COMPLETE: there's just something in the air up here (a lisia hurt heal fic)

[lisianthus]

hii, this is my second fic i'll be posting here. this one's a little different from what i like to write in that it's, not 100% fluff. it's not dark exactly either, basically a hurt heal. but like in life, there's always a happy ending, so please don't worry about that!

premise: multiple chapters, a hurt/heal fic focusing on lisia recovering from some pretty bad stress and (likely) unspecified other mental health things. her wallace is here to help! cws vary by chapter, so please check for them.

(also, hiyori and hiyorigo mean 'japan' and 'japanese'. 'hydraean' means 'english', and 'ilseon' and 'ilseongo' refer to 'korea' and 'korean'. just so you know!!!)

table of contents and cws:

1. welcome to... (no cws)
2. 24 hr drive-thru (cws: allusion to prior suicidal ideation, worrying about another suffering from it )

 

[lisianthus]

Spoiler: foreword

foreword: i tried my best to give context for the italicized japanese phrases, but here they are just in case! and thanks to @Torchic W. Pip for beta reading!!)
hime-chan: basically 'my little princess' or just, 'princess'. lisia's mom is very doting..
itterashai: basically 'have a safe journey'.
moshimoshi: 'hello' when on a phone call.
raku ni shite yo: 'take it easy'.
jaa: 'well then' or 'soo..' basically.
shouganai nanoyone: 'it can't be helped, huh....' with added feminine flair. how i talk normally?

〔Lisia Amou

天羽リシア
@lisianthus
'I'm really sorry everyone... I'm going to have to cancel tonight's show at Hearthome City, and postpone the remaining tour dates for now. I'll make it up to you all, I promise. Refunds will be given, please don't worry. I hope I'll be able to see you all again sometime soon...
本当にごめんなさいみんな。。。あたし、今晩のライブはキャンセルしなければいけませんです。そして、他のライブの日遅らせれました。どうかみんなにちゃんと誤ってほしいです。いつかすぐみんなと会いたいです。。。'〕

Lisia didn't want to have to do this. She really, really didn't want to have to do this.

But...

'I need to get away...'

Lisia knew what kind of attention this would attract from... just about everyone. She managed herself (with her father and her Wallace's help), so there was thankfully no overbearing agency pressuring her to continue on. She had already let the venues hosting know, as well as her staff and support team, so there wasn't anything to worry about there. Business matters themselves were certainly not the issue.

The media, on the other hand, would likely have a minor field day with this. All sorts of speculation—ranging from the normal, 'Hoennian Idol Lisia cancels remaining half of live tour, due to illness,' to the... outlandish, 'Lisia Amou RETIRES from idol work'—would undoubtedly, undoubtedly occur. That would be annoying as well, but for Lisia, the honest-to-god worst part about this would be her family's reactions.

Her family wouldn't react poorly—they understood the trials of mental health far better than others would, too. The thing was... they could be a little invasive at times, in just about the most helpful way possible. Because of the idol industry being very, very stressful work, Lisia tended to take as much time as she could to relax and recuperate, away from mostly everyone. Being cooped up in her childhood room in Hoenn, or taking walks through the forests in her dad's area of Kanto that she knew oh so well... those were her happy places. Those places, along with being mostly alone for the next long while, would help immensely.

'Hey, Aria... we're heading home to Hoenn.' she said softly in Hiyorigo to her prized cloud-covered bird. Lisia's Altaria was the first one to recognize the signs of her impending mental breakdown, and almost relentlessly tried to convince Lisia to cancel her upcoming responsibilities, despite Lisia's reluctance to do so.

‘Kiii!’ Aria exclaimed. She seemed quite relieved, which made it seem just a little more worth it to Lisia.

‘I'm really excited too, Aria! We just have to pack and call home now, so let's try our hardest to be as quick as we can!’

—☆—

Cleaning up was surprisingly easy. Having another pair of wings to assist definitely made things go much faster. …and Lisia didn't have the motivation to get her outfits hung up in the first place, so they were still sitting in her bags as well..

Lisia picked up her phone once more and started to call home, just to let her parents know what was going on before she Pelipperd the announcement to the whole wide world.

'First... Mom.’

Lisia's mom, Astraea, picked up very quickly like always. She talked with Lisia a lot when Lisia was away on ‘work stuff’, but Lisia usually called a bit later in the day.

'Lisia? Don't you have a concert tonight?' her mom asked.

'About that... Aria and I are going to be heading back to Hoenn tonight.'

'What's wrong, did something happen, hime-chan?' Astraea said, the worry evident in her voice.

'...I... need to take a long break, I think.'

'When should we be expecting you tonight?'

'It's 5 now so... probably 8.'

'Alright. Do you want to tell Kazuki yourself?' her mom asked.

'I'll call him now... thanks Mom.' Lisia said in the most undejected tone she could muster.

'Itterashai, hime-chan,' Astraea wished her daughter a safe flight home in Hiyorigo, not Hydraean like usual.

One down, one more to go.

Lisia's dad, Kazuki, was at work, so he would probably take a little bit to answer like usual.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three.

Four.

'Moshimoshi... Lisia?' her dad asked in Hiyorigo.

'Yes, it's me... I've already talked with the venues and everyone else that needs to know, but...'

'Idol life is hard. Don't beat yourself up for going through one of the hardest jobs in the world every day, everyone needs a break... You're coming home tonight then?'

'Yes... I'll be home in a few hours.'

'See you and Aria then. Raku ni shite yo.'

'Thank you.., jaa,' Lisia was interrupted by Kazuki's voice cutting in.

'Ah. Before I forget. Are you going to tell Mikuri about this?'

'I'm not sending the announcement until I land, so he won't know until I'm here anyways... I want to talk with him when I get home, so I'll be fine for now. Thank you for asking.' Lisia said thoughtfully. She didn't want to worry her beloved Wallace, but at the same time, she knew she wanted to talk with him face-to-face about this all.

'Of course. Take care.' he said to end the call.

–☆–

Lisia was still in her casual hoodie, perfect for hiding from fans and paparazzi with, and hadn't unpacked her bags much from the previous day's flight. Everything was good to go for her to leave.

'Alright, Aria, I'm going to need you to get in your Poké Ball for a little bit, okay? I don't want us to be spotted leaving the hotel...' Lisia said to an understandably slightly dejected Aria, who obliged.

Lisia wheeled out a trolley from the closet in her room and carefully slung her heavy suitcases and bags onto it. She had requested a taxi to the airport with the Wooper app on her phone, so it would be here soon. Aria could have carried them all, she was a strong bird, but Lisia didn't want to have to put her through all that just to not be spotted. A taxi would fit their needs just fine.

Lisia went down the elevator, which was thankfully empty, and checked out with the concierge, explaining that her plans had suddenly changed.

After getting over with that interaction (it helped that the lady at the desk was very kind about the situation, even though Lisia didn't explain anything except the minimum amount of details), Lisia stepped outside into the cold winter air. It would be much warmer back home.

Piin! Her phone made a noise telling Lisia that her taxi had arrived. Despite her smaller frame, Lisia was quite strong, and had just about no problem with putting her bags onto the trunk of the white, luxurious-looking vehicle.

