Sunset ^beta

Elesa closed her eyes as glitter was brushed onto her eyelids. The fan on the counter behind her whirred, blowing cold air down her neck and preventing her from sweating too much. The rest of the dressing room was full of harried assistants conveying messages, debates over last-minute changes, the constant hum of conversation between other models and personnel, but Elesa had become practiced in letting it wash over her and pass on.

"And there! Open your eyes, let me see how it looks." Bora, the make-up artist, stepped back and gave Elesa a once-over. Their long brown hair was pinned up but they were still quite flushed from the sweltering summer heat.

Elesa glanced into the mirror and admired the electric-blue pigment of her eyeshadow, which sparkled ostentatiously when she lifted her chin, shifting the angle of her face. She enjoyed feeling like a canvas for designers' visions, where Elesa's look was not necessarily aspirational, just expressive.

One fellow model who was scurrying past, her hands carefully cupped around her hair so the real flowers woven throughout wouldn't fall, paused for a second to yell, "Elesa, I love that color!" before continuing on her path

"Yes, this color will go with your hairpiece so well." Bora's assessing gaze was sharp and professional, contrasting with the mouth that had been casually chattered away for the past hour. Elesa didn't mind—it was nice to be around someone who didn't become self-conscious as soon as they saw her. She often had to work to coax the other person out of their shyness, a skill she'd acquired but which did not come naturally.

Bora didn't need any coaxing.

"By the way, do you watch much television?" Bora asked, as they leaned in to touch up some of the eye make-up.

"Not a lot," Elesa admitted as she closed her eyes once more. "It's hard to find time with the gym and work." And when she did have spare time, she preferred to swim, or work at her newest hobby, baking. She was not great at it yet. Still, Skyla said her muffins were improving.

"You can open your eyes." Bora busied themself with finding a different brush. "I actually asked because I was wondering...how do you feel about TNGQ?"

"TNGQ?" Elesa echoed, making a concerted effort not to furrow her brow, as Bora seemed to be doing something to her forehead.

"Oh, I mean, The National Gymquirer." Elesa could barely feel the touch of their brush as they touched up infinitesimally small portions of her skin. "You know, the show where people can send in their anecdotes about when they've spotted or run into gym leaders."

"Ah. That one." Elesa felt herself blush furiously. "Y-yeah, I've seen it a few times. It seems pretty harmless." Oh no. She remembered the one time she'd submitted a letter under the pseudonym Shocking Supermodel, and how they'd seen through her right away. The worst thing was, they hadn't even laughed at her pun.

"I'm so relieved you don't hate it," Bora said, beaming. "I just started watching, but I'm loving The National Gymquirer. I know a lot of people think it's dull, but that's the fun of it! Every 'sighting' that comes up is super unsensational, there's never anything scandalous, and I wouldn't be surprised if even some of the gym leaders submit facts about themselves for fun, it's that laid back." They pulled away, having finished with the skin touch-ups. "I have it on while I do laundry."

Elesa struggled to keep a straight face. "I've definitely heard good things about it," she said as neutrally as possible.

"So, is most of what they say true in your experience?"

"I think so," Elesa said. At least her blush was starting to fade. "Skyla has complained that they sometimes oversimplify her work, you know, not going into great detail about her flight routes and itineraries and schedule changes."

Elesa smiled to herself, recalling Skyla's half-facetious rant about it on one of their dates. It had taken place at Elesa's apartment late Thursday evening, the only time that worked for both of them that week. The two of them had been wearing comfy old clothes, sweatshirts and tees, tiredly but eagerly eating dinner as they shared how their busy days had gone.

She snapped out of it when she realized that Bora was now approaching her, brandishing lip primer and lipstick. "Part your lips a bit," Bora said cheerfully. The primer was sticky on Elesa's mouth. "Gym Leader Skyla seems really awesome. I haven't properly met her before, but maybe one day I'll get to challenge her gym! She's just so cool. I bet at least half of all Unovans are diehard fans of hers. Do you remember when she started that craze for propeller buns? That was cute."

Elesa couldn't respond, as Bora was applying bright coral lipstick on her lips, but perhaps that was for the best. Yes, she remembered very well. In fact, she had to do a photoshoot once in which she wore a wig with such a hairpiece. "I'm sorry," Skyla had said while snickering—she'd called up Elesa immediately upon seeing the photos. "I'm flattered, but I think your usual style suits you better." Elesa couldn't agree more.

Bora stepped back. "Alright, now close your eyes one last time."

Elesa did so and the setting spray hit her face, preserving her make-up for the next several hours of frantically changing clothes, walking the runway, hobnobbing with important people from Unova and beyond, and, of course, meeting fans.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Bora said. "I won't be seeing you next week."

