intimidating as it looks." Hop snickered. "So, do you know any video games that Juliet is into?"

Leon rubbed his arm sheepishly. "Not by name but, something I did notice when I was at her house was that she had a lot of merch of this one character who kind of looks like a green turtle with a big nose?"

"Oh, you must be talking about Yoshi! Juliet's a fan of him, huh? Never would have guessed but he is kind of cute." Hop browsed through the collection of goods, searching for items featuring the aforementioned dinosaur creature and gestured to a few that were either Nintendo Switch cases, plush toys, or small figurines called Amiibos. But, nothing stood out in particular to Leon that made the gift special coming from him. He didn't want to just find a gift pertaining to her interests, but as cheesy as it sounds, he wanted her to be reminded of him through it.

"I think I'll get her a game case. What about you, Lee?"

"Hmm…" Leon pondered out loud. He moved away from the racks of merchandise that Hop had led him to and wandered over to the apparel section where there were t-shirts, wallets, backpacks, and even mugs with various characters printed on them. Then his eyes lit up with interest upon noticing the racks of snapback hung up along the wall. He couldn't help being enamored by his all-time favourite accessory to collect.

So, there were even hats designed after video games, huh?

"Now, that's a face I didn't expect to see here!" An employee bellowed from behind him, startling the Champion out of his thoughts. "Whoa, didn't mean to scare ya, Champion! So, what brings you here today?"

"Uhhh…" Leon cleared his throat and regained his composure. "Is there a snapback with Yoshi on it?"

"There sure is! We actually have different Yoshis in different colours!" The employee went behind the counter to grab a long hook to pluck the hats from the wall. He carefully set down the variety of hats in a line for Leon's convenience.

Or, so he thought.

Now Leon had the internal dilemma of picking which colour Juliet would want. Should he just go for the original green because it was the most iconic? But, what if she wanted to change it up with a different colour?

"I don't mean to pry, Champion, but do you need help in deciding?" The employee asked.

Leon smiled wryly. The worker didn't have to keep calling him 'Champion'. He was hardly dressed like one at the moment too. "You can just call me Leon. And, I could use some help, yeah."

"If you say so! Anyway, why not pick one of your favourite colour?"

"Oh, the hat isn't for me." Leon answered honestly.

"Then, do you know what the recipient's favourite colour is?"

"Definitely blue. Sky blue to be exact."

"Then," The worker picked up the snapback with the sky blue Yoshi embroidered patch on the front with a matching coloured brim, and handed it to him. "I'd go with their favourite colour. Feels more personal, ya know?"

Leon looked over the hat with a fond smile. Yeah, it was the right choice. He tried to imagine what her reaction would be once she saw it. Would her eyes sparkle with excitement? Or, would she stammer with embarrassment? No, now wasn't the time to go back on his commitment. "I'll take it!"

"Excellent! I'll just ring you up at the counter and-"

"Actually, I also want to buy an Nintendo Switch as well." Leon added with a grin. He didn't have any hobbies to speak of besides working out because of his busy schedule, but seeing as how his brother, his mentor, and Juliet, were all into the same hobby, it was worth getting into it as well since it would give him something to bond over with them. Though, he wasn't quite sure what games to get since he could sink in many hours for games that required that kind of dedication. Were there any games that he could play, on and off, whenever he had time to kill?

"If you're going to get a Switch, Lee, then you should get this game called Pokemon Crossing New Horizons! It's a relaxing game where you're living on an island with Pokemon villagers, and you can do things like customize your house, go fishing, and catch bugs! It's an easy game to play that you don't need to invest a lot of time for." Hop explained, reaching up to grab a brand new copy of the game for his brother from the shelf. "You can even play with other people and visit their islands!"

"Thanks for the recommendation, Hopscotch. I'll take it."

After thanking the employee and leaving the store with his bagged items in hand, Leon snuck a peek at the Sky Blue Yoshi snapback with lingering hesitation.

"...Do you think Juliet will like it?"

"Of course she will!" Hop smiled widely. "Because it's from you, Lee."

