Adrian sighed, looking off into the distance, eyes glassy and unfocused. He sat there, staring at the endless sky and the others all shared looks, concerned for him. 

"Hey," Solar grinned sitting down next to him, "how ya doin'?" 

Adrian gave a small smile and said, "fine, you?" 

"Stop being so polite," Solar pouted.

Adrian forced a laugh, clearly uncomfortable and looked away, "you want to know something, right?" 

Solar's eyes widened dramatically and he looked to Lunar, "he knows I want something!!" Lunar simply sighed and gave a fond smile before turning back to the book she had been reading. 

"Adrian, you don't seem to be doing too well," Cynthia began gently.

"No shit, Cynth. I'm stuck here because of my legs," Adrian rolled his eyes. Safe to say, no one expected such a rude response from Adrian. His ocean blue eyes softened and he sighed, looking away from everyone, at the ground, "sorry, that was out of line." 

"You said that Winter goes into withdrawal without you, right?" Red asked and without waiting for an answer, he continued, "you go through the same thing." 

Adrian didn't deign him a response. 

"We just wanted to let you know that shit's happening with those four," Red continued on, trying his best to ignore how standoffish Adrian had become, "Whitley and Blake got into a giant argument with Heart and Winter in the middle, trying to get them to sort their shit out." 

Worry tugged at Adrian's heart but he played it off, trying to remain nonchalant. 

"Heart said that she's not too sure on how things are going to play out and we might need to intervene. Whitley's really upset and Winter's with Blake and there's no update on them. Heart said that it's been a day and neither have spoken because Whitley's been crying the entire time." 

"Why are you telling me?" Adrian grumbled. 

"You're Hibiki," Lunar said simply. 

"Isn't that enough of a reason? You're Hibiki," Solar elaborated with a shrug, "so tell us, what are you really thinking?" 

I just really want to see Winter, but I can't say that so, Adrian sat a little straighter and sighed. "They need to talk it out." 

"That's what I think," Solar grinned, "but Lunar says that they need time to cool off." 

"True. Depends on what Heart and Winter say to them and how the conversation flows," Adrian hummed, "bottom line, get them to talk as soon as they can, otherwise there won't be sufficient communication. Like, they'll forget exactly why they're angry." 

"Why don't you talk to them?" Cynthia suggested casually. 

Adrian shook his head, not explaining it. He didn't have the motivation to talk so much. His position in the 10 be damned, he wanted Winter. 

He ignored the shared looks between the other four, that stupid concern on their face, worry painted on their faces as clear as the sun in the sky. He couldn't even run, he was grounded by his stupid legs. Why couldn't they heal already? He was restless, he wanted out. 

"Adri-" 

"I'm fine," he growled, eyes sparkling red before going back to their usual colour, "just... I need some time." 

"We can call W-" 

