Moon tells herself it won't be awkward.

Then the second she steps inside Lillie and Hau's home and sees Gladion sitting at the kitchen table her entire body freezes in a cringe.

For his part, Gladion doesn't react much better. He's idly scrolling through the emails on his Dex when he looks up at the sound of the door opening and swallows hard at the sight of her. He internally scrambles for something to say, something to bridge the gap they left when they had their surreal conversation too late at night with too many unspoken feelings.

"Hey."

It's the only thing he can come up with but it doesn't make him feel any less stupid.

"Hey," she parrots, wide eyes remaining on his before she breaks his gaze, looking back at the front door, anything to keep from staring too long (or is it worse to not look at him at all?). "The door was open, so..."

He nods, lips pressed together into a thin line to keep from saying one of the thousands of wrong things to say in this moment. Maybe, if Gladion really prays to Arceus or the tapus, the ground will open up and swallow him whole; maybe, if Moon really makes a run for it, she can finally escape through the window.

Hau comes to their rescue, finally walking out of the kitchen with a pitcher of lemonade and a smile as he greets, "Alola, Moon! How's your day been?"

"Nothing but paperwork." She takes a cautious seat, keeping her eyes on Hau but very aware of the emerald gaze threatening to cut her in half. "There was some confusion with the work visa, what a surprise."

"Not a fan of bureaucracy?"

She blinks, watching Gladion as he smirks, the challenge clear in his voice. He's offering them both an out of the awkward gray area they've stumbled into: go back to what they know best, if a little less venomous this time around. He watches her carefully, keeping his body relaxed even as his foot bounces in rhythm with his racing thoughts.

And Moon takes the bait as she leans back with a pointed look. "Never have been, President."

"I thought you two said you were going to be better." They turn to see Lillie entering with four glasses, a faux frown, and a laugh as she takes a seat at the table. Try as she might to just be kidding, there's an undeniable nervousness to her as she sits on the edge of her seat and waits for calamity. She gladly accepts the glass of lemonade that Hau pours for her, taking a sip before adding, looking between the pair, "You know, so that we can actually plan instead of watching you two insult each other for twenty minutes."

"Wasn't it as fun as a barrel of Mankey, though?" Gladion smirks, watching the others laugh and sip from their glasses, his own sitting abandoned.

Hau notices, raising a brow. "Still not a fan of my lemonade, cousin?"

"He's sour enough as it is."

Lillie keeps her wide eyes to herself, screaming internally as she takes another long drink and wishing she had something a little stronger. Hau hesitates in his laugh, gauging Gladion's reaction before he accidentally becomes the catalyst to a fight.

Gladion gives her a lopsided smile. "It's to counteract your bitterness."

Moon gives him a self-deprecating smirk. "Well someone has to."

And now Hau lets himself laugh and Lillie feels the pressure on her chest lift. Moon and Gladion look at each other, and they know that the game is back on, but with a different set of rules; they may not be out for blood, but there's no reason they can't try and burn each other as they continue to let off steam.

"Now how about we talk about that color scheme?"

After twenty minutes, Lillie is pleasantly surprised that they're managing to discuss and compromise on a few of the smaller things – when to send invites and what to serve at the reception – but keeps herself realistic about tackling any of the larger discussion points.

Once forty-five minutes pass, she's pleased with their progress but confident that they're pushing their luck, and any moment the delicate ebb and flow of agreement and faux-fighting between Moon and Gladion will change tide completely and they'll lose the rest of the afternoon in a hurricane of hard feelings.

They hit the hour mark and Lillie is just about ready to buy a lottery ticket.

She isn't the only one noticing the change in the air – when her eyes meet Hau's across the table, he grins at her before his eyes flicker between Moon and Gladion as they bicker with the teasing tone of a friendship that never quite evaporated.

"How about indoors for the ceremony and outdoors for the reception?"

"Well what do you know, maybe you do have the occasional good idea."

Lillie nods, jotting something down on her notepad. "That sounds like a good compromise, and it works well with the Kalosian ceremony and Alolan reception we want."

They look to Hau for his thoughts, and he gives shrug. "So long as we get married at the end of the day, I'll be fine."

Moon raises a brow. "In that case, let's take malasadas off the catering menu."

"You wouldn't dare."

