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"i take it you're enjoying hoenn?" the man with light blue hair inquired with a raise of his brow and a gentle smile displayed on his lips. the boy sitting in front of him, ash ketchum, promptly paused his delighted expression from tasting the strawberry cake he had ordered to look at the very man who asked the question. had steven stone been any less experienced in reading the slightest change in expressions ( thanks to his dear beloved always toying with him ), he wouldn't have caught the surprised look that was thrown his way before it was quickly replaced with the boys usual cheery and bright smile ( he thinks if ash continues the act he might have to invest in sunglasses to avoid blinding himself any further ).
"mhm! the pokemon here are so friendly and cute, although that's to be expected. plus, the people and food here aren't that bad at all!" he took another spoonful of cake and was about to take a bite when the pikachu on his shoulder reacted with lightning speed and ate it before it even had the chance to be in close proximity to his mouth. ash paused and glowered lightly at the mon, who only responded by licking its lips with a satisfied hum. the boy huffed playfully before continuing once more.
"anyways, i found these really cool and pretty looking marbles. i have to admit the reactions i got from them were a bit unexpected but that's basically my life so," ash shrugged his shoulders with pikachu barely even flinching at the, what was supposed to be anyway, disruptive action and just continued to lick at its own fur. the very same action caught steven's eye as ash's hair bunched up slightly at his shoulders. it wasn't a particularly important detail. truth be told, the only reason he caught it was because he suddenly remembered a picture lance showed him not too long ago with him and ash in it. he vividly remembers that ash had short hair at the time, it seems he didn't bother to cut it and simply let it grow.
it could be a bit of a nuisance if he doesn't take care of it properly. assuming he chooses to continue growing it that is. if he does then i might have to teach him how to once we both have more time.
right then and there stevens mind pauses as he recalls what ash had told him.
hold on… marbles? why on earth?...
he's sure that if he were in a comedy show of sorts there would be a record scratch playing with obnoxious loudness in his mind.
"pardon but, marbles you say?" a small sweatdrop appears on his cheek. surely he had heard wrong right?
ash stops the banter he and pikachu were in ( and isn't that a funny thought? it was almost as if he was conversing with his pokemon as if they were talking in the same language. the boy truly was an enigma as lance had told him ) to stare directly at steven. for a fraction of a second he felt like he was being stared down by a divine being who could easily annihilate him and make him anew with just a gaze from his golden eyes ( golden? what happened to the warm amber he had seen just moments ago? has he finally lost it? ). he suppressed a shiver and suddenly the shimmery gold was gone in an instant and the warm amber was back in its rightful place ( or were they there the whole time and he was just being delusional? he doesn't know anymore ). if ash had noticed the momentary change in atmosphere then he was scarily good at hiding the fact that he does. he responds by nodding.
"yup, marbles. the way i found them was kinda weird too now that i think about it," ash sported a confused expression and tapped his chin in a rhythmic pattern, his pikachu now doing the same. normally steven would have chuckled at the adorable sight of a mon mirroring its trainer's action, but his mind was a bit too preoccupied for that.
"would you mind telling me how weird it was exactly?" he didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet. he needed to be certain.
"well for starters, my sceptile was basically eying the thing like it was the most precious item he had ever seen. after a while i just gave one to him and boy was he elated. the same thing even happened with may's blaziken too!" alright yes that is certainly weird but surely it's not what he thinks it is. it was probably just an extremely pretty and cool looking marble that the pokemon just had to have it. yeah that seems plausible enough.
"and get this, that wasn't even the weirdest part!" he doesn't know why he's not surprised. perhaps he should have listened to lance when he said "be careful associating yourself with him, you're sure to get white hairs. although it's not like you can evade him at all, he has a certain charm that makes people gravitate towards him rather effortlessly" . unfortunately he didn't and merely brushed his friend/colleague off without a thought. now he's facing the consequences of his dismissal at lance's warning by not mentally preparing himself for the enigma that is ash ketchum.
"random pokemon tapped themselves on the pokeballs that were strapped to my belt willingly. after a certain amount i hid the pokeballs in my sling bag so the numbers would stop increasing. i'm sure you already guessed the reason they did that was because of the marbles i found. i mean i'm not complaining about gaining more friends but it just doesn't sit right with me y'know?" ash gingerly scratched his right cheek in an embarrassed manner. as for steven, well…
"may i see these marbles of yours?" his brows were furrowed by now and he's sure he was even twitching slightly in some places. ash doesn't comment on his odd behavior. instead the boy smiles brightly again and nods excitedly. now he's normally a patient man, but seeing ash rummage through his bag in search of the supposed 'marbles' left him at his wits end. a small victorious 'aha!' left the boys mouth as his eyes sparkled at the items he finally found. curiously, he shoved both his hands in and slowly took them out whilst clenching tightly around the items in hopes that they won't fall to the ground and no doubt roll around carelessly ( if the marbles ash is talking about are the ones he's thinking, well, let's just say he'll be buying hair dye to hide the white hairs quickly growing on his scalp ). with a wide grin, ash holds out both his hands that were now no longer in a tight grip and placed the marbles delicately onto the table.
- my. arceus.
it took every fiber in his being not to let out an ear-splitting scream that would most likely be filled with vulgar words. he doesn't wish to taint the poor boys ears with such crude yelling when he's this young ( besides, lance would surely behead him if he hears ash curse and to find out that it was him of all people that taught him that. yeah, no. he's blatantly aware of the fondness the redhead has for ash and he likes his head where it is, sitting snug on his shoulders, thank you very much ). steven is oh so grateful for his self control right now.
still, the amount of keystones this child has acquired absolutely baffles him to no end. just exactly how lucky even is this kid? it took him nearly 6 months to get his and he searched for it non stop, high and low, getting more and more desperate as he went on considering how scarce they are in hoenn. yet this random boy in front of him, who he met by absolute chance and nothing else, who has a bleeding heart for just about anyone in the world, who is smart as he is dumb, found it without even trying? he's starting to see just who arceus' favorite is.
"w-where did," he coughed lightly to hide the small tremor in his voice ( he ignores the confused tilt of both pokemon and trainer in front of him ) "where did you say you found these… marbles again?" calling such precious items something so common made him feel a bit ill.
"oh, i found them while exploring in the wilderness. they were just, there, so i took them with me every time i found one. now that i think about it though, it was kind of dumb for me to do that…" a nervous chuckle escaped his lips as the boy fidgeted with his hands awkwardly.
steven felt lightheaded.
"and why is t-that?" he doesn't even bother to hide the stutter this time.
"well since i found so many it must mean they're pretty common here. maybe i shouldn't have gotten so many…" ash's fidgeting increased tenfold. and steven…
thud
"eh!? steven! steven are you ok!?"
…appears to have fainted. he thinks he can see his soul ascending to the afterlife. he wishes he could have told ash to say goodbye to wallace for him. alas, his departure was too abrupt to be able to do anything. a pity, truly.