Hau ran up to Gladion with a goofy grin, eyes practically exploding with needless hyperactive fire. (What else was new?)

"How'd it go?" the green-haired boy chirped. "Don't you just love my gramps? He really is the best. Really not your traditional grandpa-type, you know?"

"It went fine, thanks," Gladion said guardedly, though without the sarcasm and annoyance that statement usually would have held coming from him.

"What did Hala say to you?" Selene smirked. "He didn't have a problem with you, did he? I can only imagine, what with you tainting his precious, pure Hau…"

Hau laughed freely while Gladion rolled his eyes. "I'm hardly tainting him. And besides, he didn't have a problem with me."

"What did he say?" Lillie asked, her eyes locking with her brother's. Her gaze was calm and composed, more so than Gladion ever was.

"Not much…" Gladion lied, trying not to cringe at his own petty dishonesty. "He basically was just making sure I would take care of Hau."

Hau perked up. "Will you?"

Selene said, "How are you supposed to take care of him if you can't even handle him? God knows his energy keeps you on your toes all the time."

"I'm quite aware of that," Gladion replied icily, making Selene crack a grin. "And to be honest, I have no idea. He doesn't even need taking care of. He's always peachy. Seriously—he's, like, peachy. I don't think I've ever used that word in my life, but it seems appropriate, and I think I just threw up in my mouth."

Elio's lips curved into a tiny smile. "Hearing you say peachy just cured any and all minor insecurities I have."

Everybody except for Gladion laughed. The blonde himself simply glared, per the usual.

"I'm being completely serious here. Taking care of Hau would be pointless for any purpose other than personal enjoyment. He's happy all the time. What more can anyone do?" Gladion crossed his arms rigidly. "And besides, he's not like me. He doesn't have millions of problems to handle."

Hau put a hand on his hip, his smile faltering. "How do you know that?"

Selene snickered. "Please. We all know you're the most gleeful, secure kid in the universe. I feel as though you'd be the one person here who'd run through a field of flowers and burst into song."

"Maybe," Hau answered, now frowning, "but Gladion and I are more alike than you'd guess."

Gladion almost choked at that.

How could this child possibly think they were alike?

They weren't. They weren't alike at all.

Gladion hated himself and hated the world, and he hated hating himself and hated hating the world. He was that boy, the one who sulked in shadows and sat in abandoned corners and was there but wouldn't say a word. He spent countless hours dwelling over his problems, which gnawed at him with fangs sharper than any Pokémon's. He would look in the mirror and realize that, yes, he was a huge mess, and maybe he could never be fixed, and perhaps he shouldn't even try.

Hau was brimming with confidence and enthusiasm. He loved everyone to some extent no matter how they treated him, and he loved loving people. He would rush to anybody he could find and his words rushed out of his mouth loud and fast. He used his time laughing and smiling and running, running to places he wouldn't even know where, with utmost excitement and joy. He would look in the mirror proudly and tell his reflection that he would keep going no matter what, that he could become the Champion if it was truly what his heart desired.

"No. I hate to burst your bubble, Hau, but we are nothing like one another." Gladion said bluntly. "I could probably write an essay on all the reasons why we're different, but it all boils down to this: I have a lot of problems. And you don't have any."

Hau tensed.

It was barely noticeable, but Gladion noticed a lot of things most people wouldn't. He could be an exceptionally perceptive person.

"I mean, it might not look like it, but I have problems." Hau bit his lip. "Everybody has problems."

"If you think you have real problems, you're delusional," Gladion snapped, feeling some guilt begin to stir in his gut but continuing nonetheless. "Your worst problem is probably which kind of malasada you should buy when you go to the Malasada Shop."

Everyone else waited with baited breath to see Hau's reaction, which Gladion didn't understand in the slightest. He knew the Trainer would just laugh it off and maybe even agree with him, and then it would be over. Things like this never fazed Hau.

Except Hau pushed his chair back angrily and stormed into a bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Gladion felt the guilt become more prominent know, no longer even remotely dormant.

Why did he always do this?

He always messed things up. He didn't understand other people's emotions enough, and sometimes he was scared he just didn't care.

"Okay, you went a little overboard there." Selene said tartly. "I get what you were trying to say, but did you really have to word it that way, Gladion?"

"There are other, less harsh ways to say something like that," Lillie agreed in a somewhat hushed voice.

"I know, but I always say things like that. I don't get what was special about that." Gladion sighed, sounding thoroughly aggravated and confused by the situation. "Why was that the only thing Hau's ever actually been offended by? He stomped away without explaining anything."

"When people are mad they don't often explain things, Gladion," Elio answered. Mild accusation was evident in his eyes and tone.

"You should probably go talk to him, if you really are his boyfriend," Lillie suggested placidly, not seeming overly upset with Gladion rather than wanting to help him.

Gladion clenched his fists. "Fine." He stood up stiffly and walked towards the bedroom Hau had disappeared into, rapping on the door rhythmically.

He was overwhelmed by the revelation of exactly how insensitive he could be, and how insensitive he must have been all the years after running from Aether Paradise without knowing. He was selfish, so selfish, and it made him sick.

