The feeling that overcame you was overwhelming to say the least. Her soft lips on yours, the feeling of her tongue carefully brushing against yours... for once, reality was better than your dreams. Lillie's sudden teeth lovingly chewing on your lower lip pulled you away from your thoughts, making you chuckle:
"Lillie, I..."
The girl makes herself a bit more comfortable by rolling herself on top of you:
"What is it, my love?" She says teasingly, but you could distinguish a sense of excitement in her voice while saying those words.
"I... I didn't think this would actually happen. I always thought maybe you wouldn't feel the same way about me or that I'd ruin what we have, or-"
Lillie softly nuzzles her nose against yours affectionately:
"Of course not, silly! I've liked you since forever, ever since you saved Nebby on that bridge... and ever since I've changed, ever since I've changed into... into my Z-form, I've loved you, really. I made a mistake by waiting to tell you, I should have told you right there at the Marina..." She sighs. You quickly respond by hugging her tightly, and give her a long, confident kiss. Her blushing wasn't noticeable in the dark, but you could feel her body becoming slightly less tense:
"Me too, Lil. I've been down in the dumps since that moment, angry at myself for not telling you how I felt... back then, I thought I might never see you again. Luckily Hau made me pull through and realise that the only way to get better is by pulling myself together and facing life head-on. Thank Arceus for Hau."

Lillie nods, and her soothing smell grew stronger as she leaned into you to kiss you once more:
"Bless him. Though he sure can be a handful from time to time."
As you both chuckle, Lillie leans back onto you and lays down in your arms, resting her shoulder on the couch:
"So...does that make us-" She asks, but you quickly interrupt her as you realised where she was going, and you should be the one asking her:
"Wait!... Okay..." You say, laughing, and take a deep breath, "Lillie, do you want to be my girlfriend?"
Chuckling, she noticeably scratches her head:
"Hmmmm, let me see, now I'll have to think, as this comes as súch a surprise," she says, brushing her hair to the side in a swift, attractive motion, "I think I shall say... yes! Of course it's a yes!"
"You're adorable, honey." You sigh, laughing, as you go in for the kiss. She answers it warmly. Her lips were delicious, and right then and there, you already knew there was no chance in the world you ever wouldn't like them.
After a few minutes of cuddling mixed in with happy grinning and kissing, Lillie lets her head fall onto the pillow next to yours:
"Ah, 'honey'... Never thought I'd hear that coming out of your mouth, Y/n, but now that it does, I couldn't wish for more... boyfriend."
As your girlfriend nuzzles closer into you, you put a comforting arm around her and listen to her soft breathing. Her head was resting on your shoulder, and her soft, golden hair was tickling your skin, but you didn't mind in the slightest. This moment was everything you had ever wanted and more. You slowly close your eyes, wishing it would never fade away...

Unfortunately, the moments we wish would never fade are always the ones fading the fastest.

Not that the morning was bad! On the contrary: waking up to Lillie's soft breath, her body against yours and her smell all over you was like remaining asleep, in dreams. Slowly, you remove your sleeping arm from underneath the girl's body, as you desperately try to sit up without disturbing her own dreams.
After a few minutes of trial and error, you manage to get up without awakening her. Lycanroc's eyes open quickly as they notice movements, but relax when they see your shushing sign and their master's kind eyes.
"Good boy." You tell your loyal Pokémon, as it follows you to the kitchen for breakfast.

Not too long after, Lillie woke up from her deep slumber. She seemed to have slept very peacefully:
"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." She moans, stretching her arms out as far as she can, "am I dreaming?"
Smiling, you walk up to her to give her a kiss on the forehead:
"Thank the lord you're not! Though it does feel like it." You chuckle, as you walk back to the kitchen after kissing her shortly.
Rubbing her eyes, your girlfriend slowly gets up and walks up to the table:
"Wait... did you make this?" She asks, surprised. You nod:
"I tried! It ain't much though, but... it's honest work!"
Giggling, she quickly wraps you into a tight hug:
"Thanks love, that's really sweet of you! It looks delicious! Let's dig in, and have a Champion time!"