Elesa nodded. "I know, I can't believe it!" She usually did her modeling work on weekends, and gym duties on weekdays, but for the entire upcoming week, Monday through Sunday, the Nimbasa City Gym would be under the supervision of her second-in-command, Lady Colette. "Undella Town gets really busy this time of year, so who knows, maybe you'll still hear about me on The Gymquirer."

"Have a good time!" Bora said. "Make sure to wear plenty of sunscreen; it'll make my job easier if you don't return with a bunch of sunburns."

"I'll try not to be a burn-den."

"Thanks!" Bora said. They did not seem to register Elesa's pun, an unfortunately common occurrence in her life. No one expected her to joke around. (It certainly couldn't have anything to do with the quality of her jokes!)

"Elesa!" yelled the director from somewhere across the room. "Where's Elesa? We need to make some tweaks to her shoes."

Elesa rose and hurried over, her mind now focused on nothing but making the show a success.

Skyla didn't have her next flight for another five hours, so she had time to kill in Driftveil City. "One Moomoo Milk, please," she said. As she waited for her order, she looked around the hushed Driftveil City Market. She had arrived just as it opened at seven in the morning, and as such, there were few customers around. Many vendors were still setting up their stands. That made it easy to spot someone familiar on the other side of the market.

"Clay!" Skyla waved her arm, excited. She saw the broad-shouldered figure in brown wave back before starting to walk over to her.

"Here's your order!" said the woman at the Moomoo Milk stand. She was blushing a little. "By the way, if I could ask, what brings you here so early today? Usually you fly here in the early afternoon, or maybe nine at the earliest."

"Oh, you're pretty observant!" Skyla said.

The woman shook her head quickly, "N-no, not at all. I just happened to notice...."

"You're right, this is outside my usual schedule," Skyla said. "One of the other Mistralton pilots was sick, so I took over their flight for today."

"What's this?" Clay said as he approached. "Skyla's overworking again? You ought to take a vacation, kid." Skyla was assuredly an adult, but Clay still called her "kid". He called everyone "kid". Skyla had seen Brycen get annoyed about it more than once. "Mornin', Lilla."

"Good morning, Clay." The woman immediately seemed a lot more at ease.

"It's funny you should say that," Skyla said to Clay, hands on her hips. "I'm actually going on vacation soon." She swallowed a tempting "So there!"; all it'd do would give him more reason to call her "kid". She turned back to Lilla, wanting to show her that she was just another person. There was no reason to be nervous. "Lilla, have you ever been Undella Town?"

"Y-yes ma'am." Lilla stood up straighter. "I went just a couple weeks ago, actually! It was wonderful. I went with a group of friends because we were celebrating a birthday. We ate a lot of ice cream."

"Any place in particular you'd recommend?" Skyla asked, and took a sip of her beverage.

"There's this small stand that's usually on the main beach, striped red and white, and it was the best. It might even be as good as Castelliacones." Lilly bowed her head apologetically. "Er, I'm sorry, but I think have some more customers to get to. People love to start their mornings with Moomoo Milk! But thank you so much for stopping by."

"No worries," Clay said, and he and Skyla began to slowly wander through the awakening market together. "So, how long are you on vacation for? What do you plan to do?"

Skyla sighed happily. "I'll be there for a week, doing nothing. Absolutely nothing, other than floating in the water and eating delicious food and sleeping in. No pokemon battles, even. I mean it!"

"I'll believe it when I see it. But that sounds just wonderful, and you definitely deserve it. Enjoy it to the fullest." With a knowing smile, Clay added, "And say hello to Elesa for me."

"You think I'll ever be able to make something like this?" Elesa said, eyeing the half-eaten scone in her hand. They were sitting outdoors at a beachfront café, and a salty breeze was ruffling Skyla's red hair. For once, she had it tied up in a simple ponytail, and it made her look younger, more peaceful. She didn't look like the Mistralton Gym Leader; she looked like Skyla. Her Skyla.

Though she had already finished her scone and was gazing dreamily at the blue water, at Elesa's question, Skyla turned back and said firmly, "Of course! All you need is practice. Even the first batch of scones you made weren't that bad. Very edible!" She reached out to slightly adjust the angle of Elesa's wide-brim sunhat.

Elesa finished her scone contemplatively. Her baking ambitions were not the only thing on her mind. She was wearing a loose white beach dress, not her usual electric yellow. Her hat covered most of her head and her fashionable sunglasses covered her face. Nevertheless, people had recognized her—when they were walking out of the pension house they were staying in this morning, when they'd ordered their scones. And everyone recognized Skyla. The shine of her blue eyes and her distinctive deep crimson hair were unmistakable.

"Want to walk on the beach after this?" she finally asked.

"Of course," Skyla said.