'Miss... Ai Mitsuki?' the driver, who looked to be in his 50s, asked to make sure he was picking up the correct person.

'Yes, that's me.' Lisia said.

This 'Ai Mitsuki' was a pseudonym that Lisia often used while travelling to different places on work duty. Lisia's name in Hiyorigo was written in katakana for both safety and stylistic appearances, but on official documents and the like, her name was written using kanji, 美 for the 'ri', 月 for the 'shi', and 愛 for the 'a'. Put together, the combination actually makes a full name, Ai Mitsuki. If she didn't dress in her normally sparkly fashion, and if she wore her hair down, she could reasonably talk her way out of being 'Lisia Amou', and convince others that she was just 'Ai Mitsuki', a normal, ordinary college student.

Sometimes Lisia wished that was the case...

Luckily, it seemed that the man driving her did not catch onto her celebrity status, and after a short ride to the airport, she departed with a 'thank you', and walked into the airport.

This would be the tricky part.

–☆–

Lisia hadn't sent the announcement yet. Although it would have probably been best to give as much advance warning as possible, doing it before she got off the plane would be even more of a headache. It would be the safest choice to be a bit more stealthy.

...This was one of the most stressful parts of the job. Being an idol meant that Lisia had to be, well, in her 'idol mode' at all times. There usually wasn't much of an easily visible difference between 'stage Lisia' and 'in-private Lisia' in some ways—no matter what, Lisia was a very sweet and excitable person—but the differences were there, and seeing them could be jarring for a fan.

...Idols had to keep up appearances, the world turned thusly...

Lisia, who had been contemplating the 'what ifs' of her upcoming airport experience, sighed resignedly, muttering, 'Shouganai nanoyone, Aria-chan....'.

With her luggage rolling behind her, Lisia set off to board her flight. Lisia's departure was a last-minute decision, so if she had waited another hour to decide things, she would have arrived in Hoenn at around midnight.

Thank god, the walk to the gate and (surprisingly enough) getting boarded was completely, completely uneventful. Lisia saw a few people walking around who seemed to be arriving for her late-night concert, which made her feel much more than a little bit guilty, but she reminded herself that taking some time off would certainly be the right thing to do, and with luck her fans... wouldn't hate her. Hopefully. Hopefully....

~☆~

Business-class meant privacy. Lisia was, in some sense of the word, a businesswoman (in that she worked hard at selling her product), so it was relatively natural for her to fly at that tier of luxury.

...Although it was more out of necessity than anything. She would attract a little too much attention if she wasn't careful to blend in as much as possible.

The plane took off, and Lisia's thoughts drifted to the reason why she was coming back home to Hoenn in the first place. Her steadily worsening mental health.

Being an idol had its good points and... awful points. Lisia was able to avoid some of the worst things, like being overworked by an agency, because she took care of that kind of thing herself (or with her dad, who was an idol producer in his heyday). But even without the horror stories, Lisia had to put up with. A. Lot. of things.

For example, having to always force a smile. Normally this wasn't an issue—Lisia was mostly a very energetic and happy individual, and had no qualms with spreading that happiness outwards. But when it rains, it pours. During those times where her heart and mind seemed to pour with pain or anxiety, Lisia could do nothing but smile it away if she was on the job, anywhere that wasn't her home.

It felt fake. But the pressure to keep with the status quo of the idol industry, with what sometimes felt like every eye in the world being on her, was too much.

Another was the fact that Lisia simply missed those she was close with. Her 'inner circle' wasn't huge, but she definitely enjoyed being with those few people.

Particularly Wallace... to all that knew Lisia well, he was obviously the one she cared about most. Wallace was her mom's younger sibling by 9 years, just like how they were older than Lisia by 9 years. Despite being Wallace's niece, Lisia had always treated Wallace as an older sibling, and in turn they did the same for her. She had always seen Wallace shining up on big stages for as long as she could remember, and knew that she wanted to be just like him.

It was safe to say that they were a big influence in Lisia's life. As she got older and was able to more fully understand the struggles they went through—as a kid it was a lot of 'Why is Wallace sad?', which was... hard to explain to a young child—she started to consider Wallace her idol. After all, he gave her the motivation to start her very own journey as an idol, years and years ago. And Aria, for her 7th birthday. And... many happy moments.

In a sense, Lisia was mostly coming home to see Wallace. She knew that as of late her 'genki'-ness, her bright personality, was starting to dim. But they could fix that.

-☆-

In an effort to distract herself from overthinking and spiraling, Lisia slept through most of the flight. It was only a two-hour nap, but because of her normally packed schedule, every second counted to her.

The plane landed a bit harshly onto the pavement of the airport. Lisia's eyes immediately snapped open, as she feared for the worst—oh, it was just the plane landing. Thank god. She had to wake up from her nap, anyways..

That was another reminder of something else Lisia was looking forward to: being able to sleep in. One really couldn’t recognize the luxury of freedoms like that until... they worked an inescapable, always on-call job. Or just a night shift at your local Poké Mart.

Lisia took her phone out of her small backpack and put it out of airplane mode. Aside from a slew of Pellipr notifications (‘I should really turn those off…’ she thought,), a few new text messages popped up. The most recent one was from her mom, five minutes ago.

Astraeaaaa (Mom) - 5 minutes ago
‘We're here!’

Lisia squinted at her phone’s screen, ever so slightly.

‘...We?’

 

[lisianthus]

Spoiler: foreword, japanese to english list, and CWs

foreword: it took me a while to write this! i hope that i'll be able to basically end up writing at a better pace from now on because i do plan on having like... eight maybe nine? more additions to this, but they might be a little shorter? whooooo knows... but well, here's this LOL. some sad, some happy, that's how it is?

ilseon is this universe's (unified) korea. the name itself comes from the kanji 一 'ichi', which means 'one', and the 鮮 (sen) in 朝鮮 'chousen', which is a rarer way to refer to korea in japanese. if you convert the kanji compound 一鮮 'issen', basically meaning 'one korea', to korean hangul, it sounds like 'ilseon'. (note: i do not speak korean, only japanese and english, so that's why i'm drawing inspiration from japanese culture stuff even here, and why this might not be a super correct thing, maybe?)

here's a list of all the hiyorigo (japanese) used in this, hopefully it's all derivable from context clues, but i know that not everyone who's reading this will know what i mean, so here are translations:

'kaachan' — 'mom' (in an affectionate way)
'otsukare' — 'good work'
'kotori' — 'little bird' (this is eunsong/winona's nickname for lisia)
'kichou' — 'captain' (this is lisia's nickname for eunsong/winona, like she's the captain of an aircraft that kind of thing)
'ojamashimasu' — literally 'i'm being a bother', basically means 'sorry to intrude' (used when entering a house)
'okotteru' — 'angry'
'[name]-nee' — basically used to denote the person being talked about is your big sister, not sure how to translate it though lol
'kami' — basically 'gods', can be used in a monotheistic or polytheistic sense. (in this universe legendary and mythical pokémon, except for arceus, are treated as kami are in the shinto culture of japan)
'zenzen nakushitakunai' — 'i don't ever want to lose [subject]'
'daijoubu' — 'okay' or 'alright'
'shimpai shinaidene' — 'please don't worry, okay?'
'okaeri' — 'welcome back' (used when someone returns to their living area)

wow that was kind of a lot LOL. i mirror quite a bit of lucia's speech with how i talk normally (only with people who are bilingual in japanese and english ofc), so uhhhh,

thank you @Torchic W. Pip for betaing! but chapter 2 CWs: allusion to prior suicidal ideation, worrying about another suffering from it

Lisia stepped out of the airport, luggage in hand. The air was much warmer than in Sinnoh, and she certainly couldn't see her breath.
The lights surrounding her illuminated the dark, cloudy sky. It felt a little like being up on stage... although that was a little bit of a scary thought, admittedly.

