"Keep up, Ruki!" Skye called behind to her ninetales in a faint Alolan (Hawaiian) accent. She walked Hau'oli's busy central strip on the way to The Marina, a pink designer backpack on her back over one shoulder while she held its strap and a thin white designer corseted jean jacket and jeans on her person.
Their ferry to Sinnoh left in fifteen minutes. She was nervous about this trip, and that was because it'd be her first time leaving home to visit another region. Since she turned eighteen last week and finished grade school, her parents allowed it, which Skye had been anticipating forever.
She glanced at tall, surrounding palm trees swaying against tropical breezes and casting moving shadows on the ground, then up at the late afternoon sky with a bright sun glaring off the hoods of parked cars with sleek, curvy modern builds lining the sidewalk. The sun's warm layer spread gently over Alola to provide a wonderfully tame climate.
Skye was a lively and relatively fit outgoing girl, cuter than she was beautiful with long wavy blonde hair that the sun rested on and sheened flowing free to her upper back with pink highlights to match her nails and complement her personality. Her eyes were an ocean blue.
Ruki trotted down the long stretch of pavement with a slight, animated bounce to his step and caught up, his tails mirroring his movements in delay. He kept beside his owner among groups of people, many of which were sightseeing tourists and vehicles on the road. They entered and exited markets and extravagant hotels.
Others sat at high-end outdoor restaurants behind short gates and under umbrellas, some with pokémon and others in groups, chatter and laughter filling the air and fading after he passed their tables.
Ruki had the tendency to wander or fall behind when he saw or sniffed out anything interesting. This time, it had been sweet bread since they passed the Shopping District. The expansive, always-busy area full of various stands, stores, and restaurants was one of Ruki's favorite places to be. Hau'oli's mall would be his second, or the Berry Fields on the next route over. They were places frequented by him and Skye.
His wandering was likely a trait from his previous evolution that he'd have to shake. He had only spent a few days as a ninetales and wasn't sure how to feel about it. Ruki was still getting accustomed and had tripped over his legs several times. He also had a bigger appetite and felt stronger and more confident now, like a force to be reckoned with— an inexperienced one.
"You've gotta stop lagging, especially now. We can't be late." Skye reached and patted his head, looking at the slim pink diamond-studded watch on her right wrist to check the time. On her left wrist was a thin bracelet with mini rose-gold crystal pokéballs lining it. It'd be 1 p.m. soon, when they'd have to be on the ferry. She wasn't the type to wait until the last minute for anything and got stressed when it was the case.
Skye pulled a small map of Sinnoh out that she kept in the front pocket of her jacket and unfolded it, scanning the display of detailed 3D terrain and locations labeled in print. She'd come across it online while researching Sinnoh after seeing it pop up in an ad. The map was a pricey purchase, and she loved studying it. She had for hours in bed with Ruki after it got delivered and pointed out places that'd be wonderful to visit.
They would deboard in Sunyshore City and, from there, would have to make their way west through Route 222 to reach the Grand Lake Hotel. "Nice walk. Short and sweet." Skye folded and slid the map into her jeans' rear pocket to avoid losing it. She adored the outdoors and would enjoy seeing new views and pokémon along the way.
She even had suitable clothing and boots in her backpack if there were areas to hike or explore that she overlooked. Skye couldn't do much in spotless fleece white boots and despised dirtying them since it was easy to notice. This also applied to Ruki. She foresaw a dingy coat and a bath or two ahead of them while on their stay.
Ruki was more excited she decided to take him along than anything else. He couldn't imagine living an entire week without her and now didn't have to. There was no doubt he was fervidly attached to her as her only pokémon of many years. Ruki would be bored— constantly bored and depressed beyond repair without her priceless personality and lovely aura comforting him.
He needed her for existence to feel relevant. If she ever left his life for any reason, not even her parents could do anything for him. Arceus, Ruki would probably die of heartbreak. It wasn't fun to think about.
