Chapter Text
An orange glow creeps over the horizon, the light of the rising sun igniting the ocean. As the sky begins to brighten and the long shadows of Hau’oli City’s skyscrapers start to take shape, the promenade comes alive, though it was never truly dead—here in Alola, the night is simply another day.
Still, there are those to whom the moon of the tropics promises rest, and to whom every morning is a new calling.
Bright light pours through an open window and into a modest apartment overlooking the beach, illuminating two figures lying in bed, side by side. Selene lies sprawled out over the sheets like a Staryu, her mouth wide open and snoring loudly.
Her arm lies halfway across Lillie’s face, who is lying under the sheets next to her, facing her girlfriend, while her long, blonde hair carpets the pillow beneath in gold.
Even past Selene’s guarding arm, the intruding sunlight begins tickling Lillie’s face. With an annoyed groan, she opens her eyes, shielding them with her hand against the morning’s bright assault. Lillie sits up, Selene’s arm sliding off her face and flopping onto the sheets, and yawns.
She stretches her shoulders, producing a satisfying crack, and pushes away the messy strands falling into her face. Selene, meanwhile, turns away and onto her side, her sleeveless crop top having begun to slip from her shoulder, and mumbles something incoherent in her sleep.
How cute.
Lillie smiles amusedly and gently strokes Selene’s unruly hair, running her fingers down her nape. She then looks over to the alarm clock—and her eyes immediately widen in horror.
“Selene!” Lillie yells out, shaking her like a ragdoll, “We overslept! We’re about to miss our cruise!”
“Just five more minutes…” Selene mutters, on the verge of dozing off again.
“There is no time!”, Lillie panics.
Selene’s eyes now snap open as well. With Lillie still holding her shoulders, she finally looks over at the alarm clock and immediately shares her shock.
“Oh, fuck”, she only utters, wide-eyed.
Lillie drops Selene back into her pillow like a hot potato and jumps out of bed, fumbling through the closet in desperation. She throws off her tank top and slips a sleeveless, knee-length white sundress over her pink panties before roughly combing her fingers through her messy hair in front of the mirror.
Selene tries to follow suit, crashing out of bed with a yelp, blanket tangled around her foot, hastily squeezing into a pair of white denim hotpants, which she pulled from Arceus-knows-where, before readjusting her slipping crop top.
Lillie slams open the bathroom door and tosses all necessary sanitary articles into a pouch like a robber on a diamond heist.
No time for brushing teeth…!
Fortunately, the rest of their luggage had already been packed and assembled the previous night, so after just a couple of minutes, they were ready to go.
Selene nearly kicks the door from its hinges as they rush out of the apartment building. Sprinting down the road to the harbour, the wheels of the trolley cases screaming on the asphalt, they weave in between pedestrians and Pokémon alike, attracting many curious glances.
Suddenly, Selene swerves right, effortlessly jumping over a fence and into tall grass, trolley case still in hand, and immediately picking her pace back up. A shortcut. Lillie is just a few steps behind her and follows suit, but nearly trips over the fence instead.
As they exit the other side of the patch and the docks come into view, Lillie’s heart drops as she sees that the ship has left them behind, already halfway to the horizon.
“Crap!” she exclaims in a panic, squeezing the railing of the cliff, “We missed it!”
“Oh, no, we didn’t!” Selene announces confidently, “They missed us.”
Her dark eyes flash with a mischievous glint as she strikes a dramatic pose and raises an Ultra Ball to the sky. With a press of the button, an eruption of blue light consumes them both, forcing even onlookers to shield their eyes. As the flash fizzles out into sparks, the extinguished shadows reignite, all facing their lord—Necrozma.
Its black armour gleams in an iridescent sheen, while Nebby’s blue wings underneath shine like fragments of the moon itself. Hovering above the pair, its burning magenta eyes are already locked onto the ship in the distance.
Necrozma lets out a deafening shriek before lowering itself to the ground and allowing Selene to climb onto its back. Lillie then takes Selene’s outstretched hand, letting herself be pulled up before tightly clutching her arms around Selene’s waist. A crowd has since gathered, both intrigued and intimidated, especially the tourists.
Necrozma firmly grasps the pair’s luggage with its obsidian talons and ascends with a flap of its mighty wings, nearly blowing the onlookers away, before immediately nosediving down the cliff, only pulling back up right before hitting the water.