The 'we' that Lisia's mom had mentioned in her message to Lisia wasn't referring to Wallace, despite Lisia's... more than slight hope that they would show up. Her dad had gotten off work in time to accompany her back home, which was a bit of a surprise. Both sides of the family were full of notorious workaholics, after all, but Kazuki did try to support his daughter as much as he could.

She looked for any sign of her parents. They didn't seem to be waiting right in front of the doors...

'Kya-mo!' a Pokémon's voice called as Lisia was startled by the feeling of something landing onto her hood.

The Pokémon, a Wingull, greeted Lisia once more, leaning from its newfound perch on the top of her head into her field of view.

It had green stripes on its body.

'Oh! Mecchan, is that you?' Lisia exclaimed surprisedly as the shock of having a Pokémon land on her head wore off.

Mecchan was Lisia's mother's Wingull. It was a Shiny Pokémon, and a playmate of Lisia's as a kid before she got a Pokémon of her own in Aria, her Altaria.

'If Mecchan is here... then kaachan is close, isn't she?' Lisia remarked to herself.

The Wingull suddenly took off from Lisia's head, circling to her left. Lisia walked alongside it, figuring that it was probably trying to guide her to wherever her parents were.

〜☆〜

'Hime-chaaaaaan!!'

Astraea was obviously very excited to see her daughter.

'Otsukare.'

Kazuki was, too, but he showed it with a faint smile instead of... whatever his wife was doing. Dancing?

Astraea and Lisia were like two birds of a feather.

The three of them walked into the station, with Lisia's usually abundant social battery quickly draining from the sheer amount of attention her mother was giving her.

Not that she didn't appreciate it—it was just a lot to have to deal with at the moment. There would be plenty of time to talk while she was at home, but Lisia just wanted to not have to answer any questions about how she was feeling.

...It was only 8, but Lisia felt pretty tired. Considering how she had been working extremely hard, day-in, day-out, for the past god-knew-how-long, it was probably a natural thing, or so she thought, anyways.

〜☆〜

The journey from the airport to Lisia's home took a while. Sootopolis was an island, and the only bridge connecting it to the mainland of Hoenn was usually extremely crowded with cars, just as any busy highway would be. People took ferries if they weren't in a hurry, and of course people used their Pokémon to get places if they weren't too far—but just like in all of Hiyori, trains were the most popular way to go places.

And in Hoenn, a special line was very popular due to the vast amounts of water separating the region's cities and towns. Underwater bullet trains were a relatively recent invention—a certain now-famous train conductor who was studying in Hiyori at the time had the idea for a mass tunnel system like the Marine Tube in Unova—but they had in no time improved the lives of many Hiyorijin.
The closest station was a few minutes away from the big airport in Lilycove, and it had trains arriving and departing every 30 minutes on the dot. From Lilycove Station, it took almost an hour to get to Sootopolis. Lisia had been on the underwater line more than a few times in the five or so years that it had been in service—it was the fastest way to get home after performing in a Contest, after all.

~☆〜

So right as Lisia settled into her seat for the hour long train ride, she fell asleep almost instantly. The seat wasn't as comfortable as the airplane's, but it served its purpose nicely.

Astraea smiled, albeit a little worriedly, and patted her daughter on her head affectionately, so as to not wake her up. Lisia didn't seem... horribly depressed, thank god. It hurt to see her not shining as brightly as normal, but Astraea was ready to do as much as she could to help.

'She's been working hard for the longest time...' Astraea murmured.

'I'm sure that Wallace will have some good advice for her. You remember the same thing happening to him, back when he was active as an idol.'

That was exactly why Astraea was as worried as she was.

〜☆〜

When Wallace was 19, something similar had happened. And things got bad. Kazuki didn't know the extent of how bad it got, but Astraea could never forget—Wallace was lucky to even be alive.

It pained her deeply to bear that burden—it was an incredibly, incredibly scary time for her and Wallace both. Of course, Astraea made sure that Lisia knew as little as possible, and Kazuki was busy with the management side of Wallace's career, so only a select few people truly knew the details of what had happened.

Maybe it was luck, maybe it was fate, but somehow, Wallace got better. And with that, he set off on a new career path entirely—competitive battling.

Hearing Wallace say that he thought he'd like to try his hand at battling was a bit of a shock to Astraea at first. The art of Contests and the art of battles were two very different things, of course... but as the shock of that sudden announcement wore off on that day, years and years ago—she realized that if anyone could make battling as extravagant as idol work, the one to do so would be Wallace.

Astraea wondered if Lisia would follow in the same footsteps as Wallace. She did admire him an incredible amount, after all...

'You're right... I'm sure they'll know the right thing to say...'

〜☆〜

Lisia had just woken up a few minutes before, and she was starting to feel a little better. Sootopolis was starting to become visible through the clear glass of the tunnel. Sootopolis meant home, and that meant Wallace, and those were all very nice things.

Things that she loved dearly.

'Ah...'

'Mikuri called...'

Lisia had Pelliprd her announcement right as she stepped onto the train, and in the ensuing hour, she had an extremely high number of notifications on... just about all of her work accounts. ('Better turn those off...,' she thought.) And a text from Winona, and... more than a few from Wallace as well.

Lisia decided that she would get to Winona's message first. She wanted to talk things through with Wallace face-to-face.

ウンソン機長 (Eunsong) - 30 minutes ago
'Let's go flying sometime now that you're back, kotori.'

Lisia smiled when she read Winona's request. Sure, it was written as a command, but that was just how she talked, anyways. She was a nice foil to Lisia—a wise falcon to Lisia's exuberant, hummingbird-like energy. 'Eunsong' was the name of a type of pine tree found in the Ilseon region that Winona's mother hailed from—Winona was named after it in the hope that she would grow to be as strong and unwavering as her namesake.

Flying was something that both of them loved to do, and Lisia was sure that she'd take up Winona's offer more than a few times.

'I'll let you know when I'm ready for liftoff..(_ _; thank you kichou!'

〜☆〜

The train smoothly pulled into Lazuli Station—it was painted with the same color as the lapis-like blue of the water surrounding Sootopolis.
Lisia could afford to be a bit more relaxed in Sootopolis—despite being a famous person from the city—or maybe because of that—she wasn't really bothered by others, which was a very welcome reprieve from just about anywhere else in the world, especially in Hiyori.
Pokémon-based travel was the preferred way to get around as well—of course, one could walk around the outer area of the island, but it took a long time. Some people, typically those who commuted to mainland Hoenn when trains weren't running, drove, but... the majority of Sootopolians didn't need to. As an island, Sootopolis was pretty big, and not all of it was settled because of the water contained in the middle of the area. In lieu of a land-based shortcut, locals just rode their Pokémon, or just took 'the scenic route' by ferry.

