No One's POV

Moon turned to stare at all the occupants in the room, a contemplative look on her face. Gladion was trying his hardest to look aloof, but it was evident that he was nervous. Lillie, on the other hand, wore her emotions on her sleeves. The five years she had spent away from Alola had done a lot for her character, but it still didn't hide the fact that she was anxious. Lusamine looked as if there were a million different places she'd rather be, and Hau couldn't stop sneaking not so furtive glances at everyone.

So much for discreet.

Moon cleared her throat gently, refraining from lowering her eyes as everyone turned to face her once more. The air was tense, only made tenser by the sound of Lusamine tapping her nails on a nearby table. Gladion's glare only served to make Lusamine smirk, though she did lessen the noise she was making.

"Any day now." Lusamine yawned.

Moon pursed her lips before sighing, turning to Gladion. She gave him a soft smile.

"Gladion." She began, making sure to keep her tone light – she didn't want to disrupt the ambiance – "I really enjoyed our date last night. And the way you recited that poem your mother wrote the other day."

Gladion turned red and promptly began sputtering.

"How do you know –"

"Please." Moon scoffed, a smirk donning her features, "I'm not that dense, you know?"

Moon paused.

"And yes, I figured out a long time ago that you were working with Lusamine, while Hau was helping Lillie."

Lillie blinked in apparent confusion, the red coloring in her cheeks making her resemble Gladion. Hau merely rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, muttering excuses about the nature of love under his breath while Lusamine appeared smug.

"But regardless, I found the whole thing to be really cute." Moon smiled, "Especially when I had a little talk with my mother about 'blonde siblings' being the children of 'Satan herself.'"

It was this that caught Lusamine's attention, and the elder blonde woman bolted out of her chair, the force enough to knock the chair to the ground. Her eyebrows were knitted downwards, and she was scowling.

"Satan?" She fumed, hands clenched into fists, "I'll show that wretch Satan –"

"Lusamine, please." Was all Moon said before Lusamine took a deep breath, lowering herself into one of the chairs that she hadn't knocked to the ground.

With the room quiet once more, Moon continued.

"All in all, I really enjoyed my time with you, Gladion." Moon said gently, reaching out to grab one of his hands in both of her own, "You really are a great guy."

The soft smile on Gladion's face was so uncharacteristic that it gave Moon pause. She then began frowning, as if she were about to say something that she really didn't want to.

"And in knowing all of that, I have to be fully honest with you." Moon let go of Gladion's hand, looking him straight in the eyes, "A wise person once told me that it was alright for me to feel some sort of attraction towards peaches and bananas, and the only thing that mattered was if I was truly happy. If I was being true to myself."

Everyone in the room aside from Lusamine looked utterly confused. The elder blonde let out a disbelieving snort.

"I can't believe Aurora's still using that analogy." Lusamine muttered quietly to herself, not that anyone paid much attention to what she was saying.

Gladion felt his eyebrows knit, almost fully certain of what Moon was trying to say, despite the ridiculous fruit analogy. He was the banana and Lillie was the peach, and there was only room for one fruit to have Moon's affections.

"You…don't have to say it." Gladion murmured quietly, and he knew immediately by the look Moon gave him that this was something she had to get off of her chest.

"I'm sorry, Gladion." Moon's tone was apologetic, and ironically, that was the last thing he wanted from her, "But I choose Lillie."

The air in the room was thick, no one daring to break the silence. Gladion chanced a look at his sister. The latter's face was completely void of emotion, save for the slight flicker in her eyes. He knew that she was happy, but it wasn't in her character to gloat. He turned to Hau, and was surprised to see the younger boy looking at him with concern in his dark orbs. Gladion refrained from scoffing. He didn't need the boy's pity.

Incidentally, it was Lusamine who approached him, placing a calming hand on his shoulder. She didn't say anything to him, but her presence was appreciated. With a sigh, Gladion turned back to Moon.

"I'm…happy for you." He forced out. Had this been years ago, he would've resented her decision, resented his sister, hell, even resented Hau for bearing witness to such an awkward moment, but he had grown a lot in five years. As such, he knew how to let bygones be bygones, "Really, I am. But just one thing."

He stepped closer to Moon, inadvertently brushing his mother's hand off of his shoulder in the process.

"If you hurt my sister, there will be hell to pay…champion or not." Gladion said sternly, making sure to make full eye contact with the Alolan champion, "Got that?"

He half expected his sister to tell him that she wasn't a baby anymore, but she remained silent. Moon, in the meanwhile, gave him a solid nod.

"I will never hurt her."

Gladion let a small smile show.

"Good." And with that, Gladion left the building.

Gladion's POV

Gladion didn't know how long he was walking for, or even where he was going, but the one thing he was certain of was the fact that he needed to get away from everyone. He had never had a crush before Moon, so to say that his ego had been decimated would be the understatement of the decade. So lost in his thoughts, he didn't pay any attention to where he was going until he collided with someone.

The person, just slightly shorter than him, was knocked to the ground. Cursing his luck, Gladion extended a hand, fully intent on helping the person up.

"Don't bother." A female voice chastised him, slapping his hand away as she stood up by herself.

Gladion's eyes narrowed. He knew that voice anywhere. The blonde and pink locks of the woman only confirmed his theory.

"Plumeria." Gladion finally said, a frown donning his features.

The woman – Plumeria – rolled her eyes, a displeased look on her face.

"Don't sound so happy to see me."

Gladion was startled at the slightly hurt quality of Plumeria's voice. He didn't expect her to take his nonchalance so personally.

"Sorry." Gladion rubbed the back of his neck, "I've just been having a bad day. Turns out, Moon doesn't like me after all."

Plumeria regarded him quietly, and Gladion couldn't recall a moment in which he had ever seen the woman so thoughtful.

"I know what it's like to not have a guy reciprocate my feelings." She settled for, shrugging as if she were completely unbothered, "It's a sucky feeling when it first happens, and it'll continue to suck for a good while after."

Gladion raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't peg you as the type to give me any advice."

Plumeria scoffed.

"Don't flatter yourself." Plumeria crossed her arms, "What I'm trying to say is…why don't we help each other make our situations less sucky?"

Gladion blinked. Was she really proposing what he thought she was proposing? A chance look at Plumeria – with her now slightly blushing cheeks – was enough confirmation for Gladion.

A small smile grew at the corners of Gladion's lips.

"Pick you up at 7?"

Plumeria's smile was the only answer he needed.

A/N: In the end, the votes for Lillie ended up surpassing the ones for Gladion (sorry Gladion fans!). The next (and last) chapter is Lusamine centric. Stay tuned!