"We're back!" Hop exclaimed, welcoming the warmth of the restaurant that contrasted the frigid temperatures of the snowy town.

"Welcome back!" Gloria greeted, holding out her arms to take their winter jackets. "So, what did you two get for Juliet?"

"I bought a Switch game case for her. Lee bought her a Yoshi snapback-"

"So, my niece is still a fan of him, huh? That's good to hear." Dave, Juliet's uncle, interjected with a light chuckle. Leon's eye widened in recognition at the older man and went over to him with his hand outstretched and his smile wide.

"Dave! It's been a while. How've you been?"

"I've been doing great! Looks like you've been doing well for yourself too."

"Aha...That's one way of putting it." Leon chuckled sheepishly. "It's a pleasant surprise to see you here and I imagine Tiffany is here too. Is your inn OK without the two of you, though?"

"No need to worry about that, Champ. My security system is state of the art and I can rely on my Beldums to watch over the inn safely." Dave reassured. "Besides, Tiffany and I have been meaning to go on a bit of a vacation. Courtney here insisted that we come for Juliet's birthday."

Courtney skipped over with Pistachio cradling in her arms and beamed brightly at the both of them. "I'm glad you and mom could take time off! You two are always too busy."

Dave rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry about that, Pumpkaboo. You know how it is."

"By the way, Dave," Leon gestured to the projector set up and facing a white wall. "What's all this?"

"Ahh. I'm setting up a make-shift theatre here so everyone can play games on a big screen. When Juliet first moved in with us, she couldn't sleep for the first few nights because of nightmares. So, late at night, whenever I saw her awake in the dining hall, I'd invite her to my office to play video games to keep her mind off of her nightmares. I know that sounds pretty bad for her sleep schedule at first, but I could tell they were helping her cope and she was able to sleep easier." Dave reminisced fondly.

He remembered the first night when his niece moved in with them, and she was sitting in the dining room alone, crying to herself in the dark with only the moonlight keeping her company. He thought he understood what loneliness was, but he had never seen that kind of loneliness. He wasn't as close to her as his wife was, being cooped up in the security room and all, but it was all the more reason to try to bond with his niece and make her feel truly at home. Her forever home, he hoped.

"Hey there, kiddo. What's with the long face?"

Juliet lifted her head up, looking at her uncle with tear stained cheeks. "I'm sorry, uncle...I had a bad dream...that I was back at that house. I...I wanted to stay awake so I know that I'm not there…"

Dave frowned deeply at that. He could tell her emotional scars ran deep, and who knows how long it would take for them to heal. But, no matter how long it took, he was going to be there for her no matter what. He held his hand out to her and smiled kindly.

"Follow me."

She slowly put her smaller hand in his and he led her down the hallway to his office. He placed his hand against the screen detector, which allowed the door to slide open for them. He turned on the projector, which made Juliet wince from the sudden brightness. Dave apologized quietly under his breath and toned down the brightness so she could see the start screen of a party game comfortably. He handed her a purple controller and plopped down beside her on the couch.

"I-I don't know how to play…" Juliet mumbled.

"Don't worry, I'll show you the ropes. It's easy! Trust me." Dave started up the usual set-up for Mario Party 7 before the screen brought them to the character select screen. He instantly chose his usual character, Luigi, and waited for his niece to choose her character.

"Having trouble deciding?"

"A little...Who do you think I should choose?"

"Let's see…" Dave gently took the controller from her and moved the cursor around each character before choosing the green dinosaur character, Yoshi. When he handed her back the controller, she looked at her uncle curiously.

"Why did you choose that character for me?"

"Yoshi's a happy and cheerful character who smiles a lot. You used to be like that when you were a lot younger. As long as you're living under this roof, I hope you'll be able to smile as much as you did back then." Dave answered honestly while patting her head affectionately. Juliet's eyes widened a little by her uncle's earnest answer and she looked back at the screen and the character that was chosen for her.

"...He's cute."

"Isn't he? He's kind of like a Pokemon too and only says his name."

