Archive of Our Own ^beta

Rika barely comes out to the grocery shop.

It's a duty that's normally relegated to her siblings, or her parents, or their family's Alakazam. The duty relegated to her, in turn, is to stay inside her room and type away at keyboards and push back the hair from her eyes and stare longingly at the scissors inside her desk drawer and disgustingly back at the long strands falling over her shoulder. That's her usual thing. She likes it when everything stays as usual. 

But things change, and it's nothing really new to her when she leaves her house with no voices calling out for extra vegetables and no pattering of feet against the wood and no arguing in the kitchen and nothing, nothing else left to give. It's nothing new, but the part where she has to take care of herself is still so.

At least the grocery store is close, so she doesn't have to walk for too long before she's entering in and straightening her tote bag. She grabs a small basket, making the usual round of grabbing miscellaneous vegetables, eggs, ramen packets, and packaged boxes of cooked rice. The store is quiet, as it usually is this early in the morning, which is when most citizens of Paldea are either snug in bed or on a jog in the streets with their Pokémon, and so she works quietly, too.

She thinks about what to make for dinner that could last till tomorrow's lunch. One of her office co-workers has recently shared a hotpot-at-home recipe in a group chat with their team manager, and though it had felt to Rika like an obnoxious kiss-up at the time she catches her Rotom Phone already floating in the air with the chatroom open, smug expression on its face as if it'd guessed her intentions all along.

Rika scoffs, lightheartedly. And then she's squinting at the ingredients and checking her basket. She's only missing mushrooms. And she's only missing the courage to quit her job like she wants to. 

There's only one display with mushrooms in the store. They're not exactly popular, especially with Paldea being near-infested with Foongus and Amoongus popping up from nearly every crevice in town, but Rika makes her way over anyways.

There's only a single packaged box of shiitake mushrooms left. She reaches a hand out to grab it, and is immediately stopped when another, strange hand comes to hover above her own and stops as if it's went into mild shock. Rika blinks at this exchange, and then turns her head.

Standing next to her is probably one of the most beautiful women she has ever come across in her life. Her hand over the packet twitches instinctively.

"Oh," the woman says, and she probably has one of the most beautiful voices Rika has ever heard, too. Suited, gloved, a little ethereal. "I did not realize you were reaching out first. My apologies." She retracts her hand while Rika remains frozen, and she smiles. "Another time, then, it is quite alright. You should take it."

Rika blinks again, like an idiot. The woman turns, and Rika finds herself reaching out and tapping her arm to stop her. She turns back, deep blue eyes staring into her own red ones questioningly. 

"You can take 'em," she offers, mustering up a smile of her own. It probably comes out awkward, but she really doesn't have the time to think over it before giving the woman a nod and then shuffling away, eyes already scanning the rest of the display for other - 

This time, the woman taps her on the shoulder. Rika turns, and hopes she doesn't look as flustered as she feels.

"Forgive me for being too forward," she says, leaning in, and Rika's heart jumps a little. "But would you happen to be free, tonight?"

-

Her name is Geeta, she mulls. Writing down the phone number in her address book from her Rotom phone all at once as soon as she's back, her mind roams again for probably the fifth time to her question.

Are you free? What were you planning to have for dinner, tonight? Rika was thinking about homemade hotpot. Requiring little to no cooking skill, more or less throwing ingredients into a pot and scraping off some chili sauce from the small tupperware boxes of it her…parents had sent over last month. She hadn't mentioned this part, but Geeta had smiled and said that she'd never tried hotpot. She wanted to, some time. Rika almost tells her that she'd think it would be fun to get some together if they hadn't met ten minutes ago.

Rika almost wants to ask her if she's cultivated a hobby out of inviting lonely strangers in grocery stores for dinner with the way she'd been that confident in asking her, and then she does anyways, when they're exiting the store. Geeta says her acquaintances call her an "overblown extrovert." She fingers the important looking pin clipped onto her coat while saying this, and looks like she doesn't realize it. Rika hadn't paid more attention to realize what it stood for, either, but she'd nodded and held back a laugh as they'd parted ways.

I'll see you soon, Geeta says. I feel like you're quite a personality. 

Rika watches her go, and thinks, I'm sure you are, too.

-

The restaurant is in Medali. It's a beloved eatery in Paldea, where the secret menu items are what makes the game. The Medali gym leader, Rika has heard, operates on these "secret menu items" as a part of the official Gym Challenge, though Rika has gone past hers long ago and in her time it was simple and straightforward battling. She hasn't been in Medali for a long time, so she books her drive an hour before the appointed time and figures a couple of her graduated classmates from Naranja might still be there to look forward to seeing. 

And Medali does not look like it has changed at all from back when she'd taken up her Gym Challenge, either. It brings an indescribable feeling with her as she pays her driver with her eyes on the tall buildings and the streets, the familiar brand of the Pokémon League there on its place on the Gym Building. A couple of Fidough pass by her legs, scrambling and yipping for attention as Rika kneels down, giving them each a light pat on the head with a small smile on her face. Medali has always been homely.

With time to kill, she brings out a Pokéball of her own and flips it in the air, barely catching it back in time as Wooper comes out of his ball with a happy noise, landing on top of Rika's shoulder and diving immediately into the hood of her jacket. Rika laughs, letting him cuddle into her neck as she walks amidst familiar streets, nothing but memory carrying her legs forward and around the town.

She ends up buying an ice cream from one of the nearby stalls, taking a couple bites and feeding Wooper the cone, before her Rotom Phone flies out of her pocket and starts buzzing. Rika swipes her finger on the screen, and another piece of familiarity graces her screen.

"Hey, Rika," a deep, gentle voice greets. Steven Stone's face still comes as a surprise to her sometimes, even though it has happened a few times already. "Wallace was a little busy cradling Lisia to actually be the one to dial, so it was up to me this time, again." He gives her a sheepish smile, and Rika shakes her head, Wooper poking out of her hoodie to let out a trill of greeting too. Steven grins, waving a hand at the Pokémon, and Rika watches as his mouth goes as wide as possible before jumping out an in front of the phone, the ground-type trainer barely catching him in her hands before he hits the ground out of excitement. 

"Oye, relax," she scolds him, and holds him protectively to her chest as Steven laughs. "Still a troublemaker, huh?"

"Bet," Rika sighs. "Though he does his best to behave sometimes." 

"That's good to hear. How's Poppy?" 

Rika's lips turn into a little grim line, though she takes back the expression before her cousin's husband can notice. "Good as she can be. Still stayin' with her aunt, though." 

Steven frowns. He turns around for a second when there's a small crashing noise in the background, and then turns back with a sigh of his own. "I tell him to keep Milotic in the tank, but he says that Lisia likes to pull on her hair." He rolls his eyes, but huffs out a smile, again. "But, about Poppy…"

"She can't stay with me, y'know that," Rika says, immediately defensive and voice all grit and pebble. She's heard this sentiment too many times before. It makes her feel pathetic. "I can barely take care of myself." 

"No, no. Listen to me," Steven says, and turns his eyes away and then back again and brings his hands up like he's about to tell her he committed murder, or something. "It's a little sudden, and I do not know how else to ask, other than to just say that I can take Poppy under my wing."

Rika stills. She stares at the Rotom Phone's screen, and it's as if Wooper can sense the instant tension in the air that he immediately crawls back up onto Rika's shoulders and rubs his face against her cheeks in consolation. 

Steven looks guilty. "I realize you haven't been having the best time, especially after the accident, and leaving her in the hands of someone you barely know yourself is a big burden. You know Wallace and I would take care of her as if she's our own daughter." He pauses, and looks towards the screen anxiously. "It's alright to depend on us, Rika. We're family."

Rika's hands tremble, just a bit. But there's a warm feeling inside of her chest she does not know how to let loose, and she cannot explain the way her head feels hot. Poppy deserves better. She'd deserved better from the moment she was born, and not Rika dropping her off to their mother's sister and wallowing in self-pity in a house that no longer felt like it was theirs. 

"How would I…" she starts, and sees the way Steven's shoulders slump in relief as soon as he's gauged her reaction. 

"You don't have to worry," he says, gently. The resounding voices of Lisia and Wallace laughing in the background feel so, so incredibly warm. "We're visiting Paldea this week. Champion duties." He winks, and Rika feels a coil of tension snap within her that makes her want to slump into a circle in public, too. 

"We can talk this out, then," Rika mumbles, pushing her tongue against the roof of her mouth to hold back any unnecessary emotion just before she's about to go to dinner. "Thanks, Steven. I like, really really owe you both."

"It's okay." Steven does his best to smile and lift the mood, until Lisia comes clambering into the camera and starts pointing at the screen. Steven lets out a surprised noise before grabbing her - probably away from the camera before she knocks the phone over, and then laughs as she tries to reach for it, anyways. Rika can't help but break out in a laugh, too.

"Hey, Lisia," she calls, grabbing the child's attention almost instantly. Waving at the screen when she looks at her in awe, eyes big and round. "Promise me somethin', yeah?"

