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Chapter Text

It had been nearly two weeks since her emergency deployment, and Pom still couldn't take her eyes off of the captain.
She wouldn't feel the same, She reminded herself. She's probably dating someone already.

But her heart was stronger than her mind, and the pining would only continue. Shepard was so perfect to her. Tall, strong, bright, beautiful... Even when things seemed hopeless she was always there to regroup the crew and get things done. Pom remembered when they first met in high school, how Cupid's arrow struck when she first saw her. They'd sit next to each other, chat and pass notes, share lunches and study sessions and weekends at each other's houses. Those were the happiest days of Pom's life.

And now, after training camp, after being hired by her- Pom still couldn't shake her feelings. Clearly this wasn't exactly ideal, considering Shepard was now her superior, but love doesn't hear logic.

And she sure as hell couldn't keep it to herself forever.

"Is something wrong, Pom?" The cadet looked up from her rations, daydream dissolving before her eyes. Collin was looking at her, brow creased with worry and a tablet in his hands. Pom flushed pink and cleared her throat. "N-no. Nothing." Collin made a face and turned to leave. Pom sighed into her oatmeal. This was getting out of hand. Her mind had been drifting away more often lately, leaving to mishaps even out on the field. Yesterday, twenty red pikmin had been victim to her distraction. She couldn't afford to keep going on like this. She had to go to Shepard and tell her the truth- no matter what!

The pink-haired cadet stormed down the hall, heart pounding in her throat. She was never good with confidence... But she couldn't let that stop her! This would be easy, just look Shepard in the face and say how you feel. It's too easy, even. It would be so simple, it wouldn't even matter-
Pom rounded the corner and slammed into someone.
"Woah! Sorry, Pom- are you ok?"

No way-
Shepard offered her a warm smile, and Pom could practically feel herself melt away under her gaze.
"U-u-uh- I-I- w-wanna-"
Pom took off down the hall and into her room, slamming the door behind her.
Good gods.
She wobbled over to the bed and flopped face down onto it, face burning red.
Well, I tried.

All that night, Pom couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes Shepard was there, her smile, her voice, her eyes like glimmering sapphires. Pom groaned and rammed her face into her pillow. This was getting ridiculous. She needed to get her mind off of things, stat.

So the very next morning, without much else in the way of tasks, Pom decided to pay a visit to their newest rescue Puddle. Apparently he was a stylist? What was a stylist doing here...? Whatever. Pom could probably use a new look anyway.

"What're you looking for today, anyhow?" Pom sighed as Puddle brushed out her hair. "I dunno... I, um, I've had this hair for as long as I can remember."
"Well, it sure is cute on you." Puddle gave a small chuckle, only to fall silent when he didn't get a response.

Out the window, Pom spotted Shepard deep into a training session with Oatchi. She wasn't exactly sure of what skill they were working on today, but Shepard had a lasso in her hands, twirling it steadily. Oatchi jumped forward and she got him around his snout, cinching the rope tight. He jumped back and Shepard dug her heels into the dirt, unmoving and firm. Her eyes were like those of a she-wolf.

"Ohh, I get it..." Puddle snickered. "You got yourself a little sweetheart?" Pom turned red.
"Well, doll- if you wanna get her attention the best advice I can give you is to be yourself. I could cut and dye and style your hair whatever way you think she'd like, but if she doesn't like you, it's outta both our hands."
Pom just let out a sigh.

"...Hey. Go talk to her tonight. You don't have to tell her how you feel if it's too much pressure. Just hang out with her." The cadet tried to smile at him "Thank you."
"Don't sweat it, doll. You got it."

Sundown came, bathing the world in warm orange, and Pom found Shepard in the head of the ship, tallying the week's progress. Oatchi, who had been sitting besides her, raised his head and wagged his tail in greeting to the cadet. Shepard noticed and glanced over at her. "Oh- hey, Pom. What do you need?"

She seems busy... No, Pom couldn't hide from this forever. She cleared her throat and tried her best to act... Not like an idiot.
"U-um, hi, captain." Great opener. "I... I dunno if this is a weird request or anything, but... I know you're not super busy at night, so... Do..." Shepard turned to face her, head cocked slightly "Do...?"

Pom flushed pink "D-do you wanna go on a night expedition with me?"

Shepard stared blankly at her, and the cadet scrambled to pick herself up.

"I-I-I know that might be a w-weird request, but- b-but I... Like, it gets lonely out there at night, and- Gods, n-no, I meant like-"

Pom put her head in her hands and sighed shakily.

"Forget it. I'm sorry, Captain." 

"Pom-" But she was already walking away. When she arrived back in her room she crawled into bed, pulling the covers over her. Tonight was startlingly silent, the hum of the ship's inner workings gently droning all around her like the breathing of a sleeping beast.

Humiliation finally crashed over her, and Pom could feel tears prickle at her eyes. 

I'm such an idiot.

Why can't I speak?

Why can't I do anything right...

The door drifted open with a creak, and Oatchi crept inside. He wagged his tail at the cadet, head cocked slightly.

"Oatchi...? Shouldn't you be with Shep- the captain?" But the dog walked up to her, resting his snout in her lap. His tail whipped back and forth.

Pom couldn't help but giggle. "Oh... You're a good boy." She pet his ears gently, and Oatchi climbed onto the bed (Without breaking anything, shockingly) and started to smother the cadet with kisses.

"ACK! Oatchi!" Pom squealed with laughter. "Ok, Ok! You can stay here tonight... Down, boy!"

The pup pulled away and flopped down next to her. Pom leaned on Oatchi like he was a pillow, nuzzling her face into the soft fur. "...Thanks, Oatchi."

He didn't respond, as most dogs couldn't. But that night as Pom stared out the window and drifted to sleep, She felt hope well up in her heart.

Maybe tomorrow she can try again.

Chapter Text

Pom had never felt at home on Karut.

When she tried to remember her time there, all she could think of was gray. Gray school rooms, gray people, the blue-gray walls of her parents' huge house.
Undoubtedly her parents had worked long and hard to provide for her, and they were always more than well off. But Pom, try as she might, couldn't remember their faces. They were always off at work, the only scraps of their existence being dinners left behind in Tupperware containers and voicemails of their grayed-out voices. "I'll be working late tonight," Is still burned into her memory.

Every day was the same for Pom. Waking promptly at seven o'clock, making and eating her breakfast and going to school. She got her perfect grades, cleaned her spotless room, and forgot all about being a child; and the gray was blinding.

When Pom was fourteen, her parents sent her away to live on Hocotate. She would never get the reason why, but the journey there was a beam of light in her memory.

She would board the intergalactic monorail, her bag heavy on her shoulder, and sat alone on a cheap seat. As they pulled away from Karut the infinite swirling galaxies came clearly into view, shattering the gray Pom had known for so long. She may have been alone, but among the starlight it felt like she would never feel alone again.

When she finally arrived on Hocotate, the train doors slid open to let in bright, golden summer sunlight framed by blue skies. She stepped outside to be met by an old lady in a mustard yellow cardigan and jeans. Even through her age, she beamed as bright as the sunlight around them. Her hair, streaked by gray, was a familiar rosy color.

"Ah, Pomethera! Last I saw you, you were just a baby. I bet you don't remember me, no?" When Pom shook her head, the lady gave a small, bubbly laugh. "Of course. Well, I'm Sherrie- your Grandma."

Pale sunlight streamed over the Rescue Corps' base as Pom stepped outside of the ship. She let out a small sigh, shoving her hand into her pack to double check everything. Ultra-Spicy spray, bomb rocks, Medkit, treats for Oatchi... She was good to go.

As she was turning to leave, though, she was stopped by Shepard calling out to her. 

"Hey, Pom!"

The cadet flushed pink. Oh, no... She turned back around and walked up to her captain.

"G-good morning, Captain." Shepard smiled at her. "'Morning." Oatchi stood besides her, his tail beginning to wag wildly at the sight of a friend.

"Where're you headed this morning?" Pom swallowed, clutching the straps of her pack. "U-um... the Blossoming Arcadia needs another comb-through... The sensors picked up on some treasure being there."

Shepard nodded at that. "Nice work." Pom could feel her face turn red.

"... Hey. You've been out there for a while. Do you wanna stay today and help me train Oatchi? He seems to like you a lot." 

Pom's heart leapt into her throat "I- Y-yes! Thank you, captain." 

Shepard just chuckled at that. "Alright. Let's get to the training area."

The training area, as it turned out, was a circle drawn in the dirt with chalk. Shepard whistled for Oatchi, watching him bound over before nodding towards Pom.

"Ok, I figured we could work on his strength today. Nothing too complicated."

Shepard nodded to a little cardboard box just outside of the circle. "Could you grab me my lasso, Pom?"

The cadet hustled over and peeked inside. The box was full of dog training supplies- treats, toys, things like that. She dug through them to find the lasso and took it to Shepard. "Perfect. Now..."

She took a few steps back, twirling the lasso in a slow arch. "Ready, Oatchi?" The dog's tail whipped excitedly. 

There was a beat of silence, and Shepard cast her lasso into the air. Oatchi caught it and drew back, tugging hard. The captain, naturally, ended up tumbling to the ground. 

"CAPTAIN! are you ok?!" Pom rushed to help her off of the ground. "H-heh, that was just a warmup." The cadet didn't miss the way Shepard's cheeks blazed with embarrassment. Pom couldn't help but giggle at that.

"Ah, yeah... he's ready to start. So!" Shepard stood up straight and whistled for Oatchi again. "For strength, we train him by having him carry increasingly heavy weights from point A to point B. Good thing you got us all of that raw material- it should work for our purposes."

Pom nodded quickly "I'll get us some!"

As the day went by the two women and their dog trained together under the sun. Around evening, Shepard passed the lasso to Pom. "Do you wanna try this time?" 

The cadet blushed and took the lasso gratefully. "Alright, you wanna use your shoulder to spin it." Shepard gently tapped said body part, and Pom felt a shiver rush through her. 

Oatchi dug his claws into the dirt, tail whipping and eyes focused. Pom swallowed hard.

"Alright... NOW!"

Pom threw the lasso, and Oatchi leapt up to catch it. As he landed he gave a sharp tug, his snout all wrinkled up with focus.

The cadet surged forward from Oatchi's strength. Anxiety gripped her, but welling up beneath it was a determination like the scorching sun. She dug her heels into the ground, clouds of dirt billowing up around her, and held firm the way she saw Shepard do. Out the corner of her eye, she saw her captain watch over them. She couldn't let up now! She could do this for Shepard, She-

Pom felt her feet slip.

She went flying, yanked along by Oatchi's pulling, and collapsed in a heap on the ground.

"POM! Are you okay?"

Both Shepard and her dog came rushing over to check on her. Pom's cheeks blazed red with humiliation. Shepard rested a hand on her shoulder. "Are you hurt...?"

Pom locked eyes with her captain, and her breath caught hard in her throat. Those perfect blue eyes, watching her with so much concern...

"U-um... N-no..."

"Good, good..." Shepard breathed a sigh of relief and offered her cadet an awkward smile. 
"Hey, you did better than the first time I tried to train him. I remember when I slipped, I somehow landed in my Auntie's pond."

Pom giggled a bit at that, reaching out to pet Oatchi as he sniffed at her concernedly.
"It's alright. He's still a very good boy."

Shepard chuckled. "Oh, only the goodest."
She paused to gaze out at the horizon, her smile fading a bit.

"It's getting late... Tell you what, you worked hard today. Go get some rest." Pom nodded. 
"Thank you, captain." Shepard glanced at her and gave her another of those perfect smiles.

"Don't sweat it, Pom."

Pom just glowed.

Chapter Text

"The goddess of hope?"

"Yes, yes. Our family has been worshiping her for years, now. When you were born, my one and only granddaughter, I figured it was only right to pass her name on to you." Sherrie gestured to the painting above the mantle. "Alright, I'll move your things to your room for you. Make yourself at home, alright? Kitchen is that way if you get hungry."

She disappeared down the hall, and Pom found herself staring at the painting. It had to be decades old, but it was gorgeous- a masterpiece made in vibrant oil paints. It depicted a young woman in a dense garden, draped in flowing white robes and wielding a steel pole-arm. She looked like she had walked through an active war zone, covered in soot and battle damage, but her eyes blazed with warm, righteous determination. Pomethera, Goddess of Hope...

"Yeah, it's one of my favorites too." Pom nearly jumped out of her skin and whirled around to face her now chuckling grandma. "I wasn't totally
satisfied when I first finished it, but I think it's grown on me. Besides, I think she wouldn't mind if it weren't perfect."

"W-wait, you painted this?!" Pom glanced to the painting, then back to her grandma, her eyes wide. Sherrie just nodded. "Yeah... It's a funny story. I started on it when I was in college. I hated the first couple of layers I put down, but I could never bring myself to throw it out. Maybe because it was of my goddess... or because of how much I spent on the paint. Either way, I worked on it on and off until it looked how it does today. I like to think that Pomethera was with me for every brushstroke."