As Necrozma slows down, gliding just over the surface and cutting through the waves with each slow flap of its wings, Lillie takes in the feeling of the ocean breeze hitting her face—the wind running through and tousling her hair, Selene’s warmth as she’s squeezing up to her much more tightly than she needs to, just because she can… All these things Lillie has experienced countless times before, yet it never, ever gets old.
As she looks back, Melemele Island is being drawn further and further towards the horizon, the people on the street waving them goodbye. Lillie smirks and waves back.
I hope Selene took care of everything before we left. Don’t want them to miss her too hard.
She turns back around, rests her head on Selene’s back and closes her eyes in quiet bliss, rubbing her cheek against the fabric.
No. For the next two months, she’ll be mine alone.
Under the pressure of her embrace, Lillie can feel Selene’s breathing beginning to calm again after their intense race to the ship. Even without looking at her, she knows Selene is smiling as well. She can see it clearly in front of her, how she’s holding her head high and gazing into the distance with fierce determination, as she always does, all while never losing sight of those she loves.
Selene’s warmth, coupled with the rhythmic, gentle rocking every time Necrozma flaps its wings, threatens to lull her to sleep.
~~~🌜🖤🌛~~~
On the deck near the bow of the ship, Lillie stands in front of the railing, gazing out into the ocean. Still like a ghost, she stands there, her light blue, sheer duster cardigan fluttering in the gentle breeze, giving her an ever-changing, ethereal silhouette.
The calm sea is painted a beautiful sapphire by the clear sky’s reflection, the colour deepening by the minute as the sun has now risen well above the horizon. A small flock of Wingull accompanies the ship, soaring not high above Lillie’s head and squawking occasionally.
The cruise ship’s staff was kind enough to still let them on, and the first thing she and Selene did after arriving was to look for their cabin and change into some proper clothes. Afterwards, Selene was ambushed by an unexpected business call, so Lillie is waiting for her out here on the deck.
Must be the Remnal Pokémon League. Poor Selene; she hasn’t even fully left Alola, and they’re already tormenting her.
The warm ocean wind forms ripples on her white sundress and tugs at a white lily tucked into her shoulder-length hair, complemented by an accent fishtail braid draping down the back of her head. Airy and light, Lillie’s attire is ideal for this tropical climate, with her white strappy sandals striking the perfect balance between style and comfort.
A crimson light flashes just above Lillie’s chest with every slight movement—a roughly-cut gemstone pendant depicting a waxing crescent, soaked in a deep burgundy.
Suddenly, Lillie is startled by a push from behind, instinctively grabbing the railing with a panicked gasp. She twirls around in shock, only to see Selene standing there with a self-satisfied smirk.
“Selene!” Lillie yells out, flustered yet relieved. “Don’t ever scare me like that again!” Her hand is still clutched tightly to her chest, as if trying to suppress the frantic beating of her heart.
“Don’t worry, I would’ve fished you out”, Selene jokingly reassures her. “I couldn’t help myself; you’re just too cute when you’re scared.”
“Dummy”, Lillie pouts, her cheeks reddening.
With just how stunning Selene looks, she can’t possibly get mad at her. Having kept her white denim hotpants from this morning, Selene has changed into a purple, shoulderless crop top with a hibiscus motif, its scalloped edges blowing in the wind like flower petals. Black bikini straps run over her shoulders, swimsuit always ready in case of emergency aquatic combat, even on a cruise ship.
While the ocean wind plays with her chin-length hair, her split bangs remain fixed by two long strands encircling her head like a tiara, tied together into a tiny ponytail at the back—a subtly regal detail to her otherwise casual attire.
The clouds part, and the sun sends down a spotlight onto Selene. A purple gleam briefly flashes in her eyes, the reflection of her pendant—a violet waning crescent, the other half to Lillie’s piece.
As Selene dances closer to Lillie, the sound of flip-flops slapping against heels pierces her ears. With apprehensive dread, Lillie looks down at Selene’s feet. Indeed, she’s wearing those flip-flops—the Bruxish ones.
Kukui wore them once a while back, and Lillie was very outspoken about how garish they looked, from the colours looking like a Smeargle threw up on them to the unnecessarily thick soles lined with Bruxish’s zig-zagging tooth pattern. Selene, however, loved them and instantly bought a pair for herself. Truly, Alola is defined by its oddballs.
Still, somehow, the flip-flops only enhance Selene’s casual beauty. Perhaps it is the contrast; like a light casting a shadow, her divinely perfect image is only made more apparent against the backdrop of her horrid fashion sense. Or perhaps Selene can make anything work. Even the omnipresent pink headphones resting around her neck appear to be part of the aesthetic.