He saw The Marina and a large, sleek white ship moored in the water ahead. Many people, a lot having pokémon at their side, awaited boarding, but Ruki had no urge to meet other pokémon as he was too stoked about this trip. He also felt differently. As a vulpix, he enjoyed making new friends and having tons to play with, but the urge faded as he got older, possibly because he hadn't had any for as long as he could recall, or he could be growing into himself.
"Stay close," she reminded him as they entered The Marina and walked down to boarding. Skye couldn't afford to lose him here and would rather avoid the headache. It was enough for her to direct their first-ever vacation.
An unorganized and scattered line of about thirty passengers stood by where the crew would let down the ship's ramp, so Skye waited at the back with a few others and watched the crowd ahead, where just a bit of chaos was present. Unruly kids ran between standing adults, playing tag while tired parents watched or shouted at them.
A munchlax and meowth were play fighting by their male owner on the phone, which turned into play wrestling in seconds, soon resulting in the munchlax biting the meowth's cheek too hard. The owner had to put his call on hold and break them up after hearing his meowth cry.
The milder crowd stood at a distance near Skye and Ruki while watching it unfold. A slender older woman in a floral sundress shook her head and wore a disdainful expression while holding her eevee and running her hand over its fur, whose ears twitched while secretly wanting to join the fun.
A growlithe sat upright with a confident gaze by his older teen female owner and kept an eye on their surroundings, ensuring none of the surrounding people or pokémon got too close. She was knelt and had her palm on his head while smiling down at her phone, texting a new boyfriend.
Skye knelt next to Ruki as he sat, pulled her backpack's other strap over her shoulder for stability, and put a hand on his upper back, looking at him. "We'll have such a great time together, I swear. No restrictions… not that we'll do anything stupid." Skye pulled her passport from her backpack's pocket. She had sense and would prove it to her parents. She felt she could live independently at this point but still had a lot to learn— about five times more than the typical teen due to her upbringing.
Ruki twitched his ear and looked up at Skye while she spoke to him. He wondered where they'd go first in such a vast new region. A thousand vague ideas ran through his head. From what he overheard last week when Skye was talking to her mother and what he saw of the cityscapes and towns on Skye's map, it was much different from Alola.
Most of the details had slipped his mind, so that was all he knew, but Ruki was fine with surprises. It would be exciting between new sights and Skye, and that's all that mattered to him.
Before boarding, a few crew members went around punching in everyone's tickets, checking passports and region I.D.s, and handing them keycards according to the room number on said tickets, including Skye's that she returned to her backpack afterward. Each ticket allowed one pokémon accompanied by an adult on the ferry for free, each extra costing 3,300 pokédollars.
Some more crew onboard let down the anticipated ramp a few minutes afterward and let everyone on.
Being last in line, Skye had to wait an extra couple of minutes before boarding with Ruki. The ship was expected to arrive in Sinnoh the following day, which was why everyone had a room below the deck. "We'll go down in a sec. I want to see the view," she told Ruki while walking to the ship's rear.
Skye looked around at the front end of the deck and saw a stand on the far-right end selling smoothies, beverages, and snacks. However, she didn't see a store on this cruise— unless it was below deck. The ones Skye used to take in Alola always had a souvenir shop and market under the control room, which she saw before the front deck with the captain and crew members talking and setting up to start the cruise through its windows. To be fair, those were local ships. Maybe ones that traveled internationally ran older models and still needed to implement them.
"Nin." Ruki's voice sat at a neutral pitch, although slightly on the higher side.
His curious nature had him wanting to see the view as well. He followed Skye to the railing where one could look out to see Hau'oli and had to stand on his hind legs and use the railing as a balance to marvel at the sunny beachfront and buildings behind it. It warmed the mind and soul of whoever had the pleasure of gazing at it. Ruki had lived here all his life and felt it still. His eyes shot from palms swaying against soft breezes to toucannon and flocks of wingull occupying an enriching blue sky dotted with thin, fluffy white clouds.