They'd already paid, so they picked up their bags, tucked in their seats, and walked out onto the beach which lay just outside the line of shops and eateries. The sand sank under her sandals and the sun sparkled white on the ocean.

The main beach was quite busy, but as they kept walking, and the beach became thinner and rockier, it also became quieter. The only people around were the hardcore swimmers, furiously doing laps alongside their companion Alomamolas or Basculins.

Eventually, they found a portion of the beach that had no people at all. As they slowly walked, Elesa took the opportunity to ask, "How much longer do you think people will think we're just really good friends?"

Skyla's hand was dangling next to hers. Elesa impulsively reached out and took it.

Skyla looked over at her, and it was clear that she had been considering the same question too. "Now that we're going out in public like this, people have to realize," she said. "There was already some speculation, and I'm awful at lying, you know that. Even Clay has started to catch on—can you believe that? Clay?"

"He usually Bull-dozes off when anything gossipy comes up," Elesa couldn't help saying.

Skyla elbowed her before continuing. "The whole reason we chose to go here for our vacation was so it could be out in the open once and for all. But it's a big change."

"It is. I feel a little nervous," Elesa admitted. "I'm just remembering how it was at the beginning. Back then, I wanted just one thing that was private and between us, you know? All I had was work and the Gym, and that happens entirely in public. But..."

"But?" Skyla said.

Elesa squeezed her hand. "We never wanted to make a big announcement to the public about us being together. Or interviews about our relationship or couple photoshoots or any of that. I wondered for a long time whether those were our only two options, all or nothing. So now that we're trying out a third way, I can't completely believe it."

She stopped walking and turned to face Skyla fully. Their fingers were threaded together. Skyla looked up at her, clearly eager to hear what Elesa would say next, but waiting. Many people didn't know, but Skyla could be amazingly patient. Elesa had seen it in the way Skyla trained with her Swoobat and Swanna, firm about pushing them further, yet willing to give them the quiet time they needed to think, learn, grow.

"I'm kind of scared for everyone to know." Elesa's words tumbled over each other in her eagerness, but she didn't care.

"Me too," Skyla said softly.

"But I'm also really, really excited," continued Elesa, "because if we're out together, on a day as nice as this, and I want to kiss you—there's nothing stopping me from doing it, anymore."

Skyla grinned up at her, flung her arms around Elesa's neck, and tugged her down into a huge smooch that made Elesa laugh as her sunglasses almost came off. "Our private life can stay our private life," she promised. "And if the whole world knows how crazy I am about you, who cares."

The reason for the beach's lack of people became immediately clear when Skyla waded into the water and came face to face with a school of Frillish whipping their stingers threateningly.

"Er, did you bring your pokemon?" Skyla said as she hurriedly escaped. She had left hers at the playground at the pension house, assuming that she didn't need them on a day of lazy floating in the ocean.

Elesa nodded. She already had her game face on, the glint in her eye, as she said, "Go, Emolga!" and threw her Pokéball.

Her peppy Emolga, upon spotting the Frillish, immediately hopped up and down excitedly. Some pokemon enjoyed vacations and lazing about; others were itching for battles and action. Emolga was decidedly in the second category. Skyla almost felt bad for the poor Frillish, which swam away after just a few enthusiastic Thunder Shocks, though not without a few final irate lashings of their stingers.

They settled some thirty feet away and eventually seemed just as content to be there instead. For the first ten minutes in the water, Skyla eyed them warily, but gradually she relaxed.

There were just enough clouds in the sky to form a translucent cover over the fierce summer sun, and the water was cool but not cold. Skyla was lounging in her pool float, which was in the shape of a Lapras. She felt pleasantly sleepy.

Elesa, on the other hand, kept swimming and diving and was hardly still at all. Some water splashed onto Skyla's feet. "You're like a restless Ducklett," Skyla commented, cracking an eye open.

Elesa's short blonde hair was plastered to her head, dripping with water, and she was grinning. "This is my way of relaxing," she said. "When I was little, I used to swim all the time. I was even on the swim team for my school." She stretched her arms above her head and yawned. Skyla's eyes were drawn to the curve of her exposed waist. It would surprise absolutely no one that Elesa was stunning in a swimsuit. "Although I am starting to feel tired now. And a bit hungry."

"I heard there's a good ice cream stand nearby," Skyla said. "Want to go check it out?"

By silent agreement, they walked back to the main beach with their hands linked. Elesa, tall and lovely, obviously drew many eyes, whether people recognized her or not. Skyla ignored it, instead pointing to a stand with a cloth roof that was striped red and white. "I think it's that one."

The stand had several different flavors, and every single one sounded delicious to the two of them. "You get the mint and the strawberry," Elesa suggested, "and I'll get the mango and the vanilla. Then we can try four, at least."