The table laughs and Lillie lets herself relax into it, her heart feeling lighter than it has in weeks. Between Aether and wedding planning and worrying about how this might all work out, she hasn't had much of a chance to truly let herself enjoy the engagement. Sitting here, though, with her brother, best friend, and love of her life as warm sunlight bathes her living room and they chat like they all did years ago, Lillie is sure this is going to be one of the happiest days of her life.

Until she looks back at her list and feels her throat tighten.

She bites her lip, debating whether she should really bring this up now – should she bring this up at all? But it's an unavoidable topic, and though she doesn't want to ruin the delicate spot of paradise they've created, she's not sure if there'll be a better time to bring it up. If she does it now, then at least there won't be the added venom of Moon and Gladion fighting to add to the sting.

Hau's the first to notice her extended silence, and he knows the furrow of her brows all too well. He can practically feel the question coming (it's one they discussed briefly late last night, sitting on the edge of the bed and Lillie avoiding his eyes). Moon and Gladin don't quite notice the weight of Lillie's silence, still too wrapped up in the glow of their unspoken truce. When she clears her throat, they share a look of apprehension and confusion.

"There's something else we should probably discuss..." She releases the breath she was holding, making up her mind as she looks at her brother. "But I think it's best if we discuss it alone."

"What are you..." But then Gladion realizes exactly what she's talking about and his eyes widen before they quickly narrow with years of anger and resentment. "No. That's not up for discussion."

"I think it is," Lillie argues, but her irritation dissipates when she glances at Hau and Moon, who shift uncomfortably. Hau keeps his eyes on the table and his arms crossed, and Moon looks between the siblings, trying to decipher what exactly is happening. When Lillie looks back at Gladion, the plea is clear in her face but still she says, "But we can discuss this on our own, we don't need to -"

"She's invited, that's enough."

"She's our mother."

The only sound in the living room is the cry of a lone Pikipek in the distance. A cloud passes over the sun, and the temperature in the room drops ten degrees. Gladion and Lillie stare at each other, not sure where to go from here but not willing to let it go just yet. Hau runs a hand through his hair and Moon picks at her bottom lip, neither of them daring to say a word about a matter that they both know isn't theirs to argue.

It's unclear which of the siblings breaks first, but it's Lillie who speaks up after a small eternity of horrid quiet. Her voice is small and clipped but firm. "I want her there. I want her to have a speech. I want her to be welcome."

Gladion doesn't agree. He's never quite agreed with her on the subject of Lusamine, not since they returned from Kanto and Lillie could talk about things like change and redemption and growth.

He could only talk about the pain, the fear, the scars.

Still, he bites his tongue, well aware that they have an unwilling audience and that this isn't about him. He lets a long, loud breath out through his nose, lets the anger that might be misdirected at his sister escape him as he settles into something bitter. "She'll have no part in the actual ceremony?"

"No." There's more that Lillie wants to say; there's more that both of them need to say, but now isn't the time. She can see that Gladion is visibly on edge, that he still needs to sit with the idea before he's willing to really tell her anything, and so she sighs. "I'm sorry to bring it up, but I needed to make it clear."

"It's fine."

I mean it's clearly not fine, Moon thinks to herself, watching Gladion with a raised brow before casting her eyes back down to the table. What happened to the boy who said exactly what he felt?

Hau clears his throat, making the other three jump a bit in their seats as he gives them all a tired, lopsided smile. "How about we wrap it up for today?" he offers, knowing when to cut their losses.

The others nod, and Moon offers to help clear the table with Hau, the two leaving Lillie and Gladion in the living room. Out of the corner of her eye she sees them move into an apologetic hug, and then she goes to the sink to clean the glasses in her hand.

"They still don't talk about her, you know." Moon looks over at Hau, who dries the pitcher with a towel and a melancholic look that has no business distorting his usually cheerful face.

Moon nods, looking back towards the living room. "That doesn't surprise me."

When they walk back out, Lillie is sitting once more with her notepad and Gladion is standing by the door, waiting for Moon. The siblings don't look at each other, but at the least the air is light enough to allow for everyone to breathe again.

"How long does it take to clean a couple glasses?" Gladion scoffs, though the tone of his voice is off and it's clear his mind is on other things.

Moon smirks, walking past him to open the front door. "If you had something better to do in those two minutes then you should have left." She turns before stepping out, waving to Hau and Lillie and smiling as they wave back. "See you all soon."

Gladion mirrors her gesture but remains silent, his eyes focused on his sister.

"Bye you two."