"Pretty, right?" She placed her palm on his head and stared at the last time she'd see her home for a while, taking in the air's faintly tangy, fresh scent. It was nerve-wracking and invigorating knowing she was leaving all she knew, even if just for a week, but maybe that was more cause to do so. Skye wasn't the type to spend her entire life in the same region, and that aspect had sprouted and bloomed with age. She needed new and would want more if she got a sweet taste for it.
It was undoubtedly pretty, but Ruki would love some different scenery too. He'd never gotten bored of his region outright or had the urge to leave, but that could be because he needed an idea of what more existed outside of Alola.
They stood there until the ship's engine started with a groan, huff, and resounding few creaks and more groans, beginning its journey to Sinnoh. Skye watched Alola fade gradually as the ferry progressed and built speed. "Alright, c'mon. I wanna see what's below."
The entrance to deck one, two, and three, was right behind them, so they walked a few feet and jogged down two flights of stairs beside the elevator, with Skye scolding Ruki and making him slow down after he tripped over his paws and nearly fell down the steps. There was a spa and small restaurant on their floor, which was deck two, midship, but Skye ensured she fed herself and Ruki before they left. She'd bookmark it for later.
"We're in room five. I booked us a studio with a window." Some of the near one thousand rooms, such as the ones on deck one below the waterline, had no windows for a reduced price, and some of the rooms on deck three, farther above the waterline, had balconies for an increased price, but Skye would rather just go up on deck if she wanted air, so a middle-priced ocean view cabin at sea level was ideal.
She strolled down the narrow, brightly lit red-carpeted corridor with doors lining both sides of the hall and stopped after passing several. "Here." Skye slipped the keycard into its designated slot until the indicator flashed green.
Ruki entered after her to a bed dressed with a maroon-colored blanket tucked firmly on both sides of the mattress, a wooden nightstand with a lamp beside it, and a window showing off the ocean in the small room with nothing obstructing the view. It was nothing extravagant, but it felt cozy. He could live here for a week or so; then it'd start feeling cramped.
"Cute." She closed the door, put her backpack on the floor, and sat on the bed. The room was warm to her liking as a spoiled Alolan accustomed to mild weather around the clock. She looked up aside and saw a box on the wall with a remote hanging on the wall beside it to control the temperature. "Ruki." Skye patted the mattress and prompted him to join.
He hopped up after a couple of tries and nuzzled her hand with his cheek several times over.
"You act like we haven't been together all day," she giggled and pulled his front half into her lap. "You gonna miss home?" She tilted his chin up to get his attention and scritched his cheek with her other hand.
"Nn." His eyes shifted aside before focusing on her again. He wasn't sure how to respond. A part of him did since Alola is and had always been the only region in his life, but Skye was the epicenter at the same time. He went with a short nod.
"I will too, but it'll be overshadowed by what Sinnoh offers, I'm sure." Skye let him go and lay back on the bed, kicking off her boots and socks and moving up so she was on the mattress entirely. On her boots' outsoles was the imprint of a ninetale's paw, a subtle nod to her favorite and only pokémon. She'd bought the boots years ago at the Shopping District. Alolan-ninetales-themed clothing and accessories weren't rare finds in Alola, as the region revered the pokémon.
She felt more weight creep onto her until its warmth covered her chest and looked down to see Ruki gazing at her with frozen eyes, his fluffy tails swishing. Her breaths were strained ever so slightly from his weight. "You know you aren't a vulpix anymore, right?" Skye grinned and ran the icy-white tufts drooping from his head between her fingers, then placed her hands on his sides, patting them.
He glanced back at his new size, which covered a lot more of her. Maybe not, but Ruki still loved snuggling with her. Her hold was home. He used to curl up on her stomach and chest, but this was the next best thing with that no longer being possible.