 
Sherrie offered Pom a smile. "C'mon, your room is this way."

~~~

Well into the Sun-Speckled Terrace, Pom would meet someone she would grow to become quite familiar with.

A strange man covered in red leaves and his grizzled dog, both hovering over someone unconscious on the ground. Their spacesuit's light pulsed with noise, undoubtedly an SOS call. Pom glanced down at her tablet, then the party ahead of her, and gulped.

As she approached them the blue-green dog grabbed the castaway up in its mouth and dove into the cavern just behind them, right at the heels of its leafy red keeper.

"W-what was that?"

"A leafling- that's what Bernard and I started calling them, anyway." Dingo's unique drawl barked through Pom's communicator. "That same guy dragged him away when-" He cleared his throat. "Never mind. You need to follow him!"

Pom stepped carefully towards the dungeon's entrance, peering down into its gaping darkness. No matter how many times she did this, she'd never quite get used to that chill- the shock of all of that cold, empty air.

"Well? What're you waiting for, rookie? time's ticking away."

"Leave her be, Dingo," Shepard scolded. "She'll be fine. She's a tough one. Right, Pom?"

Flowers blossomed in the pit of her stomach. "R-right!"

With Oatchi close behind, the cadet took a deep breath and dropped down into the dark.

---

When Pom opened her eyes, she was shocked to find herself surrounded by soft light.

She was in some sort of pastel-colored room, organized in such a way that it reminded her of some kind of playing field... Was she about to play a game? Just across the room, she spotted that leafy guy dragging the castaway along, towards an onion not unlike the one at her base.

"He isn't going to..."

But he did.

The castaway's limp form was sucked up into the onion, like it was nothing more than a posy pellet or a bulborb's carcass. The onion hitched, stuttered, and finally spat out another leafling, a purple one this time. Pom saw the castaway's features ghosting through their new leaves and shuddered.

She summoned up what little courage she had left and called out to the leafling.

"S-sir? excuse me? We need that castaway back..."

Pom tried to get closer, but the leafy man held out a hand to stop her. Then, his voice low and dark, he spoke.

"Those who do not embrace the leaves cannot survive."

"W-what? Sir-"

"You do not understand, I see. The leaves have saved my life. In turn, I will use them to save others. That is my life's duty now. It is simply what is right."

The cadet felt anxiety slither down her spine. "N-no!? They can't stay here like this- they need to be rescued and taken home!"

Pom couldn't quite tell with their face so covered by leaves, but she was pretty sure the leafling's eyes narrowed.

"If you want them back, then you must prove to me that your dandori skills are superior to mine."

Pom felt a surge of frustration rise in her. "Dandori!?" She spat out. "Are you kidding me? That person could be dying right now, and you wanna play a game for their life? What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Collin tried to cut in "P-pom-" But he was silenced by the red leafing's low growl.

"Dandori is not a simple 'game', pink one. It is a collection of strategies, a sport to be practiced, an art form- and if you want to get your precious castaway back, then you must best me in it."

"Pom..." Shepard's voice, though compressed by the spacesuit's speaker, was gentle against her ear. "I don't think we have any other choice..."

"I..." Pom sighed heavily "Ok, Captain." She glanced towards the red leafling, puffing out her chest a little. "I accept your challenge."

The leafling gave a small nod. "Good. I take it you know the rules of the field?"

"I know them well enough. Start the timer."

It turned out that dandori against an actual opponent was quite different than what Pom had practiced before.

For one, she had to constantly keep an eye on her and her opponents' score. If they got ahead, she would have to work harder, more strategically. It was only natural if she wanted to win.

On top of that there came the problem of finite treasures. While there was always something for her pikmin to snag, Pom found herself constantly tussling with her opponents' pikmin or their dog over bonus finds or fallen creatures. A couple of them even latched onto her to attack. As it turns out, a pikmin's claws weren't exactly comfortable on the skin.

"Are you okay, Pom?!" Collin's voice blared in her ear as Pom hissed from the pain of her new wounds. "Use your medical kit when you need it."

"Come ON rookie!" Dingo's voice was clipping the mic. "You're like twenty points behind-"

"Can you shut up?!" Pom snapped at him. She took a deep, shaky breath and tried to refocus. C'mon... C'mon...THERE!

Just ahead, just in reach- a sunseed berry marked as a bonus find. Just what she needed!

Pom leapt onto Oatchi's back and charged him over there- just as a squad of the leafling's Pikmin began to descend on her prize.

Oatchi was just barely fast enough to snag the berry in his jaw and sharply turn, skidding on the foam floor, to gallop back to base and dunk it under the onion.

Just then, a faraway whistle was blown.

Time's up!

Pom had just barely taken the lead at the very end, eliciting a round of cheering from her crew(and a grunt of acknowledgement from Dingo).

The red leafling, even after losing in such a way, didn't seem very upset. They glanced towards the leafified castaway, then towards their pink-haired opponent before giving a small nod.

"You've done well, pink one. You may take your castaway."

As Pom and Oatchi approached to take the castaway, Pom found the leafling was staring at her. It was kind of creepy...

"Uh... You okay?"

The leafling flinched a little, like he was broken out of a trance. "H-huh? Oh. Oh, yeah." He turned to climb onto his dog's back. As they were riding away, he paused and glanced back at Pom.

"You look like someone I used to know... I can't remember now."

Pom just stared as the wild man rode away and vanished.

"Good gods... I sure hope that Yonny can get us the cure soon."

Shepard looked over the purple leafling, her brow creased. "They're still not awake yet, either. For now, it's best we keep an eye on them. Make sure they don't wander off or anything. Collin, make sure to make a report of this, okay?"

The captain watched him leave, then turned to Pom "Good work today, cake pop."

Pom flushed pink, and Shepard stammered a bit "I-I- S-sorry... I just figured, c-cause you kinda look like a cake pop... You know? Your hair's the right color too. Sorry..."

"I-it's okay, Captain! It's fine... I... I should probably get to bed now, though. It's getting late." Pom gestured to the darkening sky above her.

As she was turning to leave, though, a warm hand closed over her shoulder. "Hey, um..." Shepard chuckled awkwardly "I know I'm not awesome at saying stuff like this, but... Thank you. For everything you do."

Pom could feel her heart in her throat, but she managed to choke out, "I-it's no problem, captain- I-I'm just... Y-you know?"

"Y-yeah, I know, I know... Just... I mean it, okay? Thank you." She let go, and for a heart-wrenching moment Pom ached for her touch back. "Get some rest. You've earned it."

Pom thanked her again, and turned to get inside the ship. Her knees felt like jelly as she sauntered down the hall towards her quarters. Her heart was still fluttering like a phoenix in a tin cage, but a single thought was stuck tight in her mind as she slid into bed.

She called me cake pop.

Chapter Text

"So, how have you been settling in?"
Pom stared down at her now-soggy cereal and pushed it around with her spoon. "Okay, I guess."

Sherrie sat across from her at the table, reading the day's newspaper absently. "Made any friends? Rivals?" Her eyes flicked playfully to her granddaughter.
"... Sweethearts?"

Pom put her hands over her reddening face.

"Ha! I thought so. So, who is it?" Pom peeked from between her fingers at Sherrie. She seemed genuinely curious... Not mocking or disapproving at all.

She sighed and let her hands rest on the table. Pom's cereal had long subsumed into its milk.

"Well... There's this one girl..." Sherrie leaned forward with inquisitive eyes, like she was being told an exciting story. Pom felt a smile creep across her face. " She... Her name is Shepard- Erma Shepard." Sherrie adjusted her glasses. "Oh... Like those rescue workers?"

"Um, yeah! She... S-she kinda lives up to the expectations. She's really tall, really smart... Really pretty..." Sherrie chuckled fondly at her granddaughter's blushing. "Well, that's lovely to hear. Have you tried talking to her?" Pom pursed her lips. "Outside of an initial greeting and school related stuff... Not really, no."

"Ah." Sherrie finally leaned back, taking a sip of her coffee. "I see. I bet you don't even really like her."

Pom shot out of her seat, cheeks ablaze with embarrassment and indignation. "You don't know what you're talking about! She's absolutely perfect- Her smile is like buttercream icing and her laugh is like summer rain! When she speaks it's like the whole universe is orbiting around her- and her hands are kind of rough but in the way that concrete warmed by the sun is-"

Sherrie chuckled as Pom trailed off into silence. "Well, I see you're quite the poet."

Pom sighed and sat back down. "...Sorry."

"No dear, don't be." the older woman paused for a second, thinking. "You say you don't talk much to this Erma?"

When Pom shook her head, Sherrie hummed in acknowledgement. "And yet you're filled with all these feelings... Hey- What if you wrote her a love letter? I dunno if kids your age do that anymore, but back in my day giving one of those was the best way to get to your crush."

"You got love letters?" Pom asked, then recoiling at how rude she sounded.

But Sherrie just laughed. "Honey, I got those practically every other day! I was a real heartbreaker back then. With my genes, I doubt you won't be too."

Pom couldn't help but giggle as well. "Thanks, Grandma."

---

Pom put her pen down and grumbled to herself. Grandma always made everything seem so much simpler than it actually was... As it turns out, just writing a love letter wasn't as easy as it sounded on paper(pun intended).

Jockeying for that sweet spot of heartwarming, sticky sweetly poetic but not outright cheesy was frankly exhausting. Whatever. She'd been at this for a while, and could probably use a break.

Pom slid out her chair, eyes skimming over the freshly inked words. She was kinda hungry. Maybe she should get a snack.

As she headed down the hall towards the kitchen, she bumped into Collin carrying a basket of laundry.

"Oh, hey Pom! These're clean, I'll move them to your room for you."

"Thanks." Pom gave a small smile and continued on her path-

Wait.

"H-HEY, WAIT! DON'T GO IN THERE-"

Pom dashed down the hall, tripping a little, and rushed into her room. But it was too late.

Collin had the letter in his hands, reading over it with wide eyes. "Did... You write this?" Pom knew she was as red as an ultra-spicy berry, but she nodded anyway.

"This is so sweet! Aww, 'Eyes like portals to heaven'... That's beautiful."

He set the letter down and smiled. "I doubt anyone could say no to a love like that." Pom felt a smile creep across her face. "T-thanks, Collin." Her face was still burning, but it felt kind of nice. A warmth was starting in her stomach, too.

"So, who's it to?" The warmth was doused with ice water.

Uh-

Pom stammered around the answer, but Collin's gaze was boring into her at that point. She was always a terrible liar...

"Um... Shepard...?"

Collin dropped his basket.

"T-the captain?!" 

Pom fidgeted with her hands and nodded. "P-pom... You... No! You can't date her!"

"Is it 'cause we're both g-" 

"NO! no, that's not what I meant." He reached out to pat her shoulder tentatively. "Love who you love- But- She's our captain, Pom. She means well and cares about everyone on the ship, but... Like, you're just the cadet. Dating with such a disparity in rank is... inappropriate."

Pom opened her mouth to protest, but shut it as the words sunk in. She'd never considered that before. In her mind, Shepard was still just a friend to her, the girl who sat by her in class and shared her orange slices with her. Then and even now, bumping into her was the highlight of Pom's day. But...

Shepard wasn't just a living beam of sunlight. She was a real person, with flaws and fears and ugly parts, just as a person was supposed to be. She was tangible, and if Pom ran into her right now she would crash and earn a bruise instead of phasing through like a warm daydream. Their minds and feelings were entirely separate.

That thought was terrifying. But...

"I... can't control how I feel."

"I know, Pom- that's completely normal. But you've gotta understand the ramifications of things like this. You can keep your letter, just.. don't go to her. Okay?"

Pom nodded, but her eyes were somewhere else.

---

Later that night, after Pom had returned from her daily expedition, the cadet headed for the kitchen of the S.S. Shepard. The crew was already crowded around the table like a large family at dinnertime.

"And we'll need to focus on expanding our numbers- Oh, Pom!" Shepard turned to her cadet as she walked into the room. "Good to see ya. How was your day?"

Pom crept up to the table and sank down into her seat, cheeks rosy.

"Good..." Collin watched her carefully.

"Good! Oh-? Agh, I gotta go. I forgot something in the ship's hull." Shepard excused herself and jogged out of the room.

Pom realized that all eyes were suddenly on her. Collin cleared his throat rather loudly. 

"So, Pom... Did... you wanna tell us about you and Shepard?" The rest of the table (aside from Dingo) burst out laughing, making both Pom and Collin jump.

"Everyone knows, new blood. We see how you get all quiet when she walks into the room." Yonny smirked and cast a sideways glance at Dingo. "This one, especially." The ranger scoffed at that. "Whatever..."

"Aw, let it go, DINGO!" Bernard laughed as he reached for the bread basket. "Your FAKE crush on the Captain was only cute for like... TWO days. Honestly, I wish you'd give that kinda attention to ME instead."

Dingo somehow turned redder than his hair and jumped out of his seat. "IT'S NOT 'FAKE'! SHUT UP!"

Russ leaned over to Pom and whispered, "He's in denial." Dingo must have heard that, because he started on a very angry ramble about... something.  

"Either way, I think it's very cute, Pom." Russ smiled at her.

"N-no, you guys! Ugh..." Collin had already lost them. "Whatever..."

Pom couldn't help but giggle. "Y-yeah, I... I went to high school with her. Back when we lived on Hocotate." 

"Aww, High school sweethearts! Will you have a summer wedding? June on Hocotate is lovely, I've heard." Pom balked at this, cheeks turning red. "W-we were just friends!"

Russ snorted at this, giving her a pat on the head. "Yeah, yeah... Be sure to send Yonny and I an invite."

