⓿❶ Requested by Astraea_Eos!

Apologize for the repost, I had to delete my DA book off of here, and so I moved it back here. At least you'll get to enjoy it for the second time, hehe.

Photo by nanamis-universe on Tumblr

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   Ah, Alola, the loveliest tropical island to ever grace the Earth. Such a relaxed setting to ease in and enjoy its treasures. It had amazingly warm weather year-round, all sorts of new pokemon to play with, and growing fond of the awfully friendly natives. That's why Blue thought it would be the perfect place to take a break from being champions.

   Red didn't like the idea at first. Why leave his home for another region? He sat perfectly well at home and planned to keep it that way. Until one day, Garry suggested the idea to ___, they just loved it instantly they heard about it.

   When he saw their face lit up, it radiated a certain charm that no photo could capture. Maybe if he were to take them there, he could give them the happiness he always wanted to give them. Besides, he might actually enjoy the Alola region.

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From the day they arrived, they immediately dove their toes along the sandy shores of Hau'oli City's beachfront. The sun descended behind the calm waves, creating a sky full of gentle neon hues.

   The three friends walked along the edge of the waters, letting the tiny waves wrap around their ankles. Blue was trying to toy with some Wingulls by shooting them with a water gun until they fired back with Bubblebeams. Red and ___ chuckled non stop as Blue ran around in a frantic mess, evading the onslaught of bubbles coming his way.

   "Hehe, that's what you get for messing with wildlife!" ___ shouted playfully. They got out pokemon kibble from their bag and held out their hands. The Wingulls noticed the food and swoop down and hovered over ___'s to grab beak fulls. "I think you can pet them, Red. Want to try?"

   Red nodded before shyly reaching his hand forward. He petted one on its head, feeling the tiny ruffles of feathers.

   The Wingull jumped at the sudden contact but soon realized it was just a gentle hand. It took its attention away from the food and eyed the trainer. "Wing, Wingull!" It cheered in happiness and nuzzled against Red's head.

"Aw, it likes you!" ___ giggled and it was music to Red's ears. Lovestruck, he grinned softly at them and then let the Wingull rest on his shoulder.

   ___ looked down at their hand to see it was already empty. "Wow, they ate it all so quickly. I'll go get some more at that stand, ok?" The wingulls followed her there.

   He nodded and watched intriguingly as they departed. Blue came to Red as soon as the Wingulls followed ___ to the stand. "Sooo." He droned out like some child. "How's it going between you and ___? Asked them yet while you were chatting?"

   ". . ." The former champion placed his cap over his face and turned away from him.

   "You still haven't asked?! Red, my dude, you gotta make a move."

   Red took off his cap and shrugged. He had no idea about doing that exactly. It's not like he could speak really. Yeah sure, he could use paper, but that's unprofessional in his mind. He could give her a card and some chocolates, but that's more of a Valentine's tradition and cliché. He has to do something big, yet he's too shy to go about doing so to begin with.

   "It's been years since you've been talking. Years, and that's just too long. They'll just think of you as a friend from this point. Hell, I'm surprised they haven't gone on a dated someone else yet."

   Red let out a sigh. Blue was right. He has to tell ___ and tell them quickly before they run off with someone else. Or maybe they weren't interested? All these possibilities seemed to dawn on him, but he won't know of the outcome if he doesn't.

   And so he confidently straightened up his cap and turned to Blue with a nod.

   "That a boy! Now, what's your little plan?"

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___ got their bag of food and paid the cashier. "Thanks so much!" They took no time feeding the Wingulls, which swarmed her at every angle.

   Fearful, the cashier hid behind their cash register. "Y-yes, you're welcome."

   "C' mon guys, let's head to the shores," ___ said, "because let's not freak out any more people for today." As soon as they turned around, they saw that everyone was clearing off a spot on the beach in front of them.

   Blue was instructing people to get off the beach while Red was collecting pieces of Corsola and Shellder that were naturally shed.

   "What in the world are they doing?" ___ questioned to themselves. They placed the bag down to let the Wingulls eat it peacefully and charged off to the two former champions. "Are you guys preparing for a battle?"

   "No, but for something better," Blue said.

   "What?"

   "Just turn around and don't look."

   "I don't know what you're planning, but it better up to good!" ___ said before turning around.

   "Oh, it will."

   Arceus knows what they could be up to. The last time those two did a surprise for them was set the kitchen on fire when they tried cooking ___ oran berry pancakes for breakfast. The last thing they needed was a stressful event.

   The rustling of sand filled their ears along with Blue's words of encouragement. ___ chuckled at his instructions as he blurted out "Put that there, no there!", "Yeah, they'll love that!", and "What are you doing, that's too hard on the nose!". After a moment, it became quiet. Only the waves and squawks of Wingull could be heard.

   "Okay, ___, now you can look!" Blue said.

   Oh boy. Here it goes. They turned around and opened their eyes. They cocked their head to the side as they saw giant letters drawn in the sand. There were some pieces of the shells were used as decorations like hearts and other romantic symbols on the sidelines. "What is all of this?"

   "Red, it's your cue," said Blue.

   The champion nodded. Although hesitant, he took their arm, guiding them over to the beginning of it all. It was going to be a task to read it upside down, but that meant more time for ___ to read it.

   "The day...I first met you," they started, "it was like...a dream. I know it has...been years since that day. But I never...lost those feelings...and they...strengthened ever since." As ___ took it in, they began to put the pieces together. The constant smiling. The reddening of his cheeks. The generosity and kindness he always gave them. Now it made sense. Once mistaken as acts of friendliness were actually beyond that.

   Red then lead them towards a different section of his "speech". It was fancier lettering, curly and even exotic. At this point, his hand shook over theirs as they read the finale.

   "Will you go out with me?" ___'s eyes lit up and they turned to Red, who blushed profusely and had the same energy radiating from him.

   They laughed excitedly and then threw their hands over his shoulder. "Yes, yes! Haha, yes!"

   Red returned the hug as soon as they did. He kissed them on the cheek, which made their cheeks flushed.

   Not too far away, Blue watched from afar and smiled to himself. "Way to go, champ. Knew you could do it!"