It was a cool, quiet night in Stow on Side. The weather was overcast with a slight breeze, providing enough natural noise for all of the city's residents to get some much needed sleep and relief from the normally arid weather. One resident was unable to rest despite the perfect conditions, and the young gym leader tossed and turned on his very cozy bed, exhausted but unable to sleep.

"Mim?"

"Sorry Mimikyu… Havin' a hard time tryin' to sleep… The bed is so soft and warm… but my brain isn't lettin' me rest… bad night with worryin'. Hate bein' able to think." Mimikyu nuzzled Allister and tried to comfort him, but passed back out in the coziness of the bed. Allister petted his cuddliest pokemon on the head before sliding out from under the blankets to avoid disturbing it.

They've been working real hard. They deserve the sleep. He sat down in his desk chair that was beside the window and looked out into the darkness. When his anxiety was bothering him this badly, he would normally already be in Bea's room, telling her everything that he was upset about and Bea giving him good advice and reassurance in return. Two factors kept him from making the mad dash between their rooms; the first being that it was three in the morning and Bea was likely sound asleep, and the second was the worrisome thought that his adoptive sister secretly hated him and couldn't wait to leave him the second she got a chance.

Allister took a look down and realized that his arms were shaking horribly. In an attempt to calm himself down, he picked up his favorite out of his several masks piled around his room and tried to swap it for the one he was currently wearing. The young gym leader didn't even realize he had been crying until he felt a dampness on his cheek while changing out masks. He kept looking back and forth between his bed and the door. With his softest pillow and blanket in his arms, he made his way to the door.

This way I can still be with my sis without waking her up. Hope she doesn't accidentally step on me… The creaking of his bedroom door startled him, and he tossed the pillow and blankets at the invader.

"S-sis?"

"Yeah it's just me. What are you doing up so late?" Bea knelt over to pick up the bedclothes from the floor and handed them back to her little brother. She gently stroked his hair, a gesture that usually calmed him down after a bad dream. Allister held his arms out, timidly asking for a hug to which Bea happily obliged.

"C-can't sleep at all… worryin' too much…"

"I understand Alli. Do you want to go downstairs and discuss what's bothering you over a cup of warm tea? Or I guess in your case, you would prefer milk." Allister nodded and held onto Bea's hand as she led him downstairs."

"What 're you doin' up so late? Or is it early for you?"

"I woke up craving water at one this morning, and then couldn't go back to sleep after that. I thought about checking on you to make sure you were okay but I didn't want to disturb your rest. I should have checked earlier since you're pretty bent out of shape right now." She carefully got two mugs out of the kitchen cabinets, pouring Allister a serving of milk before sticking it in the microwave and brewing some tea for herself. Allister clutched his sister's pajama shirt the entire time, wondering to himself why he was being so clingy, but at least Bea didn't seem to mind.

"C'mon Alli, I'm going to set our drinks on the coffee table next to the couch and you can tell me what's bothering you." Allister took a seat next to his sister and cradled the warm cup in his hands.

"W-well… it's a little bit of everythin' tonight that's keepin' me up…"

"You need to be a little more specific if you want me to help you feel better. It would be like me trying to tell you the way to cure your anxiety is to stop worrying." Allister giggled a bit at the crappy advice his school councilor had given him before taking a sip of milk to help organize his thoughts.

"Part of it is about me runnin' the gym… Keep worrying that I won't be good enough to be on the league next season and then you'll be disappointed in me… it doesn't really worry me as much at it annoys me, but the league staff baby talks to me a LOT but then also expects me to know everythin' that all the other leaders know already and take on all the responsibility without your help… M eight and know what a pokemon battle is but I don't know how to pay bills…"

"I know running the gym can be hard since we aren't supposed to win all the time. Our job is to test if the gym challengers are strong enough to face Opal, Melony or Gordie, Piers, and Raihan. If we won all the time, then there wouldn't be any new participants in the champion cup, and that's the whole point of the Galar league. But I know it was hard for me to learn that lesson too. My parents taught me that only victory matters, and that I was a failure if I wasn't the very best."

"Y-yeah. You're parents were scary and I cried every time they tried to put me through their training stuff. M glad you decided to take me with you." Allister shuddered at the memories of having meltdowns from being pushed to his breaking point almost every day. He decided to take another swig of milk to tone down the bad memories.

"Do you want to talk about anything else?" Allister stopped midsip and started coughing when a few droplets went down the wrong pipe. A few strong pats on the back helped him clear his windpipe, although the choking made it more difficult than normal for him to speak.

"Promise you won't get mad at me?" Bea put her pinky around the one her brother offered and put an arm around his shoulder. It still took several minutes for Allister to find the right words and the courage to speak. Even then, his speech was full of shakiness, stuttering, and pauses.

"W-well... um… I know you said you'll always be here for me no matter what, b-but I just feel like I'm drainin' all your time and energy that you could be usin' to train or run our gym. I f-feel like you would be b-better off with me g-gone and then you w-wouldn't c-constantly have to fix my mistakes c-cause I'm havin' a m-meltdown over makin' the mistake in the first place, and I constantly worry about stuff that you tell me will be fine. I want to b-believe you so bad b-but my brain won't believe it. M tired of worryin' and M tired of cryin' and I just wanna go to sleep!" Allister curled up into himself, sobbing and hyperventilating into his knees and refusing to look at his sister.

"Allister, I didn't realize how upset you were about all this. Why didn't you come get me earlier?"

"Th-that's another thing I hate about myself! I c-can't do anything without havin' a stupid panic attack. I wanna be strong like you and do some things without help but I can't! I'm just weak and useless and don't know why you keep me around since 'm just a huge burden…"

"That's enough of that talk Allister. You have no idea how much you've helped me just by being around and being yourself." Bea grabbed a tissue and wiped the tears that were dripping out of the mask, and patiently waited until Allister was ready to remove it before she started cleaning the rest of his face up. Bea motioned for her younger brother to sit closer to her, but Allister decided to opt for his favorite cuddling position, with his head tucked under Bea's chin and his arms loosely placed around her shoulders.

"Alli, do you remember how things were when you first came to live with my family?"

"You were really scary and kinda mean…"

"Yep, the only things I cared about were my training sessions and the few people that encouraged me to continue those. I had decided I didn't want or need anything else and came off as cold and rude to avoid forming new attachments to other things or people. But then you came along and taught me that there is much more to life than that. I realized that other people are not as lucky as I am and need help to survive. I had to learn how to be compassionate and show my emotions instead of suppressing them for the sake of appearing strong. I probably would have never learned any emotional intelligence if it hadn't been for you. I love you and wouldn't give you up for anything." Bea squeezed her little brother as tightly as he could handle.

"S-so it's okay for me to be clingy and anxious and you don't want to leave me somewhere in the middle of the wild area?"

"Of course Alli. Anytime you decide to sneak out, I always come and look for you to make sure you're okay. If I didn't want you, then I wouldn't hire a search party every time you go missing. It's also okay for you to have doubts and insecurities, and it's okay to talk to me about them too. You have an anxiety disorder and a not so great past, so those things come naturally to you. If you're ever feeling anxious at this time of night again, I want you to come get me, okay?" Allister nodded and yawned, letting his mask fall from his hand onto the couch.

"Want to stay with me tonight?" Bea stood up and kept her arms around Allister so she could carry him back upstairs.

"P-please. Love you." Allister was out like a snorlax after a large meal by the time Bea made it to the top of the stairs and she let out a smile. She carefully tucked him in under a soft blanket before scooting in next to him.

"Love you too Alli. Sweet dreams."