"Sun, are you up?" Lillie quietly asked as she tapped Sun's shoulder. She got no response so she tried to wake him again.

"Sun?" Lillie asked, a little less quietly, "Can you hear me? I wanna ask you something." Still getting no reaction, she sat down on Sun's bed to get closer to him. Lillie then put her face up to Sun's and could hear his quiet breathing. She put her hands through his hair, which even though he had got it cut it was still fairly long, and moved it to get a better view of his face.

"Aww, he looks so innocent… Not cute enough for me to let him be, though," Lillie thought to herself as she lowered her head down to his. Just as her face was no less than an inch apart from his, Lillie saw Sun start to slowly open his eyes. She was quickly caught off guard and backed up, too much though, as she fell down to the floor.

"Lillie? Are you okay?" A tired Sun asked as he offered Lillie his hand to help her up.

"Thanks," Lillie said as Sun helped her off the floor and back onto the edge of his bed, "I just needed to ask you something," Lillie said.

Sun looked over at his clock, and even though his eyes weren't fully open, he was still able to see the time, "Does it have to be at 2:00 in the morning? The Pikipek aren't even chirping yet."

"Sorry, but I've been up all night thinking about it…" Lillie said sounding apologetic.

"No, it's okay. Go ahead," Sun responded.

"Well, I was thinking, that maybe today… we could go to Aether Paradise," Lillie said with a lump in her throat.

"Why do you want to go back there, Lillie?" Sun asked in confusion.

"Well… I feel like now that it's been some time, I'm ready to go back there. I mean, just to check up on things," Lillie rambled.

"Sure. Let's do it," Sun said back immediately.

"Really!? Do you mean it?" Lillie asked with a burst of excitement.

"Why not? If you want to go then let's make it happen. I'm sure that there's some people there that'd be glad to see you again. And I could use the trip, too. It'll all work out," Sun said with a smile.

"Oh, Sun, you're the best!" Lillie happily said as she grabbed Sun and pulled him in for a big hug.

"Let's just try to keep it down," Sun lightheartedly mentioned, "We can check in the morning what time a ship leaves for Aether." Lillie knew that one day she would go back to Aether Paradise, a stronger person, and who better for her to do it with than Sun.

"Um, Lillie. You can let go now," Sun said as he tried to separate himself. Not that Sun disliked being hugged by Lillie, it's just that he could really use some sleep.

"Oh, sorry," Lillie said with a small blush as she finally let go of Sun, "Guess I forgot to let go there." She then walked over to her bed and slipped back under the covers.

"Lillie, I've got something that I want to ask you too," Sun said.

"What is it, Sun?" Lillie asked as she popped her head off of her- or rather Sun's- pillow. Sun wanted to bring up what happened at the end of their Valentine's Day friend-date. He remembered how unreal it felt for one of his wildest dreams to come true; His wild dream of being kissed by Lillie. In that moment, he couldn't move. He felt like he was hit by a Vileplume's Stun Spore. He didn't know what to say, or how to react. Sun just remembered his cheek feeling as warm and blissful as possible.

"So, did you have fun yesterday?" Sun asked with regret as soon as the words exited his mouth.

"Um, yeah, definitely," Lillie responded. When Sun brought up yesterday, she immediately thought of when she kissed him. Lillie didn't want Sun to think too much of it. Or maybe she did. Even Lillie didn't know what to think of it. All she knew was that she enjoyed it. A lot.

"I didn't really have any experience with dates or anything… Not saying that was a date! Because it wasn't… well, maybe it was. But, um, thanks for everything that you did. You made me feel really special," Lillie said in a fluster.

"Don't worry about it. I had fun too," Sun said, "Now we should probably get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day, Lillie."

"Right," Lillie said as she rolled over in bed, "Good night, Sun."

"See you in the morning, Lillie," Sun replied. Sun put his hands behind his head and let out a yawn. Lillie grabbed the pillow from under her head and stuffed it into her arms. She breathed it in and felt soothed. Sun and Lillie both drifted back to sleep, knowing that an eventful day awaited them both.

[The next morning]

"You ready, Lillie?" Sun said as he put on his hat and opened the front door.

"Yeah!" Lillie said as she grabbed her bag, "I'll be there in a sec." Lillie put her backpack on and ran over to Sun.