Every time Lillie looks at her, it reaffirms her belief that the human body is the apex of creation—every movement, every curve, be it that of her hips, her perfectly rounded cheeks or even just her faint smile when she’s looking at a funny meme on her phone.
Lillie is snapped out of her mesmerised trance by the sudden touch of Selene’s hands on her waist. An eternity has passed within her own thoughts, yet simultaneously, no time at all, so she hasn’t even fully registered Selene’s approach.
Lillie lets out a surprised yelp, her face instantly flushed red. Selene smiles at her—not with the cheeky grin from before, but a genuine, loving smile.
At first glance, Selene’s dark eyes appear so unassuming. Yet, when one actually takes a deep, good look and allows themselves to get lost in them, one could swear they can see the glittering of stars looking back, the night sky reflected even on the brightest of days. Behind those superficially dull eyes lies an entire galaxy, an unfathomably complex mind which not even Lillie can fully understand, yet she’s the only one who tries.
Lillie’s heart skips a beat as Selene pins her, the warmth of her lower body against hers almost makes the coldness of the railing sting, the steel pressing through the fabric and into her back.
“You’re the cutest girl in the world”, Selene whispers, her voice sweet as honey. “And…” Her fingers move down to Lillie’s hips and begin tracing her curves, as if merely looking was not enough to fully take her in. “…you look so fucking hot in this dress.”
Lillie feels the heat rising under her skin, the glow showing on her burning cheeks. She wants to compliment her back, yet words fail her. Selene knows, and seeing Lillie reduced to a simmering, incomprehensible mess only makes her smile grow wider.
Slowly, Selene leans in for a kiss, which Lillie eagerly reciprocates, meeting her halfway with an unexpected aggressiveness, throwing her arms around her neck to pull her even closer. As they shut their eyes in bliss, their tongues melt into each other, tasting their shared warmth.
Selene’s hands caress her lower back, the seal of their lips muffling Lillie’s soft moan as her fingers slowly glide down over the fabric, exploring her silhouette and lightly tugging at the hem of her dress.
She really does smell like hibiscus today, Lillie thinks, taking in all that sweet, floral aroma. She can’t get enough of it, of anything—the smell, the feeling of Selene’s soft lips against hers and the heat of their bodies pressed together…
Nevertheless, self-consciousness prevails, even if only barely, and after a couple of seconds, Lillie pulls back with a giggle, still half-intoxicated.
“Selene, there are people here”, she whispers, tucking a few stray strands of hair behind her ear, “What if someone sees?”
“And what if someone sees? What are they going to do?” Selene teases with a cheeky grin, gesturing at the almost empty deck, “Afraid they might get jealous, seeing a beauty like you? I am the champion. I can do whatever I want.”
Her hands have not let go of Lillie’s hips. Through the thin fabric of the sundress, it feels as if Selene’s fingers are pressing directly onto her skin, and Lillie shudders from their soft touch. Selene leans in until Lillie can feel her warm breath brushing up against her ear.
“Unless, of course”, Selene whispers, making Lillie’s hairs stand on end, “you want me to stop. You are the only person in the world who can command me. So? What will it be?”
Selene pulls back again, and Lillie’s face has since turned an unnatural shade of red. Stealthily, she looks around—indeed, the deck is almost empty, which does nothing to calm her frantic heartbeat. But she is not yet sated; the hunger persists. Just one more taste of Selene, that’s all she needs—for now.
Lillie’s soft, glossy lips part slightly as she leans in with silent desire, determined to finish what they started. Selene does likewise, and a mere inch from each other, they are suddenly interrupted by the thunderous sound of Selene’s grumbling stomach.
They stop. There is an awkward silence for a second. Suddenly, Selene jumps back faster than an Abra could teleport.
“Breakfast!” she exclaims, clasping her forehead in horror, “We haven’t had breakfast!”
Lillie just stares at her with an expression of baffled disbelief. Then, she suddenly breaks out into roaring laughter, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. How could she not? What an amusingly terrible, anticlimactic end to an act of such intense intimacy. Lillie is still fired up, yet the sheer absurdity of the situation kills all thoughts of romance.
Really, what a Selene thing to do. Everyone can kiss, but only she can make her laugh like this.
“Lils, we must go right now!” Selene gently but urgently tugs her hand, unaware of the emotional whiplash she just hit her with.
“Alright, alright”, Lillie gives in, wiping the stains from her eyes, still occasionally snorting to herself at the hilarity of the moment.