Lisia lets out a happy squeal, Steven pressing a kiss to the crown of her head as he holds her back. Rika feels a warm feeling flood her chest. A little guilty, a little helpless. She's probably going to wallow without even realizing it. But Poppy deserves better. 

"Can you take care of my little sister for me?" She asks, voice small. "Her name's Poppy, and she's even smaller than you, you know?"

Lisia blinks, processing her words as Steven smiles, before someone else tumbles into the screen.

"Of course Lisia's gonna take care of Poppy," Wallace is grinning ear to ear as he leans down in view, and Rika waves. She turns back for a second to check, and sure enough, Wooper's fallen asleep inside her hoodie. "Who was complaining about not having a friend to play with, huh? Not me."

Lisia giggles. "New friend!" 

"That's right." Wallace sighs as flicks his hair out of his eyes, before looking at Rika with a serious expression on his face. Steven instantly mirrors it, and Rika would scoff if not for the situation at hand. "You're okay with this?"

"Yeah," Rika says. "Yeah. It's, just. She always deserved better than what I can do for her right now." 

Wallace lets out a hmm. Steven lets Lisia go, watching her run across the room and yelling something about being careful before turning back. "I have something else to say," he says, and Rika watches as Wallace makes another stern expression on his face. Steven's eyes look the other way, too, a little nervously, and she can't help but frown.

"What's up?" 

"You could come with us." Steven says, and does not even let it sink in before continuing, "Lisia's mom has a vacant room. You don't have to stay away from Poppy if you don't want to." 

Rika swallows. "Shit," she says, and Wallace nods, as if he agrees with that. He's probably the one who'd had suggested it to Steven. Which is something she'll think about later in length. "I mean. Shit, that's really great, but." Rika pauses, hands trembling. "I have things to take care of. Loose ends, like. I want to come back to Hoenn, but-"

"It's okay," Steven says quickly, moving his hands up and waving them in surrender. "You can take your time, obviously."

She doesn't know how her cousin went ahead and married a saint. It's a little funny. The whole situation is a little crazy. She's glad he married a saint, because Rika thinks she would deteriorate. "Thanks, Steven, Wallace. Again. For all you're doing for Poppy. I-" and she feels the waterworks build up, bringing an arm up to her eyes. "Shit."

Steven and Wallace look at each other with hesitant smiles, and then back at the screen one last time for tonight. "We'll be arriving by Monday, okay? You gonna pick us up?"

"Yeah. Fuck, give me a second."

"Great. See you then, okay? Take care."

-

She's just about finished shedding the few tears she lets herself give before she feels a tap on her shoulder. 

Recoiling and looking back, she rubs her nose with the sleeve of her jacket before speaking, voice a little wrangled, "Geeta."

Geeta looks at her with a mildly confused expression. "Rika," she says, voice soft, a welcome ring in her ears against the gust of wind and Wooper snoring in his sleep in the cuff of her hoodie. "Were you…"

Rika shakes her head almost immediately, the excuses flooding inside her head like a storm. "No, no, it's just- uh, the nostalgia, y'know?" She forces out a laugh, barely able to look at the other woman, but when she does, she feels herself still.

Geeta's eyes are looking into hers with an intensity she doesn't know how to place - like she knows her through the farce, and it makes Rika almost stumble in her seat. She's just about to get up, make an excuse about something at home, even though all she's probably going to do is book a Cyclizar and scream around all of Paldea- 

"I get that," Geeta says, still ever so gentle. "I feel the nostalgia is fierce for every previous Gym challenger that has crossed these town paths." 

Rika pushes back in her excuses, and looks at Geeta. Red eyes meeting dark blue, again. 

"I think so too," she breathes, voice coming out as a visible puff in the winter night. 

Geeta tilts her head, and offers her a hand, the other buried in her coat-pockets. She's wearing a longer, tan coat over a white turtleneck, different altogether from the formal attire she was sporting in the store. Her hands are still covered by the same gloves, with the same logo emblazoned on top of the leather. Rika forgets to ask this time, too, because she's taking her hand and pulling herself up to eye-level.

"Shall we get going?" Geeta asks, eyes crinkling in what could be anticipation, and Rika thinks she'd like to stare at her a little longer, before pulling out Wooper's Pokéball and sending him back in before she can move too much and wake him up.

"Yeah."

Geeta takes her to the Treasure Eatery, Medali's famed restaurant, one of Paldea's beloved. The waiter at the front door greets them with a smile, ushering them to a pre-booked table in a nice corner of the hall before leaving to get the menu cards. Rika looks around with wonder, this being her first time coming to the restaurant, Geeta watching her reactions with her hands under her chin and a grin on her face.  

"Do you like it?" She asks, and Rika nods almost instantly. 

"It's really nice," she says, genuine. "I still wanna know why you'd bring a total stranger out to dinner to an insanely well - loved place like this."

"You may think me strange, but you looked interesting," Geeta says, and Rika tilts her head in confusion. "I don't make it a habit to ask women I've never seen before in a supermarket out for dinner, if that's a point you're worried about." She grins, eyes crinkling with her smile, and Rika thinks she's a little too pretty to be real. 

"Not worried about that part," Rika says, trying to sound like she wasn't thinking about curling up into a ball on the cold streets of Medali at this hour of night. "Worried mostly that for some reason, you think I'm interestin'." 

"Like you have a story to tell," Geeta says, and watches the way Rika turns away for a second with a smile. "Anything you'd like to eat?"

"Nothing too exciting," she says, trying to sound light-hearted as Geeta spots a waiter coming their way and waves them over. "And grilled rice balls."

Geeta orders for the both of them, an intimidating professional air coating her aura, and then waits until the waiter is out of earshot before resuming her more relaxed position again. Rika watches curiously.

"You some sorta big-shot?" She asks.

Geeta grins. "Guess."

Rika hums in thought, finally remembering the symbol on her gloves before reaching over. "Give me your hand for a sec, then." 

The black-haired woman looks at her, the same sort of curiosity coating her expression as she extends her right arm over, and Rika grabs her hand gently, tracing the pattern over her gloves with her thumb before she recognizes it. She looks up for a second, watches the way Geeta's breath hitches when she presses down, and almost frowns before saying, "You're affiliated with the Pokémon League." It's not a question.

"Yes," Geeta says. "The chairwoman, specifically. Naranja Academy's, too."

Rika's hand stills, and she slowly pulls it away as she stares at the woman. "The what? You?" She gestures frantically at her. "Chairwoman?" And then she pauses, and thinks, and then gestures frantically at herself. "Me?"

"Say, Rika," Geeta says, laughing. "Do you like Pokémon battling?"

Rika does not, in fact, like Pokémon battling. She'd quit her Gym Challenge after the accident, stopped training her Pokémon and only barely remembered to take care of them without her daily alarms. She'd tried releasing them, once, and it took one look at her Pokéballs sitting in her hands for her to break down. They were her only family left, beside Poppy. And so she's trying, if only a little. Just for them.

Case in point, Rika does not like Pokémon battling. So when Geeta asks her this question there is an ugly feeling in her veins that she holds back as best as she can.

"No," she says, honest for the first time in a while. "I really don't."

"Well, that's a shame," is all Geeta replies, lips still turned up in good company as she raises her glass to pour a drink in. "I believe every trainer in Paldea deserves a chance to be stronger than they think they can be."

Rika forces a rice ball in her mouth in response.

-

The dinner all but goes well, otherwise. They end up stumbling into one of Geeta's acquaintances on their way out, a salaryman with short-cropped hair and eyes that look like they haven't closed in five years. His name is Larry, and he flinches every time Geeta faces him, but he courteously nods towards Rika and tells her about a secret menu item from the Treasure Eatery that he has been enjoying lately. Rika thanks him profusely, watching as he nods again and shuffles ahead and onto a seat close to the chef. They seem to be friends.

Geeta sighs when they exit the restaurant. "Larry is a bit of an introvert," she says, and Rika thinks about how he'd looked like a deer caught in headlights as soon as he'd spotted her. "You'll have to excuse him."

"Right," Rika says. She thinks they could get along well, if she ever sees Larry again. "I get that." 

"The food was really nice, though," she says. "Was it to your liking?" 

Rika fixes the collar of her shirt before zipping her hoodie up. "Yeah. It was good." She turns to look at Geeta while they walk, and the taller woman has her arms crossed in a way that feels like she's fighting off feeling cold. She's looking ahead, and Rika can barely make out her breath crystallizing in the winter air as she turns her gaze back to the stone pavement they're walking on. "Does this place mean something to you?"

"A little." They stop in their places as a litter of Meowths run past them, mewling and tumbling over each other playfully while chasing after a Nymble. "I used to come here to relax as a student. Still do sometimes." Geeta pauses, and then asks, "When did you graduate?"

Rika isn't expecting this, and so she can't hold back the way her ears turn a little red in embarrassment at the question, even if it's something she has her reasons for. "Aaah. Um, I never did." 