Skye didn't mind it at all. She would never want anything about their relationship to change. Plus, it was adorable witnessing him act as he had in a new form. His size was a bonus, covering her body like a warm blanket with personality. "We'll just call you a big vulpy, then." She reached her hand to rest his chin by her neck.
She couldn't wait for the next day.
A ferry to Sinnoh used to take nearly three days to complete. With modern upgrades, it had been reduced to a day, give or take, but further progress was being abandoned in place of aviation because of how safe it had become. There were little to no crashes per year, less than a thousand, deeming ferries no longer global culture. Alola had two airports built within the recent decade. One was far east of the strip five minutes out from Hau'oli, and another was in Heahea.
Skye would rather take a ferry unless she had to fly, which she had yet to try. She shouldn't live in fear, but the concept daunted her, especially when she saw them flying above the island. It was a better alternative, though. A flight to Sinnoh would hardly take a day. Flying was only currently required in place of cruises that would take close to or two weeks to arrive at its destination. It hadn't been mandated until around five years ago. At least Skye could enjoy the short ones.
Several hours had passed. The ferry glided across the water with determination, parting waves like a piston with its sharp bow and leaving crested ripples behind.
Wingull trailed behind and above the cruise, filling the cold air with their cries. People hung out on the deck illuminated by lights posted along its walls and below the railings, from teens holding their pokémon in chairs or sharing natural berry smoothies with them to adults standing by the railing with drinks. Some were alone, but more had found people to talk to or were with family.
A pre-teen held her umbreon with dim glowing rings under coming nightfall partially over the ship's railing to take some of his weight off her arms, smiling while letting him look at the dark moving waters. The umbreon was frozen in fear with a heaving chest from rapid breaths and had his hind legs and tail tucked, meanwhile, being suspended over an ominous sea splashing up against the boat's port that'd swallow him in moments. He hoped she'd keep her current grip on him.
The girl looked back and snatched him away, pouting after her father scolded her for it and returning to her parents' chair while holding her beloved dark-type to her chest until having to set him down when her arms got tired.
A couple in their early twenties stood off to the side after having a few drinks, giggling and getting touchy-feely before getting the sense to head to their room, especially after receiving a few looks from irritated parents.
The man running the drink stand denied an older man another beverage several times because he'd gotten more than tipsy after downing three, resulting in the customer eventually giving in and leaving to the lower deck as well. It was a good time all around.
Skye opened her eyes and yawned, tensing her limbs to simulate stretching. She must have fallen asleep under Ruki. She didn't move but looked down at her sleeping ninetales sprawled across her chest, his tails giving subtle twitches.
Skye enjoyed his new size and felt more secure during their snuggle sessions, embracing his sides while looking out the window to the right. It was coming up on evening, and it offered a marvelous view.
She mused at looming darkness threatening a fading blue sky with a pink and purple hue as the sun lowered behind the horizon; below that, the endless dark blue ocean swaying in every direction, and on top of the sight, the room was articulately silent other than the more pronounced moans and creaks the ship made while its gears churned since she was below the deck.
This was definitely an old ship. The newer builds in Alola were a lot quieter. At most, you'd hear its engine's steady, gentle hum. They must have installed modern engine upgrades and neglected everything else.
Anyway, it was just her and Ruki with no one to disrupt them, and in that, Skye found solace. She spent a lot of time in her room as is since there was never anything better to do that she hadn't done hundreds of times over, but this felt ten times better, almost surreal.
She experienced a few more minutes of the tranquil environment before Ruki lifted his head while groggily opening his eyes.
"Evening, sleepy boy." She drew her hands up to hold his cheeks, leaning up and kissing his nose while feeling him quiver and stretch. None of his natural cuteness or innocence had faded with evolution. Looking at his face still made her grin every time.
Ruki moved in after that kiss and gave her cheeks and nose aimless licks. How long had he been asleep? It was a good nap. He had multiple dreams that he couldn't recall too, which irritated him since nothing came to mind no matter how much he strained his memory.
