(Sun's POV)

Kane shakes his head, turning and cooly walking back into his small crowd of Team Skull grunts.
"Fair enough, guess I'll have to take that loss," he chuckles. He pauses momentarily, sighing with content as he turns to the Team Skull grunts. "C'mon then gang. We caused enough chaos for one day, heheheh."
He doesn't turn to look back at us. The red-haired Team Skull boss just adjusts his jacket with swag while striding off calmly down the street in the opposite direction. The downtrodden Team Skull grunts dash off after him, sulking and muttering while they leave.
Lillie steps forward, watching them leave with a noticeable firm scowl on her face.
"Shouldn't we stop them or something? Or arrest them?" she suggests.
Guzma shakes his head, grinning lightly to himself.
"Nah. Those punks got taught a lesson here today. That's all we need," he says, approaching Lillie and I.
"Yeah, they're done... for today, at least." I turn to face Lillie, squeezing her hand and smiling. "But we're one step closer to taking them down for good," I add.
"Damn right," Guzma grins, rustling his hands through me and Lillie's hair to mess with us. "And you fought pretty well, eh? Looks like you cleaned up a lot of those numbskulls by yourselves," he adds. Me and Lillie wince slightly as Guzma ruffles up our hair, but I laugh gently as he does so. He turns to Gladion, who's standing quietly just behind us. "Looks like you mopped them up good too, kid. It's a shame you don't hang around with me and the Team Reskull boys more often."
Gladion shrugs.
"I get you guys are good now, I just... I like to do things on my own," he replies, turning and facing the glistening orange ocean. He goes to lean against what's left of the railing, but decides not to after considering its fragile state. Lillie smirks and leans closer to Guzma.
"He's just not very good at making friends," she whispers.
"... I heard that," Gladion mutters coldly.

"That was one heart-stopping battle, gotta hand it to you."
Dad approaches us with a grin, and Guzma turns around to discover who's talking to him. He pauses for a moment, before grinning with a sense of realisation.
"Heh, thanks. You're Sun's dad, aren'tcha? Damn, you two really look alike!"
Dad grins back, smoothly salute-waving. "Heh! Yeah, I guess it's in the eyes. You're Guzma then, the Team Reskull boss? Sun's told me quite a bit about you," Dad says casually, his signature Charizard strutting up behind him. It's honestly pretty strange seeing Dad and Guzma have a conversation with eachother. I guess it's just a conversation I never imagined would happen, but regardless, they seem to get on well. Dad expresses his amazement in the Z-move that was used - a power that understandably fascinates the Kanto champion, as Z-power doesn't seem to exist anywhere but Alola. Gladion has wandered off somewhere into the crowd of citizens and lively Team Reskull members, but Lillie is stood behind me, watching the golden sunset. I approach her from behind, wrapping my arms gently around her lower abdomen and laying a kiss against the back of her head. She smiles, leaning back into me and looking up into my eyes.
"Tired, huh?" I ask. I'm practically the only thing holding her up, as she's slumped back against me so much.
"A bit... it's been a busy day," she admits.
"We'll go home in a minute then," I say, rubbing her shoulders gently before letting go. Hands in pockets, I stroll back over to Guzma and dad with Lillie.

"Hey dad, I think we're gonna head back home," I announce as we rejoin the conversation. Dad strokes Saber's colossal neck with care as the powerful Charizard lays curled up on the ground.
"Good idea. It's getting late, your mother must be wondering what's taking us so long," he chuckles. "You hear that Saber? Ready to get us home?" he asks, turning his attention back to the charcoal-grey beast. Lillie gazes down the length of the street for a moment before speaking.
"So... what's going to happen about the damage here?" she asks. Ah, yeah. I'd almost forgotten about how the street has now transformed into what looks like an explosive test site. The road is split in many places, it's surface cracked and covered in rubble. Trees have been knocked over, the roofs of buildings have been damaged, street signs have been bent crooked, walls have been knocked over, and there is of course a gaping hole in the side of a building that dad's Charizard went straight through.
"Hrmm... I guess there'll have to be some reconstruction operations here. Team Skull are the ones held responsible for this," I mutter.
"We'll keep an eye on em'," Guzma says smoothly. "Yo, and you two should swing by Po Town sometime," he adds, turning to Lillie and I.
"What for?" I reply. Guzma chuckles.
"For a chat? I dunno, I didn't mean for anythin' in particular," he laughs, swaggering over to his Team Reskull grunts. "Been a while since you sang for the band, Sun," he adds.
"Oh, right! I'm sure we will," Lillie replies enthusiastically.
"I'll hold ya to it. See you around," Guzma says cooly, gathering his team of grunts and heading off back to Po Town. "C'mon then crew, back to livin' large at the mansion."