"Really? That's kind of funny…"

"But, the one thing that separates him and you is that he eats a lot. I notice you don't eat much, kiddo." He didn't mean to sound intrusive, but even in the dimly lit office, he noticed how alarmingly thin she was. No doubt she didn't have the appetite to eat with how miserably she was living in her previous home. He had to count his blessings for taking custody of her, but it didn't settle the boiling anger he felt for not noticing the signs sooner.

"...I was too sad to eat. And...sometimes mom would give me certain things to eat so I didn't grow fat and I'd look my best whenever I was interviewed…" Juliet confessed with a shaky voice.

For Arceus sake, the fact that she understood the implications even though she was still so young was nothing short of fucked up. And her, not knowing any better, could only grit her teeth and bear it.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, Juliet."

"It's not your fault, uncle. Auntie gave me a lot of food to eat today and even though I couldn't finish it all, I ate more than I have before."

"I'm glad. We'll help you get back into shape, kiddo, so all you need to do is try to relax, rest, and know that you're safe here. We'll protect you."

"So, she picked up that hobby from you." Leon remarked with a gentle smile. "I'm glad she was able to live in a happier home."

"Me too...But, I thought that over time, her nightmares would go away for good but, it seems like she's still experiencing them…" Dave lamented grimly. "She had a pretty bad one this morning that she called my wife."

"Oh…" Hearing that made Leon's heart ache. Recurring nightmares...that was the first he heard about them happening to Juliet. He knew she kept a lot to herself and often let herself get lost in her own head, but to think they were manifesting through nightmares. The trauma she experienced left a bigger impact on her than he initially thought.

"Now, now, we can't afford to be gloomy on Juliet's birthday. Let's make this the best and unforgettable birthday for her. She can't smile if she sees that someone isn't." Dave encouraged.

"You're right. Sorry about that."

"No worries, Champ. Based on the frown from before, you care about her a lot, don't you?" Dave teased with a wink.

Leon blushed lightly but nodded suringly. "I do. She's...She's a lot stronger than she probably thinks."

"I agree. Even through the pain, she'll keep carrying them as long as she can see another day."

"Right hand on red."

"...You've got to be kidding me." Raihan grunted, shakily lifting his hand and placing it on the closest red spot by Gordie's head. The Rock Gym Leader almost flinched from how close his hand was and being in the uncomfortable position he was already in between Hop and Kabu, he was at his limit.

"Wow, Kabu! You're more...flexible than you look!" Hop wheezed. Kabu couldn't exactly turn his head to acknowledge the young trainer, that the most he could muster was a strained chuckle.

"I may be old, but I got some endurance left in me."

"You're up next, Hop!" Gloria giggled.

"Bring...it on. Please no green, please no green, please no green…"

"Left foot on green!"

"...Bollucks." Hop swore under his breath. Somehow Leon heard that from across the room and looked at him disapprovingly, to which he ignored. He couldn't really see where his feet were moving, but upon lifting it up, the sole of his foot accidentally knocked against Raihan's jaw. He yelped and crashed to the ground, bringing everyone else down with him.

"Ow, Hop!"

"Look, mate, I couldn't see where my foot was going!"

"Raihan, get off, you're crushing us!" Gordie yelled, his voice muffled from having his face planted into the ground. The tall Dragon Gym Leader pulled himself off of the others, allowing them to roll off of the Twister mat and rub their sore limbs.

"Hey, birthday girl! You should play Twister next!" Raihan called.

"Based on that performance, I think I'll pass." Juliet laughed nervously. She wasn't really in the mood to twist her body up like a pretzel with other people. Especially if it might involve being crushed under someone as big as either Raihan or Gordie.

"Then, why don't we play a good ol' game of Truth or Dare?"

" Hard pass. "

"You're no fun." Raihan pouted. "Then, why not open more presents? There are still a few you haven't opened yet, like Leon's." Raihan shot Leon a sly smile from across the room, who choked on his drink and turned away.

"Sure! Which one is it?"

Leon cleared his throat and made his way over to fish out his present from the pile and gingerly handed it to her. Like with all the other presents, Juliet inspected the present bag curiously. She couldn't help but play guessing games in her head of what her presents were based on the person she was getting it from.