Geeta only hums. Not condescendingly. "That's quite alright," she says, voice light. 

"Of course," Rika says, sheepishly. "I'm plannin' to go back and everything, you know? I don't like to keep things unfinished." She pauses. "When the time's right."

"You can come to me whenever you find the time," Geeta offers, all smiles. "And call it a favor."

"Makin' it sound like you're expecting something back," Rika says, snorting. "Say it clearly."

"And you're making it sound as if I'm about to request something bad," Geeta grins. "I'll say this, one lonely woman to another: would you like to accompany me tomorrow to Glaseado?"

Rika blinks. "Glaseado? What business do you have all over there?"

"Setting up the Gym Challenge, mostly," Geeta replies. "As the chairwoman, I have to check on the progress. As someone inviting you out on a date, I would like to take you snowboarding."

Rika feels the flush rise to her cheeks before she can even reply. "Oooh. So forward," she tries, not as smooth as she'd like, and Geeta can't help but break out in a small laugh, covering her mouth with her hands only barely before Rika shakes her head and grins. "Sure. I'd love to."

Geeta, almost quite literally, beams. "It's a plan."

-

When Rika gets home, the first thing she does is kick off her shoes and press her back against a wall, sliding down with her head in her hands. 

"Shit," she says, to nobody in particular. 

At the noise of her coming in, her Phanpy bounces out of the open door of her room and makes a soft trumpeting sound to get her attention. Rika raises her head, and then lets out a groan as it shuffles between her legs and lets her head fall on its soft back, wrapping the trunk around her shoulder comfortingly. Soon enough, all of her Pokémon come in the room as they sense her arrival, shifting and tumbling around her as they all try to get into her personal space.

"Guys," she says, Phanpy bumping its head under her chin as Numel tries to burrow under her arm. Whiscash and Diglett stay outside, preferring to stay in their respective pool and mud. Even Wooper comes out of his Pokéball to start skittering around, jumping on top of Rika's head and letting out a happy noise. "Relax. Hey." She squirms out of the pack, though her mood is lifted by a shit ton at the sight of them all trying to comfort her. It's so silly. "I'm okay. Promise." 

She raises her hands up to take Wooper off of her head, staring at him. "Thanks for coming with me," she tells him, earnest. "Go take a rest, yeah?"

Wooper spins happily in her hands, before running off outside to the pool, where Whiscash greets him with a splattering of water as always, with the way Diglett starts trilling in annoyance seconds after. 

Rika sighs as she picks herself up from the floor, straightening her clothes before she jogs to her room to turn the radiator on. It's still a cold night, after all.  

She's just about to turn it on before her Rotom Phone slides into her vision and starts buzzing, again. Rika raises an eyebrow, but accepts anyway while working on the radiator, taking off and tossing her hoodie to the bed. Nobody usually calls her around this time. 

Geeta slides into the screen with a smile. "Hi."

"Arceus, we saw each other an hour ago," Rika says, a little confused but not exactly taken aback, either. "What's up?"

"I'll pick you up at 11 AM, tomorrow. Is that alright with you?" Geeta slides out of view for a second, as if she's adjusting the camera angle, and then comes back in. "And don't worry if you don't have the gear. I'll bring extra."

"That's fine with me," Rika affirms."I'll see you." She waves at the screen in finality , before pushing Rotom out of the way to hook her thumbs under the fabric and pull her shirt off. She turns, wanting to go over to her closet and pick out something more comfortable, before catching sight of her still-hovering phone stopping in her tracks.

The call is still going on. And Geeta's turned redder than a tomato, eyes wider than saucers. Rika stares back, before she looks down and realizes that she's in nothing but her sports binder. 

She burns up immediately, dropping down so she's away from the camera. "I thought Rotom hung up for me," she says, voice small. And then she looks up, glaring daggers at the Pokémon inhibiting her phone. Rotom pretends like Rika isn't there. "Like it usually does." The venom in her voice might be a little too much, because Geeta's scrambling up to apologize instantly. 

"A-ah. That's quite alright." Geeta stammers, putting her hands up in surrender. "I should've hung up, first, that was on me."

Rika thinks she's going to faint on the spot. "No, that's fine, I'm not mad or anything. Honestly. Uh, see you tomorrow?" 

"Yes, absolutely," Geeta huffs out a laugh. "May I say something shameless before I go?"

Shameless? "Yes?" Rika isn't sure if she wants to hear it. 

Geeta makes a strictly monotone expression. "You're a little more toned for a recluse than I would have imagined." And then she hangs up. 

Rika thinks she should faint. Right there. On the spot.

-

"Have you snowboarded before?"

Rika looks down at the slope from the chair-lift they're sitting in to travel up the mountain. It's steep. Really steep. "No," she says, wisely. She'd tried once, on a trip with friends she does not remember anymore, but does remember falling off of her board on the shallow snow and toppling face first into it. "I don't like the cold that much."

Geeta hasn't directly looked at her from the moment she'd picked her up from home. "I see," she says. "I haven't, either, if that helps."

Rika's features twist into a confused expression, even if she's not looking at it. "You're still gonna do the challenge?"

"I must," the chairwoman says. "After all, if it's as safe and reliably easy as I'm being told it is, it might as well be something fun for our future Challengers to experience, as well." 

"And you're all about that," Rika muses. "Gainin' strength and experience. I think I can see that vision."

Geeta pauses, then. A minute or so of silence, before she replies and Rika can feel the mute happiness in her voice, "I would be glad if you can."

The rest of the ride follows in comfortable silence, other than when Rika points out a Cubchoo and a Greavard cuddled up together under a snowed-over tree. Geeta can't help but watch them until they're out of sight. Rika can't help but watch her. It's an adorable sight. 

When the end of the line comes, Rika leans forward and places a hand carefully on Geeta's arm. She faces her, and Geeta can't help going beet-red. She'll blame it on the snow, later. 

"I'm gonna lift the bar," Rika says, jerking her eyes to the metal one in front of them that holds the chair closed. "And we'll get down together as soon as we're on the ground. Yeah?"

"Got it," Geeta says, letting Rika's grip on her tighten in acknowledgement. She's done this before, but this is a side of her newfound friend that she wants to see just a little more. "On a count of three, then?"

Rika nods. "Sure." Her eyes don't flit back to look at her, focused on the approaching ground in front of them. Geeta watches, and then hesitates a little, but pulls her arm out of Rika's grasp to lace her fingers between hers instead. Rika's hand is cold, but Geeta knows hers is warm because of the way she relaxes instantly into her touch, tightening her hold again. Geeta hides a pleased smile, and thinks she can get used to this.

The ground approaches soon enough, and they're mentally ready enough to jump off by the time. What Geeta isn't mentally ready for, though, is the way Rika's hand goes out of her grasp and wraps around her waist at the last second, lifting the metal bar up with such ease Geeta can barely breathe by the time they've already jumped down and out of the way of upcoming lifts. Rika staggers for a second, but digs her heels into the snow to steady herself in a way that makes the chairwoman stumble into her chest and almost knock them both down.

Rika looks up at her, and Geeta looks down with her hands clutching her shoulders tightly. It's the first time they've made eye contact all day.

"You okay?" Rika asks. There's a shit-eating grin plastered onto her expression. Geeta's mouth opens and closes off of its own accord. 

"I think," she says, voice a little strangled. "What - why did you grab me like that?"

"To be honest," Rika says, a little giddy. "I don't know."

Geeta stares at her, and then lets out a disbelieving laugh. "Arceus up above," she says, leaning away when Rika's hold on her relaxes, "If there's a next time, you must tell me before you do anything." 

"You want there to be a next time?" 

Geeta lightly slaps her shoulder in response, and Rika cackles as they walk ahead.

-

A few paces ahead lies the Glaseado Gym. Geeta tells her that there's no active Gym Leader there for now when they reach it, more or less because of the last one having retired the summer before. They've been on the hunt for a person good enough, and there's been little to no one to recommend for the position. There's a young athlete - namely Grusha, known for his Pokémon battling skills as an ice-type trainer in the academy yet had declined the offer recently to focus more on his snowboarding career instead of having to dedicate a timeframe to be a Gym Leader. Rika understands. Geeta sighs. 

"Sounds like tough work," Rika says. "I don't know how you stay sane through it."

"Trust me, neither do I." Geeta tugs her wool cap down to her ears, walking towards a quiet corner on the ledge next to the Gym Building and leaning over the rails. Rika joins her, looking at the chairwoman as she gazes at the lone building in front of them. Only a few seconds later, Geeta pulls herself away to jot a thumb behind Rika. "That's the snowboarding area for the Challenge, by the way. If I assume correctly."

Rika turns, and jogs over towards the shallow steep to look at how far it goes. There's a few Cetoddles playing around in the snow right in front. Turning back, she points at them and says, "The wild Pokémon are going to keep venturin' in this area, though. Don't tell me you're thinkin' it's safe enough as it is."

