Never really done Z-ringshipping before apart from the very first Oneshot where Kiawe was just a villain on the side. Wow, this is the 68th Oneshot now. Look how far we've come guys :)

Anyway, hope you enjoy!

(Just so you know, I know it's annoying that more than half of these are AUs, but having the story be an AU allows me to write it better. Also from now on I'll stop mentioning when it's an AU, but if anyone wants me to mention it before I write it then tell me :) )

Gladion's Lycranoc was lying on the ground after the smoke cleared out, whimpering in exhaustion.

"You did great, Lycranoc", Gladion praised it as he returned it to its Pokeball, "Get some rest"

"That was a fun battle, Gladion!", Ash chuckled before yawning, "We should probably hit the sack now"

Gladion sped up as he darted towards Ash to follow him inside and upstairs. Maybe this would be the moment? No, it might not be special enough. But what if this was as special as it could be? He wanted it to be perfect. Something Ash would remember, even if it didn't guarantee a future with him. For weeks he'd been noticing every tender moment he could possibly have with Ash to see if he could confess his love to him then.

Before Ash was able to touch the door handle, someone burst through, tackling him to the ground. Gladion gasped and immediately ran to his side.

"Ash, are you alright?"

"I'm fine...Kiawe?"

It was indeed Kiawe who'd ended up accidentally driving him into the dirt. His face reddened as he swiftly leaped off of Ash and helped him up. 

"I'm so sorry!", he apologized profusely, bowing with his arms by his side.

"Woah, Kiawe, it's alright. I just wanted to ask why you were in such a hurry"

"I-I was just on my way to go hide-no! Do...something. Uh-...bye!"

He turned on his heel and sprinted away from them. Ash's eyes widened as he inexplicably followed him seconds after, ignoring Gladion calling his name.

The blonde looked down to the sheets of paper Kiawe had seemingly dropped. He kneeled down and, picking one up, saw pictures of a certain dark-haired, skinny boy with hearts scribbled onto the page. They'd definitely been taken without permission, especially since the boy had mentioned more than once before that he hated to come face to face with a camera.

He flinched when he heard a loud scream that made even the trees shiver, slowly getting more and more distant. Without second thought, he rushed into the direction Ash had been running in, forgetting the rage he felt just now. His feet ached, begging him to stop, but still he pounded them against the ground, accelerating with every drop of sweat that rolled down his temple.

Yelping, he hastily skidded to a stop as his eyes caught sight of a deep canyon, where boulders all the way to rocks were sliding down the steep walls. Clearly, this part of it had just collapsed.

He called out his Zubat and, within seconds, the poor Pokemon was barely hovering above ground while trying to carry him down to safety. Minutes after he was at the bottom, staggering across the vast collection of rocks that looked like a river of stone. 

"Ash? Can you hear me?", he yelled with his hands circling his mouth, sighing as his voice echoed through the night.

He kept repeating the same thing over and over, hoping to eventually get a response. At one point, he stopped to catch his breath. He wasn't going to give up until he knew Ash was alright. But while taking deep breaths he heard his calls again.

"Ash? Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

That didn't make sense. Gladion wasn't calling him, yet he could still hear the echoes his calls to Ash. Only when he found his way closer to the voice did he realize it wasn't his.

"Ash? Hey, wake up!"

He looked up.

Kiawe was sitting there holding Ash close to his chest. Ash's eyes were half open, so it was difficult to tell whether he was conscious or not. His body was trembling, yet the cold couldn't have been such a cause even if they were hundreds of feet below ground; it was Alola. He didn't like the fact that Kiawe hardly had a scratch, yet Ash was covered in bruises.

Gladion staggered to his feet and made it to Ash's side, feeling his shoulders.

"Is he alright?", he mumbled as he pressed a finger into the side of Ash's neck, then his wrist.

He began to sweat, having to resort to pushing his ear down onto Ash's chest. Light, rhythmic thumping made its way into his ear. He sighed with relief as he pulled away, placing a reassuring hand over his heart.