Maybe it wasn't the most convenient, but... allowing nature to flourish in that way was important, or so Lisia assumed.

And Sootopolis really was pretty—the moonlit water shimmered under Lisia and Aria as they raced through the night. As city lights and untouched nature met, Lisia started to feel that coming back... was probably the better choice.

It felt nice.

Soaring through the air without any worries—how long had it been since she was able to do that kind of thing?

'It's been waaaaay too long...'

Lisia's house wasn't as big as one would expect, but it wasn't like her family needed a big one anyways. After all, she was an only child, so there wasn't any need for extra space. It was decorated relatively tastefully, as Astraea had an eye for that sort of thing—the interior was largely bathed in pristine-looking white, accented by dark aquamarine here and there. Despite the tasteful air of the house, it still was host to a very welcoming atmosphere.

Once Lisia got to her room (which she shared with Aria), she decided to look at the messages Wallace had sent.

美雲成ちゃん！！ (Mikuri-chan) - 1 hour ago
'Lucia, I don't know what happened, but...'
'I'm here for you.'
34 minutes ago
'Would you like to meet up soon?'

His asking was a formality—whenever Lisia came back home, they made sure to meet at least once, usually much more than that.

And Lisia did want to, but...

None of her responses felt exactly right. She knew that Wallace was very likely worried sick about her... and she didn't want to put off explaining everything to another day.

'let's meet at route 193'

Route 193 wasn't an actual road leading to anywhere—after all, Hoenn's routes were from 101 to 134, and across all of Hiyori, there wasn't a Route 193, at least not in the traditional sense.

Route 193 was a 24 hour drive-through that specialized in food popular in the Unova region—things like burgers and fries and milkshakes. The restaurant had been in Sootopolis for ages, to the point that Astraea had mentioned going there as a kid, and just about every local went there once in a while.

It was junk food, sure, but... the Unovans were infamous for being good at making that kind of thing, anyways. Lisia and Wallace both agreed that there wasn't anything close to being as good, or authentic, as it throughout all of Hiyori.

That kind of thing happened when a Unovan man mysteriously washes up on the shores of Sootopolis.

Gotta love Fallers.

〜☆〜

'They still haven't read it, Aria... I don't think we're going to be able to talk with Mikuri tonight after all...' Lisia said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

It was 11:30, an hour and thirty minutes since Lisia had replied to Wallace. She spent her time playing games with Aria (‘how are birds that good at chess!!?’ )... and was somehow, consistently defeated by her avian companion.

Aria was too smart for her own good.

She had beaten Lisia at checkers (twice), chess (five checkmates, two draws), Go Fish, Chutes and Ladders, and, somehow... somehow, poker.

11:50. Lisia was in immense debt—payable only in cotton candy—to Aria, because of the sheer ruthlessness of the unassumingly monstrous fluffball sitting in front of her.

Lisia came to the conclusion that her beloved bird must have been part of the yakuza in a past life.

Piiiiiin!

Lisia had finally gotten around to turning off her notifications for her 'work' accounts, so it was likely that the notification on her phone was from Wallace.

Or so she hoped.

'It's raining, so don't feel like you need to ride Aria there. I'll pick you up at midnight, Lucia.'

('...I thought he was asleep for sure...')

'Alright!!' Lisia exclaimed a bit too loudly.

'Better let kaachan know, then..!'

Lisia ran downstairs, leaving Aria in the dust.

'Hime-chan? What's wrong?'

'Uhmmmm, Mikuri-chan!! He's going to pick me up at midnight and we're gonna go to Route 193 and it's gonna be REALLY REALLY FUN and I don't know when we'll be back but I knew that it would be better if I told you so-' Lisia had to catch her breath.

'It's nice seeing you excited like this again... have lots of fun with Wallace, okay?' Astraea was relieved to see her daughter smiling once more, even though she knew it wouldn't always last—a break from looking at the face of someone dear to her wrought with pain was very welcome.

'I promise I will!!'

~☆〜

'Ojamashimasu...'

'MIKURI!!' Lisia just about tackled Wallace into a bone-crushing hug, pinning him square against the door.

She was like a heat-seeking missile when Wallace was around...

'Lucia-chan...' he managed to choke out a greeting to Lisia. She was clearly very happy to see them.

'Lisia, you're hurting poor Wallace!' Astraea called out from the living room, failing to stifle a laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

After mouthing a silent 'thank you' to their sister, Wallace walked out of the house with Lisia in hand, clearly more than a little sore from the impact their back took from Lisia's love-beam bodycheck.

It was raining pretty hard outside, and the sky was full of dark storm clouds, which the moon barely shone through.

Lisia suddenly stopped right before the porch gave way to the rainy sky.

'Let's race to your car, Mikuri!!'

It was only 15 feet away... but Wallace played along anyways.

~☆〜

Wallace's car was a convertible, perfect for top-down cruising around during summer nights... and for protecting against the torrential rains that Sootopolis was often afflicted by. Even in a downpour, it didn't take long for the two to arrive at Route 193 and order food. Of course, eating inside of the restaurant was an option, but it was more fun to hang out unbothered, anyways.

'It's been a while...' Lisia said.

'I was really surprised when you said you'd be coming back...'

'...I guess I'm surprised about it, too, ahahaha...' Lisia laughed with a hint of nervousness in her voice.

They sat in relative silence, accompanied only by the sound of the rain pitter-pattering on the car's windshield. Things felt... tense.

There was a lot that Wallace wanted to ask, anyways.

And even more that he wanted to say, too.

But it was hard. Thinking about when this exact sort of thing happened to him, seven years ago... what did he need? What gave him solace in his darkest moments?

Time was a big factor in their recovery process. The old adage about it healing all wounds turned out to be true, at least in his case.
Aside from that... what did Astraea do for them? She certainly listened to them vent an inordinate amount of times. And she tried to offer advice, within reason, anyways—knowing that someone was on their side, even though they had felt burned by others—that was priceless.

By now, Wallace was completely engrossed in thinking about his past trials—his face contorting to become a little bit more intense-looking than usual.

'Miiiiikuuuuriiiiii...'

Lisia pouted ever-so-slightly. Wallace seemed to be completely out of it.

'Nee... Mikuri-chan...'

She poked him on the cheek with a french fry.

No reaction.

'Geez... Mikuri-chan tte, okotteru no?'

Lisia was beginning to think that Wallace was mad at her... for some reason.

Hey… did I do something wrong...?' she asked.

'Hm?' Wallace replied in an absentminded tone.

'Were you ignoring me just now??'

'Wh-no, of course I wouldn't ignore you, Lucia! I was thinking, about how...'

'About what?'

'Hmm... Lucia, do you remember what happened seven years ago?'

'Uhmmmm... Eunsong got me a life-sized Munchlax plushie for my birthday that year?'

'Not quite!' Wallace laughed a little at Lisia's response.

'You were a bit smaller then, so I guess you wouldn't remember too much, especially because Astraea didn't want to worry you, but...'

