Chapter Text
Gloria sauntered into Ballonlea's Gym as if she owned the place, smiling to the Gym Trainers with a quick wave before walking over to Bede. He studied her curiously, taking a moment to quieten the thrum of his heart as she approached. He could feel the knowing eyes of the staff on him. His body prickled irritably and he swallowed a sharp bark at them to mind their own business as he greeted Gloria.
"So, what is it this time?" Bede asked, forcing himself to sound indifferent. The pittering of his heart was difficult to ignore, the way his heart, his blood, came alive in her presence.
She diffidently struggled to meet his eyes, the hesitation in her eyes making his stomach, his heart, flutter wildly.
"Do you have a moment?" she asked softly. "Can I… talk to you outside?" She finally looked at him, an uncertainty in her voice, in her warm brown eyes, making his breath catch in a tight, nervous hitch. His mind spun for a moment before he remembered to answer.
"Sure, I was about to take a break anyway."
A thrill of heat rushed up his neck and settled on his cheeks at the ambiguity in her words, Bede's mind launching to sudden conclusions that made his heart fluster. The timid way she nodded, looked away from him and led the way out of the Gym sent a tingle of heat through his veins. It was as if her nervous behaviour was contagious. Infecting him and making it difficult to breathe, to meet her eyes.
She was so nervous for some reason, meek and bashful, and the striking difference to her normal demeanor made it difficult for Bede not to jump to conclusions. He tried desperately not to focus on the soft blush on her cheeks as he followed her from the Gym. On the way she walked faster than normal, always keeping a few quick steps ahead. On the apprehension in her eyes when she glanced at him.
Bede's heart stuttered. His lungs felt strangely tight. The air was thicker than normal, a sticky blanket of air wrapped around him and making him feel warmer, stuffier than usual. He desperately wanted to wipe the sweat off his palms. Wanted to swallow the clammy feeling in his throat away.
Gloria stopped at the edge of the Glimwood Tangle, a fragile silence descending around them. She turned to face Bede, raising her eyes hesitantly to meet his. She gnawed absently, nervously, on her bottom lip.
Bede needed something, anything, to break the suffocating silence. "So… what did you want to speak to me about?" he asked. His voice came out strained and tense. Stiff and forced.
Her eyes shifted away. "Well, it's… a bit complicated, actually."
Every second that passed made Bede's heart pound harder, faster, louder in his chest.
"Try me."
She twirled her fingers together, fiddling as she spoke. "I… kinda need to ask you a favour…"
"And? You've asked me to do innumerable favours for you before."
What was different about this one that made her so nervous? The spinning cogs in Bede's mind whirled francticly to make sense of all of this.
Gloria pursed her lips. "It's a big favour."
"Exactly what kind of favour is it?" The nerves were finally settling, Bede raising a suspicious eyebrow at her. She wouldn't meet his eyes.
"So… you know how we're in between League Challenges…?" she began slowly, twiddling her fingers sheepishly, "and we're preparing for the next one at the moment…?"
Bede took a deep breath to clear the remaining nerves from his lungs. "What is it? Are you going to reach something resembling a point anytime soon?"
"I need your help, Bede!" Gloria huffed, scowling embarrassingly at him. "That's what! It's the Champion's job to go through the Wild Area between seasons and deal with any issues with wild Pokemon or the terrain and I... was going to ask if you would come with me…" The fire in her voice petered out, she dropped her gaze away.
"You… need my help?" A self-satisfied bubble of pride bloomed in his chest. His lips pulled up into a smug grin. "The Champion is asking for my help?"
"Yes!" Gloria pouted, a frustrated blush colouring her cheeks. "Please, don't tease me about this. You're the only one I could ask..."
Arceus, his heart swelled with warm pride. He fought to keep the giddy smile on his face from expanding.
"Well, if you say it like that, I suppose I could find it in me to help you."
"Really?" She blinked earnestly at him, her eyes wide and pleading. She leant forward on her toes, hands clasped in front of her chest.
Bede's breath caught and he turned his face away at how close she was, so suddenly, and cursed the rising heat on his cheeks. "Y-Yes, that's what I said. I'll help you."
Gloria sank back on her heels and pumped her fists happily. "Yes! Oh, thank you, Bede!"
