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Notes: Chapter Seven's title comes from a well-known idiom that means to have an overly idealistic or sentimental perspective on something. Do I have to explain why it's a chapter title?

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Gloria retired to her hotel room early in the evening, leaving Acacius and Rose with no one who wanted to talk to them. "Let's go to the hotel room early," Acacius said. "Not like there's anything else to do here."

Rose couldn't argue. After Raihan brought them to the hotel room, he sighed and was prepared to lie in bed for the rest of the night, but Acacius stayed by the door.

"I think he's gone now," he said, keeping his voice low.

"What?" Rose turned to him with a frown. "Are you planning something?"

Acacius opened the door a crack and peered outside. Rose's frown deepened. "You're going out?"

"If I have to stay cooped up in here for another thirty seconds I'm going to lose my mind." Acacius opened the door wider. "It's not like we're actually locked in, we just never got the keycards we'd need to open the door again."

Rose sighed. "I suppose you'll need me to stay up to let you back in again."

Acacius grinned at him and held up a hotel keycard. Rose blinked. "Where did you get that?" he said.

"Swiped it," said Acacius. "You coming or what?"

"I didn't realize i was invited." He hesitated. "Are you sure it's safe? I'm a fairly recognizable man, especially in Wyndon."

"I mean, you don't have to, but I think you could get away with it." Acacius shrugged. "It's dark out, you're in different clothes, and you're looking a little scruffy for the league's chairman."

Rose immediately rubbed his chin. It was true he hadn't had a decent shave in a while, but… "Am I?"

"Don't stress it, you look fine–just different, which works for us." Acacius pushed the door open and beckoned him through. "Now c'mon!"

Rose could hardly fathom how angry the rest of the league would be. His standing with them was already on shaky footing, and Leon had said outright that he would send Rose to prison if he left the building. It was a terrible idea that would end with both Acacius and himself in a heap of trouble.

That is, if anyone found out.

"I don't think I've done anything this daring since I was a child," Rose said, following Acacius down the hall.

"Ha!" Acacius pressed the elevator button. "This isn't daring. You want daring? I can probably arrange something."

Rose wondered if he was in over his head. "What's your idea of daring?"

Acacius hummed to himself. "Well, there's probably an underground battle scene here, though I guess it'd have to be kept really secret this close to the league… I looked up some of the clubs around here, and there's a few that look promising, but I haven't been clubbing since before I was a gym leader. Oh! I bet we could crash a party, there's probably loads of them around this place!"

The elevator arrived. Acacius went in and paused when he realized Rose wasn't following. "Or," he said, looking back at Rose's shocked expression, "we could find a restaurant that has a trivia night or something, and leave the daring stuff for later."

"Yes," said Rose. "We should… probably stay on the safer side of things. Did you actually participate in underground pokémon battles?"

"Only as a spectator. They're not that scary." Acacius grabbed the door as it started to close. "We should get going."

The elevator brought them to the ground floor, where they went out the back entrance. The door locked behind them, but Acacius tested the keycard to open it again. "Cool," he said, letting it swing back closed. "So we're good to get back in this way. C'mon."

He started walking in a seemingly random direction. Rose ran a few steps to catch up to him. "Where are we going?"

"Eh, wherever. Maybe we can get something to eat?"

"Do you have any way to pay? I don't."

"I've got some cash, I can cover you. Even in the Wild Area, I still had to buy toilet paper." He paused. "Nothing expensive, though, I'm not exactly rolling in it."

"Right." Rose looked around. It was a cloudless night, but the streets of Wyndon were so bright, he couldn't see the stars. "So a restaurant. I'll let you decide, I'm don't know what would be within your budget."

"Ha! Probably not." Acacius looked up. "There's a bar up ahead, let's check it out."

"A bar?" He had to hasten his stride to keep up with Acacius. "I don't think it would be a good idea to drink."

"Hey, we don't need to get drunk to have fun at a bar."