'Basically... Mikuri got really sick, and they returned home from idol work, just like Lucia did today.'

'Mikuri was sick?'

Wallace tapped their chin, trying to figure out how to explain it as best as possible. 'Well... it was probably the same kind of 'sick' that's happening to Lucia-chan right now. Astraea-nee, may the kami bless her, was there for me back then.'

'Oh... I didn't remember that at all...' Lisia was more than a little shocked—how could she not know about something as important as this?

'She saved my life, Lucia-chan. I'm all better now, obviously, but... if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be here.'

‘I… I never knew that things were that bad, that you almost… you almost…’ Lisia was at a loss for words.

It took her more than a few seconds to collect herself.

‘That's really scary to think about... Mikuri-chan, zenzen nakushitakunaiyo.'

'And I don't want to lose you, too. And, well... if I'm being honest, I am worried about that.'

Lisia's eyes started to water a little, as did Wallace’s.

Silence.

‘Really worried…’

Silence once more.

'Hey... I'll be fine, okay? It'll be okay...'

'I said that to Astraea, too, before...' Wallace mumbled.

Wallace's thoughts started to spiral. What if he couldn't protect Lucia? What if... that happened? He would never forgive himself if... if he were to lose her.

'Hey.' Lisia said forcefully. She could see Wallace’s expression turning darker and darker.

'I have you and kaachan and Eunsong here for me. Mikuri doesn't need to go this alone, because... well, I'm not alone either.'

'So really, I'll be daijoubu. It'll be okay... I just need some time away so I'm not stressed, I think...'

'Shimpai shinaidene.'

Don't worry.

(' Lucia really is strong ...' Wallace mused.)

'...What can I do for you?' Wallace asked, steering the conversation away from heavier topics.

'As long as you're here for me when you can be, I'll be fine, right? I haven't gotten to spend time with you in ageeeessss.... so I missed Mikuri a lot.'

Wallace frowned a little.

'That seems too simple. Isn't there anything else I could do?'

'Believe me, okay? I know that my coming days might not all be bright, but... as long as you're here, I'll try to smile the best I can!' Lisia exclaimed. She was trying to show Wallace that she would... eventually, be just fine.

'Even when things are tough, your words still sparkle... it's a great gift, you know? Not everyone has that power.' Wallace grinned.

'I promise I'll never use it for evil!!' Lisia exclaimed. She really did beat to the rhythm of her own drum...

Their fries had gone cold by then, but... they still didn't taste horrible, anyways. Maybe that was because in a certain way, the two fed off of each other's presence.

~☆〜

'Bye!!!'

Lisia waved from her doorstep to Wallace, who was back in his car. The rain had mercifully slowed to a drizzle, which made the drive back home a little safer.

Lisia unlocked the door and stepped into her house, maybe a little too loudly for it being one in the morning.

Thankfully, her mother was a night owl, and as such was somehow still awake.

'Ah, hime-chan! Okaeri! How was your date with Wallace?' Astraea asked chipperly, slightly raising what was undoubtedly a cup of coffee. Lisia hoped that that was decaf, but she could tell that it very likely was not. Her mother was the Amou household's resident coffee addict.

'Date...?'

'No, well, you know... I don't know what to call it, but how was it?' Lisia could tell that her mother was... definitely a bit too energetic for that time of night, thanks to the coffee.

'It was good! I'm glad that I was able to be with Mikuri... Route 193 has always been where we've gone together, after all, so it was good to be back.'

'Yeah!!!'

It was almost like Astraea was drunk, the way she acted… she had just about zero self-awareness when it came to controlling her volume.

'Oh... kaachan, Mikuri told me about... when you really helped them a lot of years ago.'

'I was thinking about that earlier today, actually...' Astraea was taken aback by a topic as serious as that coming up out of the blue.

'Thank you for saving him.' Lisia said, as seriously as she could.

'Oh, hime-chan... it was a really scary time, but we got through it, and that's exactly what's going to happen with you too. I'm here for you!!'

'Thank you...'

'Do you want a cup of coffee??' Astraea asked her daughter, almost imploringly.

('Well... having an all-nighter could be fun, maybe ...?' Lisia thought with a little trepidation.)

'Sure!!'

 

[Catz]

This is great stuff! I really felt the feelings Lisia was going through at the time, and it helped convey a sense of realism within the scenes. Keep up the good work!

 

[lisianthus]

Oh my god, I thought I had posted this here months ago. But no, I've been (not) working on this WIP for much too long... I remember writing the majority of it last August, I think, then adding a bit in October? Now it's February and I realized that it was still unfinished and I simply forgot to finish this story up. I took an hour or so and got this chapter all ready, so... enjoy? (btw 'beolsae' means hummingbird in korean!)

...In all honesty, although I do have some follow-up fics for this AU planned, I'm not quite sure if I'll go through with them ahaha! We'll see... but I think at the very least, some things I had planned might change up a little. I like writing my Alto Mare story (among other stuff) more to be honest... shrugsʕº̫͡ºʔ

If I don't update this fic after this, and there's an almost certain possibility of this happening, please be rest assured that Lucia got her happy ending, and is happy with Mikuri and Eunsong. :)

You'll see that the ending I've written here helps to hopefully wrap that up okay enough, I hope. I don't forsee myself touching this AU in the future, so...

Without further ado... here's 666 Flags o/

---

'Mm, Wallace...'

'Hm?'

It was just the two of them — Winona and Wallace were sitting together in the back area of the Sootopolis Gym, where Wallace resided. There was quite a bit of unused space after he took over, so he figured that making a living area out of it would be a good use of it all. It was a little unorthodox, but... it was certainly home.

'I was thinking about taking Lisia somewhere.'

It was about a week after Lisia had came home to recuperate from her troubles. Winona still hadn't seen her yet, and as of late had been trying to brainstorm non-flying activities to do with her. She missed her little friend, her second-in-command, after all.

'Did you have anything specific in mind, darling?' Wallace asked.

'I kept thinking about going to 666 Flags. It's in Lilycove, so it's not very far away from here or Fortree both, and she's never been to it before, too.'

Wallace stared at his partner. He could tell that she was leaving out a huge part of the reason she brought going to a theme park up in the first place.

'...What?'

'...is that really why you want to go there?' Wallace said in a mock-accusatory fashion.

'Fine. I want to ride all of the rides in one go. Including the kiddie rides. And especially the fast ones.' Winona confessed

'So, you and I and Lucia, then?' Wallace said cheerily. His suspicions were confirmed, but it wasn't like them being right would change anything.

'Daigo's as busy as ever, after all...'

The two shared a small laugh. Steven was perennially researching this or that about... well, something pertaining to rocks. If he was as interested in Pokémon as he was in geology, he likely could have became a Pokémon Professor of his own by then, but... he wasn't suited for that sort of lifestyle.

'While you message her, I'll put on some tea. Ginger like usual?'

'Thank you.'

〜☆〜

'Beolsae-chan, it is time.'

Winona was... notoriously bad at texting. She was oftentimes a woman of few words, and that quality of hers was only amplified in interactions that weren't face-to-face.

She could only hope that Lisia would understand...

Lisia – Just now
'time for what??'

Of course... she regrettably was unable to. So it was time to switch methods.