The door closes behind them with a soft click.

He doesn't call Charizard. He tells her he has too much on his mind, that he needs the walk and the ferry ride to Akala to clear his head.

She doesn't say anything as she puts away her Ride Pager and walks beside him.

They're quiet as they sit and wait for the ferry. The terminal is fairly busy, but besides the occasional announcement over an unseen PA system, the building remains fairly peaceful and quiet. Moon scrolls through her Dex, deciding now is a good time to review what she knows about Alola before she starts doing field work. Gladion remains silent, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his right leg bouncing.

"I'm sorry."

Moon looks over at him with a tilt of her head and a hum. "What about?"

He chances a glance at her, his bouncing foot now going double-time as he looks away once more. "Lillie was right. We didn't need to bring that up in front of you and Hau."

Moon tries to shrug off her discomfort, but he doesn't buy it. She opens her mouth to say something else, something sort of soothing, something along the lines of "it happens," but the announcement for their ferry cuts her off and they shuffle over to join the line and board the boat.

Once they're on, they're silent once more, leaning against the railing as the breeze ruffles their hair and they set off, the setting sun lighting the ocean to create a color somewhere between rose and indigo. Gladion watches a V-formation of Pelipper, letting his mind go blissfully blank for a few moments, keeping it empty of complicated pasts and uncertain futures. Moon takes the chance to stare at him, and she finds that his eyes betray him – he's not a man she barely knows now, or even the teenager she thought she knew, but a boy who's been hurt too many times before and doesn't know who to trust.

"You don't have to forgive her, you know."

He looks at her with wide eyes and she holds his gaze so that he knows she won't take the words back. Her fingers fidget for a moment as she debates whether or not to put her hand on his arm, but she decides against it.

Her words are already too intimate for what they are.

Moon bites her lip and shrugs, finally giving up her stare – she's stepped over the line, she can feel it, but they keep moving where the boundary is ever since their late-night conversation. She keeps her eyes on the ocean as she mumbles, "I know Lillie wants to; she's been trying. But you don't have any obligation to forgive your mother."

Gladion follows her gaze, watching as the ferry breaks through the waves easily, Melemele Island growing smaller in the distance. He dissects her words, feels them hit a spot in his chest that he's kept guarded for most of his life. If he isn't careful now, he's not sure if that wall will begin to crack, and that's the last thing he needs with an ex-girlfriend he's just barely getting along with.

So he does what he's always been best at: lashing out.

"You forgave your father, didn't you?"

Moon raises a brow, nearly laughing at the tonal shift he's trying to force. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You forgave Plumeria, too."

She lets out a scoff but stops herself from spitting back at him. There's a reason he's trying to bring up all this bad blood, trying to distract her from the hurt young boy he's been hiding in his heart ever since she first met him.

So she does what she's always been best at: listening.

Gladion sees she isn't falling for the bait, and he sighs, realizing he's ten years too old to be trying these petty tactics on her. The sound of waves hitting the ferry, splashing and constant, help him pace his thoughts. She waits, watching the entire time but her expression unreadable, save for the curious spark in her eyes. When he meets her gaze, it still feels like he isn't looking at her. "You remind me of Lillie in that way. You're always willing to give people a second chance. You think everyone should be forgiven."

It's something he used to admire about her, before he twisted it into a burden, a reminder of everything he isn't able to do so easily.

"Not everyone."

The answer throws him off for a moment, and she takes the opportunity to give him a smirk, trying not to reveal how much it hurts to know how badly he misremembers her (but then she never let him fully know her in the first place). "I forgive the people that I do because it's my choice to make, and I decide they've earned my forgiveness." He swears her eyes see right through him as her voice drops to a whisper on the breeze, "It's not my place to tell you who to forgive and who to not."

"Then why were you so upset that I wouldn't forgive Plumeria?"

"Mew," she mutters under her breath with the irritation of realizing yet another miscommunication between them to add to the list. "I wasn't upset that you wouldn't forgive her, I was upset that you were trying to control my decision to give her another chance."

They stare at each other, muted conversations of other ferry passengers filling the silence between them. Moon cracks something that's not quite a smile, and Gladion lets out a hum and his brows knit together in thought.