Before he could register what was happening, Gloria embraced him in a quick hug. His mouth dropped open in a strangled gasp, his body freezing rigid and taught as her silky hair tickled the side of his face and neck. He breathed in a gasp of peach and vanilla. Her scent. It was gone as quickly as she'd hugged him, her warmth suddenly and desperately missed as Bede sagged as if his spine had melted.
"I was so worried you wouldn't agree and I'd have to spend a week in the Wild Area by myself," Gloria rambled, relieved and excited.
"Hold on - it's going to take a week?" Bede's heart dropped into his stomach. A cold wave of dread, of sinking trepidation, washed over him.
A full week.
In the Wild Area.
Alone with Gloria.
"Um… yes." Gloria smiled sheepishly at him. "That's why it's a rather big favour…" Her smile lessened fractionally, a bead of worry in her eyes. "Are you… still going to help me?"
Bede exhaled a deep sigh, wondering what, exactly, he had gotten himself into. "I said I'd help you, so I will. I'm not going to go back on my word."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Gloria cheered sweetly. "I won't forget this, ever!"
Her smile was too dazzling, too bright. Bede couldn't look at it without succumbing to a rush of heat. His cheeks burned under the effects of her smile.
"Well, before you get too excited, we need to figure out the details of this trip," Bede said, scrambling for something to focus his mind on, something to bring him down to earth as his heart threatened to soar away. "How long do you expect this to take? Have you planned out where you're going to start, at least?"
Gloria grinned proudly. "I have, actually! I asked Leon for some estimates based on his experience and it should take no more than a week; three or four days to deal with the Southern Wild Area, about the same for the North. We can stop in Motostoke in between."
Bede nodded slowly, surprised that she's actually thought ahead about this. She was usually more impulsive, more I'll-deal-with-that-when-I-get-to-it kind of thinking.
"I was planning to leave next Saturday. We could meet in the Meet-up Spot at around eight in the morning?"
"We'll meet at your place. I'll want to check all our gear before we head off. You have a track record for being a bit too optimistic at times."
Gloria rolled her eyes. "I've camped in the Wild Area before. I know what to expect."
"And yet you seem to think that you can route the whole Wild Area in a week."
Gloria sent him a challenged pout. "You don't think I can? Leon could do it, and I beat him!"
"In a battle, yes. But you seem to forget that Leon had been Champion for many years. For him, a week is fine. For you…?" he raised a pointed eyebrow. "Maybe a week and a half, minimum. Remember, Leon had his Charizard. From what I've gathered, you plan to hike the whole journey."
Gloria nodded slowly as the truth of Bede's words sank in. "Okay, we'll meet at my place, then. Oh! We can take the train from Wedgehurst! It'll be like we're starting our journey again!"
She gasped so excitedly that Bede couldn't bring himself to argue and remind her that taking a sky taxi would be quicker.
"I'll have to change up my team a little if we're going to deal with a range of Pokemon," Bede commented, his mind continuously thinking. "Might be worth it to catch any strong Pokemon we come across."
Gloria bit back an enthusiastic squeal, bouncing on her toes with a bright smile. "Oh, I'm so excited! I've already sent my tent in to get patched and I've stocked up on a ton of Ultra Balls."
"Potions and food too, I should hope."
She rolled her eyes. "That's next on my list."
"You have a list?" Bede said, sounding impressed with a teasing smirk.
"Of course! Although, I'd still like to drop into Motostoke after three or four days. We can deal with the rest of the Southern Wild Area after that before moving north."
Bede nodded as their plan slowly came into place. It actually seemed feasible.
"Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked.
"Yeah."
Bede raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you have to drag me all the way out here to do so?"
Her nervous demeanor and the way she'd ask to speak outside had given him a completely wrong impression on what she'd wanted to talk about.
Gloria looked away. "Well… I was a bit… embarrassed about it."
"Embarrassed to ask me for help?"
"Embarrassed that I had to ask for help at all. And, as much as I like everyone at your Gym, they can be a bit…"
"Nosy?"
"I was going to say curious."
"They eavesdrop, Gloria. That's nosy."
Her lips twitched into a smile. "I'm glad you agreed to come with me. Hop's busy studying and helping Sonia, and Marnie's got other commitments. I was afraid I'd have to do it all by myself."