*'Yuuenchi e itta koto nai darou ne*.

You've never been to an amusement park, have you.

As far as Winona remembered, Lisia had never been to an amusement park.

'*zenzen. atashi o tsurete ikitai no?*

never. you wanna take me to one?

She was remembering correctly, then.

Communicating felt the hardest in Hydraean. Winona was a native speaker of both Hiyorigo and Ilseongo, and was more than proficient enough in what seemed to be the world's ‘common language’, but she definitely felt a tad bit more comfortable expressing herself in her native languages.

...Or just without words, if she could help it.

'Once the weather clears up, we're going to the one by Lilycove.'
'oooh fun!!!! looking forwards to it♪'
'I'll get Wallace to actually plan it out, but I wanted to see what you thought first.'
'MIKURI IS COMING!!?!????!?!!?'
'He is coming.'
'*dies*'

Winona set her phone down onto Wallace's bed.

'...Don't ever change, kotori.’'

〜☆〜

Wallace walked back into the room, carrying two steam-billowing mugs. Winona's had ginger tea, and Wallace opted for something a bit more traditional — green tea.

Aside from Winona's 'thank you' as she took the mug from her partner, there weren't any words exchanged between the two. Things were peaceful — it was just the two of them, accompanied only by the steady sound of rain falling outside.

'Your niece sure is an unusual one.' Winona said in her usual dry manner.

Wallace knew her well enough to understand that the comment she had just made was not out of spite — if it was anyone else hearing it, it would very likely be taken with the utmost hostility.

Thank God Wallace knew better.

'I wouldn't have it any other way.' Wallace chuckled.

'Besides, darling... I don't think you, or anyone else for that matter, would call me 'normal' either, really.'

'Is that so? Well then... maybe when I marry into this family of yours, I'll become just like you, then.' Winona said jokingly.

'You wouldn't look as fabulous as I would. Only I! could pull this off.' Wallace said in a mock-grandiose tone.

'Rude.'

Whack.

Winona softly bopped Wallace on the top of his head. He wasn't wearing his trademark beret, so there was no cushioning to save him.

'Winnie... that was just a joke...' Wallace was reeling from her sudden attack.

'I know.'

Wallace pouted, ever-so-slightly.

'I can't say no to that face... is that where Lisia learned it from?' Winona inquired.

'Life imitates art, after all~.' Wallace replied.

'...But you're not a painting.' Winona deadpanned.

'But I'm as pretty as one, aren't I?' Wallace replied.

'Oh, you...'

〜☆〜

'Kaachan, have you ever been to the theme park in Lilycove before?'

'I went a lot when I was a kid! I even took Wallace a couple of times, too. It was no fun...'

'Uh, why was it not fun going with them?' Lisia was a little perplexed. Did Wallace have a fear of heights back then?

'They REFUSED to go on any of the good rides with me... it was awful...' Astraea looked like she was about to cry remembering her experiences then.

Lisia couldn't tell if her mother was overreacting or not.

'...How old was he then?'

'Couldn't have been more than seven?'

At that moment, Lisia remembered that her mother could be a bit... off-kilter at times, for lack of a better phrasing.

'...Mom, I... don't think you're allowed to go on any of the fast ones if you're that young?' Lisia could not fathom how her mother simply didn't realize that all those years ago.

'Ohhh...'

Astraea was deep in thought.

'But, but, when I was his age, I went on them all and I turned out fine!! I think!?'

She was practically on a rollercoaster of emotions at this point.

'*Nee, Kazuki, uchi tte hen janai ne*?'"Hey, Kazuki, I'm not, like weird or anything, right?[/hover] she called to her husband, who was hopefully hard at work in his office. [hover="'*Anata tono kazoku no minna ga hen kedo, sono hou ga futsuu yori ii to omou yo.*'

You and your whole family are weird, but I think that's better than the alternative.

'SEE!? I turned out just fine!! It's just like not wearing bicycle helmets back then!' Astraea stated triumphantly.

'Wait, didn't everyone wear bicycle helmets back then as well?? I thought they didn't back, like, before your parents were born??'

'But I only crashed once! Twice, actually! Wait... maybe like two, three, four FIVE! Only five times, and I'm completely normal!'

'Oh my god...'

〜☆〜

Eunsong had been standing by the gates to the theme park for about 10 minutes by now. It wasn't particularly hot, thank god, but she was wondering why exactly taking her partner in crime and apprentice were not there yet.

And why, pray tell, they were so fixated on going at 2 AM.

So, she checked her phone for anything new from Wallace or Lisia — with no results.

Except for one message from Lisia earlier from the night before that read:

'We're going to leave around 1, so we can meet up at 2... make sure to be there, alright?'

...It was 1:30 AM, and at least she was there early. Better than arriving late and keeping them waiting.

Winona decided she would birdwatch for the time being. Even in the dead of night, there should be at least a few Pokémon out... or just normal birds in general.

〜☆〜

It was 2:15, and there was no sign of Wallace or Lisia. Trains in Hiyori were always very punctual, so the chances of them being late were very, very low.

So... did they miss the train, then? That was a semi-common occasion, particularly when Wallace overslept...

If he had completely forgotten to wake up in time, leaving her like this at 2 AM in the morning... there would very likely be hell to pay.

She would make sure to go a little easy on him, at least.

Winona decided to put an end to her pondering and take action by calling Wallace herself.

The brightness of her phone amidst the darkness of the night that she had gotten used to stung her eyes. Still, she persevered on, wanting to solve the mystery at hand...

While being completely obvious to the real problem she was facing.

The line rang *once, twice, three times...

Once, twice, thrice again…*

But, no answer.

Did the underwater parts of the line get no reception? She couldn't remember.

'*Mattaku...*'

You're kidding me...*

*Once, twice, thrice...

Once, tw-*

Click.

'...Winnie?'

An extremely sleepy-sounding Wallace picked up the phone.

'*Yappari... nande omae mada neteirunda…*’

Of course.. what the hell are you doing, still sleeping...

'*Asa ni-ji dakara.*’

It's two in the morning.

'*Ni-ji kite, Beolsae-chan ga yutteta zo.*'

She said to come at two.

'...'

A pause from Wallace.

'Winnie...'

'What.'

Winona did not appreciate how Wallace was handling this. It seemed like he was about to burst out laughing at any second.

'I think she meant... 2 PM. Like a normal person.'

'...Oh.'

'Besides, is this theme park even open this late into the night?'

Winona took a quick peek behind her, and finally, the reason for the conspicuous lack of sound and light in that general area became crystal clear.

'No.'

'Darling... *chanto ikkai dakede, kuuki o yondara subarashii yo ne…*'

it's be wonderful if you could read the room for once, you know...

'*Wakaru zo.*’

I know.

, Winona replied, wanting to prevent the light scolding she was likely about to recieve.

'*Iya, ima wakaranasasou kedo.*’

But I don't think you do understand right now.

Wallace was seemingly beginning to take on a bit of a holier-than-thou tone, although that could have been the fault of Winona suffering from slight sleep deprivation at the moment.

'Mghh..' Winona made a noise that was somewhere in between a growl and an exasperated groan.