A look of realisation crosses Lillie's face suddenly.
"Oh! I'm gonna go say bye to my brother before we go home, I think he just went up ahead somewhere," she explains. I take Ember's Poké Ball in my hand, preparing to release the Charizard to fly us home.
"I'll be waiting for you. Say bye to him from me," I reply, playing with the Poké Ball. Lillie smiles and nods, before dashing off to find Gladion. I throw the Poké Ball out, releasing Ember back into the world next to dad's Charizard.

-

Not too long later, we all pull down to land back outside the house. The two Charizards land with a heavy thud in unison, dad not wasting a second to dismount and give Saber a pat before returning him to his Poké Ball. Lillie, on the other hand, leans into me from behind and squeezes her arms around my waist for a moment before we get off of Ember.
"Hah, busy day," dad remarks as he opens the front door to see Mom. "We're back!"
"Ah, there you all are! Welcome home, I made pasta," mom says cheerily, smiling as the three of us return home. Dad and mom embrace in a hug, a wholesome sight to see as Lillie and I enter the house too and kick our shoes off.

We all sit down together and eat dinner that mom prepared for us, telling mom about all that happened today. As usual, there's a lot to talk about as we dig into the food, and mom listens to our stories with enthusiasm as she always does. Lillie is happy, though undeniably getting even more tired by the minute. It doesn't take us long to finish the pasta; today's barrage of events had made us pretty hungry apparently, though dad seems to have plenty more energy left in him, as he gets up after dinner to go and grab his jacket.
"Are you still up for going on that walk down to, eh... what was it..."
"Mahalo Trail?" mom finishes his sentence with a giggle. "And yes, I am. I've been looking forward to going out with you today," she adds with a smile. Dad grins, slipping his iconic jacket on.
"Me too," he replies, flashing a happy and toothy smile at mom before turning to me and Lillie. "Sorry about the short notice, are you two alright here?"
"It's no problem! We're not going anywhere," Lillie answers.
"Okay then, well we won't be gone too long," he says, suddenly smirking. "So keep that in mind if you two are gonna do anythi-"
I sigh, covering my face with both of my hands.
"Just stop," I grumble at him.
"Heheh, I need to grow up," dad chuckles to himself. He tries to stifle a laugh but fails to do so, shaking his head. "Nah, I'm kidding, of course I don't."
"Oh, just ignore him, Sun," mom chuckles, opening the front door and stepping out. "See you later!" she adds with a wave.
"Yup, see ya," dad says, following her out and closing the door.

"Sorry about him," I mutter, scratching the back of my head apologetically as I collect Lillie's plate along with mine and take the dishes to the kitchen.
"No, it's really fine," Lillie laughs, stretching her body out as she stands up. "Your dad is funny," she adds. I quickly clean up our dishes in the sink and proceed to wash my hands.
"Yeah, he is," I admit after a pause. Lillie makes her way to the bedroom.
"I'll just brush my teeth and change into my pyjamas, okay?"
"Good idea. I'll join you in a sec."

After brushing my teeth, washing my face and changing into my pyjamas, I re-enter the main room to find Lillie curled up on the sofa, her Lycanroc sleeping on the floor next to her.
"Pfheh, someone's sleepy," I tease as I walk over and sit down next to her.
"I can't help it," she yawns in protest, shooting me a cute pout as I make myself comfortable on the sofa beside her.
"Hehe, I know. C'mere," I reply softly, holding an arm out - a gesture that asks her if she wants to cuddle with me. She gladly does so, shuffling up and snuggling against me contently as I place an arm around her and pick up the TV remote with my other hand. I spend a minute just aimlessly searching through channels, looking for something to watch for the evening.
"Anything you want to watch, Lil?"
"It's all up to you. I don't think I'll stay awake through it all, regardless of what it is," she whispers with a sleepy laugh. I run a hand through her golden hair, smiling happily in response to her warmth that seems to comfort me from head to toe.

"Oh, Star Wars is on!" I say excitedly as I scroll through what seems to be an endless list of channels.
"Which one?" Lillie mumbles sleepily.
"Episode three, Revenge of the Sith," I reply, putting the movie on. "Looks like we're just in time for the start."
I put the remote down and lean back, squeezing my arm slightly tighter around Lillie as the movie's intro begins.