"It's still under development, I'm sure," Geeta affirms, strolling over next to her. "Safety comes above all."

Rika nods, and then says, "Can I do something?"

Geeta blinks, and nods. "Sure." She watches as Rika kneels down on the ground, and lets out a whistle. The Cetoddles turn at the direction of the sound, looking up with their big eyes. Rika grins, waving as Geeta watches her curiously, and the Pokémon look at each other for a second before starting to crawl up the slope, Rika reaching down and catching one in her arms to pull up. She looks up at the woman next to her, and the Cetoddle yips happily.

Geeta leans down next to her, running a hand over the Cetoddle's head. It lets out a flurry of excited noises at the attention, nearly knocking the chairwoman off her feet as it scrambles from Rika's hold and jumps over. The others have made their way up, too, and Rika picks them up in her arms gently before walking down the ledge and outside of the Gym building, letting them down there. 

"Now they're off the track," she says, when Geeta makes her way down, too. "Wanna get to the snowboarding part, or are you here just to get work done?"

Geeta smiles. Her eyes shine in a way nobody's seen them do before. "I suppose we may as well indulge a little."

-

When they enter the Gym building to get ready, there is none other than Grusha, the athlete Geeta had told her about himself, standing in front of the desk to greet them. His cheeks are pink with the cold, the rest of his face covered with a scarf. His hair is wrapped into a tight bun at the back of his head, letting only a few locks tumble out. He already has his thermal jacket and gloves on, and waves at them as they come through the door.

Rika looks at Geeta immediately after spotting him. "You didn't tell me he was pretty," she mumbles.

"I prefer to see the surprise it garners when someone looks at him for the first time," Geeta replies, oddly specific. "He would have been good for promotional purposes, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but," Rika says, stopping in her tracks while Geeta waves back at Grusha with a smile. "You're gorgeous too, yeah?" 

Geeta goes red in the face, barely able to reply before Grusha comes over to them, and instead forces a professional stance instantly. 

"Miss Geeta," Grusha says, and Rika almost wants to hiss at how it stings her brain to realize that he has a pretty voice, too. "You feeling chilly?"

Geeta blinks, barely realizing how she's still red in the cheeks from Rika's brazen compliment, and then shakes her head with an assuring lift of her lips. "No, no. It's alright," she says. "How are you doing?"

Grusha shrugs. "Cool, I think. There's a new tournament coming up soon, too. Y'know, maybe I can get a couple tickets." He pauses, looking over at Rika for a split second before a sly expression comes over his face. "Your new friend might appreciate it."

Geeta turns into an even redder shade, if possible. She glances at Rika, her eyes having blown up completely wide, and then Grusha, and then holds back a sigh as she tries her best to retain herself. "She might, actually. If you could trouble yourself, then…"

"No problem, Miss Chairman," Grusha says. "I owe ya for sponsoring me in the tournament."

Rika mouths, what tournament? This weekend? And is barely able to voice anything out before Grusha turns to her, a little drawn back. A little hesitant. Rika looks at him, and realizes exactly why Cetoddles prefer staying on the precipice of having to interact with human beings just to stay close. 

“Hey,” she says. “Good luck on your tournament.”

“Thanks,” he replies. “I’ll be looking out for the two of you.” He pauses, and then, “I’m actually supposed to…teach you two the ropes.” Points at the snowboard behind him, and then looks expectantly back.

Rika’s eyes turn a little wide. “Wow, from the pro himself?” She grins at Grusha, who looks away from her with a flustered expression. And then turns to Geeta, cheeks still a little red, and says, “We should get goin’.”

"Yes," Geeta says, thinking a little about the way her eyes had glittered while looking at the athlete. "We should."

-

The snowboarding part goes as well as it can. 

Grusha, it turns out, is a capable instructor. He helps them gain balance on their boards and the correct positions of their bodies before skidding off into the snow, and at some point enlists the help of his Swablu - letting them each hold onto its cotton wings as it guides them forward, slowly and carefully. 

By the end of it, Geeta's figure is as elegant as can be, her hair tied up and the board gear suiting her a little too well for Rika to nearly handle. She snowboards effortlessly through the Gym Challenge area under a minute with the checkpoints included, even when the time slot is around five minutes. Rika pulls through on two and a half, thorough and careful with her checkpoints - though there's an itch in her to be a little more confident and a little less worrisome. 

Grusha is impressed, though. Something about catching on a lot quicker than he ever did. He helps them take off their gear by the end of it and walks back to the Gym building with them, barely talking but answering everything they have to ask with fervour. He's clearly passionate about his job, and by the time he's gone Geeta is a little frazzled, and Rika wonders when the last time was when she was excited about something like this. 

They opt to walk their way down the mountain instead of the lift - mostly because Geeta acts a little funny about it when they're at the counter. 

"I've been lacking exercise, you see," she says.

Rika squints at her. "We've been traveling since we woke up. Is that not enough exercise?"

"No," comes the reply. "Alright," Geeta pauses to let out a laugh. "Sorry. My heart's still racing from the way up."

Rika's mind flashes to when she'd laced her arm around her waist. Geeta's surprised, yet equally flustered expression. "Ah. That's my bad." She doesn't sound too sorry, neither looks it with the way she grins back.

"Clearly." Geeta links her arm with Rika's, leaning in a little while skidding off a small chunk of ice, and the other woman holds onto her gently as she follows. "I expect you'll take care of it for me."

"I will," Rika says, and it's so quiet it nearly almost sounds like a promise.

-

Geeta opts to go home by flying cab by the time they reach Montenevera, and Rika opts to stay. Something about buying stuff for home, something about souvenirs. Geeta nods at her before going her way, and it's only when she's gone that Rika can let out a sigh she hadn't known she was holding in. 

Turning on her heels, she walks down the stairs of the arch in front of her welcoming her to the town, the bright lights nearly blinding her against the darkening sky of Glaseado Mountain. Grocery and souvenirs are the last thing on her mind as she jogs her way to the stage next to the Montenevera Gym, where two familiar figures are talking to each other, arms crossed over their chests and mics in hand. She pauses in her step, for a second, squinting. And then the figures familiarise, and she almost jumps in her place.

"Ryme," Rika calls, a little excitedly, "Tulip!"

Both faces turn almost instantly, eyes widening in shock as they start walking over the same time Rika climbs up the stage, grinning widely. 

"Rika!" Tulip, all styled and purple and wrapped up in Altaria-cotton, greets in surprise as soon as Rika leans in to give her a small hug, before moving onto Ryme. "Honey, how come you're all the way up here?"

"She's right," Ryme says, though she's laughing back in the same excitement as Rika squeezes her. "The hell are you doing up on top of Glaseado? At this time of day?"

"Snowboarding date," Rika says, a little breathless as her friends crowd her in, and she accepts the warmth of it so readily she almost sinks in the feeling. "Shit, I have so much to say." She turns to the older woman, eyes gleaming. "Ryme, can we crash your place?"

"So what you're tellin' me is," Ryme says, voice dipping a little in disappointment, and with a dramatic pause. "You're tryna date my boss?"

There's a Greavard sitting on top of the counter connecting the kitchen to Ryme's living room. They'd shot it wary looks before Ryme had situated them at the far end of the room so it wouldn't consume their life-force. It seems content in its place, sitting down and occasionally wagging its tail viciously whenever any of them look its way.

Tulip is pushing the straw of her drink around in a large glass, admittedly looking a little bored. Her Flittle is hovering around her, dazedly floating while they talk. "Sweetheart, you could do better," is all she offers, as Rika tries to scramble up with an excuse on the tip of her tongue before she continues. "And, please, we know you can do better."

"So far," Rika says, "The only reasons I've been given are that she's your boss and a hag. She can't be older than thirty, though." She throws her arms up in fervor. Wooper, out of the ball and armless, tries to do the same and falls on its back against Rika's stomach. "C'mon, even you guys could do better with the insults." And then she's shaking her head. Wooper does the same. "That's not even the real reason I'm here, anyhow." Even though it is. Even though an evil little part of her subconscious thinks about whether or not she has a chance to….nevermind.

Tulip turns to raise an eyebrow curiously. Ryme does the same, sitting back and letting herself splay on her seat more comfortably. 

"What's up?" She asks.

Rika purses her lips for a second, looking over at the two of them before opening her mouth. "Steven asked if he could take in Poppy."

Ryme's eyes go wide, and Tulip almost splutters on her drink, Flittle whining in annoyance at being disrupted from its daze as she says, "Steven? The Hoenn dreamboat?" 

"Married," Rika reminds her. 

"They wanna take in your little sis?" Ryme backpedals, "Like. The same Steven n' Wallace you told us about?"

"Yes," Rika says, hoping there's no exasperation in her voice as much as she feels it. "My cousin and his rich husband, Ryme. They wanna take in my little sister and take care of her."

"Shit," Ryme says, and Tulip is nearly flying off of her seat to tumble forward and envelop her arms around Rika in a hug as she feels her eyes water a little. Wooper barely squeezes out. "Shit. For real?"