"You've camped in the Wild Area by yourself before," Bede pointed out. "You traveled solo during the Cup too."
"I know," she sighed sheepishly. "But it's so much more fun to do it with someone else."
There were many things Bede could have said then. He could've chided her that it sounded like she just didn't want to be lonely, or reminded her that they weren't doing it for fun. But the smile on her face was too dazzling for Bede to risk dampening it with a callous remark.
"Anyway, I should head off," she said. "I'll text you if anything changes, but if it doesn't, then I'll see you on Saturday!"
Bede's breath caught unconsciously. "Y-Yeah. That sounds good." A reflexive heat had begun to pool on his cheeks as his body braced for what would happen next.
Gloria then raised up on her toes, hugging him briefly, too quickly, and stepped back.
"Wait-!" Bede snatched her wrist as she went to turn away. His heart lodged high in his throat as her eyes widened. As confusion, a question, filled her eyes.
"Bede?"
The gentle way she said his name made it impossibly difficult to speak. He swallowed painfully.
"Didn't you say, before, that hugs are usually reciprocated?" Bede said. He forced the words out, his brow furrowing slightly with the effort. "You can't just hug me like that without allowing me to… reciprocate."
Her lips parted slightly. "Oh. Sorry."
Bede stole his hand back, releasing her wrist. His skin tingled where they'd touched.
Gloria hugged her arms close to her body. "I didn't want to make you uncomfortable, that's all. I… tend to go a bit overboard with hugs sometimes." She laughed lightly then, but a trickle of pain filtered through her sheepishness. "I'm not good at reading people's reactions to my hugs, or at all, really."
"I wouldn't have let you hug me in the first place if I was uncomfortable about it," Bede said.
She pursed her lips into a faint smile, but it faded quickly. "I know, but… I've annoyed people in the past by being too huggy. All the other kids in Postwick avoided me because of it, because I'd get too excited and hug someone. Hop was the only one who'd hug me back." She shrugged absently. "I guess I just don't want to… lose another friend because of it."
"Sounds like you're better off without them," Bede huffed.
"Maybe." Another shrug. "Just… let me know if I start annoying you or anything, okay? I'm really not good at those kinds of things."
"You're not annoying."
She looked at him now, her heart open and vulnerable and rough with scars. Isolation and hurt that Bede recognised and ached in response. Wounds inflicted years ago, slow to heal, never fully fading. A memory etched into flesh.
"You're impulsive and excitable, overly affectionate at times and incredulously optimistic too, but not annoying." A swath of heat spread across Bede's cheeks as he spoke. As her eyes widened, as light returned to her face. "Even if you were, I wouldn't say that because that's you. I see nothing wrong with you being the way you are."
Silence fell for a tense, deafening moment before Gloria sucked in a deep gasp.
"Aw, Bede! That's so sweet!" she chimed, bouncing quickly on her toes, positively vibrating with glee. "I have to hug you now, okay?"
She bounced on the spot for another second before Bede realised she was waiting for his permission. He nodded stiffly, his breath held tight in his lungs, and she launched herself at him with a warm hug. She shifted up and down on her toes, nuzzling into him with a happy squeal. Her hug was calming and gentle, yet firm enough for Bede to feel her body heat bleed into him, solid and soft at the same time. He managed to scramble his brain for enough cognitive functions to reciprocate her embrace, gently wrapping his arms around her back. She quietened against him. Her movements stilled and she softened in his arms, steady and silent. He felt her sigh against him, a tranquil and listless breath of air sounding in his ear.
"Mm…" she hummed and Bede felt that vibration, that quiet sound, throughout his entire body. "Your hugs are nice."
Bede blinked in stupor. His face was alight with a fierce blush, his lungs struggling for air in a mix of elation and panic. "Wh-What?"
"I feel like I could fall asleep like this…"
"Well, don't! I'm not a bed!"
She laughed, pulling out of the hug with a breathless giggle. Her eyes sparkled with dazzling mirth. "Thanks, Bede. I needed a hug just like that. Now I feel rejuvenated! Time to go shopping for more supplies!"
"Just remember that you'll have to carry everything you take. Don't expect me to lug around any junk you bring."