A few minutes pass before Lillie suddenly asks me something.
"Hey, Sun?"
"Hm?"
"You never explained, who was that old friend you were talking about? The one that you met on Poni island today? What happened with that?"
I pause for a second.
"Oh, right. Nothing really happened, but... you remember Rose? I think I've mentioned her before."
Lillie thinks.
"Oh, you helped train her while I was in Kanto, right?"
"Yeah, that's right," I reply, slightly more quietly. "But yeah... well, apparently she's back. And she's with Team Skull."
"Oh..." Lillie mutters sadly. "What did she want on Poni?"
"A chat," I answer blankly. Lillie just glances up at me, with the same expression I had at the time. "She just wanted to say hi to me, I guess. To let me know she was back from Galar. Oh, and she also told me that the boss wanted to meet me, so... that's why I hurried to Ula'ula," I explain.
"Hmm, well... she seems pretty strange," Lillie says with a small groan as she snuggles into my side more.
"Yeah... I don't think we've seen the last of her," I reply, before laying a kiss against Lillie's forehead. On that note, we drop the conversation and return our attention to the movie.

-

Though this isn't the first time I've watched this particular movie, I seem to enjoy it just as much. I noticed Lillie's soft, rhythmic breathing along with her hand's gentle grip on my side earlier, a sign that she'd fallen asleep; and sure enough, her head is nuzzled comfortably against my chest as she sleeps soundly on me.
"Fallen asleep during a Star Wars movie," I whisper with a chuckle, softly stroking her blonde hair.
The movie's nearing the end now. Before it's able to reach its conclusion, however, the front door opens and mom and dad return home.
"We're back," dad says cheerily as he takes his jacket off - luckily not too loudly, as I hastily respond by gesturing with a finger over my lips, pointing at Lillie. I blush a little as dad grins at me, though he suddenly takes notice of the movie with interest. "Ooh, Star Wars," he whispers excitedly.
"It's getting late, after all. Looks like it's time to go to bed," Mom suggests gently.
"Yup, I'm beat," Dad admits, stretching and heading to their bedroom. "Goodnight, Sun," he adds on his way out with a smile.
"See you in the morning," I whisper after him. I say goodnight to mom as well, switching the TV off and picking Lillie up into my arms with great care not to wake her up.

We're both changed into our pyjamas anyway, so I carry her to our bedroom and quietly close the door behind us. As she breathes softly against my chest, I glance down and find that she's still fast asleep, so I place her down onto the bed and put the covers over her slowly. I can't help but smile lightly at how adorable she is while I drop my bag on my desk, proceeding to quietly check through the contents of my backpack to make sure everything is prepared for whatever I end up doing tomorrow. Rotom is asleep in his Pokédex too, so I place him onto his bed - which also serves as a charging dock for his Pokédex while he sleeps.
"Mmn... Hi, Nebby..." Lillie mumbles through her sleep. I glance at her, chuckle to myself and zip up my bag, leaving it on my desk. Lillie doesn't usually talk in her sleep, but it's adorable when she does.
With all of the little things finally taken care of, I climb into bed next to my girlfriend and get comfortable with her. Lillie's eyes flutter open slightly when I put an arm around her body.
"Sun..."
She still looks to be half-asleep, but reaches out to brush one of her hands through my hair gently nonetheless. She snuggles closer to me, leaning her head forward in what I think is an attempt to kiss me in her half-conscious state. Grinning lightly, I do the favour for her and kiss her soft lips with love. I proceed to wrap my arms around her and cuddle.
"Love you, Lillie."
There's a pause while she drifts off back to sleep, running her hand along my back and smiling.
"I love you too."