"Yeah," Rika says, barely hugging Tulip back as she holds back the tears threatening to spill again. "It doesn't feel real to be this lucky."

"You were due some luck, honey," Tulip retorts, as she pulls back yet keeps her hands on Rika's arm comfortingly. "Your aunt is nice, sure, could help if she took my recommended toner routine, and actually-"

"I'm glad," Ryme interrupts, "For Poppy, most of all."

Rika can almost cry again at just the thought. 

Saying goodbye had almost taken an hour, and by the time Rika is out of Montenevera she thinks she's lived fifty years in twelve hours. It's 9 PM, and she pulls out her Rotom Phone as soon as she exits the town, about to book a flying cab for herself before a figure run pasts her and almost knocks her on her feet. She swears as she regains her balance, only to stare ahead and realize there's a small group of people running up and ahead over the Mountain and on the path to Glaseado Gym.

Confusion overtakes her senses, and her first instinct is to go back inside and ask Ryme or Tulip if there's anything going on.

And then her phone starts beeping like crazy, just a second before Geeta calls her.

She picks up instantly, uneasy but straight to the point: "What happened?"

"Rika?! Are you still around Glaseado?"

"Yeah," Rika says, an uncomfortable feeling rising up her veins at the tone of distress in the chairwoman's voice. "Outside of Montenevera. What's wrong?"

"It's Grusha." she gets to say barely before she's yelling over the reciever, and then back. "He just got in a bad accident, Rika, please go check on him as fast as you can while I get there."

-

Rika's vision blurs as she runs as fast as her boots can take her up the mountain. The cold wind snaps at her, and she murmurs apologies under her breath for every Pokémon she spooks on the way. It's cold enough that the ice feels like a harsh bite on her skin, but she pulls her scarf up and forgets about everything else in the world until she's up on the ledge she was just hours ago. There's security around the area, a huge amount of people standing around and whispering, and Rika looks at her phone once before shoving herself through them.

An officer stops her on the way. "I cannot allow you to go any further," he says. There's the sound of an emergency flying ambulance touching the ground, somewhere up ahead. Rika can barely breathe as she fumbles around her pockets until her Rotom Phone flies out by itself, showcasing something Geeta has sent over before she can even get a word out.

The officer stares, and then looks at Rika.

"Please," is all she can say, before she's being grabbed by the shoulder and pushed right in. 

The first thing she does is skid right down the shallow Challenge cliff, up until she sees a trail of dark red dotting the snow. There's a Blissey tittering up ahead, and Rika almost stumbles and falls on her face as she runs towards it, kneeling on the ground before realizing that it's treating a hurt Cetoddle. And when Rika turns to look, a hint of familiarity passes through her.

The same one that had been playing on the slopes here earlier. 

"Shit," she says, under her breath, and leans forward to rub a hand close to an open wound. It doesn't look bad, and the Blissey is cooing while feeding it bits and pieces of its egg, but the Cetoddle is still whimpering and letting out small mewls that sound awfully like pained cries. "Shit," she says again, before carefully wrapping her hands around it and cradling the Pokémon in her arms. 

The Cetoddle almost immediately quiets down a little, looking up at Rika with its big, bright eyes curiously before a flicker of recognition passes through, and then it's happily cooing again almost instantly. Rika sighs in relief, watching as the wound closes itself up thanks to Blissey's healing, and gives the pink Pokémon a thankful pat before getting up, walking over to the scene of the accident with an uneasy heart.

The first thing she spots is that Grusha is already on a stretcher, eyes flickering with a deep emptiness that Rika freezes upon seeing.

Her eyes move over, until she sees it, and her heart drops. His left leg….

-

It's Monday, tomorrow, and Rika is supposed to pick her cousin up. She's staring up at the hospital ceiling with a blank look on her face.

"You know you don't have to be here."

Rika holds back a snarky laugh. "You brat," she says, without looking down. "Of course I have to be here."

Grusha doesn't argue back. Rika almost wishes he would.

"You know they're still sayin' you can get back up and everything, right?" Rika attempts. She knows it's probably a lie. Nothing is ever so easy. She's learned that the hard way. "You're just a couple years younger than me. There's no givin' up at this age."

Grusha doesn't answer. Rika seriously, seriously wishes he would.

But then she doesn't say anything, either. And it's blissfully quiet for a while.

And then he asks, "How old are you, anyways?"

Rika turns her gaze down, and looks at him. He's looking straight at her, and his eyes are still like that. Devoid. Lifeless. The youthful gleam of passion so vivid before has all gone. It makes her want to look away. "Twenty-five."

Grusha turns away. "I'm twenty.'

Rika lets out a hum of acknowledgement. She'd been twenty, too, when she'd started her own Gym Challenge. Nowhere near as accomplished, just an excited trainer. "You know, the Cetoddle that got hurt? It's with me right now."

Grusha turns to look at her again, though his facial expression is unreadable. 

Rika looks back, as she gently digs her hands into her slacks' pocket, and brings out a Pokéball. She doesn't know if this means anything. She won't ever know, because it's not her place to know. She twirls it in her hand until it pops in size, and then throws it over the bed.

Grusha catches it with a frown. Stares at it, looks up to Rika staring at him.

"It wants to apologize," she offers. Give it a chance, goes unspoken.

Grusha's grip falters for a second, but then he throws the ball up, and a familiar cry graces his ears.

The Cetoddle looks around, curiously, unfamiliar with the change of scenario until its big eyes find Grusha. And then it's like it immediately shrinks, fearfully stepping back a few times. Grusha sighs.

"It's…" he starts, and then looks at Rika with a scowl. "I can't even say it's okay."

Rika doesn't respond, only turns towards the Pokémon and whistles. The Cetoddle immediately perks up at her voice, skipping over towards her until she raises a hand, and stops it in its place.

"What did we promise?" She points out, shooting her eyes at Grusha for a second before looking back with an expectant expression. 

"You do realize Pokémon don't…talk," Grusha says, helpfully.  

"They don't need to." The stern expression on her face lingers.

The Pokémon in question looks almost like it wants to protest, but then Rika's shoulders languidly slump. As if sensing her growing disappointment, the Cetoddle sulks, before walking over to Grusha. Slowly, but surely, until the man is looking down at him, from the bed. 

Grusha doesn't speak. The Cetoddle doesn't look up. They're locked in a sort of mutual preference of silence that Rika can't wrap her mind around. 

And then, quietly, he reaches down to grab the Pokémon, gently bringing it up and in front of him as it looks at him with a mixed expression of both fear and curiosity. Its feet touch the blanket laid on top of him, so the athlete slowly lets go to cross his arms over his chest. 

Grusha turns to Rika. "Seriously uncool how you're trying to play therapist between me and a Pokémon."

Rika shrugs without a word.

Grusha sighs. When he looks back, Cetoddle is staring at him. The big eyes don't make it look anything close to threatening, so Grusha only shifts a little uncomfortably. And then as if an idea has been sparked, the Cetoddle fidgets, and then starts hopping around the bed, light and airy and happily, before raising it's arms up.

Immediately, flakes of snow begin to form, crystallizing carefully through thin air. Grusha's eyes go wide, mouth open just a little as they begin to fall, forming a small fall over the hospital bed. He brings his hands up, tries to catch one, watches it melt on his palm. It snows constantly on Glaseado Mountain, but there's a different sort of magic to this. 

Rika watches on quietly, hands clasped over her lap and the coat around her shoulders threatening to fall. She gets up from her seat, pulling it over even quieter, before leaving the room.

Geeta is standing right outside, her knuckles pressed to the line of her mouth nervously. Grusha's few acquaintances and manager are sitting on the small benches situated right outside, and Rika forgets to give them any attention before she walks up to Geeta, watching the chairwoman raise her eyes and then give her the sort of apologetic look she's seen one too many times, already.

"I apologize for holding you back for so long," she starts, and Rika only grunts in a way that could only mean no worries. "How is he?"

"As fine as someone stripped away from their career would be," Rika says, honestly. "I don't know," she adds, a little more carefully after watching the way it makes Geeta slump a little. It's not befitting her personality. It's a little awkward. "Listen, like, let him…cool off a bit. And maybe bring the Gym Leader thing up some other time."

"I wasn't going to," Geeta murmurs. 

Rika gives her a tired look. "I'm sorry. I-" She pauses, and then leans forward to wrap the woman around in a side-hug. Geeta starts in surprise, staring at Rika with a confused expression as she presses her head to the chairwoman's shoulder. "Sorry. I gotta clock out." Another pause. "I promise, when shit gets settled-"

"Take your time," Geeta says, voice gentle, and Rika presses her face in a little more, hands clutching her arm. "I can wait as long as possible. I fear that is one of my merits."

"Arceus-awful formal talk," Rika grumbles, quiet

enough so she doesn't hear. And then she moves away, pulling out her phone to book a flying cab. "I'll see you, Geeta."

