#swordsdanced

BLUES FOCUSING INTENTLY ON THE OCEAN IMMEDIATELY FLICKER IN THE DIRECTION OF THE FAMILIAR VOICE, lips morphing into an ‘o’ of surprise seeing the President of Aether himself--or simply her dear grumpy friend to her, approaching. And seeming a bit winded too. Like, he’d been out and about for a while, but...why at this time? It was very well near midnight, not that she wasn’t glad to see him.  “Gladion! What are you...” No sooner than she’d opened her mouth to get his answers, he’d begun to speak. 

The rare sight of blush on his cheeks, the “Happy Valentine’s Day”, gifts offered out to her...

...wait. 

Two blinks from Alola’s Champion as everything finally started to click into place, eyes widening upon the realization of it all. Gladion had came all the way to find her just to wish her a happy Valentine’s Day. To give her Valentine’s gifts. And that’s when a soft smile begins to pull at the edges of her lips, faint heat settling in her cheeks and heart blossoming with warmth. “You ran all the way here, this late...to give me Valentine’s gifts?” A giggle bubbles from her lips, one hand raising to try and (fail to) stifle the whimsical noise.

“And you say you’re not sweet, Glad.” Not that he was ever convincing her before with his argument otherwise but after pulling this? Oh, he’d never be able to convince her otherwise. Edgy style? Sure. (It was cool though, to her.) Grumpy? Plenty. But deep down, he had one of the most giving hearts, whether he’d admit it or not. 

“Mahalo.” A genuine gratitude from Selene, the brunette beaming up at him as she accepts each of his gifts. Really, after getting showered in gifts from fans, she should be used to this! And yet gestures like this never failed to touch her heart. There was something even more special about receiving a gift from someone close to her.

Azure eyes sparkled in curiosity, gifts soon unveiled one after the other. An excited gasp at the sight of the chocolate--the super pricey chocolates! How much did he spend on these?! But oh no, then there’s the ring. Beautiful sterling silver and adorned with moonstones. It was so lovely, like...like something out of a fairytale...!  “Glad...” A whisper barely gotten out, the Champion peering between him and the jewelry several times as if she couldn’t believe he’d done this. And she couldn’t! But then there’s the cherry on top--a moonstone itself! Her favorite of all evolutionary stones. Appropriately. 

A long moment passes, the brunette quiet, setting the boxes down with the utmost care before slowly turning her attention back to Gladion. 

...and then all but flinging her arms around him tightly. Maybe a little even too tightly. Lips in a wide grin, bits of laughter escaping. 

“You really went all out on this, didn’t you?” She’s grateful to Arceus above that he doesn’t know just how many Butterfree were fluttering about in her stomach. Arms still embracing him after a few seconds--albeit with a loosened grip now, she peers up at him. 

“...all this and you didn’t ask me to be your Valentine.” Punctuated with a wink. 

Maybe it’s serious. Probably a tease. 

Maybe both. 

All the same there’s a playfulness in her eyes amidst all the warmth. 

“But really, Gladion...I really appreciate this, all of this. I promise to cherish everything! There’s something I want to give you too though.”  

Without a second thought, she lifts onto the tips of her toes and brushes her lips to his cheek. 

She stiffened, as if to harden herself against this subject, against the almost-forgotten sound of Gladion’s voice– but slowly her head turned to face him and she looked, as if seeing him for the first time.

There was silence between them then, and again Lusamine averted her gaze.

Just when it seemed she wasn’t going to verbalize a response, she spoke. Her voice was frail.

“… Of course. Children need their fathers…”

Therapy/post-trauma starters! (specify muse) 

@swordsdanced

Lillie shook, taking deep breaths at Gladion’s voice. Safe. They were safe. She was safe with him. They were away from their mother, and she held no power over them anymore. She didn’t like when things triggered her, making her think of the horrible things that their mother had put them through.

“Gladion…” she said softly, snapping back into reality and looking up at her brother, feeling her heart slowly calm down. “Thank you. I’m sorry. I don’t know why that freaked me out.”

@swordsdanced submitted: 

Gladion's Present

Gladion was supposed to be on a trip to the Galar region, meeting with some potential sponsors to help the Aether Foundation. He was supposed to not come back for another week. He did promise a call today (after all, he wanted to wish her a happy birthday), but it was starting to get late and she hadn’t received anything.

Of course, that was because he was coming to surprise her in person. A random knock on her door was enough for him to get her attention, and Gladion readily accepted any welcome she may have had with open arms. “I wanted to wish you a happy birthday in person, business trips be damned.” Maybe it was because he got to see her again, but he was a lot more cheery than normal today.