"No," she giggled. "Stop, baby." Skye pushed his face aside and wiped hers. "Are you hungry?"
"Ni," Ruki yawned. He hadn't eaten since this morning and could always go for a bite. He knew that aspect would only become more frequent. Hopefully, Skye was prepared for it. Ruki wasn't even sure that he was.
"I am too. Why don't we check out the restaurant, yeah?"
Read his mind. He assumed the ship had great food just waiting to be eaten. Ruki rolled off her and sat up on the bed, stretching while watching Skye get up.
She glanced down at the casual outfit she'd worn all day. "I should change…" She gave Ruki an indecisive stare. There wasn't a reason to. It's not like she looked dirty in it, and this would be a quick outing. "Eh, I will tomorrow," she said before slipping on her socks and boots, then walking to the door. Skye gestured for him to exit first, which he did. "No wandering."
Ruki cocked his head while walking next to her. Where would he run off on a ferry? It wasn't like he could blame her when he was inclined to do so, though. Ruki knew how often he irritated Skye with that, but he promised himself to rid of habits like that. He wanted there to be a point where he was on his best behavior at all times, then she wouldn't have to waste her breath reminding him of anything.
Ruki turned right with her into the dining area before the stairs and scoped out the environment, finding it was a welcoming, upscale setting. The carpet and all seating were velvety red in material and color, which pleased the eyes.
Glossy vases and candles sat on every table, and water-colored nature and ocean paintings displaying various locations from around the globe hung on the walls. Waiters and waitresses in white button-ups and black vests, two dressed classy lopunny included, walked back and forth with trays of food, finished dishes, or drinks. They tended to seated customers while soft jazz echoed throughout the restaurant.
A sign at the entrance read: 'For to-go orders, you may order at the front counter.'
Skye looked at Ruki. "Oh, we should do that. I want to go back up to the deck."
Ruki nodded, going with whatever idea Skye thought was best, even though sitting and eating at a booth in this restaurant looked like it'd be a swell experience. Her idea sounded good too, but what would there be to see? Maybe she just wanted fresh air.
She went to the front counter and picked up one of the menus from a small stack, scanning it with her eyes and stopping after she passed something. Skye held the menu closer to her face if she was reading incorrectly. "Oh, they've got malasadas, Ruki!"
He hopped off of his forepaws while staring up at her. He adored malasadas. He'd eaten more sweet ones than any other, as sweet was the only flavor available in Hau'oli, but he never got tired of them.
"Can I help you?" A male employee with short red hair and a classy matching outfit seemed to appear out of nowhere and stood at the counter.
"Just a sec," Skye smiled briefly and crouched to show Ruki the menu while pointing at the section displaying all five flavors available in Alola. "Look, they've got all of them too. Isn't that cool? I'll get us one of each."
"Tales?" How did they have all flavors in one place, and why couldn't anywhere in Alola have that? This felt like a fever dream.
Skye stood again and faced the worker. She didn't want to keep him waiting forever. "Okay, so one order of malasadas, all five flavors, please." They were double the price here compared to Alola, which usually was two hundred for one. Here it was four hundred, but she expected that on a ferry.
"Alright. That'll come out to two thousand pokédollars." He rang it up on the register. "Credit?"
"Oh, no." Skye wanted a few newbie credit lines with banks in Alola now that she was eighteen, especially since credit cards had risen significantly in popularity over the last decade, with banks around the globe coming out with them and enticing rewards programs for customers. She used to use her parents' cards growing up sometimes when they allowed it so she could get familiar with the process, but mainly cash. Cards were just cool and convenient to have so she didn't have to carry wads of cash around all the time.
She had enough money to last them for more than a week, so she handed him the funds from her pocket and waited by the counter while he went to gather their order. She usually carried a small purse but couldn't be bothered bringing that and a backpack along for the trip, so she'd pay out of pocket. If Skye had both with her, she'd end up returning home without one.