"You guys are not taking this seriously enough." Collin stated plainly, a sour edge to his voice. "How COULD we? this is like something out of a FAIRY TALE! The lovely maiden smitten with the captain of the king's knights-"

"Aren't you a little old for stories like that, Bernard?" Dingo cut in. Bernard just chuckled.

"Aren't you a little too old to be PRETENDING you don't have a CRUSH?" Dingo burned red and huffed. "S-shut up.."

"I will if you give me a kiss~..." 

Dingo ran out of the room like his hair was on fire. "Oh, he RAN! seems like a HABIT of his or something." 

The group collapsed into peals of warm laughter. 

This was so weird... Laughing until your body hurts surrounded by people who care about you... Pom had never experienced anything like this before.

It was kind of nice.

---

As Pom was headed to her quarters, she was stopped by a hand ruffling her hair.

"Wha-? HEY!" Pom pulled away, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. "What was that for?!"

Dingo pushed past her, snorting. "Nothing. You have a very pattable head. Plus, you're short." The cadet glared after her crewmate. That was uncalled for.

"Are you seriously jealous of me?" Dingo barked out a dry laugh. "What is there to be jealous of? I'm the star of this crew. She'd pick me every time." Pom balked, jogging over to catch up with him.

"What's your problem?! Do you need to be such a prick all of the time?" Dingo shrugged the question off. "Oh, it just comes naturally." 

"UGH!" Pom growled. "Why don't you just go back to your boyfriend? He's the one who actually wants you."

Dingo jumped like he was pricked by a needle and whirled around to face her. "He's not my boyfriend-" 

"Cut the crap, man! You like him! He likes you too. Why don't you just accept it?"

To Pom's utter shock, the ranger deflated slightly. His eyes were faraway, trained on his feet.

"I...I can't." 

Pom stared at him, her irritation melting away. "W...Why not?" She asked softly.

Dingo suddenly flared up with anger. "I JUST CAN'T! Good gods, rookie-" He shoved past her and stormed into his room, slamming the door shut behind him.

As the silence fell over her, Pom felt suddenly guilty. I didn't do anything, though... Whatever. It doesn't matter. She had to get to bed.

But as she settled in for the night, she couldn't stop thinking about Dingo.

About Collin.

About Shepard. Especially Shepard.

Pom used to think she was so perfect... But that was when she was a kid. Back when she could afford to daydream and be foolish. 

Now though, she had a job to do. She had a superior with such a pretty face... She couldn't tell if they were still friends or not. She wanted more than that. She wanted love, but... Could she handle the reality of it? The bitter seeds of a sweet apple?

Would Shepard even feel the same?

"...I can't."

Chapter Text

"Pomethera? someone's calling for you on the landline."

Pom looked up from her task, squinting under the warm summer sun. "The landline...? Who?"

Sherrie pursed her lips. "Just... come inside."

Pom went to shut off the hose and grabbed a nearby towel to dry her hands. She'd have to finish up on washing her new car later. As she was stepping inside she paused to stare at it, a smile ghosting on her lips. She'd worked so hard at her part time job to buy this, and even if she needed a bit of help from Grandma, she was still proud of herself.

She stepped inside, shivering a bit from the AC, and jogged over to where her grandma was waiting with the receiver in her hand. Her face was strangely grim.

Nonetheless, Pom took the phone and held it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, Pomethera. This is your father."

Pom felt her heart rise in her chest. "D-dad?"

"Yes. Have you been tending to your duties?" Pom went to reply, "Oh, yeah! I actually got a job a while back-" but was cut off.

"Good." A pause. "I've noticed your grades have been slipping. Do not disappoint me."

Click.

Pom put the receiver back in its holder and stood, staring at that old rotary phone. "Can you believe that man?! Yeesh... I know I shouldn't be a cranky in-law or anything, but he's always been so... stiff." Sherrie paused for a second. "It's a shame that it rubbed off on your mother."

Silence fell over them. "...Pomethera?" At the sound of her name she blinked and looked up at her grandmother. "Are you alright?"

Pom cracked a wobbly smile. "I-I'm okay, Grandma. It's... It's just..." She sighed. "...That was the first time in eight months that he's called me."

Sherrie stared at her granddaughter, eyes wide. "Dear..."

Pom turned to go to her room. She shut the door behind her and stared at her desk stacked with worksheets, report cards, notes from class, work schedules... She tried to remember the last time either of her parents addressed her with any sort of warmth. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"...Why am I never good enough for them?"

Pom felt like such an idiot.

When she entered this dungeon- The Engulfed Castle- in the tender hours of the evening, she had expected this trek to be a quick in-and-out. Her sensors recommended she take a whole squad of blue pikmin, as the environment below would be quite wet and murky. She accepted without thinking and descended into the depths.

She learned quickly of her mistake when she found out of the many fire hazards down here. Flame geysers, fiery blowhogs, a new kind of flaming bulborb that swept a chunk of her squad into its gaping, vile mouth.

She could still hear the crunch of their spines.

"What the hell is wrong with you, rookie?!" Dingo's voice barked through her communicator. "Are you insane? You're in completely over your head. You've gotta get out of there now, or-"

"Dingo, enough!" Shepard sighed shakily. "To an extent, though... He is right. You and Oatchi should get out of there."

Pom felt her heart drop. "B-but I can't just give up now! What if there's a castaway down here!? We can't leave them behind!"

“If you keep going, you'll end up like them. You need to regroup and leave, or-"

Deep within the stoney walls, a thud shook the floor.

"W-what was that?"

Pom couldn't even process what happened next. Something emerged from the darkness, rolling along on two stone wheels. It would have been ridiculous to look at if not for what was rolling on top of them.

The creature was disgustingly humanoid, a roundish, soft blob with spindly tendrils locked into the stone. Its "head" was the end of a thick, stumpy appendage that crudely attempted at a neck. Looking back, the way it shone under the low light was not unlike hard candy- but in that moment, surrounded by so much death, all that the thick, watery surface reminded Pom of was blood.

She stood there, staring ahead, frozen to the spot like she was caught in the undertow, as the thing rolled towards her. 

"Pom? POM?! Pom, RUN!"

The cries of pikmin filled her ears as she snapped back into reality. The watery monster had rolled over a few of them, crushing them into the muddied dirt. 

Pom sprang onto Oatchi's back and blew her whistle sharply so that what remained of her squad would follow. She spurred him down the hall opposite of the thing, adrenaline lighting her veins on fire. 

Everywhere, all around her, were things that wanted her dead. Flames leaping up under them as she passed through. Blowhogs sending arcs of flame just over their heads. Petals falling to the ground.

Pikmin crying out in pain.

The darkness of the Engulfed Castle surrounded her as she ran, heart pounding in her ears like a warning. Oatchi and her thinned-out squad were hot on her heels as she ran- But a sight out of the corner of her eye made her pause.

A treasure laid in the low light. Pom could see how it shimmered a little.

Sparklium. 

Pom glanced towards the S.S. Beagle, an idea blooming in her. She couldn't come back empty handed...

"...Pom? What're you...?" 

The cadet turned and blew her whistle, pointing her squad towards the treasure she found. They gathered dutifully and grabbed hold.

"ROOKIE! LEAVE IT- YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PIKMIN!"

The ground trembled with the approaching sound of rolling stone.

Pom bit her lip and blew her whistle again, this time towards Oatchi. The dog rushed over to help, and at last the treasure was moving. The monster was getting closer.

Fear gripped the cadet as she blew her whistle sharply. "Come on- faster!"

"Pom, you need to RUN!" Shepard had never sounded so afraid.

Pom grit her teeth and ran over to try and help her squad- only to nearly fall under the weight of the thing. Sheesh, were pikmin really that strong?!

The ground was practically shaking now, a thunderstorm underfoot. Just around the corner, from the inky darkness, Pom could see the monster approach. It had no face of any kind, But Pom could feel its cold gaze locked onto her.

At this point the pikmin completely gave up on the treasure and started running around in a panic, squealing in fear and trying to hide under Oatchi. In the confusion, Pom ended up dropping her communicator.

Pom whistled for them and ran for the pod- when Oatchi let out a scream of pain.

"OATCHI!" The monster had rolled through her scrambled squad. Oatchi was just barely able to dodge, but his paw had been caught under the beast's wheel.

Pom could barely see through the darkness, but she knew there would be blood,

Nausea rose in her throat; guilt, shame, paralyzing fear- Why did she do this to her squad?

As the watery beast made its way towards her, Pom snapped back into reality and ran to her rescue pup. He was whimpering, laying on his side with his paws splayed out. Guilt spread through her like a curse, making her throat feel tight.

She gazed up, watching the soft blue souls of the pikmin ascend and turn into nothing, and felt cold tears roll down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry."

The Monster at last paused its rolling, silencing the endless rumbling that plagued the dungeon, and turned around to face the cadet.

Pom gripped Oatchi's fur, a shiver running through her. Looking at that vile thing made ice slide down her spine.

"W-what do you want...?" She breathed.

But the beast did not answer.

Out of nowhere it roared, lifting its front wheel high above its head. It was like the world was put into slow motion.

When it slammed on the ground, the whole room shook dangerously, and rocks began to fall from the ceiling. Pom grabbed onto Oatchi tightly. 

Suddenly, a crack resounded right by her head, and pain began to bloom there like a red begonia. Pom could feel her focus slipping, ringing in her ears, eyes blurring like they were open underwater...

A stench invaded her senses, whistling in through a crack in her helmet. Oxygen. If she was here for longer than a minute, she would no doubt go into shock.

Is this it?

She fell to her side, head spinning, and gazed out into the dark of this hellish place. 

A flicker of soft light, a flash of red leaves...

Pom passed out.

---

When she finally woke, the first thing Pom felt was pain. Nausea gripped her mind, and yet her stomach burned with hunger. She was burning up, covered in sweat, and was still shivering hard. 

She tried to sit upright, only to crash back down when a wave of sickness hit her hard. 

"W-wh...What?"

Pom realized she was tucked into bed in a pure white room, wearing a medical gown of some kind.

The medbay. She was alive.

Her ears twitched and she turned towards a sound right next to her- a pencil scratching on paper. It was Yonny sitting in the bedside chair, taking notes on Gods know what.

His ears twitched as Pom came to. "Oh... You're awake." She tried to smile at her, but it was clear that it was strained.

"W...What happened?" 

Yonny fell silent and put her notebook away. "...We... Don't actually know. When you dropped your communicator, we couldn't reach you. We thought you might have..." He cleared his throat. "Thank the gods Russ added that 'Emergency back to base' feature on the Beagle, though. That must have gotten you home."

She paused to watch Pom's vitals on a nearby screen. "You had cracked your helmet somehow, and breathed in this planet's atmosphere. We found that you had contracted oxygen poisoning... and hurt your head really bad."

Pom's fingers instinctively grazed her bandaged head, something she immediately regretted as pain exploded under her touch. 

"Yeah. Don't touch those." He turned away to press some buttons on a nearby screen. "You'll need to stay here for a while to recover."

Pom nodded sagely before a thought hit her. "W-wait, where's Oatchi? is he okay?!" She tried to get up. "He has to be o-"

The cadet fell into a coughing fit, shivering like a lone leaf in a winter's wind. Yonny helped her back into bed. "He's fine, dear. He's right by your bed, actually." She glanced over to Oatchi, who was resting on his side in his own bed. Pom didn't miss how his paw was in a splint.

The awful guilt returned, and Pom could feel tears well up in her eyes. "I-I hurt him..."

Yonny's eyes widened. "Pom, no... No, it's not your fault." But the cadet just hung her head. Yonny sighed gently.

"Get some rest, new blood. I'll be back in a while to get you dinner."

Pom watched the doctor leave and close the door behind her. The lights dimmed automatically as he left, which blessedly released some of the pressure in Pom's head. She laid back on her pillow, curled in a ball, and tried to relax. She was gonna be here for a while.

Chapter Text

The cadet would wake to the sound of the door opening. Blinking sleep out of her eyes, she did her best to sit up while ignoring the nausea rolling around in her stomach. "H-hi, Yonny-" She looked towards her visitor, only for her heart to drop to her stomach.

"C-captain?" 

Shepard stared back at her, frozen. Neither of them knew what to say. The day's events hung in the air like a heavy black curtain. At last the captain looked away and went over to Oatchi.

"Hey, sweetie."

Guilt dropped to the pit of her stomach, heavy and viscous as tar. Pom new how important Oatchi was to Shepard. His breed had been raised by her family for generations, and each puppy born was as precious as a child in her eyes. She'd worked so hard to train him, and he'd given everything in return... And Pom just threw it all away.

The poor animal had to be in so much pain, but he wagged his tail all the same when Shepard approached him. Pom skimmed her gaze over his cast, flinching over the ugly bruises.

Everything hit her at once like a bucket full of ice water, and Pom just burst into tears.

"I'm sorry, Captain..." She sobbed. "This is all my fault. Gods, I'm such an idiot! I should've left when you told me to- Oatchi's hurt because of me. He could have died and I did nothing-"

Shepard ran to her and placed both hands on Pom's shoulders, silencing her instantly. Her heart fluttered at the touch, but she shut it down. I don't deserve that.

"Pom..." Shepard sighed heavily. "It's not your fault." 