"Why's your bag look so heavy? Are you bringing some bricks?" Sun joked as he saw that Lillie's bag was in an odd shape.

"Oh! Uh, it's nothing. Just a little lumpy I guess," Lillie said as she tried to make her backpack look more natural.

"All right, let's get this show on the road!" Sun said as he held the door open for Lillie. The two headed out to Hau'oli City, where they would be able to find out when the next ship to Aether Paradise leaves. As they were walking through the city, they enjoyed the relaxing and warm weather that Alola was known for.

"Kanto wasn't always this nice!" Lillie said as she smiled.

"Even though I was young when I lived there, I still remember it pretty well," Sun noted.

"Where did you live in Kanto, Sun?" Lillie asked.

"Pallet Town," Sun replied.

"Oh, that's where Professor Oak's Lab is, right?" Lillie asked.

"Yeah, I never got to meet him. My dad did, though. He said that he was a pretty cool guy," Sun said.

"He's the one who gave me my Squirtle. He also said that he would help look after my Pokemon for me while I was away," Lillie said. After walking through the city, Sun and Lillie had reached the Ferry Terminal. They walked inside and saw a girl standing behind the counter.

"Hi, do you know when the next ferry to Aether Paradise leaves?" Sun asked the girl.

"One second…" The girl said as she checked her computer, "Well, you two are in luck! The next ship leaves in fifteen minutes."

"Great, thank you!" Lillie said as she smiled at the woman.

"You're very welcome!" The woman said back.

"Hey let's go sit over there while we wait," Lillie said as she pointed to a couch. They walked over and sat down.

"Do you think that much has changed over there?" Lillie asked.

"Well, I'd say that Gladion has made some changes since he became the president," Sun said.

"He's the president?" Lillie asked.

"Well, you probably would've been selected, had you not left. So, Gladion won by default," Sun said.

"I'm sure that he's made it a better place!" Lillie said with a big smile. Sun loved how Lillie always had 100% faith in people. Even if it didn't always work out, she always assumed the best from people.

"Yeah, like adding 'Emo Sweater Fridays'," Sun joked. Lillie laughed at his response and looked up at the clock.

"Well, we've got ten more minutes… How about we play a game?" Lillie suggested.

"What do you have in mind?" Sun asked.

"Have you ever played 'Would You Rather'?" Lillie asked.

"Yep," Sun replied.

"All right, I'll go first," Lillie said, "Would you rather… spend one hour in a room full of Ariados and Galvantula, or an entire night in a house haunted by Gengar?"

"The haunted house," Sun immediately answered.

"Why so sudden to answer, Sun? Are you scared of spiders?" Lillie teased.

"No! I just… um," Sun tried to think of something to redeem himself but Lillie stopped him.

"So you're the strongest trainer in Alola, but you won't stand up to a little spider?" Lillie teased more.

"It's not like that, really!" Sun said trying to sound strong.

"Don't worry, Sun. If we see a Spinarak on the way to the boat, I'll protect you!" Lillie said as she playfully nudged Sun's arm.

"Well, Lillie, at least I can cross a bridge," Sun said as a comeback.

"Hey! That was years ago," Lillie said as she sat back up and pouted. As time passed, Lillie and Sun exchanged questions for each other. Lillie looked up at the clock and saw that they had a few minutes until they would have to leave. Realizing that time was running out, she asked a question.

"Hey, Sun, uh… I've got another one," Lillie nervously started off, "Hypothetically, of course, w-would you rather have t-to… kiss me or Mallow." Lillie immediately buried her head in her arms as a sign of regret, wanting to take back her words. Sun, on the other hand, was trying to figure out how to respond to Lillie's question.

"Should I give her an honest answer? Will she take it the wrong way?" Sun thought to himself. He looked over at Lillie who was nervously fidgeting around next to him, awaiting his answer.

"Well, I mean you're, like, my best friend. And I don't really know Mallow that well, but it's not like she's unattractive or anything…" Sun tried to answer without putting too much thought into it, but ultimately ended up making things worse.

"Oh, great. He thinks Mallow's hot. And I'm just 'the friend'. Whatever, don't take it too seriously, Lillie," The blonde girl thought to herself as she waited for Sun to finish his answer.

"...So, I guess I'd choose you. But, like you said, it's hypothetical. So it doesn't even matter, right?" Sun answered.