Gloria breathed a puff of laughter. "I know! Oh, I'm so excited now! I'll see you on Saturday, Bede!" She skipped around him, turning to give him a wave before dashing off.
Bede shook his head to himself, a small, amused smile on his face. She was completely ridiculous. A whirlwind of hugs and laughter, a crackling storm of frightening strength beneath a sunshower of bright, dazzling smiles. Even now, after all this time, she managed to surprise him.
The week ahead would certainly be very interesting indeed.
-
The days leading up to the start of their trip passed impossibly slow. Bede had obtained everything he needed for the journey the day after Gloria had asked him; a new tent (he hadn't kept the one he'd used during the Cup), a durable and sturdy backpack, a sleeping bag rated for the lowest temperatures they'd expect to encounter, and enough packaged food and potions to last over a week. He'd had the foresight to pack a decent first-aid kit, knowing fully well what Gloria was like at times. They'd be lucky to reach Motostoke without an incident or two.
The consequence of being prepared so early meant that the last few days of waiting felt agonisingly slow. The only bearable aspect to it was Gloria's excited texts, becoming full of emojis and almost indecipherable as the week progressed. She sent pictures of her gear, her pink tent now with a solid patch over the hole on the roof, the ingredients she'd stocked up on for making curry.
The night before they were scheduled to leave, Gloria sent a picture of a mound of sandwiches, texting that she had their lunch sorted - for them and their Pokemon. Bede couldn't help but smile, amused at the satisfied grin on Gloria's face in the photo, a smudge of sauce on her cheek as she posed in front of the sandwiches. Her Cinderace eyed the food in the background hungrily. A light chuckle left Bede's lips at the sight. He sent her a quick text in reply, warning her not to let Cinderace eat it all before they'd even left. He then sent another, pointing out the streak of sauce on her cheek. Her string of embarrassed emojis and exclamation marks, a barrage of texts one after another, made Bede laugh to himself. He lay back on his bed, eyes closing as he smiled. His phone buzzed in his hand, more texts from Gloria explaining that she didn't normally end up with sauce on her face after cooking. A warm bubble of amusement burst in Bede's chest. Texting Gloria was free entertainment.
Bede rolled onto his side, texting Gloria back that he wasn't so sure if he should believe her excuse, with the way she always ended up with crumbs on her face after eating. Despite the late hour, the early start they had the next day, he found he had little desire to end their conversation. The hours passed like minutes, an endless chain of texts between them filling the time. Hers sprinkled with an array of emojis, of hearts and exclamation points, as energetic as the real thing. Bede kept his short and succinct, skipping any sense of grammar or punctuation for ease. He'd thought, once or twice, about sending an emoji in reply. Entertained the idea long enough for it to flutter his heart strangely, to think that he'd adapt part of her texting style into his. He'd decided against it, in the end.
Their conversation ended abruptly, Bede's text staring blankly at him without a reply, and he realised that she must have fallen asleep. It was almost midnight, and with their train tickets for eight in the morning, they had planned to meet earlier, at her place, at half-past seven. Bede stared at the ceiling above him, a distracting thrum of anticipation in his chest. A bundle of excited nerves humming, buzzing together between his ribs. A swirl of anxious energy pumped through his veins with every beat of his heart, deafening and dizzying.
He was too excited to sleep.
-
At seven-thirty on the dot, Bede strode up to the front door of Gloria's house, dumping the heavy pack off his shoulders as he rang the doorbell. Budew cooed from the garden, soaking up the dawn. The air was cool and fresh, tinged with the scent of hay and flowers. From inside, Bede heard footsteps, a muffled voice. Wooloo and Dubwool called in the distance farms behind the house.
Bede straightened as the door opened, Gloria's mother welcoming him in with a bright, homely smile. He thanked her curtly, collecting his bag and entering with a bashful nod. His heart clenched tight in his chest, suddenly and frighteningly nervous in front of Gloria's mother. A Munchlax sat in the living room, barely paying Bede any notice save for a long, heavy yawn. In the entrance to the living room, Bede recognised the bag Gloria planned to take from pictures she'd sent him.
"She'll be out soon," Gloria's mother said. "I'd only gotten her out of bed a few moments ago." She laughed lightly. "Said she was up late last night packing."