The words dropped like gray dust. Pom watched her captain shuffle back towards Oatchi, slumping against the wall next to him. The pup wagged his tail harder, resting his head in her lap. Shepard pet his snout absently.

"...I'm such an awful captain."

Pom stared in shock. "C-captain, that's not true..." 

Shepard stared ahead at the wall. "I hate these walls. When... when I was back on Giya, I could see the stars whenever I wanted to. Here, though..." She sighed. "I hate this ship."

Pom stared down at her lap. What could she say to that...?

The captain spoke again, making Pom jump. "I never wanted to be here. I never wanted any of this. I've always hated being out in space. He knew that. He always knew, and he didn't even care." The words curled around the edges, like they were soaked in acid. Shepard turned away, sighing shakily.

"I fucking hate my dad."

The cadet stared. "Your dad...? Captain Shepard?"

"He ruined EVERYTHING!" Shepard paced the floor, suddenly furious. "He'd never come home when my mom needed him- he refused payment every time he went on one of those damn missions! 'It's the right thing to do, Erma'- WHAT ABOUT US?! I couldn't have my own bedroom until I was FIFTEEN!"

She turned and punched the wall hard, only to let out a yip of pain. Pom reached out to her. "Captain, are you-" 

"Yeah! yeah, I'm- Ow."

Shepard collapsed next to Oatchi with a sigh. 

"I just- I hate him. And he always wants to call me like nothing ever happened. 'How have things been? Do you have a boyfriend yet? When are you gonna give us grandbabies?' I don't even want kids!" Shepard let out a growl of frustration. "Whatever. It's not like they were gonna listen to me if I told them that anyway. They didn't even listen when I tried to tell them I like gi-..."

Shepard's breath hitched in her throat. Oatchi whined and tried to give her a lick on the cheek, but she pushed him away and put her head in her hands. 

"Oh my gods. I'm sorry, Pom... I shouldn't do this shit. I just... I never wanted to be a captain. And I know it's the family tradition, I know that... But I can't handle this." She wiped at her eyes.

"I hate this place."

Pom looked on, her eyes wide. She'd never seen Shepard so... Distraught. Afraid.

Real.

With her blanket around her shoulders Pom rose from bed, ignoring the wave of nausea that hit her, and went to sit by Shepard. The captain looked horrified. "P-pom, wait! you have to rest-"

The words died away as Pom hugged her. "O-oh..."

Shepard wasn't sure of what to do. When was the last time she'd been hugged...? Hesitantly she squeezed back, giving Pom a pat on the back.

"My parents were like that too." Pom mumbled into her shoulder. She could feel Shepard's heart beating against her own. "It sucks. They were only ever around when they decided something was wrong with me."

A beat of silence. "But I don't need them anymore. You don't, either."

"...Thanks, Pom."

The cadet drew back and smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's no problem, captain."

Shepard couldn't help but smile back. Something about that girl always made her smile.

Pom resettled next to her captain on the floor, crisscross applesauce. "Thank you for checking in on us." Oatchi wagged his tail seemingly in agreement.

"Aw, Pom- That's just my duty. You know, with being the captain and all... I have to make sure everyone's safe."

Pom chuckled and leaned her head on Shepard's shoulder. "Well, even if this wasn't what you wanted... I still think you're an amazing captain. Even when you're not perfect. You have a beautiful heart..."

Shepard held as still as stone, feeling her face turn red. She's so small and cute...

"U-um, Thanks." She glanced at Pom to flash her a smile, only to see her gaze somewhere else. She was staring absently at Oatchi's paw.

"I'm sorry again about today."

Shepard felt her heart twist. "It's completely fine, Pom! You did your very best in your situation. Besides, you and Oatchi'll be ok in no time."

Pom sighed, and Shepard could tell she still felt guilty. It hung over them like a gray cloud, and suddenly they were both just kids again, waiting for the bus in the rain.

Pom had failed that day's spelling bee. She'd been practicing all week, but flunked out right before the final round. She wouldn't say a word to anyone for the rest of the day, dread painted on her face.

"My parents will be upset."

Shepard watched her friend sit rigidly on the bench besides her, eyes trained on the ground. "I tried so hard, and yet..."

The sky about them was gray. If the bus didn't get here soon, they'd have to walk in the rain.

Shepard bit her lip. She was never good with people. When she was dealing with a sad dog, all she had to do was pat their head and toss them a treat. But lifting the mood with her words? That was hard.

She looked towards her somber friend, useless words congealing on her tongue, and cracked a dumb smile.

"Well, do you know what I do when I'm stressed out?" Pom looked up at her, eyes quizzical. Shepard pulled out her lunchbox, popping it open to reveal leftover cookies from lunch.

"I get a snack!"

The memory melted away like sugar on the tongue, and Shepard smiled comfortably.

"Hey, do you remember when we'd bake cookies with my auntie?" Pom lifted her head a bit. "That was forever ago... I can still taste the ones we burnt."

Shepard laughed. "Yeah. Thank gods Auntie was there with backup batter."

"I miss those days." Pom stared into space, smiling to herself. "I remember you guys had that big old rescue pup- Nebula, right?"

"Oh, yeah! I actually named her- all of her little puppies were like our stars." Shepard lamented with a chuckle. "My mom taught me how to train them. I spend so much time teaching them everything... It never got any easier giving them away." She paused and glanced at Pom. "Do you still have those drawings of them?"

Pom bit her lip. She was always praised by many for her drawing skills- but in her eyes they were never good enough. A lot of her early pieces from high school had been lost to time or wastebaskets.

"...I might."

Shepard sighed. "I really hope you didn't throw them out... They were so cute. Everything you make is beautiful." Pom flushed red, and Shepard snorted at that. "Oh gods, your face... You look like a sunseed berry or something."

The cadet pouted at her, which only made Shepard laugh more. "Y'know, for just a rookie... You're pretty cute."

"You're cuter." Shepard's breath caught in her throat. "W- huh?"

Pom giggled, her eyes half shut. "You're so pretty... Gods... I wish I could stay like this forever." She flopped against Shepard heavily.

It was just then that Shepard noticed how tired she looked. Dark circles were encasing her soft eyes.

Oxygen poisoning. That's probably why she was acting... Weird. Probably.

Shepard sighed and reached to help her up. "Alright, let's... Let's get you to bed." She paused at how Pom slumped against her. "Oh..." She thought for a moment, then scooped the cadet up into her arms princess style.

She found herself hesitating to tuck her in. Something in her heart was singing out to hold her closer...

All the same she laid Pom down and drew the covers over her. "Get some rest, rookie."

"Okay, captain..." Pom slurred, her voice soft. "I... Love you..." Shepard turned to leave. She couldn't have meant that. She is suffering from oxygen poisoning, after all.

But as she was walking out the door, she paused and whispered,

"...I think I love you too."

Chapter Text

Pom woke in the dead of night surrounded by blinding silver moonlight. She tried to close her eyes again and turn away, but it was no use. Her mind and body were long awake, and she likely wasn't going to be sleeping for the rest of the night.

So she slid out of bed and wandered out into the hall.The hatch that led up to the roof was strangely open, and through the blackness of the night sky she could see a warm light.

Pom climbed up the ladder and poked her head out of the hatch. Grandma was there, sat on a blanket spread out over the roof's tiles. She had lit an arrangement of candles, each one bringing light like a shard of sun in the dark. Pom could smell the gentle, spicy-sweet smell of pumpkin pie from their melting wax. Grandma always loved pumpkin.

Sherrie was standing alone against the night, watching the sky with an ancient looking telescope. She paused to glance at her granddaughter.

"Couldn't sleep?" Pom shook her head. "Me neither." Sherrie chuckled, then gestured to her telescope. "You wanna try it?"

Pom stared for a second before taking it in her hands. It felt heavy, but somehow still delicate. Its tarnished brass felt old and grizzled against her skin. "Your grandpa made it years and years ago, before he passed away." Grandma rested a hand on Pom's shoulder and pointed up towards a collection of stars. "You see that line up there?"

Pom aimed her telescope up, gazing through it. "That's Koroiko's dragon." Pom gave her a weird look. "Koroiko! God of rage and joy?"

She then pointed to another constellation, tracing over its shape in the sky. "And that's Koroiko. His arm is up over his head, holding his battle axe- See?" Pom saw his form come to life, sketched out by the lines between the stars. Wonder rushed through her, and a smile spread across her face.

"And... That's Apathena, right?" The girl traced out the shape with her finger, and there she was- Goddess of love and friendship. Her grandmother laughed heartily. "Yep, that's her!" Pom felt that surge of joy again, and she scanned the sky for more.

"Zieneth, God of smog and storm!" She pointed up at the constellation with the enthusiasm of a child. "He's on his chariot- Lightning Drawn by Hounds of Gray Night. Those three stars connected to his front are the hounds." Sherrie chuckled at that. "Well, you certainly know your constellations, eh?" 

Pom flushed a bit at that, wilting. "Um... W-we learned about them in class." 

"That's great to hear- I love hearing you talk about things that excite you. School doesn't do that much, unfortunately." Pom blinked like a fly flew into her face. She'd never heard an adult speak like that. When her parents talked about school or her grades, they spoke as though failing would doom her to a life of agony. Each little mistake was stomped out by their endless lectures, and any hour not taken up by things they deemed "essential", they would encourage her to study more.

Always over the phone.

"...Grandma?"

Sherrie's ears leaned forward. "Yes, Pomethera?" Pom bit her lip. "Why... Why did my parents send me away to live with you?" Sherrie fell silent.

"Dear..." Grandma sighed. "That pair... You needn't me tell you this, considering you lived with them for so long, but- Folks from Karut are all about working. You know? Day in, day out. If you aren't making money, you're nobody. They're those kinda people. And sure, they've stimulated the economy, but... There's a reason no one vacations there."

Pom's fingers tightened around her telescope. "I was a liability." Grandma put a hand on her shoulder, eyes firm. "To them, yes. But money is worthless in the grand value of simply living life. And that's something they'll never understand." Pom looked up at her, brow creased. "What do you mean?"

"Well... Look up."

High above the world, the stars shone like a painting in motion, light dancing in an infinite void of ink.

"See? A view like this... A world, a feeling... You can't buy that, no?"

Sherrie chuckled and settled onto the blanket, patting the spot next to her. As her granddaughter joined her, she held out a cookie tin. Pom took one without thinking and bit into it. " Hey... Aren't these Shepard's Auntie's cookies?" Pom asked around a mouthful of cinnamon and citrus. 

"They are!" Sherrie took a bite from her own cookie. "Good thing you and Erma are friends. I always have an excuse to drop over. Man, can that woman bake. She's pretty easy on the eyes, too, if ya know what I mean." 

Pom cackled as her grandma nudged her in the ribs. "Grandma!"

"What, you want me to lie? Either way, she still made the cookies. That's still wife material right there!" Pom shoved her in the shoulder. "Gods..."

She smiled up at the stars, the light pouring over her like delicate moth silk.

Just this moment was better than anything on Karut.

It had been days more since Pom had been admitted into the medbay, and on each of them Shepard would come to visit.

She would always come in quietly in the evening hours and sit by Pom's bed, just to talk to her about anything and everything and nothing at all.

As guilty as she felt not doing any work for so long, Pom felt her new routine was kind of relaxing. Just being able to talk with her friend about simple things like flowers and movies and shopping and funny stories about high school made her feel like she was back on Hocotate, even if it was just for a moment.

But that moment would always end.

Shepard would always turn to leave, and even when she smiled at her as she did so the warmth left the room like a flame leaving its wick. All that was left was a ribbon of gray smoke.

Pom had to get out of this room.

Come sundown Pom slid out of bed, her blanket drawn over her shoulders, and crept to the dressing rooms.

The hatch opened with a hiss, revealing the world bathed in cool, soft darkness. The full silver moon hung above in the inky sky, surrounded by the glimmering, mesmerizing light of billions of stars. Pom craned her neck to stare at them. She would never fail to be absolutely enchanted by the beauty of the night sky.

The cadet hopped to the ground and waddled around to the side of the ship where a set of steel ladder bars waited for her. She climbed up to the roof, grumbling over how bulky her spacesuit was. Guess she'd just have to get used to it again.

As she made it to the top, Pom froze at the sight of a silhouette sitting on the edge of the ship's roof, gazing at the stars. She stared for a moment before creeping closer. "...Captain?"

Shepard jumped a little at the sound of her title, glancing over at Pom before breathing a sigh of relief.

"O-oh... Hey, Pom."

The cadet sat by her, following her skyward gaze. "...It's beautiful out here."

Shepard nodded. "I've never seen constellations like these... It make sense, considering we're so far from home, but..." The captain's eyes widened with realization. "H-hey! You shouldn't be out here, you should be resting!"

Pom shrugged. "I wanted to see the stars."

Her captain tried to rebut this, but only sighed. Could she blame her? A view like this was once in a lifetime.

...Part of her wasn't even thinking about the stars.

Pom sat there like a marble statue, gazing up at the infinite cosmos. Every beam of silver light was reflected in her eyes like an angel quartz. Those big brown eyes...

Without thinking, Shepard reached a hand out to brush a lock of hair away from Pom's perfect face. Naturally, her hand only met the glass of her space helmet. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"S-sorry."

Pom was blushing just as hard, but just nodded in response. They sat in silence for a while.