"Heeeey, Nebby!" Lillie coos, as the clattering of cutlery and the smell of your delicious Misto Quente, an Alolan version of toast, attracted the rest of your Pokémon to check it out. Nebby lovingly brushes his big head against Lillie's side, before purring and checking out his bowl of food.
"He really loves you a lot! Actually, why don't you take him back sometime? Now that you're an experienced Trainer, maybe you could use him properly in battle! He'd be a great asset to your team!"
Lillie slowly blushes:
"B-but what about you? He's part of your team, isn't he?"
You smile:
"Of course he is! I just mean maybe we could swap him from time to time, maybe one week you could use him and the other week I could, or something along those lines... we're both his Trainers, after all. I think he'd enjoy spending more time with you, too!"
Lillie nods, her eyes twinkling:
"I'll think about it!" She says, staring into the distance. The busy streets of Hau'oli City were only slightly visible from the dark window, that you bought to keep fans from stalking you. The sun however was still shining bright, as always, though apparently it became a lot less warm yesterday compared to the previous days. Did it have something to do with Kyogre being defeated...?
"Babe?" Lillie asks suddenly, pulling you out of your thoughts, and she calmly continues after you nod, "I was wondering if maybe I could, uhm... if maybe I could try to participate at the Island Trials! I really want to get stronger, so... I thought maybe that'd be a way for me to learn more about battling and about being a Trainer!"

Deep in thought, you rub the back of your head:
"Hmmm, that does sound like a nice idea... but... you are already quite a Trainer, right? I don't know if it'll be that interesting for you, you see? Maybe the trials will be a bit easy, especially the first few ones..."
Lillie shrugs:
"I know that, and I don't mind. Though maaaybe they can make an exception for me? Maybe I could just battle the Island Kahunas, the Elite Four and... the Champion?" She says softly, teasingly staring at you out of the corner of her eyes.

Chuckling, you nod:
"Well, I suppose we could do that! Everyone knows you here, after all. I'm sure that wouldn't be a problem, and it'd surely teach you a few more things about battling..."
"Yay!" Lillie exclaims, immediately jumping out of her chair, only to take your hand and pull you out of yours:
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Iki Town and ask Hau to battle him!"
After you return your Pokémon to their Pokéballs, you quickly follow Lillie outside. The food would be left for later... I guess.

Smiling, you step onto Hau'oli's streets, holding Lillie's hand in yours. Immediately, a few people recognised you and ran up to you:
"Mr. Champion! Y/n! Do you have a moment?" One of the passerby's asks, holding out a book for kids, "could you please sign this book for me? It's for my son, he's your biggest fan!"
"With pleasure!" You answer, smiling brightly, and write your signature on the first page of the book.
"Thank you, sir, I-" the man exclaims, before abruptly halting his sentence when he notices Lillie, "wait, you must be Miss Aether! Lillie The Brave, who accompanied our Champion to Ultra Space and fought the Beast, then left to a foreign region! Is it really you? My son can't stop talking about you!"
Lillie couldn't be more embarrassed:
"I, uh... Lillie The Brave? That... uh... sounds like me!" She responds, and a slight smile appeared on her cute face, "though I've never been called that before."
The man nods:
"Yeah, it's definitely you! You look exactly like the girl from the cartoon! Could you please sign the book too? My boy'd love it, truly!"
"Cartoon?" You ask the man, not really knowing where to start. He quickly turns around to you and smiles:
"Yes, you didn't know? It's called 'Rise of the Champion'! I'm pretty sure it's based on the adventure you've had here in Alola! You should check it out, it's pretty cool!"
Lillie giggles:
"We definitely will!" She exclaims, eyeing you while laughing, "so what's your son's name, friend?"
"Aron, ma'am."
She nods, and quietly mutters the words she writes down to herself:
"Dear Aron, can't wait for our battle someday! Much... love... Lillie." She says triumphantly, signing the book.
After the man leaves happily, you turn to your partner, who was still blushing heavily:
"Wow, you're a natural!"
Lillie shakes her head, still embarrassed:
"Sometimes I really forget how famous you are nowadays, Y/n... but it's a good thing, I suppose. I hope the boy will be happy..."