"Yeah! It's just made up- I mean, that would never happen anyway," Lillie said trying not to sound too excited. But that was hard for her. After all, she just found out that Sun would "hypothetically" kiss her instead of Mallow. The girl that Lillie felt was ruining her chances with Sun.

"May I have your attention, please. The ferry to Aether Paradise will be leaving in two minutes. I repeat, the ferry to Aether Paradise will be leaving in two minutes," A voice over the speaker said.

"We should probably get going," Sun said as he stood up and stretched.

"Yeah, let's go," Lillie said as she got up and followed Sun outside.

"All riders of the ferry to Aether Paradise get on board! We're leaving in two minutes!" The captain of the ferry announced. Sun and Lillie walked over to the ferry and got on. Sun crossed his arms and leaned on the railing. He looked into the ocean and saw plenty of Alomomola and Wishiwashi swimming around in the water.

"It feels good getting on the ship with you this time," Sun said as he looked over to Lillie.

"Yeah, I like being with you too," Lillie responded, not fully paying attention to what Sun was saying as she was clearly thinking about something.

"Are you okay?" Sun asked.

"Yeah. It's just that I'm kind of nervous," Lillie replied.

"How come?" Sun asked.

"Well, I guess it's just because it'll feel weird being there. You know, because…" Lillie tried to say before Sun cut her off.

"You don't have to explain yourself, Lillie. I know what you mean," Sun responded.

"You always do," Lillie said as she smiled and looked into the sea. Just as she finished talking, the boat took off for Aether Paradise.

[At Aether Paradise]

"Well," Lillie started as her feet stepped on land, "Here we are!" Sun and Lillie looked up at the tall building and stepped inside.

"Hello, do you know where we could find Gladion- I mean the president?" Lillie asked the helper behind the front counter.

"Take the elevator in the center up and he should be there," The lady responded.

"Okay, thank you," Lillie replied. Her and Sun went over to the elevator and took it up. As it started ascending, Sun felt himself get chills down his spine. He vividly remembered when him, Gladion and Hau took the same elevator when they had to save Lillie and Nebby. When the elevator finished rising and they stepped off, they saw plenty of employes and Pokemon, all living peacefully.

"I guess Gladion's got a nice hold on things," Lillie noted.

"You can go home now if you're feeling better, Oddish," Gladion said as he bent down to the small Pokemon.

"Odd!" The Weed Pokemon happily cried as it was pet by Gladion.

"Hey Gladion, what's up?" Sun said as he walked over to the blonde-haired boy.

"Oh, hey Sun. This little dude got all cut up from a bunch of Spearow, so-" Gladion started to say before he noticed who was standing alongside Sun. Sun stepped to the side so that the two siblings could reconnect.

"Lillie!?" Gladion said in surprise as he saw his sister.

"Yep, it's me!" Lillie happily said as she brought her brother in for a hug.

"But, I thought you were in Kanto?" Gladion questioned.

"I was, but I missed everyone," Lilie replied.

"Just tell me that you've stayed out of trouble!" Gladion said, being the overprotective brother that he had always been to Lillie.

"Don't worry, I'm fine! Sun's kept me out of trouble," Lillie responded with a smile.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that," Gladion said in approval. He then looked over at Sun and gave him a look in the eye.

"You better be nice to my sister, you hear me? You know, she really likes you!" Gladion said to Sun.

"U-uh, yeah. Definitely!" Sun responded as he was intimidated by Gladion.

"Gladion! Stop teasing! Mother wouldn't like to hear that," Lillie said as she tried to cover up her face that was as red as a Tamato Berry.

"Hey, I bet that Wicke would love to see you, Lillie," Gladion said to his sister.

"Oh, you're right! Where would she be?" Lillie asked.

"She should be in the basement. C'mon, I'll show you there," Gladion responded.

"Awesome, let's go!" Lillie yelled with excitement as she ran over to the elevator. Sun and Gladion chased after her on their way to the elevator, as she had already used Quick Attack like a Pikachu to get there.

"Quit checking out my sister, Sun," Gladion said to his friend.

"W-what do you mean? I wasn't. I swear!" Sun said as his face turned bright red.

"Relax, man, I'm just messing with you," Gladion said as he gave Sun a friendly pat on the back.

"Ha ha, yeah, I knew that!" Sun said back.

"Going down," Gladion said as he pressed the elevator's button to make it descend. The three arrived on the basement floor and stepped off their ride.