What was wrong with her?! She'd never felt this way about Pom before. She was always just that shy new girl who followed her around at school. They were only ever friends... Right?

This exact scene happened once on Hocotate. The pair of them sitting beneath the stars. Shepard brushing a lock of Pom's hair behind her ear. Pom gazing up at her with those big brown eyes...

But that was just a dream, right? When Shepard woke, that moment dissolved and vanished...

But her heart wouldn't settle.

Shepard cleared her throat. "L-listen, Pom... I think... I think Collin might be right about us." Pom's eyes went as huge as saucers.

"He told you?!"

"U-um- Yeah. He told me how you felt about me. How this relationship might be... inappropriate." The cadet groaned aloud and put her head in her hands. "You're right, you're so right... I'm sorry, captain, I should have-"

"N-no! Don't apologize- I-I think you're wonderful." The two of them went red.

"Y-you do?"

"I do!" Shepard giggled nervously, a goofy smile spreading over her face. "I... Y-you're so kind, and sweet, and dedicated and hardworking- Even when we were kids."

Pom stared up at her, eyes glowing. "Y-you remember me from then?"

"How could I forget?"

Pom stammered, "I-I- I dunno, I... I-I mean, I was j-just a dumb kid- It was just a stupid crush, I didn't think you'd remember me-"

"No, No! You were, like, my best friend." Shepard grinned. "Honestly, you were a way better example than me. You were like a star pupil-" Her smile shattered. Oh...

"My parents will be upset."

Silence weighed heavy on them. "I-I'm sorry..."

"It's alright. They don't control my life anymore." But Shepard didn't miss how Pom's voice trembled around the words.

Shepard bit the inside of her cheek. "But... You really are amazing, Pom. Then and now. It's hard to not adore someone like you."

Pom felt like she should be glowing with joy, a rescued princess in a fairytale... But she was uncertain.

"...A-are you sure?"

"I am."

"I... I figured. Just..."

Pom forced herself to look in Shepard's eyes. She looked like an angel surrounded by the moonlight like this...

"I love you, Captain. I love your eyes, your voice, your smile... I-I love how you laugh and light up the whole room. I love when you smile at me and make me feel like a living piece of art. Your eyes are like portals to Heaven... I love your tenacity. Like... You're just one person, but you carry so much weight and do everything you can to protect everyone else. I love your passion, your joy, your grief, your care..." the cadet's breath caught in her throat. She glanced up at Shepard. She was just staring, her eyes shining with an emotion neither of them could place.

Pom grabbed her captain's hands.

"I love you, Captain."

Shepard just smiled, her eyes welling up a bit. "You really are an artist."

Pom smiled until her cheeks hurt, and she felt herself leaning in. Shepard was following her movement. It was like gravity, planets colliding, the moon to the Earth. It was just made to be.

Clink.

Oh.

Right.

They were still wearing their helmets. They were still outside, in the toxic air of this planet. They still had a mission to attend to.

The world around them resumed, Like nothing between them had happened at all. Shepard cleared her throat and stood up. "We should probably get inside." She held out a hand for Pom to take.

The cadet hesitated for a moment before taking it, holding on a little bit tighter than necessary.

But Shepard didn't say a word. Neither of them did, not before they got back inside and took off their spacesuits.

Pom stepped out in her undersuit, breathing a cold sigh of... relief? She wasn't sure of what she was feeling. It was like finally coming out from under a weighted blanket. It was stifling under there, heavy and strange... But so, so warm.

Shepard came out as well, her expression as unreadable as her cadet's.

Pom felt her tongue tangle in her mouth. *What was she supposed to say now? She just poured her heart out to this woman, and now they were just supposed to make things work...?

But before she could say a word, Shepard turned to her and leaned in close, pressing a kiss to Pom's cheek. "Sleep well, cake pop."

And she jogged off to her room, leaving Pom to her own thoughts.

It felt like there was a hole smoldering through her skin where Shepard had kissed her. In fact, Pom felt like her whole body was on fire. Flames danced in her stomach, licking at her racing heart. Tentative fingers traced over her cheek.

What does this mean?

She turned to go to her room.

Does she feel the same?

She crawled into bed.

... "Cake pop"...

Chapter Text

"I'm home."

Pom pulled the door shut behind her and looked around. Her parents were likely going to be working late today... like always. So announcing her arrival was more a self-comfort than anything else.

She sighed and went to sit on the couch, watching her feet. Summer would be coming soon. She certainly didn't want to stay in, but getting a summer job wouldn't be much fun either- though she knew her parents would make her get one anyway. Pom wished not for the first time that she had a friend. It's not like she didn't try making them at school, but... Every time she went to speak, It was like her words were just air. She'd freeze to the spot and ultimately turn away.

It's not like she could keep a friend, either. What could they talk about? All she ever did was schoolwork and chores. "Essential things", her parents would say. "You should be focused on what is useful."

Pom thought of her classmates at school. The older girls who sat in their own cliques, talking without words, laughing without jokes, just being together as the world went by. They sat together around their invisible bonfire, but even Pom could feel their warmth from her seat.

She wished she had something like that.

Later on that evening, Pom heard the front door open and her heart leapt to her throat.

"Pom? Downstairs, please."

The girl hurried down the steps to find her parents standing in the living room, each dressed in business attire. She barely recognized their faces at first. Her father gave a small nod.

"Sit down."

Pom sat on the couch, looking between her parents. "What's... Going on?"

Her mother sighed. "Pom, We've decided that... You'll be going away. You'll be staying with your grandma on Hocotate. We've already signed you up for high school there. Tomorrow morning, you will be taking the Intergalactic Monorail to get there. Be sure to pack everything tonight."

Pom stared at them, mouth dry. "W-what...?"

"You're moving away, Pom. You heard your mother. Go on and pack."

"But-!" Pom jumped to her feet. "But... Why?"

"This is just what is best, Pom. We want what's best for you." That wasn't a reason. Pom didn't have a connection to this planet or its people, but...

"Won't you miss me?"

Her mother stiffened a bit while her father adjusted his tie. A beat of silence.

"...Of course."

Pom didn't reply.

The crew had spent much of their day caving. The weird dungeons on this planet were full of treasures- and more importantly, castaways. Pom did her best to focus on her mission, but couldn't help to stop and stare every once in a while. How were these places even possible?

They felt less like burrows dug out by beasts of this planet and more like... places. Things built with purpose by intelligent life, abandoned and forgotten.

"But who would build something like this?"

Pom gazed down into the black abyss, her squad of pikmin hard at work transporting treasure behind her.

"Airheaded as usual, Rookie?" Pom frowned at Dingo's jab. Over her radio she heard what sounded like a light smack and Dingo making a weird sound.

"We don't need the attitude, Ranger." Shepard scolded. "Is everything okay, Pom?" The cadet felt a rush of adrenaline as the memory of last night washed over her. She wanted to say something, to ask what they were now. Lovers? Friends? or only the captain and cadet?

But "U-uh, Yeah." was all that came out of her mouth.

Everything should have been okay, anyway. But being okay doesn't come easy on PNF-404.

The ground beneath their feet began to rumble. Just mere inches away from where she stood, A viciously sharp beak burst out of the ground. Snagret!

"SNAGRET!" Pom whistled for her squad, hopping onto Oatchi to hopefully gather them up. Already the snagret had snatched three screaming pikmin up in its mouth.

Pom would never get used to that sound.

"H-how?! Snagrets can't live in an environment like this!" Collin scrolled through his notes, his voice shaking in his throat.

"There's no time to question it- Pom, Leave the treasure and get out of there!" The avian beast burrowed back under the ground, a shark just beneath the surface of ink-black water. It was after them.

Pom spurred Oatchi on, and they galloped down the rusted hall. There were no railings, and their room to move was becoming limited.

"Ha! Stupid bird can't burrow now. Not bad, Rookie." But Dingo's words were cut off by the horrifying sound of screeching, breaking metal.

Directly beneath them the ground shattered, sending the squad flying in all directions. The snagret let out its shrill cry while the pikmin and Oatchi swarmed around it to take it down. Pom tumbled across the floor, landing hard. In the middle of the chaos, Oatchi looked towards her and barked, his eyes wide with fear.

"P-pom! LOOK OUT-"

But it was too late. The snagret swung its head around in an attempt to get the pikmin out of its eyes. Its scaly form slammed into Pom, sending her falling off of the edge.

"POM!"

Wind roared in her ears, the light of the area above rapidly vanishing in a bloom of shadow. Her scream was swallowed up by the silence of the void. The speaker in her helmet crackled, blaring with a broken Shepard's voice.

"NOOO!"

When Pom finally woke, she found herself laying on something soft... yet strangely sticky. She sat up quickly and glanced around, the light on her helmet tracing out the shape of the place around her. Mold... Mold had broken her fall. It was everywhere down here, An oasis of spongey, orangey-green stuff. It was like some kind of meadow.

Or a wasteland.

She was trapped. Right? She'd been flung into the deepest pit of a literal abyss. Her only way out was up, through that air vent that each dungeon inexplicably had. But that exit was up there, in the actual dungeon, and she was completely alone in the dark.

Fear slithered up her spine. Stuck. She was stuck down here. A rock formed in the pit of her stomach as she groped around for her communicator. "C-collin? Dingo?"

No response.

It must have broken when the snagret hit her. The device slipped from her shaking fingers. In vain, she swallowed hard and glanced around in the dark. "I-Is anyone out here...?"

But there was nothing but mold.

She was gonna die here. "N-n-no..." She was gonna die all alone in the dark, far, far away from her crew and the only family she'd ever known.

Pom's knees buckled and she fell, cold tears fogging up her vision. "N-no! p-please..." she reached to grasp her ruined communicator, fiddling with its now useless buttons. She turned the dial like there was still any hope. "C-Collin... Dingo... S-Shepard... P-please, someone help..."

But there was no one around to help. It was only her. Only her and her failure.

Pom curled into a shaking ball, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Somewhere in the dark, footsteps approached.

Pom gasped sharply and turned to face the sound. There, in the low light, was that huge, blue-green dog. Its gaze bored into her, completely unreadable. Its rider slid down off of its back- the red leafling.

Dread pooled in her stomach. "Y-you..." The leafling gave a sage nod.

Panic electrified her. "Please don't turn me into a leafling! I need to go home, I can't- I can't-" Her breath hitched, choking on salty tears. Her throat was tight, lungs moving a million miles an hour. Hyperventilating. "I just wanna go home, please..."

The leafling rushed over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, hey... It's okay, there's no need to panic. I'm not gonna make you a leafling." He rubbed her shoulder gently, his voice soft. "You're hyperventilating right now. I need you to relax, okay? deep breath in..." Without much else in the way of choice, Pom breathed in deeply.

"Perfect. Now, deep breath out."

Pom exhaled, her breath shaking hard. "One more time, okay? You're doing amazing."

They repeated this once more, until Pom could finally speak. "I... I'm sorry. I just... I'm so scared. I hate this place." Pom glanced up at the darkness above them. It was just like space without the stars.

"There's no need to apologize, little blossom. It's only natural to be afraid when you're so far from home." He smiled and took her hand gently. "Come. I'm going to get you out of here." The two of them mounted the leafling's dog and took off through the dark.

Pom gripped the animal's fur, eyes trained on her lap. "...I like your dog."

"I like her too." The cadet paused, feeling just like a child again. Helpless, foolish, small. "Does it have a name?"

"Moss." The leafling said it like he was telling her the name of the moon. "Is... It 'cause it's green?" The leafy man chuckled. "Partially, yes. But I figured it was a good name for another reason. Do you know what that is, Little blossom?" Pom shook her head, and he answered "Because she's tenacious. She never gives up, and always shows up when I need her- The Moss That Clings to Rugged Rock. That's her full name."

As they trekked, the meadow of mold gave way to a terrace of some kind, rocks and plants jutting up from uneven ground. Moss hopped over them easily, hiking through the rough terrain. All around them was the smell of moist earth, of petrichor. Had it rained recently? Spectralids fluttered by, their delicate wings keeping them aloft.

It was almost like a dream.

At last Moss came to a stop, and the pair hopped off. "Here we are." the Leafling pointed ahead at a break in the foliage, a clearing caped in warm daylight.

The two of them walked towards the exit together, hand in hand. Pom lagged behind a little, staring down at her hand in his. Why was this so familiar?

She was just a little girl, surrounded by gentle sunlight. Her hand wrapped in someone else's, an older man. His face was blotted out by the sun, but Pom remembered smiling up at him.

And he would smile back.

The leafling let go.

"Take care out there, Little Blossom."

Pom stepped towards it before pausing and looking back at the Leafling. "How come you keep calling me that?"

The red leafling stared for a moment before smiling. "I think it just fits. You do remind me a lot of a blossom." He grinned. "I think you'd make a fine leafling."

Pom shivered a bit. "Ah... No thanks." The leafy man chuckled and hopped onto his steed's back. "Well, the offer stands anyway."

The cadet watched him turn to leave before realizing something. "H-hey, wait..." The pair stopped in their tracks and looked back at her. "Why... did you help me?"