Geeta only nods.

-

She gets home at 3 AM. 

The first thing she does is summon all of her Pokémon to their respective Pokéballs. The second thing she does is slump against the walls of her bedroom again and clutch her head over her knees, still dressed and hair still up and the light foundation she'd put on to try and impress the mysteriously gorgeous woman that had invited her out on a snowboard date still on. She's so, so tired. It isn't everyday she's subject to a front row seated brutal accident of a young person just getting the hang of their career, only to lose everything. It isn't everyday, but this isn't the first time, either. It's terribly tiring.

Looking at the time, she realizes Steven and Wallace's flight lands in just a couple hours, around the early hours of morning. And then she groans, and thinks about Poppy, and then her aunt, and -

She's so tired. She'll think about it later 

-

It's 8 AM when Rika leaves the house, again, bee-lining towards her aunt's place in Artazon. It's a humble house, dotted around with plants and Sunflora milling about - though there's less than last time and a little dreary. Rika doesn't pay much attention before she's knocking at the door and being invited in, where her first instinct is to look around and then in the arms of anyone who greets her.

"Hey," The aunt in question pops out of a connecting door in the hallway. Visibly decades older than Rika, yet retaining a sort of youthful gleam that makes the crinkle of her smiles a little more endearing than they already are. "It's been a long time."

Rika holds in her urge to see her sister immediately. "Hey, Aunt Rosa. I mean to visit, I do. It's just, like -"

"Looking for Poppy?"

Rika deflates. She cannot say anything to counter her immediate deduction. "Yes. Of course."

Her aunt juts a thumb towards the room she'd emerged from. "I just put her to sleep a little bit ago," she tells her, and Rika nods vigorously. "Did you have something you want to tell me, or pray tell did my young niece finally have the time to visit?"

She sounds a little hopeful. Rika thinks about jumping onto a trampoline and exiting space and time to escape this conversation. "Yes. I'm sorry, I try, but -" She pauses. And sighs. "I'm sorry. I meant to tell you, before, but Wallace-"

Her aunt visibly slumps, a little. But she smiles anyway. "That's okay, Rika. He called for permission yesterday." She looks at her gently, and raises a hand to pat her head. "You get worried sick over the smallest things."

"I'm sorry," is all she can bumble in return.

"I'm sorry, too." And it's funny how she says this, because Rika can't tell if she's still sorry about the accident, or if she's sorry for not being good enough for Poppy, or if she's sorry that Rika isn't good enough for Poppy, or if she's sorry that Rika isn't good enough for anything. And then her aunt comes forward and wraps her arms around Rika so tightly she forgets how to breathe for just a moment, only to say again, "I'm sorry, Rika."

Rika presses her tongue on the roof of her mouth, and tries not to let the bubbling stumble far more than it needs to. She pulls her arms up, wraps them around her tightly, again.

"You don't have to be."

-

Cradling Poppy in her arms always makes her nervous, but Rika stands in front of the airport entrance with a determined balance in her posture, her baby sister held very protectively. She almost forgets to move when she sees a familiar set of figures walk out with a single pack of luggage - and tries to walk forward as casually as possible. Even though she feels like she's going to explode, any second.

"Wallace," she calls out, the figures immediately waving back before they're stepping off the platform and stairs and heading towards her, almost deliberately slow. Steven drags the suitcase with another travel bag slung around his shoulders, dressed in a casual, summer fit with his hair down. He looks different from the regular, nerdy Steven, but still somehow retains the Nerd factor in perfectly. "Steven."

"Darling," Wallace coos, immediately when they've walked over and exchanged one-sided hugs with each other. "I'm sorry for showing up so unprompted." He leans down towards Poppy, a smile crinkling its way up his face at the sight of her sleeping face. "Cute as a button, as I remember."

Steven's set their bags down, quietly asking Rika for permission before he takes and cradles Poppy gently in his own arms while she takes over his suitcase. "Cuter than a button, for sure." He presses a small, affectionate kiss to her forehead when she opens her eyes, and Poppy lets out what might as well be a little giggle at the sight of her uncles. Rika feels her heart melt a little at the sight of it all.

"Where are you both staying?" Rika asks.

"The event booked us a hotel near the venue. It is in Levincia, if I remember correctly." Wallace pulls out a pair of sunglasses from his bag, slipping them on and smiling at Rika. "Want us to visit?"

Rika shudders as she thinks about the last time they'd come over. It'd been a spring cleaning session she hadn't exactly been looking forward to. "Nah. Thinking the hotel might treat you both a little more luxuriously than I can afford to."

"That we can't deny."

-

What is supposed to be a business visit ultimately turns into something a little more casual than she's expected. They're here to stay for a week, after all, after careful consideration of their mentally ill cousin. They say they don't mind, and Rika really does not mind when Steven and Wallace drop by to help her clean and organize, battle in her yard to exercise, help her take care of her Pokémon. They all love them, and Wooper is nearly always clinging onto Wallace's beautiful Milotic whenever he has the chance. They're cousins in their own way, they've all decided. 

It's one night after one of their events that Rika finds herself sitting on the carpet in her living room, back pressed to the sofa, Wallace rubbing some of his hair oil into hers after fussing about it growing longer. The feeling of his fingers massaging her scalp is something incredibly welcome for her nerves, and before long she feels like she can fall asleep to it. Steven comes in, then, Poppy cradled into his arm and a feeding bottle in the other. He makes himself comfortable on the sofa, and Rika says, "I really don't know how you two volunteer to do this."

"I think you would just die if we asked anything of you," Wallace says.

Steven lets out a tsk. "It's because we're older, and so it's on us to take care. And also because we want to, like that or not."

"I like it very much," Rika affirms, with a soft laugh. "I don't think I've felt this relaxed in a long while."

"And that's all we need to hear," Wallace tells her. "So, for the love of Arceus, if you don't start using the Alomomola oil serum I bought you for your birthday from now on-"

Rika's phone buzzes, and goes ignored. Rotom flies out instantly, floating in front of her face expectantly. She can't see the way Wallace squints, and Rika really doesn't register anything until Steven's voice cracks the silence, "Geeta?"

Rika's eyes shoot open, scrambling towards the Rotom Phone and pushing it down. "Nobody."

Wallace's fingers tighten on her head. She doesn't have to turn around to see him smiling through his teeth. "Oho? It seems our little sad friend here is not so very sad after all."

She can feel herself blush tomato red, incoherent bumbling escaping her mouth before she manages, "It's seriously nothing."

Her doorbell rings, and everyone freezes.

Rika looks back to Steven shooting her the most smug look he can manage. "A call? A visitor? At this time of night?"

She gets up slowly. "It's probably nothing."

"Make sure you invite her in!" Wallace yells behind her as she skips anxiously towards the door. "We'd love to meet her!"

Rika yells back, "Shut up!" and opens the door to a very flustered looking Geeta. 

The chairwoman is looking at her with her eyes wide. There's a wrapped box in her hands. She looks like she's dressed up for this. Rika immediately feels anxious and underdressed and the hair oil feels like it's sticking to her skin in unfathomably ugly ways. And then Geeta stammers, "You have visitors."

"Just my cousin," Rika barely breathes. Fumbles on her words, mostly. "And his husband. Nobody special."

"Oh, we're plenty special!" Comes a shout. 

Geeta barely stifles a snort. "I'll come another time?"

Rika thinks she's going to go crazy. "They don't bite."

Geeta blinks. "So…I should come in?"

"If you want."

The black-haired woman blinks slowly at her. Bounces the little wrapped box in her hands as if in thought. "Sure. Okay."

Rika takes her coat for her when she enters, trailing behind her slowly as she looks around, and braces herself for the living room situation. When they get there, Geeta lets out a sigh.

"Wallace and Steven Stone?"

The two of them grin at her and give her a little wave.

Rika blanks. "What."

"Oh." Geeta turns, looking at her shocked expression for only a second before, "The Champion's meeting. I'm also a Champion, remember?"

"I thought…wait," Rika is so confused she's going to combust. "You're not just a chairwoman?"

"No." Geeta opens her mouth, and then closes it. Opens it again, "I forgot to tell you."

Rika cannot believe this. "So you're all…pre-established acquaintances."

"Pretty much," Steven pipes up. "May I ask, Ms. Geeta, how you know our lovely Rika?"

"We met in a very ordinary situation," Geeta says, smiling. Rika looks at her, whether in confusion or awe none of them can tell. "Quite the grocery knight."

"Grocery knight," Rika hears Wallace mumble under his breath. Arceus, they're going to start calling her that. 

"Geeta," Rika asserts. "Can you join me in my room for a second?"

-

Rika's room is small, but it's cozy. It has all the necessary requirements for a room, and Geeta only has to take a single look to realize it's as if it's inspired directly from the old dorm rooms at the Academy. 

The door shuts behind them, and Rika turns to look at her with a sheepish look on her face. "Sorry about them, they're…"

"Quite the pair," Geeta finishes, smiling ear to ear. "I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable."