"Follow me," Gladion said as he lead the two into a hallway. The door opened due to its motion-sensing technology and allowed them inside the room.

"Oh, hello President Gladion!" Wicke said as she saw Gladion walk through the door.

"I told you that you could call me Gladion… Anyway, we've got some special guests with us today," Gladion said as he stepped away.

"Hello, Sun! And hello, Miss Lillie!" Wicke said as she ran up to them and hugged them both.

"Hi, Miss Wicke! It's good to see you again," Lillie said as her and Sun were both wrapped in Wicke's arms.

"Did you have a safe trip back? And how is your mother doing?" Wicke asked the blonde-haired girl.

"Everything went smoothly. And mother is doing much better, although she hasn't fully

recovered yet," Lillie explained.

"Well that's good to hear," Wicke responded, "And how have you been, Sun? The last time I saw you, you were tracking down those Ultra Beasts,"

"I'm doing well," Sun replied with a smile.

"Oh, Sun, that reminds me. There's something I need to show you. Follow me," Gladion said as he brought Sun into another room.

"Oh, wait! Before you go, Sun, please take one of these," Wicke said as she handed Sun a malasada. Sun thanked her and followed Gladion into another room.

"Here, Miss Lillie. You should have one as well," Wicke said as she give Lillie a malasada.

"Thank you," Lillie said as she took the Alolan-treat from Wicke. She then took off her backpack and placed it on the table.

"Um, Miss Wicke, there's something I need you to help me with," Lillie said.

"Oh, anything you need. What is it?" Wicke asked.

"Well, I kinda took Sun's diary because I wanted you to see something…" Lillie started off.

"You know that you shouldn't steal!" Wicke told Lillie.

"I know, but… I just found it and started reading it, and now I need to know what something means," Lillie explained.

"Well, what's that thing?" Wicke asked.

Lillie flipped open to a page and pointed to it, "Right here. He wrote down that he thinks I'm 'cute'."

"Oh, well I wouldn't worry about it too much… Oh, wait! Does this mean that our little Lillie has a crush?" Wicke said.

"W-what do you mean?" Lillie asked, sounding defensive.

"Well, the first thing that you pointed out was that he called you 'cute'. And the only reason you would be reading his personal belongings is because you want to know what he thinks of you," Wicke said.

"I… I guess I might," Lillie said as she looked down.

"And that's nothing to be ashamed of. After all, he's your best friend!" Wicke told Lillie with a smile.

"I mean, he's really the only person that I've ever thought of wanting to-" Lillie started to say something but quickly stopped, "But how do I know that I really do like him?"

"Lillie, if I were you, I would ask yourselves these questions: Does he make you smile? Does he make you laugh? Does he make you feel better when you're sad? Does he believe in you? Do you feel special when you're with him?" Wicke explained.

"Well, I mean..." Lillie started to talk but Wicke cut her off.

"You don't have to tell me. You just have to make sure you know for yourself," Wicke told Lillie.

"And how would I know that he doesn't just think of me as a friend?" Lillie asked.

"That shouldn't take too much thought in this case. Think about all of the times that he's put himself in harm's way or done things for you that he hadn't or wouldn't have done for anybody else," Wicke said.

"So do you think I should say something?" Lillie asked.

"Hmm… Maybe you should. But maybe you shouldn't. I guess it would really just depend on if the moment feels right. If Sun ever brings it up, don't be afraid to tell him how you really do feel about him. If you tell him, maybe he'll say the same to you," Wicke said.

"I see. Thank you, Miss Wicke," Lillie responded.

"Don't worry about it, dear. And if you need any more advice, you know who to come to," Wicke said to Lillie with a wink, "And let's not forget to put that diary back in its rightful place, okay?"

[In the other room]

"So for the past few months, we've been receiving reports of these strange holes appearing that look like they lead to some other location," Gladion explained as he showed Sun some documents.

"Are they like the ones from the Ultra Beasts?" Sun asked.

"No, these ones are different. While we have limited information on them now, it seems as if they lead to a place called the 'Distortion World'," Gladion said.

"Interesting," Sun responded.

"And since you were so efficient in finding those UBs, we're trusting you with this top-secret information. Be sure to keep an eye out for them, Sun," Gladion said.

"Will do, Gladion," Sun said as they shook hands.