The person running the ice cream stand, lanky and nearly as tall as Elesa, handed them their cups and spoons with a sunny smile. "Enjoy! And, er, I hope this isn't presumptuous of me to say, but please enjoy your stay at Undella Town." They waved their hand demonstratively. "We're so used to celebrities and public figures visiting that I'm pretty sure no one will bother you, but if there are issues, any of the vendors here would be happy to help."

"That's very kind of you," Skyla said warmly. "And sorry, I'm getting my wallet but it's taking me a while..." She had one hand rummaging around in her bag. Elesa seemed about to step in, but Skyla shot her a look, finally located her wallet, then hurriedly paid for both cups. Elesa rolled her eyes in what Skyla knew was fake exasperation.

They exchanged cheerful thank yous with the vendor and walked to some low sloping stone steps that led into the rest of the beach. There Skyla began to dig into the first of the two scoops, the strawberry.

"Hold it!" Elesa said. Skyla looked up to see her own face reflected on a small screen. "Say cheese!"

Once Elesa was satisfied with the pictures, Skyla asked (in between bites of the delicious, cold ice cream), "Are you going to share them publicly? We could even shout out the stand by name."

"Hm, should I?" Elesa looked around them.

Skyla glanced around too. A few people were giving them second looks, but most people—most people didn't care. They were busy sunbathing and swimming and building sandcastles and having fun, enjoying the soft sands and the push and pull of the clear, refreshing waves. Skyla and Elesa were just one of many vacationers, just one of many couples who had come to Undella Town to unwind and be in love.

"They'll know we're on vacation together," Skyla said. That would be it. That would be everything.

Elesa nodded, understanding. "Then I'll post it."

Skyla rested her head on Elesa's shoulder, let the sounds of the beach wash over her, and felt relieved that they could, for once, truly relax.

The rest of the week passed languidly. Elesa managed to attain the scone recipe from that café, Skyla perfected her tan, they tried the rest of the ice cream flavors, and they signed a smattering of autographs each day. In the evenings they returned to their shared room, spending the nights together as well.

Sunday morning, they were busy packing. Skyla was neat and methodical, and managed to finish far ahead of Elesa. She had turned on the TV in their room and was flipping through the channels.

Elesa kneeled on the floor, and as she folded up her swimsuit and placed it in her suitcase, she felt a wistful pang. The vacation was already over, and tomorrow she'd be back to facing challengers of the Nimbasa Gym. But she was looking forward to it. She already missed the thunderous thrill of facing a worthy opponent, the connection that coursed between her and her pokemon like an electric current.

Skyla was leaning in and watching the TV intently, her loose hair falling over her shoulder as an upbeat jingle played. Elesa felt a burst of fondness. This was what she'd miss.

"Woo hoo! All right! It's 'The National Gymquirer'!"

Elesa blinked and turned her attention to the television screen. The host, a beaming freckled woman, was saying, "That's right! I'm Paige, the host of the show that collects the hottest gossip about Gym Leaders seen around town!" Elesa immediately recognized her. She was the one who'd seen through Elesa's submitted letter!

Elesa wondered what topic they might report on today, then had a realization. "Do you think—" she began.

"Shhh!" Skyla hissed.

Paige continued, "We've been receiving a lot of letters lately, but the one I'm going to read today has only the hottest, latest news of all. Ready?" She opened up a little envelope, unfolded the letter, and cleared her throat.

"This one's from 'I Scream U Scream'. It says, 'The other day, Gym Leaders Skyla and Elesa stopped by my business while they were on vacation. They were even kind enough to post a picture of the food they ordered and mention the name of my business! Since then, I've had so many people come up to my stand and mention that Skyla and Elesa brought them there. The biggest question they have for me is if I think they're a couple. Well, I've never asked, but from what I've seen, let's just say I think they'll be happy for a very long time.' Ah." Paige put the letter down. "Young love!"

"She looks younger than us," Elesa said gruffly, though her heart was racing and she was feeling a little emotional.

Meanwhile, Skyla was sniffling and saying, "The ice cream stand person was so nice. All of Undella Town was so nice."

"In the interest of privacy, we won't read any other letters about them from this past week, but we here at the National Gymquirer wish Skyla and Elesa all the best. Two of Unova's brightest stars! We hope they had a wonderful vacation." Upbeat music began playing once more, and Paige began singing and pointing at the camera, "The National Gymquirer! We eagerly await your letters!"

A commercial for the Rondez-View Ferris Wheel came on, and Skyla turned to Elesa. "I guess everyone will know now," she said casually, though she still looked a little misty-eyed.

"Yes," Elesa said. Her heart felt very light. This would be a new phase in their relationship, one that might bring more stress and scrutiny—but also a strange, wonderful freedom. "But they won't know everything."