The least he could do was correct it, even if only in this particular situation.

He hadn't known Hau for very long, but it was already dreadfully evident to Gladion that he loved him, cared for him more than he'd likely cared for anyone other than Lillie, and maybe Silvally. But this thing he had with Hau was different from his relationship with his sister and favorite Pokémon.

Calling out the displeased boy's name, Gladion hoped Hau wasn't furious with him.

"Come in!" a strangely chipper and recognizable voice replied. Puzzled by Hau's sudden change in mood judging by his voice, Gladion opened the door and walked inside.

Hau was sitting on top of the bed, toying with one of the sheets in between his fingers even as his eyes met Gladion's. "Sorry I overreacted, Gladion. I shouldn't have run off like that. It was a stupid move. But you don't have to worry, because I'm fine now!" He gave his green-eyed friend an invigorated thumbs-up.

Gladion frowned. "Are you really?"

"Believe me," Hau insisted, "I'm fine. I'm absolutely great, in fact. So if you want to go back out there, it'll be like nothing ever happened."

Gladion walked over to the bed and sat down next to Hau, examining his face closely. He was smiling, but his eyes were a little red, and his cheeks looked a little wet.

Memories ripped through Gladion like simultaneous fire and ice.

"Young Master Gladion? Are you all right? You don't look very good…"

"I'm fine, Wicke."

The amount of times he'd said those two words while living with Lusamine and Lillie in Aether Paradise—I'm fine—was unimaginable, and it made him feel awful that he'd never once been telling the truth.

He could be crying or bleeding or about to explode, but that wouldn't change a thing. Wicke would open his door or Lillie would cling to his side, and he would reply he was fine in the most believable way he could manage.

So Gladion, recalling these painful recollections despite the agony they caused him, knew one thing for a fact:

Hau was not fine.

"Don't lie to me," Gladion growled, making Hau flinch. "I can see right through you, so don't even try it."

Hau's eyes widened, overflowing with innocence. "What? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"You're good at pretending. I'm good at pretending, too." Gladion sighed. It was barely audible. His voice softened significantly, and although he wasn't very accustomed to contact, much less appreciated it, he wrapped his arm lightly around Hau's middle. "But it takes a pretender to know a pretender. I've said 'I'm fine' a thousand times, and I have never, ever meant it. I don't want you to say it without meaning it too."

Hau's smile evaporated and he leaned into Gladion's touch—like he needed it. Like if Gladion's arm wasn't around him, he might plummet and fade away.

"It's really not a big deal."

Hau spoke in a single breath, weak and hollow.

"That isn't true. Almost anything can be a big deal depending on the person," Gladion argued. "And…and if it upsets you, it's a big deal to me. I want to know how I can avoid doing this to you again."

Hau inhaled deeply. He had almost smiled at Gladion's words, but his mouth had never quite gotten there. "It's sort of dumb why I got mad."

"I don't care. I just want to know."

"It's just that…" Hau paused for a moment. "I have problems, Gladion. I do. Maybe they're not as bad as yours, and I wasn't trying to make a comparison, but I wanted you to know you weren't alone. And…I probably wanted to tell myself that, too."

Gladion's arm tightened around Hau. He felt the need to hold him up, even if nothing other than the aura he was giving off suggested he would fall. "I'm very sorry for what I said. I'm…I'm selfish, Hau. I'm really damn selfish, and I'm always wishing I could change it, but I'm just so tactless and selfish that I can't…" He trailed off and looked away. "Do you want to know the truth? I'm a bad person. And I'm not just saying that, Hau. I think I am. Because the first thing I thought when you said you had problems wasn't that you didn't, it was that nobody should care because they can't possibly be anywhere near as bad as mine."

"I believe most people think that way, whether they admit it or not," Hau said slowly. Gladion glanced over at him, seeing his eyes were getting red again and he was sniffing, obviously trying to hold back tears.

Gladion scooted closer to Hau; their sides were pressed against each other. Instead of paying attention to the small flame, the twitchy sparks dancing in his stomach, he begged himself to pay attention to the situation.

"Do you think that way?"

Hau was silent for a moment before answering, "Rarely."

Gladion laughed mirthlessly. "See? You're a good person. I'm not."

And he meant it.

Gladion had always tried to convince himself that he didn't have time for the company of somebody like Hau. He'd always tried to hate Hau, tried to think he was stupid even though he knew he wasn't.

But if he was being honest with himself—honest enough so that it made him uncomfortable—he thought he didn't deserve the company of somebody like Hau.

It didn't matter if the kid had problems or not. Hau always wanted the best for everyone else. Even if someone didn't seem to particularly like him—like Gladion hadn't—he was always there for them, always looking out for them, always keeping them safe and sound. He protected his friends as much as he could and was kinder than he needed to be. He was a shelter, a key, a light for those who needed him.

Why should Gladion have somebody like that?

"Gladion, I'm not going to argue with you, because I think you're a good person, better than you believe. And yes, I also love you. But the real reason I got upset before was because you…you kind of said what I've always thought."