And texting me, Bede thought as a trickle of heat curled on his cheeks. Gloria's mother didn't seem to mind the prospect of them camping together. Despite only meeting Bede a couple of times, she seemed to trust him. Liked him, even. He felt small, felt too exposed under her smile, almost wondering if she could hear the rapid pounding of his heart in his chest. Every movement he made, every word, every breath, was careful and forced into perfection. Afraid to stuff up, to fumble anything, in front of the mother of the woman he loved.
Arceus. He desperately hoped she couldn't see the blush forming on his cheeks.
"Bede! Sorry, I'm almost ready!" Gloria called, the door to her room swinging open. She stumbled out, hopping as she tried to stuff her foot in her shoe. She swept the lunch boxes off the counter, stealing a sandwich off a nearby plate in the process and holding it between her teeth, and unceremoniously shoved their lunches into her bag. In the process, she finally slipped her foot into her shoe with a tug on the heel. She stomped her heel on the floor once, then twice, then nodded satisfactorily. She drew her long hair up with practiced grace, tying it up into a neat ponytail. She stole the cap resting against her bag and placed it on her head, turning to Bede with a grin. His eyes drew to the pink Fairy Gym logo on her black cap. She still had it.
Of course she did. It was pink.
"There! Now I'm all ready to go!" Gloria beamed, taking the sandwich from between her teeth and nibbling on it.
Bede stared, torn between being impressed or concerned about that rushed performance of hers.
"Take care, you two!" Gloria's mother said. "You watch out for each other, now!"
"We will!" Gloria replied happily, scooping her bag off the floor as she munched on her sandwich. "We all good to go, or did you want to check my gear, still?"
"Unless you've decided to drastically change it since you sent me those pictures, it's fine." Bede nodded to Gloria's mother appreciatively. "We'll be off, then."
Gloria skipped around him, surprisingly nimble with the bulky bag on her shoulders. "Lets go, let's go!" She swung open the door, and Bede hurried after with long striders, saying a quick farewell to her mother.
"If you keep going like that, you'll be exhausted before we reach Wedgehurst," Bede chided.
Gloria rolled her eyes dramatically, spinning a wide circle as she walked to make sure Bede saw, but slowed to a normal pace. "It's called being excited. You should try it sometime."
"And here I thought it was about the journey, not the destination."
"Our journey starts in the Wild Area, and we're not there yet."
"It won't be much of a journey if you wear yourself out before we get there."
Gloria scoffed but settled into a gentle pace beside Bede, still smiling. The dirt path crunched beneath their feet, the sounds of happy Wooloo and Dubwool filling the air, as they walked the short distance between Postwick and Wedgehurst. Each step Gloria took had an excited bounce to it. Her ponytail swished back and forth like the tail of a trotting Mudbray and Bede bit back a smirk at that thought.
"It's nice to see you in that jacket again," Gloria commented, smiling at his large magenta coat. "Feels like it's been ages since I've seen you wear it."
Bede shrugged, ignoring how warm he felt under her gaze. "I didn't put that much thought into wearing it, if you must know. It just happens to be the thickest jacket I own, and the Wild Area has unpredictable weather."
"I know." She smiled at him, the corner of her eyes crinkling. "But I've always liked it."
A fuzzy bead of warmth lodged in Bede's chest. He had to force himself to remember that she was talking about his jacket, and not him. He absently hitched the collar higher. He studied her out of the corner of his eyes, taking in the way her skin seemed to shine in the morning light, the bright streaks of gold in her brown hair, the speckles of honey in her eyes. She wore less pink than usual, settling on darker, muted colours for their trip. Dark blue denim shorts frayed at her mid-thigh, a thick jacket keeping off the morning chill. She wore her usual black boots but had changed her backpack out for a larger, tattered brown one.
Her fringe blew gently in the breeze around her face, and Bede caught a glimmer of silver on her earlobe.
"You pierced your ears," he noted, almost freezing on the spot when he realised he'd said that aloud and not in his head.
Gloria dimpled, reaching up to twiddle the small silver loop. "I got them done a few weeks ago. I thought it'd make me look a bit more mature, now that I'm Champion."