'Sorryipromisei'llstoplaughing…'

It was clear who held the upper hand in their relationship.

'I will find a capsule hotel for the night.'

Winona's voice was dead calm, but she was quite annoyed with herself on the inside. It certainly wasn't Lisia's fault, after all...

'I would ask you to stay here, but that's just another long train ride anyways...'

'I'll see you tomorrow.'

'Goodnight, my love.'

〜☆〜

It was finally the day that the three had planned on — a partly cloudy Saturday afternoon. Perfect weather for going to a theme park.

Lisia and Wallace were on their way to Lilycove by train, on the same underwater line that Lisia had taken a week or so ago.

It had been... how long since Wallace had been to an amusement park? Fifteen years at the very least, he figured.

Ever since Astraea took him a few times as a kid, he had never been back — his parents weren't around to take him a few years after then, and he eventually became too busy with performing to even entertain the thought of doing so, even during the times when he was mentally healthy.

But now that he was able to actually ride on all the rides, and wasn't afraid of doing so, he was looking forwards to it a little. More than anything, they were excited for their niece to try something fun and new — even if it came at their slight discomfort with the more... thrilling rides.

Wallace looked over at their niece, who was sitting to their right. She was wearing a mask to prevent others on the train from recognizing and accosting her, but her smile radiated through it all the same — her immense excitement was palpable.

'Wouldn't it be fun if we had a sleepover at Eunsong's house after this!?' Lisia hopefully remarked to Wallace.

Wallace raised an eyebrow.

'You didn't bring a bag for that, though, right?'

Wordlessly, Lisia lifted up a smaller bag than the one she had to her side, refuting Wallace's assumption.

'Oh, you came prepared! Hmm... as long as Winona is fine with it, I think that would be a splendid idea!' Wallace replied. He wasn't... too surprised, honestly, that his niece had the foresight to plan ahead in that way.

'Yay!! You're the best!' Lisia exclaimed as quietly as one could on a mildly crowded train.

'Oh, so Mom was telling me about the last time you went to a theme park like this! ....She said it was boring because you could only go on the kiddie rides, though...'

Wallace thought back to the last time he had been to the amusement park in Lilycove.

'I would have been... about seven, probably, so... of course I wasn't supposed to go on any of the other rides. Did Astraea mention that part, I wonder...?'

'I asked her how old you were, but then she said that when she was that age she went on them all and turned out fine... with the way Mom is, though, I think it might have been better that you didn't go on them, ehehe...'

'You might be onto something. You'll be okay to go on all of the rides, right?'

'I should be fine! It's not like there's anything that'll be higher or faster than Aria and I flying, right? ...right...?'

Wallace nodded.

'I think you'll be *zenzen daijoubu*

totally fine

, Lucia-chan.'

'Yay!!' Lisia clapped her hands — it seemed she was very excited for the day ahead.

〜☆〜

'Wow...'

Lisia beheld the huge spectacle before her — there was a lot to take in, especially because she was a first-timer to theme parks in general.

She had no idea what to expect, but somehow, she was sure that what she was seeing surpassed any of the expectations she could have had before.

'Mikuri, this place is ginormous!!'

Wallace chuckled a little. 'It's only gotten bigger since I've been here last, too. Is there anything the catches your eye?'

'Hmm... well, that really tall building to the left? What is it?'

'That was one Astraea tried to get me to go on! It's called 'Deoxys Tower', and it seemed to be spectacularly scary when I came across it then...'

'Ooh, that sounds thrilling!' Lisia exclaimed, dashing off to it, then suddenly rebounding back to Wallace's side not a moment later.

She slowly looked up at Wallace with her puppy-dog eyes in full force, unconsciously grabbing their hand.

'...Will you go on it this time with me, Mikuri...?'

'Oh... well, I have to be brave for you, don't I, Lucia...'

Wallace was being noncommittal.

'Pleeeeaaaaseeee??'

And Lisia was getting closer and closer to flat-out begging.

'I can't say no, can I... hmm, alright then. For you, I'll go.' Wallace smiled a little nervously.

Lisia beamed, taking off with a start towards the entrance, Wallace in tow.

〜☆〜

Wallace looked down from the high, high platform that he was unfortunately stuck on.

Every time he leaned his head over the railing, he got unmistakably... dizzy. It was simply not a particularly spectacular situation to be in.

He groaned a little under his breath, trying to clear his head in preparation for his upcoming treacherous ride.

'*Mikuri-chan, daijoubu no? Choushi ga chotto warusou…*'

Mikuri, you okay? You don't look too good...

Lisia's voice softly called out to him, as he felt her hand go on his back.

'This is just practice for Deoxys Tower, right!? No need to worry about me.' Wallace said in a probably-not convincing tone.

The truth was that he was scared out of his mind — in comparison with Deoxys Tower, this relatively straightforward, not-nearly-as-high ride should have been a piece of cake.

'Hey... if you really are scared, we don't have to go on this one! I'll be just fine riding on the kiddie rides with you, because once Eunsong comes she'll ride on the adult rides with me!'

That would be quite frankly, an issue. Wallace didn't particularly want to seem wimpy in front of his own niece — no, in front of his own little sister — even if it was going to be hard, if he was going to have any chance of going on Deoxys Tower... he had to do this.

'I'll be fine... I hope.' He added that last part under his breath.

'Alright... we're next in line, so let's get seats at the front!!' Lisia seemed to take his word for it.

The coaster pulled back into the waiting area, and the people riding it all got off.

Lisia quickly sprinted to the front, making sure to put a hand over the spot she was reserving for Wallace.

Wallace took his time in getting to the front. He was quite honestly dreading the ride, but...

'*Shouganai.*’

It can't be helped.

He climbed into the... possible death trap?, took a deep breath... and closed his eyes as it ascended.

It felt like they were going up a hundred feet... but it was only twenty or so, in reality.

'God...'

Lisia suddenly grabbed Wallace's hand.

'Hey... we can't get off now, so let's just try to have fun, okay? I'm here...'

'Thank you, Luci-aaahhhh!!!' the coaster took off, leaving Wallace absolutely petrified. It was all he could do to cling onto his much braver little sister, who had her arms extended to the sky.

〜☆〜

Somehow, Wallace did not fall off of the roller coaster, thank god.

But much to Lisia's dismay and worry, his skin was a dangerous shade of green — certainly not in peak roller-coaster-riding condition.

'Alright, let's... get you sitting down on a bench, okay?' Lisia grabbed Wallace's arm and gently guided him to a place to sit, preferably next to a garbage can if need be.

'There we go!' The two sat down together.

'So... sorry for making you go on the coaster... I honestly didn't think it'd be that bad for you! We can go on the kiddie rides from now on, or just sit down, anything is fine, okay?' Lisia kindly said to Wallace, who was probably only getting every third word she was saying.

Wallace's only response was a groan. It was clear that he was going to be out of commission for the next while.

So Lisia decided to switch tracks.

'Is Eunsong coming soon?'

'No idea... call her?' Wallace's voice was muffled his by his head being in his hands.

So Lisia decided to do just that.

It took three tries to rouse Winona out out her sleep and pick up the phone.

'*...Yoboseyo.*'

Hello.

Winona greeted Lisia. She sounded a little sleepy.