While strolling further on the way to Iki Town, you put your arm around Lillie and pull her close:
"We definitely should watch this show about us! No one even told me there would be a show... I wonder if it's accurate!"
Chuckling, Lillie quickly pecks your cheek:
"Oh, it'll probably be very cheesy and predictable... but we should watch it either way. I'd watch anything with you in it... and with you by my side, as well!"

Together the two of you continue, until you finally see Iki Town and approach Hau's and Hala's house.
After knocking a few times on the huge, wooden doors, your friend finally opens the door, looking more nervous than usual:
"Aheh, Y/n, Lillie! What are you two doing here?" He asks, seeming as if he'd rather close the door right in your face.
"Hi Hau! How are you?" Lillie asks excitedly.
"I'm doing well." He says, scratching the back of his head.
Upon seeing Hau's body language, you frown:
"So... can we come in for a second?"
"Sure," the boy says hesitantly, "but let's make it fast. I have some business on the island to take care of today."

Hau quickly hurried to the kitchen, eager to let you walk back out of the door. After a second of running around, he returned with a strange purple fruit.
"Look here! This is Açaí. It's rare to find it here on Alola, but tutu ordered a bunch of them all the way from Sinnoh! Apparently, Pokémon really love the taste."

Lillie smiles upon seeing the beautiful fruit:
"Well, in that case... come on out, Comfee!" She says, releasing one of her companions. You do the same:
"Let's try it out, Lycanroc!"

The fruit was sweet. Very sweet. The sounds of munching filled the room, and Hau started looking more nervous by the second. To break the awkward silence, you calmly take Lillie's hand in yours and turn your focus to Hau.
"So... Hau. Lillie and I have a few things to tell you!"
Smiling, he beckons you to speak up. Lillie however reassuringly squeezes your hand and takes the lead:
"Hau, ever since our... incident with Kyogre, I've realised I need to grow stronger. You, my brother and Y/n were having a hard time beating it, and if my mother wouldn't have been around, I don't know if we would have won the fight... And if we find Jason and Kyogre someday and discover what he's up to... who knows what kind of danger we will have to face? I need to be ready for it, whatever comes. That's why I wanted to ask you: can we have a battle? Just you and me. A Kahuna against a challenger. What do you say?"

Hau nods:
"That sounds like a great idea! Y/n and I can use all the help we can get. We'll do it this evening, deal?" He says, already getting up to help you out, "well then if that's it then have a lovely da-"
Your words quickly halt him.
"There's something else. It's more serious, it's about Lillie and I."
"Oh?" Hau asks, sitting back down, intrigued.
"Well, she and I are-... what is it, Lycanroc?" You interrupt yourself, as your Pokémon starts crawling all over the place, growling in between sniffs.
Lillie quickly gets up, and pulls you to the living room along with your Pokémon. The growling suddenly comes to a stop as Lycanroc halts next to the guest room, and switches into barking.
Hau follows suit:
"Ah, it's probably just excited after eating the fruit! So what did you want to tell me, Y/n?"
You beckon him to stay quiet:
"Wait... there's someone here!" You exclaim, grabbing a Pokéball and throwing the door open in one quick, elegant motion.
"Team Aqua!" You shout, summoning your Primarina upon seeing the Admin sitting on the bed.

Shelly confidently rises up, extending her hand to you:
"Hello Champion. It's good to see you again."

Wow, finally, a new chapter! I am sincerely sorry for the long wait. I've had tons of things to do these last few months, and I've been trying to change my ways  a bit by becoming a lot more productive and actually try to gain some money!

At the moment I'm with my girlfriend in Brazil, so I'm having a tiny bit of free time to do my own things!

I've been missing writing a fair bit the past few weeks, so today I finally made work of it and decided to write for a few hours. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I don't know if you can notice, but since it was written in the span of about 4 months, the writing might be a bit different in between parts of this chapter. I hope you still like it either way!

This was more of a filler chapter, the next one will be more exciting! I'll focus a bit more on Lillie and Shelly, as their two characters are the most interesting for me at the moment, as well as the relationship between Lillie and Y/n!

I hope you're all doing well. Make sure to comment to let me know what you thought of the chapter, and tell me what you'd like to see next! Take care!
~Golf