"You were alone. It would be cruel to just turn away."

"N-no, I meant... Well, that too, but... the Engulfed Castle. That was you who saved me, right?"

A flash of red leaves.

The leafling hesitated before nodding. "But why? It was my fault I was even in that situation. It was so dangerous; You could have gotten hurt-"

"As would you." The Leafling paused. "You're an interesting character, Little Blossom. You've bested me in Dandori every time we battle. Your skills as a leader are unprecedented... But you're so hard on yourself. Why?"

Pom didn't answer that. She just hung her head.

"Dear..."

The leafy man smiled. "You have so much potential. You've come so far already... Don't stop now." He turned his steed back around, and the pair vanished back into the terrace.

"I'm home."

The door shut behind the cadet with a hard hiss, and the whole crew whirled around to face her.

She looked between them, at each of their terrified faces, until she got to Shepard. Her face was stained with tears. The captain took a step forward. "Pom... You're okay..."

"POM!"

Collin rushed towards her and scooped her up into his arms, squeezing her tight. "THANK GOD YOU'RE OKAY- Are you hurt?! Do you need anything- I can get it for you!" He paused as the cadet dissolved into delirious laughter.

"N-no, Collin- I'm alright. Thank you." Her face was flushed pink. Collin couldn't help but smile at that, color spreading to his own cheeks.

The rest of the crew stampeded over to grab the pair in a group hug, screaming and crying and demanding to know of what happened.

"Um... It was the leafling."

"WHAT?!" Dingo roared. "Did that creep try to leafify you, Pom?! I'll punch his lights out-"

"DINGO! She's FINE. Look- She doesn't HAVE any leaves." Bernard placed a hand on Dingo's shoulder and gestured to the cadet. "But... alright. The leafling, what was he doing?"

Pom blinked in confusion. Bernard never talks at a normal volume like that. "Well, I had fallen into that abyss- The bottom was filled with mold, and it broke my fall. I thought I was stuck down there, but... He just showed up and showed me the way out of there. He was really nice, too."

"Seriously...? He didn't try to put you in the onion or anything?" Pom shook her head while Dingo stared at the floor. "Why would he just help you like that?"

"I don't know! I asked him and he just said that 'It's the right thing to do'." The crew sat in silence for a moment before Shepard stood up and approached. "Well, I'm just glad to see you're ok, Pom."

Shepard cupped Pom's cheek in her hand, the one she had kissed the night before, and for a beautiful moment it was like their hearts were connected as one. Their eyes locked, and Pom found herself forgetting how to breathe.

C-Captain... You do feel the same...

"Ahem?" The pair jumped as though struck by lightning. Dingo's face was burning red. He shrugged Bernard's hand off of his shoulder and took a breath. "It's good to see you back, rookie. But we still gotta focus on our mission. Savin' folks, curing leaflings 'n stuff."

Bernard shot him a pointed look. "You THINK we've ALREADY forgotten that?" 

"N-no! I just think you guys are getting..." Dingo paused to stare at Bernard. "Distracted..." 

Bernard couldn't help but laugh at that. He had a really sharp, barky laugh, the kind that filled up the whole room. Dingo felt his face flush as the rest of the crew joined in.

"You're CUTE, Dingo."

"I-I'm not!"

The crew collapsed into peals of laughter yet again, leaving Dingo to give up on saving his dignity and just sitting down.

Bernard rested his hand on the ranger's shoulder, but Dingo didn't move it this time.

"Well... I suppose all's well that ends well. I hereby call this meeting to a close." Shepard smiled and shut off her tablet. "It's getting late. Everybody ought to get to bed now."

"Uh, actually-" Pom paused and cleared her throat. "Actually... If it's okay, I think I wanna do a night expedition tonight." 

Shepard looked horrified. "B-but- What about t-today?! You've already done so much..." She trailed off as Pom took a deep breath and smiled up at her. "And I've got to do more. There are castaways who need our help. And If I can do anything to give them that help, I'll do it every time- no matter what. Besides, I've been behind on work since the Engulfed Castle."

The captain seemed to flinch a bit at the mention of that place. "Er, Pom..." Collin hissed. "We probably shouldn't be using the E-word-"

"No! no, It's fine. Just..." Shepard turned back to her cadet, eyes oozing worry. "You really have done so much, Pom. But you're right about the work part- We do need more luminal sap if we wanna get our job done." The captain hesitated, thinking. She rested a hand on Pom's shoulder.

"Tell you what, You stay in and I'll go on the expedition. I haven't been pulling my weight like I should."

It was Pom's turn to look mortified. "Shep- Captain, you're our Captain! Of course you've been pulling your weight!"

Shepard just grinned. "Then I think I've earned the right to say this- As your captain, I order you to take the rest of the night and tomorrow to rest. You deserve it."

Pom felt her heart glow like a hot iron in her chest. "I... T-thank you, Captain." 

"You're more than welcome, cadet. Collin, get the Beagle ready for tonight, ok?"

Pom watched them go, cheeks blazing and hands clasped tightly together. Dingo snorted and reached over to ruffle her hair. "Y'know, I think you two do go well together, rookie."

"PEANUT BUTTER and JELLY!" Bernard teased, barking out a laugh. Russ rolled his eyes at the two of them, but a smirk was spread across his face. 

"Yonny and I are still waiting on those wedding invitations, by the way."

Pom turned red.

Chapter Text

"Maybe... If I had skills like yours... I could have found my way home..."

And he collapsed, completely spent. His huge dog- Moss, was it? - yipped in fear and sniffed at him. It and the pikmin immediately ran as Pom approached, leaving the red leafling alone.

"Finally..." Dingo grumbled through Pom's helmet's speaker. "Get 'em back to the ship, rookie."

Pom nodded, then paused to stare at the mess of a man in front of her. "So... This is Captain Olimar?"

"That's what he told us, but without a proper ID there's no way to know for sure..." Collin sighed. "Olimar or not, we've gotta get them back to base. They need the cure."

Pom's ears perked forward. The noise was faint, but... It sounded like someone was... Crying.

She crept closer, her squad of red Pikmin trailing behind her, and crouched down next to who used to be her adversary.

"Sir...? Are you alright?"

The leafling was curled in a ball, leaves wilted and tangled upon his form.

"I'm... I'm sorry. I just... I wanna go home. I wanna go home so bad... But... This is the only place I've ever been. Right? This place is home..."

"W-what? No, no no..." Pom put a hand on his shoulder. "Captain, you're confused- this place isn't your home. We can take you there right now, though."

The leafling rose, wobbling ever so slightly on his feet. "What do you mean?" Pom bit her lip. This might be a lot to spring on him all at once...

"Well... I know that you don't know it yet, but you're from somewhere called Hocotate. You work an everyday job at Hocotate Frieght, and every evening you go home to your wife and two children. You care about them a lot. And... They miss you. They're worried about you- waiting for you to come home."

The red leafing stared blankly at her before tearing up "Oh, no... And I forgot all about them?!"

"N-no, it's not your fault- in your right mind, you'd never..." Pom trailed off, watching the red leafling sag heavily on his feet. He chuckled sadly, his eyes far away. "Ah... They probably wouldn't miss me. After everything... I just forgot about them..."

That left Pom silent. He's so hard on himself... Just like her. Oh, but he didn't deserve this...

"A-ah, Pom- what're you doing?!" Collin watched in horror as she reached for the airlock on her helmet, undoing the hatch and twisting it off. A hiss resounded, breathable air vanishing, and Pom set her helmet gently on the ground.

She could hear her crew yelling for her, but with their voices locked to the speaker in her helmet, Pom didn't pay any mind to them.

The red leafling watched in horror as Pom approached him, her lips pressed tight together. "L-little Blossom, y-your helmet-" but the words died as Pom hugged him.

"Oh..."

He hugged back, leaning into her shoulder. "I... Thank you." The cadet broke away and smiled at him. He watched her walk back to her helmet, putting it back in. "Are... Are you alright?"

Pom twisted until she heard a click, her brow furrowed. Precious air entered her lungs, but she let out a calm sigh instead of anguished gasping. "Don't worry about me, sir." She held out a hand to him.

"Let's get you home."

When he hesitated, Pom took him by the hand and led him towards the Beagle. Something about this was so familiar...

A little girl pulling him along by the hand, the world rushing by around them. She beamed up at him like a new, shining star.

"This way, Papa!"

The memory vanished before his eyes like white smoke. What was that?! Who was that little girl? Could it be-

"Here we are." Pom stopped just below the Beagle, a little pod with a beam of light projected from beneath it. Oatchi shoved his head under her arm, tail wagging hard. Pom laughed and ruffled his fur. "Yeah, sweet boy- mission accomplished!"

The leafling- or, Olimar, as the blossom had called him, stared in confusion. Could he really leave this place? Could he leave behind everything he'd ever known because of this stranger and her words?

He couldn't. He knew this planet inside and out. It was his and he was its. But... That memory... That little girl, the way she beamed up at him, the warmth that grew in his chest, the desire to protect... That was real. She must miss him a lot...

Olimar stepped into the light.

---

Pom went to the control panel and pressed a couple of buttons. "We ought to get you back to base ASAP, Captain." She paused, voice softening. "That onion must've done a number on you... You can't even remember who you are."

The leafling cocked his head a bit. "Mmm... Well.. who am I?" Pom looked surprised. "Ah, uh..." She thought for a moment. Who was Captain Olimar? She'd heard stories of his tenacity, his diplomacy, his ability to work under pressure... But who was he, really? That topic hardly came up.

Then she remembered the Olimar she had met- the leafling that led her out of the dark. He'd been so kind to her...

"Well... Lots of people think highly of you. They say you're super hard working, that you care about everyone even when they don't care about you..." She smiled. "I'd like to think that's true. You helped me when you didn't need to, even when you were..." Pom glanced at him. "Like this."

"But I did have to! If I didn't help, you would've..."

The cadet stared. "Huh, that is the real you, then." She couldn't quite tell under all of the leaves, but she was pretty sure Olimar blushed.

Oatchi toddled up to the leafy passenger, nosing his hand gently. The leafling absently pet him, lost in thought. How could the onion have made him forget everything? Occording to this pink girl's explanation, they must have meant the world to him.

"I... Am Captain Olimar. I only wish to be reunited with my wife and children."

The words had just... Slipped out in his exhausted state, but they fit perfectly in his mouth. Captain Olimar. That was him, right? It had to be. But...

Bright green grass. Deep, soft earth. Endless blue sky... Riding along on Moss's back.

The whole world spread out before him...

He couldn't leave this place.

But...

"This way, Papa!"

The leafling put his head in his hands, groaning. His stem was really starting to hurt. Pom glanced over her shoulder at him. "Um... Captain? Are you alright?"

Oatchi whined and nosed at him, tail wagging gently. "M-my head..." The leafling hissed and stood up, hands still gripping his head, and trudged towards the exit hatch.

"C-captain, What are you doing?!" Pom rushed over and pulled him away. "Don't-" Pain exploded to life in her left cheek, sending her crashing to the ground. A wet warmth bloomed there, spiraling out from the cut and falling to the ground.

Blood.

The leafling drew back, eyes like stone. He brushed off his claws- He had claws?!- On his tattered spacesuit, leaving a smear of blood there.

"C-captain Olimar-"

"Do not call me that." The leafling said coldly, robotically. What the hell was happening?! "I am not Olimar. I am no one. This planet is my only home. It will stay my only home."

He stepped closer, towering over her. He seemed... bigger. Taller. *Stronger, *Like he was mutating on the spot. Pom could hardly see his face through all of the leaves sprouting up on him now.

"And you will join me."

Oatchi sprung into action, leaping over to sink his teeth into the leafling's arm. He let out a roar of pain and anger, swinging his arm back to send Oatchi flying across the room. His head was grazing the celing now, his powerful form taking up the whole room. He whirled around towards Oatchi, now whimpering in pain, with eyes like burning coals. Pom noticed the leafling's stem, now as long and dangerous as a rattlesnake, and got an insane idea.

The next thing the leafling knew, he was being yanked backwards, pain electrifying him. He grabbed at the base of his stem, roaring loud enough to shake the whole vessel. Pom dug her heels into the floor, sweat beading on her forehead. C'mon, C'mon, C'mon...!

The leafling whipped his head forward, and Pom was flung overhead and into the ceiling.

"AAAUGH!"

---

"Is she ever gonna get back? The Beagle usually arrives... twenty minutes ago."

Shepard shoved Dingo's shoulder. "It's fine, Dingo. Her vitals aren't unusual in any way, according to Collin, and if she really needed help she'd give us a call. She's fine. It's fine..."

"What about the leafling, though?" Yonny cut in, a grin spread across his face. "You know? Captain Olimar? Ah, but he's just our main objective, no biggie compared to the Captain's Sweetheart."

Shepard turned absolutely red in the face but managed to keep her composure. She glanced over at Collin instead of losing it on their doctor. "How much longer 'till she's back?"

The comms officer looked over his tablet, biting his lip in focus. "Should be here in about... Now!"

Shepard shot her gaze skyward, and there it was- The S.S. Beagle, on its pre-programmed path back to base. "Pom!" She nudged through the crowd of cheering castaways, grinning wide. "Thank goodness you're back..."

A rock formed in her stomach. Something didn't feel right... Deep inside the Beagle, heavy footsteps resounded.

"LOOK OUT!"

Shepard had barely enough time to jump back as the *thing *emerged. Castaways were sent screaming and running in terror as the huge, leafy creature extended to its full height.

"Finally..." They said, voice deep and gravelly and monstrous. "That onion is so small."