Rika shakes her head. "No, no, I was gonna say that." She pauses to smile back. "So…what's up?"

"Oh, I-" It's Geeta's turn to be sheepish, with the way she suddenly darts her eyes away. "I came here with the intention to apologize for the other day. The whole situation on our Glaseado trip. I'm aware you didn't exactly sign up for that sort of experience."

Biting her lip, Rika looks down. "No, don't worry about that. How's Grusha?"

"I don't know," she says, honestly. Looking at the ground for some sort of answer, finding nothing in her head. She's made it awkward, knows it very well, too.

"I can visit, right?"

Geeta looks up. Mildly shocked at the prospect, "Yes. Of course."

"That's all I needed to hear," Rika replies, quietly.

They leave the gift box in her room to see for later.

-

When morning rolls around, Rika wakes up in her bed. Which is suspicious, because the last thing she remembers before passing out is watching Geeta leave and then the feeling of her back hitting the couch. She rubs her eyes, blinks a little to adjust, and finds that Poppy is sleeping soundly in a cot right beside her bed. There's a note on the side table, the edge of a clean glass put on top of it for security. Rika reaches for it lazily, forgetting about her reading glasses and choosing to squint, instead.

Rika, it reads. We went back to the hotel after putting you to bed, and Wallace put a bottle for Poppy next to the microwave. I hope you still have a working microwave. Call us anytime. We'll pick up Poppy before we leave tonight.

Rika reads it, again and again, because she can't fathom this happening. It's what she's wanted, and it's what's best for Poppy. There's am empty lodge building inside of her nonetheless, but she clutches the note to her chest and takes a deep breath. It's going to be fine.

Probably.

It's then that she remembers Geeta'a gift from last night, still atop the table next to her bed. She takes it in her hands, sits down. Opens it carefully, and tries to peek. She really can't make much of anything, so she gives in and cuts open the box.

She gasps. It's a Wooper plushie. There's a small note next to that, too. She picks it up, squints again at the delicate handwriting. It's a myriad of thanks and apologies, and Rika finds herself smiling at it. 

It's going to be fine. Sure enough.

-

Rika doesn't do much other than wave and mumble her goodbyes with a forced smile when Steven and Wallace disappear into the Airport, a sleeping Poppy cradled in their hands.

Rika doesn't do much at all, the rest of the day. 

When she wakes up the next morning, there's nothing but an odd sense of relief pooling in her chest - the hardened weight on her shoulders feels lesser than it does. A small part of her thinks that maybe it's because she's no longer responsible for a life she wasn't prepared to take care of, and a part of her calls her evil for it. But there's no time to consider conflicting emotions, and there's no time for self pity. 

They'd all done what was best. Right? Right? 

So why does she feel so miserable? Even with this load off?

-

Geeta seems to pick up her call instantly on the first ring, and it ends up surprising her more than it should.

"Geeta," she says, for lack of anything else. She was going to think for a bit while the phone rang. "Uh." 

"What is it?" Comes a gentle voice from the other end of the line. Even though Rika isn't beside her, she can feel the smile on her face at it. "Is there anything I can help you with?" And there comes the customer-helpline voice. 

Rika laughs despite herself. "Nothing too serious. Wanna have lunch with me?"

-

There's a new restaurant opening in Artazon, and Rika manages to book a table easily since it's early on a work day, and she's barely managed to skip a day of her own. That makes her wonder whether Geeta is off her work today to be able to accept her invitation already, or if being a Champion and a chairwoman exempts her from regular work. She doesn't dwell further when she pulls on her black dress shirt, buttoning it up methodically with her mind in a haze. She's told her that there's a fancy dress code. Will Geeta wear something that deviates from her usual attire? In the back of her mind, she wants to see it. 

Geeta in a strapless dress, hair pushed over her shoulder. Hugging her curves, accentuating her bold stature in both personality and society. Or maybe, Geeta in a suit, dressed head to toe so sharply Rika feels like she's going to pass out at the very thought. Her hands falter at the buttons, falling into an imaginative state temporarily. 

What would it be like to hold her hand? Without her gloves? Is her skin as soft as it looks? Are her nails long? Her fingers slim and long, or small and stubby? 

Her face heats up all of a sudden. She's going to be late to her own appointment at this rate.

-

She's nervous, and it's obvious. She's the first one to show up - fifteen minutes earlier - and sits at the table with a leg propped up over the other and her Rotom phone in hand. Her hair falls over her face in a way that shields her eyes from the other diners, not keen to look sociable. She's already ordered some bread appetizers, too.

She's chewing on a bread stick when there's a light tap on her shoulder, and her heart almost skips a beat even before she turns. 

Geeta is looking at her with the warmest smile on her face, eyes crinkling so prettily, the dark blue eyeshadow at the tips of her lids brushed lightly into her skin. Her hair is pulled into a loose braid resting over her shoulder, and Rika can't help the way her eyes rake over her as she gazes down at her long, indigo dress, unaware of how tight she's holding onto her bread during it. She only snaps back to her senses when Geeta lets out a soft laugh, and then she's scrambling to get up and apologize instantly.

"I'm so- so sorry," Rika stammers, "Let me pull out a chair for you."

"No, no," even her voice sounds like something out of a fairytale, right now. Geeta looks so stunning, Rika's forgotten how to act. "I…like the way you look at me."

Rika scrambles again with the chair as she pulls it out. She stops to stare. "Sorry?"

"I think any woman appreciates it when someone is spellbound by their hard work," Geeta says, stepping over and sitting down with a gentle poise to her movement, before turning a little to look at Rika, who's still gripping the chair in question. "You look like you've never seen someone dressed up before."

"Anybody I've seen isn't half as pretty as you," Rika grumbles under her breath, before she pushes the chair in and then goes over to hers again.

"You said that before too, on the trip to Glaseado," Geeta brings up, with a grin. "That I'm pretty. Is there something I'm missing, here?"

Rika flushes. "Hey, I think you deserve a compliment or two for it," she argues, half-heartedly, before an unsettling feeling seems to wave over in her head. "What are you in the mood for?"

Geeta smiles again when she hands over the menu. She opens the damn thing in a graceful way too. Rika can barely keep her eyes off of her, mind a constant jumble of oh, she's so beautiful. Oh, dear. She's so pretty. The way her hair is loosely settled on her shoulder, the subtle flush of her shoulders in the air conditioned room, blue eyes contrasted so lovely against her light makeup. She wonders how she'd feel like if Rika were to take off her coat and wrap it around her shoulders. Is it cold out? She didn't notice out of being nervous. She almost hopes it's cold out. She'd have an excuse. She'd - 

"I think I'll have whatever you're having."

Rika blinks. She wants her. What? "Ah. I had my eye on one of the pasta dishes. You should choose, though."

Geeta quirks her head, looks at Rika with a curious expression. It's so cute. Shit. Shit. 

"I…don't believe there's pasta on the menu."

That's the last straw to make Rika snap back to reality.

-

It's still early evening by the time they step back out. Rika holds her arm out and Geeta laces hers into it as they walk out the door, laughing quietly at themselves in favour of the display they're probably making.

"I like your suit,* Geeta muses, when they're standing next to a Sunflora statue and Rika is guffawing at it. "It's very you."

Even though it's a regular suit, Rika turns to look at her with a pleased expression. "Yeah?"

Geeta runs her hands over the suit, then, smoothing it over at the chest and then placing her hands on her shoulders. "Thank you for inviting me out," she says, fondly. "I wasn't sure how to approach you after…well "

Rika finds herself placing her own hands on Geeta's waist, and something about the way the other woman inhales under her breath in surprise at the action really makes her feel a little more confident than she really needs to be. She remembers the time she placed an arm around her during their time in Glaseado mountain. It feels like it was ages ago, now. She remembers Grusha. Her chest tightens only momentarily. "Feels as though I was doing the world a duty," she says. 

Geeta tilts her head, a smile playing on her lips. "What duty, pray tell?" It comes out with a tone much more teasing than she realizes.

"By giving a beautiful woman a lovely time," Rika says, a tad smugly. Geeta grins, and Rika pulls her a little closer, a strange confidence boiling up in her veins. She leans up at her, noses barely apart from each other. "I'm serious," she mumbles. "I don't know how I can ever explain this."

"You…" Geeta pauses, blinking, realizing, noticing the hesitation. "Would you like to…" she trails off, a blush coming up her cheeks. Is this supposed to be that embarrassing?

She can barely continue her train of thought by the time Rika's close enough for her lips to ghost over hers. "May I?" The shorter woman asks. It's a little sudden. Probably. Surely. 

"Yes," comes the breathless response, without a second thought, and Rika can barely think either by the time they touch each other for what feels like a million first times condensed into one. 

Geeta's lips are soft. They're soft, and they meld against hers so well, and she stumbles a little nervously before one of Geeta's hands is rising up to rest behind her neck, tilting her head just right for her to deepen the kiss. 