What kind of presents would Leon give to people? She could see him giving Pokemon as gifts, from when he gave Hop and Gloria their starter Pokemon. But, what else could he give? There wasn't a whole lot to go off of so all that was left to do was see what was inside.

She took one peek and her eyes widened.

Oh, of course .

If this wasn't the most Leon gift in the world, then she didn't know him as well as she thought she did. But, she was surprised that he even knew about her fondness for Yoshi.

He...He didn't think she was childish, did he?

Leon didn't seem bothered by her reaction and even tried to hold back his own laughter.

"Go on. Put it on."

Chuckling, Juliet reached into the bag and pulled out the snapback with a sky blue brim and a sky blue Yoshi embroidered patch on the front. "Leon, I don't look good in snapbacks."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

Leon rolled his eyes and snatched the snapback from her hands and placed it on her head. "Looks good to me."

"Oh! I think my gift will look perfect with that look!" Sonia giggled, reaching into the gift pile to pull out hers.

Wondering what Sonia meant by that, Juliet unwrapped her present to reveal a small assortment of hair scrunchies with varying designs. The aspiring professor plucked the aqua blue scrunchie with the fluffy white clouds and gestured to Juliet to turn around so she could put her hair up in it.

Sonia had tied up her hair into a low ponytail that curled over her right shoulder.

"There we go! You look so cute!"

Juliet flushed right to her ears and she stared at her curled fists in her lap. "You don't think it's weird?"

"That you like that sort of thing? No way! It's part of who you are! There's nothing to be ashamed of." Sonia comforted earnestly. "Besides, it's always a plus to learn something new about someone. Now, to match, why don't we get Hajime over so I can take a photo?"

"Alright, alright." Juliet beckoned her Swampert over, who took one look at her snapback and gave her a funny look. She shot back a look that said 'don't judge me', making Hajime snort and got into position in front of his trainer.

Sonia turned the camera around so herself, Hajime, Juliet, and Leon were all in frame. Just as Sonia took the photo, Raihan stuck his hand into the shot so his blurred hand was covering up Leon.

"Raihan!"

"Sorry. Lemme join in this shot. You know I can't miss out on a photo op." Sitting on the other side of Juliet, he swung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him.

He was a little too close for comfort. Not to mention their height difference made their position a bit uncomfortable that the side of her head planted into his chest, making her yelp in surprise. Her 5'2" vs his 6'8" was laughable at best, even when they were just sitting.

"Oof, give me some space. You're both taller than me, you know. Mind shaving off a few inches and giving some to me?" Juliet huffed, pushing the Dragon-type Gym Leader away. That only made him retract his arm to fold them over her head, as if using it as something to lean on.

"...Did you hear something, Leon?"

"Hey!"

"Come on, Raihan. Stop teasing her." Leon shooed his friend's arm away and put a hand on one of Juliet's shoulders. "Hurry up and take the photo Sonia before this guy has any other bright ideas."

After taking the photo, Raihan left to get another drink and went off to chat with Nessa. Juliet took off the Yoshi snapback to get a better look at it before putting it back on and giggling at Leon. "Thanks for the snapback! As expected of the snapback King."

"Please don't make it a habit to call me that, J." Leon laughed. "Do you actually like it, though? I didn't know if you would have preferred jewelry or clothes or-"

"Relax, Lee! I do like it. I think I'll wear it sometimes for good luck. But, how did you know that I like this character?"

"I remember seeing merch of him the last time I was at your place. I'd figured you liked him, but Hop clued me in on who he was. Your uncle also told me about...when you first moved in with them-"

"...Yeah. But, sometimes I feel a little silly…" Juliet trailed off with a small pout.

"Don't be. There's nothing wrong with relying on something for comfort. I mean, you don't think it's weird that I like collecting snapbacks, do you?" Leon asked with a bemused smile.

"Of course not! If it makes you happy, then I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Exactly. So, don't feel embarrassed about what you like around me, OK? I want to learn more about what you like so I know what to get you for your future birthdays."

"Already thinking about my next birthdays? I'm touched." Juliet giggled light-heartedly.