"She's got more important things to do," Adrian murmured, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. 

~~~~~

Heart cradled the sleeping girl in her arms, thankful that the crying had stopped. Whitley just cried, never spoke a word to express what she was feeling, she just stared blankly as tears continued to fall. She sometimes cried hysterically, sometimes silently. 

During the entire day, the whole 24 hours, Whitley had only stopped crying to take sips of water or to take short naps. Those naps never lasted long, 3 hours at most. Heart could do nothing but hold her. Whitley just didn't want to say anything. 

Heart was exhausted but didn't dare complain. It was her role to support everyone behind the scenes, so that's what she did. She held Whitley and soothed her the best she could, comforting the younger girl in any way she could. Quiet murmurs of comforting words, soft strokes to remind her that she was still there, melodic humming to calm her down, to focus on anything else, holding her to remind her that she wasn't leaving, anything she could think of to 

Heart's body was protesting, begging for food, for water, for sleep, to rest her exhausted self but she paid it no mind, she simply ignored it. Whitley came first. 

She looked down at the sleeping girl in her arms and gently tucked her into the sheets, letting Misora out and giving strict instructions before hurrying off to grab some food for Whitley at the convenience store right outside of the Pokemon Centre. 

Sleepily, she mindlessly grabbed food and yawned tearily. A few snacks, chips, cookies, a tub of ice cream, ramen, kimbap and two ready-made meals. Wandering the aisles to see if she had forgotten anything, she was surprised to feel someone placing their hand on her shoulder. Calmly, Heart turned to see who it was, expecting another guardian. 

She didn't recognise the face. 

Heart opened her mouth hesitantly. It was at ass o'clock in the morning and this random guy - admittedly hot random guy just placed a possessive hand on her shoulder and she had no idea exactly how to respond to it. 

The man gave her a boyish grin, looking somewhat guilty. "Hey, sorry for bothering you. I was, uh, just wondering if..." he trailed off. looking uselessly between his friend behind him and her. 

Heart had little patience and cocked her head to the side in confusion, eyebrows furrowed gently. 

"If, I uh..." 

Heart felt that the situation was familiar, like deja vu. 

"What my friend and I want to know is if we can have your contact details," the cocky red head asked from behind the blond. 

It clicked. 

"Oh," Heart suppressed another yawn and shrugged, "I'm kinda busy right now, so maybe no?" 

"Please? You're really cute and we've seen you around for a while in town!" 

That should've raised all the red flags, but Heart was too tired to process anything properly. 

"Sorry, I need to grab some," her eyes scanned the entire shop quickly and perked up, "drinks," she finished, trying to shoulder past them. 

"Why don't I take you out for some drinks then?" 

"Don't wanna get hammered right now," Heart muttered, trying to duck past his arm. 

"Hey, not so fast," the red head grabbed onto her arm and Heart dropped all that she was carrying due to how rough he was. She was getting pretty annoyed, "we just wanted a number or something." 

Heart looked toward the cashier, noticing it was a female, who shrunk back, unsure of what to do. She reached for the phone, mouthing police? 

Heart glanced back and responded no. The girl looked even more frightened, paling. Honestly, Heart realised she made the wrong decision pretty quickly, realising the men weren't planning on releasing her. She shivered under their touch, trying to tug her arm out. 

"Cut it out! I have to be somewhere!" she cried, realising that she wasn't strong enough. 

"Come on, a little girl like you shouldn't be out this late on her own," the red head grinned. 

Heart rolled her eyes, noting how the blond's attitude changed really quickly. 

"Damn, thought that this was gonna be a quickie," he sighed. 

"It can still be one," his friend shrugged. 

Heart narrowed her eyes, exhaustion consuming her entire body as she tried to fight. 

"Heart?"

Heart looked toward the door, seeing Solar there. Her heart soared, excited to see him.

Solar spotted Heart pretty quickly, eyes widening at her situation. "What are you fuckers doing?" 

"Just trying to find a good fuck, go get your own mate," the blond grinned. 

"What do you mean?" Solar asked coldly, sending shivers down their spines, "I already got a claim on her." 

"What are you guys? Wolves?" Heart scoffed weakly. 

"So, why don't you two scram? Couldn't offer her a good time even if you both tried at the same time. Women aren't gonna offer a good time unless they do it willingly ya know? So fuck off, she's mine." 

Heart was on edge, unsure of Solar's strangely cold behaviour. She didn't like it. The Solar who joked and laughed was the one she felt best with, he was the man that she knew, not this guy. 

Solar took measured steps forward, eyes narrowing when the men loosened their grips but didn't leave. "Didn't you hear me? Leave. Useless dicks, you wouldn't be able to get it up even if you tried, huh? Too small to even properly pleasure anyone yet you go around acting all high and mighty. Fuck off already, no one wants you here." 

Both men quickly scrambled out the door. 

Solar's entire demeanour softened and he turned to Heart, holding her close as the girl trembled. "Shh, angel, let's pay and get out of here, okay? Lunar's waiting outside." 

Heart nodded shakily and clung onto Solar as he picked up the dropped snacks and quickly wandered around, picking up drinks and a few more snacks before paying, grabbing the stuff and leading Heart out. 

"Sorry we took so long, Lu," Solar apologised. 

Lunar ignored Solar, noticing how tired Heart looked to be. Concern flooded through her and she walked up to the girl, looking deep into her meadow green eyes, how they looked dark and exhausted. 

"Needs rest," Lunar murmured, feeling Heart's forehead for signs of a fever. 

"Let's get back to their rooms. Bet that they had two, so we'll drop Heart in the oth-" 

"Whitley... she might be awake. We need to... go," Heart mumbled. 

Solar passed the bags of food to Lunar and quickly scooped Heart up bridal style before the Ranger had time to protest. They quickly made their way back to Whitley, thankful to find the girl asleep still. Solar laid Heart down on the bed, tucking her in. 

"Heart, we're here now, go to sleep." 

Heart whined in protest, petulant and struggling to get up. Solar forced her back into bed and sighed in irritation.

"You're being more of a nuisance than a help, so you might as well rest well and get better. Once you're better, you'll actually be useful. Just sleep," Solar rolled his eyes. 

"Harsh," Lunar frowned, entering the room again with a frown on her face, "Gentle. She's worried." 

Solar sighed and nodded. 

"Rest," Lunar urged, sitting down next to Heart, "all worried." 

"Yeah, Whit-" 

"Not Whitley, you." Lunar looked Heart dead in the eye, "distressed." 

"You were sending distress signals to Adrian and he told us to come to you," Solar elaborated, "we were worried."

"So Winter, Blake and Raios don't know?" Heart asked. 

Lunar shook her head as she brushed Heart's hair out of her face. 

"Sleep," she ordered. 

Heart sighed, curled up next to Whitley and fell. 

Solar and Lunar sighed, not looking at each other before getting back to work. 

