Milo's Dream
Milo and Miya are on the floating docks back at Tidewater Harbor.
This is the summer they met, and together they gaze out at the sparkling water, waiting.
Miya never saw it coming, but Milo saw trouble when Anna stopped coming to the floating docks two hours before Jon's ship came in. When she did come, the boat was just on the horizon.
It is an impossibly large boat, and the fog horn is loud and low and it rumbles in Milo's stomach. Unless he's just hungry.
When the ship finally pulled into the harbor, Anna was busy with her knitting. When Jon came down to say hello, Anna would hang back while he and Miya laughed and talked.
Jon would suddenly send Miya and Milo out to play, and when they would come back, Jon would be gone. Gone shopping for groceries like a good father and husband, said Miya's mother. Now run along. It's a great day out.
They never fought, as if they didn't want to make a scene. Fighting solves nothing, changes nothing, they said. When there is no way to settle your differences, you must go your separate ways. It happened so gently and quietly, it was almost like it never happened. Miya didn't ever see it coming, but Professor Juniper did. Milo did.
The dream shifts and they're at the ice cream parlor. Finally Milo can eat something.
Miya didn't act like she was upset about her parents going their separate ways. They both knew that Jon liked the sea, and that was where he belonged. Milo understood this. He loved the sea as well. They both knew that Anna liked security and stability, so she would stay where she was. Miya was like that, Milo knew.
Pistachio ice cream (not Milo's favorite but Miya's and he'll always steal food from her) runs down his chin and he realizes it tastes watery, salty. He looks down and he sees tears, growing into a gigantic puddle, then swelling to an entire ocean that swallows him whole and he wishes he could just tell Miya that-
Milo blinked his eyes open.
"I think we've gotten what we need from that dream," said Fennel gently.
"Milo, are you okay?" Miya asked. She felt eyes on her. She pulled him to her chest as Fennel changed the topic, asking Amanita to explain dream mist to Jiro. Miya whispered to Milo, "That's not really what you dream about, is it?"
Milo had no answer to give.
"I'm fine, you know. It's okay. I'm over it."
He pecked her lightly. Miya wasn't sure what he meant, but she didn't want to dwell on it, so instead she paid attention to what Fennel was explaining to Jiro about pokémon dreams.
"They're different from human dreams. Much more vivid and realistic. Human dreams are often more fantasy than reality, it seems."
Miya wished Milo had dreamed about food or battling. She thought that's what he would dream about. Not her. Jeez.
They listened to Fennel go over some of the latest technologies she'd seen at her conferences, and discussed some emerging theories about pokémon dreams. Miya took notes distractedly. Fennel and Amanita invited them to stay for dinner, and they left at sunset back to the gym.
A/N: TBH I thought Milo was going to dream about food or battling, too. Funny how characters seem to sort of write themselves after a while.