Rose wanted to argue, but Acacius was already at the door. Rose hesitated, hearing the chatter of many, many people inside, but being left without Acacius felt worse, somehow. He followed him.

They took a seat at the bar. The waiter handed them both menus and scurried off to help another guest. Rose looked over the meal options and prayed no one would look at him long enough to recognize him.

"Not too busy in here," Acacius said.

"Really?" said Rose, who felt the presence of each individual person as if they were all staring at him.

"I mean, it's been a while, but it feels like a typical weeknight, y'know?" He examined Rose's face. "Are you good? You look kinda bad."

"I'm a little anxious," Rose said, "but… I'll be fine."

"I bet getting real food in you will calm you down. That hotel buffet is bad, man." Acacius waved the waiter back over to them. "Hey, can we get our drink orders in?"

He was definitely in over his head. Acacius chatted and laughed with the waiter like it was natural for him, but Rose was too frightened to speak. He ended up getting only water. As he sipped, trying to calm himself, he glanced at Acacius and realized the other man had ordered a beer.

"I thought we weren't doing that," he said.

"What?" Acacius looked at his mug. "Oh, this. Hey, I said I wasn't getting drunk, and I meant it, but one drink is nothing."

Well, he couldn't judge. It wasn't as if Rose didn't drink on occasion, and his preferred drinks had a much higher alcohol content. "As long as it is just the one," he said, and looked back to the menu.

"God, you sound like Paddie."

"Like who?" Rose asked.

Acacius picked up the mug and took a long gulp. "Don't worry about it," was all he said.

By the time their food arrived, Rose had managed to relax, if only marginally. No one had recognized him so far, the noise of the bar had faded to a quiet buzz, and the pressure he felt from all the people around had lifted enough for him to realize that Acacius was right; it wasn't too busy.

"You look better," Acacius said.

"I feel better." Rose put down his fork and looked around them. The bar walls were covered in various signs and other decor, including a handful of mirrors. He caught his reflection in one of them; Oh, God, he really was scruffy.

"And now you're looking bad again," Acacius said when Rose grimaced. "What's going on?"

"I look awful," Rose said, running a hand over his chin. "I really ought to ask for a razor in the morning."

"Hey, hey!" Acacius slapped him hard on the back. "C'mon, it's fine. It's a look, for sure. Trust me, I'm an expert at looking at people."

"You lived in the woods for a decade," Rose said. "And you said you wouldn't get drunk."

He held up his hands. "I'm not, I'm not! I promise, I'm just a little buzzed, I only had the one beer."

The waiter put another full mug on the counter in front of him. Acacius blinked. "Huh. I didn't ask for that."

Rose shook his head. "I'll take that," he said, pulling the mug towards himself. "Maybe you're right. One beer can't hurt."

Acacius laughed. "Alright, alright! One for each of us sounds good. No more refills."

More quietly, he said, "Not all like Paddie, then."

The beer wasn't to his taste. Rose drank it slowly while finishing his meal. If he had to guess, he could hold his liquor better than Acacius, because it had very little effect on him. In fact, his nerves melted away, and he felt at ease being out in public. He took another sip, looked around at the people talking and laughing, and, for no reason at all, thought of his father's funeral.

The noise of the crowd faded.

The details were lost to time; Rose had been a child when his father died. The words that were spoken, the people who attended… Rose remembered sitting next to his mother with tears streaming down his cheeks. His dad would never again hug him, praise him, or pull him up from the ground when he fell. At times, he thought Peony lucky to have been too young to remember him.

How many more children would have lost their fathers, had Eternatus been free to terrorize Galar?

He heard Acacius' voice. "We need the check," he was saying. "Now, please, we gotta go. Keep the change, alright?"

Then there were arms around his shoulders, urging him to stand. "We're going," Acacius said. "C'mon, let's not attract any attention."

It was only when they were outside that Rose realized he was crying.