-

The next morning, I'm woken by the familiar, calm chiming of the ringtone from Rotom's Pokédex.
"Bzzzt, hey, rise and shine," Rotom buzzes quietly while he bumps himself against my forehead.
"Huh..." I groan, forcing my eyes open little by little as the morning sunlight bounces off the walls of the room and into my tired eyes. As the world gradually comes into vision, I see a blurry Rotom hovering right in front of my face, the words 'incoming call' just about readable on the Pokedex's screen above a phone icon. I notice Lillie is still asleep too - or was, at least. She's waking up just about as slowly as I am, her head buried into my shoulder while she remains snuggled close to me.
"Who is it, Rotom?"
"It'zzz Hau! Don't keep him waiting," Rotom chirps in response whilst I take hold of the Pokédex and answer the call.
"Morning Hau," I mumble, trying to put as much energy into the words as possible in an attempt to overcome my tiredness. Hau's ever-cheery face shows up on the screen, grinning while he gives an Alolan wave.
"Alola! Man, you're still in bed?"
"Yeah... Lillie and I only just woke up," I reply with a small laugh, running a hand through my messy hair.
"Dude, it's almost 10am already!" Hau exclaims. "And Alola to you too, Lillie," he adds.
"Alola Hau," Lillie replies, her sentence coming out as a mumble as a result of her face being buried into my shoulder still. I take notice of the lush scenery in the background of Hau's video call, which suggests that he's currently just outside of Iki Town.
"What are you calling for, Hau? Everything alright?" I ask.
"Heh yeah, all good here! Me and the Professor are meeting up at his lab, we were wondering if you two want to join us?" he explains. "Besides, we haven't caught up for a while."
I stretch my body out under the bed covers and smile as Lillie squeezes her arms around my bare chest.
"Sounds good to me. We don't have anything planned today, so I guess we'll head over in a bit?"
Hau grins happily as he continues on his way down route 1 with spring in his step.
"Sure! I'll let the Professor know. We'll be waiting for ya," he says.
"We'll try not to take too long," I chuckle. "See you in a bit."

With that word of goodbye, I end the call and Rotom returns to his bed. I turn to Lillie and gently rub her side as she snuggles into me.
"Good morning," I whisper, kissing her forehead. She reciprocates by glancing up at me, a refreshing smile on her face, and pecking my lips with hers.
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" She asks, shuffling up a bit in bed. She places a hand just beneath my chest and presses her warm fingers against my skin.
"Apparently so, we slept in pretty late today."
"Hehe, yeah... I was having nice dreams, so you can't blame me," she protests, her head rested between my chest and shoulder. We spend a moment cuddling, and I softly stroke through her hair while the time passes before I interrupt the silence.
"Well then, you ready to get up?" I ask. Lillie sits up and stretches for a moment, her shirt pulling back slightly to reveal a glimpse of her body underneath. She sighs heavily, falling backwards into the pillows again.
"I'm tryinggg," she moans, rubbing her forehead. A small smirk trickles onto my face.
"Here, let me help you with that then," I chuckle before getting myself in position to sit on her lap and straddle her. With one swift motion, I push my body down and press my lips against hers. The two of us quickly find ourselves giggling while we kiss fiercely for a moment, until our lips depart and we lean into eachother, snickering to ourselves.

After several more moments of gentle silence, I cunningly slip a few of my fingers underneath Lillie's shirt and playfully tickle her side.
"C'mon, time to get out of bed," I coo, poking her warm skin. She lets out a gasp, followed by a giggle as she shoves my bare shoulder.
"Heyyy, fine," she whines, trying to cover up her grin with a pout yet again. "Oh! Here," she adds suddenly, picking up my cap from the desk next to her - I didn't notice that it ended up next to her, but I lean closer to her as to allow her to put it on my head. Grinning to herself, Lillie delicately places my iconic cap onto my head sideways and I pull a cute, albeit relaxed expression as the brim of the cap sticks out to the side.
Lillie smiles, gently booping the tip of my nose. "Now you look ready," she says. "But..." she pauses, shuffling up in bed so that the covers slide off her body. She fills her lungs with air, pushing her chest out slightly and opening her arms widely. "Hug meee," She insists. I grin, keeping my cap on sideways for the moment.
"Well, since I don't have a choice..." I say jokingly. Shuffling forward to her, I rapidly embrace Lillie in one of the tightest hugs, squeezing her slim body in my arms as she squeezes back with all her might, nuzzling her cheek into my neck as she does.
"Rrrnn, it's just so hard to let go of you," Lillie proclaims. We squeeze eachother for a while longer - she squeaks as I suddenly pull her to my side of the bed.
"But now we're gonna get up, c'mon. Hau and the Professor will be waiting for us soon," I say gently. We release eachother as I get to my feet.
"You're right," she replies, joining me in getting up from bed and finding one of my black shirts on the other side of the room as she finds her own clothes for the day. "Heads up!"
She tosses my shirt to me, the apparel landing on my head perfectly.
"Thanks," I mumble against the shirt, before pulling it off my head and putting it on.