The earrings sparkled in the light and Bede swallowed his comment that she looked plenty mature regardless, unwilling to let that sliver of honesty out just yet. Over the many months they'd known each other, Gloria had already matured. The light in her eyes was less innocent and naive, becoming more steadfast and determined. She walked with confident strides, shyed less around strangers. She spoke her mind with more confidence, trusted herself - and her Pokemon - in her battles and her life.
She'd grown her long brown hair out from the messy bob she'd had during their Challenge, letting it fall past her shoulders. The only part of her that hadn't changed at all was her height. Bede had been half a head taller than her when they'd first met and now he could easily rest his chin on top of her head if he wished.
She'd probably make the most adorable and amusing squawk if he did.
-
They chatted aimlessly on the way to Wedgehurst, the sun rising slowly, sitting at a low angle when they finally arrived at the station. The late autumn air was brisk and sharp, and Bede shoved his hands into his pockets. He eyed Gloria's bare legs incredulously, wondering how she wasn't feeling the cold. They sat on a bench just outside the station, basking in the sunlight as they waited for the train to arrive. Gloria stretched out lazily, slumping at an angle that couldn't be comfortable for her neck. Her feet tapped absently.
Bede opened his mouth to speak when two young women approached. Their eyes sparkled excitedly.
"Are you Gym Leader Bede?" one of them asked. She had thick, unruly hair tied into pigtails, giving him a wide, eager smile.
Bede straightened into a more respectable posture, wiping the disinterest from his face and managing a smile. "Yes, that's correct."
They both squealed in glee. The other girl, with dusty blonde hair chopped short, clung to her friend's sleeve. "Is it true that you give autographs now? Can you sign our League Cards?" She thrust out a copy of Bede's Rare League Card towards him, a black marker sitting on top. Her friend did the same.
Bede took the cards, and the marker, and gave them a refreshing smile. "Of course," he said, swallowing the bile rising up his throat at how sugary he sounded. He capped off the pen, neatly signing the two cards before handing them back.
"I can't believe we ran into you in Wedgehurst!" the pigtailed girl exclaimed. "We are so lucky!"
"I know!" the blonde echoed. "Oh, can I ask you a few questions? Is that alright?"
Bede managed to maintain his smile. "Sure. Go right ahead."
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Gloria shove her hat further down over her face. Her arms folded stiffly across her chest.
"I heard that you're going to take over Ballonlea's theatre as well! Is that true?" the blonde asked. "Are you going to perform too? Or just direct the plays?"
"Oh, yes! I've heard there's going to be a production of Romeo and Juliet - are you going to play Romeo? Who's going to star in it? Do you need any more actresses? We could totally play a part!"
Bede blanched slightly, recovering quickly from their onslaught of questions. "Ms Opal doesn't have any plans to retire from the theatre at the moment," he said calmly despite his growing irritation.
"Are you dating the Champion?" the pigtailed girl asked, making Bede's heart catch painfully in his throat. "Everyone says you've got a thing for her!"
"Is it true she rejected you? You confessed to her during the finals, right? Does that mean you're still single?"
Gloria scoffed harshly, silencing the rapid fire question from the two girls. They turned to face her, biting irritation twisting their smiles into scowls. Bede blinked in shock.
"What kind of questions are those?" she huffed, straightening so she sat upright again. The cap hung low on her head, casting a shadow over her eyes. "That's none of your business."
"No one asked you," the blonde spat.
"Ignore her," the other girl said. "Just look at her, wearing the Fairy Gym hat. What a total wannabe. Obsessed enough to think she'll get his attention by dressing in his merch, Arceus!" She laughed, her friend joining in to cackle at Gloria.
Something dark flashed in Gloria's eyes. A trepid tingle shot down Bede's spine. He knew that look all too well, knew what it meant. He stiffened where he sat, deciding that he wasn't going to get involved with this, not when Gloria had clearly decided to fight back.
Gloria's laughter silenced the two younger girls. She tossed a Pokeball in her hand, spinning it with each throw. "How about this - you two beat me in a battle, and I'll clear off. I win, you get the fuck out of here."
Bede stifled a choked gasp. He'd never heard Gloria swear like that before, never more than a whispered curse beneath her breath, and definitely not burning with acidic vitriol like that.
"As if," the blonde laughed. "We don't have to battle you."
"Two-on-one," Gloria said. "Both of you against my Cinderace. One Pokemon each."