Acacius led him to a small garden and sat him down on a bench. "We're good, we're good," Acacius said while Rose wiped his eyes. "You're a melancholy drunk, huh?"

He wasn't drunk, Rose tried to say, but the moment he opened his mouth a sob escaped him. He hunched over and covered his face, weeping quietly into his hands.

"Or maybe just a depressed drunk." Acacius sighed. "I'm no good at this crap. Just let me know when you're okay to go back."

"I'm fine," Rose said through tears.

"Really? 'Cause you look like a scruffy mess."

He could feel how patchy his facial hair had gotten, which, for some reason, made him cry harder. Acacius quickly realized his mistake. "Sorry, sorry! Here."

Something light was placed on his knee. Rose took a shuddering breath and took his hands away to stare at a single mushy french fry.

"Didn't have time to get a to-go box," Acacius said apologetically, "so I just shoved the fries in my pockets. They're probably still good."

Rose turned to him. "And you say you're not drunk?" he said with half a smile.

"I'm not!" Acacius said indignantly. With their faces this close, Rose could smell the beer on his breath. He was starting to wonder if Acacius had lied about only drinking one.

He brushed the fry off. "I'm fine," he said again, more convincingly. "But i don't want to go back so soon. Let's… let's just sit for a while."

"Fine with me," Acacius said.

He rested his head on Rose's shoulder.

Rose tensed, but let himself relax. Acacius was drunk, or buzzed, whichever one–he didn't mean anything by it. Most likely, he was just tired. Rose was starting to feel how late it was himself.

The garden was quiet. A hoothoot's cry occasionally broke the silent. As the night went on, the businesses began to close, and the lights turned off. In the sky, Rose thought he saw a star.

---

The keycard, despite unlocking the side entrance for them, would not unlock their hotel door.

"It's this one, right?" Acacius swiped the card again. Nothing. "It has to be this room! Third floor, room three-oh-three–"

"Don't panic," Rose said, more to calm himself than for Acacius. "Maybe we can ask the staff for help."

Acacius kept swiping the card with increasing desperation. Rose shook his head. "It's clearly not working. Acacius–"

"Took the wrong one, huh?"

They both froze. Rose looked at Nessa, then down at the floor, "Oh, God," he said, "I'm going to prison."

Nessa sighed and marched towards them. Shouldering Acacius out of the way, she took out a keycard of her own and, with one swipe, unlocked the door. "Here," she said, pushing it open. "Just… pretend this didn't happen."

Relief flooded through him. "Thank you, Nessa," Rose said. "Thank you so, so much."

"Don't mention it," Nessa said. "Seriously, just don't. Now give me my room key back."

---

Acacius threw himself onto the bed without changing. "At least clean out your pants," said Rose. "The bed will get disgusting, otherwise."

"What are you, my dad?" Acacius huffed and got back up, taking fistfuls of crushed fries from his pockets and chucking them in the trash. "I'm starting to think it's a good thing we met the way we did, because I would not last a second in the Pokémon League with you micromanaging me." He glanced back. "Well, crap, you're crying again."

Rose rubbed his eyes and was surprised to find them damp. "It's not your fault," he said. "I… at the bar, I remembered my father. He died when I was a child. That's all."

"Oh," Acacius said, his tone growing somber. "I get that. Sorry you had a bad bar experience, then."

"No, don't apologize. It was good to be out, even if it wasn't long." Rose managed a smile. "It's been a difficult few days. Thank you for trying to make it easier."

Acacius looked away. "Sure," he said. "Sure. I'm going to bed now."

He turned his pockets inside-out, emptied the crumbs on the carpet, and crawled under the covers. Rose shook his head.

He spent thirty minutes in the bathroom to try and make himself less scruffy, but eventually, he was too tired to continue. Rose took off his shirt, avoided the mirror, and went to bed. Acacius was already snoring.

He didn't dream.