Alola's currency mirrored the bright and vivid joy that the region emitted and was an accepted form of payment globally due to the region's status. The bills ranged from different colors and designs with value. The weakest one was bright yellow with the silhouette of Tapu Village's tropical forest on it and numbers stating the value in its center, while the highest was pink and displayed Hau'oli with trumbeak flying in flocks. The coins differed in size and had various kinds of tropical trees native to Alola carved into them.
Its currency was three times stronger than it had been a decade ago due to the government expanding and improving the economy, which Skye was proud of. It was a vivid society with a thriving economy developing faster and more ambitiously than ever with no region holding it back and Galar helping it progress.
Galar was now the world's most powerful region, and its currency held the spot as the world's reserve currency after the Accord fell and regions such as Almia, Fiore, and others began dealing and trading with it, leading to the fall of the Accord in full that shook the global foundation for years afterward until the power shifted and stabilized.
Some regions that were more interconnected or dependent on the Accord through imports, exports, resources, and money, were hit harder than others or had fallen apart entirely and scrambled to get a semblance of a functioning society, but Alola was more independent and relied more or less on Galar, who had the largest sphere reserve in the world, so it wasn't hard to recuperate after a couple of years of instability and support from other regions.
The world felt okay right now. The Accord's economy was still alive and set to improve in the coming years, but it had no chance to catch up to Galar and Alola.
Ruki felt his stomach growl merely thinking about having one, though he wasn't sure which he'd eat first with so many flavors. He'd take them all in one sitting if it were up to him, but Ruki knew that wasn't happening. He puked the last time Skye allowed him to eat six in the span of three minutes, which was on his birthday.
He sat by her feet while watching other pokémon dine with their owners to pass the time. He saw a teen girl giggling with her cincinno while sipping her soda through a straw, which made Ruki wonder what at since they couldn't talk. To be fair, he often made Skye giggle with silly things he did or fun moments they shared.
A waitress brought two guys sitting across from each other fries and bread with butter on a silver platter, possibly as appetizers that Ruki wanted to inhale right now, and one of the loppuny served a man and woman a few tables away two sandwich wraps and beverages that they thanked it for.
Some customers paid for their meal and got up, exiting the diner and going to their rooms for the night.
Skye also watched and had them step aside in case other customers came to order. "Maybe we'll sit next time. Looks nice." It was her kind of setting. It had class and that sense of guaranteed friendliness. There were always exceptions, but money usually bought the best treatment and accommodation.
They waited five minutes before the employee returned from bagging donuts, Ruki sitting in internal anticipation the entire time. It was an unhealthy addiction, as he knew from Skye telling him multiple times in the past, but she was the one always buying him malasadas, and it's not like he'd ever turn them down.
"Thank you so much. Enjoy your night," Skye said while taking the packaged order he handed her.
"You too!"
"Come on, Ruki." Skye exited the restaurant with a white bag and saw him eyeing it while they walked upstairs. She giggled, "just wait; we're almost up." She went and leaned against the ship's railing after they were back on the upper deck, where cool air hit her. She watched and listened to the waters thrash against each other and mild waves lap over, creating marvelous white crests spreading over the prodigious ocean's surface.
She would go to the front, but that's where most passengers were; not that Skye didn't love socializing, but this was a special week for her and Ruki. "Which do you want?" she asked while opening the bag.
Definitely not sweet, maybe bitter or sour. It was difficult to choose when they were all tasty. Ruki sat in front of Skye and gazed intently. She could choose for him. He just really wanted one and was close to salivating. His mouth watered.
"Um, sour?"
"Nin." He would take it. He hadn't had sour in a while since they hadn't left Hau'oli in ages. He nodded and shifted his front paws.
"Okay, here." She looked at the labels on the plastic wrapping of each malasada until finding a sour one. "Aha." Skye took it out of the bag, unwrapped its cover, then leaned and handed it to his mouth. It was a rounded, fried donut with flavored filling.