His smile widened. "I mean it. I actually bought an Nintendo Switch myself and a copy of Pokemon Crossing."

Just as he expected, her eyes lit up excitedly. "Really?! Let me help you set it up so-"

"Big sis! Stop talking to Leon and play Mario Party with me!" Courtney cried out. Juliet sighed and smiled apologetically at the Champion before getting up from her seat to play with her cousin. Leon watched her go with gentle eyes, not noticing that Tiffany took Juliet's place beside him.

"Long time no see, Leon." She greeted him happily.

"Oh! It's good to see you again, Tiffany. Have you been keeping in touch with my mum?" He asked. He fondly recalled how kind and selfless she was during his family's, holding her in high regard as a result on top of how Juliet spoke about her.

He didn't know much about her uncle on the other hand, but he did learn more about him from their earlier exchange. He was often holed up in his office from what he remembered during his stay. When he had been introduced to him by Juliet when she wanted to show off her uncle's Metagross and Salamence, he was a lot gentler and down to earth than he initially thought. He looked around the restaurant and spotted him chatting with Kabu.

They were undoubtedly good people and their loving natures didn't falter a bit after all these years.

"I try my best to! But, our inn has been pretty busy these past few years. I hope she's well."

"She is. Thank you again for everything back then."

"No need for thanks! It's been 8 years, you know." Tiffany chuckled.

"I know, but that vacation really helped me."

"Oh, I'm very aware."

Leon blushed a little at the smugness in her voice and how wide her smile stretched. Looks like he couldn't escape from being teased by Juliet's aunt either. He couldn't help but hold onto memories of that time so fondly. Not to mention the feelings of longing that only seem to grow the more he spent time with Juliet. It was getting hard for him to not wear his heart on his sleeve or not yearn for her company.

"Why don't you tell her? I'm 100% sure she feels just as strongly as you do." Tiffany encouraged while putting a comforting hand on top of his own.

She...She did? Either she was a great actress at hiding her affections or he was severely missing something.

"Really? She's really good at hiding it then…"

"Knowing her, she's probably got a lot of things on her plate right now that love is something that she doesn't actively think about. Has she told you…"

"About her being Champion? Yeah, she has told me."

"Oh, good. I knew she would tell you eventually. It's kind of ironic, really. She gives so much of her own heart and compassion to other people, but in the end, she's afraid of what people will do with it." Tiffany sighed. "Of course, it's not my place to push you because I'm sure you have your own reasons for keeping your feelings to yourself, but if you do decide to tell her in the future," She smiled hopefully at him. "All I ask is that you take care of her and treasure her heart."

Leon knew she didn't mean to put so much pressure on him, but now more than ever, he wanted to confess eight years worth of pent up feelings. For now, he decided to make it a goal - tell Juliet at the end of the Champion Cup and ask her to be his date for the after-party and hopefully, their relationship will take off from there. "I promise, and I'm sure you'll be the first to know when it happens."

"Oh, I better be-"

"Why won't this last candy come out?!" Raihan exclaimed loudly with frustration, making Leon and Tiffany look over to the scene of everyone crowd around the make-shift theatre, where Raihan was shaking a light blue coloured joy-con like his life depended on it.

"You gotta rotate the jar too, Raihan-" Tessu snickered.

"I'm trying but it's not-!"

"Wow, you took too long that the game had to give you a time's up." Sonia noted bluntly, stifling a laugh behind her hand.

"Then, you have a go, Sonia! It's not as easy as it looks!"

"I wanna play the musical mini-games after!" Courtney announced. "Piers, as a fellow singer, I bet you have really good rhythm!"

Piers scratched the side of his face. "That's one way of puttin' it. I don't know how well that will translate to a game, though."

"Let's put it to the test then! You'll play too right, big sis?"

"Sure!"

"Then, Milo should be player 4!"

"M-Me?!" Milo squeaked.

"I always thought Gym Leaders had a serious air about them all the time, but you're quite the lively bunch, aren't you?" Tiffany remarked with a light giggle. "Shall we join them?"

"I think we should. Hey, guys! Can we have a go after?" Leon laughed.