The girls exchanged glances, overconfident grins building on their faces before they laughed.
"Oh, you're on!" the pigtailed girl said. They hadn't noticed the dangerous flash in Gloria's eyes. The cutting edge to her sharp smile.
A cold shiver trickled down Bede's spine. His heart skittered warmly in his chest, making him suddenly breathless.
Gloria drew off the bench smoothly, standing tall despite her meager height, and tossed her Pokeball. Cinderace appeared from the wash of light, bouncing on his toes.
"All right, Cinderace. Let's show them what we've got," Gloria said. She nodded to Cinderace pointedly, her Pokemon catching the hidden meaning to the blaze in her eyes with a quick trill in response.
Cinderace. She'd said Cinderace, not Fyrian. Deliberately chose not to use the nickname that would label her as the Champion.
Bede's blood thrummed in his veins. She was more cunning than he thought.
The two fans of Bede grinned at each other as they put a short distance between them and Gloria, readying their own Pokemon. They threw their Pokeballs out, sending out a Drednaw and a Pelipper.
Water types. Bede steeled himself, trying not to show interest in the battle, to reveal the anxious clenching of his heart despite knowing this was Gloria, that a type-advantage meant nothing against her. He clenched his hands into fists, still buried deep in his pockets.
There was a viperous edge to Gloria's smile, a menacing edge to her grin. An overwhelming confidence erupted in her eyes. Cinderace shifted his stance, paws digging into the dirt, his expression echoing his trainer's.
Neither opponent noticed, or cared, about the absence of fear in Gloria or Cinderace. It would be their downfall.
The two naive trainers saw Gloria's inaction as weakness and took the moment to strike. Drednaw flung hefty boulders at Cinderace, digging rocks from the earth with the solid horn on its head and launching them. The rocks shattered on impact with Cinderace arms braced in front of him. A spray of dust and earth clouded Cinderace. Pelipper spurted a torrent of water through the dust cloud. Another boulder launched. It shattered with a flash of heat and fire. The dust settled. The air cleared, and Cinderace stood tall. A fine layer of dirt caked his arms but he remained strong without a scratch. Unphased and unharmed.
"Now!" Gloria called.
Cinderace launched into the air. The trainers gasped, Drednaw struggling to follow the upward trajectory that Cinderace took with a single bound. Pelipper dove to the side with a cry. Drednaw's trainer called for him to dodge, but the slow moving Pokemon could only shuffle and scramble before Cinderace began to fall.
The impact rumbled through the ground. Earth sprayed into the air, Cinderace and Drednaw disappearing into the thick cloud. Pelipper cried in a panic, fluttering above the growing cloud with anxious beats of its wings. A ball of fire shot from the cloud. It slammed into Pelipper's left wing and the Flying type dropped from the sky. Cinderace leapt from the dust, swiping a blazing kick at Pelipper's side with a flurry of fire and feathers.
Cinderace landed cleanly on both feet. A second later, Pelipper crashed to the ground, its wing and belly charred and black with soot. The dust settled behind them, Drednaw collapsed in the dirt. A stiff silence fell. The wind carried the stench of soot and dirt, swirling Pelipper's lost feathers into the air.
Gloria angled her head with a haughty smile. She walked over to Cinderace, giving her Pokemon a nod of approval, before returning him. Her gaze snapped to the two gawking trainers. They flinched, quickly recalling their fainted and wounded Pokemon. Gloria stode past them, picking up her bag off the floor by the bench. She smiled at Bede. He stole the owlish look off his face.
"Let's go," she said sweetly, but the sharp edge to her smile remained. "Our train's here."
Bede collected his bag and followed her into the station, feeling the flabbergasted stares of the two trainers bore into his back.
-
Gloria remained silent as Bede took a seat opposite her, nestling his bag under the table between them. She looked out the window at the station wall. A cloudy glaze fell over her eyes, distant and impassive, and she rested her cheek in her hand, elbow propped on the table.
A strange mood had overtaken her, and Bede didn't know whether to try to soothe it or not. The fire in her eyes had completely doused, not a cinder remaining. His heart skipped uneasily, sinking heavily into his gut.