As Selene turns around to lead the way, Lillie sees an opening. This is her chance, an opportunity that arises only every one or two months. Eyes narrowed, focused on her target like an Inteleon with a Scope Lens, she raises her hand—and with what might very well be supersonic speed, it descends upon Selene’s rear.
The impact is like a thunderclap, reverberating off every surface on the deck, scaring the Wingulls away. Selene jumps, letting out a surprised yelp, and other people frantically look around, seeing if someone got shot.
“What was that for?!” Selene yells out, flustered and guarding her behind with her hands against any potential further assaults.
“That was revenge”, Lillie explains with a sly grin.
Only once every one or two months—that is the perfect frequency to ambush Selene with a well-aimed slap to the butt, long enough for her to let her guard down. She never sees it coming. Sometimes she tries to run, and since she’s faster than Lillie, an ambush is the best way to secure a hit. It can be in the morning, when Selene is distracted by training, going up the stairs or just in bed when she’s already exhausted and least expects it. The reactions are always priceless.
Lillie once asked Selene if she should stop, to which she confidently said “No”. So, it is always open season.
Lillie steps closer to Selene, whispering into her ear: “You’re just too cute when you’re flustered; I couldn’t help myself.” Even without touching her, Lillie can feel a shudder coursing throughout Selene's entire body. Her face turns red as a tomato.
Lillie could never articulate the satisfaction she feels from occasionally turning the tables and making Selene, the champion of Alola, blush like this with just her words, letting her smoulder in her own skin.
Lillie lets out a hearty laugh as Selene pouts mock-angrily. "Now come", she follows up warmly, "let's eat. You can't take your meds on an empty stomach, either."
Side-by-side, the two then begin walking down the promenade towards the breakfast room.
“That’ll leave a mark, you know?” Selene says. “People will see your handprint if I dress down to my swimsuit.”
“Good”, Lillie responds cheekily, “Then they’ll know who to return you to in case you get lost. Could even dust off some fingerprints, I’d bet.”
“Dummy”, Selene giggles, playfully kicking Lillie’s rear, pushing her a step forward before their hands interlock once more.
~~~🌜🖤🌛~~~
The breakfast buffet was unlike anything Lillie had ever seen before. It offered almost everything one could imagine—pancakes, fruits, vegetables, bread, corn flakes, sausages, boiled eggs, various cured meats, bacon, hash browns, porridge, cake, honey, berry jams of every kind, soup and even roasted Slowpoke tails—all replenished within seconds of a tray going empty.
The scent, too, is simply otherworldly, like you’re at a butcher’s and a baker’s simultaneously, yet without any of the awkward overlap.
Woah… I knew Selene said she’d book us the full course, but I never thought it’d be this decadent. After all, we’ll only be on the boat for a day until we reach the airport on the Albous Islands. Selene really did go all out. ‘I am the champion. I can do whatever I want’ is what she’d say, but when it comes to finances, it might very well be true.
While her eyes and nose indulge in the sugary-savoury excess in front of her, choosing what to actually eat is a wonderfully agonising myrialemma. Lillie takes great care to limit her daily caloric intake, so every time she is presented with such a wide range of equally appealing options, it becomes a math problem that could easily fry a low-end laptop.
Pondering with her hand to her chin, Lillie’s overclocked brain must surely be steaming more than the porridge they’re serving.
In the end, she goes for four slices of ham, two hash browns, a Kalosian croissant with Leppa Berry jam, a glass of water and a coffee with reduced-fat MooMoo Milk, no sugar. Caffeine, her one remaining vice, is the only non-negotiable part of Lillie’s diet, as she often gets less than six hours of sleep, entirely self-inflicted—she simply likes being awake too much.
Upon returning to their table with her own modest haul, Lillie recoils at the sight of the monstrosity on Selene’s plate. Horrified, she watches as her girlfriend coats a mountain of pancakes topped with bacon, sausages and ham in barbecue sauce, humming cheerfully, and which is accompanied by cheesecake and hot chocolate on the side, whipped cream and marshmallows drowning within.
This sinful arrangement is almost aesthetic in its insanity, though nevertheless disturbing. True art is provocative, so they say.
Lillie sits down opposite her girlfriend as the latter begins shovelling food into her mouth as if she was on the verge of starvation.
For what an unrepentant glutton Selene is, her figure is still more than shapely, with all the fat she consumes seemingly going everywhere but her belly. Lillie would be lying if she claimed that Selene’s personality was the only thing that attracted her.