Still, he swears he knows her better than this, and he argues, "But your father -"

"My dad left us, paid child support, then wanted to rebuild his relationship with me a few years later," she tells him in an absolute deadpan. At this point she can recognize that Gladion's just running himself in circles, just trying to get himself worked up so he can kick and scream some more – she knows better than to indulge him. "Your mom disowned you, opened a wormhole, and nearly destroyed the entire Alola region. There's really no comparison here."

His mouth falls open slightly, watching as the setting sun gives her amused expression a warm glow and sets her freckles aflame and dancing on her skin.

And then he laughs.

She joins in with a chuckle, feeling that horrendously wonderful feeling in her chest return and wishing the ocean spray would help wash it off her. Instead it grows when his laughter subsides and he looks at her with a smirk, concluding, "I can't exactly argue with that."

It's nice to see the heavy aura that was previously smothering him lifting off his shoulders and into the darkening sky (and nicer still to know that it was all thanks to her).

Moon shakes her head. "You really need to stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

Worrying yourself to death. Assuming what I think. Comparing yourself to others.

None of it feels right to say, not when they're just barely getting along and she still can't pinpoint what she's feeling when he looks at her like this. She tears her eyes away from him, forcing them onto the sight of Akala Island approaching, the lights of Konikoni City twinkling, her apartment not far off. "Nothing."

What do you mean, nothing? Why do you always bottle things up?

But the ferry is docking and he knows they're no longer close enough for him to ask, so instead he follows her off the boat, walking in the same direction and enjoying the approach of nightfall that coats the island in soothing blues and purples.

They both realize it's the second time they've danced around emotional territory later than they should. Moon doesn't let herself think much else of it; Gladion dwells a little longer on the thought, and it pushes something out of him when they've reached his house.

"That's part of the reason I broke up with you."

Moon trips on nothing and stumbles a good three feet, arms flailing wildly and eyes wide as a Hoothoot. When she turns back to face him, trying to regain her composure, she can see him biting his lower lip to keep from laughing in her face. "Well how was I supposed to react to that?" He shrugs, far too pleased with himself, and she bites her cheek as she crosses her arms, doing her best to remain angry even when she wants to smile right along with him. "And what are you talking about?"

His hands are shoved into his pockets, his bad hand beginning to fidget under her gaze. Maybe the dusk can cover his nerves as he realizes what an awful idea it was to say that. "I always thought you resented the fact that I couldn't forgive my mother, that you wanted me to make amends." She doesn't say anything, but her brows furrow and the frown she wears makes him regret a lot more things than he thought it would. "Guess I was wrong," he finishes lamely, the bittersweet aftertaste coating his tongue.

"Yeah," she breathes, still looking at him almost like an injured Deerling, "You were."

This is the part where he should tell her good night, and she'll turn around and go home and he'll unlock his door and go to bed.

They remain standing, watching each other as the night continues to creep around them.

"I was more upset that you wouldn't talk about her with me at all."

She isn't sure why she tells him, and neither is he. It's taken her nine years to admit it, but it still feels too soon, still makes her look at the ground instead of him, still makes her grip her arms tighter.

He's not the only one who still carries a scared child in their heart.

"Good thing we were both so good with communication back then, huh?"

It's enough to get a smile and breathless chuckle out of her and lets them both relax into the approaching night. She meets his eyes with a lopsided smile. "Kind of amazing how stupid you are when you're young."

"Really is."

Her stomach twists with the realization that there's a lot more she has to apologize for. She considers saying something now, but she can feel him trying to edge his way to his house, back to the life he's made for himself after she walked out.

"I better head back. Still need to finish that paperwork."

He hides the disappointment with a smirk. "Bureaucracy will be your downfall."

"It really will be, President."

Déjà vu hits them both in waves as they leave less drunk but otherwise in much the same way. They get too comfortable, they say too much, and they don't know how to patch things up before returning to the real world. It's not a routine either of them hoped to establish, but here it slowly takes its shape as Moon walks further up the path to her apartment complex and Gladion closes the door behind him.

She realizes as she walks up the stairs to her door that she'll see him again next week at the fittings for the wedding.

Moon tells herself it won't be awkward.

Who is she kidding?

A/N: I meant to get this out earlier but real life is sucking major eggs right now so apologies for the delay! You can actually see where this chapter starts getting exponentially angstier and yup when I wrote it that's when I started dealing with some not so great stuff irl. So that's fun.

Also little shout-out to everyone who's leaving comments, I've been meaning to sit down and respond to all of them but until I get the time please know that I appreciate everyone who's taken the time to write something and that I read every single one.