'*Annyeong!*

Heya!!

Are you coming to the theme park soon? It's a little past 2...'

Lisia could hear Winona groan over the phone.

'*Shibal….*

Shit...

it's 2? PM?'

'Uh... yeah? Did you forget?' Lisia confusedly asked.

'...He didn't tell you. About last night.' Winona assumed.

Lisia only answered with a questioning noise, to which Winona hung up to.

'Wh-she just hung up on me??'

Eunsong – just now
'I came here at 2 AM.'
'Then I called Wallace.'
'We were not supposed to meet.'
'At AM.'
'I slept in a *kapuho*

capsule hotel

.'
'I just woke up.'
'At 2 PM.'

This was... a very strange turn of events. Lisia took solace in the hope that Winona would be arriving soon, and fired back a text.

'Got it, come soon!'

Lisia turned to Wallace, who was looking markedly less green.

'Since you're not going on any rides, do you want to look at the carnival games....?'

'I can do that, at least! Let's go!'

'Yay!! I'm gonna win a giant, life-sized Altaria plushie, mark my words!!'

'You already have one Aria causing trouble...'

〜☆〜

Lisia was, for some reason,

hopeless at carnival games.

No matter what game she tried, from ring tossing to balloon popping, luck was not in her favor. The ring toss in particular was hard..

Wallace, on the other hand, could not carry the sheer mass of plushies he had obtained all by himself, much to Lisia's shock.

'...Mikuri, how are we going to get these home?'

'If we put them in Poké Balls, I think it'll be fine. Probably.'

'Oh thank god, you brought some!? I left Aria at home, anyways...'

'It's a Gym Leader's job to be prepared, after all!'

Lisia laughed as she tossed Poké Balls at the mountainous myriad of plushies laid out on the table before her. Things became a bit more manageable thanks to Wallace's quick thinking!

But still... she was still a little sad, honestly. That life-size Altaria plushie... she wanted it bad... and the worst part about it was that it was stationed right at the ring toss, which neither Lisia nor Wallace were particularly great at.

Ugh.

Oh well.

〜☆〜

Finally, Winona arrived, just as Lisia and Wallace got in their respective lines for delicious, albeit extremely unhealthy food — a staple of any good theme park experience.

'...I can't believe you're eating that.' Winona said, thoroughly unimpressed with Wallace's treat of choice — pancakes topped with strawberry creme.

'Come onnn, Winnie... a girl's gotta eat like this every once in a while!' Wallace retorted, looking at the pancakes with hungry eyes.

'...Girl?'

'It's... you know, an expression! Like, when people say, uh, what's that thing... Lucia, you know what I'm talking about, right!?' Wallace stammered their way through a defensive (and probably unneeded) explanation of their word choice.

'Uh... is it, uh, 'yass, queeeen'? That one?' Lisia asked, slightly confused.

'That's the one! It's just like that, Winnie!' Wallace exclaimed, feeling proud of his successful riposte.

Winona simply shook her head, smiling a little at the silliness of the entire exchange.

'Fine. I guess your niece subscribes to that philosophy as well, hmm?' she said, nodding in the direction of Lisia, whose face was absolutely stained with cotton candy.

'Yep! If I'm going to eat any cotton candy, it's gotta be in a place where Aria isn't, otherwise... it will not be mine anymore.... are you really sure you don't want anything from here, Eunsong?'

'Kind of you to offer, but. I would rather not.'

'Fair enough! Let's go on Deoxys Tower once I'm done with this, I've been waiting to go with you Eunsong!!'

Eunsong smiled.

'Let's.'

〜☆〜

It was getting to be quite late, so the line was considerably shorter than the last time.

Thank god.

'Eunsongdoesthismeanwecanrideitmultipletimes...' Lisia whispered to her taller companion, in a state of pure, uncontainable excitement.

'Let's ride until the park closes.' Winona replied. She was more than happy to ride with Lisia all she wanted. Even she didn't share it outright exactly, she certainly cared about her very much, and wanted to do things that would cheer her up from... whatever exactly was going on.

Even if her words failed, as they often did, Winona hoped with all of her heart that her presence would provide something of a comfort to her friend... to her niece?

Wasn't that a fun thought, Winona mused, as her dear future-niece was desperately attempting to break her out of her sudden daydreaming.

'Eunsooooong!!! Are you ready??? You don't look that excited...' Lisia lamented, peering at Winona from the coaster seat next to her.

'When do I ever look excited to you.' Winona answered in turn, remembering the many times she had been questioned about her lack of emotion.

'You always say that... but are you really excited...?' she looked a bit put-off now, as it seemed she was prone to becoming such lately.

Winona only had time to briefly nod to dissuade her friend's fears, before the coaster shot down from the tower, dropping what felt like a mile.

Lisia shrieked in the seat next to Winona's, clearly unprepared for the sudden takeoff, but enjoying it all the same.

Winona was... happy, she thought. Really, the thrill of roller coasters was nothing compared to flying about freely in the sky to her, but that didn't mean she wasn't an enthusiast about the experience itself.

Especially when it was with her future niece — a girl that was so... vibrant, yet fragile at the same time. If Lisia wanted her to smile and laugh for once, just this time... why not?

She'd have lots of rides to practice having fun on, anyways.

〜✧〜

'...For ME!?'

Lisia seemed shocked... maybe even flabbergasted.

Wallace was holding out that ginormous Altaria plushie that Lisia had coveted so — and what more, he had somehow managed to win a sparkling Shiny version of it.

She did not have to know that knowing he would never win it the normal way, he had paid off the prize attendant for the gift. It ostensibly cost significantly more than it would have retailed for online, but if it cheered her up, it would be in effect, simply a drop in the bucket.

And it looked like his 'efforts' had paid off, judging by the way she squeezed it tightly to her chest all the way home, just as a child would. Winona was wanting to properly get home after spending the night before in a capsule hotel, so Lisia's sleepover plans were dashed to pieces.

It... seemed she didn't mind too much, though, thanks to the fun she had while at the theme park.

Doing all this with her, doing things for her, was Wallace's very own way of protecting Lisia, just as he was protected by her mother. His way of making things as best as possible for that once-brightly shining hummingbird, in order to ensure her bright future.

Wallace had heard the adage that one becomes the person who would have saved them at their worst many times. This was Wallace's way of paying the help they got forwards, with the hope that in the future, she could do the same.

Moments like this were one of a kind, Wallace thought, as he absentmindedly watched Lisia drift to sleep, hugging the plush evermore.

He resolved himself to make many more of them with her, as many as he possibly could.

 

[Catz]

It's back!!!!

I really love how you slip little japanese phrases in sentences, it adds to the charm of character interactions a ton! (I'm a real big fan of most of the Wallace/Winona conversations in this!!)

Moments like this were one of a kind, Wallace thought, as he absentmindedly watched Lisia drift to sleep, hugging the plush evermore.

He resolved himself to make many more of them with her, as many as he possibly could.

This end. Oh my god. The feels in these few sentences is UNREAL. I just get all kinds of happy feelings inside re-reading it.

tl;dr (even though this is already pretty short): this is really really good. I love it a lot, and I always wish I could say more. This is a certified Lisia masterpiece >w<