It seems the Guardians of Alola blessed her with not just terrific battle prowess, but also a tireless metabolism. That, or she taught Nebby or Necrozma how to open an Ultra Wormhole in her stomach. Or maybe she’s part Guzzlord.
Lillie can’t help but crack a smile and chuckle audibly.
“What’sch scho funny?”, Selene asks, her mouth still stuffed.
“Nothing”, she answers dreamily, her hands idly clutched around the warm cup of coffee. “I was just admiring your beauty.”
It is true; even with Selene’s mannerisms, Lillie’s gaze not once left her pretty face. It is in moments like this, Lillie thinks, that Selene is at her most beautiful, when she’s not putting on a show and is just being herself, in all her genius, sloppy earnestness.
Selene turns bright red and gulps down the bite of food she was chewing.
“Lils!” she exclaims, flustered, “You can’t just say stuff like that this early in the morning!”
Lillie puts a hand over her mouth and giggles. “You did just before, didn’t you?” Her gaze wanders down towards Selene’s defiled plate. “Well, before your stomach interrupted you, that is.”
The red waning from her face, Selene waves her fork in the air as if giving a lecture. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Without it, I am useless to you or anyone else.” With a smug grin, she stabs another pancake. “That’s why I am champion and Hau is not. He skips breakfast and instead knocks back malasadas all throughout the day.”
Lillie scoffs. “Please, give yourself more credit than that. Fuel alone does not allow the plane to fly; you still need wings and a pilot. Oh, speaking of a pilot, who’s looking after the League while you’re gone?”
“At first I considered Hau”, Selene begins explaining, idly chewing on her fork, “but he turned down; said he won’t sit on the champion’s throne unless he takes it from me first.”
Lillie nods. “Yeah, that’s Hau for you. But then, who did you pick as your substitute?”
“Acerola”, Selene announces self-assuredly, “I even dressed her up like my substitute. The green costume looks adorable on her.”
Lillie tilts her head questioningly. “Acerola…? She’s the youngest of the Elite Four. She lacks experience. Why her?”
Selene flashes another grin. “’Lacks experience’? No, that’s where you’re wrong, Lils. Who else can boast about becoming both Trial Captain and Elite Four member at her age? Acerola is young, talented and great with children. There is no better role model. Plus, she’s a princess!”
Lillie leans back into her chair, sighing with a smile. “A princess, really? That’s one of your reasons? Are you trying to reinstate the monarchy? Still…”
She leans forward again, gently taking Selene’s hands on the table and running her thumbs over them.
“I trust your judgement”, Lillie continues warmly. “In all matters regarding Pokémon battling, you have not once been wrong.”
“It’s just a gut feeling”, Selene tries to deflect her compliment, blushing slightly.
“Gut feeling or not, the Remnal region is blessed to have you helping them with their tournament.”
“It’s new ground even for me.” Selene contemplatively gazes out the window overlooking the pool deck and even further beyond towards the horizon, where the light of the late morning sun glitters in the distant waves. “Kukui was the one who built Alola’s Pokémon League, not me. Plus, this is Remnal’s first tournament in centuries. I’m writing history.”
Lillie clutches Selene’s hands, lifting them from the table. “You already wrote history”, she exclaims encouragingly, “Alola’s history. Compared to that, this will be a piece of cake. You got this.”
“Yeah, you’re right”, Selene finally gives in, lovingly gazing into Lillie’s emerald eyes. Behind these eyes, beneath the façade of the timid girl, there burns the green fire of a fighter, an inextinguishable flame that only grows brighter with every obstacle it climbs. She might not be very confrontational, but she is tough and insanely smart.
Selene is convinced there is nothing Lillie cannot do—any skill, any craft she picks up, she masters within record time. How fortunate the world is that she’s relatively uninterested in Pokémon battling. With Lillie by her side, Selene truly feels unstoppable.
They lean in for a kiss—not an intense one like on the deck, but a lingering, gentle one, yet it feels just as intimate.
“And remember”, Lillie reminds her after pulling away, “you volunteered for this. There is nothing they can force you to do. It is part of your holiday you’re giving up for their sake.”
“Don’t worry, Lils”, Selene assures her, still holding her hand, “It’ll all be done in the blink of an eye. I’ll make sure of it. Afterwards, we’ll still have plenty of time to enjoy ourselves.” She lifts her glass of hot chocolate with a grin. “To Remnal”, she says.
Lillie lifts her cup of coffee as well. “To our holidays! And to Remnal.”
Both clink their beverages together in a toast. Somehow, Selene manages to spill hers.