Shepard froze to the spot, eyes wide and horrified, only snapping out of it when she saw who the beast was carrying under their arm. Pom kicked and struggled, terrified tears rolling down her face.

"C-captain, HELP!"

Adrenaline pumped through Shepard's blood as she whipped around towards her crew. "Collin! Yonny! What is that thing?"

"The leafling, clearly." Yonny said with unnerving calmness. "How they managed to grow into... that... I haven't a clue. Studying that would be fun..."

"NOT NOW! That monster has Pom!" She snapped her attention to Collin. "Get the bomb rocks!"

Oatchi ran to Shepard's side as she gathered her thoughts. The onion, for whatever reason, was lagging behind the Beagle tonight. *If it had been on time... *Shepard shivered.

She hopped onto Oatchi and rushed towards the leafling, loyal steed at the ready. "Get 'em, Oatchi!" The dog lunged forward and chomped on the beast's arm, tugging hard. The beast roared and dropped the cadet, leaving Shepard to catch her. "A-are you hurt?"

She reached out to cup Pom's cheek in her hand, before remembering- Duh, helmets. Pom brushed off the question, hopping to the ground. "We have to help him!"

"W-what?! Pom, T-that thing isn't Olimar anymore! It's gonna leafify all of us at best- Or kill us at worst! We have to take it down before-"

"No, Y-you're wrong- If we kill him, he'll-"

"If we don't, he'll kill us! Now let's move before-" WHACK.

Shepard went tumbling across the ground from the leafling's attack, landing hard. She curled into a writhing ball, the crew crowding around her to make sure she's okay. "C-captain!" But Pom was scooped up again. Just then, the onion landed by the Beagle.Fear wracked her mind, base instincts taking over. Pom thrashed hard, rage tearing up her throat as she shouted, "LET ME GO!" But it was no use.

"You're gonna be okay, Starlight." The leafling's voice was gentle and loving. "I'll keep you safe, Like I promised I would."

Pom stared up at him. "W-what?" In the waning light of day, something caught her eye. The stem...! Maybe, just maybe... The cadet wriggled hard, just barely able to grab hold of the leafling's stem. The beast squeaked like it was in pain, dropping Pom in favor of groping for its stem.

Pom swung down to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Fire rushing through her veins, she dug her feet into the dirt and pulled with all of her might. "Pull with your shoulders, lead with your hips..." Shepard's training rushed back to her as she tugged. "And don't forget- Never let them know you're giving up!"

Pom felt herself scooting forward, feet skidding on the loose dirt. She wasn't strong enough...

A presence behind her. Hands took hold of the stem, pulling in tandem. Pom glanced behind her, eyes wide. "Captain...?"

Shepard grinned at her. "I think you're onto something, cake pop." She yelled to the rest of the crew. "HEY! Don't just stand there- We've got a castaway to save!"

The crew looked on in horror, scooting back a bit. Yonny glanced around and shrugged, jogging over to help. "Brilliant idea, new blood. Hopefully this preserves the life force of our subject." Pom swallowed hard at the thought that it might not. But they can't give up now!

Collin clenched his fists and jumped in to help, grabbing hold of the stem. "T-this is horrifying." He chuckled.

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Dingo rushed in to to help, followed by Bernard, and Russ.

"Alright everyone!" Shepard shouted. "On the count of three- One, two-"

"THREE!" The whole crew tugged with all their might, until-

POP.

The leafling slumped forward, shaking a bit, and fell to the ground with a huge thud. Blood red leaves scattered across the dirt, falling away in clumps and dancing in the light breeze. The crew gathered around the pile, staring at what used to be a hulking monster. Now, it was little more than one man. And that man was-

Shepard gasped sharply. "It is Captain Olimar! Quick- get him inside, now!"

Chapter Text

When Olimar awoke next, all he felt was pain. So, so, so much pain. It rang in his skull, echoing over and over against its walls. He let out a low groan, only to be answered by muffled voices speaking in the dark. It sounded like they were underwater or something. Olimar tried to force his eyes open, only to recoil from the intense white light that knifed into them. He curled into a ball, holding his head, trying not to scream or cry or think about where he was or what was happening to him.

The unknown was more terrifying than anything else.

He felt a prick in his arm, and in a split second all he could feel was exhaustion. Maybe this wasn't so bad... Asleep was better than awake and in pain.

As he drifted away, something tugged at his mind. A dream? A memory? There was no way to tell now, but he watched it play out anyway.

He was somewhere warm and bright and safe; and he was holding a sleeping baby, a little girl. How did he know that? And.. He was crying. Tears rolled down his face, an unstoppable waterfall... but he had never felt so happy in his life. He felt like he was made out of sunlight and hope, like the whole world could fade away then and this moment would still exist. At last he paused his sobbing and smiled. "My little girl... My starlight."

When Olimar finally woke again, his head was still swimming from pain and wooziness. At the very least, though, His head didn't feel like it was split in half like before...

His ears wiggled at the sound of a door opening. He turned to see a doctor and a short, pink-haired young woman who was disturbingly familiar. His mouth worked faster than his mind, and he asked,

"L-Luna?"

The pair of them stared at him. "Luna...?" Olimar felt himself turn red.

"Ah... Sorry. T-that's my daughter. You... You look a lot like her." He tried to smile.

The doctor brushed off this interaction and took a step forward. "Welcome back, Captain. It's good to see you... er, awake. I'm Doctor Yonny, and this is our crew's cadet Pom." He gestured towards the rosy-haired girl, who waved shyly. "We're from the Rescue Corps. We got your distress signal and came as soon as we could, but..." She trailed off and shook his head. "Never mind. How are you feeling?" He stepped over to look over Olimar's vitals. "Hm... "

"What happened...?" Olimar asked, glancing around the room. Doctor Yonny fell silent. "...How do I explain this... Well-" He took in a deep breath. "When we found you, you had turned into something that our crew decided to call a leafling. You were all furry and covered with leaves, and you had the stem of a pikmin in your head." She showed him a tablet with notes on the creatures, diagrams of their anatomies and IDs they had collected from leafified castaways.

"Furthermore, you seemed to have contracted some brand of amnesia- You couldn't remember who you were or where you came from. And... you... Well, you had a drive to make others leaflings, too. You would do this by giving them to the onion... You tried to leafify Pom here, but our crew was able to stop you. We had to yank that stem out of your head." At that Yonny became unnervingly engrossed in his tale, a grin spreading across her face. Maybe he's just an enthusiastic scientist...? "We actually still have it- I keep it in a jar. For research purposes, of course." She gave a small chuckle. "You wanna see it?"

"U-uh... Sure." This was a lot all at once. Still, though, Olimar could never hold back his curious nature. A pikmin's stem, in him...? He had to get to the bottom of this.

"Alright, then. Hang tight, I'll go get it." He reached to ruffle Pom's hair. "You watch after him, New Blood." She didn't notice the icy glare Pom shot after him as he left.

"Why does everyone do that...?" Pom grumbled and swept her bangs back into place.

"Well... You seem to have a very pattable head." Olimar chuckled awkwardly. Jeez- He sounded like such a dope. Whatever. Anything to get his mind off of... everything. "I guess." Pom sat in the chair beside the bed. "Do you need anything? Water, bandages, ice pack?"

"I'm alright, thank you." Pom nods slowly before the two of them fell silent. "... You do look like Luna, though."

"Really?" Pom cocked her head to the side, which somehow made her look even more like Luna. Olimar giggled a bit at the resemblance. "Yeah. I'm sorry- I hope the confusion didn't cause any trouble for you."

"N-none at all, Captain." Memories of the red leafling danced behind her eyelids. "... Do... You remember being a leafling?"

Olimar stared down at his hands, eyes glassy and faraway. "...Bits and pieces. It's strange... And all so foggy. Like I'm dreaming. You know those short, super vivid dreams you have right before you wake up? That's sort of what it felt like. But I'd always drift away again." He shrugged, wincing a bit at how it made his head hurt. "Not sure how to explain it."

Pom nodded quickly. She didn't want to press too much, but... "Do you remember... The mold?"

The Captain's eyes lit up with recognition. "Mmm... A little bit. I remember someone else was there." He paused, brow furrowed with confusion. "It's weird. I know it must have been you, but... All I can remember is Luna."

Strange how Pom and this Luna girl were supposedly so much alike. Oh, that reminded her-

"Captain, you wouldn't happen to have a way to contact your family? A U-mail or something- They're probably worried sick, and we want to let them know you're alright."

Olimar sat there blankly for a moment before his eyes slowly widened. "R-rose..." He jumped up "ROSE, I'M SOR-" He immediately crumpled in on himself, holding his head and shaking with pain.

"Captain!" Pom put both hands on his shoulders. "C-captain, it's alright! J-just breathe, okay? Deep breath in, deep breath out... Y-you're doing great."

She froze at the sound of him sobbing. "Captain...?"

"I-I just... Forgot about them... How could I just... Forget?!" His voice shook like a withered leaf against the winter breeze.

He curled in on himself. "I... I..."

"H-hey... It's alright." Pom tried to pat his shoulder gently. "Captain, it wasn't you that forgot... It was that sprout that took your memories away."

"B-but- I should have done something... I should've planned ahead, should've gotten home sooner... Should have..."

Should have.

Olimar fell silent as the cadet hugged him. "It's okay. This isn't your fault."

At last, the captain relaxed and hugged back. "T...Thank you."

Pom pulls away and smiled. "It's no problem, Captain." Olimar flushes a bit at that and chuckles.

"Ah, there's no need for formality- please, just call me Olimar." The cadet nodded quickly. "Copy that, capt- er, Olimar." She let out a musical giggle, and the captain couldn't help but be reminded of Luna yet again.

Just then, Yonny popped in with a huge jar covered by a cloth. "Alrighty- here's your little friend, Captain... ehehe."

He pulls the jar's cloth away, and the sight of its contents make Olimar's stomach twist. It looked like a pikmin, but much smaller and skinner- even more so then the white ones. In fact, it barely even looked like a pikmin at all- just a bundle of sickly green nerves. Its eyes were huge, bulging from the sockets, and milky- like a pair of overripe grapes. Its stem, hugely oversized in comparison to its body, faded away from that foul green to red near the leaf.

Olimar gazed at the preserved specimen, his expression dark. "It's as I feared it would be." Pom stares, ears pinned back. "W-what do you mean?"

"Pikminidae parasiticus, previously miss-identified as Parasiticus pikminicus. It's a parasitic species of pikmin. I've only known it to infect bulborbs, but... How did it get in me...?"

"T-the onion... But... How? Usually when things go into the onion... They become more pikmin." Pom froze. "But... t-those things are usually dead."

Her mind turned to the leaflings she'd met before. Mindless. Rambling. Alive, sure, but...

But what about Olimar? How did he resist becoming a zombie?

What could be strong enough to make you resist losing your mind?

"...I... I think it's best we don't dwell on it too much." Olimar tries his best to smile. "Now, I'm sure there's much work to do- mostly because of me." He chuckles a bit, much to Pom's dismay. "I'm sorry again about that. Just... keep at it. I'll be okay here."

"C-captain-" Yonny put a hand on Pom's shoulder.

"He's right, New Blood- You and I have jobs to attend to. Don't worry about Olimar; I'll be taking care of him."

Pom hesitates for a moment before nodding. "S-sorry."

"Don't be, love. We'll be seeing you around."

The cadet turns to go, glancing back over her shoulder one last time before the doors shut behind her.

Chapter Text

After everything the Rescue Corps had been put through while under this planet's atmosphere, It had been unanimously decided that they all needed a break. Their main mission had been completed, after all- They'd rescued Captain Olimar.

But he was seriously injured, and moving back to HQ would likely distress his injuries more. So as of now, They were staying on PNF-404.

They'd been there for roundabout a month now, so what's one more day? Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"And I don't wanna go, I just want you to know how I FEEEEEEL~!"

Pom had to hold back a raucous laugh. Russ may be good at science and inventions and other things she couldn't understand- but his singing was on par with a wizened up vulture.

It was karaoke night on the S.S. Shepard, and the crew were making the most of it. Even Oatchi tried to join in on a few songs, howling along to the music the best he could.

The mic had been going around in a circle between the crew, and Pom's turn would be soon.

"HA! what was THAT?!" Russ frowned at Bernard sternly. "Was there a problem with my performance?"

"Oh, NOTHING. It was PERFECTLY acceptable- when you could sing the right NOTES." The crew burst into raucous laughter while the scientist scoffed. "Well, I never. Your turn, Dingo."

The ranger was leaning against the wall, staring aloofly into the distance with a furrow in his brow. It was painfully obvious he'd been posing that way on purpose. "I don't wanna sing."

"You're no fun, HONEY!" Dingo turned red at that. "B-Bernard, we're not..." But the pilot only snickered. "Oh, but we ARE. Lemme pick out a SONG for you, alrighty BABE?"

Dingo huffed. "Fine. But I'll pick." He swiped the mic away from Russ and trudged over to the karaoke machine to scroll through the songs.

"Jeez. One Man Banned, Janie and the Bunnies, Orange Nights... Do you guys have any real music on this thing?"

Shepard balked at that, hand over her chest. "How dare...! I'll have you know I downloaded most of those songs when I was but fourteen years old." Pom's eyes widened a bit. "Woah, wait- that's the same one?! I hardly recognized it after all these years!"

"Oh yeah- It's the same karaoke machine we used when we were kids. It's old as hell, but still works like a dream. I hear having a karaoke night Is kinda a tradition among deep-space crews away from home- y'know, like us."