Once they had time to settle down and greet each other, Gladion pulled out several boxes from his bag, setting them down all in front of her neatly so she could pick and choose which one she would want to open first. Inside three of them were various high-end camera lenses, all of which would fit well with her current camera, and all the newest models as well!

The last one, however, was something special. A brand new phone, complete with it’s own purple case adorned with golden stars and a crescent moon, the name “Mahina” inscribed around the moon. “I’d figure I’d help you get with the times while I was in Galar… so I got you a Rotom-grade smartphone for your own Rotom to inhabit. Think of it as my extra special birthday present to you.”

A SERENE MORNING--RATHER WHAT WAS LEFT OF IT GIVEN HER SLEEPING HABITS soon became a busy afternoon full of celebration and well wishes from family, friends and fans alike. Serenades, small gifts, lots of laughter, a delicious lunch and the cherry on top: cupcakes. Sooooo many cupcakes (with the cutest moon designs on them) that she probably could eat the dessert for the rest of the week. Twice a day--which was a really tempting idea, given her sweet tooth. The kindness she’d received from so many made her heart full, had her wearing the merriest smile the entire day.

Yet afternoon had become evening. 

Minutes becoming hours and hours becoming...more hours. 

And she’d heard not a single ring from her phone. The time passing so rapidly, making her wonder quietly if the promise Gladion made would actually come true today. Selene knew her rival--her close friend, not to be a person to make idle promises--if he said something he was certainly going to do it, even if it cost him his health sometimes. (And who was she to judge given her similar habits.) But she also knew Gladion was human....and the sole head of a company. He could be super busy in Galar still, doing way more important things that would benefit Aether. 

Much as she did want to hear his voice today, she’d understand if he couldn’t find any free time. 

...but even as she’d made up her mind about that, that didn’t mean azure eyes weren’t repeatedly checking over her phone, as she lay sprawled across her couch. An old rom-com, one of her favorites, was watching her more than she was it--and it’s right when Selene let out a heavy sigh and rested her phone on its face that there’s an unexpected knock on the apartment door. She blinks. 

‘Maybe another birthday surprise or something?’ She reasons to herself as she rolls out her spot and makes her way to the door. 

So much time she had spent burying all thought of that man... She could not have said what possessed her to suddenly speak of him, nor what could have possessed Gladion to speak to her now.

Her mind roiled and her flesh crawled with resistance-- but she made no attempt to flee, listening with skeletal fingers snarled into her skirt.

She remembered it somewhat differently. Though she recalled how loudly Lillie had cried when the news first came to her, how Gladion had become suddenly watchful and anxious, she recalled too how Lillie had been able to freely dance and play shortly thereafter, as if the grief hadn’t touched her at all.

Youth was a great blessing in tragedy, Lusamine thought then; in their innocence, they could still forget, or otherwise learn to live with their wounds. Nevertheless, of course they would be confused. Of course they still needed their father. Without him, she couldn’t...

“You think I never realized?” Her voice came as a low hiss. She was glaring fiercely-- not at Gladion, but down at her own clenched hands. “I did, I-- I was going to fix it. Bring him back to us...”

But then... The children had made such nuisances of themselves, distracting her-- and then they, too, went away, and the beasts started their sweet singing, beckoning her with endless promises. She would have them, him, power, love-- true paradise and escape from all her petty human agonies, if only she...

After that, nothing else had mattered. It could all crumble into dust.

In the end, she had been profoundly ignorant, and all she brought was ruin. Any knowledge or intentions she might have possessed previously were quite irrelevant now. That she thought to blame the children was a terrible fallacy; Lillie had told her as much time and again.

Though she had heard these things before, it was her first time hearing them from Gladion. Reluctantly, she met his eyes.

° • ? ( QUESTION SENTENCE STARTERS. || Accepting!

@swordsdanced

Here they are out in the sun…chucking Pyukumuku like they’re part of the Hano Resort’s STAFF and not the Champion and acting executive for a major foundation. Actually they may as well be staff being that they were going to be payed for it. But for Selene, it was less work and more like a game to see if she could set a new record for how far she could send the water type.

When she’d first been introduced to the practice, she mistakenly thought it cruel to see people tossing them, but quickly learned it wasn’t damaging at all to the Pokemon and a tradition within the region…and er, helped people avoid the wrath of stepping on them. (Yikes they could sure pack a punch–she and her unfortunate clumsiness felt it first hand.) 

Two people chucking made cleanup go much faster. And at her rival’s eventual questioning, she couldn’t suppress laughter. Of course he’d be ready to be done with this. “Come on, aren’t you having fun, at least a little? Aside from the sliminess I think this is nice! …but I do wish it wasn’t so hot.” Or bright. Thank Arceus for sunglasses. Before answering his question, she took a moment to think. Ten were on the beach…they took care of nine. “We only have one more left.”