~~~~~

Heart slowly came too, refusing to open her eyes. She heard soft murmurs and slowly opened her eyes. Noticing how the voices were drawing closer, she shut them as the footsteps came into the room. 

"Adrian and Winter, neither of them are faring well and I'm worried. Winter's going to-" 

"Shh!" 

Heart didn't breathe, didn't move. She wanted to hear more of Solar's hushed blabbering but Lunar seems like she caught on or was just too worried about her and Whit-

Where was Whitley?

Heart tried not to panic. 

"Sol, Whitley," Lunar urged before sitting down on the corner of the bed, fingers brushing through Heart's greasy hair. Solar gave a sigh and left, leaving Heart and Lunar in the bedroom. 

Lunar didn't say anything, removing her hand with a sigh. 

Heart didn't know what to do and simply pretended to wake up, blinking blearily. She yawned and turned to look at Lunar, smiling. 

"Hey Lu," 

"Morning," Lunar smiled. She stood up and offered Heart a hand. 

Heart slipped out from under the covers and took the hand. Looking at the taller girl from under her eyelashes, she gave her a small smile. Lunar lead Heart to the front room of the small room, sitting her down next to Whitley, who was eating a dorisak, a (korean styled) lunchbox with a deep fried pork cutlet, rice, kimchi and vegetables. 

Solar placed a plastic plate of japchae with a pair of wooden chopsticks in front of her. 

"You need to eat," Solar urged.

Heart picked up the chopsticks dollishly and picked up the food, shoving the food in her mouth and chewing mechanically. 

"Heart?" Lunar frowned. 

Heart continued to eat mechanically. 

Solar and Lunar shared a look for the briefest of seconds, a look that shared a thousand words. 

"Heart?" Whitley whispered, voice hoarse. The first word she said since the fight. Hesitantly, she reached out to Heart's cold hand. 

Heart did her best to smile, intertwining their hands together, "hey sweetie." 

"No! None of that!" Whitley cried out petulantly, "you're not allowed to smile and pretend to be okay just because I'm sad too! You'll never heal like this Heart, you can't stand it, you're always like this and-" 

"Shh," Lunar intercepted as tears began to flow out of Whitley's eyes and her breathing speed into a staccato. The small girl choked on her sobs and the heartwrenching sound was too much for Heart.

"We need Adrian to handle this goddammit, or at least Red," Solar tried to convince Lunar. 

"Whi first, then you guys can discuss what to do about me. I can't-" Heart hiccupped, sniffling back her sobs as she watched Lunar move to hold Whitley close, "I can't watch this and do nothing." 

Solar softened, knowing that it was completely because of Hikari, the ancient soul that slept beside Heart's soul. Hikari was always selfless, but not to a fault. The original guardian knew exactly when to tap out but Heart, she was every bit as selfless as her ancient counterpart and that made the girl too selfless. 

Still, it was an issue that they could deal with eventually, Whitley and Blake came first. Their fight was threatening to tear the group apart. Not now, not when things were coming together so perfectly. Solar was determined to stop this conflict at any cost, even if it meant shoving Heart to the side for now. Heart could handle herself, but Whitley and Blake needed more help. It was logical to deal with Blake and Whitley first and then Heart. 