"Ooh, so most of the music is still on it?!" Pom was beaming with excitement, a sight so sweet that Shepard couldn't help but chuckle. "Should be so."

Pom slid off the couch and jogged over to the karaoke machine to look through its music. "Wow, it's been forever since I've heard most of these... Oh my gods! This one was my favorite back then- Tender-hearted by BLOOM."

"BLOOM?" Dingo scoffed. "That dumb emo band from, like, ten years ago?" Pom scowled at him, giving the ranger pause. "It's Visual Kei. Not emo." Dingo made a weird face. "Is there... A difference?"

"Of COURSE THERE'S A DIFFERENCE, YOU DOPE!" In anyone else's case, such anger would be intimidating, but with someone as small and cute as Pom- It was like seeing a butterfly throwing a tantrum. Shepard tried not to cackle at that image.

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Dingo grinned. "Either way, I get to see the rookie make an ass outta herself."

Pom scoffed at that before cracking a smug grin. "Really? I'm the best singer on this ship. Watch." She pressed play on the machine, and Tender-hearted's opening riff began to play.

Shepard had never seen Pom so confident before. Well- not since the pair of them had sung to these songs together so many years ago. She was normally shy and small, but when you gave her the stage and the mic, It was like she spontaneously transformed into a total diva.

Oh, but she deserves this though. Her voice is beautiful... Shepard rests her head in her hands and sits back to watch the show, smiling fondly to herself.

Pom stands straight-backed, tapping her heel to the beat. She raises the mic to her lips and sings-

"Being human is a bother, you and I know that well,

All we ever do is suffer, They're only buying if we sell

But being human is priceless, and you deserve more than a bid

Your heart is all I've ever wanted, and no price on the planet could get that to me,"

Shepard finds herself nodding along to the beat, the moment surrounding her melting into a warm glow of music. She's more than happy to watch Pom sing, until-

"Woo! Get it, Pom!"

"H-hey! Where'd you even get that from, Bernard?!" Apparently, the pilot had brought a camera aboard the ship at some point. Now he was filming Pom's performance. "My room, obviously. Don't mind me though- keep going!"

Pom just scoffed at this and kept going. It was a bit of a half-assed retort - she was in diva mode, after all.

Collin smiles fondly at her. "You're pretty good, Pom." The cadet flushes a bit at that.

Shepard isn't quite sure what happened next, but the next thing she knew she'd grabbed the Player 2 mic. Jealousy is bubbling in her chest. Wha- huh? Jealousy?

Whatever. Shepard sings along to the next verse with Pom, trying her best to match the cadet's energy. Bernard films it all, snickering.

"Ooh, CAPTAIN'S gotta CRUUUUUUUSHH~" He says to the camera. around selfie style, his face obnoxiously close.

Shepard almost explodes. "N-no!?" She flusters. "S-SHUT UP, BERNARD!"

Pom's singing faulters as she cackles at the scene, cheeks flushed and face absolutely glowing with warmth. Shepard stares in awe, like she's watching the birth of a star. She's beautiful...

Bernard cuts in, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, but you DON'T have a CRUSH or anything. SURE!"

"ARE YOU DISOBEYING A DIRECT ORDER FROM YOUR CAPTAIN?!"

Olimar is woken by the sound of a door opening. He rises to see Bernard approaching with a tray.

"Hey, CAPTAIN!" he tries to offer a comforting smile. "You... you feel any better?"

He tries his best to smile back. "Um... A little. Thanks for asking." Bernard sets down the plate and shakes Olimar's hand like it's made of glass.

"Sorry for not giving a proper intro earlier, but... Name's Bernard. I'm the pilot of this vessel. I wanted to give Yonny a break tonight, and..." Bernard smirks mischievously and pulls out his camera. "Give you this!"

"Oh? U-um- thank you?" Olimar takes the camera, a question on his tongue, but it dissolves as he realizes Bernard is already leaving. "Take CARE, captain. Get WELL soon!" He gives a jaunty little wave and immediately leaves.

Without much else in the way of choice, Olimar sighs and flips the camera open. Almost immediately footage taken that night began to play, the crew laughing and singing together. Just being... A family.

That was such a rare feeling for Olimar.

As the video came to a stop, the captain sets the device aside and leans back in bed.

Soon, they would be home. Soon, he would have his own family with him again.

Chapter Text

Of course this would happen.

Of course the Rescue Corps couldn't just go home after this incredibly stressful, dangerous, and draining mission in this uncharted ball of mud. Because just as they were meant to leave upon completing their original mission, they got a call from HQ.

Turned out, there was much work to still be done. Castaways needing rescue- specifically a certain someone from Hocotate.

"Louie's here?" Olimar queried. "On PNF-404? But why would our work send him...?" Pom looked up from her tablet. "Wait- 'our'? Do you know this guy, Captain?"

"Sure do." Olimar takes a sip from his soup. "We both work at Hocotate Freight back home. He's... Funny. A nice kid, but he's quiet. Hardly talks, and when he does he's usually on about food." Pom nods, digesting this. "... I've heard Hocotate Freight's been in some dire straights recently. There's tons of treasure out here- you think they wanted to collect some to sell?"

Olimar hesitates. "It's possible. Chacho-San would probably jump at an opportunity like that. But sending Louie out here? That's-" he stops himself. "Ugh. I hate to say anything negative about my employer, but..." Pom nods, but she can tell that he's full of crap. Can't blame the guy. All that anyone heard about Hocotate Freight is how it's a dead end. Everyone in only wants out.

"Still, though, we've gotta rescue him. And- Oatchi..."

Right. Oatchi.

They were ready to leave. They'd just escaped the atmosphere when Oatchi collapsed. He started whimpering like something was hurting him badly. That leaf on his tail- whatever it was, however it got there- made him like Moss. He was bound to this planet now, Olimar explained, just like the green dog was when he tried to escape.

"But what are we gonna do? We can't just chop it off or anything..."

"Of course not." Shepard inquires. "But we're not leaving him behind, either. I got info from HQ- apparently there's a vet from Koppai out here. If we can rescue them, they'll be able to help us get Oatchi back to normal."

"But they could be anywhere! How're we gonna find them like this?"

"Collin's working on it- don't worry." Shepard smiles reassuringly, and Pom can feel her cheeks turn red. Good Gods... How soft was Pom, seriously, that all it took from Shepard was a smile to totally melt her?

Olimar raises an eyebrow at the display, making Pom flush even redder. "A-ah- yeah. Right. T-thanks, Captain." Shepard nods and turns to go. "Well- I'll leave you guys be. Oatchi needs his training, after all."

"Bye..." Pom waves shyly, immediately regretting it(She looked like an idiot) and turned back to Olimar.

The captain just smirks. "So, when's you guys' wedding?"

It took nearly all of Pom's self restraint to not smack him.

So instead, she just rolled her eyes. "Haven't heard that one before." Olimar chuckles at that. "I imagine. Forgive me- neither of my own children are old enough to have crushes of their own. I just think you two are cute together."

Pom shrugs at that. "I guess. I... I've known her since forever. We went to high school together. But now..." She swallows hard. "I mean, s-she feels the same way... I'm sure of it. But like- She's my captain. We can't be together."

Olimar hums in sage acknowledgement. "I see. That's a lot to bear." He thinks for a moment before smiling at Pom. "Well, at the very least you two can still be friends, no? You've no doubt been through a lot together."

Pom nods, but she can't stop thinking about Shepard's lips on her own.

"Louie?!"

Indeed, the call from HQ was real. A tall, lanky hocotatian stands across the field, Moss at his side. In her mouth dangled a blue-haired someone with rounded ears- Koppaite!

"What's with this guy?!" Dingo quipped. "Kidnapping isn't exactly a normal hobby- at least Olimar had an excuse when he was a leaf zombie."

Said Captain cleared his throat akwardly and called out to the mysterious hocotatian. "Louie! can you hear me? It's Olimar! You've got to come home!"

Louie said nothing, just stood there and scratched his butt.

Charming.

Then, he turns to hurry away.

"Ah- he's getting away!" Collin squeaks. "After him, Pom!"

The cadet nods and hurries off, but her mind is elsewhere...

Chapter Text

It had only been two years since Pom had graduated when Grandma got sick.

Most everyone in her class had long moved away- including Shepard, but she couldn't afford to pine about that now.

For years after high school she would spend her life taking care of her Grandma. Doing chores, making meals, grocery shopping, getting her to bed. The warm, sunlit house Pom had known for so long was becoming stifling, like a prison.

She did everything she could to help, but no one could stop time.

"I-I can't."

Pom stood at her Grandmother's bedside, surrounded by the gentle beeps of the hospital room. She clutched Sherrie's fragile hand in her own.

"I can't just leave, Grandma. Not after everything. "

Pom could only imagine how much pain her Grandma was in, but all the same she cracked a smile.

"Nonsense, darling. You can't stay in that stuffy old place forever."

"B-but it's your home- our home."

"If you think of it as mine, than I give you full permission to sell it. Use the money to go anywhere you want, but don't stay here."

Frustration rose in Pom's throat. "Why do you want me to leave so badly?!" She swallowed her tears and continued, "This town- this planet, even- this is the only real home I've ever known and you want me to just... Go?!"

"Pomethera..."

Pom fell silent, staring at her grandmother. She got the feeling she was gonna get an earful, but Sherrie just smiled.

"Darling, this is only a place." She reached out to hold Pom's face in her hands. "And you shouldn't let me weigh you down so much. You're such a a beautiful, smart and wonderful young woman. You have so much potential, in anything and everything you want to do. So... When I go to that place beyond the stars, I want you pack everything you care to keep and leave. Go in any direction. Anywhere. I know no matter what you do or where you go... You'll succeed."

Pom felt a lump rise in her throat, a pebble of dread. "B-but... I don't wanna lose you." She hated how much she sounded like a child.

"Everyone dies, dear." Sherrie sighed, a rugged clarity in her dark eyes. "And there's not much you can do about it, other than remembering me."

Silence fell over them. Pom swallowed back her tears, trying so hard not to cry. Grandma didn't need to see that. Not while she's on her deathbed.

"... There's something I want to give you." Grandma Sherrie reached out to her bedside table, pulling open its drawer. Pom didn't miss how her hands shook.

She pulled out a large, heavy box and handed it to her granddaughter. Pom recognized it immediately and gasped.

"Grandma, these are your watercolors- you worked so hard to make them..." But Sherrie placed her hand over Pom's. "They're yours now, dear."

"I can't take these." Tears fell to the spotless white bedsheets. "I can't."

"Darling, please .. it'd be a waste if you didn't." Sherrie smiled. "I know you'll make masterpieces with it."

Pom collapsed in her Grandmother's bony arms, sobbing. But Sherrie didn't say a thing. She just rubbed her back gently, like Pom was just a girl again.

White walls. White bedsheets. Tears staining them all gray.

And still Sherrie held her granddaughter.

"You're a masterpiece, Pomethera."

Pom gently wakes in the dead of night, finding her pillow wet with tears. A dream. She'd hoped that she would never have to think about that moment again, but it drifted back to her in sleep. Well, now what?

She sits up and slides out of bed, shivering a bit as her feet meet the cold ground. But Pom's not gonna be able to sleep like this, she's sure of it. And this might be a stupid idea, but...

Shepard is roused from sleep by a gentle knocking at the door. "Captain? Are you awake?" She sits up, eyes readjusting to the dark, and goes to answer the door- and there stands her cadet in rumpled jammies. "P... Pom? How come you're still up?"

The girl shrugs her shoulders, eyes trained on the ground. "I... I couldn't sleep." This was a bad idea, but- Pom forces herself to look Shepard in the eye and asks, "Is it okay if... I stay here tonight?"

Shepard flushes red, but miraculously nods and scuttles out of the way so Pom can step inside. Oatchi, who'd been resting on the foot of the bed, rose his head and wagged his tail at the cadet, completely oblivious to his owner's plight.

Pom sits on the edge of the bed opposite to Shepard, her face solemn and eyes distant. "...We gotta go after Louie tomorrow."

Shepard nods quickly. That Louie sure had caused his fair share of problem for the crew, but She wasn't sure of what this had to do with Pom being on her bed. "Are you nervous?"

"Maybe a little." Pom shrugs the question off, pulling her knees into her chest. A pause. "...I had a dream about Grandma."

Shepard's ears lower. "Oh... I-I'm sorry." It'd been a while since she died, but Shepard knew how much Pom's grandma meant to her. Having a wound like that reopened wasn't something to be brushed off. "It's fine." Pom's words shake in her throat. "Just a dream." Her vision blurs and Pom quickly wipes at her eyes. No, no- not now. "It's just... Y-you know? I miss her... I-I don't have anyone else."

Shepard sits there uselessly, watching her cadet curl in a ball and sob. It's a horrible sight to see, and it's only made worse from the knowledge that Pom feels so much worse than she looks right now.

Slowly, cautiously, Shepard scoots her body over the bed and towards Pom, resting her arms around her. Pom freezes for a second before pressing herself into the touch, sobbing louder. Shepard's fingertips graze her spine, rubbing gentle circles into her back.

"It's okay. It's gonna be okay."

The pair settle down under the covers together, Shepard spooned around Pom. Their fingers are interlaced, inseparable and warm against each other's palms. Pom, once again, finds herself muted. She tries to open her mouth and speak, but her words are all useless. She wants to say how much she misses her Grandma, how much she loves Shepard, but her heart is too heavy to say a single thing about how she feels now. So instead, she repeats-

"We gotta go after Louie tomorrow."

Shepard nods, her face nuzzled against Pom's shoulder. Her lips just grazing her neck.

"We do. You'll do great, rookie. I know it."

More silence.

"...I love you."