"I'm not sure. He's not waking up and he's hurt, but he's still breathing"

Gladion glared at the preparing to introduce him with death.

"'He's still breathing?'. Are you serious? So if he wasn't breathing, only then would you worry? Just because he's breathing, and he might not be on the brink of death, doesn't mean we shouldn't be worried! He's clearly shaking because he's in pain! And from the looks of it when comparing you two, I'm guessing he took the blow for you. You don't even look a little grateful"

Kiawe lowered his head after being scolded by the other, trying to think of a comeback. Gladion tended to Ash, lightly poking his wounds to see how hard he flinched each time. For someone like him who had great pain tolerance, it was obvious he wasn't in good condition.

"...How did you get those pictures?"

"What pictures?"

"Don't play dumb. I saw all that you dropped. You know for a fact Ash hates having his picture taken"

"...He can't hate it if he doesn't know"

"That's sick. Being a stalker won't get someone to love you. Besides, I have a better chance with him anyway. I'm stronger as a trainer"

"So? Not only is that wrong, but that's not the only thing Ash wants. He wants someone kind, and judging by how you treat people, you're not like that. You've even insulted him a few times"

Gladion huffed and went back to observing Ash. He felt a little better when he felt the thumping in his wrist. 

Kiawe looked up towards the sky, facing the moon. It had to be at least midnight by now. Should they wait for Ash to wake up or call for help?

Luckily, they no longer had to wait when they heard a soft groan. Gladion leaned closer and whispered his name as the boy shuffled around, trying to make sense of what was going on around him.

It was dark...very dark. The only light came from the moon and stars. He was sitting on ground, surrounded by boulders and large walls of stone. Every sound made echoed.

His eyes fluttered open. Gladion immediately gasped and backed away with his hands over his mouth. Kiawe, confused, positioned Ash against the wall to observe him. He did the same.

They were light blue, like the sky in the morning, contrasting the usual chocolate brown he had. 

"Ash, did something happen to you? Did you hit your head?", Gladion immediately began questioning him.

"What...?", Ash croaked, "Why...?"

"Your eyes"

Ash's eyes widened as he paled. He forced himself up so he was sitting up straight, frantically searching for something on the ground.

"Hey, Ash, what's going on? What are you doing?", Kiawe asked while trying to calm him down.

He was murmuring to himself, but the other two couldn't hear what he was saying. They leaned in closer. Kiawe was the first to understand.

"Why do you need contacts?"

Ash reluctantly gave up and sighed, falling back against the wall. Kiawe and Gladion stayed on either side of him, waiting for an explanation.

"Because...", he started, "I need them to hide this"

He pointed to his light blue eyes, which were so vibrant they were glowing in the dark.

"It all started when I was little. I was just playing outside. My mom was gonna tell me to come inside, the sun was setting and it was really bright. I was just...staring at it. Of course, she freaked out, told me to look away and rushed me to an ambulance. The doctors were baffled as to why it didn't blind me"

They were both astounded. They knew Ash was special inside and out, but not to the point where he could look at the sun without losing his sight.

"My eyes are...weird. They're really bright and the colors shift sometimes. I still don't know why. It became such a problem with bullying that my mom had to start buying me contacts to cover it up. Only dark colors would be enough to hide it. But it would still show through things like mirrors...and cameras"

"That's why you hate getting your picture taken...", Kiawe mumbled with guilt in his eyes.

On the other side, Gladion was analyzing Kiawe's pictures. And indeed, in those that clearly showed Ash's eyes, they were any vibrant color but brown. He put the paper down and cupped Ash's chin with his hand to make him face him.

"I think it's beautiful", he whispered as he caressed Ash's hair.

Kiawe was trying to get his turn, but then Ash fell asleep against Gladion's shoulder. The blonde made both of them comfortable, grinning at his rival.

"That's not fair. If Ash is gonna choose between both of us, he should have some love from me too"

"I think you've given him enough love by taking pictures"

They both rested their bodies against the wall with Ash in between them (as it probably would be for a long time) and waited for the sun to rise.

Hope you enjoyed!

Requests are open. Have a good day!