"We need to get Whitley to calm down and talk to us and then get her to Winter and Blake so that they can talk it out," Solar listed, "hopefully that's the end of it,  but we'll have to figure it out as we go. You deal with emotions better. Logically, we know that Heart will be alright for a little longer but Whitley and Blake are really fucking with group dynamics right now, so we need to fix that up first and then--" 

"Shut up," Lunar growled at Solar, "fuck it, get out." 

"Lu-" 

"NOW!" Lunar screamed, fury written in her moon like eyes. Solar flinched and exited the room quickly into the chilly night. 

Lunar turned her attention back to the two teary girls, both just as shocked and scared at Lunar's sudden outburst. Lunar sighed and shook her head. 

"Sorry, don't listen to him," Lunar apologised, "stupid idiot." 

Lunar looked at the girls and held onto Whitley a little tighter and sighed, knowing that she had little choice. She flicked her hand, summoning the screen of her Skysmitter and sent a quick message to Winter. 

"Shhh," Lunar cooed, realising that Whitley's breathing had made a turn for the worse, "Wasn't Blake, was Winter. She's coming." 

"Lulu, Lulu, Lulu," Whitley chanted through her laboured breathing, hand fisted into Lunar's shirt, "Lulu, Lulu, Lulu, Lulu, Lulu." 

"Shhh, I'm so proud, Whi, so fucking proud," Lunar whispered, "thank you, for fighting." 

Whitley let out a wail in despair, panic dispersing into tears. Lunar simply held her and she just cried, choked sobs muted by Lunar's shirt. 

Winter barged into the room, eyes scanning the situation, giving it a once over before moving to Heart and wrapping her slim arms around Heart, crooning softly. 

"Hey baby," Winter soothed, "don't cry, no tears, no, no, no," she whispered, trying to hush Heart as it became too much. Too much, oversensitive, unable to process everything. 

"You're doing great, okay? I don't expect you to tell me anything, I don't want to know unless you want to tell me, okay? Just breathe." 

"Adrian, I want Adrian," Heart whined. 

Lunar reached over and tugged Winter's sleeve, shaking her head vigorously, "he's angry," she murmured. 

Winter froze for a split second, mind racing to find a solution. 

"Why Adrian?" she cooed, "it's gonna take a while, Heart." 

They shouldn't have denied Heart what she wanted, but they had little option. Adrian would cooperate for Winter's sake, but his heart wouldn't be in it, without that, he wouldn't be of help to Heart. Winter didn't want to deal with that if it could be helped for now. If she had time, she needed to speak to Adrian and assess his state before letting him-

"Winnie," Heart whined through frantic breaths. 

"I'm here, we're gonna be okay. We can get Cynthia and have a girls night, no boys, no problems, okay?" Winter crooned softly. 

Heart's eyes dropped and didn't say anything else, breathing slowing but Winter bit her lip. Heart seemed more frantic now, more scared, unaccommodated, like she couldn't ask for anything. 

"No, no, no, Heart, I'll ask but it's his decision, alright?" Winter murmured softly into Heart's hair. Heart relaxed, shoulders no longer so tense.

"Alright, onto the bed girls. I'm starting a cuddle pile," Winter announced, taking Heart's hand and dragging her toward the messy unmade beds. She carefully settled Heart in place and Lunar did the same for Whitely. 

"Lights on or off?" Winter asked, turning away from the bed. 

"Off." 

"Candles?" Whitley's eyes lit up as she sniffled, burying her head into Lunar's arm, nodding. 

Lunar looked up at Winter and nodded, knowing the small girl would get the message. 

Winter took in the atmosphere of the room and made a few quick changes, turning on the television and leaving it on low to keep them distracted, she turned the lights off and lit a few scented candles she had conjoured. She kept snacks and water near the girls, on the bedside table and floor - knowing how unlikely it was for them to get up. She brought them more blankets and a few oversized sweaters to keep them warm and comfy. 

She slipped out of the room and sighed. Adrian could wait, Solar couldn't. Winter tugged at her rose golden locks that shone under the moonlight and walked out of the centre, toward Solar. 

She found him sitting on the curb of the street, under a streetlight. She couldn't resist a fond chuckle. It was dramatic, just like Solar. She sighed, taking a seat next to him. 

"You know that Lunar did what she thought was best for the girls, right?" Winter didn't know what happened, but she could guess. 

On the surface, no one could be more different than Solar and Lunar and it was true, they were the epitome of balance, both taking traits, being either one or the other. Fitting for them, as they took on the roles of logical balance and emotional balance respectively. But deep down, they were the same, same heart with the same intentions with different personalities leading them on separate paths. 