Gladion turned his head to look into Hau's eyes, perplexed.

(Why were his eyes so pretty?)

"I have self-esteem issues. I guess—I guess that's what I'd call them, if I was forced to label them at knifepoint. But there are so many people who have it worse. Like you. Your mother brutally abused you and you ran away from home, ended up joining a gang, then had to see your mother again when she practically killed your sister and destroyed the world. I'm not saying this all to rub your past in your face, Gladion. I'm trying to show you how little my problems look compared to yours because, yeah, they are little compared to yours. And that really scares me, because they hurt. When I think about that, I think I don't deserve help. I think I'm just weak and that anybody else could just get over it, but I can't. And the way you said what you said before, it sounded like you were saying just that. You were saying you've had it much worse, and so anything I'm going through doesn't matter. I've always thought that, but having it confirmed just—I don't know."

"I didn't mean it. Everything you're saying right now? It's not true." Gladion's voice had risen in volume and confidence. He couldn't recall a time when he sounded this strong, this certain. "It doesn't matter if people have had it worse. What you're going through matters, especially if it's hurting you. It doesn't immediately make you weak if other people have made it through worse things. Your real fault is thinking it does. Everybody deserves help if they think they need it. It doesn't matter if other people have walked through hell. It only matters that you trust your heart and go find somebody to help you."

Realizing what he'd said, heat rose to Gladion's face and he could feel himself blushing.

Had he really just said all that?

He meant it, but he'd never…

He'd never really said anything like that, to anyone.

He was staring into Hau's pretty, dark eyes, and Hau was staring back into his own green eyes.

It was wonderful.

And it was torture.

Hau turned and hugged Gladion even though Gladion's side was still facing him. The blonde turned his head and nuzzled the other Pokémon Trainer's hair.

"Hau, tell me what's wrong."

Hau sighed into the crook of his neck.

"I…well, my gramps wants me to become the next kahuna, and I have that dream too, but…"

Gladion had started stroking Hau's back when he remembered something.

"Besides losing any of you guys, I guess I'm scared I'll never be enough for my grandpa."

Now he understood he hadn't taken those words seriously enough.

But in fairness, Hau hadn't made them sound serious enough, either.

"Look, I've surpassed my gramps already, but I don't know if I could ever deal with the stress of being a kahuna. The constant challengers, the reputation, living up to my grandpa himself…" Hau's words were muffled. "And everybody knows I'm not as good a Trainer as Selene. People have tried to tell me otherwise, but nobody can deny Selene has some insane natural talent I just don't have. I get the feeling my grandpa has even stronger ambitions for me besides being the next kahuna, like maybe beating her and becoming the Champion, but I don't think I could ever do that."

"Do you want to do that?"

"I…I think that…I think that I would be fine just being a kahuna. I don't honestly think I could handle much more than that," Hau admitted. "I want to become an amazing Pokémon Trainer, and I love being one in the first place. But all these things I think my gramps wants me to do, expects me to do, it just gets to be too much, and I wonder why I'm even trying. Sometimes I just want to stop. I want to stop everything and lie down and go to sleep and just…"

Gladion squeezed his eyes shut.

"Die?"

Hau breathed in sharply. "I'd never…kill myself. I don't think I could. I'm not brave enough, I guess. But…yes. Every once in a while, when I'm feeling really frail and weak and all that, the stress becomes too much for me, and I know I can never live up to the expectations, and I think that maybe it would be easier to die.

"I lose over and over again to Selene, Gladion. You've seen it firsthand. I lose over and over again to Elio. I lose over and over again to you. And once Lillie starts her Trainer career—like, for real—I'll probably lose over and over again to her, too. Nothing I ever do seems like enough. I always end up behind, running to catch up to you guys, and I try so hard, but it's—it's never enough. I always need to pretend like I'm okay, though. I always need to smile, because that's what people want. That's what they expect."

Gladion breathed in deeply from his nose. Hau smelled like flowers, refreshing and sweet-scented.

"What is enough for you, Hau? Is enough when you finally meet all those expectations Hala and everyone else has for you, when you finally surpass all of us and make the whole world proud?" Gladion asked. He sounded melancholy, like gray clouds when it's not even raining. "If that's what's enough is for you, Hau, then you need to change that. Because you should be satisfied when you've given it your best shot, and if you've already done that, you shouldn't give a crap about what other people think."

Hau stared up at Gladion like he didn't know him, wide-eyed and beautiful, and Gladion swallowed thickly, unable to move.

"I've never told any of what I said to anybody." Hau breathed out. "Gladion, you…"

Gladion didn't want to talk anymore.

Without thinking, he leaned in and kissed the younger boy, engulfed in a love that made him melt and gave him chills all the same, and he wished Hau wouldn't feel the way he did.

Neither of them wanted to pull back, but they needed to breathe. It was only their second kiss, but it was already more passionate than the first.

Gladion slipped his hand underneath Hau's chin and tilted it up, forcing him to face him. His emerald eyes stared viciously into Hau's darker ones.

"You are enough."