"Do you regret thrashing them so completely?" Bede asked. He sat back, trying to remain casual and unperturbed when Gloria slid her eyes over to him. "It might do them some good to taste defeat once in a while. Arceus knows they deserved it."
"I knew them."
Bede's heart slowed to a stop. She looked away. Memories he couldn't read, couldn't discern, flickered and shifted behind her eyes, fading too fast to detect the emotions they stirred.
"They didn't appear to recognise you," Bede noted.
The corner of Gloria's lips twisted sourly for a fraction of a second. "Of course they didn't. Why would they, when they spent our whole childhood teasing and bullying me, avoiding me and taunting me, as if they didn't spend every waking moment making my life miserable."
Her brow twitched, a scowl forming and fading quickly. "They probably don't even remember… I know they don't. Why else would they rock up to my house the other day asking for me, for us to 'catch up.'" Gloria punctuated that with a gesture of inverted commas with her fingers. "If I'd been home then, I would've given them a piece or two of my mind, that's for sure."
"I don't doubt that." Bede folded his arms loosely over his chest, trying to gauge Gloria's mood, trying to work out how best to proceed. She'd never really opened up much about her past, only in fractions and pieces over time. She'd gone through a lot more than Bede had realised. Ostracized and isolated, an experience he knew all too well.
"When we were kids it was always Leon-this, Leon-that. Now I guess they've moved on to you."
She stared blankly out the window as the train began to move. The brick wall became a blur of stone, the rumbling and clattering of the train filling the silence for a moment.
"Guess I'm only interesting to them now that I'm Champion. Finally worthy of their attention instead of insults." She huffed sharply, then sighed and stretched. "It felt good to thrash them like that, though. They didn't even know who I was. Oh, I should've told them at the end; can you imagine the look on their faces?" Her laughter calmed the tense air, a smile finally reaching her face.
"That would have been fairly amusing, I'm sure," Bede agreed. "Though, I'm more surprised about hearing you swear like that earlier. You're usually quite careful about your reputation as Champion."
"Oh, that…" she laughed sheepishly. "I guess it kinda slipped out. I only tend to swear when I'm really upset or angry."
"You've never sworn at me."
She blinked at him. "Why would I do that? I've never been that mad at you."
"You seemed plenty mad after our first battle, back in Galar Mine."
Bede clearly remembered the sharp blade of her glare, the tight cut of her jaw when she winced in pain, the crimson blood blooming on her shoulder where her confused Snorunt's Ice Shard had struck her.
"Oh, that." Gloria nodded slowly as she remembered. "Did I look mad? I was trying so hard not to cry from the shock of it all. And it hurt like hell." She laughed briefly, a short breath of reminiscence.
"I never asked about it," Bede realised. "Was it bad?"
Gloria rolled her shoulder. "Not really. It bled a lot, sure, and left a funky scar, but it didn't need stitches or anything. Although I had a huge bruise over the spot for a full week afterwards!"
Bede didn't know how she could make light of something like that. How she could smile and laugh about the wound on her arm, about the scar her Snorunt had left on her skin. How she could brush it off like it was water trickling over her shoulders and not blood that had stained her dress.
"Yuki was so sorry about it too! She wouldn't use Ice Shard at all for days afterwards!" Gloria chuckled lightly. "I hadn't even thought to be mad at Yuki, or you. I was more frustrated at myself. I hadn't noticed how distressed Yuki was, that she was confused and that I made her continue fighting."
Gloria's smile faded, becoming doleful and soft. Memories of pain and regret danced behind her eyes. She looked out the window as the train edited the tunnel, a rush of light and trees streaming past.
"I'm sure she doesn't hold it against you," Bede said. "From what I've seen, all your Pokemon trust you immensely."
Light returned to her eyes as she smiled at him. "Thanks, Bede."
Those simple words fluttered his heart. He snatched his gaze away to the window, to the scenery rushing past in a blur of colours. The stammering of his heart made it difficult to breathe but it wasn't uncomfortable in the slightest. It was fuzzy and warm, a pooling of heat on his cheeks. Like her smile was the sun, warming him with its mere presence. Like he was a sunflower, following her as she swept across the endless sky. His eyes drew back to her like a magnet, again and again, as they fell into an amicable silence.
A full week.
Bede wasn't sure if his heart could last that long at this rate.