Knowing Solar, he looked at the entire situation objectively, ignoring how delicate the situation really was. 

"I should've been more sensitive," Solar sighed. 

"And?" Winter watched the puff of air dance away into the night, "you didn't do anything wrong." 

"But I-" 

"Don't you dare start taking the blame asshole," Winter leaned into Solar's side, smiling when she felt him relax, "it's not us against them, it's all of us against the problem." 

"And what if I'm the problem?"

"Who says?" Winter hit Solar's shoulder lightly, pouting, "because what if, the definition of perfect is to be yourself, unapologetically yourself?" 

"What's this supposed to do with anything?" 

"Solar, problems are a normal part of life. But to be the root of the problem doesn't take away from your perfection. It's easy to say this when I'm not the one with these monsters in my head, instead I'm comforting someone so perfect. You've always tried to be yourself without bowing your head. You stood by Lunar for so many years and endured so much shit for her, so even if the way you think may be the cause of a problem, we'll always help you through it." 

"So, continue to be perfect," 

Solar let out a low rumble of laughter, "you've been through so much crap." 

Winter shrugged, "I'm here with you now, aren't I?"

"Yeah... I guess." 

"Solar, the past is in the past, we're in the present now. And it's called the present because it's a gift to us. Let's look toward the future and make sure we don't make the same mistake again." 

"Please, keep on being perfect." 

Solar grinned and nodded.

~~~~~

Leaning against a brick wall on the side of Canalave City, Winter waited patiently for her call to reach him. 

"Hello?"

"Hey Bubbles," Winter smiled softly, "how are you doing?"

"Winter! I was so worried! Is Heart okay? I wanted to see her, something was wrong, she was so scared! I sent Solar and Lunar after her but that was hours ago! What happened?" 

"Adrian, everything's alright, we've got it under control, but..." Winter hesitated, making the split second decision, "I think it's best if the entire team comes to New Moon Island. Things have happened, Whitley and Blake are fighting, Heart's not doing the best, you guys felt it, we found Yuuki, but we need to sort out a few messes first. I can't do it without you, Adrian...." 

"I'm coming, sweetheart, I'm coming right now. New Moon Island, right?" Adrian asked. 

Winter nodded, not bothering to vocalise anything. She realised after a second that Adrian couldn't see her, but it didn't seem to matter. Adrian continued on, almost as if he was distressed. 

"I'll get everyone and move as soon as we can, so don't worry babe. I'm coming, it's okay, it's all gonna be fine, just trust me. You're okay, I'm okay, we're okay, we can do this, so don't worry, we'll"

"Adrian, I miss you," Winter cut him off softly. 

Adrian stopped, taking a few short breaths. 

"Me too." 

~~~~~~

Light filtered gently through the curtains, a small beam within a dark room. Five girls all curled up, tangled together on the two beds that they had pushed together. Lunar was first to stir, but she was toward the centre.

In the centre was Whitley with her arms wrapped around Heart. Lunar was on Whitley's other side, arms thrown over Whitely. Cynthia was behind Lunar, long legs tucked under Lunar's and arms scattered. At the bottom of the bed, Winter was curled up in a loose fetal position, head rested on Heart's thigh. 

Lunar shuffled a little and sighed, tugged her arms away from Heart and slowly moved to the top of the bed, crouching at the head of the bed and stepping over Cynthia's head and onto the ground, holding onto the headboard to lower herself gently.

She heard some shuffling and groaning from the bed but soon all the girls settled again. Lunar grabbed her jacket and threw it on before leaving the room quietly. She left the centre and immediately headed for the docks. 

She frowned and saw the lone figure sitting with his feet hanging off the edge of the dock. Lunar walked over and sat down, leaving a bit of space between them. 

"Solar," she whispered, "'m sorry...."

Solar reached out and pulled Lunar toward him and slumped his head onto her shoulder. It was a little awkward but thankfully Lunar was tall. 

"You did what you needed to for the girls," Solar mumbled.

"You were too," 

"Sometimes logic isn't the best way," Solar shrugged, lifting his head to give a kiss on the crown of Lunar's head before resting on her shoulder again. 

Lunar smiled slightly, resting her head on top of Solar's. 

They had to go in a few hours but that was beside the point. They were okay.