When We Were Younger. |Gladion X Moon|Pokemon Romance Novel|

-5-

Gladion flips on the light and takes a look around the small, one room apartment.

"Home sweet home," he says aloud to himself as he opens the empty fridge.

Rummaging through his back pack, he pulls out his clothes and lets out a sigh. After changing out of the valet uniform, he throws his brown bag into the freezer. Something on the counter catches his eye.

A pile of thin, white, cigarettes lay next to a shiny silver lighter. He picks one up and examines it.

Sitting out on the fire escape, he cracks his bottle open and takes a large swig. Gladion cringes as he swallows, its nothing like the sweet red wine he used to have with his dinner all those years ago. Cigarette pressed into his lips, he flicks the lighter and takes a drag. Coughs follow, but he continues to smoke it.

The streets below him crawl with rough looking characters. He isn't proud of what he did tonight, but he can't help but feel like king of the streets right now. Finally, people seem to be showing him a little respect.

The people in the alley below seem to be organizing for an event of sorts. A large, shirtless man stacks some pallets and gives them a shove, checking for stability. A punk girl drops a black bag on and old wooden spool, removing paper cups and a shiny glass bottle. Trainers line up one after the other along the wall and a small crowd gathers on one end of the alley.

Gladion takes a deep breath and takes another, long pull from the bottle. He dangles his legs over the edge of the fire escape and rests his arms on the bars. The shirtless man stands on the pallet, shouting into the crowd. He points and a girl is pushed to the front.

It's Moon.

Gladion's eyes grow wide with curiosity.

She throws a Pokeball into the air and her lightning fast ghost Pokemon flies into the sky. He watches her in amazement. Not only is she beautiful, but she battles brilliantly.

It's clear nobody expected her ghost type Pokemon to have mastered such a large set of electric-type moves.

He is pleased to see this city is full of many powerful trainers to challenge. He promises himself to train harder than ever, to grow strong enough to face Moon in battle.

His eyes strain to see her; she has made it all the way down the alley and is challenging the final crew member. She summons a Z move and ends the battle, leaving the crowd soaked and chanting her new nick name.

Cup Cake, he laughs to himself.

I could eat that.

Gladion climbs down the fire escape, hoping to congratulate her on the victory. His face flushes as confidence from the bottle takes over.

A group of trainers move out of the way as he drops down from the last rung of the ladder.

He reaches his hand to his mouth and lights another cigarette. Smoke blows out his nose as he makes his way through the crowd. Once he gets to the end of the alley, he sees something that makes him shudder.

Moon is stumbling around and laughing belligerently, shiny nugget in hand.

Her eyes look glossy and red. A Team Skull member is making advances at her. She lets out a groan and seems to lose consciousness for a moment. The grunt has to practically drag her through the door.

Gladion feels an arm slip in the crook of his elbow. A mess of pink hair whips in his face.

It's the grunt from before. This girl can't seem to take a hint.

"We should go back to my place now, it's right around the corner. I bet we could have a lot of fun together if you would just loosen up..." she says, as she runs her hand up his shirt.

Gladion leans in close, removes the cigarette from his mouth and pokes it in her lips.

"Do me a favor and fucking get lost!" he snarls as he pushes her away.

Her eyes widen and she takes a step back.

Gladion dashes towards the door and flings it open.

He peers down a long hallway with many doors. His heart sinks to his stomach. He goes from door to door, whipping them open searching for any sign of Moon and the grunt.

They aren't good friends, but he knows her well enough to know she would never get with a stranger in her right mind.

Whipping open the last door in the hallway, he spots the blue-haired grunt in the darkness. His eyes adjust and he sees Moon passed out on the bed. He barges his way in and grabs an empty bottle off the table, smashing it against the wall.

The grunt turns quickly and falls to the ground. Gladion is disgusted to see that his pants are around his ankles.

"Don't lay a finger on her!" Gladion screams, holding the jagged glass against the man's cheek.

The grunts eyes widen, he looks like he saw a ghost.

"She's all yours!" he whimpers.

Gladion rushes to the bed and scoops up her cold, limp body. She's breathing, but soaked to the bone. He carries her off into the darkness.

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After carrying her up several flights of stairs, he pushes the door to his apartment open.

Moon starts to stir, so he gently sets her on the floor, propping her up against the wall. He locks the door tight behind them and stares down at her.

Moon's eyes are closed tight, and she's moaning in agony as her small body trembles violently. Her cloths are so wet they are making a puddle on the floor.

He grabs her arms and lifts her to her feet, she stumbles a bit but stays upright. Her eyes open and she stares at him curiously. Lips trembling, she reaches her hand up to his face.

"I you know, don't I?" she says, slurring her words.

Gladion walks to the air conditioner and tries to turn the knob, but it's stuck on high. He looks across the room at Moon. She is sitting on the floor again, shivering violently. He pauses for a moment, thinking. Those wet clothes have to come off.

He hesitates as he grabs the bottom of her shirt, but quickly pulls it over her head. She starts crying and swings her fists at him.

Her wet shirt hits the floor with a splat.

Gladion forces himself behind her, undoing the buttons of her shorts and slipping them around her ankles. She puts her hands to her face and begins to sob.

He wipes a tear from his eye as he tries to comfort her, feeling terrible for stripping her. Grabbing the comforter off the bed, he wraps it around her nearly naked body. Her shivering and crying slowly stop.

She looks at him and her eyes widen in terror.

Suddenly she gags, vomiting all over Gladion. She wipes her mouth and moans. He guides her over to the bed and she collapses into it, snoring within seconds.

Carefully removing his vomit soaked sweater, he places it into the sink with some hot soapy water. The pants follow.

Wandering the apartment in his undies, he keeps watch over Moon. She seems to be fast asleep so he takes a quick shower.

Towel around his waist, he scrubs his clothes clean in the sink. He notices Moon's clothes in a pile on the floor and washes them too.

Hanging the clothes out to dry on the balcony, he spots the bottle he was drinking earlier. After taking a few, long pulls he chucks it as hard as he can over the rails. Hearing the glass shatter on the concrete, several stories down, is strangely satisfying to him.

Slipping back into the apartment, Gladion looks over at the bed. Moon is all wrapped up in the comforter, leaving him just the sheets.

He peels them back and crawls in. Facing Moon, he reaches his arm out and rubs her back. He lays there for several hours, shivering under the sheets.