Ruki took it, chewing a couple of times and feeling the dough melt in his maw while wincing his eye from the expected sourness. The creamy filling burst in his mouth, which he savored before swallowing.
Finished, he licked his maw and had his eyes back on the bag, glancing at Skye. That was a dreamy piece of bread, and he swore he could live off them.
"No, you can't have all of them now. Save some for Sinnoh... and it wouldn't hurt to chew before you swallow, you know?" Skye sounded like a broken record. She'd been telling him that all his life.
Ruki always tried keeping it in mind, but it was second nature. He tended to forget. "Nine..."
"Don't you nine me. I don't want you choking to death in front of me one day." She looked out at the dark waters while a western breeze brushed her hair aside, not a piece of land in sight. The air was refreshing, a pure, misty ocean scent that calmed her with every inhale.
She heard the steady blare of a plane's engine overhead and looked up but couldn't spot it. Maybe it was on the other side of the ship. "I don't know if we'll be able to since we just woke up, but we need sleep for tomorrow. It'll be a long day."
Ruki usually slept whenever Skye did. That would be up to her. He could run on a few hours if need be. He used to stay up late with her when she binge-watched TV shows or had trouble sleeping on a hot night, which is when he wasn't allowed to snuggle with her.
Something about body heat and her pushing him away whenever he got too close, occasionally when she was on her period too. He didn't know what exactly it was or meant but had overheard her mentioning it to her parents over the years and knew it made her a tad irritable.
"It's cold out, anyway. Aren't you cold?" She then remembered Ruki was half ice type with fur. "...Don't answer that."
They made their way back to the room, and while Skye hadn't changed, she wouldn't sleep in jeans. She turned on the bedside lamp and took off her pants, jacket, and boots, revealing a white tee and pink panties underneath. Skye folded what she had on and put the clothing on the nightstand and grabbed her toothbrush and pack of makeup remover wipes from her bag.
Meanwhile, Ruki awaited her in bed, sitting and grooming his paws. He didn't pay much attention to her body and never had a reason to focus on it, but he'd seen a lot of it since Skye had always been comfortable around him.
"One more minute." She entered the restroom to wash her face and remove the concealer she'd put on this morning with a wipe. Skye didn't use much else, but she applied concealer to cover the light acne scarring and subtle blemishes on her cheeks from recent years. She brushed her teeth and whatnot too, which took over five minutes. Afterward, she went and turned the lamp off, getting into bed. "Move over." He was sitting at the center for some reason.
He did, watching her get under the covers and shift until she was lying on her side. Ruki always got excited for bed. It's when he had Skye so close for the most amount of time.
"Okay. Bedtime." She moved part of the blanket aside and tapped the spot in front of her with her hand. She'd be thirty and still cuddling Ruki like there was no tomorrow. She didn't like imagining herself at that age, though. Skye hoped to still look attractive at that point. How was she eighteen already? She was sixteen just last week. Time genuinely flew.
Ruki took some steps and lay on his stomach beside her as she covered them with the blanket, yawning. He was kind of sleepy and realized the faster he fell into it, the faster they'd wake up in Sinnoh. Hopefully, he'd hold onto some cool dreams this time and forget the nightmares he had on occasion. Ruki was tired of getting chased by that huge dusclops.
Skye pulled him, which broke his original position. She wanted him closer to feel his fur and warmth. Nothing was better than the love it filled her with, and it never got stale. "We're cruising into a small two-hour time difference. New time zone," she yawned. Sinnoh was two hours behind Alola.
He allowed it with no pushback, of course. Her satisfaction was a priority, and this position wasn't uncomfortable. Ruki's upper back was pressed against her chest, and he felt her arm snake around the side of his body and hug him. He wasn't familiar with time zones or how they worked, but he was sure he would catch on. Ruki was good at that.
She leaned in by his ear. "Love you." And kissed it, to which it twitched in response. Skye rested her cheek on the pillow. Ruki's body heat made her feel sleepy already.