They stay like that for a minute, leaning against the Sunflora statue, eyes closed and feet light, and when they pull away Rika stops to stare at her. 

Geeta looks back. And then away, overcome with a sudden shyness that makes Rika think that she's going to die if this keeps up. 

"Well," she mumbles, cheeks red and hands shifty and hyperaware of Geeta's touch still on the back of her neck. "You…I…..uh…"

Geeta can't seem to make eye contact with her. She just nods, seemingly at nothing, eyes cast down and hair falling in front of her face.

Rika frowns at this, leaning in to push the strand of hair behind her ear, and Geeta looks up, face flaming. Rika doesn't realize her own action for a second, and then flames too.

"That was…uh….great," she tries.

Geeta suddenly bursts out laughing. 

-

"It really was," she argues, "You're really good at kissing! I didn't know that."

"How would you know anyways?" Geeta can't stop giggling, and Rika feels so warm. Their hands are laced together, and they're walking down the street next to each other, and when they reach Rika’s small house Rika can only stand there like a lost puppy as she unlocks the door. 

Geeta looks. "Can I…come in?"

"Isn't that a little too fast, Miss Chairwoman?" Rika mentions. Though she doesn't mind it.

"Is it?" The chairwoman in question hesitates for a second. Rika waits for her to say something, but then she's opening the door. 

Almost expects herself to go in and shut it close behind her, but then Geeta looks back at her with a look in her eyes that freezes her to the spot. "I feel as though we've been circling around each other for years."

"We barely met a month ago," Rika all but stands to stare.

Geeta's still looking, though. "And yet…you've made me feel some things I didn't realize I was capable of feeling for another person for a long while." She pauses, and then fretfully adds, "Is that strange?"

And Rika thinks she's going to stop breathing, for a second. Strange? Absolutely not. If there's anything strange, it's the way being around Geeta has given her more to look forward to than she remembers. If there's anything strange, it's the easy comfort she feels around the other woman. If theres anything strange, it's her genuine need and want to be in Geeta's arms, despite the fact that they barely know each other and that this possibly can't be healthy.

Is she that starved for touch? Is she that starved to feel something other than the usual bitterness that comes with everyday being? Is she that starved, to think about a woman's touch she barely knows?

But Geeta isn't a stranger, and she's reciprocating these strange feelings a little too directly, and her lips slot so well against her own-

"It's not strange at all," Rika says.

Geeta's eyes glimmer a little.

-

The chairwoman asks if she can use her bathroom to freshen up and change. Rika gives her some of her clothes, and leads her there.

When the door closes behind her, Rika sits down on her bed and stares at the walls. Thinks about kissing her. Thinks about the curls of her hair between her fingers. Thinks of the soft little whimper she'd caught in her mouth. Extremely easily, twenty minutes pass, and Geeta walks out of the bathroom right on cue. Rika looks at her and simply sits. 

“Hey,” she says.

“Hey yourself.” Geeta towels her hair as she looks at her, eyes gleaming and skin flushed slightly. She has the shirt and shorts she'd been given on, something so different that Rika can't keep her eyes off of her. 

“Arceus,” she says. “God, you're so beautiful.” 

Geeta giggles. Rika wants to fling herself outside her bedroom window. 

The taller woman sits down next to her, then, leaning in close enough for Rika to tense, a little. She looks good in her clothes. A little too good, almost - a rush of possessiveness comes over Rika that nearly steals her breath before she can tell herself to stay conscious - but then Geeta is leaning in.

She kisses her, nervous and unsure, and Rika can't fathom it - can't fathom this sort of action from someone so otherwise bold and astute. Grabbing her arm, she pulls Geeta forward and onto her lap, dragging her hands up to cradle her face as they press into each other. It's carnal, what Rika feels, the skin beneath her palms warm to the touch, and doesn't register nearly anything until Geeta is pulling back, taking in a long breath. 

Her legs anxiously shift, until Rika places a hand on either side of her hips and adjusts her into a more comfortable position. Geeta tries to not think about how easy it is for her to handle her. 

“This is going to be embarrassing,” she mumbles, when Rika leans in again to press a peck to her jaw. “Do you work out by any chance?”

“Used to,” comes a gruff reply, before she's back to peppering kisses down her neck, to her collarbone. “But then I got busy.”

“A-ah, I see-” Abruptly stopping to get a hold of herself, before pulling herself away. Rika leans back, relaxes her hold almost immediately. “That’s…really attractive.” 

Rika blinks. “I sure hope so.” Her lopsided smile almost does Geeta in again. “If it really is, though, won't ya let me continue?”

Geeta looks down, partly from embarrassment. “As much as I'd love for you to, Rika, I don't know.” Looking up back again just to cradle her face in her palms, she asks, gently, “I was wondering if we could talk first.”

Rika doesn't even need to think. “Of course.”

-

“Have you been doing okay?” 

Rika stops blowing on her cup of coffee when she's asked this. “Huh?”

“I mean,” Geeta does some sort of incomprehensible motion with her hands. “Living alone has got to be a little tough.” 

Rika knows immediately what she's alluding to, but doesn't respond immediately anyways. They're in her kitchen and she's sitting on top of the counter while Geeta leans against it. She looks at her with her big, questioning eyes. Rika almost looks away.

“It's okay,” she murmurs. “I'm definitely worrying a lot less.” 

Geeta smiles at her knowingly. “Probably the only worthwhile upside. Though,” she places a hand on top of hers, a little hesitant in her action. “You miss her, don't you.” It's not phrased as a question.

Rika bites her lip unknowingly. A strange sort of guilt almost comes over her. 

“Or course I do,” she says, voice admittedly giving away a little bit of her bitterness. “I wasn't…couldn't,” she hastily corrects herself, “do enough for her. It wasn't right.”

Geeta can only listen. Her fingers slip between the crevices of Rika’s while she tells her - wordless comfort that she's not willing to share much too often. But the woman in front of her is passionate, and loving, and handsome, and strong. Stronger than she possibly imagines herself to be. An inner part of her wants to stick. 

“You did what you could,” Geeta says eventually, a gentle lilt in her voice. “I believe it's worthwhile enough to give yourself credit for all you did do.”

Rika scoffs. “Like leaving her up to an estranged aunt?”

“Leaving her to someone more experienced and, therefore, responsible.” The chairwoman stares her down. “Was she really ‘estranged’ when you decided to drop your little sister off and trust her with her life for it?”

Rika's grip on the counter visibly tightens. She looks away, either out of embarrassment or more guilt. Hair falls over her eyes. “No,” she mumbles, like a child.

Geeta softens. “Rika,” she calls. Rubbing her fingers over her knuckles where their hands are still intertwined. “You're okay.”

“I…,” Rika purses her lips, looks back. Her hand moves to tighten around Geeta’s, as well. “Yeah.” And then her head tilts, a lopsided smile lazily gracing her features. “At least around you.” 

If Geeta blushes at this, she seems to hide it very well.

-

The next time Rika sees Poppy, two years have passed by. 

She's grown a lot - there's a PokéBall in her hand, too, when Rika first sees her at the airport, sitting on Steven’s shoulders as they arrive. 

(She doesn't have to ask to know it's a Beldum. Her cousin’s calls from Hoenn had told her all she needed to know about his husband teaching her little sister about the ropes - with steel type Pokémon, exclusively.)

(She can't deny that she's happy anyways, either.)

-

Being a part of the Elite Four of Paldea isn't as rough as it is being a receptionist. She's the one who'd asked for a higher pay, anyways, so it's not like she should complain, right? 

It's not as though it's a bad job, at any rate. They barely get Trainers nowadays as it is, with a recent Champion-ranked student (Nenoma? Nemona?) taking up most of the attention and the newest addition to their Gym Leader roster - Grusha, who's already proved himself to be a seething force to overcome for most people.

Sometimes she gets a call from him. Sometimes they hang out on top of Glaseaso Mountain, and sometimes Grusha lets out his Cetoddle from all those years ago and watches it twirp and twirl and summon its little snow-storm on top of their heads. 

He's healed up well. Rika wonders if she can learn a thing or two from him.

-

Steven and Wallace show up for Poppy’s official instatement into the Elite Four. 

“Is she not,” Steven says, confounded. “too…I do not know, young? For this?”

“She's simply an extraordinary trainer,” Geeta tells him, hands behind her back and smiling professionally to anyone who looks her way. “And we were missing a spot.”

Hoenn’s champion can only blink.

-

The last Rika sees of her old house is the inflatable pool in the backyard. She thinks of Clodsire, resting above her hip in a PokéBall. She thinks of the Wooper in the pool being nothing short of a menace to her other teammates. 

She's almost sad to see it go. But then she closes the doors behind her, and steps out. Twists the key, shoves it into a pocket.

Flattened pool under her arm.

-

Somewhere in the distance, darkness closes in. Somewhere in the distance, a beast howls.

Somewhere in the distance, a new family moves into the strange, dilapidated house near the Northern Coast. 

Things can only change.